AP+Soviet+Union

=__**Soviet Union**__=

Aim - Karen Cooper
The Soviet Union started a communist revolution. After World War II a division occurred in Europe between the west and the east. The Soviet Union created communist governments using force and politics. The people believed that they had the right to vote to change things but in reality they were not even allowed to dislike communism--seeing as the communist party was the only party allowed. This was because Puppet governments were in place in which the governments just listened to what Soviet Leaders ordered them to do. The economic aim of the Soviet Union was to expand their riches through farming. Joseph Stalin forced peasants to move to collective farms. Like everything else the government owned and controlled these farms. The Soviet Union did all of these things because they believed that the people needed to be equal. Therefore enforcing the idea of communism. A society of shared attributes and equality in class was created. "Every aspect of their lives was dictated by the government. In addition, Soviets were experiencing harsh economic hardships, a technological standstill, and moral degradation" (Collapse). Any new ideas were banned and compressed. It was almost as if the Soviet Union did not wish to progress into innovative and better things. Beliefs were strong and it took nearly eighty years before any change was met.

Works Cited Rogovin, Vadim. "Social Inequality, Bureaucracy and the Betrayal of Socialism in the Soviet Union." //World Socialist Web Site//. Ruhr University. Web. 03 Feb. 2012

"Collapse of the Soviet Union (Overview)." // World History: The Modern Era //. ABC-CLIO, 2012. Web. 3 Feb. 2012.

Audience - Kayla Wright


The audience of the Soviet Union was not only the people living there, but the rest of the world as well. It can be said that "A new atmosphere developed in society. Whereas in earlier periods wealthier citizens were somewhat ashamed of their wealth, now they were proud of it" (Rogovin). "New atmosphere" is what was introduced to the world when the "wealthy" were no longer "ashamed". This is one of the changes that took place in the Soviet Union and ultimately affected it's people or audience. "Most observers agree that the last war of the Soviet Union created or aggravated the internal dynamics that eventually culminated in the dissolution of the country itself" (Savranskaya). "Aggravated" was the emotion felt by what could be the Soviet Union's most important audience, its own people. The "war" caused a lot of disturbance in the "internal dynamics" of the Soviet Union, causing it to be slightly unstable. The audience, or people of the Soviet Union, lived in an unstable environment because of the war that their government was involved in, causing the relations of the Soviet Union and their audience to be on edge.

Works Cited Rogovin, Vadim. "Social Inequality, Bureaucracy and the Betrayal of Socialism in the Soviet Union." World Socialist Web Site. Ruhr University. Web. 03 Feb. 2012.

Savranskaya, Svetlana. "The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan: Russian Documents and Memoirs." The September 11 Sourcebooks. The National Security Archive, 9 October 2011. The George Washington University. Web. 2 February 2012.

Historical - Lauren Rosen
The Soviet Union's history was plagued with various wars until the country's eventual end in the early nineties. The Communist nation has had a history with Afghanistan throughout the 20th century that may have contributed to the fall of the Soviet Union. According to the Library of Congress' country profile of the Soviet Union, "the Soviet Union and Afghanistan signed treaties on neutrality and mutual nonaggression" ("Soviet Union: Afghanistan"). These "treaties" were meant to strengthen the two countries because of their "mutual nonaggression." However, this "mutual nonaggression" did not last long. Beginning in the late seventies up until the fall of the Soviet Union, the country found itself in increasing tensions with Afghanistan. These growing tensions soon turned to war and initiated the end of the country itself. Its long chain of tensions with many countries has marred the history of the country. In fact, "most observers agree that the last war of the Soviet Union created or aggravated the internal dynamics that eventually culminated in the dissolution of the country itself" (Savranskaya). The "last war of the Soviet Union," a conflict with Afghanistan, "aggravated the internal dynamics" of the country. By "aggravating" the way the country functioned, Afghanistan played a large role with the Soviet Union's "dissolution." The "dissolution" of the Soviet Union has had a huge historical impact on the entire world because of the large power that the Soviet Union played in world politics.

Works Cited Savranskaya, Svetlana. "The Soviet Experience in Afghanistan: Russian Documents and Memoirs." //The September 11 Sourcebooks//. The National Security Archive, 9 October 2011. The George Washington University. Web. 2 February 2012.

"Soviet Union: Afghanistan." //Library of Congress Country Studies//. Library of Congress, May 1989. Web. 2 February 2012.

Cultural - Jeanne Torres
The culture in the Soviet Union has changed immensely over the years, but is generally known for its oppressive qualities. The article Fall of the Soviet Union explains that "This state, which was built on a Communist ideology, was eventually transformed into a totalitarian state, in which the Communist leadership had complete control over the country". Essentially the point is that original the culture was aimed to be an "ideology" in which the government did have control, a "Communist" country, but over time it seemed to transform into a completely totalitarian country, meaning that the government had "complete control" over their people. With contrasting words like "ideology" and "control" it becomes apparent that the original goals of the Soviet Union turned to the extreme, immensely effecting the lives of all of the citizens. In The Soviet Era it is developed that there were period of more peaceful living in the Soviet union, "Under the leadership of Nikita Khruschev, political controls were to some degree relaxed, and cultural life experienced a brief period of revival". So although the citizens were not completely free of government involvement in their lives, it was to some extent "relaxed", so the culture's lives have gone through sort of waves of influence.

Works Cited "Fall of The Soviet Union." Cold War Museum. Web. 03 Feb. 2012.

"History & Culture of Russia / Overview." Geographia - World Travel Destinations, Culture and History Guide. Web. 03 Feb. 2012.