1. Life in a Totalitarian State
C28 sec 3
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EQs: What was life like in the Soviet Union under Communism? Why did Communism fail?

2. Propaganda
Definition: The spreading of ideas to promote a cause or destroy an opposing cause
Propaganda…
1. promoted communism
Radio broadcasts, speeches and even the only newspapers (known as Pravda aka “The Truth”)
2. condemned capitalism
Capitalism is what caused Russia to fail when the czar ruled, GREED
3. revived extreme Russian nationalism
“Russia for Russians”

3. Religion and Society 4. Atheism was the state religion of Russia
All religions were persecuted or banned
5. Members of the Communist party were at the head of society
They had access to better stuff while providing housing, general wages, education, labor, health services and even day care to the masses
6. Food was always in short supply
Except for bread, most people could not get meat, fruits, vegetables and other luxury goods (coffee, tea, sugar)

4. Education
The Communist party was responsible for setting up school and universities
7. Educated workers were needed to build the modern state (most Russians before the Revolution barely had a 4th grade education)
8. schools taught basic skills as well as communist values, sports competition, political classes for hopeful party members

5. Women and the (Soviet) Arts
Women won legal equality under Communism in the USSR
9. Women also gained access to education and any job they saw fit (though most were still somewhat selective)
Women did find a place in the industrial workforce, which propelled Soviet industry in the mid 20th C.
Artists and writers were required by law to depict only the positive aspects of Communism in the USSR (14. socialist realism, see pg 715)
10. The government censored all literature, art, and music that reached the public

6. SUMMARY ASSESSMENT
Answer the summary question at the bottom of the page NOW using only the information we just wrote down
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7. The Failure of Soviet Communism
Economic Reasons
Failures to produce their own food, they had to get it from somewhere else
The government decided what was manufactured…therefore, NO consumer goods
Manufacture/industry was done at the cost of the environment at human life
Workers in a communist system had a lifetime guarantee for a job

8. The Failure of Soviet Communism
Foreign Policy Issues
Focused on military and expansion 24/7, at cost!
Got into rivalries with the United States that they rarely ever won victory from
Invaded Afghanistan in 1979, a disastrous move that drained the Soviet economy and political morale

9. The Failure of Soviet Communism
Political Issues
In the early 1980s, the USSR went through 3 leaders in the matter of 2 years
Glasnost or “openness”, which eased oppression and provided more freedoms and rights
Perestroika or “restructuring” which reorganized the government and opened the economy to the world
Both of the above led to a) Soviet republics and other communist countries demanding freedom and b) attempts to overthrow the Communist leaders (which succeeded)