Russia and the World at the beginning of the 20th century.

At the end of the 19th century, capitalism entered a new level of development - Imperialism.

Features of imperialism (monopoly capitalism):

Merger of production and sales

Strengthening and monopolization of banks

Merger of industrial and banking associations

Export of capital and the struggle for new markets

Strengthening contradictions between the leading capitalist countries

Struggle for a new redistribution of the world (imperialist wars)

A typical example of an imperialist war is Russo-Japanese War 1904-1905

At the beginning of the 20th century, changes in spheres take place in Russia, which ultimately leads to the first Russian revolution in 1905.

Reasons for the revolution:

Unresolved Peasant Question

Remnants of serfdom (relation to the village)

Unresolved national question

The plight of the workers

The need to reform the entire political system along the lines of the leading bourgeois countries

By its nature, the first Russian revolution was bourgeois-democratic, because it was supported by almost all of Russia and took place under the slogans of the implementation of bourgeois reforms. The reason for the revolution was January 9, 1905.

In response, an all-Russian political strike. On October 17, 1905, a Manifesto was issued on granting rights and freedoms to the population of Russia.

The peak of the revolution falls on October - November 1905. These were freedom of conscience, speech, assembly and unions. From now on, the existing political parties could come out of the underground and there was an opportunity to create new ones. The oldest party is the Social Revolutionaries = Socialist-Revolutionaries. It was possible to print party programs and statutes.

On April 27, 1906, the legislative State Duma began its work. There were 4 convocations in total. In the first two Dumas, the balance of power was such that the parties could not reach consensus on any issue. The work of the government was sabotaged. Only the 3rd Duma was fully operational (in which the Octobrists (a pro-government party) received the majority, this Duma adopted several dozen laws). The peak of the armed confrontation was the Moscow armed uprising in December 1905. After that, the revolutionary movement began to decline.

On June 3, 1907, the Second State Duma was dissolved ahead of schedule. This event is commonly referred to as the June 3rd coup. Nicholas II did not have the right to dissolve the Duma by legislative means, because in this way he violated his own manifesto of October 17, 1905, in which it was written that not a single royal decree had legislative force, had no force without the approval of the State Duma.

World War I (1914-1918)

This war was imperialist in character.

The struggle for the redivision of the world, power politics in the system of European states

The main contradictions between England and Germany and France and Germany.

Germany at the beginning of the 20th century was the most advanced power in the scientific and technological progress. But she had practically no sales markets, while England and France had enough of them. The formal reason is the terrorist act in Sarajevo in June 1914. The murder of the heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne. Austria-Hungary declared war on Serbia. On July 29, 1914, Russia announced a partial mobilization, and Germany, in response, declared war on Russia on August 1, 1914. France on August 3. Wilhelm II warned his cousin Nikolai that it was impossible to get into this war!

It was a war organized on the basis of the latest achievements of military technology. Mortars, flamethrowers, aviation, including airships, chemical weapons (gases) were used. Russia entered the war unprepared. In scientific and technical terms backward. Foreign loans for which Russia was obliged to fight.

Hence the huge losses at the front, the defeats at the front were aggravated by the internal crisis. Since the main part of the workers was mobilized to the front -> fuel crisis -> transport crisis -> Production and marketing -> financial crisis

All this led to an increase in anti-war speeches. It all began with economic demands, and ended with political ones ("Down with the war, down with the autocracy!"). The authorities showed a complete inability to control the situation. Conscripts before reaching the front ran down the road. There was a decline in discipline in the army.

The February Revolution of 1917 began with workers' protests, rallies and strikes took place, soldiers joined the workers. 128,000 soldiers who should be at the front accidentally find themselves in the capital. As a result of anti-German sentiments, in 1917 St. Petersburg was renamed Petrograd and, as a German custom, New Year trees were banned.

The February Revolution began with spontaneous demonstrations by the masses in Petrograd. Soldiers joined them within 5 days. There was no one to defend the government. Representatives of the State Duma, high command forced Nicholas 2 to abdicate in favor of his brother Michael, who refused such a dubious honor. The uprising in Petrograd was supported throughout Russia. The second bourgeois-democratic revolution won, the main result of which was the overthrow of the monarch. If the first bourgeois-democratic revolution of 1905-1907, then the February revolution was from above. The following alternatives were presented to Russia:

Parliamentary Republic (Cadet)

Federal Republic (essers)

Democratic Republic (Mensheviks)

The Bolsheviks did not immediately decide on a new situation, it was more difficult for them than for the Essers and Mensheviks, who knew well from their work in various committees, loan offices and other institutions. Cardinal changes April 3, 1917, when V. I. Lenin arrived in Russia. He published a program (April theses), which provided for the transition from the bourgeois-democratic revolution to the socialist one. The main idea is the establishment of the Republic of Soviets, the refusal to support the Provisional Government and the transfer of power by peaceful means.

If the Cadets were in favor of the war to a victorious end, the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks were in favor of ending the war, but they took the position of revolutionary defencism, that is, to stop the war, but to defend the revolution from Germany.

Petrograd Workers' Deputies, the majority of which were occupied by the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks. By agreement between the Petrograd Soviet and the deputies of the former State Duma, a Provisional Government was created. After that, the Petrosoviet was to dissolve itself. However, there was not a single representative of the Socialist-Revolutionaries and Mensheviks in the Provisional Government. Therefore, the Petrograd Soviet was in no hurry to dissolve itself. This is how the duality came about.

The provisional government was shaken by crises throughout its entire existence. They were caused by the unwillingness and inability to solve the main issues: land and the end of the war. The Provisional Government reaffirmed its obligation to the Allies to wage the war to a victorious end. On June 18, 1917, an offensive was announced, anti-war rallies and demonstrations became more frequent, and the Petrograd Soviet sent troops to disperse the demonstrators. The Bolsheviks were declared the instigators of the riots, and arrests began. Lenin was called a German spy. On July 23, the Second Coalition Government was formed. Kerensky became chairman. To stabilize the situation in the country, Kerensky turned to the military. By order of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, part of the troops should be withdrawn from the front and sent to Petrograd. However, immediately Kerensky began to fear that the military, having put things in order, would take power into their own hands. Immediately orders Kornilov (commander-in-chief) to withdraw the troops back. Kornilov did not obey. Kerensky rushed about and remembered that he and Lenin were countrymen. He turns to the Bolsheviks for help, who were already quite popular in August. The Bolsheviks helped. The troops were stopped. Kerensky was imprisoned. It was believed that it was Kerensky who was to blame for the troubles of 1917.

September 1, 1917 Kerensky declares Russia a republic. By mid-October, the situation has become catastrophic, and the Bolsheviks decide to take power into their own hands. At that time, there was virtually no power in the country. The provisional government did not control the situation. None of the parties (except the Bolsheviks) was willing to take responsibility.

On October 25-26, strategically important objects were occupied: railway stations, banks, telegraphs, the Provisional Government was arrested. In parallel, the second Congress of Soviets was held, which proclaimed the transfer of power to the Soviets in the center, the victory of the Socialist Revolution and in the field. Among the first documents of the new government, the main decrees were approved - on peace and land.

The Peace Decree contained

a call to the belligerents to make peace without annexations and indemnities,

rejection of secret treaties and secret diplomacy of the former government.

Decree on land proclaimed

cancellation private property to the ground,

nationalization of all land and its subsoil.

The land was transferred to the disposal of local councils of peasant deputies. Land leasing and hired labor were prohibited.

From a legal point of view, everything is correct.

The SNK (council of people's commissars) was created, headed by Lenin. This is the executive branch. The Congress of People's Deputies was the supreme legislative power. The All-Russian Central Executive Committee worked between congresses.

State defense bodies were created:

All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK) to combat sabotage, smuggling and subversive activities.

From January 1918, the formation of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army and Navy (RKKA) begins.

People's courts and tribunals were created.

The situation with the constituent assembly.

The provisional government also announced elections in constituent Assembly. The Bolsheviks did not refuse this. The result is the following schedule:

Bourgeois parties - 16%,

Petty-bourgeois parties - more than 60%.

Therefore, the Bolsheviks invite the Left Socialist-Revolutionaries to the Council of People's Commissars (Soviet People's Commissars) and power structures. At the first meeting of the CC, a "Declaration of the Rights of the Working and Exploited People" was proposed. This declaration stated the fact of the victory of the socialist revolution, the deputies had to confirm the fait accompli. They refused to sign the document. They were given time to think.

On January 5, 1918, the Constituent Assembly opens. The deputy is invited to sign Lenin's declaration of the rights of the working and exploited people.

However, some deputies refused to sign the document.

On January 7, 1918, the All-Russian Central Executive Committee dissolved the Constituent Assembly. The phrase said at the dissolution by the sailor Zheleznyak sounded like "The guard is tired."

On January 10, 1918, the 3rd Congress of Soviets approved the dissolution of the US, approved the "Declaration", proclaimed a federal structure in Russia, and took a course towards building socialism. Since that time, Russia has created one system Soviets of Workers', Soldiers' and Peasants' Deputies. New organization power was enshrined in the Constitution of the RSFSR, which was adopted at the 5th Congress of Soviets on July 10, 1918.

Brest peace. important question remained Russia's exit from the war. On March 3, 1918, peace was signed with Germany. It was not beneficial for Russia, because the previous delegation, headed by Trotsky, spoiled the situation with ridiculous statements such as neither Peace nor War. German troops entered Ukraine, Russia had to pay 3 billion rubles. At the 6th Extraordinary Congress of Soviets, the Left Esserai refused to ratify peace of Brest. They left the Council of People's Commissars, but remained in the Cheka and the army. In the summer of 1918, the assassination of the German ambassador Mirbach was organized in order to disrupt the peace and provoke a war with Germany. Everything was aggravated by the failure of the German army on the western front. As a result, a revolution began, Chancellor Max of Baden arbitrarily announced the abdication of Emperor Wilhelm 2 and resigned. In 1919, the Weimar Republic was formed in Germany. End of the First World War. On November 19, 1918, an armistice was signed in Compiegne, and on January 18, 1919, the Paris Peace Conference began to work on the terms of treaties with Germany and its former allies. Big Three: Germany, UK and France. Russia is not invited because it has been called a violator of the peace treaty.

Test work on the history of the World at the beginning of the 20th century for grade 9 with answers. The work includes 28 multi-level tasks.

1. In 1908 there was

1) Young Turk revolution
2) Boer War
3) xinhai revolution in China
4) Spanish-American War

2. Which of the following organizations was founded in Great Britain in 1906?

1) Conservative Party
2) Liberal Party
3) National Chartist Association
4) Labor Party

3. Which of the following happened in 1913?

1) radio was invented
2) the first film session was held
3) the conveyor was used for the first time (on the assembly of cars)
4) built the first subway in Europe in London

4. Among the basic requirements of workers in European countries at the beginning of the 20th century included

1) introduction of the constitution
2) establishment of an 8-hour working day
3) the right to form trade unions
4) the creation of the first association of socialist parties - the International

5. AT late XIX- the beginning of the twentieth century in most countries of Western Europe and the United States appeared

1) parliaments
2) nationwide trade union federations
3) communist parties
4) liberal parties

6. "Country of trusts" was called at the beginning of the twentieth century

1) Great Britain
2) Italy
3) USA
4) France

7. Significant social reforms in Great Britain at the beginning of the 20th century were facilitated by

1) D. Lloyd George
2) B. Disraeli
3) W. Churchill
4) A. Griffith

8. Anarcho-syndicalist ideas spread in the late 19th and early 20th centuries

1) among European parliamentarians
2) in the organization of the Young Turks
3) among American farmers
4) in the labor movement

9. Members of the women's suffrage movement were called

1) suffragists
2) royalists
3) pacifists
4) Chartists

10. At the beginning of the twentieth century, the United States sought in its foreign policy

11. As a result of the Xinhai Revolution in China

1) activity of foreign companies is terminated
2) the power of the emperor was overthrown
3) the Kuomintang came to power
4) the imperial throne was occupied by a Japanese protege

12. The Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire were called

1) representatives of the emerging technical intelligentsia
2) owners of large Turkish enterprises and banks
3) members of an organization that advocated a constitutional order
4) members of the revolutionary democratic party

13. Arrange the events in chronological order.

1) Xinhai Revolution in China
2) Russo-Japanese War
3) Boer War

14. What new industries were developed at the beginning of the 20th century? Select two correct positions.

1) textile
2) engineering
3) electrical
4) chemical

15. What kind two of the named technical inventions, devices appeared in the first decades of the twentieth century?

1) car
2) airplane
3) telephone
4) conveyor

16. In which two Of these countries, there were revolutions in the first decades of the 20th century?

1) China
2) India
3) Ottoman Empire
4) Japan

17. What kind two of these states were actively involved in the struggle for the redistribution of colonial possessions at the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries?

1) UK
2) Germany
3) Spain
4) USA

18. Match events and dates. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

a) revolution in mexico
B) Anglo-Boer War
B) Xinhai Revolution in China

1) 1899-1902
2) 1904-1905
3) 1911-1913
4) 1910-1917

19. Establish a correspondence between the concepts and the names of the states to whose history they relate. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

A) the Millerand case
B) the Czech question
B) trade unions

States

1) UK
2) France
3) Italy
4) Austria-Hungary

20. Establish a correspondence between terms and their meaning. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

A) urbanization
B) emancipation
B) emigration

Values

1) liberation from oppression, equalization of rights
2) increasing the intensity of labor
3) the growth of large cities
4) moving to live in another country

21. Establish a correspondence between the concepts and the names of the countries to whose history they refer in the early twentieth century. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

A) antitrust laws
B) home rule
B) Third Republic

1) Germany
2) France
3) USA
4) Ireland

22.

A) G. Ford
B) D. Lloyd George
B) A. Bebel

Activity

1) Prime Minister of Great Britain
2) founder of a car company in the USA
3) the President of France
4) leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany

23. Establish a correspondence between the names of historical persons and their activities. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

A) F. Villa
B) Sun Yat-sen
B) Mutsuhito

Activity

1) leader revolutionary movement in China
2) Emperor of Japan
3) founder of the Society of Young Turks
4) leader of the peasant movement in Mexico

24. Match the names of scientists and their scientific discoveries at the beginning of the twentieth century. For each position in the first column, select the corresponding position from the second column.

A) A. Einstein
B) M. Sklodowska-Curie
C) E. Rutherford

Discoveries

1) the theory of relativity
2) transmission of radio waves over a distance
3) new model atom structure
4) the discovery of the radioactivity of the atom

25. Name the general concept.
Cartel, syndicate, trust - __________

26. Specify what unites the names in the rows.

1) G. Bessemer, E. and P. Martin - __________
2) K. Benz, L. Renault, G. Ford — __________
3) W. and O. Wright, I. Sikorsky, E. Heinkel - __________

27. Specify what unites the names in the rows

1) A. Bebel, E. Bernstein, K. Kautsky - __________
2) Sun Yat-sen, Yuan Shikai - __________
3) F. Madero, V. Carranza, E. Zapata - __________

28. Read the extract from the document On the Aims of War (written 1914) and answer the questions.

“... We need unconditional freedom of the seas, colonies with convenient harbors that can be defended, colonies that supply us with raw materials and can become markets for sales, colonies that can live their own economy and differ in comparison with the English colonial empire in solidarity and freedom of movement ... We need a border in the west, which would give us, if possible, the key to France. We can use the areas of coal and ore adjacent directly to our border. From a military point of view, it is desirable to improve the East Prussian frontier. Finally, we need a military indemnity that would bind France for a long time in economic terms and deprive it of the opportunity to develop financial activities in other parts of the world to our detriment.”

1) The goals of which state are set out in the document? On what basis can this be determined?

2) Using source information and course knowledge, explain how the preparations for the war in question were expressed.

ANSWERS - Test work on the history of the World at the beginning of the 20th century for grade 9
1-1
2-4
3-3
4-2
5-2
6-3
7-1
8-4
9-1
10-3
11-2
12-3
13-321
14-34
15-24
16-13
17-24
18-413
19-241
20-314
21-342
22-214
23-412
24-143
25. monopoly
26.
1) Discoveries, technical inventions in metallurgy.
2) Car production.
3) Aircraft building.
27.
1) Ideologists and leaders socialist movement.
2) Participants in the revolution of 1911-1913. in China.
3) Participants in the Mexican Revolution of 1910-1917.
28.
1) The document outlines the goals of Germany. This is evidenced by the mention of the western border with France, as well as the attitude expressed in the text towards England’ and France as rival states.
2) Preparations for war: strengthening the army and navy, improving weapons, in the diplomatic sphere - the conclusion of an alliance with Austria-Hungary and Italy (Triple Entente).

The history of the 20th century was full of events of the different nature- there were great discoveries and great catastrophes in it. States were created and destroyed, and revolutions and civil wars forced people to leave their native places in order to go to foreign lands, but at the same time save their lives. In art, the twentieth century also left an indelible mark, completely renewing it and creating completely new trends and schools. There were great achievements in science as well.

World history of the 20th century

The 20th century began for Europe with very sad events - the Russo-Japanese war broke out, and in Russia in 1905 the first, albeit ended in failure, revolution took place. This was the first war in the history of the 20th century, during which such weapons as destroyers, battleships and heavy long-range artillery were used.

This war Russian empire lost and suffered colossal human, financial and territorial losses. However, the Russian government decided to enter into peace negotiations only when more than two billion gold rubles were spent from the treasury for the war - an amount that is fantastic today, but simply unthinkable in those days.

In the context of world history, this war was just another clash of colonial powers in the struggle for the territory of a weakened neighbor, and the role of the victim fell to the weakening Chinese empire.

Russian Revolution and its aftermath

One of the most significant events of the 20th century, of course, was the February and October revolutions. The fall of the monarchy in Russia caused a whole series of unexpected and incredibly powerful events. The liquidation of the empire was followed by the defeat of Russia in the First World War, the separation from it of such countries as Poland, Finland, Ukraine and the countries of the Caucasus.

For Europe, the revolution and the civil war that followed it also left their mark. The Ottoman Empire, liquidated in 1922, and the German Empire in 1918 also ceased to exist. Austro-Hungarian Empire existed until 1918 and broke up into several independent states.

However, even within Russia, calm after the revolution did not come immediately. The civil war continued until 1922 and ended with the creation of the USSR, the collapse of which in 1991 will be another important event.

World War I

This war was the first so-called trench war, in which a huge amount of time was spent not so much on moving troops forward and capturing cities, but on pointless waiting in the trenches.

In addition, artillery was used en masse, for the first time chemical weapon and invented gas masks. Another important feature the use of military aviation began, the formation of which actually took place during the hostilities, although aviator schools were created a few years before it began. Together with aviation, forces were created that were supposed to fight it. This is how the air defense forces appeared.

Development of information and communication technologies also found its reflection on the battlefield. Information began to be transmitted from headquarters to the front ten times faster thanks to the construction of telegraph lines.

But not only in development material culture and technology was affected by this terrible war. She found a place in art. The 20th century was a turning point for culture, when many old forms were rejected and replaced by new ones.

Art and literature

Culture on the eve of the First World War experienced an unprecedented rise, which resulted in the creation of the most different currents both in literature and in painting, sculpture and cinema.

Perhaps the most striking and one of the most well-known artistic directions art was futuristic. Under this name, it is customary to unite a number of movements in literature, painting, sculpture and cinema, which trace their genealogy to the famous manifesto of futurism, written by the Italian poet Marinetti.

Along with Italy, futurism received the greatest distribution in Russia, where such literary communities of futurists as Gilea and OBERIU appeared, the largest representatives of which were Khlebnikov, Mayakovsky, Kharms, Severyanin and Zabolotsky.

Concerning visual arts, then pictorial futurism had Fauvism in its foundation, while borrowing a lot from the then popular cubism, which was born in France at the beginning of the century. In the 20th century, the history of art and politics are inextricably linked, as many avant-garde writers, painters and filmmakers drew up their own plans for the reconstruction of the society of the future.

The Second World War

The history of the 20th century cannot be complete without a story about the most catastrophic event - World War II, which began a year and lasted until September 2, 1945. All the horrors that accompanied the war left an indelible mark on the memory of mankind.

Russia in the 20th century, like other European countries, experienced many terrible events, but none of them can be compared in its consequences with the Great Patriotic War, which was part of World War II. According to various sources, the number of victims of the war in the USSR reached twenty million people. This number includes both military and civilian residents of the country, as well as numerous victims of the blockade of Leningrad.

Cold war with former allies

Sixty-two sovereign states out of the seventy-three that existed at that time were drawn into the fighting on the fronts of the World War. fighting were conducted in Africa, Europe, the Middle East and Asia, the Caucasus and Atlantic Ocean and beyond the Arctic Circle.

World War II and the Cold War followed one after the other. Yesterday's allies became first rivals, and later enemies. Crises and conflicts followed one another for several decades until Soviet Union did not cease to exist, thereby putting an end to the competition between the two systems - capitalist and socialist.

Cultural Revolution in China

If we tell the history of the twentieth century in terms of state history, then it might sound like long list wars, revolutions and endless violence, often applied to completely random people.

By the mid-sixties, when the world had not yet fully comprehended the consequences October revolution and the civil war in Russia, another revolution unfolded on the other side of the continent, which went down in history under the name of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

The cause of the Cultural Revolution in the PRC is considered to be an intra-party split and Mao's fears of losing his dominant position within the party hierarchy. As a result, it was decided to start an active struggle against those representatives of the party who were supporters of small property and private initiative. All of them were accused of counter-revolutionary propaganda and either shot or sent to prison. Thus began the mass terror, which lasted more than ten years, and the cult of personality of Mao Zedong.

space race

Space exploration was one of the most popular areas in the twentieth century. Although today it has become habitual for people the international cooperation in the field high technology and space exploration, while space was an arena of intense confrontation and fierce competition.

The first frontier for which the two superpowers fought was near-Earth orbit. By the beginning of the fifties, both the USA and the USSR had samples of rocket technology, which served as prototypes for launch vehicles of a later time.

Despite all the speed with which American scientists worked, Soviet rocket scientists were the first to put the cargo into orbit, and on October 4, 1957, the first man-made satellite was in Earth orbit, which made 1440 turns around the planet, and then burned out in dense layers of the atmosphere.

Also, Soviet engineers were the first to launch the first living creature into orbit - a dog, and later a man. In April 1961, a rocket was launched from the Baikonur cosmodrome, in the cargo compartment of which was spaceship Vostok-1, in which Yuri Gagarin was. Taking the first man into space was risky.

In the conditions of the race, space exploration could cost the cosmonaut his life, since in a hurry to get ahead of the Americans, Russian engineers made a number of rather risky decisions from a technical point of view. However, both takeoff and landing were successful. So the USSR won the next stage of the competition, called space race.

Flights to the Moon

Having lost the first few stages in space exploration, American politicians and scientists decided to set themselves a more ambitious and difficult task, for which the Soviet Union could simply not have enough resources and technical developments.

The next frontier that needed to be taken was the flight to the moon - natural satellite Earth. The project, called "Apollo", was initiated in 1961 and aimed at carrying out a manned expedition to the moon and landing a man on its surface.

As ambitious as this task may have seemed by the time the project began, it was accomplished in 1969 with the landing of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. In total, the program carried out six manned flights to earth satellite.

Defeat of the socialist camp

cold war, as is known, ended with the defeat of the socialist countries not only in the arms race, but also in the economic competition. There is a consensus among most leading economists that the main reasons for the collapse of the USSR and the entire socialist camp were economic.

Despite the fact that in some countries there is widespread resentment regarding the events of the late eighties and early nineties, for most countries of Eastern and Central Europe, liberation from Soviet domination turned out to be extremely favorable.

The list of the most important events of the 20th century invariably contains a line mentioning the fall Berlin Wall, which served as a physical symbol of the division of the world into two hostile camps. November 9, 1989 is considered the date of the collapse of this symbol of totalitarianism.

Technological progress in the 20th century

The twentieth century was rich in inventions, never before technical progress didn't go at that speed. Hundreds of very significant inventions and discoveries have been made over a hundred years, but some of them deserve special mention because of their extreme importance for the development of human civilization.

To inventions without which it is unthinkable modern life definitely applies to aircraft. Despite the fact that people have dreamed of flying for many millennia, the first flight in the history of mankind was only possible in 1903. This achievement, fantastic in its consequences, belongs to the brothers Wilbur and Orville Wright.

Another important invention related to aviation was the backpack parachute, designed by the St. Petersburg engineer Gleb Kotelnikov. It was Kotelnikov who received a patent for his invention in 1912. Also in 1910, the first seaplane was designed.

But perhaps the most terrible invention of the twentieth century was nuclear bomb, a single use of which plunged humanity into a horror that has not passed to this day.

Medicine in the 20th century

One of the main inventions of the 20th century is also considered the technology of artificial production of penicillin, thanks to which mankind was able to get rid of many infectious diseases. The scientists who discovered bactericidal properties fungus, was Alexander Fleming.

All the achievements of medicine in the twentieth century were inextricably linked with the development of such fields of knowledge as physics and chemistry. Indeed, without the achievements of fundamental physics, chemistry or biology, the invention of the X-ray machine, chemotherapy, radiation and vitamin therapy would have been impossible.

In the 21st century, medicine is even more closely connected with high-tech branches of science and industry, which opens up truly fascinating prospects in the fight against diseases such as cancer, HIV and many other intractable diseases. It is worth noting that the discovery of the DNA helix and its subsequent decoding also give hope for the possibility of curing inherited diseases.

After the USSR

Russia in the 20th century experienced many catastrophes, among which were wars, including civil wars, the collapse of the country and revolutions. At the end of the century, another extremely important event happened - the Soviet Union ceased to exist, and sovereign states were formed in its place, some of which plunged into civil war or into a war with their neighbors, and some, like the Baltic countries, quickly joined the European Union and started building an effective democratic state.

General history. XX- beginning of XXI century. Grade 11. Basic level Volobuev Oleg Vladimirovich

§ 1. The world at the beginning of the 20th century.

§ 1. The world at the beginning of the 20th century.

Changes in the state and social order Western countries

By the beginning of the 20th century Western European civilization spread its influence far beyond Europe. Began to take shape western world, or the West, which included not only Western Europe, but also North America(USA, Canada), as well as countries in other regions of the planet (Australia, New Zealand). characteristic features of this world were an industrial market economy, respect for private property, the existence civil society. Individualism, rationalism and faith in scientific and technological progress were inherent in the inhabitants of the Western countries.

Feudal monarchies are in the past. Liberal constitutions were adopted in most Western countries, and democratically elected parliaments appeared. The number of voters has increased. Thus, as a result of the struggle for their rights, by 1920 women were able to participate in elections in most countries of Western Europe and North America.

In the Western world, the principles of the rule of law have been recognized - democracy, observance of basic civil rights, pluralism of opinions, equality of all people before the law. The atmosphere of free competition has become characteristic not only of the market economy, but also of political life. The state was increasingly reluctant to interfere in privacy citizens, recognized and supported the rights and freedoms of the individual, which were now considered more important than the interests of the state. The principles of liberal democracy were affirmed.

The changes that occurred as a result of the industrial revolution affected not only production. The life of people has improved. Agriculture no longer dominated the economy. It seemed that the threat of crop failures and famine had disappeared forever. European states have become more active in pursuing social policies: increased standard of living population, working and living conditions of workers have improved - wages have increased, working hours have been reduced to 9-11 hours, in some European countries laws have appeared on pension and health insurance workers. The trade unions have achieved significant success in protecting the interests of hired workers. In the UK, they have become an influential political force. Positive changes in social sphere and the rapid development of technology, which was changing everyday life before our eyes, inspired people with hope for a prosperous future.

The industrial revolution led to significant changes in the composition of peoples and their settlement. People from rural areas and small towns moved to big cities became centers of industrial production. The growth of a new social stratum accelerated - the middle class, which included employees, the petty bourgeoisie, officers, people of creative professions with high level education that has social activity, prestige in society, but at the same time did not have significant property. It was the representatives of the middle class who became the backbone of liberal democracy, since they were interested in the stability of the state and the implementation of gradual reforms.

Paris at the beginning of the 20th century

The industrial proletariat at the beginning of the 20th century. became more educated, he possessed higher professional skills than the working class of the previous century. Its most qualified representatives were approaching the middle class in terms of living standards. They were also more interested in the evolutionary, reformist development of society than in revolutionary upheavals. Their interests in Western Europe represented by major trade unions.

However, the assertion democratic principles in the life of Western society was not final. In many countries, remnants of traditional relations remained, and social problems did not lose their acuteness.

New trends in the economic development of the West

Late 19th – early 20th century - a time of important changes in the global economy. Western countries developed dynamically. Leaders in industrial development, in contrast to the XIX century. - the period of domination of Great Britain, became Germany and the USA.

Open open pit. 1906

The long stage in the development of "classical" capitalism, when small and medium-sized firms owned by individual capitalists and competed with each other, played the main role. They were replaced by large companies that controlled production in entire industries. Such companies, which arose, as a rule, as a result of the union of industrialists and bankers, were called monopolies. They set prices for products, determined the level of production and wages hired workers. The power of the monopolies was such that they could influence state decisions, subordinating state power to their own interests. Monopoly associations stepped over national borders, dividing the world into spheres of influence. The first transnational corporations created at the beginning of the 20th century were the American General Electric and the German AEG. The emergence of international monopolies led to an aggravation of the contradictions between them, the struggle for the redistribution of the world market. In the new economic conditions, the importance of the colonies has increased, which have become the most important sources of raw materials, labor and sales markets for transnational companies.

The emergence of corporations that occupied a monopoly position in the most important industries had a negative impact on the development of the economy. The foundation of the free market, competition, was under threat. There was a need to protect free enterprise from the state. Governments Western countries were forced to provide access to private individuals in any industry economic activity. Antitrust legislation, adopted in the United States in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, was devoted to the fight against monopolies. According to him, associations of entrepreneurs were outlawed if they restricted trade between states or with other states. Price discrimination, mergers and other forms of association leading to a "significant reduction in competition" were prohibited. As a result of the application of antitrust laws, two powerful monopolies were divided - Standard Oil, which controlled 90% of the capacity of oil refineries, and American Tobacco, which accounted for 3/4 of the tobacco market.

However, the fight against monopolies was not always successful and consistent. Antitrust laws in the United States and similar acts in other Western countries have become an example of state intervention in the economy. It moved away from the position of an outside observer and from the beginning of the 20th century. actively participated in economic processes as an owner, customer and regulator.

A characteristic feature of the economy industrial countries remained a cyclical nature of development. The reason for the periodically arising in the XIX - early XX centuries. crises was the overproduction of goods that did not find sufficient demand. This led to the bankruptcy of entrepreneurs, unemployment and, accordingly, a decrease in the standard of living of people. The crisis of 1900–1903 was especially powerful, giving impetus to the process of concentration of production and capital, and the emergence of monopolies. At the same time, the crises contributed to the development of advanced industries and financial structures.

Warship passes the Panama Canal. 1915

The rapid development of science led to a new stage of the industrial revolution, which was characterized by the transition from coal and steam to electricity and liquid fuels. Revolutionary changes have taken place in transport system and communications: the telephone, radio, car, subway, tram came into life, railway construction developed rapidly, aviation took the first steps, laid car roads. The Suez Canal, whose construction was completed in 1869, and the Panama Canal, which let the first ship through in 1914, greatly accelerated and simplified maritime communication between the continents. The construction of these canals, which required enormous efforts and funds, was carried out by France and the United States. The West got its hands on not only new sea ​​routes, but also established control over the regions where they lay.

Ideological currents and political parties

The ideological basis of the socio-political life of Western countries remained conservatism, liberalism and socialism. However, as the influence of the aristocracy weakened, conservatism increasingly lost ground. The liberals have updated their ideology - they have moved away from the idea of ​​state non-intervention in the economy. Representatives of the "new liberalism" advocated an active social policy designed to smooth out social inequality through reforms. Thus, they tried to make the life of society more stable and protect it from extremist encroachments of both right and left forces. Prominent figures among the Liberals were British politician David Lloyd George and Italian Prime Minister Giovanni Giolitti. In the United States, the leaders of the reformist policy were Presidents Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

A firm place in the social and political life of the Western countries was occupied by the socialist movement. Its representatives won victories in parliamentary and municipal elections, formed factions in the authorities. By 1914, 10.5 million voters were already voting for the Social Democrats, and the number of their representatives in parliaments reached 646 people. The most significant factions of the Social Democrats were created in the German Reichstag and the French Chamber of Deputies.

Modern slave market. Caricature of the beginning of the 20th century.

The workers' representatives in parliament sought to pass social legislation that would shorten the working day, give workers the right to rest, protect against unemployment, and ensure a dignified old age. These transformations, in the opinion of socialists who shared liberal and democratic values, should have led to the peaceful transformation of capitalism into socialism. Unlike revolutionary socialists, they considered it possible to act within the bounds of legality, through reforms carried out by the state, without revolutionary violence. Supporters of reforms in Germany, France, and Great Britain abandoned the idea of ​​revolution, "integrating" into the existing political system.

At the same time, the radicalization of the revolutionary direction of socialism was taking place. The left wing of the socialist movement was a minority but extremely active. In countries with conservative and despotic political regimes, for example, in Russia, supporters of the extreme, revolutionary methods struggle (the Bolsheviks) managed to achieve decisive influence in the socialist movement.

At the end of the XIX century. Two currents arose in the labor movement. Along with revolutionary socialism, liberal socialism - reformism - was formed.

The national conflicts that shook Europe, the ambitions of national leaders, the confusion of borders between European peoples led to the fact that nationalism became a state ideology, an integral part of totalitarian ideologies, race theories which led to violence and wars, justifying territorial expansion, and chauvinism - the flag of foreign policy. National movements undermined the unity of multinational empires - Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, Russian. The desire of peoples to create their own nation states. The basis of the ideology of the liberation movement in the countries of the East also became nationalism, often taking the form of anti-European speeches.

The most intricate tangle of ethnic conflicts in Europe existed on the Balkan Peninsula, where the interests of the great powers were intertwined with the desire of the peoples living here - Albanians, Greeks, Bulgarians, Serbs and others - to get rid of foreign power or expand the borders of national states at the expense of neighbors.

Modernization process outside of Europe

Civilization processes acquired a global scale, national isolation and the possibility for isolated development of even backward countries disappeared. Western European and North American imperialism has established political and economic dominance over the rest of the world. Africa and part of Asia were divided between colonial powers. On the African continent, two countries remained politically independent - Ethiopia (Abyssinia) and Liberia. In Asia, only Japan managed not only to maintain its independence, but also as a result of the reforms of the second half of the 19th century. to become an industrial power, embarking on the path of external expansion. A number of Latin American states, even those that were formally considered independent, were within the sphere of US interests.

Many countries in the late XIX - early XX century. embraced the process modernization, primarily involving the creation of modern industry (industrialization) and changes in other areas of society. For the countries of the East, modernization meant Westernization (or Europeanization) of relations in the economy, the spiritual sphere and politics. Often European influence came into conflict with traditional values, abrupt changes led to the growth of the national liberation movement, so modernization was accompanied not only by reforms, but also by revolutions. Often, modernization was carried out by authoritarian governments that neglected the principles of democracy.

The wife of the leader of the African tribe Ashanti with close associates. End of the 19th century

Chauvinist-minded Europeans considered the orders that existed in the countries of the East backward, archaic, sometimes even savage. At the beginning of the XX century. in Europe it was customary to look down on the peoples of the East, talking about the "mission of the white man", called to bring them the "light of civilization". At the same time, it was forgotten that in the East there were original ancient civilizations with their own priorities and values. For the people of the East, spirituality, the principles of morality, collectivism, adherence to traditions have always been of particular importance. Their "backwardness" was relative - suffice it to recall the great achievements of the ancient and medieval scientists of India, China, Islamic countries.

A soldier escorts a group of slaves in Africa. Early 20th century

The growth of the economy, the emancipation of society, the increase in the number educated people among the local elite created the conditions for the development of the countries of the East. The inclusion of colonial countries in the orbit of the world capitalist market made the gradual formation of new social strata inevitable. The emerging national bourgeoisie, as well as the intelligentsia, as a rule, led the struggle for change in the countries of the East. The governments of a number of independent and semi-independent states of the East used modernization to resist the expansion of the West, to preserve and strengthen national independence. This was typical for Japan, China, Ottoman Empire, Iran.

The beginning of the 20th century was the time of the formation of a new planetary civilization that covered the whole world. Many countries were undergoing modernization processes that brought them to new level development. Revolutions and conflicts became an essential feature of the world development of this period.

Questions and tasks

1. What features are characteristic of the socio-economic development of Western countries at the beginning of the 20th century?

2. How can one explain the dominant position of the Western powers at the beginning of the 20th century?

3. Tell us about the evolution of the main ideological currents in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

4. What is modernization? What are the features of modernization in the countries of the West and the East?

5. Read a fragment of the parliamentary report of the British Chancellor of the Exchequer D. Lloyd George, which he delivered in 1909:

“The first principle ... is that the taxes I propose ... will give in the next year a sufficient amount of revenue to cover new expenses; income should be increased due to the growth of expenditures on social program, outlined by me ... The second principle ... consists in not harming production and trade, which is the source of our wealth. My third principle is that, in the present urgent need, all classes of our society should bear their due burden ... The producing classes, in my opinion and according to surveys, pay in the form of national and local taxes a relatively larger share of their income than the more well-to-do classes. .

What ideology did the speaker adhere to and what were the consequences of the steps he proposed?

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