Name:____________________________
Date:___________________________
Questions on “Joseph Stalin: Red Terror”, Part 1
1) At the end of the 19th century how did Russia compare to other countries in the world? How did the lifestyle of
Tsar Nicholas II compare to the majority of Russians?
2) When was Joseph Dzugashivili (Joseph Stalin) born and in which region of Russia?
3) What effect did Stalin’s upbringing have on the formation of his personality?
4) What cause did Stalin join at the age of 19? What does the name “Stalin” mean?
5) Which event gave the Bolsheviks a chance for revolution? How did Lenin answer the question, “Who voted for
the revolution?”
6) How did the Romanov Dynasty end? What happened in the “October Revolution”? What role did Stalin play
in this?
7) What was the reason for the civil war in Russia? Which sides fought against each other?
8) What were the roles of Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin during the civil war? How did Stalin’s reputation
change during this time?
9) When did the Bolsheviks get rid of the last of the “White” forces? What changes did the Bolsheviks then make
to Russia?
10) Why was Stalin’s position as General Secretary of the Communist Party Secretariat so important to his future?
11) When did Lenin die? How did Stalin outmaneuver his opponents? By the end of the 1920s who was in
complete control of the Soviet Union?
Questions on the DVD, Joseph Stalin: Red Terror (Part 2)
1) After gaining power what actions did Stalin take in the agricultural sector? Why weren’t these successful?
2) Why did Stalin seize grain from the farmers in the Ukraine? What was the terrible result?
3) When did Stalin’s first “Five Year Plan” begin? Why was it difficult to measure the success of this and future
plans?
4) What were the “gulags”? How did Stalin use these as an instrument of state terror?
5) How were indoctrination and propaganda used in Stalin’s Russia? Who was the subject of all propaganda?
6) Who did Stalin choose to purge? Why did certain purges result in the Soviet Union’s near defeat in World War
II?
7) What happened to the heroes of the Bolshevik Revolution and why?
8) Who dared to criticize Stalin from his place of exile in Mexico? What happened to him?
9) How was terror used pervasively in Stalin’s Russia?
10) Who saw through Stalin’s lies and paid for this with her life? What was the effect of this death on Stalin?
11) With many imaginary enemies, who was the one real enemy that Stalin failed to recognize until almost too
late?