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 describes the rule of Peter the Great who, after spending time in the Western European powers of England and Holland in 1697-98, returned to Russia with the sole intent on Westernising and modernising his nation. The paper describes how, by creating a new capital, introducing reforms in government, military, economy and much more, Peter the Great emerged as a new kind of Russian ruler, aiming to achieve what his predecessors could not -revolutionising his state so it would be equal with the rest of Europe. The paper also discusses how not all the modifications that Peter the Great made were accepted by the conservative Russian people and that many did not last and were ultimately unsuccessful.

From the Paper
"Peter the Great imposed many new reforms on the institutions of his nation and he began with the military, which he saw as the force that would bring Russia to the forefront of Europe. In 1700, the army faced an embarrassing defeat at the Battle of Narva against Sweden. After this, Peter was obsessed with modernising the military along western lines. To create this modern army he devised a new recruiting system where each year one conscript had to come from one in every twenty tax-paying households. In the last twenty-five years of his reign, this secured Peter 280,000 soldiers. For this militia the principles of meritocracy were enforced strictly. Supplied with modern weapons and generals from abroad, the Russian army was in the best position it had ever been, with the largest army in Europe. For most of his reign Peter was at war and so there was an ever-increasing need for revenue to fund his military."

Tags:military, class, power, Saint, Petersburg

Abstract
This essay examines and analyzes the Soviet approach to counterinsurgency during the Soviet-Afghan War. Four aspects of the Soviet counterinsurgency are considered. Firstly, the Soviet's initial approach to the insurgents. Secondly, the Soviet approach of seeking out and destroying the insurgents outside secured areas. Next, the Soviet's use of terrorism to reinstate control. Finally, the fledgling level of discipline of Soviet troops and its effect in the counterinsurgency. Through this research, this paper concludes that the Soviets had a ruthless approach to counterinsurgency with doctrine that had been applied to past conflicts and was not tailored to Afghanistan.

From the Paper
"Leading up to the Soviet-Afghan war, the USSR had learnt much from their experiences in internal irregular conflicts to consolidate communist revolutions in Eastern Europe and in Central Asia. They had learnt that fast conventional forces in overwhelming numbers taking key political and military points, or what could be called a type of 'shock and awe' campaign of the contemporary age, had been effective in the quelling of rebellions against Soviet rule in Eastern Europe. The Soviets had also learnt that the creation and strengthening of a mass-based political organisation was a part of the first step in effective counterinsurgency in Central Asia. Subsequently, a form of counterinsurgency doctrine had been developed from these conflicts."

Tags:insurgency, counterinsurgency, Afghanistan, soviet-afghan, war, Taliban

Abstract
This paper explains why the Soviet Union collapsed in 1991. The explanations range from Russian history and faults in Marxist theory, to Stalin, Gorbachev, and others. It explains why the collapse was inevitable, stating that, from the beginning, Russia was isolated and backwards and that Marx never had Russia in mind for reformation. It also examines the role the U.S. played in the collapse and what the Soviet Union's leaders did wrong.

From the Paper
"Even though the Soviet Union survived events such as a civil war, the Russo-Japanese war, and both world wars, it finally collapsed in 1991. This happened despite the benefits communism gave it. The failure of the USSR to remain a world superpower was attributed to many factors. Some factors include faults in Marxist theory and those of the Soviet Union's leaders. Others include Russia not being suited for communism, and external forces determined to bring down the Soviet Union."

Tags:communism, gorbachev, marx, russia, soviet, stalin, states, union, united

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 essay explores what state the film industry was in before the Russuan Revolution. It looks at the ways in which the Bolsheviks planned on bringing Soviet Russia into the modern age and how this policy was conceived and brought about during and after the Revolution. It also explores the practical implications of these policies and how when Stalin came to power these policies changed. In this overview of the golden age of Soviet filmmaking, the writer focuses on specific policies and trends in filmmaking and production. The writer gives an understanding of the way the government controlled the means of production and distribution of film and how this affected the filmmakers in content and style. It provides an in depth look at the way the Soviet filmmakers had their films received domestically and what the peasantry actually thought and saw of the films that were made under these revolutionary policies. The writer refers to the Bolshevik policies as being utopian, or unrealistic. Despite their lofty ambitions or intentions they were unable to be fulfilled in practice.

From the Paper
"The first Russian feature film was Boris Godunov (Drankov, 1907) and in making it the filmmakers realised many of the potential problems of working with this new medium. In the early films the Russians had already initiated their own style, "film story" . This was in opposition to the American and European styles which glorified drama over psychology. This marked difference in approach to film set out clearly that the Russians were able to move away from mimicry of overseas material early on in their filmmaking history. Traditional cinematic movement was replaced with "the psychological pauses of the Moscow Art Theatre" . However, despite this experimentation, the film industry in Russia before the 1917 revolution was indeed very small. Distribution of these films facilitated only to main urban centres, with the focus of the industry being in Moscow . In these early times for the film industry the hands controlling the distribution of films in Russia were foreigners, namely the French. The French cornered the market around the world, and Russia was no exception and because of their size they were able to "undersell domestic businessmen" . The French even initiated local productions to ensure that the viewing public would remain interested by seeing their own people and country on screen. Business was strong and very profitable for those who had a stake in the industry. By 1913 the Russian Empire had 1043 movie theatres much of these were concentrated in urban centres. The appetite for this new medium was very strong and its appeal was wide. Efforts were also made to take the films out into the country to the small villages, but these were always difficult undertakings. However there was money to be made, and many cashed in on the opportunities that cinema afforded."

Tags:communism, filmmaking, films, pre, revolutionary, tzarist

Abstract
The films of the soviet montage were historically inaccurate films made to service the needs of a very powerful communist government, a government very aware of the power of the cinema and propaganda. This paper explores the way Eisenstein re-created the past in his films and created a filmic mythology of the revolution. It explains that Eisenstein created this mythology by creating politically successful films, also by introducing the idea of heroic realism, by using documentary conventions and by using the techniques of plotless cinema.

From the Paper
"We stopped the event where it had become an asset to the revolution" ?Sergei Eisenstein This quote summarises the attitude of the filmmakers of the soviet montage era. The films of the soviet montage were historically inaccurate films made to service the needs of a very powerful communist government, a government very aware of the power of the cinema and propaganda. The revolutionary filmmakers who were sponsored by the government pandered to the taste of the current leaders, and by doing so created a filmic representation of reality far different from actual events. Filmmakers such as Eisenstein twisted reality to suit the needs of the revolution."

Tags:bordwell, cinema, maniplulation, montage, revolution, stalin

Abstract
This paper looks deeper into the lives and personalities of individual monarchs in an attempt to achieve a greater understanding of the complex way they treated their subjects in post-despotic Russia. A study contra to most of the individual psychology based papers, with more of an attentive outlook towards the link of the monarchy of Russia and the autocrats as a leading caste more so than an individual. The paper shows how the monarchs chose to view themselves and how this affected their reigns. It views historiography grounded on over-arching theories, and leaves a closer, more psychologically-oriented picture of individuals who played extraordinary roles on the world's stage. Finally, it focuses towards conclusions of the effect on the monarchy and Imperial Russia through the upbringings of Catherine's two elder grand children as well as the gubernatorial interactions in history with the monarchs of Russia.

From the Paper
"The soul of the immortal divine King Osiris becomes the soul of every Egyptian, as Christ becomes the soul of every Christian, so does the function of a monarch. A monarch is a social apparatus to will and decide and a model for all subsequent acts of free will and the ego of the individual. Originally attributed to law making functions a monarch has by modern man become the inner court of conscience. (2) The final century of the 300 year old Romanov Dynasty saw an unrelenting ineffective series of reigns. Incompetence is naturally not an especially rare quality in a monarch, as history shows us, but indeed, by definition, as they come to power through birthright and not merit the deleterious effects alone result in the occasional tyrant or foolish monarch."

Tags:aryan, autocracy, cccp, economics, empire, europa, Pavlovichi

Abstract
This paper studies the nature and nurture of the Russian Monarchy under the upbringing of Catherine the Great and her Stoic / Enlightenment based moral values. Focusing on the developmental complexities of the social and family unit which brought around the four most well known of the Russian Royals, Alexander I, Constantine, Nicholas I and Michael, this paper follows up the effects of a family unit oriented upbringing with strong liberal and republican beliefs that gripped the Russian Royal family in it?s later years through Catherine as a matriarchal influence to these four, and Paul as a patriarchal leader. The psychological scarring left upon Nicholas on seeing his fathers demise at the hands of his own courtiers demonstrated a manipulative effect on his reign. Also demonstrated in this paper is the fact that regardless of liberal beliefs, the people?s agenda quite often defies what intellectually could be classified as the best system of government for them as demonstrated through the coup de etat against Paul and the Decembrist rebellion.

From the Paper
"Nicholas and Michael never knew their illustrious grandmother as they were too young to have true or strong memories of her as she died when they were still youths, and they also lost their father at the early age of five and three respectively. That is not to say that her rearing did not still influence them, indirectly, throughout their adolescence. Nicholas had reported to have vague memories of Paul and considered his sudden death at the hands of his own courtiers to be the most traumatic moment or envisagement in his life until his own accession and the Decembrist revolt. Thus, for both Nicholas and Michael, their mother was the primary force behind their upbringing with strong matriarchal influence from their grandmother Catherine the Great and her philosophies."

Tags:army, autocracy, cccp, censorship, doctrine, duke, europa, global, Maria, Fedorovna

Abstract
This paper examines the life of Nicholas II and the events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1918. It begins by examining Nicholas role as an autocrat and the way he dealt with the political, social and economic grievances in twentieth-century Russia. It looks at the Tsar's failure to address these problems and finally the role of WW1 in the fall of the Tsarist regime.

From the Paper
"Nicholas II was Russia's last monarch and the last Tsar in the Romanov line that had ruled the largest empire in the world for over 300 years. This mighty dynasty was to fall in a few short years of war, revolution and social turmoil. The reign and eventual fall of Nicholas II would change the course of Russian and international history forever."

Tags:bolsheviks, century, nicholas, one, rasputin, revolution, russia, twentieth, war, world