Russia and the Western Republics

Essential Question

• What is the history of Russia and the Western Republics and what impact has it had on their culture?

Early History

• In the 800’s Vikings from Northern Europe settled in the region between the Baltic and the Black Sea• Over time they adopted the culture

and the language of the local Slavic people that were already there• In the 1200’s Mongol invaders

controlled most of the region until the early 1500’s• The Mongol forces were pushed out

by the Russian leader Ivan the Great

Explosive Growth

• By the end of the 1600’s Russia extended to the Pacific Ocean

• The effects of this expansion were that it created the Western Republics of Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova and the Baltic Republics of Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia

• Russian leadership known as “Czar” was established under Peter the Great in 1682.

• The capital was moved at that time to St. Petersburg along the Baltic Coastline for better access to Europe

Russian Revolution and Stalin

• 1. During WWI (1914-1919) the Bolshevik Revolution ended the Czars rule in Russia.• 2. The Communist Party, led by

Vladimir Lenin, took control and established the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) or the Soviet Union• 3. During WWII, Russian leader

Joseph Stalin was a part of the allied forces against the Nazi party in Germany

Stalin

• From Georgia• Ruled Soviet Union from the

1920s until his death in 1953• His policies were responsible for

the deaths of at least 50 million people

Cold War

• After WWII tension between the US and USSR led to the setup of Pro-Soviet governments in Eastern Europe and the Cold War which lasted until the 1990’s• 5. The Cold War ended in the

early 1990’s when Russian Premier Mikhail Gorbachev wanted to give more economic and political freedom to the Russian people.• 6. The region was then divided

into many independent republics

Economics

Karl Marx

• Political economist and philosopher who along with Frederich Engels writes The Communist Manifesto• Marxism (his philosophy) is based

on the hypothesis that history is a series of class struggles where the haves exploit the have nots (workers) and that only through adopting communism can we break free of these waves of history• .

Building a Command Economy

• Command Economy: central government makes all economic decisions• Karl Marx wrote about the socialist accepts of government where

there is no private property• The government controls all land, banks, factories, etc. and decides

the crops, products, and prices• Protest against these economic conditions was forbidden during the

Soviet Era

Culture and Traditions

• Very ethnically diverse• Many outside influences on art and architecture • Russian Orthodox Christianity is the dominant religion of the region• Native Russians cherish traditional housing, food, dance, and crafts

Current Issues

Current Russian Leadership

• President Vladimir Putin• Prime Minister Dmitry

Medvedev• Putin said the end of the Cold

War and the collapse of the Soviet Union was “the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the century.”

Invasion of Ukraine

• Over the course of years through covert action as Ukraine became more aligned with western Europe Russia felt it could not control it anymore.• For Russia the importance of

Ukraine is the Crimean Peninsula. Without it Russia’s navy cannot easily access the Black Sea

Anti-Western Actions

• Putin wants to challenge the West, especially the US. • He supports Assad in Syria, has helped

continue Russia’s support of Iran’s nuclear program, bullies his neighbors.• Forges new alliance with China to

counter the US in Asia• Starting January 1, 2015 a new

economic union meant to be a counter to the Eurasian Economic Community. It consists of Russia and 4 other nations

Meteors and Asteroids

• February 15, 2013• Chelyabinsk Russia in the Urals• http://

www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/feb/15/meteor-shards-russia-explosion-video• In 1908 an asteroid or comet hit

near the Tunguska river in Siberia with the force of 10-15 megatons of TNT