Stalinist Russia

By Joe Bryant, Evan Dadey, Grace Gilmour,

Mary Frances Kocurek, and Kristi Mercado
Warm Up
Get out a sheet of paper and write down 3 facts you
know about the Soviet Union.

PLEASE DO NOT OPEN YOUR CANDY

YET!
Russia 1917
Absolute Monarchy - a form of government in which the monarch has absolute power
among his or her people

The last king of Russia was Czar Nicholas II who was killed in 1918 because of the rise
of a new type of government in Russia led by the Bolsheviks.

The Bolsheviks were a group of Revolutionary Russians who took control of the
government with the intent to change it.
How does this make you feel?

Government
Officials

Business Owners &

Upper Class

Middle Class Workers

Peasants
RUSSIA 1918
The Bolsheviks take power and the Soviet Union replaced Russia.

This new nation was the 1st Communist nation in the world

Communism- a classless society without private property, the government controls all
economic activity
1918: The Beginning of the Communist Rule in USSR
USSR stands for the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

The Communist Party Ideals

● People who oppose their ideals are arrested and executed

● A command economy is established, this is a system where the government makes
all of the economic decisions
● The government seized all private businesses and land and the peasants are given
land and control of factories
● Basically, the distribution of money and resources is equal.
 How does this make you feel?

Middle Class Workers Peasants Business Owners & Upper Class Government Officials
 Joseph Stalin was born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili on December

Joseph Stalin
18, 1878 in the country of Georgia.

He changed his name to Joseph Stalin in his 30’s, which is Russian for
“Man of Steel”

Joseph Stalin - the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

(USSR) from 1929-1953.

He is known as one of the most powerful and murderous dictators in

history.

He used totalitarianism or government control over every aspect of public

and private life to rule the USSR

Stalin used police terror, and propaganda to reinforce his totalitarian

ruling ways.

Police Terror: Stalin used his secret police to “eliminate” people who
had revolutionary ideas.

Propaganda: information used to promote or harm a particular

political cause or point of view.
Weapons of Totalitarianism: Police Terror
Police Terror: Stalin used his secret police to “eliminate” people who had revolutionary
ideas.

● Secret police used tanks and armored cars to stop riots

● The police monitored telephone lines and read mail
● They arrested and executed traitors or people who opposed communist ideals and
rule.
Video Clip
As we watch this clip from the movie Child

44, be thinking about the way the Russians use

Police terror

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNZTa2i1GII
Weapons of Totalitarianism: Propaganda
Propaganda: information used to promote or harm a particular political cause or point
of view.

● Peasants and workers were lectured on the ideals of communism

● These pieces of propaganda stressed the importance of hard work and sacrifice
● Stalin trained future Communist party members in schools

The propaganda was spread to persuade citizens to follow Stalin and to glorify him.
Propaganda Take 5 minutes to analyze these pieces of propaganda with the help of the
worksheet
Let’s Review