Much the same, except with some deliberate famines thrown in.
Russia at the time of the revolution was under the autocratic rule of Tsar Nicholas II who believed in the Divine Right of Kings. A system of governance unsuited to needs of modern times. The Russian empire was vast and feudal. The bureaucracy was top heavy, inefficient and recruited from the privileged classes rather than on the basis of merit and ability. The Russian Tsars had built a vast empire by conquest of various nationalities. They were subjected to Russian culture and languages. The Tsar showed little concern to their sensitivity.
Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation was created in 1919.
The motto of Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation is 'Competence, Responsibility, Prestige'.
It was founded by Cyrus the Great and reached its peak under Darius the Great. However it was not the largest ever known - compare it with the Spanish Empire, the British Empire and the Russian Empire.
WW2
Russian Tsars, starting with Ivan the Terrible in the late 16th century, all were absolute rulers, so Russia has been under a form of dictatorship since its earliest history. You might say that only under Gorbachev and Yeltsin Russia tried to become a real democracy. Although on paper it is now a democracy, many argue that Russia's judicial and legislative branches today are again firmly under the thumb of Russia's president, making him a dictator in all but name.
Siberia and the Russian steppes
It was the weakness of the Russian Monarchy under Tsar II, it was also due to inflation of bread too.
He had to have spoken at least some Russian, even if not fluently, as he served in the Russian Navy as a Rear Admiral under Empress Catherine II.
The earliest Soviet secret police was the Cheka. This was a shortened form of the word "Vecheka" which was an acronym for the Russian word for the "All-Russian Extraordinary Committee Committee to Combat Counter-Revolution and Sabotage."
suffered under communism
Carl Bickford O'Brien has written: 'Russia under two tsars, 1682-1689' -- subject(s): History 'Muscovy and the Ukraine' -- subject(s): Foreign relations