From the Paper
"Karl Marx, born in Germany in 1818, had tremendous influence throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The communist and socialist ideologies, the communist revolution in Russia, and the spread of communism throughout the world were all a result of Marx's social and economic theories. These theories were developed as a result of the situation of the working class in Europe during Marx's lifetime. .."

Tags:19th, century, conditions, engels, european, history, labor, marxism, russia, soviet, union, unions, working

From the Paper
"When looking into the poem "Dover Beach," by Matthew Arnold, one can choose not to see the great, white cliffs standing eerily silent in the moonlight, the ancient, icy waves approaching and retreating on the pebbled shore, and even the two figures gazing out the window at the boundless beauty of the scene. However, it is difficult to ignore the human theme of being swept about in the undertow of social change."

Tags:arnold, beach, dover, matthew, poetry

Abstract
This paper reviews "Out of This Furnace" by Thomas Bell, which depicts the process by which a small group of Slovak immigrants are gradually transformed into active participants in a stable American society. The paper uses the social history technique to examine Slovak immigrants in a Pennsylvania mining town.

From the Paper
"In the dirty, dangerous cauldron of western Pennsylvania, the uneducated muscle of the eastern Slovak mountains would be transformed into the confident skill of an organizer of men. Through the trials and tribulations of work in and transition to American life overcome by these immigrants, one can observe the forging of a new and more powerful American nation that would be ready to save the entire world from the challenges shortly to come."

Tags:czech, labor, mines, union

Abstract
Eugenia Ginzburg experienced the heart of the Stalinist Terror as few have who lived to tell about it. A staunch Communist supporter, Ginzburg found herself wrongfully accused of being an enemy of the people and subsequently thrown into jail. This paper examines her account of her years and months in prison camps in her book, "Journey into the Whirlwind". It also looks at how her story impacts the study of the Stalinist Terror.

From the Paper
"Thrown into jail, Ginzburg found herself transferred from jail to labor camp across the country for years. What she found, to her surprise and intrigue, was that her supposed crime seemed to change with every facility to which she was transferred. She started out as an "enemy of the people", and by the time she was released, she found herself being referred to as an "international terrorist." This demonstrates just what a propaganda machine Stalin's regime was. It appears that Ginzburg's supposed crime was adjusted and changed whenever it suited the regime, probably depending upon whatever propaganda the regime was trying to propagate at the time."

Tags:Soviet, Bolshevik, Menshevik, solitary, confinement

Abstract
The paper argues that the collapse of the Soviet Union was fundamentally a result of economic inefficiency, rampant corruption and increased contact with the west, and their combined effect of causing widespread disillusionment among the Soviet population with the regime. The paper further argues that Mikhail Gorbachev's reforms and the events which followed simply provided a perfect opportunity for these seeds of disillusionment to sprout.

From the Paper
"Following the Stalinist era, the Soviet Union saw a stagnation of its economy and a subsequent widening of the gap between the living standards of the capitalist west and the Soviet Union. Although, due to the untrustworthy nature of Soviet archives, it is hard, if not impossible, to gain concrete evidence in the form of economic statistics to back this argument, other forms of research such as that done by D. Chirot and A. Dallin provide just as valid proof for this argument. It is hard to define the exact causes of this economic stagnation, however, a broad but good explanation is that it was a result of both the flaws of a socialist economy and poor decisions by the regime. Chirot argued that the socialist economy was fundamentally flawed because; investment and production decisions were made by political will, quantities and prices of goods and services were fixed by administrative order, international trade was controlled, and finally that the measure of success for firms depended on its ability to build more, maintain employment and attract political directed investment."

Tags:economy, corruption, west, disillusionment, Gorbachev, glasnost

Abstract
This paper explains that legal and social discrimination against Christianity and individual Christians was the norm at all levels of society in Russia from 1945-1988. The activity of the KGB and government agents was a key factor during this time and this encapsules their view. The writer looks at the discrimination felt against both Orhtodox and Baptist groups and how the church that did not want to controlled by the state went underground and developed many clandestine activities including publishing activity that alerted the west as to events.

From the Paper
The period prior to the Second World War was a time of great suffering "for the Christians inside the Soviet Union but in the post -war years leading up to Glasnost their was still a tragedy being played out. The Kruschev era brought the beginnings of a new persecution and an attempted destruction of the churches and even after these harsh years there was still much persecution until Gorbachev's reforms. During this time the hierarchies of both the Russian Orthodox Church and the official Baptist body seemed to compromise with the State, whilst others, particularly those not belonging to a registered church protested and stood their ground and often suffered the consequences. Due to the comparative size of the Orthodox Church I will focus on it with some reference to others, particularly Baptists."

Tags:baptist, freedom, kruschev, orthodox, religius, russian, samizdat, soviet

Abstract
This paper examines the history of anti-Semitism in Europe during the 19th century. The paper explores the similarities between the anti-Semitic prejudices that engulfed France and Russia in the late nineteenth century and then shows how in France, anti-Semitism was largely a right-wing Catholic movement, peppered with socialist support in the aftermath capitalistic change. The paper also provides a broad definition of anti-Semitism in general.

From the Paper
"Anti-Semitism is not an "identical phenomenon" similar to all countries, but rather based on individual national histories. The anti-Semitic prejudices that emerged in France and Russia in the late nineteenth century were both preceded by defeat in war, economic instability, and political change; circumstances exploited by the Judeo-phobic press and literature. However, while French anti-Semitism was derived from traditional religious dogmatism, and encouraged by the potent political force of anti-Republican Catholicism, the Russian experience was based on an ideological imperialism that was promoted by the government, and common to all "true" Russians."

Tags:france, history, jew, judaism, russia

Abstract
The paper discusses how the European integration project has moved so rapidly that the push for a European Constitution and its failure are causing doubts about the EU's future. The paper explains that the EU is not ready for a Constitution that could possibly place restrictions on the member states of the Union. The paper asserts that dwelling on the failure to ratify the Constitution will only breed negativity about the European Union and must be forgotten for the time being in order to save the European integration project from crumbling. The paper believes that the EU is being over-zealous in its aim for European integration and should slow down the process.

From the Paper
"The grounds for a European Constitution lie in the demand for a simplification of the numerous Treaties forming the European community and the former European Economic Community; the merging of more than 2800 pages into a single document. As well as the practicable arguments for this project, the implementation of a Europe wide Constitution also sees to reiterate that the European Union is more than just an economic community founded on coal and steel, but a Union of the European people."

Tags:treaties, integration, democratic, values

Abstract
In this article, the writer discusses whether Hitler was a strong dictator or not. The writer finds that if one believes a dictator's strength to be defined by their level of administrative control of the state, it can be argued that Hitler was a weak dictator. The writer also finds that if one believes a dictator's strength is determined by their ideological following, Hitler again was a strong dictator. The writer concludes that whether Hitler was a weak dictator or not is entirely dependent on the individual's belief in what constitutes a strong or weak dictator.

From the Paper
"Under Nazi rule, Hitler led Germany to total war and to genocidal actions against both Russia and the Jewish nation. These were state actions of the most severe nature. That Hitler was Germany's dictator is hard, if not impossible, to deny. Whether Hitler was a strong dictator or a weak dictator, however, is an intensely debated question. In the absence of having lived as Hitler or at the least within the very upper echelons of Nazi leadership, one can only truly speculate based on limited primary sources, the level of Hitler's dictatorial strength during his dictatorship. Some, such as Hans Mommsen in his piece 'Hitler's Stellung im Nationalsozialistischen Herrschaftssystem' and Martin Broszat through his text 'The Hitler State: The Foundation and Development of the internal structure of the Third Reich', have argued conclusively that Hitler was somewhat of a weak dictator, with the true power of the Nazi state lying in fragmented decision making processes dispersed throughout the state."

Tags:nazi, german, fascism, genocide, dictatorship, adolf

Abstract
This essay addresses communism in the USSR, and why it was doomed to fail. Reasons behind the break-up of the USSR are discussed as well as Mikhail Gorbachev's structural overhaul, Glasnost and Perestroika and the effects of these policies. Lastly, the paper addresses why the USSR break-up occurred relatively peacefully.

From the Paper
"The seeds of disintegration of the Soviet Union were sown even as it formally began in 1922. Even as the shift to communism was made through the barrel of a gun, numerous individuals, ethnic groups and organizations such as the mainstream churches resisted their new communist masters. And while their resistance was stifled by violent and brutal measures, such as occurred in 1956 in Hungary and in 1965 in Czechoslovakia, resistance to communism continued, albeit underground. Like a festering boil in which pressure builds up over time, resistance to the central communist authorities in Moscow, within Russia and ultimately throughout the Soviet Empire, increased steadily. "

Tags:communism, glasnost, gorbachev, perestroika, soviet, union