Bolsheviks in Power
Lenin orders all
farmland to be
distributed among the
peasants and gave
control of the factories
to the workers
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
The Bolsheviks sign the
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
with Germany
Russia had to surrender a
large chunk of territory to
Germany
The land contained a large
portion of Russias
population and industry.
The terms of the treaty
caused widespread anger
Civil War
The Bolshevik opponents
form the White Army
Leon Trotsky commanded
the Bolshevik Red Army
Around 15 million
Russians died in the civil
war from 1918-1920
The Red Army won
v.
Trotsky (right) was a firm Marxist who
wanted support for a worldwide revolution
against capitalism
Stalin (left) wanted to work on socialist
views in Russia first
Stalin put his supporters into top jobs and
isolated Trotsky in his own party
Agricultural Revolution
In 1925, the govt seized
25 million privately
owned farms
The govt combined them
into collective farms
Peasants resisted the
govt and Stalin used
terror and violence to
force the peasants to
work
Agricultural Revolution
The kulaks, a wealthy
class of peasants, resisted
heavily and the govt
executed them or sent
them into exile
By 1938, more then 90%
of peasants lived on
collective farms and
agricultural production
was twice what it had
been in 1928
Weapons of Totalitarianism
1) Police Terror
Dictators of
totalitarian states uses
terror and violence to
force obedience
Monitored telephone
lines, read mail,
planted informers
Lavrent Beria
(right): head of
secret police
Weapons of Totalitarianism
In 1934, Stalin launched the
Great Purge, a campaign of
terror that was directed at
eliminating anyone who
threatened his power
When the Great Purge ended in
1939, Stalin gained total
control of both the Soviet
government and the
Communist Party
Weapons of Totalitarianism
2) Indoctrination and
Propaganda
Totalitarian states rely on
indoctrination or instruction
on the govts set of beliefs, to
mold peoples minds
Party leaders lectured workers
and peasants on the ideals of
communism
The State supported youth
groups and used them as
training grounds for future
party members
Weapons of Totalitarianism
Soviet newspapers and
radio broadcasts
glorified the
achievements of
Communism and
Stalin
Soviet Realism was an
artistic styles that
praised Soviet way of
life
Weapons of Totalitarianism
3) Censorship
Stalin would not
tolerate individual
creativity that
threatened conformity
Govt controlled all
newspapers, motion
pictures, radio and
other sources of
information
Weapons of Totalitarianism
4) Religious Persecution
Communists aimed to
replace religious teachings
with the ideals of
Communism
The Russian Orthodox
Church was the main
target of persecution
Roman Catholics and
Jews were also persecuted
Education
The government
controlled all education
from nursery school to
the university
School children learned
the virtues of the
Communist Party
They party also set up
youth programs called
Komsomols