...aid to lesser developed countries is expended on short-term humanitarian goals. It is imperative to develop innovation in production to more effectively expand growth in the long-run. Therefore, proper allocation of monetary funds towards private sector development that encourages functioning institutions is beneficial to a country’s developmental efforts. Russia during the 1900’s is an example of an unsuccessful attempt to transition from communism to a democracy, attempting to follow similar patterns of growth exhibited by other countries throughout the 1900’s. The national liberalism of Russia’s communist party led to conflict within the country over economic and political...
Words: 451 - Pages: 2
...To what extent did the policies of Sergei Witte address the problems facing Russia at the end of the nineteenth century? Russia faced many problems at the end of the nineteenth century. Under Minister of Finance Ivan Vyshnegradskii there had been famine because of high taxes on consumer goods which had forced peasants to sell more and more grain. The government were slow to act and, although they eventually enforced a ban on grain exports, 350,000 died of starvation or disease. Economically and industrially Russia was also falling far behind many other Western countries at the time, like Britain and Germany. When Count Witte became Minister of Finance in 1893, there was desperate need to decrease inflation, improve infrastructure and encourage foreign investment. This essay will discuss how successful he was at introducing policies that addressed these problems. A great success for Witte was the expansion of heavy industry in Russia. He linked industrial growth with a stronger nation politically and economically, and was inspired by the more developed nations in the west. He invited foreign experts from more industrialised countries like Britain, France and Germany to Russia to advise him on modernisation. He realised that he would have to have policies that would allow individual business people to start factories and encourage metalwork. His policies were successful, because industrial growth increased on average by 8% a year between 1890 and 1899, which was the highest...
Words: 1721 - Pages: 7
...Chapter 6 The political situations in both China and Russia before their revolutions were much the same. Both had weak rulers and discontented people. In China, a succession of dynasties had ruled since ancient times. At the beginning of 1909, the Chinese emperor Kuang-Hsu had recently died. He left behind three-year-old nephew PuYi to rule the throne with the baby's father, Prince Chun, as regent. Kuang-Hsu's aunt had great power over the rule of her nephew, and she prevented him from taking measures toward the modernizing that China badly needed. China needed a strong, modern monarch to rule and not a three-year-old. Mother Russia had also hosted an absolute monarchy for centuries. By the 1900's, Nicholas II ruled all of Russia's vast territory. His father, Alexander III, ruled strictly but ended up stirring the kettle of discontent before passing the throne to his son. Nicholas ruled about one hundred years too late. Part of the problem was that he came after a series of rulers also in the wrong time. By the time he inherited the throne, there was little hope for Russia's monarchy. Nicholas II further destroyed that hope through extensive war and political entanglements with religious leaders of the Russian Orthodox Church. He participated in several wars despite the fact that his country could not really handle it. This destroyed the trust the masses of peasants and workers had in him, in the church he controlled, and in the government as a whole. Similarly, in China...
Words: 1254 - Pages: 6
...Topic: The world at the beginning of the 20th century Notes Timeline: 1871: Germany wins the Franco-Prussian war, and takes the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine. 1882: Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy form an alliance called the ‘Triple Alliance’. 1889: ‘The second international’, an international congress meets in Paris. 1898: The Spanish-American war, the Philippines, Guam and Porto-Rico are transferred to the USA. 1899: Boer, settler’s rebel against British rule is South Africa. 1900: The boxer rebellion in China against foreign influence. 1901: President Mc Kindy is assassinated by an anarchist. 1906: The British battleship the dreadnaught is launched, naval race with Germany begins. 1907: The triple Entente is formed between Britain, Russia and France. 1908: A commission uncovers abuses and maltreatment of tribe’s people in the Belgian Congo. 1910: Japan annexes Korea. 1914: 28th June: The heir to the Austro-Hungarian is assassinated. 28th July: Austria bombards Belgrade, with the opening shots of WW1. 4th August: All major European powers at war. Political Ideologies: Socialism: • Developed in the 19th century as a result of industrial revolution. • Based on enlightenment assumptions: 1. Mankind was basically good. 2. Problems of society could be remedied. 3. A gov’t owes a duty to its citizens. • Marxism was the most important form of socialism • Means of producing...
Words: 3057 - Pages: 13
...analysed will be the whole start of the war, which was caused through the nationalism and the militarism. Which only led up to the Assassination of the Archduke. Nationalism, was one of the biggest problems, due to the fact that every country was a nationalistic at that time. The whole nationalism started of in the early 1900, where all the european countries constituted a brutal rivalry and competition. There influences were cause by Germany,Russia, Austria-Hungary, Britain and France they all only wanted...
Words: 1036 - Pages: 5
...The 1905 Revolution in Russia took place under the reign of Nicholas II and was caused by a range of long and short term factors, some of which had a greater impact than others. Reformist groups did have an effect in Russia; however it is debatable whether they were the main cause of the revolution, or whether they were a contributing factor along with other factors such as peasants, the middle class, the urban proletariat and the army/navy. The reformist groups operating in Russia from the years 1881 were the Social Revolutionaries, Social Democrats, Populists and the Liberals (split into the Octoberists and the Kadets). Each of the reformist groups were acting in response to the continuous repressive Tsarist system in which they did not have the right to meet and operate , and were monitored by the Okhrana prior to 1905, however, some parties acted more radically than others. The Social Revolutionaries had the main aim of redistributing land to the peasants. In 1896, they formed the Union of Social Revolutionaries and murdered over 2000 aristocrats and ministers (including the assassination of Minister of the Interior Plehve in 1904) and were supported by the Peasantry. The Social Democrats were a Marxists party which organised strikes in St.Petersburg, in 1900 founded a newspaper called ‘Iskra’ (the Spark), but the two sides of the party meant that they split into the Bolsheviks led by Lenin and the Mensheviks led by Martov in 1903. This split made it difficult for the party...
Words: 1260 - Pages: 6
...the century. The relative decline of British industry and global dominance began in the 1870s along with a shift in gross national investment from domestic markets to overseas, requiring British foreign policy to ensure the naval, military, and financial security of its empire through defensive build-up and diplomacy at the turn of the 20th Century; in response to Britain’s relatively weaker position, German policy became more aggressive in an effort to assert Germany’s new global power status and attract Great Britain to an Anglo-German alliance. Britain’s escape from the revolutionary fervor engulfing continental Europe in 1848 allowed them to focus their interest on economic expansion by colonizing unclaimed lands across the globe. During the economic hardship that precipitated the 1848 uprisings, British tranquility was achieved “at the expense of its colonies,” whose resources (like Australia’s gold) were used to help maintain the empires economic, and therefore domestic, stability....
Words: 2137 - Pages: 9
...many arguments took place on whether Russia should back out of the war or not and who should take the Monarchs place. The Monarchy was replaced by the liberals in the Duma, “they were faced with a republic after all”. (1) The provisional government lead by Alexander Kerensky, decided to carry on fighting in World War One, regrettably to “preserve Russia’s honor” (2). The decision to remain in WW1 was proven to be futile, it cost him both the support of civilians and soldiers. WW1 was the main cause of the revolution in the first place; the public of Russia felt no hope and protests carried on. Conditions worsened and throughout 1917 there was constant procrastination. Russia’s situation after the Tsar had abdicated went from bad to worse. Lenin is an important consequence as he transformed Russia into a communist country. Lenin spent his time from 1900 to 1917 abroad; he had previously been threatened by the Monarchy and thought it was in his best interests to leave Russia. When the provisional government formed, after the abdication of Nicholas II, Lenin saw the opportunity for the Bolsheviks to seize power (the Bolsheviks were a political faction that believed in socialism). Vladimir Lenin was one of the main leaders of the Bolsheviks party. Lenin was accepted by the people of Russia because he argued for two points, the ending of the war and the replacement of the provisional government; by a soviet one. The people of Russia shared Lenin’s discontent; this opened...
Words: 1049 - Pages: 5
...Causes of the First World War This document was written by Stephen Tonge. I am most grateful to have his kind permission to include it on the web site. Europe Before 1914: the Main Powers Triple Entente | Name | Head of State | Allies | Disputes | Britain | King George V (1901-1936) Constitutional Monarchy | France, Russia | Naval arms race economic rivalry with Germany | France | President Raymond Poincaire Parliamentary Democracy | Britain, Russia | Wanted the return of the provinces of Alsace and Lorraine from Germany | Russia | Tsar Nicholas II (1894-1917) Monarchy | Britain, France | Rivals with Austria for control of the Balkans Strained relations with Britain. | Triple Alliance | Germany | Kaiser William II (1888-1918) Constitutional Monarchy | Italy, Austria- Hungary. | Rivals with France over Alsace, Britain over her navy. | Austria- Hungary | Kaiser Franz Joseph (1848-1916) Constitutional Monarchy | Italy, Germany | Rivalry with Russia over the Balkans, Territorial disputes with her ally, Italy | Italy | King Victor Emmanuel III (1900-1946) Constitutional Monarchy | Austria, Germany | Disputes with France in North Africa large Italian communities lived in the Austrian Empire. | The direct cause of WWI was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand at Sarajevo on 28 June 1914. However historians feel that a number of factors contributed to the rivalry between the Great powers that allowed war on such a wide-scale to break out. A major...
Words: 2354 - Pages: 10
...|5 | |Unit A2 1: Option 2, Crown and Parliament in England 1600–1702 The Changing Role and |17 | |Status of Parliament | | | |37 | |Unit A2 1: Option 3, Liberalism and Nationalism 1815–1914 | | |Unit A2 1: Option 4, Nationalism and Unionism in Ireland 1800–1900 |51 | |Unit A2 1: Option 5, The Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000 |67 | Introduction CCEA has developed new GCE specifications for first teaching from September 2008. This scheme of work has been designed to support you in introducing the new specification and was produced by practicing teachers who will be teaching the specification. This A2 Scheme of work provides suggestions for organising and supporting students’ learning activities. It is intended to assist you in developing your own schemes of work and should not be considered as being prescriptive or exhaustive. Please remember that this...
Words: 15150 - Pages: 61
...political problems before the idea of Communism (Beck et.al, pg. 443). Poverty levels skyrocketed during the early 1900s in Russia after being involved in wars such as the Bolshevik Revolution (History.com Staff). Russia was disunified and looked into the idea of Communism after past wars (The Bolshevik Revolution). Russia rose to Communism because of past Russian warfare, an immense backlash of laborers, and its unstable society. Past Russian warfare hurt the country economically and politically. The Bolshevik Revolution was initiated from a revolt against the Tsar Nicholas II government (The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica). Tsar Nicholas II sent 11 million peasants...
Words: 957 - Pages: 4
...pyramid-shaped tower was built, yet scholars still wonder its function and symbolic meaning. Economic Systems: Creation, Expansion, Interaction Evidence of seagoing vessels that carried wood, metals, stone from foreign lands were exchanged with wool. cloth, barley, and vegetable oil. This trade helped boom the economy of Mesopotamia and other nearby countries such as Lebannon, Syria, Egypt, and Anatolia. Unit 2 600 BCE-600 CE Cultures: Development and Interaction The Parthians, a people originally from east of the Caspian Sea, had their threshold of Central Asia and shared customs with the steppe nomads farther to the east which helped foster the Silk Road. Economic Systems: Creation, Expansion, Interaction During the Sasnid Empire, the Silk Road brought many new crops to Mesopotamia. Sasanid farmers pioneered in planting cotton, sugar cane,...
Words: 1929 - Pages: 8
...population were unhappy with their position in the Empire. By 1905, rebellion was inevitable Russia like many of the great super powers had been trying to expand its empire and in doing so Russia came into direct conflict with Japan who also wanted to expand throughout the Far East. Although Russians saw themselves as a far superior military power, they suffered a huge defeat; this led to many Russians questioning the Tsar’s leadership because Nicholas II was advised by Plevhe (Minister of interior) to go to war with Japan in order to heighten patriotic favour and national pride suggesting that Tsar Nicholas was uninterested and unprepared during his reign. Additionally, the defeat made the Tsar look even weaker and therefore encouraged the revolutionaries to act out due to the fact that resources diverted to the war lessened the already limited supply of grain and fuel leading to rising inflation which affected many Russians citizens. However, it could be argued the defeat to Japan worked in the Tsar’s favour because the Russo-Japanese war prolonged the revolution as many of the events of the war took place after the revolution had began. During Nicholas II reign, Russians saw industrialisation and urbanisation occur; nonetheless peasants and workers alike still suffered horrendous living and working conditions which was made worse by the economic downturn in the early 1900’s leading to a lack of jobs and regular income. Although, many worked sixteen hours per day, huge...
Words: 347 - Pages: 2
...opportunity for Germany to go to war. Serbia asked Russia to help in their cause and join them in the fight against Austria Hungry and Germany. By July 30th of that year Russia begins mobilizing their army. Though Russia had at this time largest land army in the world it was poorly led. Tzar Nicholas the leader of Russia portrayed himself as a week leader. He was running the country into the ground. He was a passive leader and didn’t have the strength to make the right decisions at the right time. Russia had a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. The Great War had many causes both short and long term. In Europe in the early 1900’s the major powers were England, France, Germany Russia, and Austria Hungry. All these countries shared a common trait that for thousands of years has brought many empires to the ground, their egos. Each of these countries has an extreme sense of nationalism and imperialism that thrives on the glory of the battle. England in this time had stretched its empire all over the globe. Germany had one of the strongest armies in the world. France believed in “élan”, which was a sense of feeling or being within each Frenchman. Elan was a sort of mystical charm that would encompass the soldier’s nationalism into the battle. This notion of glory and victory had spurred many of the wars that had come across Europe for thousands of years. There were many strategies during WWI. Russia in this time had the largest land army in the world...
Words: 1134 - Pages: 5
...Since they believed themselves to be superior, they saw it as their right as Christians and superior humans to spread their modern and advanced ways with "inferior" races. * 14 Points: A detailed list of war aims presented by President Wilson: 1) Recognition of freedom of the seas 2) An end to the practice of making secret treaties 3) Reduction of national armaments 4) An "impartial adjustment of all colonial claims" 5) Self-determination for the various nationalities within the Austro-Hungarian empire. 6) "A general association of nations..for the purpose of affording mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to great and small states alike" * Alexander Kerensky: 1881-1970 Liberal revolutionary leader during the early stages of the Russian Revolution of 1917; sought development of parliamentary rule, religious freedom * Apollonian vs. Dionysian Apollonian - emphasizes the objective, calm experience of the reasoning mind Dionysian - emphasizes the subjective, passionate experiences of...
Words: 2515 - Pages: 11
