nsTeam1RO, nsTeam1RW, nsTeam1_talkRO, nsTeam1_talkRW, Administrators
22,417
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 181:
Line 181: + + − First among its political figures was Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Party and head of the first Soviet Government, who died in 1924. In the late 1920s, [[Josef Stalin]] emerged as General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) amidst intra-party rivalries; he maintained complete control over Soviet domestic and international policy until his death in 1953. In the 1930s, Stalin oversaw the forced collectivization of tens of millions of its citizens in state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Millions died in the process. Millions more died in political purges, the vast penal and labor system, and in state-created [[famine]]s. Initially allied to [[Nazi Germany]], which resulted in significant territorial additions on its western border, the U.S.S.R. was attacked by [[the Axis]] on June 22, 1941. Twenty million Soviet citizens died during [[World War II]] in the successful effort to defeat the Axis, in addition to over two million Soviet Jews who perished in [[the Holocaust]]. After the war, the U.S.S.R. became one of the Permanent Members of the [[UN Security Council]]. In 1949, the U.S.S.R. developed its own nuclear arsenal. − [[Image:Yuri Gagarin Russia.jpg|right]]
→1917 Revolution and the U.S.S.R.
====1917 Revolution and the U.S.S.R.====
====1917 Revolution and the U.S.S.R.====
The ruinous effects of [[World War I]], combined with internal pressures, sparked the March 1917 uprising that led Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. A provisional government came to power, headed by [[Aleksandr Kerenskiy]]. On November 7, 1917, the [[Bolshevik Party]], led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], seized control and established the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. Civil war broke out in 1918 between Lenin's "Red" army and various "White" forces and lasted until 1920, when, despite foreign interventions and [[Polish-Soviet War|an unsuccessful war]] with [[Poland]], the Bolsheviks triumphed. After the Red army conquered [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Azerbaijan]], Georgia, and [[Armenia]], a new nation, the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (U.S.S.R.), was formed in 1922.
The ruinous effects of [[World War I]], combined with internal pressures, sparked the March 1917 uprising that led Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate the throne. A provisional government came to power, headed by [[Aleksandr Kerenskiy]]. On November 7, 1917, the [[Bolshevik Party]], led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], seized control and established the Russian Soviet Federated Socialist Republic. Civil war broke out in 1918 between Lenin's "Red" army and various "White" forces and lasted until 1920, when, despite foreign interventions and [[Polish-Soviet War|an unsuccessful war]] with [[Poland]], the Bolsheviks triumphed. After the Red army conquered [[Ukraine]], [[Belarus]], [[Azerbaijan]], Georgia, and [[Armenia]], a new nation, the [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics]] (U.S.S.R.), was formed in 1922.
[[Image:Yuri Gagarin Russia.jpg|right|Yuri Gagarin Russia.]]
First among its political figures was Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Party and head of the first Soviet Government, who died in 1924. In the late 1920s, [[Josef Stalin]] emerged as General Secretary of the [[Communist Party of the Soviet Union]] (CPSU) amidst intra-party rivalries; he maintained complete control over Soviet domestic and international policy until his death in 1953. In the 1930s, Stalin oversaw the forced collectivization of tens of millions of its citizens in state agricultural and industrial enterprises. Millions died in the process. Millions more died in political purges, the vast penal and labor system, and in state-created [[famine]]s. Initially allied to [[Nazi Germany]], which resulted in significant territorial additions on its western border, the U.S.S.R. was attacked by [[the Axis]] on June 22, 1941. Twenty million Soviet citizens died during [[World War II]] in the successful effort to defeat the Axis, in addition to over two million Soviet Jews who perished in [[the Holocaust]]. After the war, the U.S.S.R. became one of the Permanent Members of the [[UN Security Council]]. In 1949, the U.S.S.R. developed its own nuclear arsenal.
Stalin's successor, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], served as Communist Party leader until he was ousted in 1964. Aleksey Kosygin became Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and [[Leonid Brezhnev]] was made First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in 1964. In 1971, Brezhnev rose to become "first among equals" in a collective leadership. Brezhnev died in 1982 and was succeeded by [[Yuri Andropov]] (1982-84) and [[Konstantin Chernenko]] (1984-85). In 1985, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became the next (and last) General Secretary of the CPSU. Gorbachev introduced policies of [[perestroika]] (restructuring) and [[glasnost]] (openness). But his efforts to reform the creaky Communist system from within failed. The people of the Soviet Union were not content with half-freedoms granted by Moscow; they demanded more and the system collapsed. [[Boris Yeltsin]] was elected the first president of the Russian Federation in 1991. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus formed the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991. Gorbachev resigned as Soviet President on December 25, 1991. Eleven days later, the U.S.S.R. was formally dissolved.
Stalin's successor, [[Nikita Khrushchev]], served as Communist Party leader until he was ousted in 1964. Aleksey Kosygin became Chairman of the Council of Ministers, and [[Leonid Brezhnev]] was made First Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee in 1964. In 1971, Brezhnev rose to become "first among equals" in a collective leadership. Brezhnev died in 1982 and was succeeded by [[Yuri Andropov]] (1982-84) and [[Konstantin Chernenko]] (1984-85). In 1985, [[Mikhail Gorbachev]] became the next (and last) General Secretary of the CPSU. Gorbachev introduced policies of [[perestroika]] (restructuring) and [[glasnost]] (openness). But his efforts to reform the creaky Communist system from within failed. The people of the Soviet Union were not content with half-freedoms granted by Moscow; they demanded more and the system collapsed. [[Boris Yeltsin]] was elected the first president of the Russian Federation in 1991. Russia, Ukraine and Belarus formed the Commonwealth of Independent States in December 1991. Gorbachev resigned as Soviet President on December 25, 1991. Eleven days later, the U.S.S.R. was formally dissolved.