19.5 Stalin and Dictatorship in the Soviet Union World Studies CP 19.5 Stalin and Dictatorship in the Soviet Union

Setting the stage 1861 Serfdom is ended by Alexander II 1917 Communist take over 1918 Communist kill Czar Nicholas II and his family Many communist thought that they had ended centuries of oppression under czarist rules But did they……

Russia under Lenin 1922 communist leaders renamed Russia Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) 15 political republics joined in a federal union

War Communism Between 1918 and 1921 Lenin followed this policy The policy nationalized Russian industries Did little to improve economy The policy had won the civil war, but now the USSR was near economic collapse and social disorder

Lenin responds with New Economic Policy (NEP) The major industries – heavy industry, communications, transportation, and the credit system$$, would stay under government control NEP did allow for some free enterprise This allowed for a new class of small businessmen called the Nepmen

Think about this In America how do we decide how many tractors to make? In a Communist nation how do they decide? How did NEP combine these practices

Collective Farms During the revolution, farmlands of the wealthy had been sized and divided among the peasants. Now the government tried to persuades peasant to form collective farms. Land was pooled into large farms on which people worked as a group and shared modern farm machinery

Positive and Negatives In what ways did collective farming make sense? In what ways did collective farming NOT work?

Women’s Role 1917 USSR declares that women should receive equal pay for equal work Women were granted time off from work to take care of newborn babies Divorce was now easier But.. Few women held position of authority within the Communist Party

Education Soviet leaders wanted to increase literacy rates and teach socialist doctrine (hey! Why do these two things go together?) Educators had limited success… no money Higher education was emphasized, but elementary schools were ignored 1925 Soviet students average less then 3 years in school!!!

Reforms under Lenin Nationalized industries Collectivized farms Gave women more rights Emphasized education

1924 Lenin dies Power struggle within the communist Party Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin Trotsky leader of the Red Army during revolution Stalin was the leader of the Communist party

Trotsky believed.. Strict Marxist Revolution should take place among workers all over the world Stalin believed that socialism in one country and argued that after socialism succeeded in the USSR other countries would have their own revolution

By 1928 Stalin was in control Trotsky was kicked out of the USSR Killed in Mexico on Stalin’s orders

1928 Stalin ended the New Economy Policy and returned to a command economy Command economy is when the government controlled all economic decisions Government control of the economy to be permanent

1928 First five year plan for economic growth Ambitious agricultural, industrial and social goals for the next 5 years Stalin intended the five year plan to turn the USSR into a modern industrialized society

Collective farming 90% of all farmland was now collective farms Those who resisted were punished or killed The Five year plan decreased agricultural production Resulted in famine and crop failure

Millions I said millions died of starvation. About 10 million WHY? How?

Despite the deaths The economy grew under the Five year Plan The second Five year Plan went into effect in 1933 Wanted to produce more consumer goods as a reward for hard work Production of consumer goods decreased People were disappointed

Black market Just because the goods are not available, doesn’t mean there isn’t a need for them Side note: Russian mob

Keeping Control Before communism the Czars used secret police and spies to maintain their rule Two areas Religion and Art

Soviet Officials Discouraged religious worship Seized property of the Orthodox Church Churches and Jewish houses of worship were destroyed Priests, ministers, and rabbis imprisoned Religious instruction outlawed in schools Art was censored

Politburo Political Bureau of the communist Party Had the real power

Purge Large scale elimination Gulags From 1934-1947 Russian were sent to labor camps or gulags Located in Siberia

Comintern Lenin founded to spread communism Revolution throughout the world Overthrow democracies by urging workers in other countries to rebel