What impact
did Joseph
Stalin have on
the Soviet
Union?
Notes #4-4
New Leader
• After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin gained
control of the Communist Party,
becoming the Soviet Union’s leader.
Totalitarian rule
• Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union can
best be characterized as a period of
censorship and terror.
NKVD secret police office
Eliminate Opposition
• Stalin used purges and public trials to
eliminate any opposition
• Called The GREAT PURGE
** An estimated 40 million people were killed as a result of Stalin’s policies **
Command Economy (communist)
• Established a command economy in
the Soviet Union
• Gov’t determined the type and quantity
of goods to be produced.
Bad Plans
• Stalin’s economic programs included
Five-Year Plans and collective farms.
Five-Year Plan and collective farm propaganda posters
Industry
• Under Stalin, the Soviet Union
increased its industrial output by
developing heavy industry.
Effects…
• A major effect of Stalin’s economic
policies was a widespread food
shortage throughout the nation.
** An estimated 14 million died of starvation in the Soviet Union **