Lesson Three: The Soviet Union Under Stalin
1. Introduction
The Soviet Union Under Stalin
Big Question: Is resistance to liberalism justified?
Duration: 2 blocks (80 mins each + homework)
Between 1925 and 1953, Stalin was the totalitarian ruler of the Soviet Union. He was ruthless in his attempt to make the Soviet Union into an industrial fortress and extremely nationalistic state. Stalin turned the Soviet Union into a totalitarian society where all aspects of the people's lives were controlled by the state.
Stalin offered Russians "socialism in one country" rather than the worldwide revolution promoted by Marx and Lenin. To Stalin, socialism in one country meant building the USSR into an industrial giant.
Joseph Stalin (1879-1953)