Russia 1917-1939

I. Two Revolutions in Russia II. From Lenin to Stalin III. Life in a Totalitarian State A. Totalitarian Russia: 1. In Communism the state (gov’t) is supposed to wither away, but the opposite occurred under Stalin. 2. Gov’t in which one party dictatorship attempts to regulate every aspect of citizens’ lives.

3. Atheist society a. Russian Orthodox Churches were targeted & punished. b. Anti-Semitic propaganda was used. c. Islam was discouraged, but faced fewer restrictions than other religions i. Why? B/c Communists hoped to win support ppl of the Middle East. d. replaced religion with their own ideology: the writing of Marx & Lenin.

B. Propaganda 1. Spread ideas about Communist successes and the evils of capitalism through radios, newspapers, loudspeakers, in movies, theaters and schools.

C. Equality??? Old social order of nobles at the top & serfs at the bottom was destroyed. New ruling class consisted of a few elite groups who were members of the Communist party.

D. Benefits of Communism Under Stalin Free education, medical care, daycare, inexpensive housing, public transportation & recreation (but not high quality) Post-Secondary Schools were built all over Russia a. Purpose: i. to build a modern industrial state ii. Taught communist values, glory of collective farming & love of Stalin.

3. Provided sports programs, cultural activities, & political classes to train teenagers to be members of the party. 4. Women won equality under the law.

E. Drawbacks: Ppl moved to cities = housing was scarce Political & social oppression Extreme censorship Gov’t controlled all information and arts Anyone who ignored the guidelines was persecuted

F. Effects Stalin made the Soviet Union an industrial leader. It was one of two military superpowers Set the precedent for other leaders to impose their own totalitarian state.