IRL 8

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/8124735.stm

This is an article from the BBC about censorship of the Internet in modern China. It relates to our talks on how modern China is still affected by the Communist Revolution. It adds to our disscussion by providing details on a key moment in time: when the censorship moved from the Internet to the computers themselves. It also describes how the internet bloggers and other users think that the software is a joke, and more a nuisance then an actual threat. The BBC is very reputable, but the people who contribute to the article are not even named, taking away from the value.

SGQ 7

IBSL2 SGQ7

QWs:

Compare and contrast the economic and social policies of one left wing and one right wing single-party ruler.

Examine the status of women in two single-party states, each chosen from a different region.

In what ways did one ruler of a single-party state try to use education to support his regime?

MWH 369-378

3. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's political problems?
a. What were Russia's political problems?
i. The government was unpopular with the public.
ii. Stalin and the Communists did not have complete control of the country.
iii. The non-Russian parts of the country wanted to be become independent.

b. The Purges and Great Terror
i. What were the "purges"?
The mass killing and/or expulsion of Stalin's political enemies.
ii. How were the purges justified?
1. Through Kirov's murder by a Communist Party member, which Stalin said was the beginning of assassination attempts against him.
2. Victims were accused of cooperating with Trotsky or plotting against Stalin.
iii. What was the Great Terror? How was it carried out?
The Great Terror was a series of mass expulsions and killings. Victims were put to work in labor camps for apparent treason, and "show trials" were held against former party officials.
c. What was the purpose of the 1936 constitution? How did it work in practice?
The purpose was to have the people choose candidates who we be part of new sections of the government. In practice, those elected had no power and consistently voted almost 100% in favor of Stalin's policies.
d. What was Stalin's two part approach for holding the union together?

i. He encouraged international cultures and languages.
ii. Moscow was given the ultimate power in all decisions, and discrepancies would be resolved by force.

4. What was everyday life and culture like under Stalin?

a. Why was life hard?

i. food: Famine due to bad harvests

ii. housing: Rapid increase in urban population led to bad living conditions

iii. the nomenklatura: Special elite party members that were allowed privileges not available to the general public.

b. What signs of improvement were there?

i. Food supplies improved.

ii. Cheap meals and free clothing at factories.

iii. Free education and health care.

iv. More facilities for leisure.

c. The state, women, and the family

i. Why was life hard for women?

1. There was a high divorce and desertion rate.

2. They still had to manage the family.

ii. What two goals did the government have for women?

1. To be a part of the workforce.

2. To strengthen the family.

iii. What policies did the government adopt towards women?

1. More daycare centers were built.

2. Abortions were made illegal unless dangerous.

3. Maternal leave was allowed.

iv. What was life like for upper-class or well-educated women?

They were masters of th household only, and later learned some of the arts of war in case they needed to take over for men.

d. Education

i. What improvements were made to education?

1. Literacy was improved.

2. More schools were created and a law was passed requiring attendance.

ii. What were some of the goals of education?

1. To improve literacy.

2. To turn the young into perfect Soviet citizens.

e. Religion

i. Was was the Communist view of religion?

It was a way to control the masses.

ii. What actions did the government take towards religious organizations?

They slaughtered thousands of priests and rabbis.

iii. What was the people's reaction to those policies/actions?

They rebelled and eventually religion was allowed because Stalin thought it would be good for patriotism.

f. Literature and theater

Literature was not allowed if it portrayed the Soviet union in a bad light, and Stalin himself sometimes made corrections to books. A similar rule was made for theatre, where those who did not comply were killed.

g. Art, architecture, and music

Art was expected to portray happy workers. Permitted music was determined by Stalin's taste; he once ruined a very popular play with a bad review.

h. The cinema

Film was supposed to be simple but powerful, and incorporate Soviet values. Films that did not find favor with Stalin pushed him to write his own scripts.

SGQ 6

IBSL2 SGQ6

QWs:

Compare and contrast the economic and social policies of one left wing and one right wing single-party ruler.

Examine the status of women in two single-party states, each chosen from a different region.

In what ways did one ruler of a single-party state try to use education to support his regime?

MWH 361-368


1. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's economic problems?
a. What were Russia's economic problems?
Production of heavy industry was low, and the primitive agriculture system could not provide enough food.
b. What were the Five Year Plans?

Production goals set up to be reached within five years by Stalin.
i. How were they carried out?
Industry and agriculture were both taken over by the government. Old capitalist methods were used to encourage worker productivity, such as benefits for better output. Collectivization was utilized for greater agricultural efficiency.
ii. How successful were they? (Provide hard facts as evidence!)

The targets for the plans were consistently reached one year ahead of time. By 1940 they had surpassed Britain in pig-iron (USSR 14.9M tons, Britain 6.7, Germany 18.3) and in steel (USSR 18.4M tons, Britain 10.3, Germany 22.7), and had almost caught to Germany in coal (USSR 164.6M tons, Germany 186, Britain 227).
c. What does collectivization mean?

Collectivization is the process of moving all of the peasants to "collective" farms, where the peasants own the land collectively.
i. How was it carried out?
It was carried out through brute force in the countryside, and forceful collection of all grain harvests.
ii. How successful was it? (Provide hard facts as evidence!)
It was successful in the sense that agriculture became "mechanized." However, in reality total grain production went down from 73.3 million tons in 1928, to 67.6 in 1934. Afterwards it rose to 97.4 in 1937, but the initial plan was a failure. The elimination of the kulaks, who were the best workers, as well as migration to cities and a lack of cooperation by peasants was the cause of the famine in 1932-3 in the Ukraine.

2. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's political problems?
a. What were Russia's political problems?
i. The government was unpopular with the public.
ii. Stalin and the Communists did not have complete control of the country.
iii. The non-Russian parts of the country wanted to be become independent.

b. The Purges and Great Terror
i. What were the "purges"?
The mass killing and/or expulsion of Stalin's political enemies.
ii. How were the purges justified?
1. Through Kirov's murder by a Communist Party member, which Stalin said was the beginning of assassination attempts against him.
2. Victims were accused of cooperating with Trotsky or plotting against Stalin.
iii. What was the Great Terror? How was it carried out?
The Great Terror was a series of mass expulsions and killings. Victims were put to work in labor camps for apparent treason, and "show trials" were held against former party officials.
c. What was the purpose of the 1936 constitution? How did it work in practice?
The purpose was to have the people choose candidates who we be part of new sections of the government. In practice, those elected had no power and consistently voted almost 100% in favor of Stalin's policies.
d. What was Stalin's two part approach for holding the union together?

i. He encouraged international cultures and languages.
ii. Moscow was given the ultimate power in all decisions, and discrepancies would be resolved by force.

IRL 7

http://www.marxists.org/archive/trotsky/1934/12/kirov.htm

This is a re-distribution of phamplet written by Leon Trotsky in December of 1934, shortly after Kirov was shot. It relates to our investigation of Kirov's murder, adding the viewpoint of one of the most well known leaders of all time, and one who would soon be defeated by Stalin. Trotsky goes into everything that was linked to the assassination, touching base with major political leaders and historical events. The source seems reliable, with no advertisements, and is well cited. The web page was updated fairly recently considering it's a copy of a 75 year old document. However this source is based on a copy of an un-copyrighted publication of the original, whose meaning may have been altered since. The .org extension is also a sign of a good source but the website is called marxist.org so it may have a particular bias in favor or against Stalin.

11/12/09 Activity

I believe that the murder was ordered by Stalin, arranged by the NKVD and carried out by Nikolayev. The evidence is plain to see. Nikolayev was nervous and his health was poor, but he was a good supporter of the party. The NKVD just needed one little favor. Kirov's ideas would reduce the status of the NKVD; desperate, they turned to Stalin, a man with little power but a great need for it. A man is seen with Leonid, practicing use of a revolver, the weapon used against Kirov. Stalin played the part of sad party secretary well. The bodyguard was also mysteriously killed. Although there is no direct evidence to show that Stalin was the one who gave the order, but a suggestion is made by the evidence.

IRL 6

http://www.barnstable.k12.ma.us/bhs/SocStud/documents/documentsStalindemandsindustrialization.pdf

This is a document that presents Stalin's view on ongoing industrialization during 1931. It relates to our talks on industrialization and the five year plans, and adds Stalin's view on the 1931 output as well as projected output at that time. It only provides the view of Stalin, however, who created these plans and made orders but played no part in the actual collection or the counting of materials. He may have been given false numbers, or he may have even made up the numbers himself. The document comes from a reputable book used in a public school system which shows reliability, but the book was published in 1955. This is before the downfall of the USSR, only a short while after Stalin's rise to power and is during the Cold War.