Effect of changing government on Russian citizens before and after the Research Paper

Effect of changing government on Russian citizens before and after the fall of the Soviet Union - Research Paper Example In 1991 the people of Russia gained their electoral rights. However at what cost that right came is an important question. Reasons for choosing Soviet Union Every country during its transformation process undergoes economic turmoil. Russia had been a country that had experienced transformation of its political, economic, and social scenario several times in history. However the collapse of the Soviet Union had been a unique phenomenon. We want to study the effects of such collapse on the economic condition of the people. However unavailability of reliable data makes us do a both qualitative and quantitative study. (Ra’anan) Background: the fall of the Soviet Union The Soviet Union was formed in the aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917. During that time the Joseph Stalin had exhibited his despotic rules. From 1953-64 Nikita Krushchev tried out her reforms but failed to make many changes. The reforms were not necessarily in the direction of liberalization. During this p eriod the atrocities of the police was relaxed and the townsmen achieved a comparatively higher standard of living. The peasants were controlled by the state through the collective farms. They were the focus of much of the states concern, though that did not help their condition very much. The intellectual and the cultural life at the time of Khrushchev also performed fairly well. The educated and the civil society n the 1960s for the first time could express their desires. They expressed a desire to free themselves from the omnipresence of the state and gain individual autonomy. The rule of Kruschev saw the prevalence of oligarchy. His successor Brezchnev heightened the process becoming the chief oligarch within the ruling class. (Ra’anan, 77) From 1964 to 1982 Soviet Union saw an improvement in the material standards of their lives. However the state presence in the public life of the people was resumed. Censorship and the control of police came back. The ideologies of the parties found fewer takers from the common people. The detachment was aggravated by the growing corruption within the ranks of the party. As agriculture got less and less attention from the government investment in heavy industries and military kept rising. The non-Russian people had a growing discontent over several issues. After 1985 the controls of the state were taken over by a new group of leaders. They were the young leaders within the party. The dynamic leader Mikhail Gorbachev represented this pragmatic group of leaders. These people believed in reforms. They received an opposition within the ranks of their own party. The reformist policies of the group were in contrast to the hardliners. Gorbachev wanted to rejuvenate the country’s economy and political scenario through a series of reforms and turned to the intelligentsia for support. The former rule of control was relaxed and expression of ideas was relaxed. This led to a number of problems for the government as the civil society searched answers for the abuses of the previous governments. Under pressure the party moved towards a more pluralistic policy and constitutional government. In spite of all the changes and reforms undertaken by the government, the Gorbachev rule ceased to exist. The central institution was ruined and the people belonging to minor communities raised their voice in nationalist sentiment. The final demise came about in 1991. (Keep, 2-3)