Post on 30-Jan-2016
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George Orwell & The Russian Revolution
George Orwell
Born Eric Arthur Blair on June 25, 1903
Born in India (English) Second of three children Father was absent most
of his childhood Went to school at age five
and two years later was recommended for one of the most successful preparatory schools in England at the time: St Cyprian's School
George Orwell
Was awarded a scholarship to attend this prestigious school and later earned scholarships to two different universities (Wellington and Eton)
Joined the Indian Imperial Police in Burma but resigned in 1928 because he hated imperialism
George Orwell
Adopted his pen name in 1933, while writing for the New Adelphi
Lived for several years in poverty, sometimes homeless, until he found a job as a teacher
Poor health forced him to give this up to work part-time as an assistant in a secondhand bookshop
George Orwell
After the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War, Orwell volunteered to fight for the Republicans against Franco's Nationalist uprising.
Admired the apparent absence of a class structure in the revolutionary areas of Spain he visited
Orwell was shot in the neck on May 20, 1937 Orwell and wife Eileen left Spain after narrowly
missing being arrested when the communists moved in
George Orwell
Orwell began supporting himself by writing book reviews for the New English Weekly until 1940
World War II he was a member of the Home Guard and in 1941 began work for the BBC Eastern Service, mostly working on programs to gain Indian and East Asian support for Britain's war efforts
Resigned in 1943 to become literary editor of Tribune, the left-wing weekly (favored political reform)
George Orwell
In 1944 Orwell finished his anti-Stalinist allegory Animal Farm, which was published the following year with great critical and popular success.
Royalties from Animal Farm provided Orwell with a comfortable income for the first time in his adult life.
George Orwell
1936 -1945 was married to Eileen O'Shaughnessy,
Adopted a son, Richard Horatio Blair Eileen died in 1945 during an operation1949-shortly before his death, Orwell
married Sonia Brownell1950 - Died from tuberculosis
George Orwell
1949-Orwell was approached by a friend, who had just started working for a Foreign Office unit, which had been set up by the Labour government to publish pro-democratic and anti-communist propaganda
Orwell gave her a list of 37 writers and artists he considered to be unsuitable authors because of their pro-communist beliefs
George Orwell’s Pen Name
Chose a pen name that stressed his deep, lifelong affection for the English tradition and countryside:
George is the patron saint of England (and George V was monarch at the time)
The River Orwell in Suffolk was one of his most beloved English sites.
The Russian Revolution
The Russian Revolution
1880’s - Russian is ruled by a Czar The country has begun the process of
industrialization A great deal of money was being brought into
Russia – the lower, working class people (80% of the population) saw very little
Not only were the most of the people still peasants but the wealthy were quickly taking away the precious land that they had
The Russian Revolution
Many people had come to work in the cities hoping to cash in on the recent good fortune or Russia
They worked long, hard hours for little pay and most did not have enough food to eat
The living conditions for the poor in the cities were deplorable while the czar lived in luxury
The Russian Revolution
Czar Nicholas II would do nothing to help his people
March 8, 1917 – riots broke out in Petrograd, Russia
The losing army sided with the rebels
Czar was overthrown
The Russian Revolution
Czar Nicholas II, his family and a few staff members were held captive for some time (they were kept in a nice home)
There were supporters that were going to try to save the royal family, so they were executed
The Marxist Party
Karl Marx (1818-1883) Father of Communism –
believed that we must destroy capitalism for the greater good
Wrote Communist Manifesto –no private land ownership
a system in which goods are owned in common and are available to all as needed
Old Major in Animal Farm
Karl Marx
“Worker’s of the World Unite”, take over government
Died before the Russian RevolutionIn communism, all people are equal and
they all share everything equally
Vladimir Lenin
Adopted Marx’s ideas Believed that
bourgeoisie (middle class) exploited the workers and must be overthrown
Understood the power of slogans (“Workers of the world unite”)
Vladimir Lenin
When Lenin dies, there was a power struggle between Trotsky and Stalin
It is believed that Lenin ordered Nicholas II murdered
Changed Russia’s name to USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)
The Marxist Party
Leon Trotsky (1879-1940) Was a key figure in the
Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia, second only to Lenin in the early stage of Soviet communist rule
He lost out to Stalin in the power struggle that followed Lenin's death, and was assassinated while in exile.
Snowball
Leon Trotsky
Believed in “pure” communism (like Marx) and wanted to improve life for all in Russia
Lead revolution with Stalin and LeninWas a brilliant speakerFavored world revolutionChased away by Lenin’s KBG (secret
police)
The Marxist Party
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)
Continuously opposed Trotsky
Average speaker, not well educated
Didn’t exactly follow Marx’s ideals
Craved power and was willing to kill for it
Joseph Stalin
Used KBG Lots of propaganda (created a department
of propaganda)Lied to convince people to follow himBenefited from the fact that education was
controlled
Stalin Takes Control
In his sinister way, Stalin secured his power base and engineered the permanent exile of Trotsky in 1929
The exile of Trotsky was useful because he now had someone to blame for all of the problems and difficulties Russia suffered
Became a merciless dictator
KGB
Secret police that were totally loyal to Stalin
Used force and often killed entire families for disobedience
Religion
Marx said that religion was the “opiate of the people” and a lie
Religion was tolerated b/c it would make people not complain and would prevent violent revolution
Tricked Communist Supporters
People trusted Stalin because he was a “Communist”
Many stayed loyal after it was clear that he was a tyrant because they were afraid to oppose him
Russian Revolution Summed Up
Communism was supposed to fix the problem of the Czar
Life was even worse long after the revolution
Stalin made the Czar look like a nice guy
Kulaks
These were the land owning peasants who did not want their farms to be collectivized after the revolution.
On 1929 Stalin began exterminating them
5 Year Plans
1927-1932, new economic plans (called 5 year plans) were introduced
Their purpose was to improve industry
Language
CommunismCommunityCommuneCommunionCommunicateCommunal