Why did Russia continue its military expansion abroad for 300 to 400 years, but the Qing Empire stopped its military expansion abroad in 1644?

First, the basic clues and stage characteristics of modern world history

The modern history of the world is the history of the emergence and development of capitalism and the gradual formation of the world system and the transition to imperialism. According to the development level of productive forces, the modern world history can be divided into three stages: handicraft workshop era, steam engine era and electrification era.

1. The era of capitalist handicraft workshops (16th century-1early 9th century).

At the end of 15 and the beginning of 16, the opening of new air routes promoted the integration and unification of human society. The emergence and development of European capitalism, as well as overseas colonization and trade, provided a material basis for the bourgeois revolution. The development of capitalist economy has caused changes in the ideological field. The Renaissance and the Reformation, two ideological emancipation movements, lifted the spiritual shackles for the development of capitalism. The development of capitalist economy and feudal natural economy has become an inevitable trend of historical development. This trend first appeared in western Europe. /kloc-after the Dutch revolution in the 0 th and 6 th centuries, bourgeois revolutionary thoughts appeared in Europe and America. Britain, the United States and France successively completed the bourgeois revolution by revolutionary means, consolidated the revolutionary achievements by legal means, initially established the capitalist system and promoted the development of social productive forces. The reforms carried out by Russia, Austria and other countries have objectively promoted the development of capitalism.

During this period, the center of national liberation movement was in the United States. The American War of Independence first broke the British colonial shackles and won national independence. Driven by the trend of bourgeois revolution, the Latin American people rose up against the colonial rule of Spain and Portugal and finally gained independence, which basically formed the political pattern of Latin America today.

During this period, the competition among European colonial countries was fierce. Britain defeated Spain, Holland and France successively, and established the world colonial hegemony in the18th century. In the American War of Independence, France aided the United States against Britain, Britain and Russia organized an "anti-French alliance", and Napoleon's foreign war all embodied the characteristics of European hegemony.

2. Capitalist steam engine era (19 early -65438+70' 09)

The first industrial revolution of capitalism began in Britain in the 1960s and was basically completed in the late 1930s and early 40s. France, the United States, Russia, Germany, Japan and other countries with earlier capitalist development also carried out industrial revolutions. The industrial revolution replaced manual labor with machine production, which greatly improved productivity and consolidated the ruling foundation of capitalist countries.

After the European feudal forces defeated Napoleon, the old ruling order was restored in Europe through the Vienna Conference. 1848 The bourgeois national democratic revolution that swept across the European continent dealt a heavy blow to the feudal forces in Europe and completely disintegrated the Vienna system, which was conducive to the further development of capitalism. In the 1960s and 1970s, the United States, Germany, Italy, Russia and Japan embarked on the road of rapid development of capitalism through bourgeois revolution or reform. At this point, the capitalist system was established in the world and the capitalist world system was initially formed.

The industrial revolution is also a revolution in social relations, and society is increasingly divided into the industrial proletariat and the industrial bourgeoisie. The capitalist exploitation system will inevitably lead to the struggle of the proletariat. 19 The workers' movements in the early 1930s and 1940s were very intense, but they all failed in the end. In order to meet the needs of the times and the workers' movement, Marx and Engels established a scientific theory of capitalism through long-term revolutionary practice and theoretical research. 1848 The publication of the Manifesto of the Productive Party marked the birth of Marxism. Since then, the workers' movement and the socialist movement have developed into a new historical trend. /kloc-in the middle of the 0/9th century, the workers' movement developed further. The establishment of the First International marks the unity of the working class all over the world. 187 1 Paris commune is a great attempt by the proletariat to overthrow bourgeois rule and establish proletarian dictatorship.

The nationalist movement in this period includes two aspects: one is the national self-improvement and revival movement represented by Germany and the revival movement. This movement belongs to the category of bourgeois revolution and reform. The second is the national liberation movement against alien control. Among them are bourgeois national independence movements, such as 1848 Southeast European Revolution; There are ethnic movements in areas with low economic development level, and the Asian revolutionary storm in the middle of19th century is the most typical.

3. Capitalist electrification era (65438+1970s-early 20th century)

Since 1970s, the second industrial revolution has developed rapidly in major capitalist countries. The main feature of the second industrial revolution is that science played a more important role in promoting the development of productive forces. It happened almost simultaneously in several advanced capitalist countries and crossed with the first industrial revolution. It has greatly promoted the development of productive forces and pushed mankind from age of steam to the electrical age.

With the increasing concentration of production and capital, monopoly organizations came into being. Monopoly capitalists are increasingly interfering in the political and economic life of the country in order to grab more profits. Capitalist countries have gradually become representatives of the interests of monopoly organizations, strengthening exploitation at home and stepping up aggression and expansion abroad. 1At the end of the 9th century and the beginning of the 20th century, the major capitalist countries entered the stage of imperialism one after another, and the development imbalance among them was aggravated. Old capitalist countries such as Britain and France are developing slowly, while emerging capitalist countries such as the United States and Germany are backward. The economies of Russia, Japan and other countries have also developed greatly. The imbalance of capitalist political and economic development urges countries to step up their struggle for world hegemony and re-divide the world. The contradiction between imperialist countries escalated, which eventually led to the outbreak of the First World War.

During this period, the international working class grew, workers' consciousness was obviously improved, workers' political parties and trade unions were widely established in various countries, and the workers' movement was dominated by legal struggle and political party struggle, which made great achievements. However, all kinds of opportunistic ideas are also growing. At the beginning of the 20th century, Leninism was born, and the center of the international workers' movement shifted from Germany to Russia.

At the beginning of the 20th century, imperialist countries carried out colonial expansion crazily, the world was carved up, and the capitalist world colonial system was finally formed. In order to resist the colonial expansion of western powers, the people of Asia, Africa and Latin America launched a national democratic movement, among which the "awakening of Asia" was particularly prominent.

Second, the basic clues and stage characteristics of modern world history

Since the October Revolution in Russia, the world has entered a period of modern history. The modern history of the world is a history of the further development of capitalism, the tortuous progress of socialism, the competition between two social systems and the struggle for independence, democracy, peace and development of people all over the world. With the end of World War II as the boundary, the modern world history can be divided into two periods.

1. The first issue of modern world history (19 17- 1945)

This period is the period of the rise of socialist countries and the development of capitalism, and it is also the brewing period of world economic modernization and the third scientific and technological revolution in developed countries. This period is divided into two stages by 1929.

In the first stage, the October Revolution broke the situation that capitalism dominated the whole country, and world history entered a new period of transition from capitalism to socialism. Under the influence of the First World War and the October Revolution, the proletarian revolutionary movement in capitalist countries was once high. Among them, the establishment of November Revolution in German and Hungarian Soviet Republics had the greatest influence. Due to the October Revolution and the development of national economy in Asian and African countries, the Asian-African national liberation movement is on the rise. 19 19 * * Production International was established in Moscow. Under the economic blockade and political siege of international imperialism, the Soviet Union successfully restored and developed the national economy and began to carry out industrial construction and agricultural socialist transformation in a planned way.

The first world war weakened the imperialist forces as a whole. The four empires of Germany, Austria, Russia and Turkey fell apart, a series of new nation-states were established, and the economies of Britain, France and Italy were also destroyed. Only when the economic strength of the United States and Japan expands, the United States becomes the world economic hegemon, and implements the "golden dollar diplomacy" in the world, and Japan becomes the hegemon in East Asia. After the war, the Allies adjusted their relations in Europe and the Asia-Pacific region according to their own strength, and formed the "Versailles-Washington system". In the 1920s, the revolutionary movement in capitalist countries was low, and the national democratic movement of the colonial people was also suppressed. Capitalism has entered a short period of relatively stable development. However, imperialist countries are full of contradictions and struggles, but behind their prosperity and development, there is a serious crisis lurking.

The second stage: Due to the basic contradiction of the capitalist system, the contradiction between production and marketing in capitalist countries is becoming increasingly acute. 1929- 1933, an unprecedented serious economic crisis and political crisis broke out in the capitalist world. In order to get rid of the crisis, the United States implemented Roosevelt's New Deal and adopted a policy of strengthening state intervention in the economy, which restored the economy and eased class contradictions. Germany and Japan successively established fascist dictatorship, pursued the policy of internal dictatorship and foreign aggression, and formed two major war sources in Europe and Asia.

Due to the aggression and expansion of fascist countries, China, Korea, Spain, Ethiopia and other countries launched anti-fascist struggles. The appeasement policy pursued by Britain, France and the United States encouraged fascist aggression and eventually turned local wars into World War II.

2. The second paragraph of modern world history (1945 till now)

1945 Since the end of World War II, it has been a period of contemporary world history. This is the period when the two social systems of socialism and capitalism are at the crossroads of the cold war and fierce competition. This is a period of great development and decadent trend of contemporary capitalism. This is a period of tortuous development of socialism. It is also a period of common rise and confusion of nationalism and developing countries. It is also a period of the rise and development of the third scientific and technological revolution and the deepening and expansion of global influence.

After World War II, socialism went beyond the scope of the Soviet Union. In the late 1940s, a series of socialist countries appeared in Asia and Europe, and in the early 1950s, the Oriental Group was formed. Since the mid-1950s, the Soviet Union and some socialist countries in Eastern Europe have successively carried out economic reforms, but the results are not great. With the Soviet Union's hegemonism, the contradiction between internal control and anti-control of the Eastern Group intensified, which led to the gradual disintegration of the Eastern Group. The drastic changes in eastern Europe, the disintegration of the Soviet Union, and the socialist movement suffered major setbacks. After ten years of "Cultural Revolution", China embarked on the road of reform and opening up and building a Socialism with Chinese characteristics, and made remarkable achievements. Practice has proved that socialism also needs constant reform and improvement in order to give full play to its advantages and promote social development.

World War II severely weakened Europe and expanded the economic and military strength of the United States. With the support of the United States, the world capitalist economy recovered rapidly after the war. From the early 1950s to the early 1970s, due to the development of the third scientific and technological revolution, the development of state monopoly capitalism and the exploitation and plunder of the third world, the capitalist economy experienced a period of rapid development, which was called the "golden period" in the history of capitalist development. However, due to the inherent basic contradictions of capitalism, the economy of capitalist countries was in a state of stagflation from the late 1970s to the 1980s.

After World War II, the contradiction between capitalism and socialism began to rise. The United States pursues a "cold war" policy towards socialist countries, and the socialist countries headed by the Soviet Union are tit for tat. Next, it should be a "cold war". The establishment of two political and military blocs, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and Warsaw Treaty Organization, marks the formation of a bipolar pattern. Later, the bipolar pattern evolved, forming a situation in which the United States and the Soviet Union competed for hegemony. In the late 1980s, great changes took place in Eastern Europe. In the early 1990s, the Soviet Union disintegrated, the bipolar pattern disintegrated and the "Cold War" ended.

After the Second World War, the national liberation movements in Asia, Africa and Latin America generally rose, and the Third World began to rise, playing an increasingly important role in international affairs. The economic development of some Asian countries and regions is remarkable. At present, the old and new international patterns alternate. International economy and international politics present the dual trend of integration and multipolarization. Peace, development and democracy have become major issues and historical trends of the international community.