Global Studies II

Racich______________________________
Unit II Russia

Name Jake
Date ____________

Totalitarianism under Stalin

1. Define the term totalitarianism This is a concept used by some political scientists in which the state

holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life wherever
possible.

2. While reading the excerpt, create a list of methods of control used by Soviet leaders and examples

Methods

Examples

Police terror

In a totalitarian state, police enforce the

central governments policies by intimidating
citizens or attacking them. They do this to show
their dominance.

Indoctrination

The government takes control of schooling and

education in a totalitarian state. They try to
sway the opinions of little kids early in their
life.

Propaganda and censorship

People in a totalitarian state will control mass
media and spread false posters or ads to sway
the people to do something.
Religious or ethnic persecution
Totalitarian leaders create enemies of the
state to blame for everything. They are treated
very badly in society because of their ethnicity.

Of all the methods of control, which allows the MOST long-term control?

The method that holds the longest term of control was his secret police force.

3. Stalins methods of control.

a. What was the Great Purge? How would Stalins use of this action increase his power?
This was a threatening campaign to anyone that tried to take his power away. This increased his
power because he eliminated all the Bolsheviks from the revolution of 1917. No one was standing in
his way.

b. What was Pravda? How did Stalin explain the purpose of art in the USSR?
Pravda was a Russian newspaper. He said art was the levers in the hands of the proletariats. He was
basically saying, art was in the hands of the working class.

c. What is an atheism? How did Stalin use atheism to influence his control over his citizens?
Atheism is defined as a person that doesnt believe in god. Stalin spread propaganda attacking the
Russian Orthodox Church to show his power over religion.

4. Stalins control over the economy.

a. What is a command economy? A system in which the government made all economic decisions.
b. Stalins Five Year Plans
1. Purpose The purpose of his five year plan was to speed up the process of steel, coal, oil and
electricity. He decreased the amount of consumer goods, so many people were homeless and were
without other necessities.

2. Results? From the five year plan, Stalin produced great economic results but a horrible
living state for the people.

c. What methods did Stalin use to bring agriculture under state control?
Stalin used collective farms which were farms owned by the government.

d. Kulaks - Who were they? Kulaks were peasants who were very wealthy.

1. How did they create a problem for Stalin?

They created a problem for Stalin by fighting against the government to take their land. The
Kulaks were destroying the livestock in protest.

2. How did he solve the problem?

Stalin solved the problem by using his police force to bring the peasants to a collective farm
and then killing them. He killed five to ten million peasants.