A Comparative Look At Russia And China History Essay

A Comparative Look At Russia And China History Essay Both China and Russia have had very similar beginnings. Both countries have dealt or continue to deal with communism, poverty, unstable governments, and economic troubles. China has the largest population in the world with over 1.3 billion inhabitants; it ranks first in exports and has a GDP of $8.7 trillion. In contrast, Russia is the largest country in the world with a vast majority of resources and a population that is ranked sixth in the world. Because of their similar beginnings and economic potential, it is essential to understand the similarities between these countries and the direction in which they are headed. Some of the problems that plague Russia today date back to Russia’s beginnings. Under an absolute monarch, Russia was predominantly dominated by the Orthodox Church, causing the country to miss out on â€Å"most of the transformations that reshaped Western Europe from the 1500s onward† (Charles Hauss). For Russia, the scientific revolution, the idea of individualism and other innovative trends had little to no impact, leaving a country that was once one of Europe’s great powers into a state of â€Å"backwardness†. During Peter the Great’s reign, a series of attempts to reform the country were implemented through the introduction of western technology and ideas. These reforms did little to improve the country’s situation and in fact, there introduction created a class of elites that till this day control many of Russia’s industries. The set of reforms were disrupted by the Slavophiles who believed that â€Å"Russian traditions were superior to anything in the West† (Charles Hauss). It was not until Russia was defeated by Britain and France in the Crimean War that it truly understood how far it lagged behind other European Powers. After the Crimean War, Alexander II attempted to pass another set of belated reforms which would grant the liberation of serfs, relax censorship, and introduce a c onstitution that would allow five percent of the male population the ability to vote. Unfortunately, the assassination of the tsar left Alexander III in power which put a halt to the reformations. Unlike Russia, the Chinese population is not only more homogenous but also the largest in the world. For many years, China was under imperial rule with an established system of examinations where the imperial bureaucracy was in charge of enforcing the laws and collecting taxes. During the eighteenth century, China’s last imperial dynasty, the Quing Dynasty, began to decline as the production of agriculture was unable to sustain the growing population. Like the Russian Slavophiles, the Manchus viewed â€Å"Chinese traditions as superior† and choose to â€Å"ignore the industrial revolution and the other trends that were transforming the West† (Charles Hauss). After the Chinese defeat by the British during the Opium War, the Europeans took control of the Chinese coast an d implemented the principle of extraterritoriality, â€Å"which meant that their law, not China’s, applied to the activities of the Europeans† (Charles Hauss). The Europeans not only implemented their own laws, but they also brought their merchants and religion. The country that had developed the first centralized state was now under the control of the Europeans and completely humiliated at the lack of authority that they possessed in their own country. Like in Russia it took a war for the Chinese to realize that they needed to embrace modernization. The Chinese viewed Japan as a second-rate power, but because Japan launched successful programs towards modernization, when the two went to war, Japan resulted as the victor. The lack of modernization cost China not only Taiwan and Korea but Japan also gained concessions to China.