Stalin & the U.S.S.R.

Objective~ Understand how Stalin creates a Totalitarianism state in

the U.S.S.R.

Lecture~ 3

Building a Communist Soviet Union

• 1921 Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy (NEP)– agricultural/industrial

collapse– Some capitalism allowed to

help economy

• 1923 Lenin establishes the U.S.S.R – Union of Soviet Socialist

Republics

Lenin Dies in 1924

Lenin’s Casket is Carried Through the Streets of Moscow

JOSEPH STALIN

LEON TROTSKY

Stalin Builds a Totalitarian State

• Totalitarian~ where the state, controlled by 1 person/class, recognizes no limits to its authority & strives to regulate every aspect of life – (Fascist Italy, Nazi Germany, and Communist U.S.S.R)

• Five Year Plan (1928)• Goal: transform USSR from agriculture to industrial

based• Command Economy~ gov. made all basic economic

decisions (no individual ownership/opposite of capitalism)

• Collective Farms– State owned farms that were operated by groups of

peasants

• Wealthy peasants (kulaks) that refused to live on collectives and sell their crops at low prices were brutally dealt with at labor camps

• Gov. seized all the grain led to the Terror Famine of Ukraine (1932) 5-8 million died of starvation in the Ukraine (Genocide)

Stalin’s Terror Tactics

• The Great Purge (1934) killed anyone who threatened his absolute power (dissidents)– at least 4 million– Increased Stalin’s power

Personal Freedoms eliminated

Communism in control

• Propaganda~ Stalin made himself s godlike figure (billboards/newspapers) outlined communist success and capitalism as the enemy

• Censorship~ controlled books/music/art• Russification~ imposing Russian culture on

minorities

• War on Religion~ Tried to replace religion with communist ideology

Short Response Question

• Explain how Stalin created a totalitarianism state in the U.S.S.R.– Be sure to define totalitarianism – Be sure to provide detailed examples– Should be a least 1 paragraph

• You have 15 minutes

Vocab storyDirections~ use the following 12 words in a story accurately

describing the events that took place in Russia.Min. half a page

1. Tsar Nicholas II2. World War I3. Rasputin4. Bolsheviks5. Alexander Kerensky6. Vladimir Lenin7. Joseph Stalin8. totalitarianism9. CHEKA10.U.S.S.R.11.Gulag System12.The Great Purge