Stalin's dictatorship devastated the Soviet Union in several ways: 1) It imposed extreme control over all aspects of society, removing freedoms and individuality from citizens. Social goods, work, and even personal lives were dictated by the state. 2) It created a climate of fear, as citizens lived in constant threat of punishment for any perceived "anti-state" acts. Millions were imprisoned or killed under Stalin's regime. 3) It caused immense human suffering. Workers lived in poverty and dangerous conditions. Famines in the 1930s killed millions due to the failures of collectivization. Housing and goods were chronically short in supply.

1. To what extent did
Stalin’s dictatorship
devastate the Soviet Union?

2. 1) General Social Impact
2) Social Groups

3. Social goods like housing, education,
health services and even holidays were
decided by the state
Workers and Communist Party members
given better treatment – Why?

4. More people moved to cities to work in
factories
• Overcrowding! – Shortage of Housing
• Many lived in cramped conditions - In Moscow,
only 6% of households had more than one room

5. Workers made to work long hours with low
wages in order to meet government targets

6. Shortage of everyday items
• Worsened with famine in 1930s
Basic items like bread were rationed until
1935
Consumer goods still short
in supply

7. Citizens lived in fear
Punishments for:
‘Enemies
of the
state’
Workers
who failed
to meet
targets

8. Social
Groups
Religious
Groups
Minorities
‘New
Soviet
Man’
Women
Youth and
Education

9. What does this
poster tell us
about Soviet
attitudes towards
Religious Groups?

10. Many priests attacked collectivisation and
Stalin instructed local party organisations
to attack churches and priests
Churches were vandalised and many
priests were killed.
• The number of working priests fell from about 60
000 in 1925 to under 6000 by 1941.
Many Muslim and Jewish leaders also fell
victim.

12. For the Bolsheviks, COMMUNISM was
the only religion and they wanted people
to worship the communist state instead of
God.

13. Minority nationalities lost their freedom
with the creation of the Soviet Union
• Minorities were subject to centralised control
and had to follow instructions from Moscow

14. Minority groups who resisted were purged
and persecuted
• Ukraine Famine

15. To an extent, unique cultural traditions
could be preserved = better off than when
under the tsars

16. Introduced to motivate citizens to support
the government’s aim to transform the
Soviet Union into a superpower

18. Workers and miners were put up as role
models (‘Stakhanovites’)
• Through such campaigns, workers were
influenced to work for the country’s future

19. Abortion and divorce was made a lot more
easy under Lenin.
Stalin changed all this
• Divorce made illegal in 1936 to ‘protect
motherhood and childhood’

20. Women were encouraged to enter the
workforce
• State-run childcare centres were opened to allow
women to work in factories
Girls, what kind of lives do you think Soviet women lived?

21. School attendance was made compulsory
• every child was allowed to have at least 9 years of
free education

22. Emphasis on
1) Propaganda messages,
communism and atheism
2) Technical subjects
Meet national goals
 What are these?

23. Stalin wanted to be seen as the father of
the people and he needed to win the
loyalty of young people to maintain that
image.

24. Outside of school, children were expected
to join youth organisations such as
Pioneers for the 10 to 16 year olds.
From 19 to 23 you were expected to join
the Komsomol.

25.  Children were taught how to be good
communists and an emphasis was placed
on outdoor activities and loyalty to Stalin.
Looking at this picture,
What do you think the
youths were taught?

26. Crisis and Conflict: Communist Russia
Copyright 2006 26
Communist
Russia
became an
industrialised
country
Farms in
Russia were
collectivised
Development
of a terror
state
Tight control
over culture
What was the impact
of Stalin’s regime on
Communist Russia?

27. Crisis and Conflict: Communist Russia
Copyright 2006 27
Did Stalin bring more harm than good to Communist
Russia?
Consider the viewpoints below. What were the ‘harms’ and what
were the ‘goods’?

28. Crisis and Conflict: Communist Russia
Copyright 2006 28
Did Stalin bring more harm than good to Communist
Russia?
Consider the viewpoints below. What were the ‘harms’ and what
were the ‘goods’?