Russia+1920-1930

Clay; Dierze 1 Emily Clay & Kaitlin Dierze  Ms. Story American History II 09 January 2014 1917: Soviet Union formed in Russia  1920: December 3rd, Russia’s colonies in Armenia were incorporated into the Soviet Union 1917-1922: Russian Civil War 1920-21: Russo-Polish War 1924: Lenin died and Stalin took power in USSR 1926: Stalin abolished the NEP 1927-1929: Diplomatic relations with Britain 1928-1933: Collaboration and trade with Germany 1934: USSR Joined the League of Nations

Joseph Stalin (Leader 1924-1953)

Vladimir Lenin (Leader 1917-1924) The two biggest leaders in the Soviet Union during the 1920’s were Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin. They were two leaders who craved power. In 1917 in the midst of WWI, Russia was growing tiresome of the war and its citizens were yearning for change. Vladimir Lenin became the leader of the Bolsheviks who soon rose to power ( Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) . He gained power by stepping in as a leader to help the struggling people of Russia. Lenin’s first goal was to get the people of Russia to be against the provisional government. They ended up overthrowing the Tsar. His second gaol was to make Russia socialist. (BBC) Later, he exp erimented with communism,which put Russia in a worse economic state than they were before the war. (Russiapedia).He also created the New Economic Policy which allowed for some capitalism (Tucker). When Lenin died in 1924, Stalin became the new Soviet leader. He wanted to industrialize the country using his Five Year Plans; goals for five year periods. Like Lenin, Stalin was against freedom of speech and opposition. His biggest goal was to industrialize and urbanize (“Joseph Stalin”). One of the many rallies in the Russian Revolution A government with the ideals of socialism and communism was first formed under the leadership of Lenin. Prior to, Russia had been a monarchy for a long time. However, when Lenin died in 1924, the idea of socialism faded out to the totalitarianism regime that Stalin brought when he led the Soviet Union (“ "The Russian Revolution: 1917”). Totalitarianism was built on the foundation of total authority and no freedom of speech. It was also to rid of any opposing ideas. Russia entered WWII because they were attacked by the Germans. This is interesting because Russia had signed a Peace treaty and then a Non-Aggression Act with Germany prior to WWII. Germany attacked because they wanted more land, more control of oil fields, and they wanted to get rid of Bolshevism.

 Great Britain, along with many other European nations, wanted to make good relations with the Soviet Union because it was seen as a strong nation. The United States was also one of these nations and it recognized the USSR on 16 November 1933. ("Joseph Stalin.") In 1934, the USSR joined the League of Nations. This meant that they agreed to help all the other nations who also joined the League when they needed. The United States did not join the League of Nations because Woodrow Wilson did not want to be tangled in foreign affairs. He thought that having allies was beneficial, but he did not want the U.S. to be dragged into foreign affairs unnecessarily ( “The League of Nations Is Founded: April 1919").

In this time period, the focus in Russia was the aftermath and recovery of World War I. After Russia signed the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany to withdraw them from the war, there was still unrest in Russia. The citizens wanted change in their government and to take them back to pre-WWI ways. Lenin had stepped in and created the Bolsheviks who were a socialist party. Everyone in Russia was either for the moderation of Russia or against the Bolsheviks. The extreme ways of the Bolsheviks caused turmoil and a civil war as well that further left the country unstable.

Works Cited  “BBC.” BBC. 2014. Web. 09 Jan 2014. DeFronzo, James. "Russian Revolution and Civil War (Overview)." World at War: Understanding

Conflict and Society.ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 9 Jan. 2014.

"Joseph Stalin." Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. U.S. History in Context.

 Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

"Joseph Stalin." Image. Library of Congress. World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society.

ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

“Russiapedia.” Prominent Russians. Autonomous Nonprofit Organization. 2011. Web. 09

January 2014.

"Soviet Union (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)." International Military and Defense

 Encyclopedia. Ed. Trevor N. Dupuy. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 1993. U.S.

 History in Context. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

“The League of Nations Is Founded: April 1919." Global Events: Milestone Events

 Throughout History. Vol. 6: North America. Detroit: Gale, 2013. U.S. History in Context.

 Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

"The Russian Revolution: 1917." Global Events: Milestone Events Throughout History.

 Vol. 4: <span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; line-height: 1.5;">Europe. Detroit: Gale, 2013. World History in Context. Web. 8 Jan. 2014.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">“Tucker, Spencer C. "Joseph Stalin." World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> ABC-CLIO, 2014. Web. 8 Jan. 2014. <span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;">"Vladimir I. Lenin." Image. Library of Congress. World at War: Understanding Conflict and Society. ABC- CLIO, 2014.

<span style="background-color: #ffffff; color: #121917; font-family: 'Times New Roman'; font-size: 16px; vertical-align: baseline;"> Web. 9 Jan. 2014.