Notebook Page 46

In 1905, loss to the Japanese during the Russo-Japanese War nearly led to revolution in Russia

Rather than be overthrown, the Tsar appeased the people by allowing the formation 

of a representative assembly—the Duma—to partially share power with the Tsar

While things were temporarily settled in Russia, World War I brought with it a new set of problems

In combat, the Russians suffered multiple defeats to the Germans, 

and domestically, the working class and peasants of Russia were 

overtaxed, and lacking food and land to keep themselves healthy

Additionally, the lower classes (most-notably the peasants and 

Working-class poor) grew increasingly upset with the amount 

of land and power enjoyed by Russian nobility and elites

Tensions boiled over when military mutinies, as well as peasants and low-income workers 

uprisings, began to occur in the winter of 1917; the is known as the February Revolution

Tsar Nicholas II abdicated, and the duma, composed of mostly upper-class capitalists 

and aristocracy, became head of the state, opting to continue the unpopular war effort

Local governments, however, were led by community assemblies called 

Soviets; these were comprised of rural farmers, workers, and middle class folks

The Soviets, in general, tended to favor more socialist/Marxist ideology, and their distaste for the policies of the 

duma provisional government, the ongoing famine, and the war effort led to continued struggles for state power

A leader named Vladimir Lenin used the discontent of the Soviets to advance the causes of the 

communist Bolshevik Party, promising to deliver ‘peace, land, and bread’ if made head of the state

As such, the main Soviet in Petrograd and the Bolshevik Party together revolted in the October Revolution of 1917, 

overthrew the duma, established a socialist state, and named itself the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)

Under Lenin, the communist state attempted to deliver on its promises by:

1. Surrendering and ceding land to Germany in late 1917

2. Redistributing land and factories to the peasants and workers via Soviet committees

3. Collectivizing agriculture in an attempt to evenly distribute to all

Early troubles, however, plagued the USSR as former supporters of the Tsar, as well as moderate 

socialists and capitalists in Russia, engaged versus the Bolshevik government in the Russian Civil War 

With the support of the anti-communist United States and Great Britain, the rebels, known as the ‘White 

Army’, continued to disrupt Bolshevik operations and actively fought the USSR’s so-called ‘Red Army’

While the USSR inevitably secured victory, Marxist agricultural practices led to continued famine

and domestic production lagged far behind economies utilizing the incentives of commercial capitalism

See the ineffectiveness, Lenin developed the New Economic Policy in 1921, which allowed 

farmers to sell excess grains, and instituted rewards for factories based on production levels

While the NEP greatly increased production, the capitalist approach upset the 

more hardline communists—most-notably Lenin’s future successor, Joseph Stalin

Regardless, the New Economic Policy remained in place until Stalin removed it in 1928

Once Joseph Stalin rose to power in the USSR, he quickly showed his authoritarian tendencies

In the 1920s, Stalin removed the New Economic Policy in favor of agricultural collectivization:

a practice which utilizes communal working to evenly split agricultural yields amongst the population

Much like Lenin’s initial agricultural policy, production failed and famine ensued; as a result, 

Stalin, as a left-wing radical, blamed the oppressive upper-class for the failure of this program

A minority of freed serfs had, since the late 19^th century, become successful 

commercial farmers; this class of successful peasants was known as the kulaks

Stalin blamed the kulaks for sabotaging the system and hoarding agricultural yields, and

advocated for the forced removal of kulaks through a process known as de-kulakization

As such, anyone perceived as a kulak was removed, imprisoned, or killed by the government or by peasant mobs

Aside from directly murdering several million kulaks, or sentencing them death in the Siberian gulag work camp system, the destruction of the most productive agricultural class also resulted in the death of additional millions due to worsened famine

With the famine in full effect, Stalin used his state power to deprive citizens of the USSR in the 

Ukraine—and area known for its desire to break from the USSR and function autonomously

The deliberate starvation and killing of ~4 million Ukrainians from 1932-1933 is known as the Holodomor

Additionally, from 1936 to 1938, a paranoid Stalin initiated show trial executions in the state and military

that were responsible for the deaths of up to 1.2 million Soviets; this was known as the Great Purge

Following World War I, a new form of government arose in opposition to the communist regime in the USSR, mostly due to fear of domestic communist revolutions elsewhere in Europe that threatened nation states

Known as fascism, this new political ideology often showcased nationalistic authoritarian 

rulers with governments that were vehemently anti-communist, preserved the nation state 

through strict state control, and cooperated economically with large corporate monopolies

Leaders often stirred up support and comradery by pitting their nation or ethnicity 

against foreigners or insurgents that may ‘taint’ the population or its culture

Like Stalin, these rulers also exercised extreme authority, and often controlled 

the military, economy, polity, all possible aspects of society and culture

Such regimes were often intolerant of basic freedoms, opposed dissident thought, 

and used secret police, violence, work camps, and fear to maintain their power 

As the authoritarian communist regime in the USSR was a far-left radical regime, 

these were their far-right radical counterparts in interwar Germany, Italy, and Spain

To be clear, the radical-leftwing believed national borders should be abolished and oppressive ruling classes demolished to achieve a perfect society; the radical-rightwing believe the opposite: that national borders 

should be preserved and ethnic and biological impurities should be removed to achieve a perfect society

An example of a radical-rightwing authoritarian fascist was Adolf Hitler in Germany

Hitler, and National Socialist (Nazi) members, believed that the problems with Germany 

were rooted in biologically-inferior people; to Hitler and the Nazis, these were Jews, Slavs, 

Africans, the physically or mentally handicapped, criminals, homosexuals and others

After winning popularity and chancellorship in 1933 Germany with his nationalistic and anti-

Versailles Treaty rhetoric, Hitler initiated his own series of state political purges, such as the 

Night of Long Knives in 1934, killing anyone in the government that did or may oppose his rule

By 1934, the Nazi Party had taken complete control of government and economy

Much like the radical leftist Joseph Stalin did with his de-kulakization program, 

Hitler to began to drive out those he saw as a threat to the nation and its economy

Hitler began targeting ethnic and biological minorities; Nazi Germany began sterilizing criminals and handicapped peoples, as well as issuing the Nuremburg Laws in 1935 that revoked the citizenship 

of Jewish people, and forbade the intermarriage of Germans with individuals who were more than ¼ Jewish

Hitler used a secret police force known as the Gestapo to maintain power and silence 

Rivals, such as the German Communist Party, and began heavily investing in rebuilding the

military and preparing for a war for German ‘living space’ and the removal of ‘inferior’ races

The likes of Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler ushered in a new type of ruler that 

maintained power through a combination of popularity and fear: totalitarians

Whether they were ideologically Marxist or fascist, totalitarians used fear 

and propaganda to maintain power through force and popular appeal

In Italy, a far-right regime was started in 1920s under the fascist dictator 

Benito Mussolini: a man with ambitions to restore Italian prestige and power

To do this, Stalin, Mussolini, and later Hitler utilized loyal military forces, secret police, propaganda, purges, and prison camps to control the respective populace; examples:

• Military forces: the Schutzstaffel (Hitler); Black Shirts (Mussolini)

• Secret Police: NKVD (Stalin); Gestapo (Hitler)

• Propaganda: Nazi Propaganda Department (headed by Heinrich Himmler), Nazi grand architecture & stadium building to demonstrate power, etc.

• Purges: Great Purges (Stalin), Night of Long Knives (Hitler)

• Prison camps: concentration camps (Hitler), gulags (Stalin)