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[Хahar 🤔]

Somewhat related:

Obviously the fact that the first country in which socialists came to power was Russia of all places seemed like an aberration, given Russia's level of industrialization, but as it turned out that was the norm. Certainly the most industrialized societies where socialist governments came to power were East Germany and Czechoslovakia, but in both cases that was by Soviet force of arms. The most industrialized society where socialism took hold without being forced from without was what, Cuba?

[Хahar 🤔]

To what extent were Russian and British goals and methods in Central Asia in the late 19th century equivalent to each other? At first glance it seems that they would be fundamentally different, since India was merely a colony of the British Empire while Russian holdings in the area were part of the Russian state proper, but on the other hand the Russian strategy with regard to Khiva and Bukhara seems to be analogous to the treatment of Indian princely states.