"Describe the challenges Lenin faced immediately after the Russia Civil War and the power struggle that existed after Lenin's death. In your opinion, did Stalin modernize Russia?"
Lenin faced many challenges after the civil war, one being restoring the economy after it was destroyed by war communism. Lenin created the NEP that helped the peasants begin contributing to the economy. After Lenin's death Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin were fighting to be in power. Trotsky was in charge of strategy, and Stalin was in charge of propaganda which was particularly helpful for elections. Stalin ended up winning and being in power for almost 30 years. Stalin Modernized Russia, through collectivization and his 5 year plans. Stalin wasn't concerned with the people he was more concerned with the military and the industry. After almost three decades Stalin obviously made some technological advancements in Russia. Most of Stalin's reign was focused on the economy and modernizing Russia, and I believe he succeeded.
Describe the difference between the Feb./March Revolution and the Oct./Nov. Revolutions? Why was the latter successful?
The March/February revolution was to get rid of the Tsar, whilst the October/November was the communist revolution. The Tsar revolution was followed by a provisional government that tried to keep Russia in world war I. The communist revolution was led by Vladimir Lenin who took control of Petrograd easily and quickly. The Feb/March revolution was an uprising against the government from workers, soldiers, and peasants, and the Oct/Nov revolution was a political party overthrowing the provisional government.
Enemy at the Gates
The movie Enemy at the gates helped me understand the battle of Stalingrad, and the Russian ideals at the time. Other than it being a good movie, it had important historical references, like to the Russian generals and the battle system. I liked the character of Vasily, because he instilled hope in the people and he was an interesting character in the movie. It also helped me to feel sympathy for the people involved and to not just look at the facts, but really take into consideration the millions of people affected by war. The Russian army used a lot of propaganda that we saw in the movie, Vasily was portrayed as a hero from the very beginning; that way Russians felt hopeful. Overall it was very entertaining and educational movie!