1. World History Honors

3.  1) Bright red to symbolize revolution  2) Hammer and sickle symbolized worker and peasant unity  3) Star stood for the Communist Party

4.  In 1922 the communists seized power and imprisoned Czar Nicholas II, his wife, and their five children.  They were shot, many communists believing they had ended centuries of oppression under czarist rule.  Within a few years, however, Russia was again at the mercy of an absolute ruler, Joseph Stalin.  Under his leadership, the Soviet Union became a powerful police state.

5.  In 1920 Russian farmers produced significantly less grain than they had grown before WWI.  Factory production was less than one-sixth of its pre-war levels.  By 1921 the Communist leadership faced economic collapse and social disorder.  New Economic Policy- the major industries (heavy industry, communications, transportation, and the credit system) remained under government control

6.  The New Economic Policy allowed some free enterprise.  Individuals could buy, sell, and trade farm products.  Some private business was allowed.

7.  Soviet agriculture made important changes during this period.  During the revolution farmlands had been seized from wealthy landlords and divided amongst the peasants.  The government tried to persuade peasants to form collective farms- land was pooled into large farms on which people worked together as a group.  On a collective farm, peasants shared the scarce modern farm machinery.

9.  The Communists claimed to believe that both men and women in Soviet society should be equal.  1) Women received the same pay as men.  2) Women were granted time off from work to take care of newborn babies.  3) The Soviet government made it much easier to obtain a divorce.  4) Emphasis on education (hoping to increase literacy rates and teach socialist doctrine in the schools)

10.  Technical schools were established to train industrial workers.  Educators had limited success because they lacked funds.  Students lacked supplies such as pencils and notebooks, and some schools were forced to close in the winter because they lacked heat.  The government also emphasized higher education, often ignoring the needs of elementary schools.

11. First-Five Year Plan  Agricultural, industrial, and social goals were outlined for the next five years. Goals (under Stalin)  Double the production of oil and coal  Triple the output of steel  Ultimately to create a more modern, industrialized society  Collective farming-to produce enough food for the Soviet people, as well as a surplus for export to other countries

12.  Numerous hardships for the people of the USSR.  Expecting peasants to voluntarily join collective farms was unrealistic.  As a result of the initial failures of collective farming, peasants were forced into collective farms.  By the 1930’s, 90% of productive farmland was converted into collective farms.  The plan ultimately failed, causing millions of people to die from famine and crop failure.

13.  The economy grew under the First Five-Year Plan (steel production increased dramatically). Second Five-Year Plan  1933  Despite the optimism of the government, the production of consumer goods actually decreased.  As a result of this, the government focused most of their effort on military production.  Consumer goods and food became scarcer.

14.  Stalin ruled with an iron fist, ultimately creating a state of fear.  People were forced to obey the demands of the Communist Party.  Two areas of Soviet life that the government sought to control was religion and art.  All property of the Orthodox Church was seized and religious worship was strongly discouraged.

15.  Many ministers, priests, and rabbis were executed or imprisoned in the Gulag.  All music, artwork, and literature was seized by the government, forcing the work of artists, musicians, and writers to be subjected to government censorship.  Artists were forced to produce works that depicted the “realism of the socialist state,” proving their loyalty in the process.

16.  1936-Stalin created a new constitution that was very similar to the one under Lenin.  The parliamentary body (The Supreme Soviet) met twice a year.  The Council of Ministers held administrative and executive authority.  Most of the power lay in the hands of the Politburo (Political Bureau) of the Communist Party.  The parliamentary body elected members to the Politburo, which was under Stalin’s complete control.  1934-Stalin purged party members who were supposedly disloyal to him

17.  Stalin purged anyone whom he believed was working against the interests of the Soviet state.  Outside of the government, people were imprisoned without a trial for the most minor offenses.  1939-more than 5 million people had been arrested, deported, executed, or imprisoned in the Gulag