Stalins Soviet Union How does Stalin create a

Stalin’s Soviet Union

How does Stalin create a totalitarian state?

State Control of Economy: Collectivisation And 5 Year Plans! • 5 Year Plans: Plans to rapidly industrialize USSR • Collectivization: take land from peasants and create large collective farms • 1928 - 90% of land was owned by peasants. • 1938 - 90% was collectivized.

“Stakhanovite” -Alexei Stakhanov = ideal worker - must work hard or risk being labeled a traitor

Gov’t Terror: Secret Police • 1917: Lenin creates the CHEKA (All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Combating Counter Revolution, Speculation, Sabotage, and Misconduct in Office)

Stalin’s Secret Police: NKVD 1934: secret police reorganized into NKVD (Commisariat for Internal Affiars)

Gov’t Terror: Purges! Why? : • Protect revolution from “traitors” VICTIMS: • Kulaks • Peasants • Former Stalin allies Bukharin, Zinoviev, Kirov • Older Bolsheviks • Army officers • Anyone could be labeled an enemy

Show Trials (1930 s) - Many top Commies accused of being enemies - Accused often “confessed” to the crimes - Executions often followed

Zinoviev - Put on trial in 1936 - August 24, 1936: Found “guilty” - August 25, 1936: Executed

Bukharin - Arrested 1937 - March 13, 1938: found “guilty” - March 15, 1938: executed

Trotsky: Assassinated in 1940

Alters History by “erasing” enemies! Photo #1: Lenin and Trotsky Photo #2: No Trotsky

Photo #1: Lenin and Trotsky Photo #2: No Trotsky

Photo #1: Stalin and Yezhov Photo #2: Stalin

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Death. Tally: at least 20 million • • • Executed Starved to death Die in the gulag

Gov’t Terror: The Gulag!

Indoctrinating the Youth

Youth Groups Young Pioneers • Communsit Party youth group • for kids under 15

Young Pioneers Oath “ I, a Young Pioneer of the Soviet Union, before my comrades do solemnly swear to be true to the precepts of Lenin, to stand firmly for the cause of our Communist Party and for the cause of Communism”

Komsomol • for kids over 15

Pavlik Morozov -13 yr. old turned in his father - heralded as ideal Soviet youth

Gov’t Control and Censorship of Media

Control of Print Media Pravda (“Truth”): Official newspaper of the Communist Party

• Glavlit: gov’t censoring agency • Goskomizdat : gov’t agency controlling publication of books and other literature

Forward, Oh Time - Valentin Kataev, 1934 “To make life happy, it was not enough to say good words. It was not enough. One needed steel, steel! With steel, there will be a new, happy life, a life that has never been before, a life that has never been seen before”

"Life's Getting Better“ (1936) Beautiful as birds all in a row Songs fly above the Soviet land. The happy refrain of the cities and fields: "Life's getting better He took unto himself the tears of And happier too!" the ages, The country is growing and singing as one, He took unto himself the woe of the ages, It forges everyone's joy with its songs. He took unto himself the joy of the Look at the sun--the sun's brighter too! ages, "Life's getting better He took unto himself the wisdom And happier too!" of the ages, There's room everywhere for our minds and our hands, He took unto himself te strength of Wherever you go you'll find you have friends. the ages, Old age feels warmer, and youth braver still-- He burst unto the world like morning, "Life's getting better And the world calls him Stalin. And happier too!" Know, Voroshilov, we're all standing guard-- - 1936 We won't give the enemy even a yard. There is a saying for folks old and young: "Life's getting better And happier too!" Let's let the whole gigantic country Shout to Stalin: "Thank you, our man, Live long, prosper, never fall ill!" "Life's getting better And happier too!"

Control of Visual Media Posters

“Thank you dear Stalin for a happy childhood. ”

“Stalin at the helm”

“Under The Leadership Of The Great Stalin--Forward To Communism!”

“Take A Look: The Entire Soviet Nation Is Singing & Dancing”

ART Socialist Realism style of art designed to glorify communist party and Lenin/Stalin: “Artists are the engineers of souls” “Stalin as an organizer of the October Revolution”

“An Unforgettable Meeting” – Vasilis Efanov

“A collective farm feast” - Alesandr Gerasimov, 1937

“Return of the Winners”

“Industrial Worker and Collective Farm Girl” – Vera Mukhina, 1935

Architecture Palace of the Soviets

Utlimate Propaganda : Stalin and Lennin as BFFS