The entire epic seems to convey such a message that is deeply rooted in the heart: the country is in decline, powerful enemies are eyeing the enemy, the frontier is undefeable, and there is no room for slack, so the Russians must share the same hatred of the enemy and deal with the outside world under the leadership of a centralized government. Otherwise, the country can only perish. This also explains on the one hand the collectivist spirit of Russians that Westerners cannot understand - national interests and collective glory always come first. The Russians can serve the country and kill their enemies regardless of the cost; they can be more aggressive militarily because of the country's weak strength; they can eradicate political opponents in the name of the country without anyone having any objections.

The concept that the Tsar is the spokesperson of God is extremely beneficial to consolidating his rule, so it was vigorously promoted by the Moscow Grand Dukes after Ivan I. Over the centuries, religious belief has become an important means for Russia's authoritarian rulers to stay in power.

During the reign of Ivan IV, the power of the nobility was greatly weakened and power was concentrated in the hands of the absolute monarch. In the face of oppression and exploitation, the people can only accept the consequences. The tsar ruled directly over his subjects, with no independent intermediary organizations, no rights, and no rule of law.

In the face of a powerful enemy, common religious beliefs and patriotic sentiments that everyone is responsible for the rise and fall of the country once again tightly united the Russians.

Siberia's gold, coal, iron ore and forest resources as well as its rich oil and gas reserves are important guarantees for Russia to become a superpower. However, Elizabeth I's ambassador, Giles Letcher, was not unbiased in his opinion that Siberia's first contribution was furs.

The goal of Peter the Great's reforms was to unify the interests of the people and the country, replace repressive policies with tolerant policies, and turn the hatred in the hearts of the people into blazing patriotic enthusiasm and national identity, so as to restore the hearts and minds of the people.

After the Soviet Red Army occupied Germany in 1945, they saw a more open and desirable world, which the Soviet leaders did not want them to see. Likewise, they were impressed by France's freedom and prosperity. After these soldiers returned home, they couldn't help but start to wonder why their country couldn't be like France. Their inner dissatisfaction is fermenting, and their desire for reform is growing stronger. This sentiment quickly infected all Russians, aggravating social conflicts and eventually leading to great social turmoil.

Serfdom was once an important economic pillar of Russia, providing Russia with a large number of indentured servants and soldiers, and stabilizing Russia's social structure. This was the reason why the previous tsars were reluctant to abolish serfdom

Collectivism means that all strata of society have the same spirit, the same faith, the same beliefs, the same values, and the enthusiasm for the public welfare... In the chorus of collectivism, the individual voice is not drowned, but is Find your own resonance in the harmonious singing

From 1900 to 1917, Lenin lived incognito abroad and lived on the inheritance left by his mother. He only returned to China once in 1905. He was a professional revolutionary who actually knew very little about the daily lives and suffering of workers. Maxim Gorky said that Lenin had not experienced the life of the working people, so he could not sympathize with the sufferings of the people.

The Mensheviks' concerns were justified. Almost all those who support the revolution believe that Lenin's "rights belong to the Soviets" means multi-party governance, giving peace and land to the people, and giving workers autonomy. However, the Bolsheviks gradually took over the power and did not want other political parties to participate in political affairs. The first decision after the establishment of the Bolshevik regime was to establish the secret police organization "Cheka" (the Russian abbreviation of "All-Russian Committee for the Suppression of Counterrevolutionaries"). The Cheka launched a nationwide manhunt for all counterrevolutionaries, including former allies such as the Mensheviks

At this critical moment, Lenin took bold action. He issued a decree to confiscate all land without compensation and then distribute the land equally among village communities (the Bolsheviks certainly would not say that this was originally the land policy of the Socialist Revolutionary Party). This land system was unprecedented in Russia and immediately won the support of the Russian people. A large number of peasants defected to the Red Army camp because they were afraid that once the anti-Bolshevik parties came to power, their land would be confiscated again. (In fact, the Bolsheviks' land distribution to the peasants was also temporary. In the 1930s, the peasants' land was taken back.

The resolution "Maintaining Unity within the Party" was officially implemented, which brought serious consequences. Without the different voices of various factions in the party, the Bolshevik Party became a uniform and inert party. No one dared to raise different opinions. No one dared to challenge the authority of the Party Central Committee, because doing so would be labeled as "engaging in sectarian activities" (Stalin later used false accusations to suppress other colleagues and monopolize power.) This resolution became a landmark for more than 70 years. The party’s dictatorship paves the way

The leaders of the Russian Communists have always believed that reforming, educating, and perfecting mankind is their sacred mission. The Communist Party will lead us from the dark, corrupt and degenerate real world into a pure, harmonious, and beautiful future. However, the prerequisite for achieving this goal is that the people must unconditionally obey the party's leadership, and those who disobey will be mercilessly punished.

During the five-year power struggle after Lenin's death, Stalin took control of the government's archives and administrative departments and placed his cronies in important positions one by one. Stalin was well aware of the faults or minor shortcomings of political opponents and then discredited them. Gradually, power came into the hands of Stalin and his minions. Intra-party democracy exists in name only

The most crucial factor in the Bolshevik Party's rapid rise to power in 1917 was its promise to allocate land to peasants. This promise won popular support for the new regime. But the Communist Party has never thought of permanently distributing land to the people

The Soviet government was unaware of the sabotage activities of the reactionaries simply because these sabotage activities did not exist at all. The most likely reasons for failure to meet production targets are outdated equipment and backward technology. But the Soviet government would not accept such an excuse. They wanted to find scapegoats for the economic downturn and punished the so-called "saboteurs" in a high-profile manner to encourage others to work harder.

The collective dormitories in the Soviet Union reflected the abandonment of private property and the concept of the nuclear family. It is not a good thing for many people to live under the same roof: quarrels and quarrels between residents are common, and some even have deep grudges; thefts continue, and murders occur from time to time; there are too many people who make secret reports, making people panic; Mutual suspicion and disputes break out; workers in large factories sometimes have to live in tents

Stalin responded that being captured was a crime, and even if he escaped by chance, he would be punished. Families of captured Soviet servicemen were immediately deprived of military rations. In Stalin’s view, “There are no prisoners of war in the Soviet Union, only traitors.”

But as well as fear, love can also be used to inspire people to self-sacrifice. The Kremlin is adept at drawing what it needs from the Russian tradition of patriotism. The war was given the official name "Patriotic War" to evoke the memory of the "Patriotic War" of 1812 against Napoleon. New military honors named after heroic figures in history were constantly created - the Suvorov Medal, the Kutuzov Medal and the Nevsky Medal, and golden tassels reappeared on military uniforms.

The political uncertainty following Stalin's death left prison authorities at a loss as to what to do. “They had no idea what to do,” Solzhenitsyn wrote, “and it was dangerous to make mistakes. If they reacted too violently and killed a group of people, they might end up being punished as Beria’s minions. On the other hand, if they had not reacted vigorously enough and actively forced the prisoners to work - the result would have been exactly the same as the previous situation!

Years of propaganda and misinformation have confused people, and they no longer know the difference between truth and lies. Despite protests, Khrushchev's speech won him considerable support. Party and government officials at the grassroots and middle levels were still young and did not bear direct culpability for the Stalinist period, so they were all elated that repressive rule and "cult of personality" were being replaced by "collective leadership" and "socialist rule of law." They want to ensure that past lawlessness and indiscipline are not repeated and that democratization can be achieved in the future. Forty years later, Mikhail Gorbachev organized a conference to commemorate the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. At the meeting, he praised Khrushchev’s “political courage” and marveled at the “huge political risks” he had taken

Khrushchev's competitiveness was ridiculed by many. A popular joke goes like this: Eisenhower responded to Khrushchev's taunt by suggesting that the two race to see who could "catch up" with the other. When the athlete Eisenhower easily won the competition, the Soviet media had to use their cleverness to cover up this fact - "Pravda" reported: "Our leader Khrushchev achieved second place in the world-class competition. The President of the United States is disgracefully ranked second from the bottom

When you open the newspaper or turn on the television, do you yourself really believe what you hear, even for a moment? No, I'm pretty sure you yourselves stopped believing it a long time ago. If you don't believe it anymore, then you have no idea what life is really like in this country. "The Soviets tried to solve the world's problems, but their own country was in disarray."

When his reform policies encountered resistance from the privileged classes within the party, he bypassed these people and expressed his demands directly to the public. Disclosure of policies allows the public to know some information they need to know, such as that the measures he takes are beneficial. At the same time, he denounced those who opposed the "reconstruction" plan. The purpose of Gorbachev's move was to mobilize the whole society to support the modernization reforms of the economy and organizational structure. What is surprising is that people actually used their new empowerment to demand more radical and faster reforms.

Russia demands to join the European Union, the World Trade Organization, and even NATO. However, all requests were flatly rejected. NATO continued to expand its presence among the former Soviet satellite states in Eastern Europe, including Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. Moscow became alarmed, fearing that Soviet republics such as Ukraine, Georgia and the Baltic states would also be admitted

Putin accomplished all his goals, and the vast majority of the Russian people are grateful to him. But Putin's critics complain that his success has come at the expense of democracy. During his administration, the functions of the parliament were weakened and the powers of the president were strengthened; the leaders of Russia's 89 federal subjects were no longer determined through elections but were appointed by the Kremlin

Russia adopts a low single tax rate of 13% to encourage people to pay taxes on time and not to evade taxes, thus increasing the country's tax revenue. However, problems remain. Although the average income level has increased compared with the past, the gap between the poor and the rich continues to widen. The economy has always relied on the export of crude oil. The government does not pay attention to increasing or improving the productivity of other industries, especially agriculture, and productivity has been low for a long time.

When the liberal experiment ended in the 1990s, new problems arose. At this time, the return of iron-fisted rule was achieved with the support of the people, rather than being imposed on them. The Putin government and the Putin-Medvedev government are really, really popular. Few people in Russia want a return to the Yeltsin era; Russia's liberals have almost no influence and no followers