Russia experienced a surge of nationalism during three major aspects of its contemporary history that led to the modern interpretations of Russian national identity. The first of three advancements in nationalism advanced under the rule of Peter the Great, whose influences and policies evoked Russia’s potential as a Western State. His rule saw the manifestation of a united Russian consciousness that developed and strengthened internal affairs domestically, and rose as a national power on a global scale. The next of these three phases followed the Russian Revolution and served as a historical victory for Marxism and its practise. The Bolshevik Regime implemented various social and economic programs that stressed ideological development and the
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Following the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks began drastic economic and social reforms to shift Russia from an autocratic rule to a Marxist state. Lenin’s initial economic policies were designed to combat the economic issues within the country by the civil war; this economic system, which existed in Russia from 1918 to 1921, was known as War Communism. During this time, several measures were taken to ensure the nationalization of land, banks, and shipping, while foreign trade was declared a state monopoly. Lenin stressed the crucial role of worker motivation and discipline to secure the sustenance of the communist regime, and utilized ideology rather than …show more content…
“They were proud of Russia’s greatness, but they defined it as similarity to Europe. Their confidence was the confidence that Russia was a European state, and this was the chief foundation of their national pride: they were proud to be up to the standard” (Greenfeld, 224). The crisis of national identity arrived as a culmination of both comparisons with Western nations, and Russia’s inability to define itself on a global scale. Peter the Great ignited a sentiment of vocational implications that established the West as a standard that Russia must work itself towards achieving. The quest to define Russia and the Russian people recognized the significance of certain sources of identity development by the 19th century, namely, the concept of a collective consciousness, ethical and primordial factors, and a characteristic “spirit” of the nation. The collective consciousness of a people has been argued to be a result of kinship and relation within the people of a nation; this idea can be further extended to the emerging spirit of nation through recognizing patterns in culture and relations and used as a tool to motivate the people into establishing a Western style
Following the Russian Revolution, the Bolsheviks began drastic economic and social reforms to shift Russia from an autocratic rule to a Marxist state. Lenin’s initial economic policies were designed to combat the economic issues within the country by the civil war; this economic system, which existed in Russia from 1918 to 1921, was known as War Communism. During this time, several measures were taken to ensure the nationalization of land, banks, and shipping, while foreign trade was declared a state monopoly. Lenin stressed the crucial role of worker motivation and discipline to secure the sustenance of the communist regime, and utilized ideology rather than …show more content…
“They were proud of Russia’s greatness, but they defined it as similarity to Europe. Their confidence was the confidence that Russia was a European state, and this was the chief foundation of their national pride: they were proud to be up to the standard” (Greenfeld, 224). The crisis of national identity arrived as a culmination of both comparisons with Western nations, and Russia’s inability to define itself on a global scale. Peter the Great ignited a sentiment of vocational implications that established the West as a standard that Russia must work itself towards achieving. The quest to define Russia and the Russian people recognized the significance of certain sources of identity development by the 19th century, namely, the concept of a collective consciousness, ethical and primordial factors, and a characteristic “spirit” of the nation. The collective consciousness of a people has been argued to be a result of kinship and relation within the people of a nation; this idea can be further extended to the emerging spirit of nation through recognizing patterns in culture and relations and used as a tool to motivate the people into establishing a Western style