–Grandma! They’re building those apartments so fast, it’s the first time I’ve seen something like this in my life!<BR>–Me too. Russia has always suffered from a lack of housing which meant that those who could not get a housing contract would not be able to hold down a job in … Continue reading
One major step that was taken during the “De-Stalinization” period was to grant amnesty to the many people who were thrown into the Gulag during Stalin’s dictatorship. On March 27, 1953 the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR granted amnesty to “…persons sentenced for up to five years, those … Continue reading
The Soviet Army had been pushed back since the German advance into Russia but at the City of Stalingrad the Soviets were able to turn the tide of the war on their front. Hitler had decided to divert forces who would have gone to capture the strategic oil fields which … Continue reading
A problem that the Soviet Union had continued to encounter was a lack of work ethic among the working class. The government previously had just expected the workers to work as hard as possible without any kind of incentive for their extra labor for the good of the state. However, … Continue reading
Stalin saw how ineffective the current farming method (strip farming) was and with the expansion of industrialization saw collectivization as the perfect opportunity to improve agricultural production. However, in order to accomplish this Stalin would have to take on the peasantry and kulaks who had been using the strip farming … Continue reading
Lenin created the New Economic Policy or NEP due to the lack of food and other necessities that were the result of previous policies. World War I had caused a lot of supply shortages and in order to try and solve this issue “War Communism” was introduced which only made … Continue reading
The Russian army went through a revolution of its own in 1917. Considering that Russia had been at war for a few years and was performing poorly in battle it’s no wonder that the army went through such drastic changes. The Russian army consisted mostly of peasants who were poorly … Continue reading
Lenin’s views on the trade unions were that they were simply spontaneous movements that didn’t help to further the development of a “consciousness” amongst the workers. This “consciousness” represented a driving force of the movement; the workers needed a higher purpose beyond just their present problems such as poor wages, … Continue reading
Zindan, The Emir’s Prison My name is Matt Williford and I am a history major. I’m also minoring in classical studies and psychology. I have always had some interest in Russian history, more specifically around the time of World War II. This is also my first Russian history class that … Continue reading