Global Studies II

Unit II Russia

Name ______________________________
Date ____________

Totalitarianism under Stalin

1. Define the term totalitarianism The term that describes a government that takes total and centralized state control

over all aspects of private and public life

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

Methods
Police terror
Indoctrination
Propaganda and censorship
Religious or ethnic persecution

Examples
Dictators used terror and violence to ensure and force
obedience and to crush opposition. Police will use brutal
force and even murder to achieve their goals
Totalitarian states rely on indoctrination, an example is
control of education, which his essential to glorify
the leader and his policies.
Control of all mass media (No publication, films, art or
music can be without permission of the state prior.
Totalitarian leaders create what is known
as enemies of the state in order to
Blame for things that go wrong, which are usually
members of certain religious/ethnic groups.

Of all the methods of control, which allows the MOST long-term control? Police Terror was the most
long-term control because the police and government forces control all order over the region, and make up how the area is run
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 a campaign of terror in which was directed at getting rid of anyone who threatened
Stalins power. He took thousands of old Bolsheviks and they stood trial, and were executed or sent to labor camps for crimes against
the soviet state. After this in 1938, Stalin had complete and total control over the Soviet government/ Communist party.

b. What was Pravda? How did Stalin explain the purpose of art in the USSR?

The communist party newspaper was known as Pravda. In this, Stalin quotes Literature, the cinema, the arts are levers in the hands
of the Proletarian which must be used to show the masses positive models of initiative and heroic labor, explaining his idea
of art.

c. What is an atheism? How did Stalin use atheism to influence his control over his citizens?

He used atheism to explain that religious beliefs were just simply mere superstitions. He targeted the Russian Orthodox Church
mainly, and the police destroyed a large amount of churches and synagogues, and killed off many religious leaders. He
used this to create the perfect communist state, and tried to take control of society by elimination of personal rights and freedoms.

4. Stalins control over the economy.

a. What is a command economy? System where the government makes all economic decisions.
b. Stalins Five Year Plans
1. Purpose The idea was set in order to develop the Soviet Unions economy. It also set high very high quotas,

or numerical goals, to increase the output of steel, coal, oil and electricity.

2. Results?

These tough methods produced high economic results. Even though most of the Five Year Plan
fell short, it gave Russia large gains

c. What methods did Stalin use to bring agriculture under state control?

An agricultural Revolution occurred in 1928, where the government started to take away millions of privately owned farms in the
USSR, which combined big government-owned farms that were called collective farms. In areas that were harder to farm,
the government set up state farms, which operated similar to factories, where workers received wages instead of share of
the profits made.

d. Kulaks - Who were they? A group that fiercely and totally resisted collectivization.

1. How did they create a problem for Stalin?

They murdered officials, torched property of the collectives, and burned their crops in orderto protest against them

2. How did he solve the problem?