1.Russian revolution/October Revolution
"World War I demonstrated tsarist corruption and inefficiency and only patriotism held the poorly equipped army together for a time. Nicholas II was forced to abdicate on March 15, 1917, and he and his family were killed by revolutionists on July 16, 1918. A provisional government under the successive premierships of Prince Lvov and a moderate, Alexander Kerensky, lost ground to the radical, or Bolshevik, wing of the Socialist Democratic Labor Party. On Nov. 7, 1917, the Bolshevik revolution, engineered by N. Lenin (Lenin was the pseudonym taken by Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov) and Leon Trotsky, overthrew the Kerensky government and authority was vested in a Council of People's Commissars, with Lenin as premier. The series of events leading to the revolution was from now on as October Revolution, since Nov 7 was actually Oct 25 under the Old Russian Calendar."
http://www.studyrussian.com/history/history.html
-After the Revolution(though it was many years ago) the Russian citizens were still not interested in being lead by one person again.
2.Fall of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
"Formerly the dominant republic of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), a Constitution of the Soviet Union socialist state that existed in Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. Russia is now an independent country.... since the Union's dissolution in December 1991. By the end of the 1980s, severe shortages of basic food supplies (meat, sugar).... the democratisation of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe had irreparably undermined the power of the CPSU and Gorbachev himself. The relaxation of censorship and attempts to create more political openness had the unintended effect of re-awakening long-suppressed nationalist and anti-Russian feelings in the Soviet republics.
With the countries abrupt change from socialism/communisim to an attempt at capitalism articles like this one, Russia and Eastern Europe in the 90s: Capitalism kills – concludes study of privatisation era at the link http://socialistworld.net/eng/2009/01/2006.html, were made to express the toll it took on the population."
-When the Soviet Union fell it took a big chunk of Russian art and lifestyle with it, because everything became about money instead of culture.
3.Glasnost
"The policy of maximal publicity, openness, and transparency in the activities of all government institutions in the Soviet Union, together with freedom of information, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev in the second half of 1980s. The word is a transliteration from a Russian word and was frequently used by Gorbachev to specify the policies he believed might help reduce the corruption at the top of the Communist Party and the Soviet government, and moderate the abuse of administrative power in the Central Committee."
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Glasnost
- This was a term that most Russians became familiar with as a new change, whether it be for better, as a "new beginning", or for worse as it was scary for some to change from "the old ways." Seeing things in a new light.
4.Mikhail Gorbachev
(born 2 March 1931) "He is a Russian politician. He was the last General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, serving from 1985 until 1991, and also the last head of state of the USSR, serving from 1988 until its collapse in 1991. Gorbachev's attempts at reforms as well as summit conferences with United States President Ronald Reagan, contributed to the end of the Cold War and also ended the political supremacy of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) and led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union."
"While Gorbachev's political initiatives were positive for freedom and democracy in the Soviet Union and its Eastern bloc allies, the economic policy of his government gradually brought the country close to disaster."
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Mikhail_Gorbachev#encyclopedia
-He was the politician who coined glasnost so, likewise, some saw him as a good change for the country and others saw him as a threat to communism. Of course some Russians, even though they were once members of the Party, felt that the Party was over and were just along for the ride. They saw him as the only hope of the changes going smoothly.
5.Language
"Russian, (not surprisingly!), is the country's official language. It uses the Cyrillic alphabet (rather than the Latin one used by most Western countries), and contains 33 letters. However, the 120 or so nationalities of the Commonwealth of Independent States speak about 48 other languages. Those of Slavic origin (i.e. Russians, Ukrainians and Belorussians) account for approximately 75% of the total population."
http://www.russoft.org/docs/?doc=752
-Yes, though most people in Russia did in fact speak Russian, it wasn't unlikely for people to adopt some certain phrases of another language.
6. Location
"It shares land borders with the following countries (counter-clockwise from NW to SE): Norway, Finland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland (only through Kaliningrad Oblast), Belarus, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, China, Mongolia and North Korea. It is also close to the United States and Japan across stretches of water."
http://www.canadiancontent.net/profiles/Russia.html
-Since they were surrounded by other countries, some Russians could try to import some goods from those neighboring nations... for a price.
7.Culture/Social Life
"Theatre, cinema, music and arts are important parts of Russian life; as with other countries funding has fallen for these, and private sponsorship is emerging. Features of Russian culture, which are at the highest of international standards, include the Bolshoi Theatre, Pushkin Art Gallery in Moscow and Mariinsky (Kirov) Theatre and the Hermitage in St. Petersburg. Russians also spend a considerable amount of their leisure time at the homes of friends and relatives - they place much importance on friendship and family. Consequently anniversaries and birthdays are celebrated with more gusto than expatriates may be used to at home."
http://www.stranslation.com/Russian_Translation/general_facts_about_russia.htm
-At the time of the government's fall the theatres in Russia were seriously affected. Theatres were changing their artistic views and beliefs to try and keep patrons coming because money had beome a lot less leisure. They were throwing out their old styles and traditions to please an ever changing and more critical audience.
8.Soviet coup attempt of 1991
"In 1991, the Soviet Union was dissolved following a failed coup by conservative elements who were opposed to Gorbachev's reforms.The 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt (19 August - 21 August 1991), also known as the August Putsch or August Coup, was an attempt by a group of members of the Soviet Union's government to take control of the country from Soviet president Mikhail Gorbachev. The coup leaders were hard-line members of the Communist Party (CPSU) who felt that Gorbachev's reform program had gone too far and that a new union treaty that he had negotiated dispersed too much of the central government's power to the republics."
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Glasnost
http://www.absoluteastronomy.com/topics/Soviet_coup_attempt_of_1991
-The coup attempt was a serious thing. For a group to have been so opposed to the changes that the president of Russia was making that they try to over throw him was not only bothersome to those who were accepting the changes in hope for a better government, but worrisome to the nation as a whole.
9.Living Standards
"The Soviet system provided accommodation with very low rents, free social services, subsidized vacations, assisted factory canteens, shops and sports facilities. Few of these remain. Prior to price liberalization, food, drink, cigarettes, public transport and utilities were also very cheap.
Today the recent reforms have forced a significant share of the population (especially pensioners) below the poverty line as inflation has outstripped increases in state benefits. There is a developing middle/commercial class involved in legitimate business. Only a very small proportion have become extremely wealthy, commonly known as 'novye Russkie'."
http://www.stranslation.com/Russian_Translation/general_facts_about_russia.htm
-The living conditions were cheaper in old Russia, but not neccessarily better. They were sharing apartments with whoever and whenever and it was decided by someone else.
10.Boris Yeltsin
"The first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999. Yeltsin came to power with a wave of high expectations. Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union in December 1991, Yeltsin, vowing to transform Russia's socialist command economy into a free market economy, endorsed price liberalization and privatization programs. ... he was elected president of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic with 57% of the vote, becoming the first popularly elected president. But Yeltsin never recovered his popularity after a series of economic and political crises in Russia in the 1990s.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_Yeltsin
-The early 90s were economically.... a wreck after the dissolution of the USSR and Yeltsin came to power with all these promises of the new government but it wasn't, in any way, a smooth transition. It lead to a lot of corruption through out the country and huge political, social, and economic problems.
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