Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism is when the government has complete and total control of economy, market, and all facets of a nation's people's lives.
Joseph Stalin used this form of government during his reign and nothing else other than his word accounted for worth. Power in form of eddxpression was witheld from all people who would be shackled by the powers that be.

Stalin's Five-Year plan consisted of way of distributing products. For 5 years Stalin would self-impose a recession upon Russia so that they would have a great surplus in the years following. This was the plan anyway. People supposedly suffer first so they can live well later.

Film Lesson: Zhivago

The film Dr. Zhivago depicted the Russian Revolution in a very negative light. At first we are introduced to the end of the Revolution. It seemed as though their was great triumph, but when he returns to his home he has to face the repercussions of Stalin's new found strength and political force.

When Dr. Zhivago returned to Moscow he encountered his brother as a soldier of the Communist Party while outside. He witnessed his family being tied down by the rationing of foods.

Causes of WWI

The military build up from the the late 1800's to the the turn of the 20th century caused the first Great War or WWI. All European industrial nations began a massive build up of military strength which in turn caused all of the turmoil in Europe. As the years passed the struggle for dominance in other nations with the spread of imperialism tensions rose and various pacts formed between the world's great powers.
A new spirit of nationalism was born at the beginning of the 19th century. The congress of Vienna in 1815 broke apart the nationalistic philosophy to keep the peace. But, as all things do change that did as well. In a mere 40 years Germany and Italy were united as nations once more. After the nations became one the arms race began at an alarming rate. Until the build up of the Great War Germany had grossed the most earnings out of the arms race, mountingb over a $100 billion dollars
As military might increased so did the imperialistic ambitions of the European nations. This is where big rivalries stemmed from. They competed for land and geopolitical influence over territories.