Communism Attempts to Control Thought Packet #32

S. Gerhardt Global II

DO NOW:

1.  ______succeeded Lenin after he died from suffering from health problems

2.  The goal of Stalin’s Five Year Plan was to ______the Soviet Union.

3.  ______is when the government makes all economic decisions.

4.  ______, were wealthy independent farmers who resisted Stalin’s government reforms.

5.  Large farms operated by peasants known as ______, were Stalin’s plan to increase agricultural output.

NOTES:

Essential Vocabulary / Notes
Propaganda:
¢  Information, ideas, or rumors deliberately spread widely to help or harm a person, group, movement, institution, nation, etc.
¢  Stalin tried to boost morale and faith in the Communist system by making himself a godlike figure
¢  Constantly bombarding people with relentless propaganda - radio, loudspeakers, movies, theatres, billboards and posters
Censorship of the Arts:
¢  Government controlled what books were published, what music was heard and what works of art were displayed
¢  If writers, artists and composers refused to conform they faced government persecution
Russification:
¢  Making a nationalities culture more Russian
¢  1936 – the USSR was made up of 11 Soviet Socialist Republics, all with different cultures and traditions
¢  Appointed high ranking Russian officers to these Republics and made it mandatory for Russian to be used in schools and businesses
War on Religion:
¢  Communist party also tried to strengthen its hold on people’s minds by destroying their faith
¢  Atheism (belief there is NO God) became the official state policy
¢  Communists tried to replace religion with their own ideology
The New Elite Takes Control:
¢  Communists destroyed the old social order
¢  Instead of creating a society of equals, as they promised, few elite groups emerged as the new ruling class
¢  At the head of society were members of the Communist Party.
Women in the Soviet Union:
¢  Under Communism women won equality under the law
¢  They gained access to education and a wide range of jobs
¢  1930s many Soviet women were working in medicine, engineering and the sciences

WRAP-UP & REVIEW:

Define Propaganda: ______

Why did Stalin want to replace religion with his own ideology? ______

What role did women play in the Soviet Union? How does it differ from women’s role in Italy under Mussolini? ______