As the 21st century enters its second decade, the world stage appears to be dominated by two very different nations. The first, that of the United States of America, is traditionally based on broad individual freedoms for its citizens. While the other nation in question, Russia, is a society that closely polices its citizens with fewer personal freedoms. These two very different governing philosophies created friction as recently as this year in Ukraine, with both trying to influence that nation toward its policies. But the real question for these two nations is how they reached these conclusions about individual freedoms. Another question that needs to be answered is how these ideas about security have shaped geopolitical policy among themselves. For the histories of the two nations could not be more different in terms of historical analysis of the events that shaped opposing views on individual freedoms. But to make things even more confusing, the new century and its challenges have brought them closer than ever on these issues. Because the question of the security of Russia and the United States will determine the future of both nations. The Russian example: Russian history dates the close surveillance of its citizens back to an event, the assassination of Tsar Alexander II in the 19th century. The beginnings of this change in Russian society began in the 1850s, with the outbreak of the Crimean War. (Dukes 1990) Russian serfs responded to the war by recruiting heavily for the Russian army. There were so many, in fact, that there was an excess of recruits that were not needed at all. (Dukes 1990) Worse still, these recruits had no idea why they were fighting, with most joining because that was what they thought their masters expected of them. Despite the huge turnout in the Russians... middle of document ...... Research Partners, 1983. Seton-Watson, Hugh. The decline of Imperial Russia 1855-1914. Boulder, Colorado: Westview Press, 1985. Smith, Alison K. “Freed Serfs Without a Free People: Manumission in Imperial Russia.” The American Historical Review, 2013: 1029-1051. Associated Press. "Russia's Anti-Gay Bill Passes, Protesters Arrested." CBS News. June 3, 2013. http://www.cbsnews.com/news/russian-anti-gay-bill-passes-protesters-detained/. National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Against the United States. “Report of the September 11 Commission.” Government Information Library. 2004. http://govinfo.library.unt.edu/911/report/index.htm. US Congress. “The USA PATRIOT Act: Preserving Life and Liberty.” Ministry of Justice. 2005. http://www.justice.gov/archive/ll/highlights.htm. Waldron, Peter. The end of Imperial Russia, 1855-1919. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1997.