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russian history and politics over the past hundred years or so is
sometimes interpreted as a fitful but ineluctable advance of a
traditional agrarian society toward modern ideological, political,
social, and economic patterns. seen in this light, the socialist
experiment, which began in 1917 and ended with the collapse of the
soviet union in 1991, is understood as modernization in the broad
sense of the word, including industrialization, urbanization, an
educational (cultural) revolution, and the evolvement of a more
搈ature?or modern political culture and a secular mentality. |
the
revolution of 1917, starting with the collapse of tsarism in
february and culminating in the bolshevik takeover in october, was
itself, to a large extent, engendered by the pressures of
modernization. it engaged various sections of the population,
including the bourgeoisie and the middle and working classes. each
group had its own political program. some adhered to the
collectivist principles of russia抯 traditional society; others
wished to emulate western models of capitalism and democracy; still
others advanced utopian communist blueprints. yet all felt the need
to overcome the country抯 backwardness and catch up with the group
of leading industrialized nations in various spheres, including
technological progress, labor productivity, general literacy of the
population, and the development of democratic institutions.
striving
to accelerate russia抯 development along the common vector of world
civilization, russia抯 progressives belonging to all classes
understood that absolutism and the vestiges of feudalism were the
main obstacles to the country抯 successful advance.
under the circumstances, it was vladimir lenin (1870?924) and the
bolsheviks who had the upper hand. the new ruling elite pledged to
build an entirely new type of government, the likes of which had
never existed before. it claimed that for the first time in human
history a government would serve the interests not of a privileged,
exploiting minority, but of the overwhelming working-class majority
of society.
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