Soviet Union Under Stalin

Ch. 13.4

Totalitarianism

“A political system in which government has total control over the lives of individual citizens”

Totalitarian Governments

One leader becomes the symbol of government and state.

All opposition is suppressed. Informers and secret police help

ensure the power of the dominant party.

Propaganda, controlled by the government, glorifies the party’s leadership.

Party leaders appeal to nationalism to preserve the party’s power

Totalitarian State Five Year Plan

Government control of the economy Combined Marxist beliefs w/ “old-fashion” Russian

Nationalism Concentrated solely on the Soviet Union Stalin is determined to turn the USSR into a major

modern power Aimed at building heavy industry, improving

transportation & Increasing farm output

Totalitarian State Five Year Plan cont.

Command Economy Govt. officials make ALL basic economic decisions

Mixed Results Set high production goals

Heavy industry & transportation Bonuses given to those to succeed & punished those who

didn’t Govt. decided who worked, where & for how long Most had little to show for their efforts Poor quality and few consumer goods were produced

Industrial Output Industrial Output in the Soviet Union

Industry 1932 1938

Coal 64 million tons 132 million tons

Oil 22 million tons 32 million tons

Pig Iron 6 million tons 14 million tons

Steel 6 million tons 18 million tons

Autos 23,000 units 211,000 units

Tractors 50,000 units 176,000 units

Totalitarian State Forced Collectivism In Agriculture

Also brought under govt. control Collectives

Large farms owned & operated by peasants as a group

All farming equipment belonged to the collective State controlled prices & access to supplies Peasants resisted by destroying farm animals, tools &

crops Stalin responded w/ brutal force

Stalin’s Terror Tactics Terror as a weapon

Rights violated Private letters opened Planted listening devices

Secret police No free press (censorship) Critics were arrested and sent to Gulags

System of brutal labor camps

Stalin’s Terror Tactics The Great Purge

1934 Secret police crack down on old Bolsheviks Eventually targeted army heroes, industrial managers,

writers, & ordinary citizens Many were tortured, families were threatened, put on “show

trials”, or just sent straight to labor camps

Results of the Purge Increased Stalin’s power Huge losses of USSR’s most talented & expert thinkers Most of military leaders and ½ of the officers were lost

Society Under Stalin Communist Attempts to Control Thought

Stalin used propaganda to boost his popularity Posters, loudspeaker announcements, and newspaper articles

extolled Communism Books, music, and other art forms that were critical of Stalin

were censored He also tried to replace religion with communist ideology

Class order under Communism Put party members at the top Others endured shortages of food and consumer goods Did get free education and health care Women were treated as equals to men in the workplace

Foreign Policy Soviet Foreign Policy

Encouraged communist revolutions in other countries Through an organization called Comintern Organization supported revolutionary groups around

the world and created a “Red Scare” in the United States