Saint Petersburg

George Orwell’s Animal Farm first published in England on the 17th of August 1945. It reflects the events leading up to the Russian revolution of 1917 and the Stalinist era of the Soviet Union. Orwell created a figure who represented the Russian peasants and common working class, known as Boxer. The working class had been betrayed by the Stalinists, similar to Boxer who had also been betrayed by the other animals on the farm. The ultimate betrayal of the ideals of Animalism was demonstrated by…

Philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau stated that “Man is born free, but everywhere he is in chains” (Rousseau, 1). Through this quote one can draw contrast between human nature and human existence. It is a metaphor for the noble savage; who coming from the original state of nature, is an honest, faithful and brave individual. Rousseau places sole responsibility for transforming the noble savage into the modern human on technological advancement. According to Rousseau, the fact that humans have the…

Peter the Great’s Biography Peter the Great was born on June 9, 1672 in Moscow, Russia, and died on February 8, 1725. Peter the Great’s reign, was the turning point for Russia, and his rule is what sent Russia toward the promise of becoming one of the world’s superpowers during the Cold War. Peter the Great ruled jointly with his “elder half-brother Ivan” until his death in 1696 (Hughes). Peter the Great was named the Great for a reason; his legacy was a “program of extensive reform known as…

Russia has a long history of repression due to fear and opposition. Beginning with the Decembrist Uprising and heightening a the Bolshevik Revolution, Russia has experienced a long legacy of brutal and heinous operations and methods to deal with counterrevolutionary opposition, and even mere suspicion. Both Lenin and Stalin feared any source of counter authority, and exhibited this fear by employing the secret police agencies to destroy and suppress the opposition, no matter how brutally. These…

At the start of the Russian Revolution, the Russian military was in an active engagement with the German army, with an estimated 6,900,000 men on the front and another 2,170,000 men in the rear. There was no ignoring the revolution for a military as large as the Russian military even those at the front fighting the Germans. How did the military contribute or respond to the events of February 1917? What began as worker demonstrations against rumors of a bread shortage erupted into a revolution…

In today’s increasingly polarized society, there are a growing number of ways in which people push for change and ultimately social progress. Recently, players disobeyed custom by kneeling during the national anthem to propagate a political statement. This sparked a debate in whether people should express their issues with the status quo through the disobedience of set societal standards and norms where many scrutinized the controversial character of disobedience as a means to achieve social…

The Russian Revolution was a major turning point in Russian history. Destructive, dangerous, harsh, and cruel are words that characterize the Russian Revolution. The Russian Revolution caused major political changes in Russia. The Russian Revolution had many negative outcomes, but it also had some positive outcomes. The Russian Revolution was a failure because there was a loss of many freedoms such as press, speech, and equality. Joseph Stalin also reduced the rights of many Russians. Many…

In 1917 two outrageous political and societal revolutions occurred through Russia ending the decades of imperial rule and setting a political,social, and societal change that would soon become the Soviet Union as we know today. During March, growing civil unrest caused by large food shortages,erupted into a revolt forcing the abdication of Nicholas the second the last Russian leader,czar. Months later the provisional government was itself overthrown by the more radical Russian Bolshevik party…

When Russian literature is mentioned, the two giants Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoyevsky overshadow the majority of other writers. However, it is not the case for Anton Chekhov. Chekhov emerged into the scene during the 19th century, the same time as Tolstoy and Dostoyevsky. As a short-stories writer and dramatist, Chekhov made a mark for himself, as he is “the only other one to make much of an impression abroad.” (Brians) Chekhov wrote during the early 1900s, when Russia saw “the rise of the…

During World War 1 the Bolsheviks had growing support in the two major cities, Petrograd (formerly St. Petersburg) and Moscow. Due to the growing support the Bolsheviks also had support of the army so revolution was less complicated to execute. The two major leaders during 1917 were Lenin and Trotsky. Lenin created intelligent and methodical planning for the…