Victoria Rodriguez

Keara Dixon
Period 5

CCOT Essay

The continuities and changes in the political structure of Russia from the 1900s to the
2000s were far-reaching. Russia was a world superpower and the government always had a great
deal of power, but as there were continuities there were also changes. From the 1900s-2000s
Russias political structure continuously changed.
In the beginning of the 20th century Russia was an absolute monarchy, and was under the
control of Czar Nicolas II. Many citizens were dissatisfied with the monarchy and wanted
reform, and WWII only sparked their anger. This led to the Russian revolution in 1917, which
was led by Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Bolshevik red army. In November 1917 the
Bolsheviks seized the Russian government and claimed themselves the new leaders of Russia.
Lenin changed Russia and implemented the communist party in 1922. This angered some of the
citizens who wanted the czars, democracy, or land back, sparking the Russian civil war.
After the Russian civil war in 1920, Vladimir Lenin became the undeniable leader of
Russia, but he died in 1927. Then Joseph Stalin fought his way to power in USSR and spread
communist propaganda. Eventually Stalin decided to spread communism throughout Eastern
Europe, which sparked the Cold war. The cold war was a competition of ideologies between
America and the USSR. The cold war lasted from 1945-1991 and ended with the fall of
communism and the Soviet Union. After communism fell, democracy quickly replaced it and 15
new countries were formed. Although democracy quickly replaced communism the government
still had great control over the region, because the democrats werent expecting to come to power
so quickly.
There were many continuities in the political structure of Russia from 1900-2000. The
20th century was a prime point in time for the nation where their incitements were because of
their willingness to do anything to get on top.
One of the many important continuities was that Russias government still had substantial control
over their region. Even though, communism had failed and democracy took its place, Russias
government was still in charge. Despite all of the wars and ongoing conflicts, Russias
totalitarianistic leaders managed to withhold a large share of power and control over the region.
Although the country was faced with numerous battles for power and territory, they held their
Victoria Rodriguez
Keara Dixon
Period 5

place because of the need for more power and territory despite losing. The continuity was driven
by their power-hungry motives which went in hand into how they continued to stay in power.
In conclusion, there were many continuities and changes in the political structure of
Russia from the 1900s to the 2000s. These continuities and changes were impactful to Russias
political structure. They helped change Russia and sometimes were the cause behind their
downfall, especially in the disbandment of the Soviet Union. Russia not only affected
themselves, but caused a ripple effect in other regions of the world. They continued their drive
for power and staying above.