Part 3
Stalin’s Soviet Union
To what extent did Stalin’s dictatorship devastate
the Soviet Union?
Recall previous lessons
We learnt about:
What is COMMUNISM
How Russia became communist
Reasons for Stalin’s rise to power
Non-disclosure of Lenin’s Testament
Trotsky’s unpopularity
Stalin’s manipulations
Stalin’s Soviet Union
By 1929, he had removed/executed all his
opponents
He was now the Supreme Ruler of USSR
To what extent did
Stalin’s dictatorship
devastate the Soviet
Union?
Dictatorship – a form of government where
political authority is held by ONE person
Was Stalin a Good or Bad
ruler??
Stalin’s Soviet Union
Economic Impact
Political Impact
Social Impact
Economic Impact
Soviet Union’s economy had been devastated by
WW1 and civil war
Stalin wanted to modernise the economy to
achieve Western standards
Series of 5 year plans for agricultural and
industrial developments
Economic Impact
Collectivisation
Agricultural
Rapid Industrialisation
Industrial
Before
Economic Impact:
NEP Collectivisation
Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP)
Farmers allowed to own land
Allowed to sell extra for profits
A new class of wealthy peasants formed –
KULAKS
Some kulaks hoarded crops to increase profits**
People in cities affected
Economic Impact:
Collectivisation
Merging of small individual farms into larger
collective farms aka Kolkhozy
Believed to be more efficiently farmed through
use of tractors
Economic Impact:
Collectivisation
Land owned by state
Equipment provided by state
Working hours, wages and quantity produced
fixed by state
Excess crops exported to raise funds for
industrialisation
Farmers punished if target not met
Economic Impact:
Collectivisation
State
provided
equipments.
(increased
efficiency)
Fewer farm
workers
needed
More can go
work in
factories in
the city
Economic Impact:
Collectivisation
But what happened then?
Kulaks killed their own animals, hid or burnt their
crops
Harvests dropped dramatically
State continued to collect grain it needed to
feed cities and export
Great Famine 1932 – 1933 (death of millions)
Stalin viewed it as a GREAT SUCCESS and
publicised it as such
So, was
Collectivisation
Beneficial or
Not?
Economic Impact:
Rapid
Industrialisation
Hundreds of new factories were built, workforce
expanded
Factorises in cities would produce equipment for
the mechanisation of farming
Less farm workers required, more could go into
the factories in the city
Emphasis placed on heavy industries – coal,
iron, steel electricity
Working hours and wages fixed
Magnitogorsk – Iron and
Steel producer
Video (John Scott)
Economic Impact: Rapid
Industrialisation
Generally considered a SUCCESS
By 1941, Soviet Union was an industrial base for
powerful arms industry
Economic Impact: Rapid
Industrialisation
HOWEVER,
Little growth in consumer industries
Not efficient as some parts of the economy
faced underproduction, others overproduction
Quality was also substandard and hazardous in
a bid to meet targets
Did Stalin’s Economic
Policies HELP or HURT
the Soviet Union?
Stalin’s Soviet Union
Economic Impact
Political Impact
Social Impact
Political Impact
FORCED COLLECTIVSATION
LOW WAGES
HARSH TREATMENT OF WORKERS
Eventually, the Communist Party and Stalin
became very unpopular
Political Impact
The Great Terror (1934 – 1938)
Propaganda
Political Impact:
The Great Terror (1934 –
38)
Consolidate power
Enforce Party discipline
Created a series of PURGES to remove his
enemies and any opposition
Period of SHOW TRIALS, arrests and
interrogation, police surveillance and executions
Political Impact:
The Great Terror (1934 –
38)
Show trials got rid of political opponents such as
Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin
Many confessed to crimes they did not commit and
executed after being tortured or family threatened
Secret Police forced people to inform on their friends
and family
Many were killed/arrested/sent to labour camps
(GULAGS) where they died from poor conditions
By 1937, around 40 million people have died
Political Impact:
The Great Terror (1934 –
Gulags 38)
– Labour Camps
Political Impact:
The Great Terror (1934 –
38)
Who did Stalin
eliminate
Why
Result
Political Opponents
May overthrow him
--
Red Army Leaders
Strong Trotsky
connections
- Lost experienced
commanders and
leaders
- Affected WW2
Scientists/ Engineers
Opposition to Stalin
- Lost skilled
workers
- Affected quality of
goods produced
Teachers
May organise
opposition of Stalin
- Quality of
education affected
Administrators
Works in the
government
- Less effective
management of
government
Political Impact:
Propaganda
What is Propaganda?
Official Government communications in forms of
posters, songs, newspaper
articles etc, designed to influence the public
opinion. Information may by true or false, but is
always carefully selected for political effect
Political Impact:
Propaganda
Political Impact:
Propaganda
Stalin carefully controlled how he was
represented
Pictures and posters were put up everywhere
All achievements and successes credited to
Stalin
Artists, moviemakers, authors praised him in
their works
Stalin created a CULT OF PERSONALITY
Political Impact:
Propaganda
Political Impact:
Propaganda
Large portions of Soviet history was rewritten to
boost Stalin’s status or discredit his rivals
Photographs edited to remove unwanted people
All of these made Stalin the undisputable leader
of the Soviet Union
Stalin’s Soviet Union
Economic Impact
Political Impact
Social Impact
Social Impact
State control of society
Living in fear
Impact on various social groups (women and
minorities)
Social Impact:
State control of society
State became only legal distributor of services
such as:
Housing
Education
Health services
Vacation destinations etc.
Party members were given preferential
treatment
Social Impact:
State control of society
Fall in the standard of living
People moved to the city from the farms
Increased in population in city made shortage of
housing a problem
People not allowed to buy land or build houses as
these were controlled by the state
State assigned housing
Many lived in cramp conditions without running
water
Social Impact:
State control of society
Famine
Farms owned by state
Farmers could not keep their own produce
State did not distribute stockpiled grain
Sold overseas to raise funds for
industrialisation
7 million people died
Social Impact:
Living in fear
Secret police had informers everywhere
People were constantly watched and judged
If judged poorly, they may find it difficult to get
jobs, housing or holidays
May be sent to labour camps or killed
Social Impact:
Impact on social groups
Minority groups lost their autonomy
Creation of the ‘New Soviet Man’
Women’s entry into the workforce
However, Soviet women were expected to fulfil
both the role of worker AND housewife
Compulsory schooling and increased literacy
rates
Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth)
Stalin’s Soviet Union
Economic Impact
Political Impact
Social Impact
Economic
Political
Social
• Collectivisation
• Rapid
Industrialisation
• Great Terror
• Propaganda
• State control of
society
• Living in fear
• Impact of
policies on
various social
groups