Rise of Dictatorships

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Rise of Dictatorships

• The Soviet Union

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Imperial Russia Pre-WWI

• Prior to WWI, Russia was a monarchy, ruled by the
  Romanov Dynasty.
• The Russian rulers were known as czars, the
  Russian equivalent of the word caesar.
• The Czar of Russia at the time was Nicholas II.

Nicholas II, last czar of Russia
3
Imperial Russia Pre-WWI

• The Russian people were not satisfied with
  Czarist rule, and prior to the war there were
  many who agitated for more self-government in
  Russia.
• As WWI began, Russia entered the war on the side
  of the Allies (Britain, France) against the
  Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, the
  Ottoman Empire).
• WWI did not go well for the Russians. They
  suffered many casualties, especially after the
  twin defeats of Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes.

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Vladimir Lenin

• The Germans, sensing that Russia was weak at this
  point, helped send Vladimir Lenin to Russia,
  hoping he would cause trouble.
• Lenin had been a proponent of communism and an
  enemy of the czar before the war who had been
  exiled.
• Upon his return, he helped lead the Russian
  Revolution which established the Soviet Union.

5
Russian Revolution of 1917

• The Revolution was led by Lenin, and was
  successful in overthrowing the Czar and setting
  up a new government. The Russian Empire became
  the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the
  USSR.
• It was to be a country led by communist ideals, a
  workers paradise.
• In this new state, there was no room for royalty
  Nicholas II and the entire royal family (his
  wife, and their 5 children) were executed by
  firing squad.

6
Early years of the Soviet Union

• Upon Lenins death in 1924, Joseph Stalin came to
  power.
• His goal was the creation of a model communist
  state.
• The goals of this state were agricultural and
  industrial growth.
• All private farms were abolished and replaced
  with collectives large government-owned farms,
  each worked by hundreds of families.

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Joseph Stalin
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Soviet Union under Stalins rule

• Wanted to transform USSR from a backward rural
  nation into a great industrial power.
• Towards this end, created what were known as
  Five-year plans to direct industrialization.
  All economic activity was placed under state
  control.
• By 1937, the USSR had become the worlds 2nd
  largest industrial power, surpassed only by the
  USA.

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The cost of industrialization

• In his attempt to modernize the Soviet Union,
  Stalin was ruthless and did away with anyone who
  he thought opposed his power.
• The 1st people that fell victim to his policies
  were the kulaks, independent farmers. When
  collectivization began, these people were forced
  off their farms to work for the state. Those that
  did not comply were executed.

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The cost of industrialization

• Stalin also executed or imprisoned all his
  political enemies.
• One of the first people to fall under this
  category was Leon Trotsky, a fellow communist who
  Stalin had outmaneuvered to become Lenins
  successor.
• Trotsky fled Russia, first to Paris, and then
  eventually Mexico City.
• He was assassinated in 1940 by one of Stalins
  agents, stabbed to death with an ice pick.

11
The Great Purge

• In the late 1930s, Stalin secured his power and
  position by killing off many people in high level
  positions, including many who had been leaders of
  the Russian Revolution.
• The trials given to these people were a sham,
  their confessions of guilt tortured out of them.
• One result of this purge was that many of the
  Soviet Unions best military minds were killed, a
  situation which left the state vulnerable in case
  of foreign invasion.

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The Holodomor

• During the years 1932-1933, the Ukraine, a
  territory of the Soviet Union, suffered from
  widespread famine and malnutrition.
• There was no reason for this famine however,
  because the Ukraine is the breadbasket of the
  Soviet Union.
• However, the government was collecting all the
  food for storage and not distributing it properly
  to the populace.
• As a result, millions (approx. 2-10) died from
  starvation. There were reports of widespread
  cannibalism in fact.
• Scholars still argue today whether the Holodomor
  was a planned genocide or not, though several
  countries officially recognize it as such.

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Countries which recognize the Holodomor as a
genocide
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The Holodomor
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Totalitarian State

• In total, Stalin was responsible for the death of
  some 8 to 13 millions people. Millions more died
  in famine caused by trying to collectivize and
  industrialize the Soviet Union at such a
  breakneck pace.
• His establishment of the NKVD, a secret police,
  also led the people of the Soviet Union to live
  in fear for their lives. The state was firmly in
  control of every aspect of its citizens lives.
  Thus, the Soviet Union is known as a totalitarian
  state.

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Effect on Communism in the USA

• After watching the sham trials of the late 30s,
  many American communist began to desert the
  party.
• It was also quite evident that even though the
  Soviet Union espoused communist ideals, it was
  not living up to them.
• Stalin and his favorites had all the power while
  the life of the average peasant was hardly any
  better than it had been under the rule of the
  Czars.