Welcome...and initial guidelines...

This blog will be used in the spring of 2008 by 80+ students at Drexel University to investigate the effects of Iraq on culture and the reverse. Our goal will be to better understand why the US is in Iraq, and to question whether literature can help us on this journey.

Weekly plans and other materials will always be posted in Vista, not this blog. So go to Bb Vista to get the discussion prompts and other instructions.

I intend this blog to manage our discussions and track our collective investigation.

You should have received an email from me inviting you to become a contributor to this blog. The email was sent Monday afternoon to your official Drexel email address.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

1917, The Russian Revolution

One of the biggest changes in Europe was the Russian Revolution. One man impacted world powers and created history. His name was Vladimir Lenin, and his legacy still has an impact on today, as Russia tries to reform itself to the world of today. The Russian Revolution was a two part revolution. At first the only impact was the overthrow of the Tsar Nicholas the second, his family and himself were killed by the Bolshevik party on July 16, 1917. Odd fact he is the third richest person in the Forbes list of historical figures. The first part of the revolution brought out two sides the Reds, the Soviets, and the whites called the Mensheviks. The second revolution named the October Revolution brought power to the Reds and Lenin. One of the impacts on Russia was that it was at war while the revolution was happening. People in Russia had to deal with the devastating battles of World War One and a revolution. Imagine if you can that while you fight for your country, your country does not have a coherent single government but two! While many in the world at the time of the revolution did not take notice of the revolution it did become more of an impact later in the century. Many people of Russia were from the peasant class and probably debated who would get them food and let them live their lives. Food was one of the biggest reasons for the revolution and it caused a paradigm shift in ideology along with Nicholas II being called Bloody Nicholas.

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