Russia under Lenin & Stalin In 1917, Vladimir Lenin helped lead the revolution in Russia In 1922 Lenin renamed Russia, the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) The country followed the principles of communism Marx the founder of communism preached that the workers needed to be in control with no classes in society In reality, Lenin’s USSR was a dictatorship with the Communist party in sole control By 1928, the USSR was producing at pre-WWI levels, despite the worldwide Depression When Lenin died the question of who would take over as leader of the USSR

Who follows Lenin? Leon Trotsky & Joseph Stalin were both part of the revolution under Lenin They both helped him set up the USSR However, after Lenin died, both bitterly fought for control Lenin did not trust Stalin, who was extremely cold and ruthless From Stalin quietly climbed up the ladder of the Communist party in Russia He was always sure to put allies in other govt. positions By 1928 he was in sole control & a year later he sent Trotsky away into exile

Totalitarianism Lenin & Trotsky wanted to promote & spread communism throughout the world Stalin instead focused on improving Russia within He wanted to perfect communism before he tried to spread it When Stalin took over he made the Soviet Union a totalitarian state Totalitarianism: Government takes total control of every aspect of public & private life Totalitarianism challenged everything democracy is about: reason, freedom, dignity, & the power of the individual

Stalin’s New Ways Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) was about mixing free enterprise (business) & state (govt.) control Stalin’s economic policy was about TOTAL state control Stalin introduced a command economy Command economy= The government makes all economic decisions Political leaders like Stalin make the decision on what the country’s economic needs are & fulfills them

Stalin & Industrialization The first target of Stalin was increasing industrialization He felt the USSR was years behind other western powers Stalin set a Five-Year Plan which set extremely high quotas (goals) for steel, oil, coal & electrical output To actually reach the goals the govt. cut down on the production of consumer goods As a result, citizens faced shortages of food, clothing, housing & other necessary products

Stalin’s Ways Work Under Stalin’s totalitarian plan, the govt. controlled every aspect of the workers life Officials told the workers what jobs they had & what hours they worked Workers had to have permission to move The secret police would jail or execute anyone not contributing to the economy Stalin’s total control took a toll on people’s personal lives, but was greatly improving the Soviet economy From industrial production rose 25%

Stalin & Agricultural Revolution Stalin was successful in pushing Russia through the industrial revolution He was even more successful pushing it through agricultural revolution However, he was even more brutal When he took over in 1928, he immediately seized 25 million privately owned farms He combined those farms into large govt. owned farms called collectives Families worked on the farms producing food for the state May peasants resisted-killing livestock & crops Resistance was especially strong among kulaks- wealthy peasants Stalin simply eliminated this group & other protesters by executing them

Police Terror To dominate an entire nation Stalin had to devise methods to control peasants Dictators of totalitarian states use terror and violence to force obedience & to crush opposition Stalin began his totalitarian state by crushing his opponents – both real & imagined Stalin’s secret police used tanks to stop riots They monitored telephone lines, read mail, & planted informers (spies) Even children told authorities about disloyal remarks heard at home The secret police arrested & executed millions of “traitors”

The Great Purge In 1934, Stalin turned against members of his own Communist Party He launched the “Great Purge” Great Purge = campaign of terror Anyone who threatened Stalin’s power, even if they were loyal, were eliminated Thousands of old Bolsheviks who helped stage the Revolution in 1917 stood trial Were executed for “crimes against the Soviet state” State (govt.) had power to punish even minor acts Police would come under suspicion if they didn’t arrest their quota of criminals When Great Purge ended in 1939, Stalin had gained total control of the Soviet govt. & Communist Party Estimates: Stalin was responsible for 8-13 million death in G.P.

Indoctrination & Propaganda Totalitarian states rely on indoctrination— instruction in the govt.’s beliefs – to mold people’s minds Party leaders in the USSR lectured workers & peasants on the ideals of communism They stressed the importance of sacrifice & hard work to build the Communist state Govt. supported youth groups trained future party leaders Govt. also spread propaganda to sway people’s beliefs & actions Soviet newspapers (ex. Pravda) & radio broadcasts glorified achievements of communism, Stalin & economic programs Under Stalin, art was also used for propaganda Socialist realism = artistic style that praised Soviet life

Censorship Many Soviet writers, composers & other artists fell victim to official censorship Censorship = Eliminating or changing information that is seen as objectionable Stalin wouldn’t tolerate individual creativity Because individuality threatened the conformity that was needed for totalitarianism The govt. also controlled all newspapers, movies, radio, & other info

Religious Persecution Communists aimed to replace religious teachings with the ideals of communism. Stalin supported the League of the Militant Godless, an officially sponsored atheists Atheists = Don’t believe in God The League spread propaganda attacking religion Many people in the USSR clung to their faiths Russian Orthodox Church was main target of persecution, but other religions suffered as well Persecution = to treat unfairly or harass, especially because of race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or beliefs The police destroyed many churches & synagogues (Jewish) Many religious leaders were killed or sent to labor camps