Global Studies II

Unit II Russia

Name Hayley Kagan

Date 11/7/14

Totalitarianism under Stalin

1. Define the term totalitarianism Totalitarianism is a form of government that takes total,
centralized, states control over every aspect of public and private life. Totalitarian leaders appear to give a
sense of security and to give a direction for the future.

2. While reading the excerpt, create a list of methods of control used by Soviet leaders and examples
Methods

Examples

Police Terror/ Police State

Indoctrination/ Education

Propaganda and Censorship

Stalin had secret police that uses

tanks and armored cars to stop
riots. They monitored phone lines,
read peoples mail, and planted
people everywhere. The Great
Purge. Children would report
people that were being disloyal.
Stalins government controlled
learning from elementary school to
universities. Children would learn
the virtues of the Communist Party
in school. Professors and students
in college that questioned the
Communist Partys interpretations
of history or science risked job
loss or going to prison. Partly
leaders lectured peasants and
workers about communism. The
importance of sacrifice and hard
work was stressed because it
helped build the Communist state.
The state-supported youth groups
trained future party members.
Stalins government controlled all
newspapers, motion pictures,
radio, and other information
sources. Many writers, composers,
and other artists were not aloud to
give their opinions through their

Religious or Ethnic Persecution

work because it would be

censored. Some artists were also
used to create propaganda.
Communists tried to replace
religion with teaching communist
ideals. Under Stalin, the
government and the League of the
Militant Godless spread
propaganda attacking religion. The
Russian Orthodox Church was the
main target of persecution. The
police destroyed many churches
and synagogues. Many religious
leaders were sent to labor camps or
killed.

Of all the methods of control, which allows the MOST long-term control?
Indoctrination and Education because children are taught from a very young age about
communism. They grow up with no rights and no thinking on their own and so they dont need to be
persuaded to think differently they grow up thinking it.
3. Stalins methods of control.
a. What was the Great Purge? How would Stalins use of this action increase his power?
The Great Purge was in 1987 and it was a campaign of terror directed at stopping
anyone from trying to threatening his power. Thousands of old Bolsheviks who helped stage the
Revolution had to stand trial. They were sent to labor camps for crimes against the Soviet state or they
were killed.
b. What was Pravda? How did Stalin explain the purpose of art in the USSR?
The Pravda was the Communist Party newspaper. Stalin used it to show people positive
models of initiative and heroic labor.

c. What is an atheism? How did Stalin use atheism to influence his control over his citizens?
Atheism is the belief in no god. Stalin used atheism to control people because he
destroyed all other view point. He destroyed the other churches and tried to get rid of religion.

4. Stalins control over the economy.

a. What is a command economy? Command economy is a system of government that makes
all economic decisions. This systems makes it so political leaders identify the countrys economic needs
and determine how to fix them.

b. Stalins Five Year Plans

1. Purpose The purpose was to set impossible goals. He set impossibly high quotas, or
numerical goals, to increase the output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity. To reach these goals, the
government limited production of consumer goods.

2. Results? - People faced severe shortages of housing, food, clothing, and other
important things. This method produced impressive economic results.

c. What methods did Stalin use to bring agriculture under state control?
To take control of agriculture, the government seized over 25 million privately owned
farms. They combined them into larger farms and called them collective farms. Hundreds of families
worked on these farms. The government thought that the modern machinery on the farms would boost
food production and reduce the number of workers.
d. Kulaks - Who were they?
Kulaks are a class of wealthy peasants. The Soviet government wanted to eliminate them.

1. How did they create a problem for Stalin?

They fought against the government to keep their land. Many killed livestock and destroyed crops
in protest.
2. How did he solve the problem?
Stalin solved this problem by having secret police herd peasants into collective farms to the point
of a bayonet. 5 million to 10 million peasants died because of this. By 1938, more than 90% of peasants
lived on these farms. It cause a huge upswing of agricultural production.