TOTALITARIANISM

Stalinist Russia

After Lenin died, there

was a power struggle
for control of the
Communist Part.

Stalin, Lenins
successor,
transformed the
government and
country by controlling
every aspect of
citizens lives.

BUILDING A TOTALITARIAN STATE

Stalin Focuses on Perfecting Communism in
Russia

Totalitarianism a
government that takes total
control over every aspect of
public and private life.

This form of government goes

against the democratic values
of freedom, human dignity,
and the worth of the
individual.

Stalin transformed the Soviet

Union into a totalitarian state
to realize his vision.

COMMAND ECONOMY
Stalin Seizes Control of the Economy

Stalins economic policies

involved total state
control.

Command Economy a
system in which the
government makes all
economic decisions.

Under this system,

political leaders identify
the countrys economic
needs and determine
how to fulfill them.

LARGE NEED FOR

CHANGE

Stalin announced, We are

fifty or a hundred years
behind the advanced
countries. We must make
good this distance in ten
years. Either we do it or we
shall be crushed.

Country would take drastic

steps to promote rapid
industrial growth and to
strengthen national defense.

INDUSTRIAL POLICIES

Impossibly high quotas, to increase the

output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity.

The government limited the production of

consumer goods.
severe shortages of housing, food, clothing, and other
necessary goods.

The government chose the workers, assigned

them jobs, and determined their working
hours
Needed police permission to move

AGRICULTURAL POLICIES

In 1928, the government seized over 25 million privately owned

farms in the Soviet Union.

It created collective farms large government owned farms

that each had hundreds of workers producing food for the state.

Stalin used terror and violence to force peasants to work on the

collective farms (between 5 to 10 million peasants were killed).

ART/RELGION
ART

Method of propaganda used

to rally the workers.

Artistic style that praised

Soviet Life and Communist
values.

RELIGION

Communists aimed to replace

religious teachings

The police destroyed

churches and synagogues;
also killed leaders of all faiths
or sent them to labor camps.

EDUCATION

The government
controlled all education
nursery to university.

Students learned the

virtues of communism
and evils of capitalism

Professors and students

who questioned
Communist Leaders were
threatened or arrested.

CONTROL METHODS

Police Terror
monitored telephone lines, read mail, planted
spies, and arrested/executed millions of traitors

The Great Purge (a campaign of terror)

It was directed at eliminating anyone who
threatened Stalins power.
Estimate killed 8 to 13 million people

Censorship
-Stalin would not tolerate individual creativity;
wanted conformity and obedience of citizens.
-Government controlled all media (newspapers,
movies, etc.)

PROPAGANDA

Totalitarian states rely on

indoctrination or brainwashing.

Propaganda is biased or
incomplete information used to
sway people to accept certain
beliefs or actions.

Soviet newspapers and radio

broadcasts glorified the
achievements of communism,
Stalin, and his programs.

QUESTION
What

kind of person would be

considered an ideal citizen under
Stalins totalitarian regime?