Joseph Stalin and Totalitarianism
Who were the leading candidates for replacing Lenin as the head of the Soviet government?
Stalin and Trotsky
What did forced collectivization lead to?
more government control over the peasants, makes collecting taxes easier, and mass starvation
How did Stalin use propaganda to maintain power?
- posters portray Stalin as good for children, sciences, government, etc. - shows himself as "the father of Russia" - kept his public image idealistic and polished
Define totalitarianism
A system of government in which one party tries to rule with complete control over the lives of its citizens
What was the the difference between Lenin's NEP and Stalin's Command economy?
Lenin's NEP allowed a degree of market flexibility within the context of socialism, but Stalin's command economy gave the government ownership of production, power over wages and prices and power to distribute products
Do the people benefit from Stalin's five year plan?
No
What were Stalin's Five Year Plans?
Plans to modernize the economy of Russia which gave each industry and factory a high production goal to meet
What was forced collectivization?
The government took away peasants' farming equipment, livestock, produce, and homes, forced peasantry to work the land, takes their produce and redistributes it
What economy did Stalin have?
a command economy
How were purges achieved?
by pitting people against each other and requiring people to turn others in, guilty or not
How did Stalin eliminate the competition and gain power after Lenin's death?
he manipulates two of Trotsky's enemies and tricks Trotsky into skipping Lenin's funeral
What was Holodomor?
the biggest man made famine in Ukraine from 1932-1933 that resulted from the people not meeting their production targets
Who controls economic decisions?
the central government
What were purges?
the cleansing of society of traitors
Define propoganda
the spreading of ideas to promote a cause or damage an opposing cause; aimed to try and actively influence people's opinions and behaviors
What happened to people who disobeyed?
they were sent to Gulags or killed
Were Stalin's five year plans successful?
yes, they increased the industrial output of the Soviet Union
