The Russian Revolution of 1917 fascinated the entire world. For many years, Czar Nicholas II had a growing amount of dissatisfaction among his subjects. Russia was blighted with several different issues that developed out of the control of Nicholas II and by the time he attempted to create any reform, the damage was too substantial to be affected. One of the largest problems was the droughts that plagued the people. These droughts were often regular due to the climate, however, were particularly devastating in the previous years. Another problem that plagued the Russian people was the lack of industrialization throughout the entire country. Many of the people still farmed on small portions of land. The other primary problem was Russian involvement
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The new and improved Soviet Union was supposed to be a modern wonder with advances in industrialization and the power of communism. The exact opposite could be said, however. Following the end of World War I, the Russian civil war began and the Red Terror started to become more of a factor. The Red Terror was the first use of brutal violence. The Terror ended up being considered too openly brutal. The ruthlessness disheartened some, but was mostly supported by the general population. Another problem was another set of famines during the 1930’s. In addition to poor weather, the rush to the cities for factory jobs led to the lack of farmers, which meant that less food was being gathered. The failure of the Great Experiment needed an explanation and so one was created. The reason any problem occurred was because of enemies of the state who sabotaged the situation so that the Soviet Union would fail. This scapegoat was a tangible excuse and made the Purge more practical. If the Soviet Union removed all of the traitors from the country, then they could not take more resources to try and ruin the country. Once this reason was established, the Purge developed into the full force of extermination that it is known …show more content…
For example in one letter written to the director the forestry department, a group of children in the Young Pioneers write to the director in order to turn in one of the forestry workers after he reportedly pasted various anti-party sentiments such as “Celebrate Easter- It is bestowed by God.” Whether the report was accurate is not said in the documents, however, it does show that children soon were not just used for farming at that point, but rather were tools for reports of traitors. As the indoctrination continued, these children did not keep any loyalty to their family, but instead the party. This would include children disowning their parents in order to stay in the Communist Youth Party or join the Red Army. While this might be considered completely against human nature, in many cases the parents encourage their children to renounce their connection. For example, in one account an imprisoned mother was written to by her daughter asking whether or not she was guilty. The daughter stated, “But maybe you aren’t guilty? Then I won’t join [the Communist Youth League] and I will never forgive them for you. But if you are guilty, then I can’t write you anymore.” The mother wrote her daughter back stating she was guilty. This difficult choice was made because the mother knew that it was better for the daughter to have the party on her side instead of
The new and improved Soviet Union was supposed to be a modern wonder with advances in industrialization and the power of communism. The exact opposite could be said, however. Following the end of World War I, the Russian civil war began and the Red Terror started to become more of a factor. The Red Terror was the first use of brutal violence. The Terror ended up being considered too openly brutal. The ruthlessness disheartened some, but was mostly supported by the general population. Another problem was another set of famines during the 1930’s. In addition to poor weather, the rush to the cities for factory jobs led to the lack of farmers, which meant that less food was being gathered. The failure of the Great Experiment needed an explanation and so one was created. The reason any problem occurred was because of enemies of the state who sabotaged the situation so that the Soviet Union would fail. This scapegoat was a tangible excuse and made the Purge more practical. If the Soviet Union removed all of the traitors from the country, then they could not take more resources to try and ruin the country. Once this reason was established, the Purge developed into the full force of extermination that it is known …show more content…
For example in one letter written to the director the forestry department, a group of children in the Young Pioneers write to the director in order to turn in one of the forestry workers after he reportedly pasted various anti-party sentiments such as “Celebrate Easter- It is bestowed by God.” Whether the report was accurate is not said in the documents, however, it does show that children soon were not just used for farming at that point, but rather were tools for reports of traitors. As the indoctrination continued, these children did not keep any loyalty to their family, but instead the party. This would include children disowning their parents in order to stay in the Communist Youth Party or join the Red Army. While this might be considered completely against human nature, in many cases the parents encourage their children to renounce their connection. For example, in one account an imprisoned mother was written to by her daughter asking whether or not she was guilty. The daughter stated, “But maybe you aren’t guilty? Then I won’t join [the Communist Youth League] and I will never forgive them for you. But if you are guilty, then I can’t write you anymore.” The mother wrote her daughter back stating she was guilty. This difficult choice was made because the mother knew that it was better for the daughter to have the party on her side instead of