The following lesson focuses on two program segments. The first segment presents the accomplishments of communism under Lenin and the early years of Stalin. Citizens recall their goals in building a socialist society. The second segment presents communism under Stalin in the late 1930s. The same people recall the changes in society, including the purges and prison camps.
| Program Segment I approximately 14 minutes Start Finish
Start Finish |
Discussion
Before Watching
1. Divide the class into four groups to follow one of these speakers as they watch both segments: Mikhail Mindlin, Anastasia Denisova, Ella Shistyer, or Tatiana Fedorova. Have each group take notes on how the speaker supported the revolution and communism in the first segment and how the speaker was affected by the events in the second segment.
After Watching
Segment I
1. How did each of the four speakers help build communism in the Soviet Union? How did their actions reflect the values of socialism and the goals of Soviet leaders?
2. Based on the speakers' stories, how would you describe the mood of the period? How did propaganda posters, slogans, and events promote that mood?
Segment I
1. How does the mood in the second segment compare to the mood in the first segment? What were the speakers' responses to Stalin's policies and actions? Whose stories did you find most powerful and why?
2. Why was it easy for Boris Yefimov to believe Nicholai Bukharin's confession? Why was it difficult for Ella Shistyer to question Stalin's actions? How did their perceptions reflect what Stalin represented for them? Describe other historical periods when a leader's actions contradicted the ideas he or she espoused or represented. In each case, how did citizens respond and why?
Activities
Ask students to use newspaper and magazine articles to find out how Lenin and Stalin are viewed today in the former Soviet Union. Have them choose one of these leaders and, using students' findings, create two entries for a Soviet "encyclopedia" -- one written before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and one written after. How do the two portrayals compare?
Program Summary
Use the following information to assist in finding specific segments within the program. The times listed on the left indicate minutes into the program.
| 00:00 | Introduction -- Current Conditions in Russia under Tsar Nicholas II. Society heavily stratified, army demoralized. |
| 02:30 | February Revolution. Provisional Government takes over. |
| 03:30 | Lenin builds support, launches October Revolution. Bolsheviks take control of the government. |
| 08:00 | Capital of Russia moved to Moscow, Tsar and family executed. Message sent to workers of the world. |
| 10:00 | Russian Civil War. Bolsheviks fight to retain power. Use propaganda to drive will of the people to their side. |
| 13:28 | Condition of life for the Russian peasants. Government creates initiatives for education, mass literacy, raise standard of living. |
| 15:00 | Need for engineers and other professionals to build the new society. Women's equality in education a result. Drastic changes in other aspects of society, such as orchestras with no conductor. |
| 18:30 | Lenin in complete, absolute control of Russia. Stalin inherits control. Parts of society still unchanged by communist reforms. Stalin launches "5 Year plan" to assume total control of economy. |
| 20:00 | Enthusiasm for communism clashes with Stalin's forced labor camps. |
| 24:00 | Depression hits U.S. and Europe. Meanwhile Russia launches huge construction projects. Appeals to western communists. George Bernard Shaw and others visit and praise efforts in Russia. |
| 26:00 | Stalin moves to eliminate any and all rivals to power, such as religion. |
| 29:00 | Stalin launches purges against Kulaks. |
| 31:00 | Mass famine strikes many parts of Russia; unseen by the west. |
| 33:30 | Stalin begins to purge potential Bolshevik rivals such as Bukharin. Everyone is taken up in the staged drama, even the accused. |
| 38:30 | Stalin's paranoia grows and he orders random purges of populations. Even ardent supporters are arrested and imprisoned. |
| 43:00 | Life in the prison camps. |
| 48:00 | Soviet Propaganda. Hollywood-style musicals produced. Meanwhile, results of Lenin and Stalin's rule are evident. Mass literacy, modernization have been achieved, but millions killed. Proletariat still not in control. |
ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7sa7SZ6arn1%2BstKO0jqmcqKicmsCksc2trKuxX6myoq%2FHnqmsZ6Scv6awjaGrpqQ%3D