Global Studies II

Unit II Russia

Totalitarianism under Stalin

1. Define the term totalitarianism
A Government that takes total, centralized, state control over every aspect of public and private
life. Also challenges the highest values prized by western democracies-reason, freedom, human
dignity, and the worth of an individual.

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

Methods
1. Police Terror

2. Indoctrination

3. Propaganda and Censorship

4. Religious or Ethnic Persecution

Examples
Spying on citizens or intimidating citizens. They
also use brutal force and murder to achieve
goals.
Control of education to ensure glorification of
leader and his policies. Convince all citizens that
their unconditional loyalty and support is
required. Begins with young children and is
encouraged by youth groups and schools.
Control of all mass media and no publication of
film, art, or music is allowed to exist without
permission of state. Citizens are surrounded by
false information and if questioned they must
retract their work or be imprisoned or killed.
Groups are easily identified and are subjected
to campaigns of terror and violence and also may
be forced to live in certain areas and subjected
to rules that apply only to them.

Of all the methods of control, which allows the MOST long-term control?
Police Terror
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 launched in 1937 directed at eliminating anyone who
threatened his power. Thousands of Bolsheviks stood trial and they were either executed or sent to labor

camps for crimes against the soviet state. When the Great Purge ended, Stalin gained total control of
the soviet government and the communist party

b. What was Pravda? How did Stalin explain the purpose of art in the USSR?
The Pravda was the Communist Party newspaper and it said that the purpose of art was to show the
masses of positive models initiative and heroic labor. The editorial also said that the cinema was in the
hands of the proletariats

c. What is an atheism? How did Stalin use atheism to influence his control over his citizens?
Atheism is the belief that there is no god and the League of Militant Godless who were a
sponsored group of atheists, spread propaganda attacking religions. Many magnificent churches and
synagogues were destroyed, and many religious leaders were killed or sent to labor camps. Stalin gained
total control of society and eliminated person rights and freedoms in favor of power to the state.

4. Stalins control over the economy.

a. What is a command economy? A system in which the government makes all economic decisions.
b. Stalins Five Year Plans
1. Purpose
Wanted development for the Soviet Unions economy and wanted to increase the output of steel,
coal, oil, and electricity.

2. Results?
The government limited production of consumer goods which created severe shortages of housing,
food, clothing and other necessary goods.

c. What methods did Stalin use to bring agriculture under state control?
He seized over 25 million private owned farms and combined them into large, government owned
farms, called collective farms. People worked on these farms producing food for the state and introduced
modern machinery to increase the amount of food produced and decreased the amount of workers. The
government also set up state farms, which operated like factories, in areas where farming was difficult.

d. Kulaks - Who were they?

The Kulaks were wealthy peasants.

1. How did they create a problem for Stalin?

They resisted collectivization by murdering officials, torching the property of the
collectives, and also burned their own crops and grain in protest.

2. How did he solve the problem?

He decided to eliminate them and Stalin took control of all Kulak land and equipment. Stalin also
confiscated their food and grain storage. More than 3 million Kulaks were shot, exiled, or imprisoned.