Cultural Tensions of Russia and the Eurasian Republics

​Cultural Tensions of Russia and the Eurasian Republics

​Objectives/Goals

• Identify the different cultural groups that live within Russia and the Eurasian republics

• Describe the tensions that have existed between cultural groups in Russia and the Eurasian republics

• Interpret data about cultural groups in Russia and the Eurasian republics

• Annex

• Bolsheviks

• Cold War

• Communism

• Cultural Tension

• Peasants

• Russification

• Serf

​Vocabulary

​Essential Question: How have cultural tensions impacted people living in Russia and the Eurasian Republics?

Disintegration
Irredentism
Proxy War
Socialism
Quota

Open Ended

Where in the World is Comet?

(specific place name, city, and country)

Clue 1: The country is the largest country in the world by land size.

Clue 2: This capital city is located on the Moskva River.

Clue 3: At this location, you can see the Kremlin, St. Basil's Cathedral, and other important places.

Clue 4. This location is a cube-shaped building located in Clue 3.

Clue 5: This location is very important to former Russian leader, Vladimir Lenin.

Where in the World is Comet?

Russian Serfdom and Revolution​

• 16 Century Russia had a social structure known as a Serfdom

  • Harsh social structure

  • Powerful remain powerful

  • Poor remained poor

• Russian Social Structure

  • Serfdom: a social structure that controlled 16th-century Russia

  • Peasants: people of low economic class who worked on the land for wealthy landlords

    • Could leave the land once they had paid their debts

  • Serfs: people who were not free to leave the land they worked on

    • Had few rights

    • Little education

    • Treated harshly

Russification​

• Russia expanded its land through battle and conquest

• Russification: a policy created by the Russian government that encouraged non-Russian people to give up their culture and language in favor of Russian traditions and language

  • Why?

    • Create a Russian identity and loyalty to the country

• Cultural Tensions: a type of conflict that occurs when different cultural values and beliefs clash

  • Punishments for refusing to change

    • Jews

​Frustrated Peasants

• Czar Alexander 11 freed all serfs in 1861

  • A united Russia was not the reality

• Peasants were frustrated

  • Government oppression (cruel and unjust treatment)

  • Economic Hardships - poor working conditions, rising prices and food shortages

  • Did not want Russia to be a part of World War 1 (mostly peasants and poor fought - the wealthy could pay to get out of the war)

• Socialism: the belief that there should be public ownership of resources, including land and wealth

  • It was believed that socialism would create a more equal country

  • Russian peasants began to strike

  • Czar Nicholas II was forced to give up power

  • The Russian social structure created tension from the 1700s to the 1900s because the peasant class felt like they had no power. 

Multiple Choice

How did Russian social structure create tensions from the 1700s to the 1900s?

• The peasant class felt like they had no power.

• The upper class wanted to become the czars.

• The serfs were able to be promoted to the upper class.

• The ruling class had political but not economic power.Russian

​The Soviet Union

• New Type of Government

  • Communism: the idea that the government should own and oversee everything, providing equally for all people

  • Bolsheviks: the political group that created Communism and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or the Soviet Union

    • Lead by Vladimir Lenin

• John Lenin

  • Centralized the power of the government

  • New Economic Policy: the central government controlled trade, heavy industry, transportation, and banking

  • Peasants farmed the land and paid taxes

• The Red Terror

  • Secret Police would kill anyone that disagreed (40,000 to 60,000 people)

  • 1924 - Lenin dies and Joseph Stalin becomes the leader

​Joseph Stalin

• Agricultural Collectivization: a policy that allowed the Russian government to own all farms

  • Peasants were grouped on farms

  • Farms became mechanized and produced more

  • Issued production quotas that could not be achieved

  • Provided very little food to peasants

• Against Cultural Diversity

  • Limited freedom of religion

  • Promoted atheism (the absence of religion)

  • Prohibited Religious ceremonies

  • Limited cultural traditions and festivals

  • Implemented Soviet-approved celebrations

• Gulags: forced labor camps and prisons

  • Ukraine

​The Cold War and the Collapse of the Soviet Union

• Cold War: 1940's - 1990's Cultural Tensions with Countries

  • Two superpowers (USSR and United States)

  • Disagreed over economic systems (capitalism vs. communism)

  • Nuclear weapons

  • "Cold War" - the United States and USSR never directly fought each other but supported wars in places such as Afghanistan, Korea, and Vietnam

    • These places were chosen because of their strategic locations

• Cold War Ended

  • Soviet Union broke apart

  • 15 different countries were created

​Ethnic Tensions After the Cold War

• Clash of Cultures - Countries based on Ethnic lines

  • Lithuania

    • First to declare independence

    • Nationalism created a country with a high (85%) population - Mainly one ethnicity, language, and religion (Roman Catholic)

  • Azerbaijan

    • Formed in the Caucasus regions

    • Rich in oil resources

    • 90% of the population are Azeris

    • Currently fighting Armenia (region with Armenians are asking to be independent)

  • Kyrgyz and the Uzbeks 

    • Fighting over border and enforcement of the border

​Ethnic Tensions After the Cold War

• Clash of Cultures - 200 Different Cultural Groups in Russia

  • Chechnya

    • Currently controlled by Russia but rebellions occur

    • Goal: to create their own country

      • Major Religion: Islam

      • Different language

      • Different Culture

    • Located near the Caspian Sea and Caucasus Mountains

      • Rich in Resources: oil and natural gas

    • Russia has given some political freedoms

    • Russia does not want to give independence, as they fear other regions will want their independence

​Religious Tensions

• Major Religions of this Region (Russian Eastern Orthodoxy, Judaism, Islam, etc.

• Caucasus Region

  • Orthodox Christianity and Islam - violence and instability

• Central Asia

  • Sunni and Shia Muslims

  • Strict Religious Practices vs. Spiritual Practice

• Kazakhstan

  • predominantly Muslim country that practices religious tolerance

Language and Economic Tensions

• The major language of the region: Russian and Multiple other languages

• Cultural Erosion: the loss of culture/language and identity loss

• Language can create conflict: Russia vs. Ukraine

  • some parts of Ukraine speak Russian and some speak Ukrainian

  • Irredentism: when a country feels culturally and ethically connected to a land area that is outside the formal boundary of their country

    • People in these regions want another part of the region to belong to them

• Economic Gaps

  • Minorities often have less economic advantages

​Modern Issues

• Nationalism, Loyalty to a Nation, Separation of Ethnic groups, political Rivalries, Fighting over Territory, Resources and Power

• 2022 - Russian President Vladimir Putin sent troops into Ukraine

  • Ukrainian people are fighting back

  • Ukrainian people are becoming refugees

    • United States is supporting the Ukrainians

    • North Korea is supporting Russia

Open Ended

What is one example, from this lesson, of Tensions in this region?