Question

Answer the following questions for the U.S. and Russia:

Discuss any important historic events that lead the country’s economy to where it is today.

Was the country a colony as some point? Did this play a role in its economic development?

Answer 1

Russia

1. The Bolshevik Revolution-

The significance of the revolution that declared the prosperity of the toiling masses as its utmost end was felt not only by Gandhi. One might recall the American journalistJohn Reed’s account Ten Days That Shook the World published shortly after the uprising in October 1917.

The significant effects of the Russian Revolution were arguably twofold and had a planetary dimension.

The second effect was global too – decolonization. According to historian and political activist Tariq Ali, the Russian Revolution “accelerated decolonization and inspired the revolutions in Vietnam, China, [and] Cuba.”

2. Victory in WWII

The defeat of Nazism in the Great Patriotic War, the name given to WWII in Russia, is so monumental that it hardly needs any elucidations. What is not that often stressed is the fact the social, political, and economic system that managed to destroy fascism was the one that was created in the course of the 1917 Revolution. Tariq Ali directly connects the two phenomena – the revolution and victory in the war – “the creation of the Red Army that survived Stalin’s purges went on to destroy the spinal cord of the Third Reich at Stalingrad and Kursk

America

1. The Civil War

Economically and socially speaking, the United States was better than the vast majority of other countries in the world. The only two countries wealthier than the United States were Australia and the United Kingdom.

The Civil War was a devastating event. It killed more Americans than any other war in history and destroyed the South's economy.

In fact, the population and the economy of the United States has grown. The latter is in large part due to the effective economic policies of the Republican Party under Abraham Lincoln. It is true that living standards have grown slower than elsewhere. Still, the United States is very wealthy and very healthy after its worst war in history.

2. The Great Depression

The United States is the richest country in the world in 1920, although in terms of health it isn't doing as great.

By 1933, in the depths of the Great Depression, the American living standard is actually worse than almost a generation ago. The good news is that Americans are a lot healthier. So the Great Depression was really as bad as it was advertised.

Look at the other countries, however. As badly as the United States is doing, livings standards are still the world's best. Only Brunei (due to its oil), Luxembourg, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom have a higher GDP per capita adjusted to inflation and purchasing power parity.

The colonial history of the United States covers the history of European colonization of America from the early 16th century until the incorporation of the colonies into the United States of America. In the late 16th century, England, France, Spain, and the Netherlands launched major colonization programs in America. The death rate was very high among those who arrived first, and some early attempts disappeared altogether, such as the English Lost Colony of Roanoke. Nevertheless, successful colonies were established within several decades.

European settlers came from a variety of social and religious groups, including adventurers, farmers, indentured servants, tradesmen, and a few from the aristocracy. Settlers included the Dutch of New Netherland, the Swedes and Finns of New Sweden, the English Quakers of the Province of Pennsylvania, the English Puritans of New England, the English settlers of Jamestown, Virginia, the English Catholics and Protestant non-conformists of the Province of Maryland, the "worthy poor" of the Province of Georgia, the Germans who settled the mid-Atlantic colonies, and the Ulster Scots people of the Appalachian Mountains. These groups all became part of the United States when it gained its independence in 1776. Russian America and parts of New France and New Spain were also incorporated into the United States at various points. The diverse groups from these various regions built colonies of distinctive social, religious, political, and economic style.

The Russian colonization of the Americas covers the period from 1732 to 1867, when the Russian Empire laid claim to northern Pacific Coast territories in the Americas. Russian colonial possessions in the Americas are collectively known as Russian America. Russian expansion eastward began in 1552, and in 1639 Russian explorers reached the Pacific Ocean. In 1725, Emperor Peter the Great ordered navigator Vitus Bering to explore the North Pacific for potential colonization. The Russians were primarily interested in the abundance of fur-bearing mammals on Alaska's coast, as stocks had been depleted by over hunting in Siberia. Bering's first voyage was foiled by thick fog and ice, but in 1741 a second voyage by Bering and Aleksei Chirikov made sight of the North American mainland.