The Middle East Peace Talks

Peace talks in the Middle East began in earnest following the 1973 Arab-Israeli War (Yom Kippur War).  The Arab states had been waging war against Israel since 1948 as they refused to accept the existence of the Jewish state and vowed to destroy it for they saw it as a new form of imperialism and Jewish settlers were displacing Palestinian Arabs who also claimed the land.  On the four occasions of fighting the Israelis, the Arabs lost though they nearly succeeded in the last one.

Following the 1973 war, things began to change and it began in Egypt under the initiatives undertaken by its president Anwar Sadat who made a bold move by reaching out and traveling to Israel.  His visit to 1977 Israel and address at the Knesset (Parliament) underscored the change he was initiating.  He first told the assembled members how he and other Arabs felt with their intrusion to Palestine

In all sincerity I tell you we welcome you among us with full security and safety. This in itself is a tremendous turning point, one of the landmarks of a decisive historical change. We used to reject you. We had our reasons and our fears, yes. We refused to meet with you, anywhere, yes.

Sadat stated that fear was what drove the Arab states to reject Israels existence and go to war against it for the very reasons stated before.  This was more or less a confession he was making on behalf of his Arab colleagues who by then refused to acknowledge Israel or make peace with it.  Sadat also mentioned in his address he had grown tired of the endless fighting that not only claimed lives but it was also part of Egypts changing foreign policy following his assumption of leadership.  Sadats presidency saw the departure of the Soviet Union as its main supporter and Egypt was turning towards the United States and the west for economic and financial support and to gain the favor of the US, he had to make peace with its ally, Israel and he saw that the US wields considerable influence over its ally.

For his part, Prime Minister Menachem Begin, on that same day Sadat addressed the Knesset acknowledged the need for peace between Israelis and Arabs that Jews never robbed the Palestinians of their lands

The President (Chaim Herzog) mentioned the Balfour Declaration. No, sir, we took no foreign land. We returned to our Homeland. The bond between our People and this Land is eternal. It was created at the dawn of human history. It was never severed.

Begin dispelled the false and baseless claims by the Arabs that they are imperialists and Begin implicitly underscored that most of the Arabs were blind or chose to be ignorant about the history of the land by not acknowledging that Jews have been there with them before being dispersed in the Diaspora and that the Old Testament can attest to that.  Nevertheless, despite defending their right to be in Palestine, Begin did agree that there was a need to make peace and he was willing to forge ahead with it, beginning with Egypt.
A year later after their historic meeting, the two Middle East leaders met in the United States with President Jimmy Carter serving as mediator.  Instead of forging peace in the stressful atmosphere of Washington, DC, all parties repaired to the presidential retreat at Camp David Maryland where the peaceful surroundings would make it conducive for them to negotiate in earnest.  The early part of the meetings were tense as both sides were not keen on compromising and President Carter had to shift back and forth, speaking to both men.  After days of standing off and Carters shuttling, they managed to find common ground and by September, Israel and Egypt signed a peace agreement which finally put an end to their animosity.
Peace requires respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of every state in the area and their right to live in peace within secure and recognized boundaries free from threats or acts of force.

Part of the peace agreement is for Israel to cede the Sinai back to Egypt.  Strategically, Israel occupied these lands, as well as the Golan Heights of Syria to act as a buffer zone for its security and it is rather understandable when viewed from a security standpoint.  Israel ceded the region when Egypt guaranteed its security and will no longer wage aggression against it.  To this day, that agreement is still being honored and both nations have been at peace since then.  As a further epilogue, peace agreements have already been made with most of the other Arab neighbors save for Syria.  It can be inferred here that Israel is willing to make peace so as long as its security is guaranteed and will no longer be threatened by its hostile neighbors who in turn must be willing to recognize Israels existence and abandon its goal of destroying it. This is the key to lasting peace in the Middle East.

Political Economy

Politics played a big role in the different institutional set ups at different levels and in the process impacted on the changing association between the state and the economy plus the society and the state. It emerges in the two cases that there was no fundamental change as it was perceived as a re-regulation process which witnessed the repositioning of the state. Simply put, the state was changing to remain in tandem with the emerging scenario at the international stage. This was occasioned by the need to protect the major interests of the states.

The economic restructuring in North Africa
Most North African countries engaged in state planning in the period between the 1960 and 1970s with a view to attaining rapid industrialization. During this period, there were tight controls on foreign capital and an unparalleled state expansion into service provision. Initially, sheer confusion and incoherence characterizing the planning was masked in the name of scientific management. At the same time success was readily realized due to protected markets. Despite this, the act of nationalizing foreign based industries and choosing to promote some local ones did not convince (Khapoya, 1998).

As time passed on, the distortions arising from state planning became apparent. Such included economic disruptions such as the doing away with market forces in favor of a type of planning which did not pay attention to both costing and pricing. However, with time, it became clear that opening up of economies was the way to go as opposed to running a closed economy. The inward-looking development program proved incapable of generating the much sought after revenue to develop the countries. It proved difficult to finance increasing imports and the needs of a welfare state (Khapoya, 1998).

In 1969, the Tunisian minister tasked with the responsibility of setting up an integrated system based on a socialist orientation Ahmed Ben Saleh was relieved of his duties. At the same time, a more decentralized developmental approach was introduced. However, this was short lived as in 1974, President Sadat introduced a working paper which paved way for the liberalization process infitah. The aim was to improve the efficiency of the Egyptian public enterprise, revitalize the private sector, and encourage foreign investment in the Egyptian country. A few years later, the Algerian country followed suit and introduced a shift of the countrys own on the economic orientation front. Following the sudden demise of the then president Boumedienne, Chadli    Benjedid, his successor was quick to introduce new policy guidelines as captured in the five year plan publication of 1980-4  (Molefi, 2007). This presented a critical departure from his predecessors focus.

Instead of a focus on heavy industry under the public sector, a shift was proposed based on light industry and a greater focus on the private sector. The decentralization and liberalization policies were slowly developed in North Africa. This was premised on the fact that the oil boom coming  during the late 1970s was good enough in aiding the countries navigate the pressures occasioned by both domestic and international indebt-ness. On another front, the attempt to raise prices of basic commodities and lower food subsidies led to riots both in Egypt and Tunisia in 1977 and 1984 respectively (Sandbrook, 2006). This temporarily halted the process and at the same time offered a political weapon to the earlier opponents of reforms.

Early liberalization efforts led to growth in unemployment rates and polarity between the poor and the rich (Martin and OMeara, 2006). A similar scenario occurred in morocco as the agreement with the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund to reduce subsidies saw an increase in prices leading to riots in1984. From the year 1986 and onwards, the three states were forced to seek the help of the IMF and the World Bank. This was as a result of falling prices of oil at the international stage resulting in a rise in both international and domestic debt. This turn of events forced the three states to revert to the early reform focus. In Egypt, a standby agreement was signed with the IMF which facilitated the extension of loans to the country in exchange for a promise by Egypt towards meeting certain IMF set targets.  In reference to morocco, a strong commitment to privatization was guaranteed in the year 1989. In Tunisia, a renewed assurance to remove barriers concerning trade and investment was made. This notwithstanding, the most serious drastic measure was witnessed in Algeria(Roland and Atmore, 1994).

After years of falling living standards and forced austerity, riots ensued in 1988 (Roland and Atmore, 1994). In response to this, the then president, Chadli introduced policies with an aim of renewing the economic reform agenda. The country was also required to restructure its political system. This kind of pressure continued to intensify especially after the Gulf war. Following this, the Egyptian government took the initiative by offering both diplomatic and military support to the allied forces attacking Iraq in return for aid. This also captured a commitment to structural adjustments which witnessed an offer listing more than hundred companies up for sale. This also led to a cut in subsidies, an introduction of a new tax regime, revival of the stock exchange system, and freeing of the urban and agricultural sectors from poverty. Tunisia and morocco were equally pushed into reforming. At centre stage were the European Union, the World Bank, and the IMF. The restructuring was done poorly or was impeded by problems associated with poor management and indebt-ness meaning several arrangements had to be made to prepare the state businesses for sale. The states were partly to blame for this mess.

The Syria, Iraq and Jordan case
In Syria, the acts of nationalizing the economy were carried out in 1960s. The power seizure by President Hafiz al-Asad in 1970 led to a halt of the events. The leader sought to consolidate his position by loosening restrictions and facilitating freer trade by encouraging a return of Syrians who had fled the country to return and invest. In 1973, certain sections of the Syrian economy opened both to Arab and European investment. The opening of the service sector served as a precursor for economic growth witnessed in the subsequent ten years. The oil revenues were however key in the sustained success for the ten years. The Syrian president was also able to secure funding from Kuwait, Libya, and Saudi Arabia (Harrigan and El-Said, 2010).  

The emergence of state tolerated corruption which saw individuals of position use public offices to enrich them served to undermine the move towards development. President Asad was thus enthroned in a position whereby he would reward his loyalists. This coupled with other economic wrongdoing led to mounting discontent in the country populace as exhibited n 1970. It also inhibited the Syrian intent of diversifying its economy. However, the countrys hard-line stance against Israel meant that oil rich countries steadied their aid supply to the country (Harrigan and El-Said (2010).

The loss of Russian markets and the persistent internal problems coupled with a reduction in aid forced the country to make a number of concessions with the private sector. This allowed private investors to take over the burden of investing in the country. As time went, the country passed legislation giving official way to foreign investment. In addition, the pro-allied stance of the state on the Gulf war meant aid freely flowed to the state (Lapidus, 2008).

The economic opening of the Syrian economy did not however translate to political openness. However, there was a degree of opening the economy but such could not pass as liberalization as the president continued to dominate the economy with a view to expanding on his power base. Non-state actors were basically locked out of politics.

By 1960 the private sector in Iraq was highly limited.  The small number of private enterprises present was effectively destroyed by the nationalization agenda of 1960s. The 1970s establishments were mainly a creation of the Bathi reign. The idea was to prevent the expansion of foreign control into the oil industry. Half of the firms dealing in the oil business were exclusively from the Tkrit and Al-Anbar family from Saddam Husseins homeland (Lapidus, 2008). 

The 1980s witnessed another wave of private sector promotion. This was stimulated by the food shortages griping the country during the war time with Iran. In 1988, various public enterprises were privatized.  Other public firms were extended greater autonomy in reference to operation limits. The creation of Rafidain bank points to exemplify this. The war on Kuwait changed the economic face of Iraq as a number of sanctions were imposed on the country. The absence of state control in the Kurdish area meant that only private economics were applicable (Lapidus, 2008).

The Jordan case presents a divergent prospect. Of the Arab states, the Jordan country had the most open system. Despite this, after a decade of self-proclaimed liberalization, the state held a huge influence on economic activities in the state. However, as at 1988, the government was closely working with the IMF towards achieving an acceptable degree of liberalization. The first attempt was geared towards stabilizing the national debt and introducing structural adjustments towards the elimination of subsidies with other market imperfections.  However, such policies provoked public outcry as exhibited in the 1989 and 1996 public disturbances. This notwithstanding, as of 1990, Jordan had made very limited progress towards liberalizing the economy due to vested political interests due to fear on the part of government bureaucrats on the potential loss of power (Alasdair and Blake, 1985).

The expanding need for military meant that there were limited funds to be used in the welfare state activities (McGrail, 2004). Equally important, investment activities were no longer possible from within as a result this encouraged a certain degree of investment in the countries. By the turn of the 1990s, the welfare orientation of the states had been reduced by great margins. At the same time the gap between the private and the public sector was reduced immensely as the state encouraged information sharing between public and private entities.

The failure to open up the economies as desired lay in the royal families interests in regards to this, thee were businesses to protect both public and private (Simon, 1995). On the other hand, there were fears that the move towards liberalization would attract discontent from the citizenry. The other factor rested on the fear of losing control over the economy to foreigners. It is discernable that opening up the economy directly posed dangers to the ruling elite as it derived a lot of power from the control on the economy.

Analyzing the two cases
Initially the North African countries were sing state planning towards achieving their goals. This case also holds for the gulf countries. The two cases were characterized by protected economies rich in oil, an aspect that guaranteed relative success. However, as pointed out, the two cases were fraught with domination occasioned by the ruling elite. Simply put, the ruling class was in control of these economies with a view to protecting their sectarian interests at the expense of the rest of the citizenry. a protected market meant there was considerable growth in the states as they were supported by the proceeds from oil. However, as changes came especially on international commerce, it became clear that a closed economy could not thrive. The falling oil prices could no longer guarantee the funds earlier available. This meant that the state was under no illusions, if it was to make progress, alternatives had to be found. To get the much needed funds, opening up was an option, however, the fear of foreign domination and the need to protect the powers held by the royal families implied that this option was not preferable. But the absence of funds greatly undermined the position of government in reference to offering subsidies. The absence of subsidies put the state on a collision course with its citizenry.

The shrinking of the oil market and the accompanied tumble in the prices at the global level meant there was need to seek alternative funding sources. Unfortunately, the funding was available only from the West. However, the West had a host of conditions pegged to its help which had to be fulfilled before coming in. This is the case applied both to the Gulf region and the north of Africa. The two groups of states chose to accept and promise to restructure. However, the restructuring led to a complication of an already difficult situation. Prices of goods rose partly due to elimination of reduction of government subsidies. The overall result was widespread discontent within the countries occasioning subsequent riots.

Some aspects relating to the adoption of the economic restructuring emerge. Economics is closely tied to politics as politics both directly and indirectly affect the way an economy is run. At the onset, the countries both from the north of Africa and the Gulf region were never keen on introducing economic reforms. This was primarily based on the idea of falling victims of foreign control and loss of political control within the countries. Economies were also arranged in a manner that protected leadership interests. As events changed, the country leaderships were forced to adopt the changes.  The establishments then went ahead to undermine the restructuring exercise premised on the same idea.

Another issue that becomes clear in this review is the role of both internal and external forces on the politics and economics of a state. Whereas the west was pushing for the restructuring of the countries in perspective economies, it cannot be ruled out that there were vested interests. Opening up economies was to a ploy to locate business opportunities for western imperialism. In this sense, the IMF, the World Bank, and the European Union were pushing for reforms with a view to securing investment opportunities in the regions. Within the states, the citizenry was not keen on the restructuring exercise as it led to suffering due to increased prices and loss of jobs due to reorganization of public entities for privatization. The local elite were equally opposed to the measures on the basis of the pursuit of self-protectionism against foreign domination. However, thee local elite stands accused of protecting selfish interests as their activities were never aimed at protecting the citizenry.

It becomes clear that external conditions like falling oil prices and pressure from global bodies such as the World Bank and the international monetary fund were behind the adoption of liberal changes both in the north of Africa and the gulf region.

However, according to Harrigan and El-Said (2010), the restructuring system witnessed an expansion of state welfare programs, an attribute it intended to reign on. This case is seen n Egypt and Jordan where rising poverty levels and decline of welfare state programs due to liberalization led to an increase in Islamic welfare programs in the process improving the idea of Muslim brotherhood. This presents considerable opposition to the incumbent regimes.

Liberalization is both a political and economic exercise. However, the political attribute weighs heavily on the latter as it is political leaders who affect the course of economies in different states. It is on this basis that the international actors the World Bank and the IMF supported by the politically powerful west sought to force the two set of countries into restructuring their economies. The economic difficulties being experienced in the Gulf and the Northern part of Africa forced the two countries to adopt the measures. However, due to the intentions of protecting power and their sectarian interests, the leadership of the two countries only appears to have restructured the economies in limited ways. The fact that the restructuring affected the economies in an adverse way in reference to rising prices points to foster the point that the introduction was not done progressively.

On the basis of this paper, it emerges that attempts at liberalization were made. It should be noted that attempts to alter the structure of an economy are politically sanctioned.  It is thus difficult to distance them from the general view. In this sense, while adjusting the economies of both the North Africa and the Gulf States, it is clear that the political establishments at the time were focused on reforming the economies in ways which served to reinforce their positions. Simply put, the restructuring of the economies was not aimed at bringing a new societal-state engagement with on the economy.

The introduction of structural adjustments programs were used as a yard stick in gauging the development of states albeit by the international community. However, it was realized that reforming other supporting sectors like the banking industry was of paramount importance.

The privatization in the countries did not take a plausible path. Most of the privatized industries ended up in the ands of cliques of individuals whose aim was to stifle competition and continue in the same early vein of economic domination. As a result, the desired goals of restructuring were limited.

Fontamara An Evaluation of the Church and Christianity and Their Connection to Socialism

Ignazio Silone is considered as among the first anti-fascist advocate of his time. He wrote a lot of books that tackled his beliefs and understanding of the society he was in and most, if not all, of them gained popular attention from the reading public all over the world. Among his most famous works is Fontamara, which is an anti-fascist literature. This masterpiece is greatly praise and at the same time criticized for its intense claims and unusual interpretations. Among this is the connection that he claimed exist between the Church and Christianity with Socialism. This is really contestable because those who understand Socialism to its core would argue that Christianity and Socialism are irreconcilable for the earlier is anchored on the divinity of God, while the latter is built on the atheistic philosophy instituted in communism where it actually was derived from. However, in the story, the people failed to have a deeper understanding of what Christianity stood for, thus it provided a different meaning and even became instrumental for government oppression. The aim of this paper, therefore, is to identify Silones representation of the Church and Christianity in Fontamara and to explore the connections he perceived was present between the said institutions to Socialism an idea that seems to be absurd for many people.

Silones Representations
Church
    For many people, perception of the Church is corollary to Christianity, however, in Fontamara, the two seem to play separate roles. The Church in the story appeared to be an instrument for the perpetuation of the peoples ignorance, which led to their oppression. One representation of this is the town priest Don Abbacchio who was influential in making the people accept their fate under the fascist Contractor advising them not to oppose the latter for he was the devil personified however, everyone saw that he arrived riding one of the Contractors coaches. It is ironic how the priest could go on criticizing the Contractor when it was apparent that he was getting favor from the latter. This could imply that the Church, through the priest, was used to pacify the people by making them believe that it was useless to argue thus they should just let the Contractor be the people heed his advice because of their allegiance to the Church.

    Silone actually showed that there was connivance between the Church and the State in the story.  As Paynter pointed out, the symbolism of the lice that appeared on Micheles dream, which had longer legs, darker and with a cross at the back, represented a more destructive government but is supported by the Church. In the dream, the Pope was talking with Christ about the punishment He would bestow to the oppressive people. However, the Pope kept on taking their side claiming that they were also good Christians. Then Christ offered several proposals on what to do with the instead but the Pope always had a counter-argument. In exasperation, Christ asked what then should be done. The Pope recommended that the cafoni be given lice so that they would be preoccupied by it, which would take their attention away from the situation at hand.  Thus, instead of bringing punishment to the fascist leader, the Pope found it better to give the people something that would take their attention from their suffering so that they will not be troubled too much by it.

Christianity
    Despite the fact that Christianity is an attribute of the Church, it cannot be totally claimed to have the same representation as the physical Church in the story. It was shown that the peoples belief in Christ are what made them become blinded by some of the obvious facts that were in front of them because they were somehow concealed by the faith they have to their priest and their congregation. Moreover, it was also shown that all of them, even the oppressors, were actually Christians. Thus, it may be easy to conclude that it also was the tool in the existence of the fascist government.   

    Then again, one may be getting the wrong idea of it just like the peasants did if that is how they viewed Christianity in the book. On the surface, it may seem that the claim is valid because basically, that is what was apparent in the story. This is because it takes a deeper understanding of the concept of Christianity to be able to practice it correctly. Unfortunately, the cafoni took it at face value or as literally as the Church would want them to believe, which generally seem to be in the favor of the oppressors. What the peasants failed to realize was the real meaning of Christianity and what the genuine message of God was for the people. The Church was largely to be blamed for these because they were the shepherd who guided the flock to the wrong direction and provided their own interpretation of the Scriptures.

    In the same allegory presented above, the one about the lice, it showed how much Christ wanted to alleviate the condition of the peasants. He was eager to do things for them at the expense of the oppressors. However, the Pope, claiming that the latter are also good Christians contradicted every proposition He gave. In this particular scenario, it can be seen that the heart of God (in essence, Christianity) wants to do something for the poor people. However, His messengers, the priests or Popes who serve as liaison, are the ones given the opportunity to choose which way to do it and the decision they made is what worsen the situation.
   
    As a matter of fact, Silones work was teeming with ideas associated with Christianity and one of the most significant is the torture and sacrifice of Berardo. The depiction of the process of beating can be compared to the sufferings that Christ had to bear on the hands of the people in His way to Calvary. His sacrifice of his life so that his fellow cafoni may be liberated from the fascist government is like Christs sacrifice so that the world and mankind would be redeemed. Thus, it may seem confusing and blurred but there was actually a thin line that was present between Christianity and the Church as was portrayed in the story. It was the Church which was partly responsible for the condition of the people while Christianity in itself was not as bad, however, the misinterpretation of which is.

In Connection to Socialism
    The book Fontamara is known to be written by Silone after he severed ties with the Communist Party. He then went back to his earlier ideological inclination which was Socialism. Thus, the book, aside from its anti-fascist touch also can be associated with the authors socialist convictions. Socialism, as the adherents of communism and even many of those who are not, is said to be largely related to communism. Given that, it generally follows the Communist doctrines as were written in the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx. In this light, it could therefore be claimed that Socialism and Christianity should not go together because they are of opposing views.
    However, Ignazio Silone had a different conviction for he believed that Socialism was tied in faith. In one of his essays, he argued that the more scientific Socialist theories claim to be, the more temporary they seem to be and for him Socialist values are permanent. Silones perception is supported by Gorbachev when he asserted that Socialism is an idea which actually derives strength from Christianitys accomplishment. In the book, it was shown how the sacrifice of Berardo, which was earlier likened to the sacrifice of Christ, became the driving force of the people to conduct anti-fascist actions. Thus, it can be said that for Silone, either it is through Christianity that Socialism will rise or the solidarity of Christians will tend to provide the changes to society. Furthermore, the linkage between his advocacy and Christianity can further be recognized at the end of the story wherein the question, what are we to do was asked. In Paynters analysis, this was lifted from the book of Saint John the Baptist and in light of the story, it was asked in reference to their newly discovered awareness and readiness to let go of their selfish pursuits inspired by Berardos martyrdom.

    Ignacio Silones illustration of the Church and Christianity in the story tells a lot about his personality. In the literature, he seemed to denounce the Church and some of its practitioners such as the priests and the adherents but not Christianity itself. He showed how the earlier can be used as an instrument for oppressing people once it is interpreted in the wrong manner as was shown by how the priests in the story lured the people and divert their attention from the real situation. On the other hand, he illustrated the significance that the value of real Christianity has in the development and betterment of the society. This could be a testament to his claim that he was a socialist without a party, a Christian without a church.
    The characterization of the Church put forth by Silone in the story could best be understood by taking in consideration the context and the period when he wrote the book. Indeed at the earlier times, the Church had somehow become a tool used by the government because of their mutualistic relationship, wherein one benefits from the other, although not generally but there were indeed some stray souls who confer to such a collaboration. Nevertheless, the real essence of Christianity is not marred by such and it forever stayed to be faithful to the people for as long as it is properly understood and the fulfilment of the Scriptures could lead to the success of a Socialist government.

    Although many people would disagree with Silones assertion that Christianity and Socialism come hand in hand, it was shown in Fontamara how it is possible. Using simple words and elaborate representations, he was able to provide a clear illustration of what he perceived the role of the Church and Christianity have in the society and he was able to show how the latter is connected to Socialism, which as shown was as a means for its rise and growth.

SOVIET RUSSIAN HISTORY

The economy of China is now growing more than any other country in the world, and it is headed by the Communist Party.  It has balanced communism with capitalism and has become a leader at it.  What many people dont know today is that Vladimir Lenin also tried to do that in Russia with his New Economic Policy (NEP), but Joseph Stalin put an end to it.  Indeed, communist leaders in other parts of the world, such as Che Guevara favored China over the Soviet Union, whose Stalinist policy smeared communism.  While the Stalin period is a continuity of the Lenin period in the sense that communism controlled the Soviet government, it was mainly a break because Stalin was more brutal and extreme in his policies than Lenin who was relatively more moderate.

The break stems from a difference in personalityLenin was a lawyer who was against the extremes of the Left and Right, while Stalin, prior to becoming all powerful in the Soviet Union, was a bank robber, kidnapper and counterfeiter.  In 1892, Lenin earned his law degree from the University of St. Petersburg after initially being expelled from Kazan University where he participated in a student riot under the influence of Karl Marxs works.  Stalin, on the other hand was originally an undergraduate theologian who eventually, like many clergymen today, exposed his dual personality.  He rebelled and failed to graduate after being unable to pay his tuition fees and missing the final exam.  Then he joined Lenins Bolsheviks after reading Lenins Marxist works.  He funded the Bolsheviks through kidnapping, extortion and bank robberies.  In fact, just after he resigned temporarily from the group because it banned robberies, he caused the death of 40 people after raiding a bank shipment.  Later, it would be Stalin who would influence Lenin when it came to assertiveness in executions.

Thus, after Lenin suffered from a stroke, he feared the worst for Russia if Stalin, then General Secretary of the Communist Party, remained in power.  He wrote a testament through his wife Nadezhda about how he wanted to change the soviet structure and the evils of Stalin.  He rudely said that Stalin was too powerful and that he needed to be purged from his current post.  Nadezhda faithfully mailed the testament to the Communist Partys central committee after Lenin died.  It was intended to be read in May 1924 at the 13th Party Congress, but Stalin, along with Kamenev and Zinoviev who were members of the ruling troika, suppressed it.  It was only in 1925, that the testament became known through the publication of Max Eastman in the United States.  One of Stalins opponents, Leon Trotsky, who was assassinated later by Stalins secret agents, invoked it as part of his rhetoric against Stalin. 

But Stalin remained in power and either reversed some of Lenins policies or made it brutal and extreme.  Lenin, for example, created the NEP after realizing that a pure communist economy did not work.  He allowed some capitalism, but limited it to small businesses.  Large industrial ventures, international trade and banking were still state-controlled.  Furthermore, in the agricultural sector, the state only took a portion of the farmers harvest as a tax in kind.  The difference could then be sold to the market with a profit.  While it increased yields in the beginning, eventually farmers started hoarding their farm produce to increase market prices.

This really upset Stalin and instead of finding a Middle-Way solution to the problem, as the Chinese communists did successfully, he hastily discontinued Lenins NEP after Lenin died, and he replaced it in 1928 with complete state control and collectivization.  Stalin also feared future military attacks from aggressor nations like Germany, and he believed that rapid industrialization was necessary to protect itself from imperialists.  He also thought that agricultural collectivization would enable Russia to achieve this.  But the peasants, of course, vehemently protested against this policy, and as a result, many of them were executed.  Moreover, the Soviet government estimated that as a result of collectivization, industrial output would increase three times and agricultural yields would increase 1.5 times, but these estimates or goals were not realized.  And Stalin blamed the kulaks or wealthy peasants because of their non-cooperative attitude.  The actual kulaks were only a small minority, but the ones labeled as kulaks, even if they were not, were exiled into remote regions, forced into labor camps, or they were simply executed.  More than 20,000 people died as a result of Dekulakization in 1930.  It is also estimated that about two to five million Ukrainian peasants died during the Holodomor famine, when Stalin tortured and executed these peasants to steal their grain, which could have fed millions for a year but instead was exported to fund the industrialization of Russia and to starve those who opposed him, an act of genocide, as the Ukrainian government asserts.

This was something Lenin would have definitely opposed he was vehemently against the imperialism of the capitalists, but Stalin became their equivalent.  Lenin wrote Imperialism, the Highest Stage of Capitalism (1916) to explain how Western nations such as Britain and Germany exploit the natural and human resources of weaker countries to enrich themselves.  Indeed, Britons conquered America, including Canada, and slaughtered millions of Native Americans, just like the Spaniards and Portuguese, stealing their land and importing slaves from Africa.  The Britons did the same thing to the aboriginals of Australia and New Zealand.  Not satisfied with their conquests, they also colonized and enslaved Asian countries like India, Malaysia and Singapore.  The English poet Rudyard Kipling even wrote The White Mans Burden The United States and the Philippine Islands (1899), which was published in the once-popular McClures magazine, describing the American white mans role in taming Filipinos who he called new-caught, sullen peoples, half devil and half child.  Eventually, the US government, inspired by this poem, attacked the Philippine Republic and captured its president, Emilio Aguinaldo, but the American generals wanted to annihilate half the population of the country since guerillas still hounded them.  As they planned genocide, however, they were eventually confronted with formidable enemies in the form of Japan and Germany, something that allowed the Allies to see themselves on the mirror.

Lenin would never, indeed, want to associate himself with such imperialists, but not only did Stalin act like evil imperialists, he also joined them as Allies.  Lenin thought that imperialist-capitalist Britons and French used Russia as a tool during World War I, and their capitalist interests dragged Russia into the conflict.  In World War I, Lenin wanted to pull out Russian troops from the war since the Germans continued to march toward the east, but other Bolsheviks wanted to continue fighting.  Trotsky tried to negotiate with the Germans but failed, so the Germans renewed their advance and captured some parts of western Russia. Consequently, Lenin withdrew from World War I through the Brest-Litovsk Treaty.  Russia lost much of its territory, and Lenin transferred the seat of government to Moscow from Petrograd due to the German menace in 1918.  But Stalin did the opposite during World War II.  This time, when Hitler attacked Russia after breaking a non-aggression pact with them and repeating history, Stalin stood firm, unlike Lenin, in spite of the fact that millions of his Red-Army soldiers were already slaughtered by the Nazis, and he fought back.  All the sacrifices that Russia made to industrialize and prepare for such a situation paid off.  They stopped the German advance, recovered their stolen land and marched forward to Germany, where after negotiating and joining the American, British and French Allies, Stalin managed to fool them and capture East Germany, together with other Eastern European nations, as a buffer zone.  Vengeance was Stalins.

However, Stalins resultant victory came at a very high price he executed all types of people from various races, ethnicities and classes, even his own party members, something that Lenin would object to since he believed the revolution was a war against class, not against race, ethnicity or gender.  As Lenin said in a speech

Only the most ignorant and down-trodden people can believe the lies and slander that are spread about the Jews...It is not the Jews who are the enemies of the working people. The enemies of the workers are the capitalists of all countries. Among the Jews there are working people, and they form the majority. They are our brothers, who, like us, are oppressed by capital they are our comrades in the struggle for socialism. Among the Jews there are kulaks, exploiters, and capitalists, just as there are among the Russians, and among people of all nationsRich Jews, like rich Russians, and the rich in all countries, are in alliance to oppress, crush, rob, and disunite the workers...Shame on accursed Tsarism, which tortured and persecuted the Jews. Shame on those who foment hatred towards the Jews, who foment hatred towards other nations.  
But Stalin allegedly hated Jews and many other ethnicities.  While the historiography of accounting for all the executions during Stalins period has changed over the decades,    there is no doubt that millions suffered as a result of his policies.  He supposedly asserted that Every Jewish nationalist is the agent of the American intelligence service. Jewish nationalists think that their nation was saved by the United States. They think theyre indebted to the Americans. Among doctors, there are many Jewish nationalists.  There are also allegations from those close to Stalin, including Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev, that Stalin harbored negative sentiments about the Jews and that he was paranoid about their potential for espionage.  But other historians think that Khrushchevs accounts are not accurate.

Even if Stalins anti-Semitism is hearsay, the execution and persecution of other ethnicities has substantial evidence.  Americans, for example, who were trying to flee the Great Depression by settling in communist Russia, were sent to gulags, prison camps or were executed for potentially being spies.  Stalins secret and public police, the NKVD, also arrested approximately 350,000 and executed roughly 250,000 foreigners, including people from Germany, Poland and Korea, since Stalin was paranoid about spies and rather than go through the difficulty of sorting out the real spies from innocent suspects, he took the easy path and just arrested all of them.  Somewhat understandably though, after being attacked by Germany and Japan in the past, who wouldnt be paranoid about those countries and their neighbors  After all, America did the same thing to the Japanese, who were all sent to prison camps, after Pearl Harbor was bombed.  And even today, the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and even airport security uses racial profiling and often singles out Arabs, Muslims or anyone who looks like them as possible suspects even if they are innocent.  The same thing is happening with innocent Iraqis and Afghans who have now turned to terror even if they were once indifferent since they were falsely accused and bombed, with their loved ones now dead.  Thousands of these innocent victims also perished, so there is really not much of a difference between the policies of George Bush and Stalin.

Stalin also deported many ethnicities and resettled them in Central Asia and Siberia, much like the US Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) deporting Mexicans and other nationalities today.  People from Finland, Korea, Ukraine, Poland, Germany, Greece, Lithuania, Estonia, Turkey, Bulgaria and Latvia were among those who were deported.  Indeed, Lenin would have opposed such practices, as Khrushchev, who later reversed Stalins policies, believes.

Stalin was also paranoid about counter-revolutionaries within his own government and the Russian people, so he had them arrested and executed immediately during the Great Purge or the Great Terror to prevent any insurgency or coup detat.  Indeed Leon Trotsky asserted that a river of blood separates the Lenin period from Stalins.  Hundreds of thousands, the exact figure unknown, perished.  Stalin also altered the historiography of the Soviet Union by censoring or altering Soviet textbooks and photographs.  Those who were purged, for example, were removed from pictures, just as women today remove their ex-boyfriends from their favorite photos using Adobe Photoshop or similar computer graphics editors.

But in fairness to Stalin, some of his projects were continuities of Lenins dreams.  During Stalins period, women were treated equally and were given equal opportunities.  Advances in health care and education also contributed to improvements in literacy and the overall quality of life for the average Soviet.  Stalin also pioneered prenatal care and hospital births for women.  Foreign experts were also sent to Russia to improve the infrastructure and develop it.

In the end, while some aspects of the Stalin period were a continuity of the Lenin period, most of it was a break from Lenins anti-imperialist stance.  While China is now more of the vision that Lenin saw, Stalin developed similarities with Western imperialists.  Indeed, even until now, America and its allies are no better than Stalin.

Rabbinic Judaism through the First to Sixth Century CE

The term Jewish Diaspora, the forced mass exile of the Jews from their native lands (Israel, Lebanon, and Jordan), is well-known to have started in late 8th Century BCE timeline, not declining until the early centuries of the CE. It is during this timeframe when the Jews revolted against their Roman conquerors and, as a result, were banished to different parts of Europe and Asia or sold as slaves across the vast Roman Empire (Grayzel, 1984).

Notable events in the Diaspora timeline
    In the First Century, uprisings from various Jewish communities besieged the Roman Empire, the strongest being the Great Jewish Revolt (beginning in the 66 CE, ending late into the 73 CE). The Jews were defeated, and Jerusalem fell and was set ablaze by the Romans. The siege of Masada in the 73 CE was the final tragic event to the revolt (Josephus, c.75).

    The Second Century witnessed a restart of the revolts from the Jewish communities, the most famous being the Kitos War that happened during the years 115-117 CE, and Bar Kochbas revolt during the 130s CE. Both ended with the defeat and annihilation of the Jewish population in Cyprus and Rome, respectively. The remaining Jewish population was banished out of Jerusalem, their Holy City (Hooker, n.d.).

    There is not much said about the Third Century. It was devoid of any historical uprisings, but was instead filled with wrangling among rabbis on the editing of the text of the Talmud.

    During the Fourth Century, the Jews were permitted to enter their Holy City on the anniversary of the Second Temples destruction. The Jews revolted against the Caesar Gallus during 351 CE, but was easily defeated. During the years 361-363 CE, the Roman Emperor Julian the Apostate granted the return of the Jews to Jerusalem and the rebuilding of the Second Temple, but the plan failed when a strong earthquake struck in 363 CE. This could be considered the start of the end of the Jewish Diaspora.

    The Fifth Century saw the Jews re-worshipping at the rebuilt Second Temple. More and more Jews returned to Jerusalem. And when the Sixth Century came, the Jewish communities were back into Jerusalem. Late in the 6th Century, the Jews were under the oppressive rule of the Byzantines, leading them to revolt once more.

Judaisms various denominations
    It is during this timeline that we explore rabbinic Judaism and its fate during the Diaspora. Rabbinic Judaism has been the traditional voice of Judaism since the Jewish Diaspora, between the 2nd to 6th Century CE (Grayzel, 1984). It was, however, not the only voice making itself heard.

    Among the various denominations present in the Jewish religion, we will only compare rabbinic Judaism with the more scripture-based Karaism and the more recent Liberal Judaism since these branches are the ones with the most glaringly conflicting theories. It should be noted that, among the three, only rabbinic Judaism and Karaism existed during the Diaspora.

    Rabbinic Judaism, also termed Rabbinism by scholars, has always maintained that Moses received both the Written Torah and the oral law from Yahweh when he (Moses) ascended Mount Sinai. The oral law is believed to contain instructions from Yahweh about how to interpret the commandments in the Torah. This oral law, passed down from generation to generation, became the foundation for the Talmud and Mishnah and other written texts compiled by the rabbis (Stemberger, 1996).

    But due to many contradicting passages in the Mishnah and other written interpretations of the Oral Torah, the Karaite Judaism denomination insists that only the Written Torah must have been handed down to Moses. They believe in the literal interpretation of the Tanakh canon alone, and disregard the written versions of the orally-handed-down Talmud and Mishnah as not binding (Polliack, 2004).

    The Liberal movement, founded during the 20th Century under the Progressive Judaism school of thought, promotes a personal interpretation of the Written Torah. Leaving the past arguments between Rabbinism and Karaism, the Liberal Jews concentrate more on their perceived truth, as divined from the Torah, instead of the traditional interpretations in the written texts.

Evidence of Rabbinic Judaism in the Diaspora
    Judaism underwent many challenges and changes during the Diaspora. Rabbinic Judaism, in particular, went under fire from the various denominations of Judaism that broke free from it. Questions on the legitimacy of the interpretations rocked the Jewish faith.

    All throughout the Diaspora, Judaism was a much-debated topic. The Jews were divided among themselves, hence the emergence of the schisms in Judaism (30 CE) and the violence among the various denominations. This in turn led to the sacking of the Second Temple during the First Century. Redactions of the Mishnah (200 CE) and the Talmud of Jerusalem (450 CE) also occurred within the Diaspora.

    Rachel Hachlili (1998) pointed out many evidences of Judaism during the Diaspora, though they were not entirely of rabbinic Judaism in nature. Two synagogues were excavated at Delos and Ostia, the one at Delos dating to the pre-70 CE. Rabbinical texts on the synagogues history were also discovered. Other synagogues showing rabbinic interpretations in their architecture and carvings were also discovered to have existed, an example being a rabbinical interpretation of the Exodus Passover scene. The scene contained soldiers, a figure uncommon in the more literal interpretations of the other denominations (Hachlili, 1998).

    Due to the schism among the Jewish denominations, however, writer S.J.D. Cohen (1981) was led to observe that the Jews did not seek rabbinic leadership during the Diaspora. The Jews were not purely rabbinical, but neither were they solidly of another denomination.

    The Jewish Diaspora greatly affected Judaism, creating rips in the mainstream rabbinic Judaism and dividing Judaism into a plethora of denominations. Its effects continue in present Judaism. Yet despite all the separations, Rabbinic Judaism remains to be the most common form of Judaism in the world today. 

The Jews in the Roman and Persian Empires

The first century AD can be described as the period of tranquility. Jewish communities thrived in many parts of the Roman and Parthian Empires. The Jews were protected under Roman law and allowed to practice their religion without much constraint. Indeed, Jewish communities can be found in Syria, Iberia, Egypt, Armenia, and Parthia. In Rome, the Jews were allowed to establish synagogues and centers of religious learning. The Jewish community paid a yearly maintenance tax to the Roman government.

In Judea, however, the Jews were in constant conflict with Roman authorities. Rising tax demands, famine, and political discontent led to a major rebellion in 69 A.D. The Roman emperor commanded a large army to subdue the rebels. The historian Josephus wrote that the purpose of the rebellion was to regain Jewish independence. For months, the Roman army paid siege on Jerusalem.

Finally, the Romans captured the city and burned the temple to the ground. The Jews were dispersed in many parts of the empire. In Persia, the Jewish communities were regularly harassed by Parthian officials. The Jews were suspected of spying for the Romans. This was not the only issue. The Jews did not recognize the nominal authority of the Parthian monarch in the areas of religion and learning.

The spread of the Christian religion in the Roman Empire and its subsequent adoption as the state religion proved detrimental to the Jewish religion. Emperor Constantine the Great ordered the destruction of Jewish synagogues in Judea and Syria in an attempt to strengthen Christianity. Constantine also banned the practice of the Jewish religion in Rome and other major cities. Constantines mother, Theodora, removed Jewish scholars in major centers of learning.

The contempt of the Roman emperors to the Jewish faith was based on the notion that the Jewish religion was the antithesis of Christianity. In many parts of the empire, Christians harassed Jewish communities. In major cities, Roman authorities instigated civil unrests to dislodge the Jews from their established communities.

In Persia, the Babylonian Jews lived in relative harmony. At the onset of the Roman invasion of Judea, the Babylonian Jews wanted to fight the Romans. The Parthian monarch threatened to use force if they insisted on waging war against the Romans. In the Parthian court, several Jewish scholars translated an ancient copy of the works of Zoroaster into Greek and Aramaic. The Parthian monarch even allowed the establishment of a small Jewish state in Babylonia. Indeed, while the Jews were persecuted in the Roman Empire, they were respected and protected in the Parthian Empire.

With the rise of the Sassanians, the Jews were suspected of spying for the Romans. The Sassanian ruler instigated major massacres of Jewish communities in an attempt to purify Sassanian society. This, however, eased at the end of the 6th century AD. In the West, the fall of the Roman Empire led to a short revival of Jewish communities in the Mediterranean. However, this was short-lived as the Christian Church began to impose its political and religious authority in some parts of the empire.

Living in a World without Women

In the quest for womens genuine role in the society, Crossette argued that women in the Muslim world have made a great change in the modernization of its society. Womens influence has made a major impact in various sectors in the Muslim world. This impact is favorably recognized by the modern world through its given equal rights.

    Traditionally, womens roles in the Muslim society are favorable for men.  Gender segregation is customary and women are only perceived as wives and mothers without any connection to the economic world. However, these traditional views towards women had changed over time. Social change in particular, which includes the economic and political status of women, is historically brought by political conflict. Post-World War II as a political conflict brought about the change in the social status of women. In connection, the Middle East had experienced the same political conflict since the 1950s. The most evident political conflict is that of the Palestinians. They have been discharge by Zionists from their communities throughout the period of conflict. This conflict, however, had made major changes in the rural Palestinian life particularly in womens role through political involvement.

    Indeed, womens roles in the society have changed over time and these changes help the society grow as well. Within the Muslim world, women- may it be activists or not, play a major responsibility of molding the society and considered themselves accountable for all the decisions they have to make.

Seen Through the Wrong Scope Misrepresentation of ArabMuslim People

The Middle East and its people are known for many things, chief among them the massive oil wealth on which the region sits and the billions of US dollars the oil fetches every year. However, the Middle East is also strongly associated with global terrorism and the Arab community is famed for producing Saddam Hussein, Osama bin Laden, President Ahmedinajad, and hundreds of terrorists whose exploits in the US, Europe, Asia and Africa have led to the deaths of thousands. Suspicion and hostility in the western world towards people of Arabic descent has intensified progressively since the September 11 terrorist attacks in the USA. The deliberate attempts by the Republicans to label then presidential candidate Obama as a Muslim in an attempt to bring him down pointed to the view which Americans hold of Muslims. Although the West is wont to deny accusations of ethnic profiling within their national boundaries, travelers of Arabic descent are regarded with suspicion and are subjected to thorough searches and interrogations while the rest are passed easily (Malti-Douglas, 18). They also face more difficulties in their quests for visas and citizenship in Europe and the USA (Gualtieri, 1). The assumption is that terrorists are most likely to have an Arabic background. Unlike members of other religions and races, Muslims or Arabs are treated as if they all share one perspective (El-Ghobashy, 112). Most Arabic people are not terrorists. Many do not support the activities of the murderous terrorists, and are actually victims. This paper argues that Arab communities, whether living in Asia, Africa or the west, are among the most misunderstood people in the world today.

Nationalism and Identity
The creation of the state of Israel and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestines who formerly occupied the land falling within Israelis national boundaries was an assault on the victims, and the Arabic nations in the Middle East. The same would have been expected of any other community which was forcefully displaced of its land of ancestry. Additionally, the rise of the USA to superpower status and her continued support for Israel have rendered the voice of the Arabic people inaudible on global matters. Anything Arabic is portrayed as inherently evil, with little regard of what it means to the Arabic people. For instance, to most people in Israel, Europe and the USA, the Palestinian flag and religious robes are terrorist symbols while the hijab represents mistreatment of Muslim women by their men (Abdulhadi, Alsultany  Naber, 4).

In a way, the invasion and occupation of the Iraq and Afghanistan by the pro-US forces have strengthened the belief that Arabo-Muslim people are naturally violent. The frequent terrorist attacks in the occupied territories serve as the evidence. However, these attacks, whether on civilians or on the soldiers, could be a nationalistic reaction to the illegal occupation. The locals suffer greatly at the hands of the occupying forces. When they are lumped together as terrorists and labeled as such, Arabic people, like any other people elsewhere, develop nationalistic tendencies which inform the need to rise in common and with the closest approach to unanimity to engage in the task of self-defense (Gualtieri, 3). As such, part of the reason why the Arab communities fight the west and its supporters is because the latter abuse and disrespect the identity of the Arab people, and which the Arabo-Muslims seek to protect. The Arab communities attempt to protect the culture, their religion, and their identity, while the USA and her sympathizers devote time and resources to destroy the same. But because the west dominates global discourses, the world is forced to see the Arab world through the American lens.

Gender and Sexuality
The Arab world over the decades been ostracized for its treatment of girls and women. Most critical of the state of affairs among the Arab communities are academics from the USA and Europe who argue that early marriages, veiling, domestic violence, female genital mutilation, arranged marriages and honor killings are characteristic of the Arab people and are the hallmarks of a society which oppresses its women. The common image in the west  of Arab or Muslim women is of women whose genitals are mutilated with the help of their mothers, their bodies and souls sexually violated by their fathers and grandfathers, and their dignity negated as they are abandoned and abused by their husbands (Abdulhadi, 155). It is therefore noble to save the Muslim women in the Middle East by criticizing the ill-behavior or even cutting aid to the Muslim countries until women can get equal rights with men (Mir, 1). The same critics overlook the fact that women in the west were granted the right to own property only deep into the nineteenth century, and that the rabbinical law has yet to give women the right to bear witness (Ahmed, 521). The cause of the concern for the Muslim women is not entirely unfounded, as instances have been recorded of Muslim men killing or injuring women, and escaping with lenient or no punishment (Ghannam, 89). Many Arab men also resent being led by women (Hasso, 92). However, it serves to realize that the Muslim and Arab culture is dynamic and the place of women in the community has undergone significant changes.

Women are very important members of the Arab communities and as the French colonizers observed in Algeria, women were the people who held the society together. While not many Muslim women took the front seats in decision-making decades ago, the situation has changed progressively and these women have risen to occupy top posts in politics, leadership, religion and academics, both within and outside their home countries. Many women have taken up weapons against enemies to the Muslim people (Crossette, 32). Some researchers have traced back Arab womens activism to the early 1920s (Abdulhadi, 649). Women in the Arab community are yet to achieve equality in the wests view of the word, but they are coming out of the shadow of their men, and their contributions becoming increasingly visible to the world. Many women continue to cover their faces, many for fear of violating their religious beliefs and many others out of choice. These include the thousands of Muslim women who have relocated to the democratic west where they have earned important academic, political and professional positions and where they are not at risk of being attacked for dropping the hijab. Arab women have influenced notable political changes in Egypt, Pakistan, Iran, Jordan and Turkey.

Key debates
A prominent issue of debate dwells on the place of women in the Arab society. While Arebi (99-107) explores the many theories advanced to explain the misrepresentation of Muslim women in the west, there is some truth in the argument that women are not sufficiently represented in leadership at most levels. On the one hand are Muslim men who argue that their women are not oppressed, while on the other hand is a west which sees oppression on the face of every Muslim woman, but which overlooks its oppression of the same women in the west-occupied Muslim territories.

Another debate gravitates around Muslims continued hostility and attacks on occupying forces and their interests. The west finds it easy to blame such attacks on terrorist elements. To the Muslims on the other hand, their sovereignty must be respected and occupying forces should and must be expelled from the formers territory. The occupation is an attack on the Muslims and their identity, and thus attracts the nationalistic reaction that takes the form of attacks.

Arabs and Muslims have been the object of extensive scholarly attention. In a world of commerce, academia and politics dominated by the USA and Europe, Arabo-Muslims have been studied and regarded from the wests perspective. Unlike Africa and South America which were quick to adopt the cultures, religion, languages, family and leadership structures of their colonizers, Arabs showed reluctance to give up theirs. Seen from the wests point of view, the Arabo-Muslim communities have come across as backwardly, non-conforming and rebellious. As this paper has argued however, Arabs are just unique and their culture and religion should be respected.

Imperial Russian Middle Class

Before the late 1900s Russia was primarily an agrarian country with a government in the hands of the Tsarist regime however with the advent of the Industrial revolution in Russia changes happened within Russian society resulting in the creation of an Urban middle class. The result of the industrial revolution was that Russia underwent a rapid industrialization and urbanization wherein peasants moved migrated towards the the numerous cities most notably Petrograd (present day St. Petersburg) due to the opportunity for higher wages that was present there. This sudden rapid industrialization can be attributed to the growth of the capital controlling middle class which encouraged the creation of numerous factories and complexes to feed the growing hunger of the Russian economy for industrially made goods. The end result of this was that the traditional agrarian economy of Russia ands its previous class system was replaced by a growing and popular capitalist system.

Impact of the Russian Middle Class on Society.
Political Impact
During the mid 1800s the growing Russian middle class received a boost from the political reforms enacted at the time resulting in new forums for civic duty and activity for its members. The result was in 1864 an independent judiciary and numerous local assemblies were created as well as numerous city administrations and city councils during the 1870s which resulted in greater control of the middle class over numerous aspects of city governance and operations.

Societal Impact
The rapid expansion of Russias industrial sector due to its middle class resulted in a societal shift from its previous agrarian culture to an industrial one. The result of course was a migration of peasants to the numerous newly industrialized cities which provided them with a more ample wage than what they were used to as farmed. One unique aspect of this though was that a lot of these workers still continued to keep ties with their families back home in the farming communities that they had come from and at times returned back to their communities for a while only to go back to the cities a few days later. Such actions can be compared to todays overseas workers who work in other countries, keep touch with their family and friends back home and go back and forth between the countries where they worked and countries they came from. It can be said that the industrial revolution in Russia was the reason for the creation of a new culture of distance workers something unheard of at time since most peasants preferred to stay near their homes.

Architectural, Economic and Health Impact
It was through the new lifestyles for the peasantry created by the Russian Middle class that a new city centered culture was created wherein to house all these new workers numerous new buildings were created near the factories where the workers could stay in order to be near the place they worked. Unfortunately due to the high prices of dwellings at the time most occupants stay in rooms which they had to share with 4 to 5 other people and the resulting overpopulation in some areas caused the disease to spread rapidly over what was a new class in society, the urban working poor. It wasnt all bad though it was due to the work in the factories that workers were able to buy products within the city that they normally wouldnt have been able to obtain back in their farming communities resulting in a brisk local economy.

Although the power of the Russian middle class was curtailed by the state in the form of unreasonable qualifications when it came to holding political positions, it was through the Middle class that status of a lot of Russias peasantry was able to improve and Russia was able to enter a new age of industry.

The Meaning of Icons in Russian Orthodoxy

In the history of Russian Orthodoxy, icons occupy a special place. Throughout centuries, the Church applied to icons, trying to re-establish the meaning and significance of its religious symbols. Since the very beginnings of Russian Orthodoxy, icons served the means and the objects of prayer. Icons conveyed religious sanctity and the Divine Word. With time, icons in Russian Orthodoxy became the expression of the utmost religious symbolism and maintained a reliable link between the events of the sacred history and the realities of everyday life. Icons in Russian Orthodoxy exemplified a profoundly symbolical pictorial tradition, transmitted the spirituality of religion and to linked religion to the realities of everyday life. 

    That icons were predominantly used for prayer is difficult to deny since the earliest years of Russian Orthodoxy, icons were both the means and the way of delivering the Divine Word (Ouspensky  Lossky 25). However, the earliest years of Orthodoxy in Russia reflected the continuous conflict between the new religious traditions and paganism. Russian icons followed the pictorial legacy of paganism and, simultaneously, had to teach people the realities of the new Orthodox religion. During the first years of Russian Orthodoxy, many Russian Christians continued to live in the atmosphere of vanishing paganism. Given the significance and continuity of the pagan traditions, it was virtually impossible to destroy the pagan idolatry at once. Christians tried to protect their religion from the risks of idolatry that is why, icons were often considered as an unnecessary form of artistic expression which went against the basic principles of Christianity (Ouspensky  Lossky 25). Some of the early religious adherents disapproved icons as a pagan custom (Ouspensky  Lossky 25). However, icons were never associated with idolatry. In reality, icons represented and continue to represent the long-standing pictorial tradition of Christianity. The latter expressed the profound religious symbolism of Russian Orthodoxy and was the only possible way for the Church to transmit the spirituality and sanctity of the Divine word to the realities of everyday life.

    In the context of Russian orthodoxy, icons represented a unique pictorial tradition and confirmed the significance of religious image in the structure of Christian beliefs about God. The Church and religious adherents had always had a clear understanding of the significance of religious image (Ouspensky  Lossky 25). Throughout the history of Russian Orthodoxy, the image was necessarily inherent in the very essence of Christianity, from its inception, since Christianity is the revelation by God-Man not only of the Word of God, but also of the Image of God (Ouspensky  Lossky 25). Because many of the religious and Orthodox notions were increasingly vague or too intangible to describe with the help of word, icons turned into the basic unit of religious expression in Russian Orthodoxy. This form of religious expression did not go against Christian traditions but, on the contrary, was inalienably linked to it. Iconography had never been an invention of painters or pagans but was an established religious law (Ouspensky  Lossky 26). The law and icons themselves were crucial for the development and evolution of Christianity in Russia  they had to reflect the new religious outlook and the reality with which Russian people had been unfamiliar. Icons were the best possible means for Christians to deliver and explain the spiritual ideals of Christianity (Ouspensky  Lossky 26).

    Symbolism was not exclusively the feature of Russian Orthodoxy and Christianity in general, but it was inseparable from the Christian art because symbols were the only possible way to reflect and transmit spiritual reality (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). As noted before, because many of the Christian and Orthodox notions were too intangible and vague to express by means of the Divine Word, there was no way for the Church to express its spirituality and sanctity other than icons. During the earliest years of Christianity in Russia, the Church could not avoid adopting the basic principles of the pagan pictorial art. The adoption of pagan principles was justified by the need to reinforce the sense of religious symbolism and to make the new religious outlook understandable and familiar to the Russian people. As a result, early icons uniquely combined Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Syrian, and Asia Minor artistic traditions (Ouspensky  Lossky 27).
The symbolism of the earliest icons was similar to that in pagan pictures, but Russian Orthodoxy had been increasingly selective in its choice of the pagan symbols the Church adopted only what it considered being Christian before Christianity, to create the fullness of religious and symbolic revelation (Ouspensky  Lossky 28). The use of multiple symbols from various cultural and religious traditions had to strengthen the religious spirit of Christianity. The use of multiple traditions had to convey a religious message that everything gathered by the Church had been created by God (Ouspensky  Lossky 28). Icons reflected and carried the profound symbolism of linkages between the Church and the rest of the world. Through icons, the Church sought to absorb the best from the world and later used it to teach religious adherents the truths of the spiritual life. Icons were a symbol of the two-way spiritual communication between the world and the Church they reflected the knowledge that the Church gathered from the world and, simultaneously, conveyed that knowledge in clear and comprehensible terms.

    Icons served an effective pictorial expression of the religious teachings of the Christian church. Icons created conditions necessary to convey the symbolism of Russian Orthodoxy and to explain the notions that had been inexplicable before. The pictorial expression of religious teachings became one of the fundamental principles of iconography and revealed a profound symbolic role of icons in Russian Orthodoxy (Ouspensky  Lossky 26). With the help of icons, the Church would convey the meanings and teachings of Christianity in ways that did not separate people from their realities but, on the contrary, provided the answers to the most problematic questions of life (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). In the context of symbolism and religious evolution, the Church could not use the instrument of expression better than icons. Icons allowed the Church to reduce details to minimum and to provide maximum of expressiveness  the expressiveness that had to transform into a passionate prayer (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). The faces on the first icons were turned toward the congregation, emphasizing the importance of both the interaction with the word of religion and the state of prayer (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). The images were simple to the extent, which would make the teachings of Christianity understandable and comprehensible to the public. Icons were never personal, and the author was anonymous (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). An icon was never an instrument of personal expression but only an effective means of transmitting religious traditions (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). The expression had to be clear enough to avoid ambiguity, to present the Churchs vision of reality, and to convey symbolic religious meanings.

    It should be noted, that icons in Russian Orthodoxy never separated religious adherents from their reality. Icons in Russian Orthodoxy not only described various religious events but depicted different kinds of activities, works, and professions, to show that any work consecrated to God was sanctified (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). Orthodox icons did not depict human sufferings per se but, on the contrary, offered the ways of carrying out the mission of religious suffering (Ouspensky  Lossky 27). To fulfill such a mission, an icon utilized a complex combination of symbols. Religious symbolism was the basic role icons played in Russian Orthodoxy. Icons reflected and conveyed profoundly symbolic religious meanings. They were the only possible way for the Church to transmit the realities of the religious life.

    Icons played a prominent role in the codification and consolidation of the Christian religious tradition. The development of iconography in Russia followed the Churchs pathway of development vague and unsystematic from the very beginning, the Church and icons gradually affirmed in response to the emerging needs for institutionalization and systematization of the religious rule. The 82nd rule of the Trullan Council was an excellent response to heresies and errors (Ouspensky  Lossky 29). Since that time, the range of symbols the Church could use to convey the spirit of the Divine Word had been limited the symbols had to link icons to the dogma of the Divine Incarnation, and the use of non-human subjects in the place of Christ was no longer acceptable (Ouspensky  Lossky 29). Like everything in Russian Orthodoxy, icons had to follow a number of strict rules which, nevertheless, did not change their essence of the basic functions. Icons continued to exemplify the profound symbolism of the Russian Orthodox traditions, transmitting the spirituality of Orthodox religion and linking religion to the realities of everyday life.

    In the history of Russian Orthodoxy, icons occupy a special place. Icons in Russian orthodoxy exemplified and reflected profoundly symbolical religious traditions, transmitted the spirituality of religion and linked religion to the realities of everyday life. For years and centuries, icons were the only means for the Church to convey religions meanings, many of which were too intangible and vague to express through the Divine Word. Not only did icons depict religious events but they had to provide the answers to the most problematic questions of life. Icons served a pictorial expression of the basic teachings of the Church and followed the consolidation of the Christian religious tradition. Icons were used for prayer and helped people to maintain a reliable link between the sacred history and the realities of everyday life.

The Maccabean Revolt

The word Maccabean comes from Judas Maccabeus, the leader of the Jewish revolt against Syria which took place from 167  160 B.C.E. In 2nd Maccabees 15 v 30 he is described as The perfect champion of his fellow citizens. The story is recorded in the Apocryphal Biblical Books Ist and 2nd Maccabees, the sources written closest in time to the events and to a lesser extent by the Jewish 1st century C.E. historian Flavius Josephus in his Antiquities ( Books XII and XIII) who wrote some 200 years later. Martin Cohen ( The Hasmonean Revolution  Politically Considered,1975, page 21) describes all three of authors, those of the Maccabean books and Josephus, as  being overly partisan and seems to be saying that the so called sinners werent as black as they are painted. Some might say however  that his article is in danger of going too far the other way in parts.  The name means hammer and was used to describe Judas immense strength. It was then taken as a name by his brothers, two of whom succeeded him, and other followers.

The conflict had been stirred when, after a period of increasing Hellenisation, Syrian ruler Antiochus IV Epiphanes gave orders forbidding certain Jewish customs and practices and turned the Temple into a shrine for the pagan god Zeus  the idol the Jews refer to as the abomination of desecration mentioned in Daniel 11.  Judas Maccabeus  and his followers incited a revolt. In 164 B.C.E they were able to regain control of the Temple, which was then cleansed and rededicating to the God of Israel. To this day Jews celebrate the feast of Hanukkah to recall these events. The story ends with the death of Nicanor in 2 Maccabeans 15 and also the idea of dedicating a special day to its remembrance- the thirtieth day of the twelfth month. The use of the menorah, the seven branched candlestick, is a reminder of the same events. Members of Judas family, the Hasmoneans, continued to rule in Israel until the Romans arrived in force in 63 B.C.E.

Ist Maccabees was originally written in Hebrew, but that version is now lost and the text used is taken from the Greek Septuagint. The book is set in the period of Greek rule and covers the period of revolt from 175 to 134 B.C. However it also describes how many Hebrews actually welcomed the coming of Greek customs, even to the extent of trying to pass themselves off as Greeks. In 1st Maccabees 1 v 15 the writer tells how some were trying to hide the marks of circumcism i.e. the very mark of their Jewishness.
 In 2nd Maccabees the events are again related, but this time seemingly with the intention of showing Gods continued care for his people. It begins by urging Alexandrian Jews to keep the feast of Hanukkah and looks back at the events that led up to the first celebration. At the same time it castigates several people  the Hellenistic Jewish priests, in particular including High Priest Jason who was said to have sent money for statue of Herakles, something Martin Cohen  ( Page 15 ) sees as a  bribe rather than as a genuine donation because of faith.. Robert Doran ( 2006, The revolt of the Maccabees)  looked for historic similarities and likened it to the modern day insurgency in Iraq. He tells how for the first years of Seleucid rule there were no major problems between the two groups. He describes the main problem as  being about  Jewish identity and who controls that definition. He makes the point that some would not have considered Jason to be a Jew at all, whereas he, as Jewish high priest, presumably did.  He cites 20th century Jewish scholars Elias Bickermann and Victor Tchenikover who put the blame not on the Seleucids, but upon the Jewish leaders of the time. While I Maccabees blames the Seleucid leader, it has been pointed out by scholars such as Otto Morkholm (Antiochus IV of Syria, 1966) that in general he supported local cultures. The writer of 2nd Maccabees blames the institution of Greek education, even though there were a number of years between the opening of the Greek school and the revolt. The truth seems to be that when a villager from Modein, the Hasmonean home town, went to make sacrifices, Mattathias, the father of Judas, struck him with his sword. The family then fled, but also began a campaign of throwing down the pagan alters that they found and killing those who opposed what they felt was right. By the opening of 2nd Maccabees the father had died and it is Judas who is leading the revolutionaries. There are other major differences between the accounts, namely with regard to fighting on the Sabbath. This happens in the first book, but not in the second. According to Doran, in what seems to be a quite objective account ( page 107), upon the death of Antiochus his successor seems, to have let the matter stand, with the Hasmoneans in charge in Jerusalem. However the revolution was spreading to other areas. Jerusalem became the center for a general revolt against Seleucid rule. In 162 B.C.E. Judas finally lost control of the Temple area and was killed. Josephus  describes in the opening words of his second  book about the period, (Antiquities of the Jews, Book 13) how, after the death of Judus  Maccabeus all the wicked, and those that transgressed the laws of their forefathers, sprang up again in Judea. And so the battles continued under new leadership. However soon after this the Seleucid Empire began to crumble because of its own internal divisiveness and Simon, brother of Judas, was able to expel the Seleucids. He was recognized as high priest of Judea in 140 B.C.E. So what had begun as a religious protest ended up as the basis for an independent kingdom  at last for a while.

Martin Cohen took a new look at the events portrayed in the scriptures. He sees it as much as an internal fight among Jews as a revolt against foreign rule. He states (page 26) that Antiochus believed that no Jewish group was capable  of holding the peace. He had trouble elsewhere and this is why he came down hard, turning Jerusalem into a fortress and he also removed the power of the Jewish constitution. This turned many into revolutionaries. If they had no Jewish law how could they be Jewish Cohen describes how the revolt has often been viewed as a class struggle between the Hellenistic rulers and the ordinary people, despite the fact that there seems to have been grass roots support of Hellenisation. The Maccabees were not just non Hellenistic however, they were totally anti  Hellenistic, not just for themselves, but for Judaism as such.

Cohen points out that the two accounts are both conflicting and inadequate and that the facts cited by Jewish historian Josephus dont add a great deal to historic knowledge.  He also describes how the Jewish Hellenistic aristocracy were very small in number. If they had not had popular support then the Selucid would have had to come down hard. Right from the beginning. The priests concerned are condemned in passages such as 2nd Maccabees 4 v 11 and 14. In the former passage they are accused of adding to the Pentateuch. The Pentateuch was scripture, but it was also the basis for all Jewish life.  At the time of the revolution religion and politics, as far as the Jewish people were concerned were one and the same thing. But the Hellenistic Jews did not deny Judaism and the priests amongst  them continued with their sacrificial roles, which they do not seem to have considered as being in opposition to their Hellenistic practices.

Whatever the truth of the matter regarding the origins of the revolt and wherever the true blame should lie, essentially this was about preserving Judaism as it had been for hundred of years and was about defining what is a Jew - an argument that can still be seen to be going on, even if sometimes in silence, in the differences to be observed daily  in the 21st century between those who call themselves Orthodox Jews and others of the same faith and race, believers and otherwise.

Gender, Resistance, and Violence

Most people in the capitalist west take it for granted that what they refer to as the Muslim world is recognized most for marginalization and mistreatment of women and girls (Arebi, 99). This belief runs so deep that some westerners are shocked at the sight of Muslim women travelling alone or freely dressed (El-Ghobashy, 110). While the grounds for this belief may have been less shaky centuries ago, women in the Arab world have been taking more active leadership at all levels, rising to become national leaders in such countries as Pakistan, Turkey and the former Yugoslavia (Caprioli  Boyer, 506).

The West, and the relatively young Israel, have attacked the Arab world on numerous occasions and not surprisingly, their soldiers are currently occupying Iraq and Afghanistan. The occupying soldiers have been blamed for imposing curfews, sexual assault, beating and humiliating the locals, shooting and injuring parents and their children, and closing border crossings at will (Dubinsky, Krull, Lord, Mills  Rutherford, 16 Mbembe, 39). It is not surprising that a large percentage of Americans are suspicious of Muslims (Asad, 97). Predictably, men in the Middle East have dominated the counter-assault on occupying forces, using such tactics as guerilla attacks, landmines, bombs and suicide attacks. However, women have not taken the backseat they would have been expected to take a century ago (Massad, 469). In resistance to occupation forces and the consequent assault on their culture, thousands of Muslim women have welcomed extremist anti-West ideas and proceeded to attack the occupying soldiers (Crossette, 39). Granted that women attract less suspicion, they make choice suicide bombers.

According to Asad (94), the life of an Arab is far cheaper than an Israelis, according to the Israelis. It is not odd that the latter kills Arabs in their hundreds for every one Israeli killed. Arab women have been direct and indirect victims of these attacks. It is to defend their people against Israeli- and Western-inspired attacks that more and more women have joined the combat ranks of extremist organizations. Arab women have also led aggressive resistance political campaigns to champion their causes with varying levels of success (Hasso, 90). Thousands of Arab women have sought high-level education in the west and have initiated campaigns of resistance against the attacks aimed at the Arabs.

How the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union has affected Soviet women

The Soviet Union before its decline and collapse had become one of the most powerful nations in the world. The great influence of the government in political, economic and social issues aimed at maintaining the political stability of the Soviet state. This had great impact on the employment opportunities, political participation and family roles of the Soviet women. For example, economic growth as a result of political stability increased employment opportunities of women. During the Soviet rule, the government policies supported equal opportunities for men and women in education and employment.However, women experienced lower political participation than men, unemployment, low salaries and wages, poor health services and faced hard economic conditions. Gender roles influenced the number of men and women serving in government leadership positions where few women served in the positions as compared to men.. Between 1959 and 1987, reforms in Soviet Union became necessary and efforts to introduce reforms led to the disintegration of the powerful Soviet Union into separate independent states. The decline and fall of the Soviet resulted to reformulation of economic and political issues at an international level. The period of decline was marked by deep political and economic problems changes which had great impact on the lives of Soviet women .Despite the fact that political and economic reforms initiated in the country before the collapse of the Soviet Union improved the lives of women through increased employment opportunities and political participation, women faced the challenges of low salaries and wages, unemployment and low political participation after the union collapsed. This paper will explore how the decline and the fall of the Soviet Union have over the years affected the Russian Women.

Women in Communist Soviet Union
    After the collapse of the Soviet Union, different member countries of the Common wealth of Independent Republics managed to acquire political independence.  The newly formed independent countries were faced with the tough challenge of reorganizing their political systems and developing the economies. These demands changed the lives of women in the newly formed independent states and in Russia. The USSR constitution, Article 122 declared that women in Soviet had equal rights with men in relation to cultural, economic, political and social matters .However, women experienced unemployment and had low access to education as compared to the men. During the Soviet rule, women had the primary role of taking care of the family and men were considered to be the sole providers in the family. Women were expected to take care of homes and families but had to secure employment and bear the burden of going to work and attending to domestic chores in order to support their families. Soviet women lacked equal opportunities for education and employment with men because men were able to acquire better paying jobs as compared to women. For example, the flexibility of men to attain higher education and experience at work than women who had to balance between work and domestic chores placed them at a better place to better jobs with good salaries as compared to women .Many women were employed as farm laborers and home servants while a large number of men was employed as engineers, medical practitioners and scientists. In 1960, the 43 per cent of women were employed as compared to the 57 per cent for men. This confirms the gender disparity in employment during Soviet rule.

    Women had lower wages as compared to men. For example, the average wages of women were 25-30 percent lower than those of men. In 1975, women wages were between 67-73 percent those of men. For instance, the average wage for women working in the education sector in 1950 and 1972 was 767 and 1562 rubles respectively. This coupled with high levels of unemployment resulted to peasant position of women. For instance, it was estimated that only 22 per cent of the labor force comprised of women. Women had to balance between work and the heavy burden of domestic chores.  The   women employed in administrative and professional jobs were few as compared to that of men. Men dominated management and administrative positions as managers of chief executive officers which had higher salaries unlike women who were employed in subordinate staff positions as supervisors or junior managers. Many women who were employed in the public sector were engaged in physical occupational jobs as farm labourers, industrial workers and cleaners. This meant that their work was tedious and hard. The remaining one third was lucky to secure jobs in the specialist professional and semi-professional occupations as teachers, doctors, engineers, scientists, nurses, business women or shop attendants. Those who worked in professional jobs such as doctors, engineers or teachers required academic qualification and skills in the field of work while minimal skills were required for business women or shop attendants. The average working hours were 8 hours. In relation to skills, women took menial jobs that did not require great skills. The government supported working mothers by providing maternity leave, maternity homes, nurseries and kindergartens to facilitate good bringing up of children and participation of women in economic activities. A large number of women were employed in various branches of the national economy. Only a small number of women were employed to work as scientists, engineers, executives, and physicians. For example, by 1939, about 39 per cent of women who were employed worked in large scale industry.

    Although women rights to participate in political matters were acknowledged in the Soviet state, their level of participation in civic, political and governance matters was low. Although women participated in electing political leaders, the high social status of women and their dominance in politics undermined a large women representation in political matters. For example, low participation of women in politics had less than 30 per cent. In 1988, only about 26.5 per cent of all candidate members of the Communist Peoples Party were women. Soviet elected party and state organs leadership positions held by women.

    Despite the fact that women were required to give consent in marriage-related decisions, sometimes parents supported arranged marriages for their daughters through matchmaking whereby young women were showed off to eligible bachelors.The average age of marriage for Soviet women was 22 while that of bearing children between 20 and 24.The patriarchal family structure had men play the role of family heads while women were expected to assist them. Women expected to have men provide for the family but also worked to support the family. They also expected to play the role of mothers and caretakers. Divorce laws in the 1940s made the process of divorce lengthy and costly but by 1954, marriage laws were amended to make divorce easier. Liberalization of divorce laws in 1965 increased the divorce rates due to incompatibility, drunkenness and economic hardships. Between 1967 and 1986, the divorce rates increased from 2.75 to 3.4 divorces per 1,000 people. Divorce laws between 1917 and 1945 were tightened to promote social and marital society but the collapse of the Soviet regime resulted to leniency in the laws. Abortion was only allowed in order to protect the health of women. Although in tsarist Russian, prostitution was widespread, the Soviet government made efforts to stop prostitution.

    In order to encourage women to participate in social and economic development and promote family stability, the Soviet government supported working mothers by establishing kindergartens and nurseries where children could be left when mothers went to work. For instance, it is estimated that in 1937, the Soviet Union nurseries and kindergartens took care of about 1.8 million children.  The establishment of public dining rooms and ready-to serve facilities reduced the womens share of household work. This however did not   change the fact that women received lower wages and salaries. For example, the average wages and salaries of women were lower as compared to those of men. This had women engaged in income generating enterprises such as selling of farm products of establishing business enterprises such as shops .The family institution and the interests of women and children in a marriage were protected by the marriage and divorce laws. Although in the 1980s Soviet society women enjoyed equal rights with men, they were accorded a lower status as compared to men. Soviet women have over the years experienced great changes in their social, political and economic issues. The Soviet Constitution of 1977 declared that women and men have equal rights to access education, employment, remuneration, training and participation in cultural, social and political activity.

    In the early the 1980s, education aimed at producing technically qualified and socially motivated people to serve in the state-run economy. Deterioration in the Soviet economy was due to poor planning by government officials, shortage of consumer goods and food, workers strikes, unemployment, inefficient production methods, wastage of government resources and reduction in investment. Due to the decline in economic growth and employment opportunities for women, the government continued to support state benefit programs. Reduction in industrial productivity and inadequate raw materials led to increased unemployment in women.  Shortage of food stuff made life it difficult for mothers to support their families. Although many women provided labor force in agricultural farms which recorded high production levels, bureaucracy in the government led to food shortage because lack of transport and storage facilities had large quantities of food rot in the farms. Women who accounted for a large percentage of peasant farmers were able to increase productivity in their private plots.

    The men dominated the political arena However, women participation in politics remained low in the Soviet. The Soviet women were underrepresented in the political arena. Although the constitution ensured that women were provided with the opportunity to be elected or to elect political leaders, men dominated political governance due to the high social status given to men as compared to women. For example, women were underrepresented in the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) leadership. The women accounted for only 5 per cent of the partys Central Committee. Examples of women who managed to get top political positions included Paulina Zhemchuzhina who served as Commissar of the Fish industry and Bakhy Altibayeva who was the Commissar of light industry of Turkmenistan.

How the decline and collapse of the Soviet Union has affected Women
    The Soviet society for a long time has remained a patriarchal society. Since the rise of Stalin into power in the 1960s,the  Communist Party was aware of the  Zhenskii vopros  .The  Zhenskii vopros  was a Russian term that encompassed issues of women in relation to politics, legal matters, social and cultural status of women. The Zhenskii Vopros was concept advocated by Marxist-women during the pre-revolution period and aimed at addressing the issues of women status and roles in the Soviet society. It encouraged women development as mother and wives and supported the transformation of the social order and family structure. The political and economic issues failed to address unemployment or underemployment, gender disparity in employment, low political representation and difficult economic conditions. These issues were of great concern of the Soviet women. When Gorbachev took over leadership in Soviet, he introduced reforms economic and political reforms.Poverty had proved to be a major problem for many citizens during the Soviet regime. As the General Secretary in 1985, he proposed a program of reforms that was adopted to modernize and increase agricultural and industrial productivity. The 1986 radical reforms through the perestroika were meant to overcome economic stagnation in the Soviet through accelerated social and economic progress. The reforms provided women with opportunities for employment and accessing education. Improvement in industrial and agricultural productivity due to the reforms that led to the  introduction of new technology increased production efficiency, lowered production costs   and employment opportunities in industries that were expanding. These factors increased income for women who were generated from the sale of food products as well as an increase in wages. For example, the reforms shifted the share investment from the farms into improvement in food processing, rural infrastructure and food processing. This improved the working conditions of women.

      The decline and collapse of the Soviet Union was attributed to efforts by the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) and the Soviet Union president Mikhail Gobarchev to introduce economic restructuring (perestroika) and political reforms (demokratizatisiia .In 1987, political reforms were characterized by appointment of non-party members in government and multi-candidate elections.  To increase the freedom of speech and give new freedoms to people, Gobarchev introduced the glasnost. Initially, the government had controlled freedom of speech and the glasnost reduced the control of the government on the press. The glasnost policy   played an important role in the rise of independent media in Russia. This led to the rise of media barons and proliferation of independent newspapers. This opened a new door for women to raise concerns about women-related matters through the press and to advocate for increased women participation in political issues. For example, women feminist groups and activists through the media began fighting for women rights. Furthermore, increased public criticism of the reforms played an important role in the enactment of legislation that improved education, employment and healthcare services for women.  According to Gorbachev, the reforms were meant to achieve the objectives of socialism with a human face. The Gorbachev reforms introduced the use of new technology in industries and agricultural sector, introduced democracy in the political system and initiated reforms in education. Reforms in the industrial and agricultural sectors increased employment opportunities for women while reforms in education encouraged a large number of women to enroll in schools, colleges and universities. For example, girls who enrolled in primary schools enjoyed universal, free compulsory education within a nine year general school program. Completion of school beyond the eighth grade was required for both girls and boys. In 197, only completion of the eight grades was compulsory but girls who enrolled in primary schools after the collapse of the Soviet Union were able to learn up to the eleventh grade. For those who managed to come at the top 20 per cent of the secondary school leavers, they were able to join colleges and universities .Currently, a large number of women joins universities and this provides them with opportunities to get into professional careers. Many women are now employed as managers, chief executive officers and administrators, positions that were earlier dominated by men. Over the years, the need to improve economic growth has had Russian women gain from the educational benefits and programs that are provided by the government. Education up to the eleventh grade is mandatory and  women are now encouraged to get  involved in physical sciences, mathematics and foreign language courses that are offered in Russian universities. The growth of the Russias private sector has increased employment opportunities for women.

    Many women were trained to serve as health care professionals. The impact of gender differences in employment and political participation in Soviet Union were evident.This gender disparity was narrowed. Medical assistants in remote and rural areas were trained to provide health care services in those areas. Although the influence of ones social status affects the Russian politics and economy, access to education has empowered many women to secure well paying jobs. The number of women employed in various public and private sectors has been increasing. Globalization and modernization has eliminated gender roles that that discourage women to compete with men for jobs and political participation. For instance, Russian women have been transformed from being just caretakers and nurturers to career women with families. Employed women are now making great contribution to the growth of Russias economy. . The government had many women recruited to serve in the health care sector whose primary goal was to ensure that the centrally controlled economy was supported by a healthy workforce. For women who are employed, wages have increased and living conditions have improved. The health care structure after the end of Soviet rule broke down and deteriorating health services affected women.However, the situation improved with time and women were able to access better health facilities. The government provided generous child care and maternity leave but this did not stop overburdening of the Soviet women .State run programs that continue to benefit women include the support of the state for child care centers and after  school care facilities.

       The Russian women involvement in the film and music industries, politics and business enterprises had been growing over the years. The economic reforms and political reforms that have been introduced in Russia have made great impact on increased involvement of women in fields that were formerly dominated by men. In the past during the Soviet regime, women activists who were considered to spread anti-soviet propaganda were arrested. The post-soviet cinema has led to the formation of a new Russian identity and massive economic transformation in the film industry which now provides freedom of expression and employment to many women. Since the implementation of the glasnost policy, the role of mass media in empowering women to become financially independent and actively participate in governance has been important. The policy also allowed the public to express discontent with the government and to acknowledge past violation of human rights and abuses. For example, in 1992, the Russian Parliament was criticized by feminist groups for adopting the Article 1 of the Draft Law of the Russian Federation on the Protection of Family, Maternity, Paternity and Childhood that promoted more employment for men than women. Increased freedom of expression has had positive impact on womens efforts to demand for their rights. Decades of Soviet rule have continued to shape opportunities for women.

     High levels of abortion have been witnessed in Russia since the collapse of the Soviet Union. The need to increase awareness on sexual matters has exposed the Russian women to the issues of pornography. The media has played an important role in exposing sexual matters related to pornography to women and increased organized crime is luring many Russian women to prostitution and pornography. Sex education and family planning have reduced the number of abortions carried out in Russia. Efforts to improve reproductive health have been promoted by a Demographic Policy program Concept that was introduced by President Putin with the aim of improving reproductive health, preserving and reviving moral and spiritual traditions in the family and reducing infant and maternal mortality. Efforts in the mid 1990s to expand family planning led to the adoption of the Legislation on Public Health Protection by the State Duma.Currently, family planning and sex education are a priority for the government. In 2006, Putin introduced the maternal capital, a program that offers women with more than one child financial assistance when the child reaches 3 years of age.

    In the present Russian society, men have maintained their role as the heads of the family and women as caretakers and nurturers. The Family Code of 1995 gave women the responsibility to rear children and protects the family members against abuse. This legislation also supports self-determination in marriage. New religious groups are encouraging women to assume leadership positions by integrating them in leadership. Increased participation of women in political matters has enabled women to be elected in Russias political parties .Some examples of influential political figures in Russia have included Lydumila Vartazarova (the chief of Socialist Workers Party),Ella Pamfliova(Republican Party) and Valeriya Novodvorskaya(Democratic Union leader).The Russian Minister of Social Protection position has been dominated by  women. Efforts to empower women have had the once suppressed independent women organizations increase at the regional, local and national levels. Many women rights groups are now making efforts to set up domestic and rape awareness programs. To empower women with entrepreneurial skills, women groups such as the Women Union of Russia have emerged.

    It is expected that in thirty years time, the Russian women will be in a great position to effectively compete with men for political positions. Their willingness to participate in governance and politics is evident. Because Russia is moving towards democratization, an increase in political parties will encourage more women to participate in governance. There is no doubt that the role of women in entrepreneurship will increase in future. Many Russian women are now involved in entrepreneurship as a means of increasing financial stability and the Russian private sector has continued to grow. This is anticipated to provide women with more employment opportunities and in future. The freedom of expression promoted by the media will provide an excellent platform for women organizations and activists to initiate political, social and economic changes that will benefit the Russian women.

    The decline and collapse of the Soviet Union in 1989 had great impact on the global politics and economy. The discontent of the people about the Soviet state and Gorbachevs administration began with mass resistance from the Baltic States in 1987 which demanded for autonomy. By 1989, the increased influence of nationalistic movements and territorial dispute that arose from the influence in the Soviet Union led to a decline and collapse of the state when the nations managed to get autonomy. This resulted to the establishment of Russia in December 1991.  This was hailed by the West which considered the disintegration to be the superiority of capitalism over socialism as well as triumph of victory over totalitarianism. The changes that resulted from the decline and collapse of the union also had great impact on the Soviet women. The political, economic and social changes that were experienced have continued to affect the lives of Russian women. Although some changes were beneficial to women, others have undermined the role of women in economic development and governance. Changes that continue to be witnessed in Russia are expected to increase women participation in politics, improve women education and present women with equal opportunities to compete with men.  These historical events in the Soviet Union had great impact on the lives of women.