The concept of Justice, International Relations, and Politics has seen a lot
of Dynamic changes, especially after the 2nd WW. On 24th October 1945, once the
United Nations was set up it was presumed that it would bring long-term
stability and avoidance of disputes between parties. However, at the end of the
Second world war, the world was divided into 2 power blocks, namely the USA and
the USSR.
The US then started enlisting the support of a lot of other similar countries
that were pro-democracy and considered the capitalist form of Governance as the
main source of governance. All the countries supporting the US were so-called
democratic countries and believed in the concept of a free economy. The
objective of this article is to cover the Soviet Union's disintegration,
Marxism concept, foreign policy & Chechnya issue.
Disintegration Of Soviet Union
- By 1985, the Soviet Union had elected a new leader by the name of
Mikhail Gorbachev as the new President of the Soviet Union
- Mikhail Gorbachev was an exception to the earlier Soviet leaders, as he
spoke about democracy and freedom of speech and expression in the Soviet
Union.
- However, once he started propagating these ideas to the Soviet people,
there were large-scale protests and calls for democracy in the Soviet Union.
- The ideas of Mikhail Gorbachev, mainly Glasnost and Perestroika, which
means western education and opening of Soviet society, became very popular,
and pro-democracy movements started taking shape throughout the Soviet
Union.
- Other republics within the Soviet Union were being oppressed and
controlled by the Soviet leadership in Moscow. Also, started demanding
independence.
- In 1987, the Soviet troops withdrew from Afghanistan, and demands for
greater freedom and autonomy started increasing within the Soviet Union.
- By 1990, communism was collapsing throughout eastern Europe including
Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Poland, East Germany, Yugoslavia, and the
Soviet Union.
- By 25 December 1991, the Soviet Union disintegrated into 15 independent
states with Russia as the biggest country and the successor to the Soviet
Union.
- Boris Yeltsin became the first Premier of Russia but at this time,
Russia was no longer a superpower.
- The USA in 1992 emerged as the only superpower but now China, Russia
have been challenging this position since 2014, and in December 2021, all
three countries claimed to be the respective superpowers.
The concept of Marxism
- The concept of Marxism lays down an important proposition that class
relations and social conflict are closely related to each other and that any
society will progress only if the resources of the state are equitably
distributed and classless and casteless society is created for the
development of the nation.
- The concept of Marxism developed because of the writings of German
philosophers including Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
- Over a period of time, the concepts of Marxism have evolved into various
sub-ideologies and ideas, and therefore, there is no fixed definition of
Marxism.
- The concept of Marxism has now been integrated into a lot of other
theories.
Criticism of Capitalism
- The concept of Marxism is built upon the concept of capitalism. The
concept of capitalism believed in the concept of a free market and a free
economy, in which businesses could survive, only by competing with each
other
- A capitalist society is supposed to be controlled by the owner or
capitalist, who will have access and control to all factors of production
including land, labor, capital, and entrepreneurship.
- In a capital state, the state will have a very minimal role and take
care of the resources of the state.
- A capital society believed in the concept of power struggle and survival
of the fittest.
- This was, however, criticized by thinkers including Karl Marx and Engels.
- They were both of the views that the primary function of the state
should be the welfare of citizens and the workers.
- According to Marx and Engles the state cannot shy away from its prima
facie duty and that is to take care and ensure the equitable distribution of
resources
- Marx and Engles were fierce critics of capitalism. They were of the view
that under capitalism the rich become richer and the poor become poorer.
- According to Marx and Engles, the workers are exploited in a capitalist
society, and without the help of the state intervention, they are liable to
be exploited by the rich, the powerful, and the upper class proletariat.
- Marx and Engles also criticized capitalism on the ground that a
capitalist society creates an unequal distribution of wealth, competition,
and resources.
Different form of Marxism: The Soviet Brand of Marxism
- There are different forms of Marxism, which are synonymous with certain
countries, which follow Marxism, with a bit of local variation and changes.
- The Soviet Brand of Marxism was initially propagated by a person named
Vladamir Ilyich Lenin and was founded at the end of the first world war.
- The Soviet form of Marxism believed in the concept of a classless and
casteless society where all factors of production were owned by the state
and the state did not allow for private enterprises to flourish.
- Under the Soviet Union, from 1918 to 1991 there was one-party rule, and
that was the communist party of the Soviet Union.
- Further, the state gave much emphasis to fundamental duties, rather than
the concept of Fundamental Rights.
- The decisions within the Soviet Union were mostly taken by the Communist
Politburo which was headquartered in a place called Kremlin in Moscow.
- The Soviet Politburo was heavily influenced by the Soviet Secret
Service, namely the KGB.
- And the Soviet military played a very key role in controlling almost all
the aspects of the Soviet Union.
- The Soviet Government also introduced the concept of five-year plans, so
that the Soviet establishment could control every aspect of Soviet
governance.
- A Soviet leader by the name of Josef Stalin further promoted the concept
of a five-year plan, but he also was of the view that actual power must vest
with the Soviet Politburo and the democracy of the freedom of speech and
expression were an enemy of the Soviet state.
The Soviet Union and its foreign policy
- The foreign policy of the Soviet Union during the cold war was to spread
Soviet influence throughout the world.
- During the cold war, the Soviet leadership under Joseph Stalin and
Nikita Krushchev wanted the Soviet brand of Marxism and socialism to spread
throughout Eastern Europe.
- The Soviet establishment also formed a political alliance called the
Warsaw Pact, so that communist countries could come together and form a
political alliance against NATO.
- The Soviet leadership also intervened and installed a pro-communist
government in Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Albania, and Lithuania.
- The only communist government which was not a part of the NATO or the
Warsaw Pact was Yugoslavia.
Foreign Policy of Russia Pact Post 1992
- On 25th December 1991 the Soviet Union disintegrated and broke up into
15 independent republics.
- The newly formed country of Russia, which was the successor of the
Soviet Union, was going through a period of economic hardships and political
instability.
- The first President of Russia, Boris Yeltsin had to devalue the Russian
currency rouble and borrow from the IMF to come out of an economic crisis.
- The Russian establishment also had to open up its economy and some
degree of private entrepreneurship was allowed.
- However, Russia continued to be Anti-US and Anti-NATO.
- By 2000 the Russian economy started showing the science of revival and
Vladimir Putin initially became the Prime Minister of Russia.
- Vladimir Putin sought closer relations with India and China and closer
collaboration in Eastern Europe, Latin America, and Southeast Asia
- Vladimir Putin in particular promoted closer friendship and a stronger
relationship with India, especially in defense and foreign policy.
Russia, Islam, and Chechnya:
- Islamic republic Chechnya has been an important part of first the soviet
union, and then Russia, considering the fact that Russia had to fight 100
years of wars which lasted till 2009 for the control of the province of
Chechnya.
- Chechnya was an integral part of Soviet foreign policy and then Russian
foreign policy because the Muslim majority in Chechnya was always against
the christen rule.
- After the disintegration of the soviet union, the Russian forces started
a war, but soon it turned very violent in 1992 when Chechnya rebels under
the Shamil Basayev started a gorilla war against the Russian army and
inflicted heavy casualties upon.
- From 1999 to 2009 the Chechnya rebels were joined by the Muslim rebels
of another autonomous republic called Dagestan and Chechen rebels declare
the holy war or jihad against Russian forces.
- The Russian forces wanted control of the capital of Chechnya namely
Grozny and wanted to disable Chechen forces.
- The Chechen and Dagestan rebels were soon joined by armed Afghan
Mujahideen.
- The Chechen rebels became very infamous for mass kidnapping and attacks
on schools and colleges in Mosco.
- One such incident was the Beslan hostage crisis of 2003-2004 in which
Chechen rebels kidnapped entire schools for ransom & hostages but counter
operations by Russian forces went wrong and 200 school children were killed
along with the Chechen rebels by the Russian army.
- However, by 2009 the Russian forces brutally suppressed the Chechen but
not before Chechens had killed 1000 Russian forces.
- This war was also notorious because both sides had committed the worst
of war atrocities including rape and sexual slavery.
- A lot of international law experts have also blamed Vladimir Putin who
was then prime minister of Russia. Then Russia is responsible for state
sponsor terrorism and Russian forces using rape and sexual slavery war to
be.
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