Chapter 16
Section 1
Russia Lags Behind Western Europe
Russia's Territorial growth was rapid, but its progress in other ways was less impressive. Russian science and technology lagged behind that of its European rivals. Peter the Great, who was a czar or emperor of Russia from 1682 to 1725, tried to change this. He moved Russia's capital from Moscow to a city on the Baltic Sea. The new capital was St. Petersburg (Russians "window to west").
The Rise Of The Soviet Union
In 1917, the Russian Revolution occurred, ending the rule of the czars. The Russian Communist Party took control of the government. By 1922, the Communist Party had organized the different peoples absorbed during the Centuries of Russia's imperial expansion. This new nation was called the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), or Soviet Union for short.
Cold War
Stalian installed pro-Soviet governments in the Eastern European countries that his armies had liberated from Germany. U.S leaders feared that a new stage of Russian expansion was beginning and that Stalian would spread communism everywhere. By late 1940s, tensions between the United States and the Soviet Union led to conflict. Diplomats called this the Cold War because it never grew into open warfare between the two nations.
Economy
The Communists had a Command Economy- The central government makes all important economic decisions.