Mao and China

This blog is due Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. You folks still need to take your map quiz for Europe and then we are on to Asia...or did we already do that?? Hope you are enjoying your snow days!

1. What was China like in the early 20th century?
2. How did Mao Zedong achieve leadership of the Chinese Communist Party? 
3. Why did civil war break out in China in 1946?
4. Why did Mao become ruler of China in 1949? 
5. Why had Mao Zedong emerged as the unchallenged leader of the CCP by 1945? 
6. Why was China unstable in the early 20th century? 
7. Why do you think that the Long March was later afforded such an important place in Maoist propaganda? 

Joseph Stalin (Part 3)

1. What, according to Source A below, were Stalin's advantages over his rivals in the period 1924-29? 

2. How far was the doctrine of "socialism in one country" the main reason why Stalin won the power struggle during the 1920s? 

3. Examine and evaluate Stalins use of terror during the 1930s in establishing and maintaining his regime in the USSR.

4. Explain why Stalin was able to defeat his main opponents and succeed in the power struggle by 1929.

Joseph Stalin (Part 2)

1. How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
2. How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
3. To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
5. Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
6. How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
7. How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism? 

Joseph Stalin (Part 1)

Please use the handout I distributed in class to answer the following seven questions. DO NOT plagiarize. This blog is due Sunday night at 9:00 p.m. Also, BE prepared for a map of Europe VERY soon! 

1.  Why did Martemyan Ryutin criticize Joseph Stalin?
2. Describe in detail the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
3. “It is bread that makes factory wheels go round, and the Five-Year Plan has destroyed the bread-supplier of Russia.” Interpret this quote in relation to Stalin’s Five Year Plan and the issue of famine.
4. Why did Stalin want to Purge the Red Army? Provide me examples of who he targeted and why?
5. How did Stalin become a committed Bolshevik?
6. How did Stalin use his control over the country to modernize the economy?
7. Why were members of the Communist party put on trial? Describe this event in detail. Did all party members receive the same sentence? Explain.