Europeans think Russians are Orientals

Asians think Russia is European

The historical stage lasts the longest and plays the most critical role in the entire history of Russia.

Vikings

The mixed force of Vikings and East Slavs quickly defeated the surrounding East Slavic tribes and greatly increased the territory

Kievan Rus trade facilitation

Deeper features

At first, the Vikings and East Slavs believed in primitive polytheism.

Not only does it make it difficult for the entire country to truly unify, but tribes may also be hostile to each other because of their different beliefs in gods.

Orthodox Christianity, like Catholicism, is a monotheistic religion

More promotion of group consciousness, more emphasis on self-sacrifice and patience, and emphasis on dedication

When I accepted Orthodox Christianity, the doctrines and rituals had already developed to a very complete level.

With complete religion, coupled with the characteristics of political structure, religion and securities, society will grow together seamlessly.

result

Messiah

universalism

double headed eagle

economy

military

internal structural issues

country's inheritance system

The biggest lesson from the destruction of Kievan Rus is that its centralized power is not enough

Visionary, very pragmatic, even to the point of using any means necessary

Holding the emperor hostage to order the princes

Unify taxes in all principalities for Mongolia

The main means of expansion is not war, but spending money

Expansion actually achieves two things to the extreme

The Mongol rulers still regarded him as a reliable ruling tool, but in fact, Mongol rule became more and more like an empty shell.

As the territory expanded, it became the most powerful one in the principality.

Kievan Rus’ ruled for more than 400 years and Mongolia ruled for more than 200 years

The influence of Mongol rule on Russia is certainly far greater than that on China

early russian historian

Completely missed the European Renaissance

Russia's social values ​​are even more different from those in Europe. Great changes have taken place in legal concepts, legal systems and political structures.

Far away from Europe and at the same time closer to Asia

etiquette

land rights

Mongolian model is best for war

strange phenomena in history

great tyrant

The background of the times

The true shape of the Tsarist Empire was when he became Tsar

Effectively suppressed the two major forces of the nobility and the church.

Military Service Act for Nobles

The mechanism whereby the Tsar had the highest authority over the country's land was truly established in Russia

In Russia, the church has a very high status, but it is completely subordinate to the tsar, and there is no power struggle.

Whether the theoretical basis can be implemented depends on the actual competition.

Hundred Chapters Meeting

Take Siberia easily

Good timing

Russia's weapons are advanced

While centralizing power, Ivan the Terrible also opened up foreign trade.

Trade emphasis

Through preferential treatment and privileges, we must not only increase trade, but more importantly, purchase guns from the UK through trade relations, including technology for manufacturing guns, mining, and smelting.

Cossack is a social identity

Deep analysis

Using the Cossacks to annex Siberia is no longer as simple as using force, but also reflects Russia's shrewd considerations in terms of expansion methods and expansion costs.

Siberia brought very objective benefits of precious animal furs to Russia at that time

In the mid-17th century, the Russian government's annual government revenue was 1.9 million rubles, and the tax revenue from the fur trade reached 600,000 rupees.

Asian attributes have undoubtedly been strengthened

The changes can be summarized as, Westernization

Move the capital from Moscow to St. Petersburg

Personal likes and dislikes

Change also has very practical considerations

Once progress is started, it cannot be just in the fields of military and finance. It will basically be an all-round change.

The instrumental component of Peter I's reforms was very moderate.

Changes turn Eurasian duality into acute cultural clash

Examples of violent conflicts

The fierce conflict was not only at the political level at the time, but also went deep into the wider social and cultural level.

Peter I’s reforms made the country rich and powerful

Pugachev argued

The uprising was not as simple as serfs resisting oppression, but also opposing Westernization and bringing Russia back to its tradition.

Peter gave the Russians a body, but Catherine gave them a soul.

measure

Completely adhere to the political tradition starting from the Grand Duchy of Moscow and maintain a high degree of centralization

Starting from the revolution of Peter I, Russia was clearly swinging toward the west. By Catherine, this westward swing reached its culmination, and then it would return to its traditions again.

Russian winter

Russian tenacity

The core of strategy is to maximize one's own advantages while limiting the opponent's advantages.

Two key decisions of Alexander I

Russia’s two fundamental advantages

In fact, this war was raised to the level of nation and belief, and it was considered a victory for the entire nation and religious belief.

For Russia, the most intuitive consequence of this war was that Russia’s military and political influence penetrated deeply into Europe for the first time.

The victory of the Anti-Napoleonic War made Russia from a peripheral country in Europe to the protagonist of European politics, reaching a position unprecedented in history.

Russia's own development path has moved further away from Europe

Changes after Alexander I's victory

holy alliance

The young officers stationed in France realized the autocracy and backwardness of Tsarist Russia

The victory over Napoleon lasted for more than 30 years until the middle of the 19th century. It was Russia's peak period for more than a thousand years.

Russia's peak is not reflected in its strength, but in its influence, or its power in international politics

After the victory of the Anti-Napoleonic War, the entire European continent restored a conservative international political order, and Russia was the supervisor of this order. It had the right to suppress any problems that arose.

The Soviet Union did not do this even at its peak

The peak moment of the European Gendarmerie was 1848

Calculation is not the main feature of Russian diplomacy

The biggest characteristic of Tsarist Russia in diplomacy was that it was very good at creating and exploiting the fear of its opponents.

marx

At the peak of Tsarist Russia, it looked extremely powerful on the outside. In fact, the country became more and more conservative and closed. Its peak was also a period of stagnation.

The most common explanation: Russia’s isolation and backwardness

Russia's backwardness was not the main reason for its defeat

The general trend forces it to admit defeat

Russia has greatly overdrawn its advantages

Russia only sees its pinnacle status, not this isolation

Russian society soon entered a so-called period of great change

The social structure began to undergo major changes

invisible changes in social thought

two opposing ideological camps

The conflict, tearing and mutation of these two groups basically dominated the subsequent development and changes of Russian social thought.

The Tsar has always had supreme authority, and the people are unconditionally loyal to him and cannot challenge it.

Strange phenomena in Russian domestic politics

Alexander II was assassinated with a bomb by funders on the streets of St. Petersburg

Slavism is aimed at Russia and emphasizes returning to tradition

Pan-Slavism Targeted Abroad

From an external perspective, the failure of the Crimean War only changed the direction of Russian expansion.

Conquering Central Asia is of great strategic significance

The disastrous defeat in the Crimean War stimulated Russia

The decline of the Qing Dynasty in the mid-to-late 19th century

The gap between East and West under the industrial revolution

three o'clock

The conquest of Central Asia is inseparable from the brutal and bloody brutality of Tsarist Russia

In the eyes of the decision-makers of the Qing government

Use the help of Britain and France to increase pressure on the Qing government

Acting as a protector in front of the Qing government

In addition to directly taking away large areas of territory from the late Qing government, there is another way of aggression, which is to gradually reduce some areas to its sphere of influence through capital and military penetration, and then annex them when the time is right.

led to the revolution in Russia

More than half a century of eastward expansion was blocked, and the strategic focus shifted back to Europe.

The simplest explanation is institutional reasons

The two things that are generally believed to be the most fatal to the Russian army

Dig deeper into the reasons

When there is no essential distance at the execution level, the quality of strategic thinking is decisive.

In Russian history and cultural tradition, defeat and revolution have a considerable connection

marx

Here we focus on why it’s important, not why it broke out

During the revolution of 1905, organizations such as trade unions had already played the role of government in many places. The police chief of Petersburg directly called them the second government.

The revolution of 1905 fundamentally shaken the entire tsarist autocratic system that had lasted for hundreds of years.

Transformation of ordinary people

In the eyes of the elite, Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War fully demonstrated the country's backwardness.

Consensus of all parties: Tsarist autocracy cannot continue

The most important features of the 1905 revolution

The actual implementation did not take long, but the results were indeed very significant.

Comments on Stolypin

The focus is on rural transformation

The traditional economy of the Russian countryside

measure

common explanation

fundamental problem

Had it not been for World War I, Russia’s internal conflicts would not have developed to the point where revolution was necessary.

During World War I, the competition between the great powers became more and more rigid, and they all formed alliances. The participation of any country in the war would cause its allies to automatically join the war.

When the crisis got out of control in 1914, a chain reaction occurred in this alliance system, which is why the major powers started an all-out war.

The outbreak of war at this time would be very detrimental to Russia

politically disadvantageous

military perspective

Russia chose the Balkans as the focus of its expansion

In this way, Russia and the Austro-Hungarian Empire, which also paid attention to the Balkans, once again came to the fore, and defeating the Austro-Hungarian Empire became increasingly attractive to Russian decision-makers.

After the Russo-Japanese War, the influence of Slavicism expanded rapidly, and many people even advocated returning to the path before the Westernization reforms of Peter I.

The fundamental reason why Russia took the initiative in participating in the war was not because it was belligerent or because it misjudged the situation, but because it was too weak politically and could no longer act according to normal logic.

It can be said that there is a qualitative gap between the Russian army and its opponent, the German army.

in war

Incomparable to Germany

Russia conscripted a large number of skilled workers from industrial enterprises into the army, causing a sudden decline in military production. The situation in agriculture was similar.

Of the 15.8 million troops, 66% are farmers

The shortfall in military rations reaches 60~70%

Simply put, the state machine of Tsarist Russia was simply unable to cope with an extreme test like World War I, and the entire machine basically failed later on.

When the center of power that controls everything actually fails to function, it becomes the focus of all contradictions in Russia.

By the fourth year of World War I (1917), the fall of the Tsar and the revolution had become almost everyone's expectation

The entire February Revolution was successful in just 9 days.

interesting facts

The tsarist regime can be said to have been overthrown by revolution, but it can also be said to have collapsed on its own in the revolutionary wave.

This revolution was actually a great loss of control of social order.

anarchist ideology

It has a lot to do with the Russian Orthodox faith, rural communes, collective economic traditions, etc., and its roots are particularly deep.

Russia has long been in a state of contradiction

After the February Revolution, the Bolsheviks had just been allowed to operate openly, with a total of 23,000 party members

Until the October Revolution, the Bolsheviks did not really have their own army

In the party competition, the Bolsheviks were initially in a clear minority

The guidance of Marxist theory

The Bolshevik Party's resolute fighting will and strong organizational ability

Lenin, as the leader of the October Revolution, played a particularly key role in it

All activities are centered around this goal and are competing for time

peace, land, bread and freedom

Full name: Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

The Soviet was originally an organizational form, mainly composed of directly elected representatives of workers and farmers. Later, it was recorded as directly elected representatives of the army.

Soviet

provisional government

Neither of these two parts can command the other, they are equivalent to the two main bodies of power in Russian politics.

He has always insisted that all political power should belong to the Soviets, not to the Bolsheviks.

Incorporate these areas directly into Soviet Russia and restore the practices of Tsarist Russia

Lenin: Let these places form a large federal state on an equal footing with Soviet Russia

It was in line with the actual conditions at the time, and was also an attempt to solve the original ethnic issues in Tsarist Russia.

Other federal countries generally do not have such a provision: republics that join the Soviet Union have the right to freely withdraw from the union.

The structure of a federal country is relatively loose

Naming federal subjects after ethnic names may strengthen the local ethnic group’s sense of independent national identity.

There are also problems with subsequent steps

Especially on the issue of cadre training and appointment

Requests that the named nation hold key leadership positions in its republic

At the beginning of the first five-year plan, it accounted for less than 4% of the world's total industry

After the completion of the second five-year plan, this ratio reached 13.7%, ranking second in the world, second only to the United States.

A highly centralized power center to forcefully promote

People will be asked to be patient for the country

This was so important for Soviet industrialization

Germany's help came first

The United States helped the Soviet Union the most in its industrialization

In the year when the Soviet Union's First Five-Year Plan was proposed, an economic crisis broke out in the world's capitalist countries and there was a massive surplus of industrial equipment.

Stalin

Charge high taxes on farmers and require agriculture and rural areas to make sacrifices for industrialization

Farmers' enthusiasm is frustrated, and agriculture is in a long-term slump

Mine it yourself

Foreign guests store

Insufficient answer

Shortly after the victory of World War II, the Cold War broke out. The United States did not mention it, and the Soviet Union did not mention it.

The most important thing in this war is machines, and the United States is a machine-making country.

If we didn't have the machines we got through Lend-Lease, we would have lost the war

The total strength of the Soviet army before the war was 5.4 million. During the 12 days of the German offensive, the losses reached 600,000.

In half a year, the Soviet army lost more than 5 million people, accounting for 90% of its pre-war total strength, including 3 million prisoners.

The disastrous defeat at the beginning of the war showed that the Soviet army's combat capabilities were not on the same level as the German army at that time.

Find a war logic that can maximize your own advantages, and then impose this logic on your opponent

Forcing the German army to fight with themselves

provoked by the United States

provoked by the Soviet Union

The mistrust between the United States and the Soviet Union was deeply rooted, and a series of miscalculations and interactions between the two sides led to

An important reason for the outbreak of the Cold War was the need

World Pattern Issues

The Soviet Union had the most powerful army in the world at the time, and its overall military strength was second only to the United States.

The war also caused huge losses to the Soviet Union

Molotov: If capitalist countries want to reach an agreement with us, they must distinguish their spheres of influence

The concept of spheres of influence is very important and is a key point in understanding Soviet postwar policy.

This war is different from previous wars. Whoever liberates territory will implement their own social system wherever their troops go. It couldn't be otherwise.

Through this highly ideological confrontation, we will eliminate the influence of communism and other leftist ideas in the country.

World War II was the most severe test that the Soviet Union experienced, but the domestic social environment was relatively relaxed during the war.

The war brought about an unprecedented movement of people

Facing the various domestic impacts brought about by the war, the Soviet Union also needed to conduct an internal purge to eliminate potential risks.

sharp ideological opposition

Distinct geopolitical rivalry

An arms race of unprecedented scale

It’s definitely not something that can be analyzed by simple logic like who loses, who wins, or who gives in first.

Big countries can no longer easily threaten each other with force.

Both serves demonstrate very strong game control capabilities.

In order to ensure that the cold war between the two sides does not turn into a hot war

structural imbalance

low efficiency

The direct military accounted for 12% of the Soviet Union's GDP initially, and it could reach 60% indirectly.

"War and Change in World Politics"

After disintegration, he joined the Group of Seven Western Leaders.

Russia has never belonged to the West

In terms of real interests, the Soviet Union no longer exists, so why does the West still spend money and effort to help Russia?

After the disintegration, privatization and transformation were chosen, but this process was very hasty.

major issues

Not the West, not the East, just itself

Russia cannot become another United States or Britain. These countries have a deep historical tradition of liberal values.

Russia is different, it has its own political tradition