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Symbolism in Symbolism in Animal Animal FarmFarm

Josef Stalin: The Dictator

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The Soviet Union: The Soviet Union: ReviewReview

• V.I. Lenin led the revolution that made Russia into a V.I. Lenin led the revolution that made Russia into a communist country.communist country.

• Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (Soviet Union) by the communists that Republics (Soviet Union) by the communists that took over the country.took over the country.

• After Lenin died, Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky had After Lenin died, Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky had the most power in the Bolshevik (communist) Party.the most power in the Bolshevik (communist) Party.

• Stalin stole Trotsky’s ideas and forced him out of Stalin stole Trotsky’s ideas and forced him out of the country.the country.

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The hero: LeninThe hero: LeninAfter V.I. Lenin, the hero of the revolution, died, Stalin declared that the body should be preserved for all time for the people to see.

Lenin’s body, preserved with chemicals so that it never rots.

Lenin’s mausoleum (tomb) in Moscow

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Poor Lenin – all he wanted was a quiet burial next to his mother’s grave!

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Lenin’s bodyLenin’s bodyPeople stood for hours to see the body at the funeral.

For decades afterward, people would line up outside the mausoleum just to march past the body and pay their respects.

Even today scientists check the body twice a week to make sure it stays in good condition!

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Stalin takes overStalin takes over

After forcing Trotsky out and stealing his ideas, Josef Stalin worked to become the leader of the communist party.

Stalin then began eliminating the other Bolsheviks that worked with him. Stalin became supreme leader of the Soviet Union in 1929.

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Trotsky

Zinovyev

Bukharin

Rykov

Stalin

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Stalin’s Secret PoliceStalin’s Secret Police• Stalin protected

himself with a security force known as the NKVD.

• They were responsible for spying on potential enemies, guarding the borders of the country, and killing or imprisoning Stalin’s enemies. Later on, the NKVD became known as the KGB.

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People were terrified of Lubyanka prison, the headquarters for the NKVD. They knew they could be tortured for months in this building.

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The Great TerrorThe Great TerrorBetween 1936 and 1938 Stalin used the NKVD to get rid of all of his rivals. They held “show trials” in which tortured prisoners would sign false confessions to crimes against the government. The “guilty” were killed, imprisoned, or sent far away to prison labor camps known as gulags.

In all, Stalin had between 1.5 million and 7 million “enemies” killed.

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Prisoners working at a gulag Bodies of people killed by the NKVD at the Lviv Massacre

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PravdaPravdaPravda (Russian for “truth”) was the official Bolshevik party newspaper. When Stalin became dictator, he changed Pravda to become his personal mouthpiece. It was only allowed to publish articles supporting Stalin and attacking his enemies. Pravda was pure propaganda.

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Notice the picture of Lenin in the corner of every issue.

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Changing the PastChanging the PastStalin was so determined to stop any challenges to his rule that he tried to rewrite history.

A photo of Lenin making a speech. Notice Trotsky standing in front.

Leon Trotsky

After Stalin forced Trotsky out of the country, he had the photo retouched to make it look like Trotsky was never a friend of Lenin.

No more Trotsky!

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Changing the PastChanging the PastAnother example of Stalin erasing his past mistakes

A photo of Stalin standing with a friend of his, Nikolai Yezhov.

After Stalin called Yezhov a traitor and had him killed, the photo was retouched to make it look like they had never been friends.

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Stalin’s Economic PlansStalin’s Economic PlansStalin decided the Soviet Union had to modernize its economy with new technology to compete with other countries. Farmers were forced onto large farms that didn’t work as well as their family farms. Those who resisted were killed or sent to labor camps. Most of the country’s resources went into making new and better factories, causing shortages of consumer goods.

As a result, millions of people in the Soviet Union starved to death.

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Stalin and GermanyStalin and GermanyOn August 19, 1939, Stalin made a trade agreement with the leader of Germany, Adolf Hitler.

Adolf Hitler Josef Stalin

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The Soviet Union agreed to send food and raw materials to Germany.

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In exchange, Germany would send machinery to the Soviet Union.

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Stalin and GermanyStalin and GermanyFour days later the Soviet Union and Germany signed the Non-Aggression Pact, in which they agreed never to attack each other.

June 22, 1941 – less than two years later, Hitler double-crossed Stalin and invaded the Soviet Union.

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Stalin and EnglandStalin and EnglandWinston Churchill, the Prime Minister of England, always hated communism. However, in order to fight Hitler, he agreed that England and the Soviet Union would work together during World War II.

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Winston Churchill

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The End of the WarThe End of the War

Churchill, Stalin, and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt met at two conferences to discuss plans for fighting Hitler as well as how their three countries would cooperate after World War II ended.

From left to right: Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill.

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George Orwell’s FearsGeorge Orwell’s Fears

A British author, George Orwell, couldn’t believe that the leaders of the greatest democracies in the world were cooperating with Joseph Stalin, one of the most ruthless dictators in all of history, a man who killed 20 million of his own people.

George Orwell

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He decided to write Animal Farm as a warning to those who trusted that Stalin and communism could make the world a better place.

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The EndThe End