Unit 5 Notes 2: Joseph

Stalin

Early Joseph Stalin

As a young Bolshevik he
changed his last name
from Dzhugahvili to
Stalin, which means
man of steel
Stalin was cold, hard,
and impersonal and was
not trusted by Vladimir
Lenin
Before Lenin died he
wrote about how he
feared what Stalin would
do if given any power

Stalins Rise to Power

By the time Lenin had died in 1924, Stalin had
worked behind the scenes to put his followers in
key government positions.
By 1928, Stalin was in complete control of the
Communist Party
In 1929 Leon Trotsky, Stalins only real
competition, is forced into exile

Stalin Brings Totalitarianism

Totalitarianism: Describes a
government that takes control over
every aspect of public and private
life

Examples of Stalinist
Totalitarianism
Within the Communist Party
The Great Purge: a campaign of
terror directed at eliminating anyone
who was a potential threat to Stalins
power
By the time the Great Purge ended
Stalin had complete control over the
Soviet government and Communist
Party
Historians estimate that Stalin had
between 8-13 million people killed

Examples of Stalinist
Totalitarianism
Work life
Could not choose the
job you wanted
Could not determine
your work hours
Could not move
You would be
imprisoned or killed for
not contributing to the
Soviet economy

Examples of Stalinist
Totalitarianism
Collective Farms
Stalin created Collective
Farms (a large
government controlled
farm) and forced
peasants to work on them
Kulaks (rich farmers) were
forced to give their land
to the government
Those who resisted were
executed
Between 5 and 10 million
peasants were executed
between 1928-1938

Examples of Stalinist Totalitarianism

Terror-Famine in
Ukraine (Holomodor)
Man-made famine inflicted
on the Soviet region of
Ukraine from 1932-1933
Estimated 3-7 million
people intentionally
starved to death
Believed to be in response
to Ukraines wish to break
away from the Soviet
Union

Examples of Stalinist
Totalitarianism
Personal life
Telephone lines were
monitored
Mail was read
Informants were
placed everywhere
Children were
encouraged to tell
authorities if their
parents spoke against
the communist party
Police were given
quotas of criminals
that needed to be
arrested each month

Examples of Stalinist
Totalitarianism
Other
Schools were primarily used as
a place to force children to
learn about the Communist
way
Art, newspapers, movies, and
radio were all controlled by the
government
Books, Music, and any
information against Communist
ideals was banned
Communism was to replace
religion. Many churches were
destroyed and religious leaders
were executed or sent to labor
camps