Stalin and the Soviet Union

Stalin and the Soviet Union

You will learn

 about the circumstances in which Stalin came to power

and the history of the Red Terror;
 about the changes in the political, social and economic life
of the USSR after Stalin came to power, including the
industrialisation of the country, collectivisation of the
agricultural sector and the Great Purge;
 about the characteristics of the totalitarian system.
 USSR =
theUnion of Soviet Socialist Republics 
(the Soviet Union)
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin (1879-1953),

the leader of the Soviet Union
from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953,
employed terror, repression, and execution to
maintain his control over the Soviet people.

employ-stosować, wykorzystywać, posługiwać się

maintain- utrzymywać
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

After Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin started gradually

and silently changing the party structures, and filled
significant positions with people loyal to him. Having
eliminated his most dangerous opponent (Leon
Trotsky), Stalin started taking actions which
allowed him to assume full power in 1929.
significant – znaczący
gradually- stopniowo
opponent- przeciwnik
to allow- pozwalać
to assume- obejmować, przejmować
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

From 1934, the NKVD began to play the role of the security

apparatus and played a huge role in building the Stalinist
regime. It spread terror and caused fear.

NKWD –
Narodnyj Komissariat Wnutriennych Dieł –
Ludowy Komisariat Spraw Wewnętrznych ZSRR
People's commissariat for Internal Affairs NKVD

security- ochrona
regime- rządy autorytarne lub totalitarne
to spread- rozprzestrzeniać
fear-strach
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

Terror
became the foundation of Stalin’s unlimited power
and allowed him to create one of the most sinister
systems in the world.

foundation- podstawa, fundament

unlimited - bezgraniczny, ogromny, nieograniczony
sinister- złowieszczy, złowrogi, ponury
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

The system of Soviet forced labour camps, also

referred to as Gulags, was expanded.
Thirty to forty million people had seen the inside
of those camps.
forced labour camps-
przymusowe obozy pracy 
expand- rozwijać się, poszerzac
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

Famine—
the worst of which occurred in Ukraine—
and execution, particularly within
the forced-labor camp system (the Gulag),
resulted in the deaths of millions of people.

famine- głód
to occur-zdarzać się, wydarzać się, występować, pojawiać się
execution egzekucja, stracenie (wykonanie wyroku śmierci)
forced-labor -praca przymusowa camp-obóz
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

His purges in the 1930s decimated the political and

military leadership of the country,
making the Soviet Union ill-prepared for the Nazi
invasion in World War II.

purge- czystka, eliminowanie

decimate –dziesiątkować ,przerzedzać
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

A planned economy fully supervised

by the state was introduced.
The agricultural sector was collectivized.
The development of the industrial sector claimed
millions of lives

planned economy= gospodarka planowa – gospodarka narodowa

zarządzana przez administrację państwową, inaczej: centralnie
sterowana, nakazowo‑rozdzielcza.
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

Industrialization

In order to strengthen the Soviet Union, Stalin

decided that the country should move away from
agriculture and become industrialized.
He had factories built through the country.
These factories would help the Soviet Union to fight the
Germans in World War II.
Industrialization- uprzemysłowienie
in order- w celu
strengthen- wzmacniać
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

Ideology and propaganda

played a major role in the USSR
and were used to establish the cult of Stalin
and indoctrinate society.

establish- tworzyć
indoctrinate- indoktrynować, uświadomić ideologicznie
 Stalin and the Soviet Union

His cruelty was staggering, and his

victims numbered tens of millions of
Soviet people

cruelty- okrucienstwo
staggering- zdumiewający, szokujący
victim- ofiara
PSA: Early “Photoshop”

This photo was taken in mid-1938,

when Nicolai Yezhov (right)
was a trusted advisor of Joseph Stalin. Stalin grew to fear
Yezhov’s influence and ordered him imprisoned and
ultimately executed in 1940.

This version of the photograph was

published sometime after 1940.
 totalitarianism

Totalitaryzm –
system rządów (także: wspierająca go ideologia)
charakterystyczny dla XX‑wiecznych państw, w których
splotły się procesy modernizacyjne, kryzys lub niedostatek
demokracji i ambicje mocarstwowe; cechuje go oficjalna,
obowiązująca wszystkich radykalna ideologia,
cenzura i centralnie kierowana propaganda; rządy
monopartii; terror na ogromną skalę przy pomocy
tajnej policji; wyraźnie zdefiniowany wróg wewnętrzny
i zewnętrzny; sterowane poparcie społeczne;
monumentalizm w sztuce, nihilistyczny lub bardzo
wybiórczy stosunek do tradycji.
 THINK ABOUT IT

EXTRA QUESTIONS

How many people died as a result of Stalin’s policies?

How did collectivization lead to genocide in Ukraine?
What was the Great Terror?
 In your opinion, why did the Ukrainian people oppose collectivization?
What basic human rights were violated as Stalin purged his enemies?
 How did Stalin extend communism throughout Europe?
How and why did Stalin limit individual liberty in the Soviet Union?
Why did Stalin limit individual liberty in the Soviet Union?
Stalin said that “Death solves all problems.” What problems did his action in
Ukraine and in the Gulag “solve”? What problems did these actions create?
Źródła:
www.epodreczniki.pl
www.ducksters.com
Communism: Its Ideology, Its History, and Its Legacy