Orwell’s Animal Farm vs. The Russian Revolution—Guided Notes
HOOK: When is it okay for citizens to rebel against their country/government?
I.
Russian Society
A. Russia was in an appalling state of ____________ while the Tsar lived in luxury. There was
tremendous dissatisfaction.
II.
Czar Nicholas II
A. A poor leader at best, compared to western leaders
B. ____________ - sometimes brutal with opponents
C. Sometimes kind - hired students as spies to make $
D. Believed he was the unquestionable leader of Russia appointed by God.
E. Had unarmed protesters ____________________ in the streets in 1905.
**GUIDED QUESTION 1: What did the Czar do that made him seem
incompetent to his people? __________________________________________
III.
Karl Marx
A. Marx believed that the private ownership of land must be ____________.
B. Believed in “________________” way of life where everyone shares in prosperity.
C. Invented ___________________
D. “__________________ of the world unite," take over government
E. Dies before _________________ Revolution
IV.
Communism
A. All people ___________
B. Government owns everything, ______________ own government
V.
Lenin
A. Lenin adopted Marx’s ideas. He believed that the __________________ class exploited the
workers and must therefore be overthrown.
B. Lenin understood the emotional impact of simple, powerful slogans like “workers of the world
unite”
C. Changed Russia’s name to the ___________
VI.
Leon Trotsky
A. One of the leaders of "__________________ Revolution“ along with Lenin and Stalin
B.
Believed in “pure” communism, followed Marx
C. Trotsky was a brilliant speaker. With Lenin he succeeded in overthrowing the government in
October 1917. Lenin was the _______________, Trotsky the ____________________ for Foreign
Affairs.
D. Trotsky favored world revolution.
**INTERPERSONAL QUESTION: Suppose you are a citizen living in
“Communism” Russia. How would you feel? What actions would you take for
your country?
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
VII.
Civil War
A. From 1918 –1921 there was civil war. Foreign countries including Britain, France, Poland and
USA were alarmed at the spread of communism but the ______ _______ (the Bolsheviks) led by
Trotsky proved successful.
VIII.
Joseph Stalin
A. ______________ speaker, not educated like Trotsky
B. Didn't exactly follow Marx's ideas
C. Craved power, willing to kill for it
D. Used KGB, allowed church, and ________________________
E. Benefited from the fact that education was controlled
F.
In his sinister way, Stalin secured his power base, and engineered the permanent ______________
of Trotsky in 1929.
IX.
______________________________
A. This was the policy-making body of the Communist party’s Central Committee. In reality it was
merely a force to carry out Stalin’s orders and secure his position as dictator.
X.
_______________________________
A. These were the various names/ initials given to the secret police during Stalin’s dictatorship.
XI.
______________________________________
A. Not really police, but forced all to support Stalin
B. Used force, often killed entire families for disobedience
C. Totally loyal, part of Lenin's power, even over army
XII.
Overall Details of the Russian Revolution
A. Supposed to fix problems from Czar
B. Life was even worse long after revolution
C. ____________ made Czar look like a nice guy
**UNDERSTANDING QUESTION: Identify some similarities and differences
between Stalin and Lenin.
_____________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________
XIII.
_________________________
A. These were the land-owning peasants who did not want their farms to be collectivized after the
revolution. From 1929, Stalin began to exterminate them as a class.
IVX. ________________________________
A. From 1927-1932, new economic plans, were introduced. The purpose was to improve industry.
XIV.
______________________________
A.
The ______________ conference in 1943 presented the Soviet Union, Britain and America as
allies. However, by the end of the Second World War, the Soviet Union became an enemy of its
allies as the Cold War intensified.
XV.
Who is Who in the novel?
A. Mr. Jones- ____________________________
B. Old Major- ___________________________
C. Snowball- ____________________________
D. Napoleon- ____________________________
E. Dogs-________________________________
F.
Windmill- ____________________________
G. Major’s Skull-_________________________
H. Battle of the Cowshed- _____________________
I.
Frederick- _____________________________
J.
Animal Executions – _____________________
K. Battle of the Windmill – __________________
L. Card Game- _____________________________
M. Pilkington- ______________________________
**Self-expressive Question: Create a metaphor for any of the concepts in the powerpoint.