Russian Revolution 100th Anniversary

A century ago today, the world was shaken by the Russian Revolution, toppling the three century old Romanov dynasty and bringing in a Communist superstate and launching Russia onto an oddesy that would shape the 20th century.

The Soviet Union would last until 1991, but until then, the USSR helped crush Nazi Germany and after the war, it was a rival to the United States for world domination and had a nuclear arsenal that rivaled its American rival.

They could have destroyed the planet.

The Soviet Union also was a showcase for the failure of Communism.  The bloodthirsty collectivication of agriculture and mass purges made it a close second to Hitler in mass killing.

After 1991, Russia re-emerged from the Soviet wreckage and it was in terrible shape, attempting to vault into capitalism from communism in a bout of "shock therapy".  The result was another Time of Troubles.  In the face of what Moscow regarded as Western imperialism--NATO expansion and the bombing of Serbia in 1999--Russia began to rebuild itself as Vladimir Putin stepped forward to bring his nation back onto  the international stage.

The 21st century has seen Russia become a powerful country again.  While it might not be the world wide menace its Soviet predecessor was, Russia is clearly a Great Power again.

It has been a wild century for Russia, but for a country that lived through Mongols and Nazis, it was just another hundred years.