Childrens Illustrated Encyclopedia

childrens_illustrated_encyclopedia_template_US_layer_v1

492

Posters showing

muscular workers

encouraged people

to work hard.

Land for

growing crops

Grazing land

for pigs, sheep,

and cattle

Workers’ homes

School, hospital,

and factory

Joseph stalin

Born in poverty in Georgia, in the

southwest of the Russian empire, Joseph

stalin (1879-1953) was a follower of Vladimir

lenin. after lenin’s death, stalin seized

power and destroyed his opponents. he

formed a secret police force to arrest, torture,

and execute millions of suspected enemies.

these ruthless “purges” enabled stalin to remain

unchallenged as soviet leader until his death.

industRialization

stalin introduced a series of Five-Year plans to

increase production of coal, steel, and power.

the plans were successful for the

country, but workers had little

reward for their efforts

and many were used

as slave labor.

Private plots

for fruit,

vegetables,

and poultry

in 1922, a new nation came into being. the union

of soviet socialist Republics, or the soviet union, was

the new name for Communist Russia, led by Vladimir

lenin (1870-1924). the years following the 1917

Revolution were difficult. Civil war between

Communists and anti-Communists had torn

Russia apart. More than 20 million people had

died. when lenin died, Joseph stalin took over

as dictator. in a reign of terror, he eliminated

all opposition to his rule. he started to

transform the soviet union into a modern

industrial state. the huge industrial effort

made the soviet union strong. it survived

German invasion in 1941, although

world war ii (1939-1945) cost the

nation many lives. after 1945, the

soviet union became a superpower,

but it still had difficulty providing

enough goods for its people. in

1985, Mikhail Gorbachev came

to power. he introduced reforms

and began a policy of openness

with the west. in 1991, the

Communist party was declared

illegal, and the soviet

union broke up.

ColleCtiVe FaRM

stalin wanted to get rid of all the old-fashioned peasant farms and increase

productivity. he reorganized the land into kolkhozy (giant collective farms)

controlled by the government. the government took the land and livestock

of millions of kulaks (richer peasants). those who protested were sent to

work in prison camps. Most of the collective farms’ products were exported,

or sent to the government to feed the city workers.

history of the

alexandRa Kollontai

Communism was supposed to introduce

equality into soviet society. however,

while women worked alongside men

in heavy industry, they were not

allowed to hold real power. But a

woman named alexandra Kollontai

(1872-1952) did become a member of

stalin’s government. she made many

important speeches and wrote several

articles about peace and women’s rights.

This shows how collective farms were organized under

Stalin. The collective included a school where children

were educated, a factory, and a hospital. The collective

had to send fixed deliveries of crops to the State.

soviet union

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