STALIN: THE RISE

OF A DICTATOR

Dylan Bloxham
EDSC 442
February 22, 2021
 POLL
QUESTION!

• Take out a piece of paper and

respond to the following
questions with one or two
words!
• 1.) Who was Joseph Stalin?
• 2.) What type of government
fully controls society?
• 3.) How would you escape
living under a strict
government?
 • BOLSHEVIK-RUSSIAN COMMUNIST PARTY
MEMBERS
• 5 YEAR PLAN-STALIN’S IDEA TO MODERNIZE
RUSSIAN ECONOMY THROUGH
INDUSTRIALIZATION AND COMMUNES
VOCABULARY • CENSORSHIP-LIMITED WHAT PEOPLE CAN
SAY OR WRITE
• HUMAN RIGHTS-FREEDOMS AND LIBERTIES
THAT HUMAN BEINGS POSSESS
 WHO IS MR. STALIN?

• Born on December 18. 1879 in a rural village in Georgia

• Was bullied as a child, which instilled a sense of cruelness from a young age
• Late 1890s, a young Stalin joins a socialist group and becomes a fulltime
revolutionary
• Worked for the socialist movement by robbing banks, organizing meetings, and
organizing strikes
• He was exiled to Siberia several times and was a target of the police
• Was not a great intellectual or speaker
 • 1917: The Russian monarchy is overthrown,
and Vladimir Lenin assumes power
• BUT the Russian Civil War occurs between the
Bolsheviks vs Nationalist
• THE BOLSHEVIKS WIN AND LENIN
ESTABLISHES THE USSR IN 1922!
THE REVOLUTION • 1922: Stalin is appointed General Secretary of
PREVAILS! the Communist Party, which Stalin uses to
build his base of support by appointing party
members
• He appointed a central command that was loyal
to him and consolidated power
• 1924: LENIN IS DEAD!
 • HOW DID STALIN CONSOLIDATE POWER
AROUND HIM?

MULTIPLE A. MONEY

CHOICE #1 B. APPOINTING LOYALISTS

C. HUMOR
D. VIOLENCE
 • BY 1924, LENIN IS DEAD AND STALIN IS
THE HEAD OF THE USSR
• HE CONSOLIDATES POWER EVEN
FURTHER BY EXILING ENEMIES AND
OLD PARTY LOYALIST
THE MAN OF STEEL • LENIN’S IDEAL SUCCESSOR LEON
TROTSKY IS EXILED TO MEXICO AND
LATER KILLED BY RUSSIAN AGENTS!
• LIFE UNDER STALIN HAS BEGUN FOR
THE RUSSIAN PEOPLE AND IT’S GOING
TO GET VERY INTERESTING AND SCARY
 DISCUSSION
TIME! CRITICAL-
QUESTION

• TURN TO A NEIGHBOR AND

FOR THREE MINUTES
HAVE A DISCUSSION
• SUMMARIZE THE RISE OF
JOSEPH STALIN TO POWER
• ON ONE PIECE OF PAPER
LIST THE RISE OF POWER
WITH A SERIES OF BULLET
POINTS
 STALIN ECONOMICS

• ABANDONS LENIN’S NEW ECONOMIC

POLICY OF ALLOWING LIMITED CAPITALISM
• THE USSR NEEDS TO MODERNIZE NOW!
• HOW? COLLECTIVIZATION AND
INDUSTRIALIZATION WITH 5 YEAR PLANS!
• MILLIONS WILL DIE FROM STARVATION AND
MANY WILL BE KILLED OR SENT TO LABOR
CAMPS=(
 CO LL EC TI V I Z AT I O N

• PEASANTS WERE FORCED TO JOIN

COMMUNES TO MAKE FOOD FOR THE
STATE
• 90% OF THE FOOD GOES TO THE STATE
AND THE REST TO FEED THE PEASANTS
• RESISTANCE USUALLY MEANT
IMPRISONMENT OR DEATH
• RESULTS IN CHAOS IN THE
COUNTRYSIDE AND A SHORTAGE OF
FOOD THROUGHOUT THE COUNTRY
• STALIN SEIZED GRAIN AND
CONTINUED TO FORCE
COLLECTIVIZATION OF PEASANTS
• UKRANIAN FAMINE THAT MANY
BELIEVE WAS INTENTIONALLY
MANMADE BY STALIN
 I N D U ST RI A L I ZAT I O N

• CREATION OF HUGE STATE PROJECTS

LIKE DAMS
• RIDICULOUS QUOTAS SET FOR
INDUSTRY AND CONSEQUENCES FOR
INDUSTRIES THAT FALL TO MEET
STANDARDS
• HUGE INCREASE IN COAL
PRODUCTION
• EXPANSION OF TOWNS AND CITIES
• WANTS TO CATCH UP TO THE WEST
AND FOCUSES ON HEAVY MACHINERY
AND INDUSTRIAL CAPACITY
• SHORTAGE OF CONSUMER GOODS
DUE TO FOCUS ON HEAVY
MACHINERY
 POLITICAL POLICIES

• BELIEVE IN SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY UNLIKE

LENIN
• TOTALITARIAN RULE OVER ALL ASPECTS OF LIFE
• CULT OF PERSONALITY AROUND HIM
• SUBORDINATION OF INTERESTS TO THE
GOVERNMENT
• POLICE STATE
• FEAR AND TERROR
 • HOW DID STALIN CHANGE RUSSIA’S
ECONOMY?

MULTIPLE A. CAPITALISM

CHOICE B. COLLECTIVIZATION
C. RAPID INDUSTRIALIZAITON
D. B & C
 DISCUSSION
TIME! CRITICAL-
THINKING
QUESTION

• Draw parallels between the economic

policies of Lenin and Stalin
• Working with a partner discuss why
the five-year plans differed from the
new economic policies of Lenin?
• Using your knowledge of capitalism
from prior units organize a chart
highlighting the differences between
capitalism and socialism in terms of
property, class, freedom, and any
other relevant topic!
 FREE • NOPE!
PRESS? • STALIN CREATED ORGANIZATIONS AND POLICE TO ENFORCE CENSORSHIP
• ALL MEDIA, MOVIES, NEWSPAPER, AND BOOKS WERE SUBJECT TO CENSORSHIP
AND COULD NOT SPEAK NEGATIVELY AGAINST STATE POLICY OR STALIN
• ALL ART PORTRAYED STALIN AS GODLIKE
• STALIN WOULD ERASE PEOPLE FROM PHOTOGRAPH AFTER THEY “DISAPPEARED”
 HUMAN RIGHTS?

• EXTREMELY LIMITED
• STALIN’S POLICE AND GOVERNMENT CENSOR PEOPLE
• PEOPLE DISAPPEAR AND ARE DEPORTED AT WILL
• MILLIONS WILL BE KILLED
• LIMITS ON ASSEMBLY, RELIGION, ECONOMIC FREEDOM
• THE USSR WAS NOT VERY FREE
• REMEMBER FREEDOM IS NOT FREE!
 DISCUSSION
TIME! CRITICAL-
THINKING
QUESTION

• With your partner defend the

policies of Joseph Stalin. Argue
for their effectiveness in
controlling society and improving
the USSR.
• Observe the patterns about how
Stalin treated the people under his
rule
• Using this knowledge and your
prior knowledge to evaluate the
decisions that he made and defend
them
 SUM IT UP!

• TAKE OUT A PIECE OF PAPER

• IN THREE TO FOUR
SENTENCES PLEASE
RESPOND TO THIS QUESTION
• WAS JOSEPH STALIN AN
EFFECTIVE LEADER OR A
MANIAC?
• GIVE AT LEAST TWO
EXAMPLES FROM THE
LECTURE OR GUIDED NOTES