Dictatorship in the Soviet Union

1. Dictatorship in the Soviet Union World History Honors

2. Do Now: What did the flag of the USSR symbolize?

3. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics • 1) Bright red to symbolize revolution • 2) Hammer and sickle symbolized worker and peasant unity • 3) Star stood for the Communist Party

4. End of Tyranny? • In 1922 the communists seized power and imprisoned Czar Nicholas II, his wife, and their five children. • They were shot, many communists believing they had ended centuries of oppression under czarist rule. • Within a few years, however, Russia was again at the mercy of an absolute ruler, Joseph Stalin. • Under his leadership, the Soviet Union became a powerful police state.

5. Russia Under Lenin • In 1920 Russian farmers produced significantly less grain than they had grown before WWI. • Factory production was less than one-sixth of its pre-war levels. • By 1921 the Communist leadership faced economic collapse and social disorder. • New Economic Policy- the major industries (heavy industry, communications, transportation, and the credit system) remained under government control

6. Russia Under Lenin Continued • The New Economic Policy allowed some free enterprise. • Individuals could buy, sell, and trade farm products. • Some private business was allowed.

7. Russia Under Lenin • Soviet agriculture made important changes during this period. • During the revolution farmlands had been seized from wealthy landlords and divided amongst the peasants. • The government tried to persuade peasants to form collective farms- land was pooled into large farms on which people worked together as a group. • On a collective farm, peasants shared the scarce modern farm machinery.

9. Reform Movements in the USSRUnder Lenin • The Communists claimed to believe that both men and women in Soviet society should be equal. • 1) Women received the same pay as men. • 2) Women were granted time off from work to take care of newborn babies. • 3) The Soviet government made it much easier to obtain a divorce. • 4) Emphasis on education (hoping to increase literacy rates and teach socialist doctrine in the schools)

10. The Realities of Soviet Education • Technical schools were established to train industrial workers. • Educators had limited success because they lacked funds. • Students lacked supplies such as pencils and notebooks, and some schools were forced to close in the winter because they lacked heat. • The government also emphasized higher education, often ignoring the needs of elementary schools.

11. The First Five-Year Plan First-Five Year Plan • Agricultural, industrial, and social goals were outlined for the next five years. Goals (under Stalin) • Double the production of oil and coal • Triple the output of steel • Ultimately to create a more modern, industrialized society • Collective farming-to produce enough food for the Soviet people, as well as a surplus for export to other countries

12. Realities of the First Five-Year Plan • Numerous hardships for the people of the USSR. • Expecting peasants to voluntarily join collective farms was unrealistic. • As a result of the initial failures of collective farming, peasants were forced into collective farms. • By the 1930’s, 90% of productive farmland was converted into collective farms. • The plan ultimately failed, causing millions of people to die from famine and crop failure.

13. Soviet Economy Under the First Five-Year Plan • The economy grew under the First Five-Year Plan (steel production increased dramatically). Second Five-Year Plan • 1933 • Despite the optimism of the government, the production of consumer goods actually decreased. • As a result of this, the government focused most of their effort on military production. • Consumer goods and food became scarcer.

14. Stalin’s Dictatorship • Stalin ruled with an iron fist, ultimately creating a state of fear. • People were forced to obey the demands of the Communist Party. • Two areas of Soviet life that the government sought to control was religion and art. • All property of the Orthodox Church was seized and religious worship was strongly discouraged.

15. Stalin’s Dictatorship Continued • Many ministers, priests, and rabbis were executed or imprisoned in the Gulag. • All music, artwork, and literature was seized by the government, forcing the work of artists, musicians, and writers to be subjected to government censorship. • Artists were forced to produce works that depicted the “realism of the socialist state,” proving their loyalty in the process.

16. Government Under Stalin • 1936-Stalin created a new constitution that was very similar to the one under Lenin. • The parliamentary body (The Supreme Soviet) met twice a year. • The Council of Ministers held administrative and executive authority. • Most of the power lay in the hands of the Politburo (Political Bureau) of the Communist Party. • The parliamentary body elected members to the Politburo, which was under Stalin’s complete control. • 1934-Stalin purged party members who were supposedly disloyal to him

17. Purges • Stalin purged anyone whom he believed was working against the interests of the Soviet state. • Outside of the government, people were imprisoned without a trial for the most minor offenses. • 1939-more than 5 million people had been arrested, deported, executed, or imprisoned in the Gulag