The Role Of The Chinese Revolutions In The Early 20th Century
In the early 20th century, revolutions were ubiquitous. Some of the most important revolutions happened in Asia, specifically in China and Russia. While these revolutions may have been similar, with respect to the outcome, their original goals are different. China wished to have a democratic country while on the other hand Russia created a communist society, they both wanted reform in order to increase the standard of living and to increase the power of their country. The 19th century decimated China, there were several factors that led to the decline of the Qing. The most important being the Opium wars, not only did the war weaken China’s people and government, it made other the United States and the United Kingdom stronger. Also floods and
famine created havoc amongst the peasants. In order to repair their failing country, the people elected Sun Yat-Sen, who had ambitious goals to Westernize China and create democratic government. The people of China hoped the Kuomintang could bring wealth and power to their nation. The early 1900’s were rough for Russia, in 1905 January 22 workers were protesting their rights, in response they were shot. This created an outcry which would spark the rise of communist Russia. On October 24 1917, nicknamed Red october, The Bolsheviks take communist control and have the goal of making Russia a stronger county. The outcomes of these revolutions were starkingly similar. Instead of creating fair democratic or communist societies, they created totalitarian autocratic societies. In china the ruler was Mao Zedong, he aimed to create economic growth through increased agriculture. In Russia Stalin ruled, he also seeked for economic growth but instead of agriculture he increased industrialization dramatically.Also, both countries attempted to keep communism through similar methods. In Russia Stalin killed all opposition and had the secret police created to keep the comrades in check, this greatly angered the Russians. Meanwhile Mao and his ‘Red Guard’ made quick work of all rebels, and even sent people to ‘reform camps’, which was essentially a death sentence. Ultimately, a communist society can never work if not everyone is obedient to all rules established. The major difference between these two revolutions was that China relied on agriculture and Russia was completely industrial. The Chinese failed to control the peasant farmers, and Stalin could not contain his workforce. Thus while the goals of these revolutions may have been the same, the final outcome was very similar.
famine created havoc amongst the peasants. In order to repair their failing country, the people elected Sun Yat-Sen, who had ambitious goals to Westernize China and create democratic government. The people of China hoped the Kuomintang could bring wealth and power to their nation. The early 1900’s were rough for Russia, in 1905 January 22 workers were protesting their rights, in response they were shot. This created an outcry which would spark the rise of communist Russia. On October 24 1917, nicknamed Red october, The Bolsheviks take communist control and have the goal of making Russia a stronger county. The outcomes of these revolutions were starkingly similar. Instead of creating fair democratic or communist societies, they created totalitarian autocratic societies. In china the ruler was Mao Zedong, he aimed to create economic growth through increased agriculture. In Russia Stalin ruled, he also seeked for economic growth but instead of agriculture he increased industrialization dramatically.Also, both countries attempted to keep communism through similar methods. In Russia Stalin killed all opposition and had the secret police created to keep the comrades in check, this greatly angered the Russians. Meanwhile Mao and his ‘Red Guard’ made quick work of all rebels, and even sent people to ‘reform camps’, which was essentially a death sentence. Ultimately, a communist society can never work if not everyone is obedient to all rules established. The major difference between these two revolutions was that China relied on agriculture and Russia was completely industrial. The Chinese failed to control the peasant farmers, and Stalin could not contain his workforce. Thus while the goals of these revolutions may have been the same, the final outcome was very similar.