What impact did Joseph

Stalin have on the Soviet Union?

Notes #4-4

New Leader•After Lenin died in 1924, Stalin gained control of the Communist Party, becoming the Soviet Union’s leader.

Totalitarian rule•Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union can best be characterized as a period of censorship and terror.

NKVD secret police office

Eliminate Opposition•Stalin used purges and public trials to eliminate any opposition

•Called The GREAT PURGE

** An estimated 40 million people were killed as a result of Stalin’s policies **

Command Economy (communist)•Established a command economy in the Soviet Union

•Gov’t determined the type and quantity of goods to be produced.

Bad Plans•Stalin’s economic programs included Five-Year Plans and collective farms.

Five-Year Plan and collective farm propaganda posters

Industry•Under Stalin, the Soviet Union increased its industrial output by developing heavy industry.

Effects…•A major effect of Stalin’s economic policies was a widespread food shortage throughout the nation.

** An estimated 14 million died of starvation in the Soviet Union **