Stalin imposed economic, political, and social policies to consolidate his power and modernize the Soviet Union. His economic policies focused on rapid industrialization through Five-Year Plans which set high targets for industrial and agricultural growth. This included expanding factories, transportation, and collectivization of agriculture. Politically, Stalin eliminated all opposition through the Great Terror and established a cult of personality. Socially, the state tightly controlled all aspects of society and people lived in constant fear. Overall, Stalin's policies transformed the Soviet Union into an industrial and military power, but at the cost of individual freedoms and millions of lives.

1. Reasons for
the Rise of
Stalin

2. 3 Key Topics We Want to
Learn about Chapter 2.1 & 2.2
1. Background to Stalin’s Rise
2. Reasons for Stalin’s Rise to Power
3. Impact of Stalin’s Rule

3. Recap of Background:
What were the 3 revolutions that we’ve
learnt?
• 1905 Revolution
 Against the Tsar.
• Feb 1917 Revolution
 The Tsar abdicated, Provisional Govt was set up
• Oct 1917 Revolution
 Provisional Govt was overthrown, communist
govt was established

4. Death of Lenin 1924
Lenin became ill
• Series of strokes in 1922-1923
• Played less and less of a role in the government in his
last few months

5. Death of Lenin 1924
6 main
contenders to
take over him
• Kamenev
• Rykov
• Zinoviev
• Bukharin
• Trotsky
• Stalin

7. The Leadership Contest

8. Instructions
• Divide yourselves into 5 groups of 4-5 each
• Each group member will receive 1 handout
• This handout has 2 parts
– Part 1: Important Characteristics of a Leader of USSR
– Part 2: Who was the likely successor of Lenin?
• Each group is to discuss Part 1 first
 What are 6 important characteristics of a Leader of the
USSR?
• Following this, each group will discuss Part 2
 Based on the CVs of each candidate, who was most
likely to succeed Lenin?

9. Rank the 6 candidates in
order of who you think should
succeed Lenin.
The entire group should agree
on the ranking.

10. Class Debate:
Out of the 6 candidates,
which candidate do you think
was most suitable to succeed
Lenin as head of the
Communist Party in 1924?

11. Candi
date
Strengths Weaknesses Rank ‘most
likely to
succeed Lenin
A:  a good orator
 made Party Secretary in Leningrad which allowed
him to build up a strong power base
 opposed the October Revolution – his loyalty as a
revolutionary was questioned
 not an intellectual
 not popular
 seen by others as incompetent and cowardly
B  Strong political position: Chairman of the
government
 Statesmanlike (presence of a leader)
 not always well-liked for his straightforwardness
 did not try to win the support of the Party
C  Lenin’s number two
 Strong political position: Commissar of the Army
 Brilliant and capable military leader
 Intellectual
 Feared by other Politburo members, who saw him as
arrogant
 Very outspoken in his criticisms and often argues
with party members
 Unwilling to get involved in party politics
D  Close to, and well-liked by Lenin,
 Great intellectual capacity - important theorist who
argued with Lenin about political strategy
 Had control over the media: a leading role in
Pravda
 Popular with people: associated himself with the
working class
 Supporter of NEP, an unpopular policy with
communist hardliners (not from extract)
E  Strong political power: Party Secretary in Moscow
and later Commissar for Foreign Trade. This
brought him into the Politburo and into a position
to challenge for the leadership.
 He was a moderate, liked and well regarded.
 opposed the October Revolution – his loyalty as a
revolutionary was questioned
 Opposed Lenin on few occasions
 too soft
 no desire nor the capacity to lead men.
 Lacked vision
F  Various portfolios in the Party, which gave him
political power
 Viewed as someone who could only managed
routine work, not an intellectual, but an administrator
 Disliked by Lenin
 Did not play a discernible role in the party

12. Candidate Strengths Weaknesses Rank ‘most
likely to
succeed Lenin
A:
Grigory
Zinoviev
 a good orator
 made Party Secretary in Leningrad which
allowed him to build up a strong power base
 opposed the October Revolution – his loyalty
as a revolutionary was questioned
 not an intellectual
 not popular
 seen by others as incompetent and cowardly
B
Alexei Rykov
 Strong political position: Chairman of the
government
 Statesmanlike (presence of a leader)
 not always well-liked for his
straightforwardness
 did not try to win the support of the Party
C
Leon Trotsky
 Lenin’s number two
 Strong political position: Commissar of the
Army
 Brilliant and capable military leader
 Intellectual
 Feared by other Politburo members, who saw
him as arrogant
 Very outspoken in his criticisms and often
argues with party members
 Unwilling to get involved in party politics
D
Nikolai
Bukharin
 Close to, and well-liked by Lenin,
 Great intellectual capacity - important theorist
who argued with Lenin about political strategy
 Had control over the media: a leading role in
Pravda
 Popular with people: associated himself with
the working class
 Supporter of NEP, an unpopular policy with
communist hardliners (not from extract)
E
Lev Kamenev
 Strong political power: Party Secretary in
Moscow and later Commissar for Foreign
Trade. This brought him into the Politburo and
into a position to challenge for the leadership.
 He was a moderate, liked and well regarded.
 opposed the October Revolution – his loyalty
as a revolutionary was questioned
 Opposed Lenin on few occasions
 too soft
 no desire nor the capacity to lead men.
 Lacked vision
F
Josef Stalin
 Various portfolios in the Party, which gave him
political power
 Viewed as someone who could only managed
routine work, not an intellectual, but an
administrator
 Disliked by Lenin
 Did not play a discernible role in the party

13. Given that there were so many
suitable successors,
why did Stalin win the leadership
contest?

14. Reasons for
the Rise of
Stalin

15. What were the reasons that allowed
Stalin to rise to power?
1. Fortunate circumstances
a) Lenin’s Testament was not disclosed
2. Opponents’ weaknesses
a) Trotsky was unpopular in the Politburo
3. Stalin’s manipulations
a) Pretended to be close to Lenin
b) Controlled the Party organisation
c) Exploited ideological divisions

16. Reason 1:
Fortunate Circumstances
1A) Lenin’s Testament was not disclosed
• Lenin had become suspicious of Stalin’s character after he
went into semi-retirement in 1922, and the two men often
quarrelled
• He made his views known in his Testament
• In it, he voiced criticisms on his leading successors, and
was especially clear in advising that Stalin be removed
from his position as Secretary-General of the CPSU
• When Lenin’s Testament was read out at a meeting of
the Central Executive Committee after his death in 1924,
all of his successors agreed that the Testament would not

17. Reason 1:
Fortunate Circumstances
Stalin could retain his position as Secretary General,
as Lenin’s advice for Stalin to be removed from his
position was not carried out.
Hence, Lenin’s Testament did not achieve its intended
intended effect and Party members ignored Lenin’s
warning
 By retaining his position, Stalin could assign his
supporters to important positions, and replace the
supporters of his allies with his own, thereby ensuring
that his supporters could aid his rise to political power.

18. Reason 2:
Opponents’ Weaknesses
2A) Trotsky’s unpopularity in the Politburo
• Stalin’s strongest opponent at that time was Leon
Trotsky.
• However, Trotsky was unpopular in the Politburo, as
he was perceived to be a threat by the other
Politburo members due to his influence over the Red
Army.
More attention was given to Trotsky
Stalin was underestimated, which allowed him
to build his support base and aid his rise.
Stalin also formed a troika alliance with
Kamenev, Zinoviev to remove Trotsky from
power (see Stalin’s Manipulations)

19. Reason 2:
Opponents’ Weaknesses
2A) Trotsky’s unpopularity in the Politburo
• Trotsky’s outspoken nature also meant that he
criticised others and their policies
– For instance, he criticised the NEP and the
increasing control of the Party by the Politburo
– These criticisms openly challenged the organisation
and policies of the Party
Seen as acts of disloyalty to Lenin & the Party
Trotsky became even more unpopular
Plenty of material for enemies to use to attack
him

20. Reason 2:
Opponents’ Weaknesses (continued)
2A) Trotsky’s unpopularity in the Politburo
• Trotsky’s belief in ‘permanent revolution’  that the USSR
should encourage communist revolutions worldwide. He could
not convince his fellow Party members of his idea of world
revolution
• Stalin, on the other hand, argued for ‘socialism in one
country’  build up strength of USSR first. Stalin ensured
that other Party members supported this
Made Trotsky isolated as if he seemed to be
moving away from the Party’s ideas
His credibility was affected
Stalin could work together with other Party
members, such as Kamenev and Zinoviev, to get rid
of Trotsky, which meant that Stalin was able to
eliminate his strongest political rival, and ease his

21. Reason 3: Stalin’s Manipulations
3A) Pretended to have been close
to Lenin
• He pretended to be close to Lenin when
Lenin’s health worsened by looking after him
him and visiting him often  looked as if
Stalin was his successor
• Took messages to the Politburo from Lenin
– Why was this important?
– Made it seem as if Lenin trusted Stalin
– Stalin could decide what message to
disseminate to the Politburo, and could
alter the messages to be in his favour
• Became chief mourner and gave the funeral
speech at Lenin’s funeral

22. Stalin’s Speech at Lenin’s Funeral
In leaving us, Comrade Lenin
commanded us to keep the unity of our
Party. We swear to thee, Comrade
Lenin, to honour thy command. In
leaving us, Comrade Lenin ordered us
to maintain and strengthen the
dictatorship of the proletariat. We
swear to thee, Comrade Lenin, to exert
our full strength in honouring thy
command.
His speech suggested a
continuity between him and
Lenin
 Made him appear as the next

23. Reason 3: Stalin’s Manipulations
3B) Control over Party Organisation
• Given post of Secretary General
 Gave Stalin the authority to appoint and reassign
Party members
Able to replace the allies of his opponents
with his own & place his supporters in
important positions
• Also gained control of the Cheka
 Allowed Stalin to shrink Trotsky’s support base
considerably.

24. Reason 3: Stalin’s Manipulations
3C) Exploited Ideological Divisions
• Members of the CPSU were divided
between the moderates and the radicals
– Moderates: Followed Lenin’s leadership and
ideology closely
– Radicals: Formed new ideas and challenged
the system
• Stalin took advantage of these divisions
and played off his opponents against
each other

25. Stalin’s Step-By-Step Guide on
‘How to Eliminate Your
Opponents’
Mwahahah!

26. Stalin’s Exploitation of
Ideological Divisions
• Step 1: Allied with moderate Politburo members and
formed a troika alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev 
Expelled Trotsky from the Party in 1927 (pg 42)
• Step 2: Broke troika alliance with Kamenev and
Zinoviev, convinced moderates that Kamenev and
Zionviev were plotting with Trotsky to overthrow the
government  Kamenev and Zinoviev were
discredited and isolated and were forced out of the
Politburo in 1928
• Step 3: Switched to win support of radicals  attacked
and removed Bukharin and Rykov from their positions
in the Politburo

28. With his political opponents and
competitors removed from power
(even executed), Stalin became the
undisputed supreme leader of the
USSR by 1929.

29. Stalin: Before And After
Before
(in his younger days)
After
(when he became a dictator)

30. Recap:
What were the reasons that allowed
Stalin to rise to power?
1. Fortunate circumstances
– Lenin’s Testament was not disclosed
2. Opponents’ weaknesses
– Trotsky was unpopular in the Politburo
3. Stalin’s manipulations
– Pretended to be close to Lenin
– Controlled the Party organisation
– Exploited ideological divisions

31. 3 Key Topics We Want to
Learn about Chapter 2.1 & 2.2
1. Background to Stalin’s Rise
2. Reasons for Stalin’s Rise to Power
3. Impact of Stalin’s Rule

32. So now that Stalin was in
power, what did he do?

33. Remember the context…
What challenges did Stalin face in the
1920s?
• Stalin had just ousted his political
opponents  Would he simply wish to sit
back and not strengthen his authority?
• The USSR was an economically-backward
country compared to the West  What
would Stalin need to do?

34. Stalin imposed economic, political, and
social policies to consolidate his
power, and modernise the
Soviet Union towards becoming a
self-sufficient and military strong
communist state.

35. Impact of Stalin’s Policies
Economic
Rapid Industrialisation
Collectivisation
Political
The Great Terror
(1934-38)
Propaganda:
Cult of the Leader
Social
State Control
of Society
Living in Fear
Impact on
Various Social Groups

36. Stalin’s
Economi
c Policies

37. Stalin’s Economic Policies
Purpose:
• To modernise the USSR and achieve the same
economic and military levels at the Western powers
– ‘We make good the difference in 10 years or they crush us’
• Industrialisation was vital to the survival of the USSR
as a communist state
• Stalin wanted the USSR to be an autarky
– Self-sufficient
– Does not need to depend on trade with other
countries
How?
• Through Five-Year Plans which set targets for industrial
and agricultural developments

38. Stalin’s Economic Policies
How would Stalin achieve autarky?
• Through Five-Year Plans which set targets for
industrial and agricultural developments

39. Stalin’s Economic Policies:
Five-Year Plans
What were the Five-Year Plans?
• Drawn by GOSPLAN, Stalin’s economic committee
• Three Five-Year Plans altogether
• Set targets for industrial and agricultural growth
across the USSR
• Created a command economy
– State decided for factories what to produce
– State decided for farmers what to grow

40. How were the Five-Year Plans carried out?
• Loyal party members ran the committees that
were set up and supervised all levels of industry
– To ensure that people would work hard
– Gave out ration cards for food, paid the workers and
allocated housing.
• Food was rationed by the state
• Rewards for meeting targets
– Extra rations
• Punishment for not meeting targets
– Cut rations

41. Rapid Industrialisation

42. How would the Five-Year Plans bring
about Rapid Industrialisation?
• Factories in the cities would produce equipment for the
mechanisation of farming, such as tractors.
• This would mean that fewer farm workers would be
needed, and they could move to the cities to be factory
workers.
• As a result, hundreds of new factories were built, and the
industrial workforce expanded
• Quotas were set for producing such machinery and other
factory goods. Working hours and wages of workers
were also fixed.

43. Overview of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
for Rapid Industrialisation
• 1st Five Year Plans: 1928-1932
– Concentrated on expanding industry such as
coal, iron and steel productions
– Expand transport
– Expand power supply
• 2nd Five Year Plans: 1933-1938
– Set high targets for everything under first plan
– Expand the production of manufactured
products

44. Overview of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
• 3rd Five-Year Plan: 1939-1942
– Allowed the production of ‘luxury’ goods
such as bicycles and radios
– Interrupted by war
– Became geared towards war production
such as developing armaments, tanks and
weapons

45. Evaluation
of the
Five-Year
Plans

46. Evaluation of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
Negatic Five-Year Plans
1. Poor Coordination and Planning
• Some parts of the economy faced
underproduction because factories were held up
by shortages of materials
• Other factories overproduced  wanted to
exceed targets  A lot of wastage
• Also, there was little growth in consumer
industries like house-building, fertilisers, and
woolen textilesdue to the emphasis on heavy
industry such as coal and iron.

47. How it did not benefit the
Russains…
• This did not benefit USSR because the
emphasis on heavy industry such as coal
and iron also led to a lack of consumer
goods, which affected the Soviets’ quality
of life.

48. Evaluation of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
Problems with the Five-Year Plans
2. Quality of goods suffered
• In the haste to meet production figures and
deadlines, the goods produced were often sub-
standard
• Unskilled workers were recruited into industrial
work, and they were trained on the job by workers
who were only slightly more skilled

49. How it did not benefit the
Russains…
• This did not benefit USSR because
consumer goods were of poor quality,
which affected the Soviets’ quality of life.

50. Evaluation of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
Problems with the Five-Year Plans
3. Declining Rate of Growth
• During the Second and Third Five-Year Plans,
emphasis was placed on taking stock of
production and putting in place greater planning
and coordination
• Hence, the rate of growth declined
• After 1937, the USSR generally witnessed an
economic slowdown  industries such as oil and
steel stopped growing

51. Results of the Second & Third
Five-Year Plans
Product/Year 1932 1937 1940
Coal (million tonnes) 64 128 150
Steel (million tonnes) 6 18 18
Oil (million tonnes) 21 26 26
Electricity (billion
kWh)
13 80 90

52. How it did not benefit the
Russains…
• This did not benefit USSR because it
resulted in an economic slowdown after
1937,  industries such as oil and steel
stopped growing.

53. Evaluation of Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
Problems with the Five-Year Plans
4. High human cost
• People lived in crowded towns
• People worked in appalling conditions
• Living conditions were cramped
• No running water or sanitation
• People often uprooted from homes and sent
to work in wherever workers were needed

54. How it did not benefit the
Russains…
• This did not benefit USSR because
workers had poor living and working
conditions as they had to work for long
hours, and lived in fear of not being able
to meet their quotas.

55. But the Five-Year Plans
also had positive effects

56. Positive effects of Five-Year Plans
• USSR became modernised & was an
industrial base for powerful arms
industry by 1941
• Production of coal, iron, steel, oil
increased after the Five-Year Plans were
implemented.
• Cities and hundreds of factories rose at
great speed, which led to a demand for
more workers.

57. How did it benefit the
Russians…
• This benefited the Russians positively
because USSR became modernised
through rapid industrialisation through the
3 Five-Year Plans.
• This benefited the Russians positively
because the demand for more workers
increased job opportunities for Russians,
reducing unemployment.

59. The Magnitogorsk – a showpiece of the
achievement of the Five-Year Plans

60. Commercial Break:
Let’s Examine some Russian
Engrish!

61. Russian Engrish Example 1

62. Russian Engrish Example 2

63. Russian Engrish Example 3
(Spot the Engrish!)

64. Russian Engrish Example 3
(Huh?! What Talking You?!)

65. Collectivisation

66. Why did Stalin implement
Collectivisation?
• Stalin wanted higher productivity,
especially grain
• Stalin needed to feed all the workers in
the rapidly expanding industrial towns
• Stalin wanted a surplus to sell abroad to
raise money for industrial development

67. How was Collectivisation carried out?
• Stalin merged small
individual farms of the
USSR into huge state-
run collective farms
(kolkhozy)
• Peasant workers kept
enough to feed
themselves and sold the
rest to the state at fixed
prices
Bolshevik teachers teaching
less than enthusiastic
farmers about the benefits of
collectivisation.

68. How was Collectivisation carried out?
• Farmers were given modern
machinery such as tractors and
trained to use farming methods
• Peasants could not own land or sell
food privately
• State fixed their hours and wages,
and provided homes, food, fuel,
clothing, healthcare, and education
for workers on the collectives
• Punishment for low production or
absence from work

69. How did farmers respond to
collectivisation?
Many farmers resisted
collectivisation efforts
Resistance to Collectivisation
• Many farmers resisted
– Food production went down
– Famine struck again in 1932

70. What did Stalin do to stop
resistance?
Use of Force
• Stalin sent soldiers to force collectivisation on
people
Launched anti-kulak campaigns
• Banned the kulaks (peasants in Russia who were
rich enough to own farms and hire labour) from
joining collectives, took their lands and sent them
to forced labour camp.

71. Anti-Kulaks Campaign
The collectivisation
campaign in the USSR,
1930s. The slogan
reads: "We, the kolkhoz
farmers, are liquidating
the kulaks as a class, on
the basis of complete
collectivisation."

72. What did Stalin do to stop
resistance? (continued)
Changed Collective Farms
• In 1930, Stalin changed the collectives
– No longer huge state-run farms
– Smaller collectives run by the local communist
party
• Peasants preferred this
• Those who continued to resist collectivisation or to
give up their food stores and animals were sent to
labour camps (gulags) or shot on the spot

73. Evaluation of Collectivisation

74. Evaluation of Collectivisation
Positive impact of Collectivisation
• Achieve Stalin’s Main Aim of Raising Enough
Grain to Maintain Industrial Development
• Manpower for new factories were found as
peasants left the countryside
• The state managed to collect enough grain to
feed workers in industrial towns and collective
workers
• Grain was exported to raise money for the
buying of industrial equipment
•  Achieved Stalin’s main aim: securing a food supply for
factory workers to maintain industrial development

75. Propaganda poster showing
the positive impact of
Collectivisation

76. How did it benefit the
Russians…
• This benefited the Russians positively
because as the modernisation of farming
meant that farmers could have more
efficient farms in the long run, and more
grain could be produced to feed workers in
industrial towns. Hence both peasants in
the countryside and workers in cities could
benefit.

77. Collectivisation
Negative impact of Collectivisation
• 1) Agricultural sector was severely hampered
• In some collectives, the workers let the tractors rust in the fields.
Some could not mend them when they broke down and many
reverted to traditional inefficient farming methods.
• Unskilled workers were recruited into industrial work, and they were
trained on the job by workers who were only slightly more skilled.
• Many peasants, especially the kulaks, killed their own animals, and
burnt their own grain and produce to prevent them from being
seized.
• Loss of animal population (Cattle, sheep) which was not
recovered until after WWII.
• Grain harvest dropped dramatically between 1931 & 1934 and
did not recover to their 1928 level.

78. How it did not benefit the
Russains…
• This did not benefit USSR because the
Collectives did not achieve their aims of
producing enough grain to not only export
to other countries, but to also feed the
peasants and workers. The inability to
meet quotas would cause the policy to be
unsustainable in the long run could not
withstand Great Famine.

79. Famines in the USSR

80. Collectivisation
Negative impact of Collectivisation
2) There was also a high human cost
• Bad harvest led to the Great Famine of 1932-33
 deaths of millions of peasants to starvation.
• Many kulaks were subjected to punishment and
sent to the Gulags.

81. How it did not benefit the
Russains…
• This did not benefit USSR because the
when the kulaks resisted collectivisation,
they were harshly punished and killed.
Coupled with the Great Famine caused by
the collective farms snatching away the
kulaks’ grain and property, millions of
peasants died unjustly. There was great
suffering throughout the land as the
peasants starved and faced great
economic loss.

82. Political Impact of
Stalin’s Policies
The Great Terror (1934-38)
Propaganda: Cult of the Leader

83. Political Impact of
Stalin’s Policies:
The Great Terror

84. Political Impact:
The Great Terror
• From 1934-38, Stalin launched a series of
campaigns of political repression and purges to
eliminate enemies and remove any opposition to his
government
• Many show trials, arrests, interrogation,
widespread police surveillance, and executions
 To consolidate his power and enforce party
discipline
 Known as the Great Terror

85. The Great Terror:
Purges & Show Trials
Purged Political Rivals
• Kirov Affair  Sergei Kirov, head of the Party
organisation in Leningrad, was assassinated on 1 Dec
1934.
• Stalin turned against his old political rivals in a series
of public show trials
• Many of those on trial confessed to crimes they had
not committed due to torture and threats to their
families
• Many of the Politburo members were tried and
executed (Kamenev, Zinoviev, Burkharin, etc)

87. Illustration of a Show Trial

88. The Great Terror:
Purges & Show Trials
Purged the Red Army
• Why?
•  Many Red Army soldiers were Trotsky’s supporters
•  Needed to ensure that the Red Army would be loyal
to Stalin alone
• Stalin then promoted younger, inexperienced
members who were loyal to him alone.

89. The Great Terror:
Arrests & Interrogation & Loss of
Intellectuals and Skilled Workers
Arrests & Interrogation
• Secret police arrested, questioned, and forced people to
inform against their friends and family who voiced
opposition against Stalin
• Whether you were innocent or guilty was unimportant –
opponents were hunted down by the secret police
• Many were either killed or sent to labour camps (Gulags)
 in 1937, close to 39 million were executed and 3
million imprisoned in forced labour camps

90. The Great Terror:
Arrests & Interrogation & Loss of
Intellectuals and Skilled Workers
Loss of Intellectuals, skilled workers and officers
• As a result of these purges, many intellectuals,
skilled workers, and officers were killed
•  workforce for the drive towards industrialisation
shrank
•  Loss of engineers, administrators, and teachers
affected the quality of Soviet education and civil
service

93. ‘Everyone with me so far? Pay attention. If not,
you’ll be sent to the…’
- Said by History teacher with dictator-like dreams

94. Political Impact:
The Use of
Propaganda to
build the
Cult of the Leader

95. Stalin’s use of propaganda to
control people
Definition of ‘propaganda’
The deliberate spreading of ideas and
information for the purpose of promoting a
specific cause

96. In the 1920s…

97. Stalin and the
Russian industrial
towns
Stalin praising the army
and the strength of the
people
In the 1930s…

98. Stalin shows himself as
a fellow comrade with
the workers. The
slogan reads ‘It is our
workers who make our
programme
achievable’.
Stalin pointing out
the achievements of
the USSR on the
‘Leninist’s path’.

99. What can you
tell from this
photomontage?

100. Question!
What do you think are
the tools necessary
for propaganda?
• False information
• Censorship
• Making everything
look good
• Hiding the truth

101. Stalin’s use of propaganda to
control people
• He used propaganda to convince people
he was a closer friend of Lenin than he
really was
• Fed people false information
– Make Trotsky look like a bad person
– ‘Official’ statistics published in the state
newspaper were made up to make the
economic situation seem better than it was
– Newspapers, radios and poster gave out only
state-controlled information

102. Stalin’s use of propaganda to
control people
State censorship
– Writing, art, music and plays were censored
– School textbooks were changed on a regular
basis to reflect the ‘truth’
The cult of personality
– Used propaganda to show
himself as a kind, brave,
strong leader that the
Russians would want to
follow

103. Now you see
me!
Now you
don’t!

104. Why do you think the cult of
personality was developed?

105. Social Impact
State Control of Society
Living in Fear
Impact on Various Social
Groups

106. Social Impact:
State Control of Society
• Under Stalin, the government increased its
control over everyday social life
•  led to detrimental social consequences
Detrimental Social Consequences
• Fall in standard of living
• Famine (Great Famine of 1932)
• Lack of consumer goods

107. A Russian exile report in 1948
At any time of day or
night officials may enter
your dwelling to measure
the space you occupy.
If it is more than three
square meters, someone
will probably be billeted
(provided lodging) with
you.

108. Social Impact:
Living in Fear

109. Social Impact:
Living in Fear
When the factory had a breakdown, they would
say: ‘Comrades, there is sabotage and
treachery…’ They would look for someone
who had a blemish on his record and call him
an enemy. They would put him in prison, and
beat him up until he confessed that he had
done it.
- Riab Bindell recalls his time in a factory in
1937

110. Social Impact:
Impact on Various
Social Groups

111. Impact on Minority Nationalities
Lost Autonomy
• Members of nationalist groups which advocated autonomy
were purged
• USSR was a one-party state, with power in the hands of
Stalin and the Communist Party in Moscow
• ’

112. Creating the ‘New Soviet Man’:
the Stakhanov movement
• USSR purged intellectuals, the privileged class,
religious leaders, and artists to move the country
towards a more proletarian society with
proletarian values
• Created the ‘New Soviet Man’ – an ideal Soviet
citizen who was proud of being part of the modern
industrial society, and was willing to serve the
state selflessly and enthusiastically

113. Creating the ‘New Soviet Man’:
the Stakhanov movement
• The Stakhanov Movement – the state upheld the
achievements of supposedly ordinary people such
as factory workers, teachers or miners
• These supposedly ordinary people had exceeded
their industrial targets, and were called
Stakhanovites after Alexey Stakhanov

114. Women’s Entry into the Workforce
Some Benefits for Women
• Soviet constitution – guaranteed equal rights to
women
• Legalised divorce and abortion so that women could
have more control over their own lives (but abortion
was made illegal in 1936 to ‘protect motherhood and
childhood’
Women were encouraged to enter the workforce
• State-run childcare centres were built
• But these were poorly maintained
•  Women expected to perform role of worker and
mother

116. Compulsory School and
Increased Literacy Rates
Compulsory Schooling
• Every child – entitled to at least 9 years of free
education (but there was much propaganda)
• Teenagers were encouraged to join the Komsomol
(Communist Union of Youth)
Increased Literacy Rates
• Before the communist govt took power, only 40% of
males aged between 9 and 40 could read
• By 1939, this had risen to 94%
• Percentage of women who were literate also rose from
13% to 65%

117. So let’s have a final, overall
assessment of Stalin’s
policies
• How do you think he fared as a ruler?
• Did his policies have more positive or
negative consequences?