Name:___________________________________ Date:_____ Period:______

The Evolution of Evil

Joseph Stalin

1. Describe Joseph Jughashvili’s childhood / young adulthood.

2. When he was 20 years old, Stalin leaves the seminary to become a ________________
in the illegal Georgian _______________________ movement.

3. What did Stalin learn from the strike in Batumi?

4. What sort of activities was Stalin up to while he was raising funds for the Communist
party / How was he behaving?

5. How did the death of Stalin’s first wife, Ekaterina, affect him?

6. What happens to Stalin at the dinner party with his friend Malinovsky? How does this
affect his mindset/personality?

7. “So when the Bolsheviks seize power in 1917, Stalin returns to the Capital, ready to
take his place in Lenin’s new_____________________________. Bringing with him a
brutal mindset born of years of struggle.”

8. Joseph Jughashvili changes his name to Joseph Stalin. What does Stalin mean?

9. Stalin gets a seemingly unimportant job as General Secretary. Why does Stalin discover
that this job is more powerful than it appears?

10. Why wasn’t Leon Trotsky, a prominent Communist party member, at the funeral of
Vladimir Lenin? What does this mean for Stalin?

11. What happens to Leon Trotsky?

12. How does Stalin plan to fix the “backwardness” of the Soviet Union?
13. What are the actual results of Stalin’s agricultural reform?

14. “Stalin once said, ‘The death of one man is a __________________, the death of a
million is a ________________________’.”

15. Stalin tried to suppress news of the famine, which of the 8 characteristics of
Totalitarianism does this relate to / resemble? (Indoctrination, Propaganda, Censorship,
Terror, Charisma, One Party Rule, Economic Control, Extreme Nationalism)

16. Why did Stalin murder Sergei Kirov, a loyal Communist Party Member? What does this
event allow Stalin to do?

17. How does Stalin ensure that the Russian people will not go against his narrative of the
Russian Revolution? (How does he “force them to forget” the truth?)

18. “Children were made to see themselves as children of ________________ first, and of
their parents’ second; and if their parents were suspect, they were asked by their
teachers to report back and there were scores - hundreds of stories of children actually
______________________ their own parents.” Which of the 8 characteristics of
Totalitarianism does this represent? (Indoctrination, Propaganda, Censorship, Terror,
Charisma, One Party Rule, Economic Control, Extreme Nationalism)

19. What are Gulags?

20. Why is it surprising that Stalin & Hitler signed a pact together?

21. What was the “first real shock” of Stalin’s life? How does he respond?

22. True/False. Stalin was a capable military leader.

23. Who are the victims of Stalin’s 1953 purge?

24. How does Stalin die?

25. What is the reaction/feeling of the Soviet people?

Name: Key Date:_____ Period:______
The Evolution of Evil
Joseph Stalin
1. Describe Joseph Jughashvili’s childhood / young adulthood.
Wants to be number 1, believed he was never wrong. Became an atheist, studied
Marxism.

2. When he was 20 years old, Stalin leaves the seminary to become a political activist in
the illegal Georgian Marxist movement.

3. What did Stalin learn from the strike in Batumi?

That violence is the way forward, that is how you change & progress Russia.

4. What sort of activities was Stalin up to while he was raising funds for the Communist
party / How was he behaving?
He was a “mobster.” He robbed banks, ran brothels, engaged in violent behavior.

5. How did the death of Stalin’s first wife, Ekaterina, affect him?
He was devastated. “When she died, all my feelings for people died with her.”

6. What happens to Stalin at the dinner party with his friend Malinovsky? How does this
affect his mindset/personality?
He is arrested & exiled to Siberia. This betrayal adds to Stalin’s trust issues and
paranoia.

7. “So when the Bolsheviks seize power in 1917, Stalin returns to the Capital, ready to
take his place in Lenin’s new communist government. Bringing with him a brutal mindset
born of years of struggle.”

8. Joseph Jughashvili changes his name to Joseph Stalin. What does Stalin mean?
Man of Steel.
9. Stalin gets a seemingly unimportant job as General Secretary. Why does Stalin discover
that this job is more powerful than it appears?
He decides who is invited to meetings & what is on the agenda. He becomes in charge
of “appointments” (promotions).
10. Why wasn’t Leon Trotsky, a prominent Communist party member, at the funeral of
Vladimir Lenin? What does this mean for Stalin?
Stalin sends him the wrong date so Trotsky misses the funeral. Stalin gives the euglogy
and establishes himself as the heir.
11. What happens to Leon Trotsky?
Stalin has Trotsky arrested and deported to Mexico. He was later assassinated in
Mexico with an icepick. The closed caption for the video is wrong here – a gun was not
used to kill Trotsky.
12. How does Stalin plan to fix the “backwardness” of the Soviet Union?
Fix Farming
1. Peasants to revolt & kill the Kulaks (landowners)
2. Collectivization
13. What are the actual results of Stalin’s agricultural reform?
Famine

14. “Stalin once said, ‘The death of one man is a tragedy, the death of a million is a
statistic’.”

15. Stalin tried to suppress news of the famine, which of the 8 characteristics of
Totalitarianism does this relate to / resemble? (Indoctrination, Propaganda, Censorship,
Terror, Charisma, One Party Rule, Economic Control, Extreme Nationalism)
Censorship

16. Why did Stalin murder Sergei Kirov, a loyal Communist Party Member? What does this
event allow Stalin to do?
Stalin murders Kirov because he thinks Kirov has become too popular and may become
a threat. Stalin uses the murder as an excuse to purge any old threats/rivals.

17. How does Stalin ensure that the Russian people will not go against his narrative of the
Russian Revolution? (How does he “force them to forget” the truth?)
Stalin implements “The Great Terror.” The NKVD cleanses the country of “traitors” by
killing large numbers of people (at random).

18. “Children were made to see themselves as children of Stalin first, and of their parents’
second; and if their parents were suspect, they were asked by their teachers to report
back and there were scores - hundreds of stories of children actually betraying their own
parents.” Which of the 8 characteristics of Totalitarianism does this represent?
(Indoctrination, Propaganda, Censorship, Terror, Charisma, One Party Rule, Economic Control,
Extreme Nationalism)
Indoctrination
19. What are Gulags?
Slave Labor Camps

20. Why is it surprising that Stalin & Hitler signed a pact together?
1. Hitler wats to wipe out Communism
2. Stalin doesn’t trust anyone…but trusts Hitler.

21. What was the “first real shock” of Stalin’s life? How does he respond?
Hitler breaking the pact and invading the Soviet Union. Stalin responds by retreating to
him country house and isolating himself.
22. True/False. Stalin was a capable military leader.
False
23. Who are the victims of Stalin’s 1953 purge?
The country’s top medical men. Mostly Jewish doctors. He accuses them of attempting
to destroy the country’s leadership.
24. How does Stalin die?
Heart Attack. He slowly dies alone.
25. What is the reaction/feeling of the Soviet people?
The Soviet people grieve for their leaders. They feel their country is doomed without
Stalin.