HIST - History HIST 100 Lecture : History lect. 8 - russia.docx
7 Oct 2014
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In some ways, am rev does not seem very revolutionary: draw on english ideas (liberty, etc. , no massive social upheaval, the principle institution, slavery existed before and after the revolution, but one can speak of consequences that could be considered revolutionary, am rev was radical in an 18th century way, russian rev = more extensive & radical. Autocracy, bolsheviks and law: neither regime had strong commitments to law, no deeply rooted democratic tradition, autocracy not compatible with rule of law, power is either absolute or its legally limited, bolsheviks promote insurrection and revolution, not looking for legal sanction for legitimacy, thus: an interesting contrast with the us. Russia as a multi national state: neither russian empire nor ussr was narrowly russian in an ethnic sense, russians were largest, most prominent ethnic group, but numerous ethnic groups as well, russia (before 1917) = multi national empire, ussr = explicitly multi national state, a union of ethnically defined republics.
