Totalitarianism
League of the Militant Goddess
officially sponsered group of atheists
religious or ethnic persecution
scapegoat to blame for things that go wrong are often religious or ethnic groups, groups are easily identified and are subjects of terror and violence
police state
secret police of Stalin that used tanks/armored cars to stop riots, monitored telephone lines, read mail, planted informers everywhere, arrested/executed millions of "traitors"
command economy
system in which the gov makes all economic decision, Stalin set this up for Russia in 1928
Stalin's plan
wanted to transform the Soviet union into a totalitarian state, wanted to create the perfect Communist state in Russia
collective farms
when gov seized over 25 million privately owned farms in USSR and combined them into large, gov owned farms where hundreds of families worked, lots of resistance and fighting
state farms
where farming was most difficult, operated like factories, workers recieved wages instead of crops, much larger than collective farms
benefits of Stalin's rule
women's roles greatly expanded, people got better education and mastered new technical skills
Russian propaganda and censorship
Stalin's gov controlled all newspapers, motion pictures, radio, and other sources of info, everything was used to glorify Stalin,
totalitarianism leaders
appear to provide sense of security/direction for the future, often utilizes secret police to crush opposition/create fear, must be able to justify actions/build support for policies
propaganda and censorship
biased or incomplete info used to sway people to accept certain beliefs or actions, must include control of all mass media, going against info means treason and punishment
kulaks
class of wealthy peasents who strongly opposed the collective farms
religious persecution
communists wanted to replace religion with communism, Stalin, gov, and League of the Militant Goddess spread propaganda for atheism, Russian Orthodox Church was main target
Five-Year Plans
for dev of Soviet Union's economy, set impossibly high goals to increase output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity, caused limited production of consumer goods and shortages
education and indoctrination
gov controlled schools, children learned virtues of Communist Party, anyone who taught against Communist ideas was fired or arrested
totalitarianism
government that takes control, centralized, state control over every aspect of public and private life
indoctrination
instruction in the gov's beliefs, used to mold people's minds, control of education to glorify leader
costs of Stalin's rule
personal freedoms were limited, consumer goods were in short supply,
police terror
police serve to enforce gov policies, not protect the people, spy on citizens or intimidating them, use brutal force or murder
women's roles
rising status in society, helped economy prosper, joined labor force, many had same jobs as men, some had jobs in engineering and science
Great Purge
1937, campaign of terror against anyone who threatened Stalin's power including old Bolsheviks, people were killed or sent to labor camps, 8 million to 13 million deaths
Bolshevik Revolution of 1917
declared men and women equal
methods of totalitarianism leaders
terror, indoctrination, propaganda, censorship, religious or ethnic persecution