Stalin and the Soviet Union

When did Joseph Stalin come to power?

1920.

What is a purge?

A purge is an attempt to get rid of political opponents.

What is a quota?

A quota is a set amount for regulating the amount of crops that each collective could produce.

What did Stalin put few resources into?

Consumer goods such as refrigerators, furniture, and cars.

What did Stalin do like Mussolini and Hitler?

He used terror to make Soviets obey the government, built a strong military, and used propaganda to promote his goals.

What was Stalin's main goal?

Increasing industrial and agricultural production quickly.

Where did most of the food go?

It was exported so that Stalin could but military and industry products.

What are kulaks?

Kulaks are the farmers who rebelled the collectives. They were sent to labor camps in Siberia. 10 million peasants died.

What did Stalin ban?

Religion because it distracted people from loyalty to the government.

Name something that was built in the 1920s.

Steel, machines, weapons, farm equipment, transportation equipment, power plants, and money was put into mining and oil drilling.

What was the Great Purge?

The Great Purge was form 1934-1936. Stalin used his secret police to spy on the people who disagreed with him. Then the police would arrest them and sent them to labor camps in Siberia or kill them. Around 8 million people died. He used the Great Purge to remove anyone from the Communist Party that might challenge his power.

What is a collective?

The huge farms were made up of small peasant farms. All the farm animals, tools, and supplies were taken by the government. The peasants could keep a very small plot of land and their house.

What was just one of Stalin's purges?

The persecution of the kulaks.

What did the propaganda messages convey?

They glorified the Soviet Union and were engouraged to work harder and produce more. They also encouraged nationalism and suspicion of Western nations.

What was the peasants reaction to the collectives?

They rebelled. They burned the collectives and killed the farm animals. They broke the new tractors and tools.

What did the Five-Year Plans do?

They were aimed to increase industrial and agricultural production. The plans began 1928.

Were the wages low?

Yes. Workers has little money to spend on anything except food and housing.