Russia and Globalization
ESSAY
The Russian Alternative to the Capitalist Civilization: Evolution of the Socialist Thought
So often Russia is described at having tried 'socialism. Russia under Lenin, Stalin and the rest is usually described as socialist or communist by the media.
Socialism simply may be seen as a social and economic theory of social organization advocating state ownership and control over means of production, distribution, and exchange. Russian socialism has a particular significance because, according to some, it actually succeeded (well at least the Bolsheviks thought they were establishing a socialist state). There were certain factors which made conditions in Russia more susceptible to the establishment of the first communist regime such as the lack of an outlet for expression absence of representative assemblies which made anyone who thought of changing a system a revolutionary. Where parliamentary and universal suffrage were unknown as in Russia extreme revolutionary communism could strike roots, the parliamentary leaders instinctively think in terms of voters and majorities instead of classes. On founding the Russian Social-Democratic Workers, Party (1898) declared: \"The farther east we go in Europe the weaker, more abject and more cowardly becomes the bourgeoisie, and the more its cultural and political tasks fall to the lot of the proletariat.\" But inevitability of communism in Russia should not be stretched beyond this. Socialism in Russia had a long history. The debate on socialism is placed in the larger context of a cultural debate on the identity of the Russian nation. In 1939, Winston Churchill had remarked: \"it [Russia] is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma\". With such a simple statement Churchill had managed to brilliantly captivate the great riddle that Russia has been throughout her existence for her people, rulers and for politicians and historians that have had to deal with her from the world over. This riddle has sometimes been
The Russian Alternative to the Capitalist Civilization: Evolution of the Socialist Thought
So often Russia is described at having tried 'socialism. Russia under Lenin, Stalin and the rest is usually described as socialist or communist by the media.
Socialism simply may be seen as a social and economic theory of social organization advocating state ownership and control over means of production, distribution, and exchange. Russian socialism has a particular significance because, according to some, it actually succeeded (well at least the Bolsheviks thought they were establishing a socialist state). There were certain factors which made conditions in Russia more susceptible to the establishment of the first communist regime such as the lack of an outlet for expression absence of representative assemblies which made anyone who thought of changing a system a revolutionary. Where parliamentary and universal suffrage were unknown as in Russia extreme revolutionary communism could strike roots, the parliamentary leaders instinctively think in terms of voters and majorities instead of classes. On founding the Russian Social-Democratic Workers, Party (1898) declared: \"The farther east we go in Europe the weaker, more abject and more cowardly becomes the bourgeoisie, and the more its cultural and political tasks fall to the lot of the proletariat.\" But inevitability of communism in Russia should not be stretched beyond this. Socialism in Russia had a long history. The debate on socialism is placed in the larger context of a cultural debate on the identity of the Russian nation. In 1939, Winston Churchill had remarked: \"it [Russia] is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma\". With such a simple statement Churchill had managed to brilliantly captivate the great riddle that Russia has been throughout her existence for her people, rulers and for politicians and historians that have had to deal with her from the world over. This riddle has sometimes been