State Standards

10.7 Students analyze the rise of totalitarian governments
after World War I.
– Understand the causes and consequences of the Russian Revolution,
including Lenin’s use of totalitarian means to seize and maintain control
(e.g., the Gulag).
– Trace Stalin’s rise to power in the Soviet Union and the connection
between economic policies, political policies, the absence of a free
press, and systematic violations of human rights (e.g., the Terror
Famine in Ukraine).
– Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of totalitarian regimes
(Fascist and Communist) in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union,
noting especially their common and dissimilar traits.

10.9 Students analyze the international developments in
the post–World War II world
– Analyze the Chinese Civil War, the rise of Mao Tse-tung, and the
subsequent political and economic upheavals in China (e.g., the Great
Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square
uprising).
Common Core



CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the central
ideas or information of a primary or secondary source;
provide an accurate summary of how key events or
ideas develop over the course of the text.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view
of two or more authors for how they treat the same or
similar topics, including which details they include and
emphasize in their respective accounts.
CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast
treatments of the same topic in several primary and
secondary sources.
Compare the outcomes of TWO of the
following 20th century revolutions:
 Russian
 Chinese
 Mexican
Analyze each propaganda poster with your neighbor
 Discuss “Discussion Questions”
 Record Answers to “Critical Thinking Questions” in
margins of student handout

Critical Thinking Questions
A.
What might have motivated the Chinese and Russian leadership to create
these propaganda posters?
B.
What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?
C.
How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and
China in the 20th Century?
E
Discussion Questions
 Who is at the “center” of each
image?
 Who are they surrounded by?
Describe these people. (look
closely at how they’re dressed…
what does this represent?)
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated the
Chinese and Russian leadership
to create these propaganda
posters?
B. What strategies did they employ
to achieve these goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
1
Discussion Questions
 Who is at the “center” of
each image?
 Describe the people who
surround them.
 Describe the setting of the
images.
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
C. How do these posters
support what we already
know about Russia and China
in the 20th Century?
2
Collectivization Leads to Abundance
Feast on a Collective Farm
Discussion Questions
 Describe the peasants in these
images.
 What else do you see?
 Based on the banners & posters in
the background, who/what is
responsible for this “abundance”?
 What does collectivization mean?
Do you think these posters offer
accurate depictions of the effects
of collectivization?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated the
Chinese and Russian leadership to
create these propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they employ
to achieve these goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
3
Discussion Questions
 Describe the background of
each poster.
 What are the men doing?
Smelt Steel, Accelerate Socialist Construction
Are you ready for the future Comrade?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
C. How do these posters
support what we already
know about Russia and China
in the 20th Century?
4
Stop American Imperialism
Discussion Questions
 How are Americans portrayed in
each poster?
 What are the Americans
holding?
 Describe the background of
each poster.
 Who is “defending” these
backgrounds?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated the
Chinese and Russian leadership
to create these propaganda
posters?
B. What strategies did they employ
to achieve these goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
We Don’t Need Any of Your Bourgeois Luxuries
5
Discussion Questions
 What are these women doing?
 How are the women being
“received” in the Chinese
poster?
 Were these activities typical
for women of the time period?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
6
Discussion Questions
 What symbols can you
identify in the bottom left
corner?
 What is the young Chinese
man in the image doing to
these symbols?
Destroy the Old World; Forge the New
6
Discussion Questions
 Who do the men on the litter
represent?
 Who do the people carrying
the litter represent?
 What is the relationship
between the two groups?
The Czar, the Church, & the Lash
6
Critical Thinking Questions
A.
B.
C.
What might have
motivated the Chinese
and Russian leadership
to create these
propaganda posters?
What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
How do these posters
support what we already
know about Russia and
China in the 20th
Century?
Compare the outcomes of TWO of the
following 20th century revolutions:
 Russian
 Chinese
 Mexican
1
Discussion Questions
 Who is at the “center” of
each image?
 Describe the people who
surround them.
 Describe the setting of the
images.
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
C. How do these posters
support what we already
know about Russia and China
in the 20th Century?
2
Collectivization Leads to Abundance
Feast on a Collective Farm
Discussion Questions
 Describe the peasants in these
images.
 What else do you see?
 Based on the banners & posters in
the background, who/what is
responsible for this “abundance”?
 What does collectivization mean?
Do you think these posters offer
accurate depictions of the effects
of collectivization?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated the
Chinese and Russian leadership to
create these propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they employ
to achieve these goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
3
Discussion Questions
 Describe the background of
each poster.
 What are the men doing?
Smelt Steel, Accelerate Socialist Construction
Are you ready for the future Comrade?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
C. How do these posters
support what we already
know about Russia and China
in the 20th Century?
4
Stop American Imperialism
Discussion Questions
 How are Americans portrayed in
each poster?
 What are the Americans
holding?
 Describe the background of
each poster.
 Who is “defending” these
backgrounds?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated the
Chinese and Russian leadership
to create these propaganda
posters?
B. What strategies did they employ
to achieve these goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
We Don’t Need Any of Your Bourgeois Luxuries
5
Discussion Questions
 What are these women doing?
 How are the women being
“received” in the Chinese
poster?
 Were these activities typical
for women of the time period?
Critical Thinking Questions
A. What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
B. What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
C. How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?
6
Destroy the Old World;
Forge the New
Discussion Questions

Chinese Poster
–
–

What symbols can you identify in
the bottom left corner?
What is the young Chinese man in
the image doing to these symbols?
Russian Poster
–
–
–
Who do the men on the litter
represent?
Who do the people carrying the
litter represent?
What is the relationship between
the two groups?
Critical Thinking Questions
A.
B.
C.
The Czar, the Church,
& the Lash
What might have motivated
the Chinese and Russian
leadership to create these
propaganda posters?
What strategies did they
employ to achieve these
goals?
How do these posters support
what we already know about
Russia and China in the 20th
Century?