 |
 |
In 1918, while the rest of Europe was still engaged in World War I, a newly formed communist government was developing in Russia. Much like 18th century Americans, they had just managed to overthrow what was viewed as a tyrannical government and hoped to form a new nation free of the injustices of the previous rule. Both countries wrote a new constitution as well as a declaration of rights to facilitate this, but their respective documents had vast differences. These disparities stemmed from differences in the ideologies of the new governments. The primary objectives of the Russian Declaration of Rights of the Working and Exploited People and the later constitution were the 'abolition of all exploitation of man by man, complete elimination of the division of society into classes, merciless suppression of the exploiters, socialist organization of society, and victory of socialism in all countries.' Americans wanted equality of opportunity and personal freedom instead of the social equality desired by the Russians. The American constitution and Bill of Rights were created to protect personal liberties and individual freedom while the Russians were more concerned with the welfare and equality of the population as a whole. This difference is partially due to the differences in the conditions leading to revolution in each country. The American Revolution was initiated by the wealthy in response to what they considered unfair treatment by a foreign ruler while the Russian revolution was instigated by the poor in reaction to centuries of oppression and exploitation by the wealthy within their own country.
In the years leading up to World War I, social unrest among the Russian people was spreading rapidly. There was a huge social gulf between the peasants who were former serfs and the landowners. The peasants regarded anyone who did not work as a parasite. They had always regarded as all land belonging to them. They regarded any land retained by the landowners at the time serfs were freed as stolen and only force could prevent them from taking it back. By the time Russia entered the war, one peasant rebellion had already been suppressed and several socialist revolutionary movements were developing.
In February of 1917 a group of female factory workers and led a revolt in which the Tsar was dethroned, only to be replaced by a provisionary government composed of the Russian elite. When this government did not live up to its promises of an end to Russian involvement in World War I, the Bolsheviks ('majority'), a revolutionary movement led by Vladimir Lenin, overthrew the provisionary government in what bacame known as the October revolution. Upon seizing control, they immediately withdrew from the war and began constructing the world's first ever communist government. One of the new government's first acts was to write the Declaration of Rights of the Working and Exploited People. On July 10, 1918 the 5th Soviet Congress approved a constitution that, together with the Declaration of Rights, formed 'the single fundamental law of the Russian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic'.
Unlike the American Bill of Rights, the Declaration of Rights of the Working and Exploited People seems to have been meant to apply to all of mankind eventually, as is shown in Article 4:
Expressing firm determination to wrest mankind from the clutches of finance capital and imperialism, which have in this most criminal of wars drenched the world in blood, the Third Congress of Soviets unreservedly endorses Soviet policy of denouncing the secret treaties, organizing most extensive fraternization with the workers and peasants of the combatant armies and achieving at all costs by revolutionary means a democratic peace for the working people, without annexations of indemnities, on the basis of free self-determination of nations.
Their commitment to self-determination of nations was at least partially valid in that they gave Finland complete autonomy and withdrew their troops from Persia, but this may have resulted ...
Anti-Vietnam Movement in the U.S. The antiwar movement against Vietnam in the US from 1965-1971 was the most significant movement of its kind in the nation's history. The United States first became directly involved in Vietnam in 1950 when President Harry Truman started to underwrite the costs of France's war against the Viet Minh. Later, the presi...
Overview has been going through enormous changes. From colonialism and imperialism to republicanism, from communism to capitalism, and from underdevelopment to a country maintaining over 10% economic growth for over ten years. In this research paper, I will focus on the transition of China from a Communist command economy t...
When the atomic bomb went off over Hiroshima on Aug. 6th, 1945, 70,000 lives were ended in a flash. To the American people who were weary from the long and brutal war, such a drastic measure seemed a necessary, even righteous way to end the madness that was World War II. However, the madness had just begun. That August morning was t...
Nazi belief, and murder of the Jews a key policy. 2 German laws made by Hitler soon required everyone who had one or more Jewish grandparent to register. Those with one grandparent may have escaped but if you had two grandparents you were sent to a concentration camp and classifed as a Jew. One night symbolizing the begining of mass persecution...
The Egyptian, Hebrew and Greek Civilizations were all very significant early civilizations.While they all shared the essential characteristics of a civilization, rules/laws, system for foodstorage and Religious beliefs or system, they also differed in certain aspects of their civilization. The Egyptians, were one of the earliest civilizati...
THE , A TIME OF GROWTH The in Judah appears, from the surface, as a time of great luck for the people of Jerusalem. However, by examining the situation with a more powerful lens, one can see the powerful religious infuence such an event could have on a resident?s theology. If I were a Judean during this time, my faith would have faced the toughe...
Post WWII the cold war began and many problems came about. U.S. officials, concerned over Soviet pressures against Iran and Turkey, interpreted a 1946 speech by Stalin as declaring ideological war against the West. In 1947 the president proposed the Truman Doctrine, which had two objectives: to send U.S. aid to anticommunist forces in Greece an...
United States Supreme Court cases are argued and decided on Constitutional grounds. All arguments and decisions are based on interpretations of the original Constitution and, more often, on Constitutional amendments. In June 1961, Clarence Gideon was arrested and charged with breaking and entering in Bay Harbor. He was tried in a Florida Circuit...
Maurice Sendak was born June 10, 1928 in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were poor immigrants from Poland who came to America before World War I. Many of his relatives died in the Holocaust, and this was an important influence upon his childhood. His parents were always upset about the relatives they had lost and the cloud of death was alway...
Throughout history many things have happened that were by many thought to be unconscionable. Yet, the people who were putting their mark of unacceptance upon those committing these thought to be deplorable acts, were unaware of the actual situations, and in many cases, committing the same acts themselves. This was true during the Holy Wars, t...
The phrase 'early A.A.' refers to the early fellowships and meetings held in Akron, Ohio. These meetings took place between 1935 and 1939 when was an integral part of 'A First Century Christian Fellowship' (Pitman 56). A.A. was the outcome of a meeting between Bill W., a New York stockbroker, and Dr. Bob S., an Akron surgeon. Both had been hope...
As with any conflict or controversy there are always two sides to the debate, and the events in India during 1857 are certainly no exception. Given the situation in India during the nineteenth century it is hardly surprising that such a polarisation of opinion exists regarding the context of the rebellious events during that year. Th...
The Regulators of North Carolina: Outraged Opressors The history of colonial North Carolina is bombarded with frequent strife and turmoil. The people of North Carolina, because of a lack in supervision from the British monarchy, learned to possess an independent spirit. The colony remained isolated from the rest of the country because...
Racism and prejudice have been dominant issues in the United States for many years. Being such a major issue is society, racism is also a major theme in one of the best pieces of American Literature, To Kill A Mockingbird. People, particularly African Americans, have been denied basic human rights such as getting a fair trial, eating in a certa...
