1. Totalitarian Government Stalin Controls the Soviet Union
Chapter 14 Section 2
Totalitarian Government
Stalin Controls the Soviet Union

2. Stalin Becomes Dictator
Lenin suffered a stroke in 1922
Created a competition for control between Leon Trotsky & Joseph Stalin
Stalin had moved his followers into positions of power and when Lenin died in 1924 he used those followers to take over
1928: Stalin had control
Trotsky was forced to flee in 1929
Stalin was now ready to become dictator of the Soviet Union

3. Totalitarianism
Total control over all aspects of public and private life
Totalitarian Leaders appear to provide a sense of security and direction for the future
Mass media allows for a leader to reach massive numbers of people and to reach into all aspects of their lives
Secret police are often used to crush opposition and create fear to maintain control
These leaders devise methods to control and persuade
They use terror, indoctrination, propaganda, censorship, and religious or ethnic persecution

4. Basic Characteristics of Totalitarian States
Police Terror: used to force obedience and crush opposition
The police enforce the government’s policies
They will spy on citizens or intimidate them
They may use brutal force and murder to achieve their goals
Indoctrination: instruction in the government’s belief to mold the people’s minds
This is used to teach citizens that loyalty and support are required
Begins at a young age

5. Basic Characteristics of Totalitarian States
Propaganda & Censorship: information designed to sway people to accept certain beliefs or actions
Control of mass media makes this possible
People are surrounded by incomplete or false information, and any attempt to question the information is considered treason
Religious & Ethnic Persecution: leaders often create “enemies of the state” to blame when things go wrong
Often these groups are easily identified and violence is used against them

6. Stalin’s Totalitarian State
Stalin wanted to create the perfect Communist state in Russia
He planned to achieve this through totalitarian rule
He began by eliminating enemies, both real & imagined
Police State: the Cheka, later the KGB
used tanks and armored cars to stop riots
Monitored phone lines, read people’s mail, & had informers everywhere
Children ratted out their parents, & the knock on the door at night was feared
Arrested and executed millions of traitors

7. Stalin’s Totalitarian State
The Great Purge:
1000s of Bolsheviks were killed or imprisoned or executed
Anyone considered a threat
8 to 13 million died from
Stalin now had complete control
He had also created an atmosphere of fear to maintain control in the USSR

8. Stalin’s Totalitarian State
Propaganda & Censorship: all forms of media & communication were controlled by the government
Creativity had to conform to the rules of the state
The media was used to praise the achievements of Stalin and the Communist party
The government also produced propaganda to celebrate Stalin

9. Stalin’s Totalitarian State continued…
Education & Indoctrination: the government controlled every aspect of education from nursery school to college
Children were taught the virtues of the Communist Party
Anyone who questioned the teaching or the Party was subject to losing their jobs, arrest, and imprisonment
The children were taught the importance of sacrifice for the good of the Soviet Union

10. Stalin’s Totalitarian State continued…
Religious Persecution: religion was replaced by the ideals of Communism
the government sponsored atheism
They attack organized religions and destroyed churches

11. Stalin’s Economic Reforms
The Soviet Union was years behind other nations
Stalin wanted to make up this distance in 10 years
Created a Command Economy
The government would decide the economic needs of the country and would decide how to meet those needs

12. Stalin’s Economic Reforms continued…
The Five-Year Plans:
Set goals for industrial production, to reach the goals, the production of consumer goods was limited
Shortages of food, clothing, housing, and other necessities were common
Most of the goals were not reached but impressive progress was made
A 25% increase was achieved in steel production

13. Stalin’s Economic Reforms continued…
Agricultural changes
Collective farms:
25 million farms were seized and combined in to large farms.
Hundreds of families worked on these farms, & produced food for the state
The Kulaks, resisted and most were eliminated
In an attempt to stop the government, peasants killed livestock & destroyed crops in protest
From 5 to 10 million peasants may have died resisting the idea of Collective farms

14. Stalin’s Economic Reforms continued…
State farms were also creating in the areas where farming was harder. Workers were paid instead of sharing in the profits

15. Soviet Life Under Stalin
Women’s roles increased
Women had been declared equal by the revolution
They became better educated
Freedoms were limited, consumer goods were in short supply, & dissent was prohibited
Becoming a skilled worker, or a university trained person was the key to a better life

16. Soviet Life Under Stalin continued…
Women went to work in the factories under Stalin
Education allowed women to gain new heights
By 1950, 75% of Soviet Doctors were women compared to 5% in the US
Women were still responsible for the duties to the state.
Motherhood, housework, childcare

17. Soviet Life Under Stalin continued…
Total Control
Mid 1930s the Soviet Union was an industrial and political power
Stalin held complete control
He would not tolerate individualism or creativity
He would eliminate enemies and held total social control also.
He was unchallenged in his authority over everything.
Responsible for between million deaths during his rule