RUSSIA WORLDS FIRST COMMUNIST STATE LENIN 1917 1924

RUSSIA: WORLD’S FIRST COMMUNIST STATE

LENIN 1917 – 1924 n Promises “peace, bread, land” n Pulls devastated Russia out of WWI with Treaty of Brest-Litovsk n Nationalizes (puts under ownership and control of state) land industry n Soviets – councils are set up to govern nation n

LENIN

CIVIL WAR 1918 -1921 “Reds” – communists n “Whites” – counterrevolutionaries loyal to czar n U. S. Britain, France support Whites n Reds win, take control n

NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP) After chaos of WWI, Civil War and war communism, Lenin uses NEP to rebuild nation n Private control of land, business, production allowed (capitalism) n More freedom in arts and lit. n

U. S. S. R. n Union of Soviet Socialist Republics formed in 1922

STALIN (Man of Steel) 1924 -1953

CHIEF GOAL n To make U. S. S. R. into a modern, industrial power, with all production under government control

PLAN n Create a command (planned) economy using 5 year plans, emphasis on heavy industry, war materials

RESULT Consumer goods neglected, needs of state come first n By 1953, nation is modern industrialized n

PLAN FOR AGRICULTURE Also under government control n Peasants forced to give up farms to join collective farms n

RESULTS Millions who oppose policy were killed or sent to prison camps in Siberia n Opposition strong in Ukraine where wealthiest peasants (kulaks) lived n Stalin seized all food supplies of people who opposed plan and millions starve to death, Ukrainian Terror Famine n Standard of living drops for most n

LIFE IN A TOTALITARIAN STATE n n n Stalin ruled as a dictator with unlimited power Secret police and “purges” used to clean out “disloyal” communist party members Censorship, propaganda, KGB Religion and arts controlled, socialist realism Execution, imprisonment (gulag archipelago), exile for millions

STALIN’S LEGACY One party, totalitarian dictatorship regulates every aspect of citizen’s lives n Communist ideology replaces religion n Communist party members the new elite n State provided free medical care, daycare, inexpensive housing, but still shortages n Women equal under law n

BY 1953 Soviet Union is a superpower and leader in industry n But, people pay a heavy price under ruthless, brutal leadership n Responsible for as many as 20 million deaths n