Stalin and the Soviet Union

At “show” trials during the Great Purge, suspects often

• confessed to crimes they could not have possibly committed.

• admitted to crimes the secret police saw them commit.

• received no punishment because the trials were not real.

• faced torture if they lied while a judge questioned them.

What was Joseph Stalin’s goal in creating a command economy?

• to gradually move to a market economy

• to conserve limited resources

• to shift resources toward necessities

• to outproduce capitalist nations

What is a collective farm?

• a community farm

• a communist farm

• a subsistence farm

• an independent farm

What was the main reason Joseph Stalin created collective farms?

• Soviet farms were old-fashioned and inefficient.

• Collective farms would create many new jobs.

• Farmland could be turned into industrial land.

• Wasteful crop surpluses would be eliminated.

Why did the Soviet government's transition to collectivization result in widespread starvation?

• Peasants were not allowed to keep food until they met government quotas.

• Collectivization’s new methods resulted in a slowdown in crop production.

• Many people were forced out of jobs when farms turned to collectivization.

• The government punished former farm workers who refused industrial jobs.

Joseph Stalin believed he needed absolute authority in the USSR in order to

• maintain peace with the rest of Europe.

• implement change without using violence.

• unite the country and make it strong.

• bring the Communist Party into power.

How did the Great Purge demonstrate Joseph Stalin’s paranoia?

• The purge targeted those who might challenge Stalin’s power.

• Stalin used the purge to strengthen the Communist Party.

• The purge was done in secret so the public would never know.

• Stalin’s fear of religious practice largely motivated the purge.

What is the definition of a gulag?

• a political uprising

• a terror campaign

• a labor camp

• a police raid

What motivated Joseph Stalin to persecute writers, scholars, and scientists?

• People in these professions made up the bulk of the Communist Party.

• Stalin was convinced one of them would try to overthrow him and seize power.

• Many were non-Russians who Stalin wanted to drive out of the country.

• Stalin feared they might spread ideas that went against the Soviet government.

Joseph Stalin placed a high value on motherhood because he

• wanted women to produce more workers.

• recognized the hard work involved in parenting.

• valued women’s overall contributions to society.

• had great respect for his own mother.