Totalitarianism A government in which a political party or group maintains complete control and bans all others

7 Aspects of Totalitarianism Absolute Control of the Government Society of Fear Use of Propaganda Lack of News /Information Individual subservient to the state Prohibit all Opposition Charismatic Leader

A Brief History of Russia Russia was being poorly mismanaged by a Czarist government, and most of the Russian people were still underpaid laborers on land owned by wealthy landlords. Communists were a small extremist group within the socialist movement.

Czar Any person having great or unlimited power over others

Communism Economic system based on the ownership of all property by the community as a whole A classless and stateless society with equal distribution of economic goods No one is richer than anyone else Everything belongs to everyone

Socialism Private ownership of the means of production and distribution has been eliminated The ownership and operation of the means of production and distribution by society or the community rather than by private individuals with all members of society or the community sharing the work and the products.

A Brief History of Russia Leon Trotsky, a socialist revolutionary, was forced to flee Russia twice because of his anti- Czarist activities. In 1917, the Bolshevik Party, led by Nikolai Lenin, successfully overthrew Czar Nicholas II, and the communist government gained control of the government.

A Brief History of Russia Trotsky, who believed terrorism was a valuable method for suppressing counter- revolutionaries, returned to take a prominent position in the government. At Lenin’s death, there was a power struggle between Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Stalin gained control in 1926, and Trotsky went to Mexico, but was later assassinated.

A Brief History of Russia Stalin deported to Siberia all those who did not agree with him. His secret police also used arbitrary arrests, torture, and mass executions to maintain his dictatorship. Anyone could be a victim of these attacks for no apparent reason.

A Brief History of Russia The idealism of the Revolution had turned into a system no less terrifying than rule by the czars. There was no freedom in the new system, which was based on military bureaucracy. Forced labor created wealth for the few while their own conditions changed little or grew worse. Terrorist police prevented uprisings.

A Brief History of Russia The aim of totalitarianism is to make people less and less conscious, les able to make distinctions between truth and falsehood, and unable to draw logical conclusions. This is exactly what happens to the animal- workers in Animal Farm. The farm itself stands for Russia, and the characters and plot lines all symbolize various people and events in the Russian Revolution. (See Parallels sheet Pg. 8)

A Brief History of Russia Censorship and propaganda are essential methods of controlling the proletariat and convincing them that they are on the right path while in those involved with other political systems are fools. These are important tools used by the pigs in Animal Farm as well.