1. THE SOVIET ERA Promising “Peace, Land and Bread,” the Bolsheviks under V.I. Lenin seized power in November 1917 In 1922 the Bolsheviks, now known as Communists, established the Soviet Union, with Moscow as the capital city. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Vladimir Ilyich Lenin

2. THE SOVIET ERA Lenin’s successor, Joseph Stalin, set out to make the Soviet Union a strong industrial power by taking complete control of the economy. Joseph Stalin

3. STALIN’S POLICIES Stalin eliminated all forms of dissent or Protest. What did that mean? Stalin ruled my instilling FEAR in the people of the Soviet Union. If you spoke out against the government the KGB, the secret police, would come for you! As a result of Stalin’s policies, millions of Russians either were killed or died from hunger or brutal conditions in labor camps.

4. Red Army By the 1920’s the Red Army, the name of the soviet military, had taken control.

5. THE SOVIET ERA- A SUPERPOWER During WWII, the German army invaded Russia. Soviet military forces and civilians defeated them but at the cost of more than 27 million lives. The “road of death” from the Battle of Stalingrad during World War II

6. FALL OF EASTERN EUROPE By 1949 most of eastern Europe was under Soviet control The Iron Curtain and the Cold War were in the beginning stages. What is meant by Iron Curtain? Cold War- late 1940s through late 1980s

7. THE SOVIET BREAK-UP Mikhail Gorbachev In 1985 Soviet leader, Mikhail Gorbachev introduced reforms aimed at revitalizing the stagnant Soviet economy and allowing greater political openness. glasnost: allow citizens and news media to say what they wish without fear of government persecution. perestroika: economic restructuring for a gradual change from a communist system to free enterprise.

8. BREAK-UP OF SOVIET REPUBLIC Gorbachev’s reforms failed to save the Soviet Union, which in 1991 broke up into independent republics!

9. CHANGING ECONOMIES The Soviet Union functioned as a communist economy also known as command economy, in which the government controlled production, pricing and distribution.

10. COMMAND ECONOMY & ECONOMIC DECLINE During the 1970’s and 1980’s, when Western countries began to invest in high technology, the Soviets continued to focus on heavy industry. As a result, the Soviet standard of living declined during this time.

11. CHANGING ECONOMIES: THE MARKET ECONOMY In 1985 Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev oversaw the beginnings of the transition to a market economy, in which supply and demand control prices. He allowed people to start small businesses and encouraged foreign investment.

12. PRIVITIZATION Privatization of the economy continued after the USSR broke up in 1991. Russian President Boris Yeltsin lifted most price controls and encouraged the transition from state ownership of companies and industries to private ownership.

13. A NEW RUSSIA & A MARKET ECONOMY In 1991, Russia’s government began moving toward a free enterprise economy. The immediate result was inflation and a rise in unemployment.

14. CHANGING ECONOMIES: TRANSITION Privatization so far has benefited a few wealthy business people more than the most average Russian workers. Who do you think can afford to buy or start their own business? What do you need to do that?

15. CORRUPTION & CRIME Widespread corruption and organized crime threaten to destabilize Russia’s economy and society. The Russian Mafia has a lot of power.

16. VLADIMIR PUTIN By 2000, however, the Russian economy began to improve. Yeltsin’s successor, Vladimir Putin, the current President of Russia, faces continuing challenges in his efforts to improve Russia’s economic performance

17. President of Russia or House Elf? Times’ Person of the Year 2007 Vladimir Putin previously served as President from 2000 to 2008. He was Prime Minister from 1999-2000 and again from 2008 to 2012. Putin was re-elected as President of Russia in May 2012.