The Story

of Russia

Michael Aaron Ioffe

Before the War

● 1861, Alexander II freed the Serfs; Serfs were people tied to the land, like slaves● Serfs were not given land upon freedom● Russia had stagnant growth, and after losing the war to England, France and Turkey in 1856,

decided to industrialise● Mass movement into big cities, horrible conditions for working peasants● Peasants, 80% of people, resented the upper classes● Disenchanted members of middle classes, minorities and poor started terrorism movement,

attacked public officials, killed Alexander II● 1887, Alexander Ulyanov executed for attempted murder of the Czar, radicalising his brother,

Vladimir (future Lenin)● Russia acquired lots of new land from Poland, Iran, Siberia, Finland, Lithuania, Caucasus● Russification caused minorities to be treated poorly and abused severely● 1905, Russia suffered invasion and defeat from Imperial Japan (destruction of Pacific and Baltic

fleets), lowering morale and patriotism and leading to a Revolution of 1905 (Trotsky).● 1911, Push for Democratic reform, seen badly by most; might have stopped Rev, Stolipin (PM)

Lenin and Trotsky

● Vladimir Ulyanov was born in 1870 in Russia, the son of the State High School Superintendent.● After his brother was hanged for a planned terrorist attack, Lenin became involved.● He became the founder of the Bolshevik party, and was known as the founder of the USSR.● Led all of the October 1917 against the czar and the Provisional government, almost killed

twice.● He had the idea of a revolutionary party made of professional, highly trained men.● Lenin and Bolsheviks forcefully took power and ruled Russia through use of force.● Leon Trotsky was born in 1879 in Ukraine, the son of well-to-do Jewish farmers.● Trotsky was initially on the minority side of the Communist conflict, but then switched over

before the Revolution.● Trotsky was fluent in numerous languages including English, and served as the Secretary of

State and then the founder and the head of the Red Army.● He was removed from power by Stalin and then deported in 1929; he went on to live in Mexico

for the next ten years, until he was killed by Stalin’s assassin in 1940 at his home.

The Revolution

● 1914, Russian, Ottoman, British, French, Austro-Hungarian, and the German Empires; WW1 starts with assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Austria-Hungary by Serbian separatists.

● All empires mobilise armies and attack individual allies of Serbia and Austria-Hungary.● Russia in the lead during beginning of the war, suffers several blows.● February 1917, Russian Czar Nicolas II abdicates, power goes to Provisional

government/Parliament.● October, Bolsheviks, Mensheviks, and the Socialist-Revolutionary Party - the three leading

Marxist parties - take over the ineffective Provisional government in a Military Coup, led by Lenin and Trotsky.

● Bolsheviks take lead by arresting and executing leaders of other Marxist parties after an attempt on Lenin’s life, starting the Red Terror and a full Civil War till 1923.

● In the meantime, Russian Military forces disintegrate, leading Germany to take over a considerable piece of land in the Brest-Litovsk treaty, considered to be as harsh as the Versailles treaty.

New Economic Policies and Collectivization

● Country was destroyed in WWI and Civil War, jobless rates were very high, food shortages● To solve existing economic problems, in 1921 the Communist government allowed small-scale

enterprise as a temporary retreat, distributing fertile land to peasants: State Capitalism● After seven years of this policy, the USSR entered a period of prosperity with agricultural

output increasing to pre-war levels.● In 1928, prices fell to the point where peasants refused to sell produce to the government at

market prices.● The government instituted a five-year plan to takeover and unify all individual farms into a

number of government-controlled collective farms (Kolkhoz)● Peasants weren’t happy, revolted and were subsequently heavily suppressed by mass killings,

hunger, and deportations to labour camps in Siberia.● By 1933, all land belonged to the government, and Russia achieved full control of the nation’s

food supply at a cost of millions killed, starved and disenfranchised.

Joseph Stalin

● Joseph Stalin was born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili in 1878, in a tiny Georgian village called Gori as the son of a cobbler and housekeeper.

● His father constantly abused him severely both mentally and physically, and then left the family when Stalin was twelve; he also had a deformed left arm.

● After enrolling in a Seminary at age sixteen, he was shortly kicked out and became interested in Marxism, leading him to become a member of the Bolshevik party.

● He began using a pen name, Stalin, which means “Man of Steel,” to write articles and give speeches by 1905. He later adopted this name in full. He was also an avid film buff.

● It is estimated that during his reign, over 20,000,000 people died, causing him to be known as one of the bloodiest leaders in history. This doesn’t include his influence in other Communist areas.

● Stalin suffered from extreme paranoia and various other mental illnesses, which some say led to his erratic activity, manipulation, and strange choices.

The Rise of Stalin

● After Lenin’s death in January, 1924, Stalin assumed the role of the Secretary General of the Communist Party of the USSR, equivalent to the role of the President in the United States.

● By 1929 he succeeded in deporting his main rival in the party, Leon Trotsky. After killing off or deporting other enemies, he managed to assume full control of the party.

● He did this by forming a triumvirate with Lev Kamenev and Grigori Zenovyev, whom he sidelined after achieving power, and subsequently killed.

● He then aligned himself with Nikolai Bukharin, editor of Pravda, the centre of propoganda and the main newspaper of the party, who suffered a similar fate.

● In December 1934, after the assassination of a prominent Leningrad party head, Kirov, Stalin instituted the Great Purge, which lasted for five years.

● By some estimates, over a million people were killed in the Great Purge, at a rate of over 1000 people a day.

The Great Purge

● The Great Purge occurred between 1937-1938, although repressions remained until the end of Stalin’s reign.

● It started unfolding after the death of Kirov in 1934.● The Great Purge entailed the sending of millions of people to death camps, almost at complete

random.● By 1938, almost all of the top military leaders were executed, causing for a lack of organisation

during the start of the Second World War.● This lack of organisation later led to the German occupation of much of the Eastern front of the

war, giving them a huge land advantage.● Most of the executions and imprisonments took place at the hands of the NKVD at the

GULAG, Russia’s secret prison where it is estimated that over 50,000,000 people died.● During the Great Purge, travellers from America, political prisoners, random people, and

thousands of Communist leaders and politicians were killed.● After the Great Purge, a steady stream of people were killed and imprisoned in the GULAG,

which was used as a labour camp to build out Siberia.

The Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact and The Winter War

● On August 23rd, 1939, Stalin achieved temporary peace with Nazi Germany temporarily, in a secret pact that divided the Eastern Bloc between Germany and the Soviet Union.

● This pact led to the partitioning of Poland and it’s territories, with the USSR also forcefully taking control of the Baltic states.

● Also as a result of this pact, the USSR invaded Finland on November 30th, causing losses of over 330,000 people on the Russian side, and 400,000 people in total.

● This happened because Soviet forces weren’t ready for the extreme cold of Finland at the time, and Finnish snipers were able to hide behind snow banks and take out Russian troops.

● After this failed invasion, which had a strongly negative economic impact on Russia, Finland began siding with Germany.

● As well, the Nazi Army began pressing towards the Eastern Front, and began lining up at the Ukraine boundary.

● Nevertheless, Russian commanders ignored this, and let Nazi forces advance considerably, eventually breaking the pact and officially involving the USSR in World War II.

The Start of World War II in the USSR

● On July 21, 1941, the USSR entered the World War when Nazi Germany broke the Pact, and took over Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belorussia, Ukraine, and East Poland in a matter of weeks.

● Stalin was not prepared for this, since he believed the Pact would be held, although military intelligence obviously stated otherwise.

● Because of the Great Purge and the Winter War, the Army also had a lack of generals and soldiers, leading Germany to have an easy border takeover.

● Many Soviet troops were on vacation or were unaware of the impending threat, and were thus surprisingly surrounded, and had to instantly surrender.

● These Soviet troops were sent to German concentration camps, and when they were released at the end of the war, they were interrogated: some were summarily shot, while others were quickly sent to Russian concentration camps as traitors.

● By December 9th, 1941, German troops were 30 miles outside of Moscow.● Under Stalin’s order, troops defended Moscow, and forced German troops to stop their

offensive.

The Battle of Stalingrad

● The Battle of Stalingrad, starting on August 23, 1942 and ending five months later, is considered to be the largest and defining battle of World War II.

● It was a decisive victory for the USSR, and a turning point in the war.● It was also one of the largest battles of the war, and the bloodiest one at that.● As a result of it, over 2,000,000 civilians and soldiers were killed, and the city of Stalingrad was

essentially wiped out and destroyed.● The German public was not informed of the defeat, while the USSR used the victory to expand

propaganda through various staged photographs.● This propaganda included the taking of German Generals in the war, including the leader,

Paulus, and having them state anti-Hitler messages, which were broadcast to both German and Soviet troops.

● Paulus later went on to testify for the prosecution in the Nuremberg trials.

Stalingrad before and after the battle

The Battle of Berlin

● The Nazi Army had lost over a million men in the three months preceding the battle, during which the Russian army was able to advance towards Berlin.

● Preceding the Soviet entry into the city, the United States bombed Berlin 36 days in a row, since General Eisenhower believed that having both nations on the ground would cause friendly fire.

● This weaked the city, and led to a relatively short two-week battle, which the USSR won.● The battle started on April 16th with the four day breakthrough of the “Wall of Berlin,” which

was a 100,000 person German army barring the Soviet entry to Berlin, by the Soviet soldiers.● After this breach, Hitler became enraged and made a last-ditch effort to protect Berlin.● Even though Berlin had over three times as many soldiers protecting it as the oncoming forces,

the tight encirclement by Soviet forces led to their eventual movement into the centre of Berlin.● There then ensued a room-to-room battle at the Reichstag, or the German “White House.”

When Hitler realised that the war was lost, he committed suicide.● After Goebbels, the last commander, killed himself and his family, the German army

surrendered to the Soviets. Even though Berlin had surrendered, various fights were still happening outside.

● On May 8th, 1945, all of Nazi Germany surrendered and was disbanded.

The Reichstag, where the final battle of the Battle of Berlin occurred.

Human Rights Abuses Around WWII

● Stalin executed over 27,000 Polish prisoners-of-war without notice at the start of World War II; the USSR denied this until 1990.

● Deserters of the Soviet army were ordered to be shot on the spot, with their families arrested and send to the GULAG. Blocking detachments were also installed behind advancing armies to shoot panicked or fleeing soldiers.

● Stalin ordered the execution of over 100,000 Russian political prisoners upon the Nazi approach to Moscow.

● After the takeover of Berlin, Russian troops reportedly raped over tens of thousands of women at the command of the generals, and also looted thousands of people and farms in the area.

● After the creation of East Germany, the USSR installed GULAG satellite camps in former Nazi concentration camps. It is estimated that over 60,000 Germans died in these camps.

● As well, a major part of the returning Soviets, for any reason, were either sent to prison camps or executed upon arrival as traitors without any trial whatsoever.

● All party members who joined during the war were also purged and executed.

Impact of WWII on the USSR

● The USSR suffered a loss of over 27 million people, by some estimates over 40 million, and lost a quarter of its capital resources.

● Because of this loss, the USSR forced it’s Soviet-occupied allies to supply materials and machinery.

● Unfortunately because of this, heavy industry was promoted while agriculture and consumer goods were set aside, leading to mass shortages, hunger, and a lack of housing.

● Domestic control was also tightened after the war, with Stalin propagating a war with the US.● After the war, the Soviet Union spent an even larger amount of money on military than ever.● The political party was quickly consolidated further by Stalin, and rule became as adverse as

ever.● The growth of the Soviet economy was surprisingly quick after the war, considering their

losses, and grew at an astonishing rate until Stalin’s death.● For the most part, the addition of many new peoples and land made up for losses during the

war, and made production and innovation levels equal those before the war.● The Soviet Union quickly became a world superpower, and started administering aid to foreign

countries within a few years.

The Start of the Cold War, and the Iron Curtain

● The creation of Communist puppet states out of Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland, Czechoslovakia and East Germany through the Warsaw Pact, as well as the creation of the Berlin Wall, led to a barrier and the coining of the term “The Iron Curtain” by Winston Churchill.

● The notion, and the reality, was that people behind the Iron Curtain were subject to human rights abuses, horrible leaders and living conditions, and a lack of free speech and enterprise.

● After the war, these puppet countries looked to the USSR for aid, and the communist government instituted in these countries established a system similar to the early USSR, with collectivization, purges, concentration camps, and forced industrialisation, all without any rights.

● Although Allied leaders met multiple times after the war, Stalin pressed on his own agenda, which was to spread communism father west through Europe, which the US and Britain were heavily opposed to.

● This resulted in rising tensions, and the rapid development of nuclear warheads and weapons of mass destruction by both sides, leading to a period that George Orwell called a “Cold War,” where both sides were heavily armed and pressed their agenda in the world.

The Doctors Plot

● In 1942, Stalin formed an Ethnic committee called the Jewish Anti-Fascist Committee, whose purpose was to spread and create propaganda assuring international communities about the lack of anti-semitism in the USSR, as well as propagating anti-Nazi views in the USSR.

● Shortly before Stalin’s death in 1953, Stalin established the Doctor’s Plot, a plot that would essentially exterminate all Jews in the Soviet Union. He then publicly executed the whole JAFC.

● The plot started with a series of fake charges against numerous Jewish doctors in 1952, which stated that they had assassinated many of Stalin’s comrades.

● Hundreds of innocent Jewish doctors were arrested and tortured, while the state-controlled media ran anti-semitic stories, to gain attention to upcoming show trials.

● Four large camps were built in southern Russia at the same time, with the purported goal of setting the general Russian public against the Jews, and then deporting the Jews to these camps, in an effort to “save them,” according to Stalin.

● Stalin was also planning to use the Doctors Plot to initiate a party purge.● Two weeks before the doctors in the plot were to be executed, Stalin died, and the doctors were

released based on a “lack of evidence.”

The Death of Stalin, 1953

● Stalin’s death steadily deteriorated following World War II, and because of his paranoia, he only saw four people the last years of his life, and made no public speeches.

● On March 1st, 1953, a week before his planned execution of hundreds of Jewish doctors, he was found in bad condition in his room, with symptoms of a stroke. This followed a severe heart attack in 1945 and a mild stroke a few years earlier.

● On March 5th, 1953, Stalin died. The cause of death was listed as a stroke, although later autopsies showed that his stroke was abnormal, with effects consistent with warfarin poisoning.

● Many later autopsies pointed towards poisoning by warfarin, a type of potent rat poison, which concluded that Stalin was killed by warfarin slipped into his drink.

● The autobiographies of both Molotov and Khrushchev stated that Lavrenty Beria, head of the NKVD, had poisoned Stalin’s drink.

● Two months later, Lavrenty Beria was arrested and executed for unknown reasons.● All of Stalin’s mass repressions and crimes were outlined three years later in Khrushchev’s

Secret Speech, which caused an international furor because of it’s disclosures.

Proxy Wars

● During the Cold War, the Soviet Union led many proxy wars, or wars where the USSR backed one side of the conflict and the United States backed the other side, without either side actually participating and sending large amounts of troops.

● The goal of these conflicts was to tilt minor countries to either become democratic or communist, to extend the reach of both the United States and the Soviet Union.

● These included the Greek Civil War, The Arab-Israeli Conflict, The Laotian Civil War, The Vietnam War, and The Korean War, among many others.

● These wars have destabilised many countries, and are responsible for an estimated 20,000,000 deaths.

● While the United States managed to win many conflicts, some, such as the Korean War, entirely divided the country and caused for two completely different nations to evolve.

● Others, such as Vietnam, Laos, Cuba, Nicaragua, and Guatemala became communist countries, while others, such as the Congo, spun off into total disarray.

● This, along with propaganda on both sides and strong political threats and talks, made up most of the Cold War.

Destalinization

● After the death of Stalin, a period of stark resentment towards Stalin and his actions followed.● This was invoked by Khrushchev's Secret Speech, and was followed by the temporary closing of

the GULAG by Beria, until he was removed from power.● Nevertheless, the GULAG was radically reduced in size, conditions were elevated, and the

entire prison system was improved.● As a part of removing Stalin’s legacy, the national anthem had all references removed, and

almost all cities and towns bearing his name were renamed, such as Stalingrad becoming Volgograd.

● Although this severely damaged the prestige of the Soviet Union, both on the inside and outside, it was believed to be necessary by the current multi-leader government.

● This denouncement of Stalin, which some thought to be a denouncement of communism, led to riots and uprisings in Poland and Hungary in 1956.

● Today, it is hard to find a large monument or mention of Stalin in Russia.

Revolution of Hungary, 1956

● On October 23rd, Hungarian students fed up with Soviet rule, repression, the decline of Hungary’s economy, and communist rule in Hungary staged a sudden revolt against the puppet government.

● After news spread, this revolt grew with incredibly quickness, and hundreds of militia groups quickly organized, causing the downfall of the government.

● After the fall of the government, Soviet troops quickly entered Budapest with tanks and thousands of troops, and started firing on the protesters.

● A new government quickly formed, promising free elections while rapidly executing pro-Soviets. After the Soviet Union decided to cooperate, they quickly withdrew their offer and decided to destroy the revolution.

● The Soviet Union quickly entered over 30,000 troops into Budapest, and had retaken communist control of Hungary by January 1957.

● The conflict killed over 2,500 Hungarians (not including those killed later) and caused for over 200,000 fleeing refugees in the same time period. The revolution, especially the Soviet response to it, was highly criticized and was viewed very unfavorably by Marxists in the West.

Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962

● In July, after a US plot to overthrow Fidel Castro, and the subsequent movement of their nuclear warheads directed at Moscow to Italy and Turkey, Moscow sensed a military confrontation and moved its nuclear weapons to Cuba.

● The United States demanded a removal of the warheads, and after deciding whether to use military force against Cuba, simply blockaded it.

● When Khrushchev demanded the release of the Italy and Turkey warheads, the United States threatened a war. This was further elevated by numerous Soviet ships trying to run the blockade.

● On October 27th, the Soviets shot down a U-2 plane flying overhead using a missile, which, according to testimony heard later, would usually have resulted in immediate nuclear retaliation, although President Kennedy decided to wait, and proceed back-channel talks with the Premier.

● After Thant organized talks between the two parties, a settlement was agreed upon and all nuclear warheads in Cuba, Turkey, and Italy were dismantled and removed, and the United States promised to never invade Cuba.

● After what was considered the tensest and most dire moment of the Cold War, the Crisis ended on October 28th, with missiles removed by November 20th.

Invasion of Czechoslovakia, 1968

● On August 20th, Russia and other members of the Warsaw Pact conspired to halt liberalization reforms happening in Czechoslovakia at the time.

● They were afraid about the planned end of censorship and police surveillance by the government there, and were afraid that the liberal government would join NATO, although there is still no evidence to support that.

● Czechoslovakia also had a very strong resource and industrial base, which helped support the USSR after the war and would be necessary should the Soviets go to war against the US.

● After Alexander Dubcek’s Prague Spring reforms were asked to cede, talks opened up between the two countries, which resulted in eventual Soviet “necessity” of using military power.

● After the invasion, which held over 500,000 troops strong, the peaceful protesters were forced to sign a treaty with the Warsaw Pact and revert to Soviet-style communism. 108 died as a result.

● Interestingly enough, NATO or the US did not involve itself whatsoever in the conflict, since they were not interested in gaining an ally or protecting Soviet influence after Vietnam.

● This gave the USSR the freedom to do whatever it liked, causing the immigration of thousands.

Helsinki Convention and Human Rights Movements

● The goal of the Helsinki Convention in 1975 was to ease Cold War tensions and to create guidelines for fair human rights. It was not, however, a treaty, and was thus not upheld.

○ Sovereign equality, respect for the rights inherent in sovereignty○ Refraining from the threat or use of force○ Inviolability of frontiers○ Territorial integrity of States○ Peaceful settlement of disputes○ Non-intervention in internal affairs○ Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the freedom of thought, conscience, religion or belief○ Equal rights and self-determination of peoples○ Co-operation among States○ Fulfilment in good faith of obligations under international law

● Unfortunately and to the ire of the NATO countries, none of these agreements were held up by the Warsaw Pact, leading to questions about Soviet human rights policies.

Invasion of Afghanistan, 1979

● On Christmas Day, 1979, the Soviet Army was deployed to Afghanistan to aid the government.● Right-leaning rebels had overwhelmed the Communist government, and the Afghan

government asked the Soviet army to help, to the ire of the United States.● Upon landing, the Soviet troops killed the President, Amin, and occupied the country.● A few years later, after a lot of internal conflict, America along with many other NATO

countries began aiding Arab rebel groups and feeding them weapons and resources.● The rebels were also led by the religious propaganda of Jihad, whose goal was to “kill atheist

Communists.” ● Unfortunately, this backfired later after one of these rebel groups, Al-Qaeda, began using this

propaganda to launch strikes in the United States, including the attack on 9/11.● After a period where rebels launched over 700 rockets a day, the Soviets withdrew in 1987.● The resulting government, which was divided between a Soviet and American puppet state,

eventually dissolved, with former rebels taking office in the new government.

Gorbachev: Glasnost and Perestroika

● When Mikhail Gorbachev ascended as leader of the party, he quickly denounced his predecessors actions, and began a series of reforms.

● This included a process of increased foreign relations, and the end of the Afghan war.● Glasnost, which was a policy that called for increased transparency in the government, was an

effort to alleviate corruption in the Soviet Union, and incur less censorship.● This was highly hailed by the international community, as it provided a look into Russia and

grandly transformed its image, while giving its residents more freedom.● Perestroika however, which means “restructuring,” was a risky step by most accounts, and led to

the eventual collapse of the Soviet Union.● It incurred multi-candidate elections for smaller positions in the government, and was rejected

by the Communist party, yet was implemented anyway.● This eventually led to the organisation of a Congress, and then to rebel groups within the

Congress, which led to Gorbachev’s loss of power.

Disintegration of the Soviet Union

● In 1989, after the fall of the Berlin Wall, Gorbachev steadily began to lose power.● After various minor civil conflicts in outlying republics, states began to secede one by one and

form their own governments.● After a failed coup d’etat attempt, Gorbachev handed the Soviet Union’s future to a committee,

which decided to dissolve the union immediately.● The Soviet Union officially dissolved on Christmas Day, 1991, with Russia as it’s successor.● Nevertheless, some former Soviet Republics retain dictatorial leaders, such as Belarus or

Azerbaijan, which others retain some form of limited democracy.● While some have joined the EU, most keep close ties amongst each other and Russia.● This marked the end of arguably the most important period in Russia’s modern history, the end

of the Communist era, a time of revolution, unrest, and repression.

And that’s the story of Russia.

Sources and Works Cited

Much of the content here came from first-hand interviews.Thanks to Michael Ioffe Sr., Ellen and Robert Ioffe, and Galina and Boris Kogan for granting interviews and taking the time to explain and detail their life in the USSR.Other works cited:

● Allen, Rachael. "Guided History." Stalin and the Great Terror: Can Mental Illness Explain His Violent Behavior Comments. Boston University, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2014.

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Online Exhibit, n.d. Web. 03 Jan. 2014. ● "Human Rights in the USSR." Regional Perspectives on Human Rights: The USSR and Russia; Part Two -. Stanford University, n.d. Web. 03 Jan.

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