II.THE SOVIET UNION

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II. THE SOVIET UNION
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
(USSR) Russian Soyuz Sovetskikh
Sotsialisticheskikh Respublik (CCCP)              
                                                  
                        
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A. USSR
In 1917, the Russian Empire collapsed and civil
war broke out
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      After the
civil war ended in 1922, Russia was renamed the
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
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II. THE SOVIET UNION
                                                
                                         The
USSR was founded with four republics
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II. THE SOVIET UNION
When it dissolved in 1991, it became a
confederation of 15 republics that are now
independent countries
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      The
Bolsheviks, led by V. I. Lenin, wanted to remake
Russia following the ideas of Karl Marx
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      Karl Marx
was a 19th century German philosopher
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      Marx
argued that business leaders kept workers poor to
maintain power and wealth
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      Lenin and
the Bolsheviks took control of all the farms and
factories
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      The Soviet
Union was a one-party, totalitarian state
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A. USSR

•                                                   
                                       
• Economic and political decisions were made by
  Communist leaders in Moscow

The Kremlin in Moscow
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      After
Lenins death in 1924, leadership of the Soviet
Union fell into the hands of a brutal dictator
named Joseph Stalin
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A. USSR
                                                  
                                      Stalin
promoted a single Russian culture and other
ethnic groups were suppressed
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(No Transcript)
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                                      The USSR
land area was enormous
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B. Soviet economic geography
Stalin established goals based on a series of
5-year plans
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                      The government decided what
crops would be grown
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                         What and where
industries would be built
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B. Soviet economic geography

•                                                   
                          
• How much workers would be paid

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B. Soviet economic geography
Almost all the farmland in the Soviet Union came
under government control
'Komsomol Members (Soviet Youth)  - Go into the
front ranks of the Bolshevik Shock Brigade for
sowing'. (1930)
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B. Soviet economic geography

• Food production was inadequate and production
  fell - millions died from starvation

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B. Soviet economic geography

•                                                   
                                
• Stalins collectivization drive 192933 wrecked
  a flourishing agricultural system and alienated
  the Soviet peasants from the land 15 million
  people were left homeless - 1 million were sent
  to labour camps and some 12 million deported to
  Siberia. In subsequent years, millions of the
  peasants forced into collectives died.

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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                                    Under the
five-year plans, dramatic industrial growth took
place
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B. Soviet economic geography
Mines were developed
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                                      Dams were
built
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                                     
Heavy industries appeared in many cities
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                                    The Soviet
Union became a world leader in industry, but the
quality of their products was often low.
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B. Soviet economic geography
                                                  
                                    The
government ignored the impact of pollution on
people and the environment
Children w/o limbs born 1985 to 1990 in Moscow.
Most research points to environmental
contamination as a cause
Local streams, lakes and ponds are biologically
dead
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Forest are being destroyed by pollution from a
nickel plant. Trees, even dozens of miles away,
die of acid rain and thus are susceptible to
forest fires
Children of suburban Baku use the pools of runoff
from dilapidated and leaky oil pumps as
substitutes for missing playgrounds
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
Life in the USSR was dismal
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
Working conditions were poor
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
There were limited food supplies
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
There were long lines to buy everyday products
McDonald's in Moscow (1990) Here, people line the
streets waiting to eat at the Moscow McDonalds.
The fast-food chain served a record 30,000 people
on opening day.
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
Housing was limited and cramped
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
Personal freedoms like speech and religion were
denied
'The Tractor is in the field it is the end of
the will of God' - 1930 
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C. Life in the Soviet Union
Many people believed that such sacrifices were
necessary to build the Communist ideal
A propaganda poster of 1934.   It is titled
'Peasants can live like a Human Being'. It is
promising people the following - enough to eat
- adequate clothing - the latest consumer
goods - electricity - education - happiness
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D. The Cold War
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D. The Cold War
After World War II, the Soviet Union and the
United States became enemies
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D. The Cold War
Competition between the two superpowers became
known as the Cold War
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D. The Cold War
For 40 years, the rivalry created a potential
for global destruction through nuclear war
M.A.D.
"I know not with what weapons World War III will
be fought, but World War IV will be fought with
sticks and stones." -Albert Einstein