Russia

Standing in between two courses of action is like standing in the middle of the road.

It is an excellent place to be hit by a truck. This is what happened to Czarist Russia,

when in 1917, two hundred years of waffling on reform policy (epitomized by

Nicolas the II) put the old order square on the front grill of the revolution.


From the view of a reformist this was a logical consequence from the lack of

dedication to policies that would have put Russia on a more solid path. The Czar’s

unwillingness (or inability) to modernize or empower governmental systems along

more western models (such as constitutional monarchies) and failure to liberalize the

economy, was a problem with deep roots.

Once Peter the Great exposed Russia a to a West under going the age of reason and

the liberal philosophy it entailed, the days of the Czar absolute power were

numbered. Perhaps Peter thought that he could control the flow of ideas, selecting

those he wish...