Soviet Union Notes

7/30/2019 Soviet Union Notes

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The Blank Slate

Natural Selection

Human nature- a block the platoWhat is the most violent age?

15 to 24 you would think. Toddlers are the most violent age You dont teach kids to be violentthey are born that way Its not like it isnt changeable

You pass your genes to your kin. (Natural selection)

Communists

Everyone is equalWe get overlaps in genders.

Pinker knows we are built differentPinker and John Height

6 characteristics we find around the world Thomas Sowell- economists

o Conflict of Visions Portraits of human nature

State enjoys killing people. More likely to die as a civilian

4x safer if you were a soldier

Stalin

Worst mass murderer in the 20th century

1936-1939- 4-5 million killed

1 million members, wives In some cases children when they were old enough

Show trials

Purge of military officers

Problem?Rummel estimates 62 million + murdered by state over 70 year period, half by

Stalin.

Intellectuals

Many intellectuals and academics believe this is all necessary to bring abouta just society

On show trials George Bernard Shaw: We cannotafford to give ourselves moral airs when

our most enterprising neighbor. Humanely and judiciously liquidates a

handful

New York Time:The Gulag Archipelago

Soviet Union Work CampsKhrushchev (1953-1964)

We will bury youCuban Missile Crisis in 1962

Monroe Doctrine-Latin America is ours stay out! Short range and long range ballistic weapons

Bay of Pigs-Failure with the CIA


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Trade Embargo

No trade with Cuba No visiting for vacation

o Medical tripso Student learners.o Stupid Policy- Dr. G.o Soviet Union had tactual nukes.

Virgin Lands Program- pastures into irrigated wheat or cotton fieldso Ultimately led to Aral Sea environmental disastero Possible opportunity for arms smugglers to acquire chemical weapons

Communism is bad for the environment.

Marxism- Industrialization is a good thing.

Big Problem when the collapse of the Soviet Union

Anthraces Bio weapons Nuclear Weapons

Brezhnev (1964-1982)Height of the Cold War

Military/Industrial economy

20% -25% GDP on military industry 1980s US spent a height of 6% of GDP

Red Dawn

Worst movie ever! Shows the paranoia of US of the time Now the bad guy- North Korea

Containment is away to fight Communism

Domino Theory-if South Vietnam is taken over then it will spread everywhere soonenough!

Economic

Gorbachev (1985-1991)

Initiated economic and political reform PERESTROIKA

o Restructuringo Fails

GLASNOSTo Policy of encouraging greater opennesso Works

Put the two together and it is a recipe for complete disaster.November 9th 1989 Gorbachev tare down that wall- Reagan Two 9/11s in history

Collapse of the Soviet Union (Conditions in 1990 & 1991)

Tovquevilles Law of Revolutions Economic collapse Increase ethno-cultural nationalism and separatism


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Erosion of Communist Party monopoly on power The resignation of Gorbachev in 1991 Fifteen separate republics replace USSR Boris Yeitsin becomes President of the new Russian state in 1991 In 2000 Vladimir Putin becomes President

Vladimir Vladmirovich Putin President (2000-2008)

o Current presidento Former KGB Officer

Dmitri Medvedevo Former Presidento Now prime minister

Prospects: Oil And Gas

Economy depends on these two State budget also Part of Reagan strategy in Cold Was is disable USSR

Contested Areas

Trouble in Siberia Illegal Chinese migration

Democratic Election in Ukraine

Major Fraud

11/21/04- Supreme Court orders new election

Orange Revolution: 2004

Orange areas: higher % for Viktor Yushchenko

Yushchenko was poisoned by his oppositionTransatlantic Trends Polls

End of Bush Administration 20%

Documents

Soviet Union Notes