Mikhail Gorbachev and the Collapse of Communism

Mikhail Gorbachev was the Soviet Communist leader who followed and pursued his own ideas. He followed his own ideas and demonstrated what a real government should be while straying away from Stalin’s ideas. Russia's history was ran by totalitarian rulers. Gorbachev represented a turning point because he didn't follow this way of government. The collapse started with Mikhail Gorbachev's policies of glasnost and perestroika. Glasnost is the declared public policy within the Soviet Union of openly and frankly discussing economic and political realities. Perestroika was an economic and political reform in the USSR which occurred during the Russian Revolution. These policies tried to open up and reform the old fashioned system of communism. In 1985 he announced a glasnost; this marked a turning point and brought many changes. The government allowed churches to open, he allowed books to be published by previously banned authors and freedom of the press rised. He encouraged Soviet citizens to discuss ways to improve their society. By opening the Soviet Union to other countries, Mikhail lessened the power of the Communist Party over the country. The political system slowly changed to something closer to a Democratic system, and the Communist Party lost control. Perestroika was another policy Gorbachev brought to the Russian economy. This policy allowed people to own their own small businesses which weren't owned buy the government. This made the economy more efficient and productive. He also introduced democratization, this allowed people to elect their own national leader through a list of candidates. Mikhail Gorbachev was one of the first leaders who slowly strayed away from communism. He opened up the economy, achieved his goals and allowed for positive change in Russia.

The Collapse of Communism

The collapse of communism was a result of the end to the cold war. After Stalin became leader nobody really believed in communism. Stalin made a bad decision and the "Class War" was declared. Many peasants were heavily affected and they were struggling to survive. The Soviet economy was declining and so the power of the armed forces was decreasing. Russians did not have enough money to support other allied communism countries. The economy of communist countries such as Cuba and USSR began to collapse. The waste of money on military and oppressive government could not hold up the economy. By the 1990s Russia collapsed. The Berlin Wall was the gigantic wall structure that separated East Germany from West Germany. It was a political boundary between USSR and US. East Germany was part of the Warsaw Pact, and West Germany was part of the NATO. Anyone who tried to cross the wall was shot and killed. After 30 years the Berlin wall was torn down by East and Western Germany once divided by communism and democracy. They were now joined together and formed social and economic ties. The wall was torn down because people began to want to travel. Roads were being built, but the people became tired and attacked the wall and destroyed it.
Communism was supposed to be an equal share of everything but instead people became very poor, this decreased the popularity of communism. After the fall of Communism the Soviets had to start all over again. Communism weighed down the USSR, and its collapse made the United States one of the biggest powers in the world. In 1991 the Soviet Union split up to many different countries. The Soviet red hammer flag was replaced with the original flag that was made up of three stripes .It became a Democratic Nation as well as all of the other parts that split up.

Nelson Mandela and Aparthied

Apartheid was a racial-segregation policy. This policy did not give any rights to the black, mixed or Indian population of Africa. It ran from 1948 to 1994. Nelson Mandela was a man who wanted to abolish the apartheid, and was tired of apartheid policy. He wanted the liberation of Africans and minorities in Africa so he fought for Africa to gain unity and liberty. He also fought many violent acts to gain freedom in South Africa. His struggles for freedom, lead him to jail which gave him more popularity and lead him to presidency in Africa. He was charged with treason for speaking out against Apartheid He was a good president whose 27 years spent in prison allowed him to become stronger and wiser creating journals and books of ideas for his people and the road to independence. He used civil disobedience, gained trust of his people and was elected to be the president of South Africa. South Africa had more population of African American people, and they supported Nelsons ideas. His ideas of "civil disobedience" were inspired by Ghandi and used by Martin Luther King Jr. and other leaders such as AL Sharpton. His mission was to free the "oppressed and the oppressor". He didn’t give up serving for his country even after being punished for 27 years He was a hero because he used peaceful means to achieve his goals for his country. He fought many violent acts to gain freedom in South Africa. He was a great leader that Promoted and supported civil disobedience and the eliminating of people getting physical or killied by others as a way to prove their point. All his struggles awarded him the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993.

African Independence

African Independence was a period when African colonies gained there independence from the European countries. There were many changes in Africa from 1955- 1975. During the mid 1950's the continent of Africa was being ruled by European countries. The Europeans wanted there natural resources that were stored in Africa. After 20 years Africa was a whole different continent. The Africans began to study and become more educated. Many young men were enrolling in collage and a steady middle class began to emerge. They made the negritude movement, celebrating all Africans. It was a movement to celebrate there culture, heritage, and values. This movement viewed the black experience as unique. People were sparked by outsiders to make sure Europeans were wiped out of Africa.


One African leader who really made a difference was Kwame Nkrumah. He was the leader of their largely nonviolent protests. He studied in the United States and went to the University of Pennsylvania. He often held boycotts, strikes and the Gold Coast took the name of Ghana. The Gold Coast allowed more Africans to be nominated to the Legislative Council. Nkrumah also began to develop economic projects to help make Africa more advanced. It was the first nation to be governed by Africans. His hard word and effort was very successful. Other leaders included Leopold Senghor, he was a poet and a politician. Through his poetry he was able to support African traditions and emphasized the need for Africa to separate from Europe. He later on became president of Africa. The Africans were regaining power of Africa. Other African leaders included, Marcus Garvey, who being Jamaican focused on having Africans rise to full power of Africa. Jomo Kenyatta was another African leader, who studied and educated himself in London. He worked hard to unite the various ethnic and language groups in the country. He was a nationalist who led the African people toward independence. Then came the rise of the Mau Mau This was a secret society made up of Kikuyu farmers .The Mau Mau’s aim was to frighten the white farmers into leaving there territory. These important leaders made Africa what it is today.

Film Lesson "The Right Stuff"

The film lesson "The Right stuff" was based on the history of the United States and the Soviet Union during the “Space Race”. They completed each other to see who would develop the first rocket ship to make it to space. "The Right Stuff" was about the test pilots who are the astronauts and there first attempts in the United States at spaceflight. When Russia sent the first satellite into space, America was infuriated. We wanted to win this race and by them putting the first satellite they looked better than us. The United States needed something more powerful, but putting a person in space was to risky, so instead we decided to send out a monkey into space. Russia decided to take the risk and send a person. In the beginning The Russians were winning the competition because, there were 3 different activities. Russia was the first one to complete 2 activities than the Americans. They launched the first satellite and the rocket. At the end we won the space race because we were able to send the first man to the moon. Russia was a communist country and the United States was Capitalist. Some scenes that will help me remember the cold war event was when Russia and the U.S were competing against each other and when the U.S broke the record of the sound barrier. This scene was important because it showed the frustration of the US trying to break the sound barrier, and also our reaction when we were able to actually break it. They didn’t want the press to write a report on it so that the Russians wouldn’t get ahead of them. Another Scene was when the US wanted to be the first ones to go to space and they got seven of the best pilots to go to space. In order for them to go to space they had to be strong, smart, and healthy. This scene was painful and horrifying because they had to do a lot of events and experiments to see if they were good enough to be astronauts. From all the people that tried out only seven people were able to complete the examination.

NATO and Warsaw Pact

The NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) was established April, 4, 1949. It was an agreement which involved 12 nations, that included the United States and the United Kingdom. The NATO was established with the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty. It was basically a defensive system of alliance for some European countries and North America.
The system was used as defense against the soviets and other countries, stating that if any country in the NATO, had to go to war, the other countries of the NATO would come to their aid. The NATO became very important to the U.S, the Soviets expanded in territory and spread communism. To counter the NATO alliance of its enemies, the Soviet Union created an alliance between itself and its satellite countries. Satellite Countries were bordering countries around Russia. They were a method of protection for the Soviets.

The Warsaw Pact was an organization of communist states in Central and Eastern Europe. The treaty was signed in Warsaw, Poland on May 14, 1955. The treaty was a direct response to West Germany joining the NATO in 1955. The Warsaw Pact was formed as communist military alliance to maintain power over Eastern Europe.
NATO said they would not support any country who signed the Warsaw Pact. With these two alliances, both sides where prepared for war, and tension between them continued to grow. The Soviets kept military in their other countries, this was the Soviets first attempt to strengthen themselves after the war.In 1956, the Soviet Union attacked Czechoslovakia and took military action against Hungary. Both of these countries were members of the Warsaw Pact.

Film Lesson: Schindlers List

"Schindler's List" is a 1993 black and white film directed by Steven Spielberg. This Hollywood version of the holocaust is a true story about a man named Oscar Schindler who saved thousands of lives. He was a business man at the time that employed more then a thousand Jews who slave worked in his factory. By doing this he saved all of his employee’s l from getting killed. He didn’t have to pay them due to the fact that they were Jews. This film was different from the documentary because it was acted out but it still showed us what really happened to the Jews. Many were held in concentration camps where they were tortured, experimented on, killed, and buried in mass graves or cremated in ovens.

The most powerful scenes in the movie were when the families got to Auschwitz and were separated. This scene was the most powerful in the movie, because females and males were separated. Mothers and sons were separated and never to be seen together again because they would have to go there separate ways in the camp. Kids would be taken away from parents and would be killed in other camps. The strong and healthy people survived because they would be able to work and help out, while the weak were killed and thrown away because they were no use and wouldn’t be able to work. Little kids were also killed because they were too young and weren’t able to work. Another scene that shocked me was the way children were killed. They would hide in any place in order to survive. They were terrified of dyeing and being separated from there families. There was a shocking seen through out the movie that showed a little girl in a red dress that was lost from her mother. She ends up in a wheelbarrow with other dead children. Some images that will stay with me are the dead bodies laying on the ground and the kids being killed. It is cruel to see little innocent kids die for something that they shouldn’t be blamed for. These horrifying and terrible scenes are the ones that touched me the most.

Film Lesson : Night and Fog

While watching the documentary film, “Night and Fog” I was shocked and terrified by the brutal and horrifying scenes of the movie. This documentary showed us how the prisoners of World War two were treated during the time of the Holocaust. I found the film very horrible because it showed the discrimination towards Jews and how they were treated .It was shocking to see how much hate and power people had over Jews that they would kill billions and make them work and starve. It was very powerful, because it was really devastating to see people dying from starvation, and suffering from pain for something that they didn’t cause. There were horrible living conditions in the camps. They would put all the Jews in a room that would release gas and would kill thousands. This film was also very impactful because it showed the skeleton bodies, piles of hair, and crematory ovens were millions were killed. There were a lot of dead bodies, cruelty, and unfairness that showed how much pain the Jews had to live with. This film gave us a better understanding of the Holocaust and all the suffering the Jews went through. It showed us the jorney people went throught from begining to end. The Hollywood movie,”Schindlers List” got its point across and showed us how the discrimination towards Jews was but it wasn’t as deep in detail as the documentary was. There were more effective and brutal scenes.

The Treaty of Versailles

After WWI, Europe was left in bad conditions and Germany was blamed for the whole war. Most of Germany's territory was taken from them, and all of their land overseas was lost. The League of Nations took control of all their colonies. The war cost them nearly 10 percent of their land and their overseas colonies, were taken away by allies, who blamed Germany for their losses. On June 28, 1919, the Treaty of Versailles was signed. The treaty of Versailles was an official peace treaty which officially ended the war. It was signed exactly 5 years after the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, which was the same reason why the war started in the first place. The Treaty put all the blame on Germany for the causes of the war. Germany was responsible for paying the damages that the war had caused. Life for the German people became very difficult after the Treaty of Versailles. The treaty also took control of Germany’s military. Their armies reduced 100,000 men and were now allowed to only have 6 ships. The German army and navy were limited and bans where put on the use of heavy artillery, tanks, and aircrafts. A major result of the treaty was terrible hardships in Germany, they wanted to get revenge. German people felt let down and angry with the treaty of Versailles because it wasn’t fair. They believed that if they had a strong leader Germany would become better.

I don’t think that the treaty of Versailles was fair because all the blame was put on Germany. They had to pay all the consequences due to the war. This ruined Germany's economy. The Treaty of Versailles was a treaty made without thought of fairness or consideration as to what its effects might be. Instead the treaty created an alien system of democracy. Some historians say that the treaty of Versailles led to the rise of Fascism and Adolf Hitler. The Treaty gave Germany many hardships and it lead to the great depression in Germany. Many people lost their jobs and starved. The country was becoming worse and people were desperate for a new ruler that would bring there country back up. Adolf Hitler was able to take control. He blamed outsiders for causing problems in the nation and attempted to over throw Germany’s government. He talked in a way that impressed and convinced the German people. He had absolute power over the entire country.

Mustafa Kemal and the Modernazation of Turkey

Mustafa Kemal was the founder of the Turkish Republic and a great leader in history. His main goal was to modernize Turkish life. He wanted them to have a new source of dignity, equality, and happiness. He came up with the "Six Arrows," which were six fundamentals. These six fundamentals consisted of Republicanism, Populism, Secularism, Reformism, Nationalism, and Sadism. Mustafa Kemal, modernized Turkey by first getting rid of the Ottoman dynasty. This made a huge turning point, since the Ottoman dynasty lasted more than six centuries. He then created the republic of Turkey, in 1923. There he was president for 15 years.

He introduced many reforms to his country like politics, and economical aspects. Transformation took place in the urban and rural life. He created a secular system in which the Moslem majority and the small Christian and Jewish minorities were free to practice their faith and what they believed in. He wanted freedom and equality for all, not depending what religion they were involved in. “The true owner and master of Turkey is the peasant who is the real producer." He believed that the true rulers of Turkey were the peasants who were neglected for many years. Economic and technological developments were a great deal of moderation in Turkey. Secular are things that did not regard or connect with religion, spiritual or scared. He did this by the separation of religion from educational, cultural and legal affairs.

Kemal was able to create a secular government and secular education. He believed that all the people were supposed to dress and live like the Europeans. He changed the way people dressed. People stopped wearing their religious clothing and began to wear more modern clothes. Under his control, the country became better, and more equal. Kemal achieved his goal of Modernizing Turkey in every aspects of life.

Film Lesson "Ghandi"

Gandhi was a hard working and influential person in India who fought for there freedom and independence. He was a lawyer who fought against the racial problems towards the Indians. India wasn't an independent country and at the time was controlled by the British. He wanted to unit people from all religions like Muslim and Hindu. He knew that if he united all religions they would become a strong force and it would be easier to defeat the British. The British had good tactics that could easily defeat them if they weren’t united.

Gandhi had moved to South Africa, where he was a victim of discrimination and unfair laws. He was in 1st class and they told him to move to 3rd class because he was Indian. He refused and was kicked out. The massacre at Amritsar was the act which brought the independence soul from Gandhi. Gandhi was known for fighting using civil disobediences. He taught his people that violence wasn’t going to solve anything. He told the Indians to stop buying goods from the British which would weaken the British government. He made his own clothes and so did his followers.
During the Amritsar Massacre the British were very violent but Gandhi supported peace. So that violence would stop he went on a hunger strike while in prison. He was put into jail many times for his opinion but he came out stronger and more determine to accomplish his goals. Gandhi helped the people protest against British rule and the Salt March on 1930. They were now going to make there own salt so that they wouldn’t have to relay on the British. Gandhi along with hundered men walked 200 miles to the edge of India to the sea and made salt.

In 1947, India won its freedom from Britain. At the end Gandhi was assassinated by an Indian who did not support the idea about Muslims and Hindus living together. Gandhi’s acts of civil disobedience influenced many civil leaders in America like Martin Luther King. In my opinion I believe that India would have reached its freedom due to WWII effect on Britain's power. But Gandhi’s act of civil disobedience was a great way of achieving its independence by using non-violence.

The Russian Revolution

The Russian Revolution started in 1917 and ended in 1918. It was the first time a nation adopted communism as its political and economic system. The Russian people were tired of fighting and dying during WW I. As a result it had weakened there government and economy. World War I created conditions in Russia that helped trigger a revolution. The effects of the revolution were changing the nature of society in the Russian Empire. The Russians weren’t satisfied and were dejected so they decided to have a revolution. A major problem of the October and November revolution was that they were starving and loosing the battle. Czar Nicholas II brought Russia to World War I. As time went by people started to dislike him and wanted him out of there territory. The negative aspects of the revolution were food shortages, population decrease, and peasants had very high population. Workers and peasants revolted against the landlords and factory owners. The people from Russia were tired of there government and wanted a new one. Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks was inspired by Carl Marx and his belief in communism. He was able to spread it through out Russia. The people were now embraced with the ideas of communism. He encouraged a revolt against landlords and factory owners. One thing that he and the Bolshevik party came up with was "Peace, Land and Bread”. He was a great leader that promised them these things. There were two revolutions the October and November revolutions. The February revolution was when the Russian people removed Czar Nicholas II. The October revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin whose ideas were similar to Karl Marxs. Lenin was able to spread the ideas of communism. Communism was able to last in Russia from 1917 - 1989. The Soviet Union was established; they got rid of the Democratic system, and set up dictatorship in the country.

Causes of WWI

World War I also known as the Great War was from 1914-1918.Causes of World War I were nationalism, Militarism, the Assassination of Frans Ferdinand and the collapse of the alliance system. A major cause of this war was the assassination of Ferdinand in Austria on 1914. He was killed by a Serbian Nationalist. Germany pledged its support to Austria-Hungary, pressuring them to declare war on Serbia. Nationalism on the other hand caused competition among the nations. It turned Frenchman against German and Russian against Austrian. Countries tried to prove their nationalism superior to other countries. This quickened the pace that the war took to develop. They had strong speeches and writings about there pride towards there country. Another strong reason as to why the Great War started was because of Imperialism. Great Britain, Germany and France needed markets after the increase in manufacturing caused by the Industrial Revolution. They competed for economic expansion in Africa. This caused the falling of the Ottoman Empire to Austria-Hungary and Russia. Another reason that started the War was the Alliance, which led to the immediate result of the War. Their were two alliances, they were the triple alliance and the triple entente. The triple alliance consisted of the countries of, Italy, Germany, Austria and Hungary. The triple entente was Russia, France, and Britain. Each country was improving in their military system. They demanded more power for their country. Germany was the strongest country with one of the best military. Each Country prepeared there army to win.