Transcript Allusions of Animal Farm

Allusions of Animal Farm
The elements of the Russian
Revolution come alive!
A bookmark to hold you…
• Bookmark directions:
– As each character/group of characters flashes on
the screen, use their description to tie them to a
character/group of characters in Animal Farm.
– Think about the behavior of the characters within
Animal Farm. You don’t have to write a
description on your bookmark, but you do have to
write an equation (i.e. “Old Major = Karl Marx”)
Karl Marx
• Considered father of Communism
• Wrote Communist Manifesto, which gives
basic principles of pure communism.
• Espouses ideas that all should be equal under
the eyes of the government.
Tsar Nicholas II
• Has absolute control over all of Russia
• Manages an empire, where peasants and serfs
feel oppressed.
• Only plutocrats/bourgeoisie experience
privilege under his government.
Vladimir Lenin/Leon Trotsky
• First leaders of USSR Communist Government
• Attempted to espouse/practice pure
Communism per Marx’s principles
• Lenin’s rule was short, and Trotsky was
eventually expelled from the Soviet Union
Josef Stalin
• Second leader of USSR under Communist Rule.
• Spoke about virtues of Communism to control
Soviet people; often gave privileges to his inner
circle
• Many people in lower/middle class felt
threatened to speak out about poor conditions
Plutocrats/Bourgeoisie
• These people were not negatively impacted by
Imperialist rule, but did not appreciate when
Communist rule came into power.
• These people were expected to give up their
wealth and work for the people, and not keep
privilege to themselves.
Working Class
• This was the class that stood to benefit the most
from the implementation of Communism.
• They promised themselves to work for the Soviet
Union in hopes that they would work themselves
out of abject poverty. These are the people that
blindly promised to keep working, no matter how
terrible the conditions were, to encourage the
development of a Communist government.
Communist International
• A Soviet-based group that helps to espouse
the tenets of Communism worldwide.
• This began in Russia, and then spread to far
corners of the world.
• This organization still exists today.
Ministry of Propaganda
• Kicked out propaganda to make people
believe Stalin’s government was acting on
their behalf
• “Spin Machine” – took unfortunate events and
blamed it on the people, took positive events
and gave credit to the Communist
government.
The Secret Police (KGB)
• One of the first of its kind, the KGB conducted
covert investigations to make sure that all
people (Soviets and the rest of the world)
were acting in the best interest of the USSR.
• Agencies like this were predecessors for the
CIA
• Often acted violently, thuggish
Russian Orthodox Church
• During the Imperialist rule, the Church had heavy influence
over government.
• However, during Communist rule, the Church fades from
day to day life.
• The Church eventually returns as a force, but not until near
the dissolution of the Soviet Union.
• Stalin works hard to get rid of the influence of the Church,
but eventually succumbs to popular opinion to keep it
around.
British Empire
• During Stalin’s rule, they began trade with the
Soviets, and continued this until after World
War II.
• Part of the reason they began trade was to
influence the people that Communism was
good, but Britain would have none of it. They
benefitted from trade – that’s it.
Third Reich (Germany)
• Committed numerous crimes against
humanity during WWII
• Vilified around the world by numerous nations
• Attempted to establish trade
relationships/alliances in attempt to regain
armament status.