Question

How did the soviet union and china differ in terms of the revolutions that brought communists to power and in the construction of socialist societies? what commonalities are also apparent ?

Answer 1

Workers v. Peasants--the revolution in Russia was a workers revolt led by intellectuals whereas the revolution in China was a peasant revolt led by farmers and rural members of society.

The Russian Revolution was one that was led by soldiers and urban workers. The leadership was intellectual and the Soviet government was run, initially, as a textbook Soviet revolution.

The Chinese Revolution was led by a peasant and was almost entirely a peasant revolution. The peasant class was rising up against Western influence and take over of cities by a Nationalist government or Western powers. The focus of the revolution returned the country to farming and collective agrarian economy.

Answer 2

The correct answer to this open question is the following.

The Soviet Union and China differed in terms of the revolutions that brought Communists to power and in the construction of socialist societies in the following way.

In the Soviet Union, it was the Bolsheviks that installed Communism after defeating the Mensheviks in the civil war. The allies of the Tzars tried to rebel and face some opposition but the troops of Vladimir Lenin were victorious and Lenin split the land and gave peasants some concessions.

In China, it was the Communist Red Army of Mao Zedong that defeated the Nationalists troops to install Communism in the country. Zedong established the People's Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Among the commonalities of these two revolutionary movements was the fight of the farmers and working-class to gain better living conditions and to rebel against the oppression of the rich men that exploited workers.