Opposition and Single-Party Regimes

Authoritarian and Single-Party States

Worksheet 4.3

Opposition and Single-Party Regimes

When you consider opposition to a single-party regime, think about how difficult it would be to speak out or to act against such a tightly controlled system. Would you risk criticizing any aspect of your daily life to anyone, even close family? Consider these case studies.

Case Study A

It is 1934 and you are a steel worker living and working in Magnitogorsk. You read Pravda and it says that the Second Five Year Plan has been a tremendous success and that workers, like you, are the pride of the Soviet Union. At night, you go back to a crowded apartment shared with three other families. You have two children who go to school and are members of the Young Pioneers. You have read about and admire Stakhanov and hope that you too will be given the opportunity to win a medal. You have heard about the purges but, personally, you don’t know of anyone who has been arrested.

Case Study B

It is 1936 and you work in an office at the Leningrad Party headquarters. You are the daughter of a kulak who was sent to a gulag, but you hope that no one discovers this about your background, as you could lose your job. You know that hundreds of people who worked in your office were arrested in 1934 (in fact, you got your job because they needed new office staff). You also know that it is very dangerous to speak the truth and that Stalin’s regime is brutal. You have heard about the purges and believe that this is a very dangerous time. There is a law that states anyone who is related to or knows someone who is arrested for crimes against the state can also be arrested.

Questions:

Read through Case Studies A and B and answer the following questions.

· Which of the people in the case studies, do you think, would be more likely to express their personal opinions about Stalin in public? Give reasons for your answer.

· Which would be more likely to end up in a gulag? Give reasons for your answer.

· If the individuals in Case Study A or Case Study B wanted to change some aspect of their life, for instance their job or their accommodation, how, do you think, would they try to do it?