What is Communism
- Communism is that a country’s government controls everything.
- Individual people can’t own property by themselves because everything is shared.
- The goal is to try to make life fair and equal for everyone.
- The poor and weak are treated the same as the rich.
What is Capitalism
- In a capitalist country, citizens, not governments, own and run companies.
- These companies compete with other companies for business.
- They also decide how much to charge for the goods and services and where to sell them.
- Companies do all these things to make money for their owners.
History Of Communism In Ussr
Communism is an economic ideology that advocates for a classless society in which all property and wealth are communally-owned, instead of by individuals. The ten years 1917–1927 saw a radical transformation of the Russian Empire into a socialist state, the Soviet Union. In Russia, efforts to build communism began after Tsar Nicholas II lost his power during the February Revolution, which started in 1917.
Russian Civil war
After Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin took over the Soviet Union, many people still opposed the communist party. This led to the Civil War between the White Army and Red Army. The White Army included the opposition party, while the Red Army included the armed forces of the government and people that supported Vladimir Lenin. The Civil War resulted in the deaths of 10–30 million people. In the end the Red army won thus Ussr became a Communist country.
Glasnost and Perestroika
- There were two main platforms of Gorbachev’s reform. The first he called Glasnost. Glasnost allowed more freedom of speech and openness in government.
- Government officials would be held accountable to the people for their actions.
- Although Glasnost was a good thing for the people, it also allowed people to protest and the media to report on issues for the first time.
- Many of the outlying states used this new found freedom to express their desire for independence.
- The other major reform was called Perestroika. Perestroika meant “restructuring”.
- Gorbachev meant to restructure the Soviet economy to work more efficiently.
- He allowed some private ownership and released some of the tight control the government had on the economy. However, the people and economy of the Soviet Union were used to the government doing everything. Things got worse before they got better
End of communism in USSR
The ascension Mikhail Gorbachev And his Principles
- Mikhail Gorbachev was elected General Secretary of the Soviet Union in 1985.
- When he took over the Soviet Union economy was in bad shape .
- His idea was to reform the economy and modernize the political situation in the country. There were 2 main principles in his reign – Glasnost and perestroika
Mikhail Gorbachev became the last leader of the Soviet Union in 1985 and led until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.
Rebellions
- With the new found freedom of Gorbachev’s reforms, some outlying Soviet states began to rebel.
- The first states to demand their freedom were the Baltic states of Estonia, Lithuania, and Latvia.
- Soon more states wanted their independence including Armenia, Moldova, Ukraine, and Georgia. The central government of the Soviet Union began to feel the pressure of so many states wanting independence.
Attempted takeover and separation
- With the communist government on the verge of collapse, Soviet hardliners decided to take action.
- In August of 1991 they kidnapped Gorbachev and announced to the world that he was too sick to govern.
- They would be taking over.
- When the Soviet citizens began to protest, the hardliners called in the military to shut them down.
- However, the soldiers refused to shoot and arrest their own people. Without the military to back them up, the takeover had failed. On December 24, 1991 the Soviet Union was dissolved. At the same time Mikhail Gorbachev announced his resignation.
Fact About USSR
- Lenin died in 1924
- Joseph Stalin conducted the Great Purge to remove opponents of his dominance
- By international law, Russia was considered the successor state of the Soviet Union. This meant that it kept the nuclear weapons and the Soviet Union’s seat on the Security Council of the United Nations.
- Many of the old Soviet Union states still have strong economic ties with each other. Some of the new countries have democratic governments while others are still under authoritarian rule.
- One of Gorbachev’s reforms was to limit the consumption of alcohol in an effort to reduce alcoholism in the Soviet Union. Boris Yeltsin was the first President of Russia after the break up.
Everyday Reflections 