The Internal Workings of the Soviet System
Library of Congress Soviet Archives Exhibit, this detailed section covers the Lenin/Stalin regimes. Includes information on the secret police, the great terror, forced labor camps, collectivization/industrialization, religion, and more. Primary source documents are integrated into the pages. A great breadth of information.
From BBC “Historic Figures.” Offers a basic biography of Joseph Stalin and a selection of relevant links to other articles, historical figures, timelines, and external web sites. See articles entitled “Humanising Stalin” and “Stalin and the Betrayal of Stalingrad.” See also essays on Lenin and Trotsky.
Hyperlinked essay on Stalin from the Spartacus publishing company. Also contains brief commentaries on Stalin from contemporaries and historians.
Seventeen Moments in Soviet History
For each of the seventeen events between 1917 and 1991 there is a short essay introducing the subject, and a selection of newsreel clips, songs and audio clips, images and translated texts to depict how contemporaries understood the events. 1929: Liquidation of the Kulaks as a Class; 1936:Year of the Stakhanovite; 1943: Stalin Welcomes the Orthodox Metropolitans to the Kremlin; 1947: End of Rationing.
The Yalta Conference Documents
From the Avalon Project, this site contains the text of the document signed at the Yalta Conference in February of 1945 by Churchill, Stalin and Roosevelt. It deals with the establishment of the United Nations, the dismemberment of Germany, the occupation of Nazi controlled Europe and other topics.
The Race for the Superbomb: Stalin
Part of a PBS site, this section discusses Stalin’s role and decisions regarding the development of nuclear weapons at the close of World War II. Also covers some general information about Stalin’s reign.
The Age of Totalitarianism: Stalin and Hitler 403
From the History Guide: Lectures on 20th Century History. Offers a hyperlinked essay on the age of totalitarianism. After reading go to table of contents and consult “The Aftermath of the Bolshevik Revolution” as well.
Soviet Dictatorship Introduction
Essay that covers the Stalinist system of ruling, understanding Stalinism in a Soviet context, and the role of women in Stalin’s society. From the Center for History and New Media, George Mason University.
“Pictorial essay: Death trenches bear witness to Stalin’s purges”
CNN.com story from Karelia, a republic in northwest Russia, where excavators unearthed more than 9,000 bodies of political prisoners.
“Stalin’s Personal Files Released”
CNN.com story about Kremlin’s release of approximately 1,200 of Soviet dictator Josef Stalin’s personal files to the Russian State Archive.
Joseph V. Stalin Archive
Contains telegrams, letters, reports, and speeches by Stalin from 1913 to 1951. Also contains a biography, a few pictures and external links.
Stalin and the Rise of Soviet Totalitarianism
The Center for Educational Research at Stanford produced this set of annotated links as part of a conference for teachers on Stalin. Some excellent links to lesson plans.
Heroes or Villains? – Stalin
This classroom activity, designed by the British National Archives, challenges students to research Stalin’s efforts to industrialize the Soviet Union and to evaluate the costs and gains of this endeavor. The design of the site is similar to a webquest, with lots of online reproducible worksheets, charts, etc.
Soviet Women Under Stalin
Produced by the Center for History and New Media, this lesson plan focuses on how women were affected by Stalin’s reign.
Red Flag – Teacher’s Guide
A teacher’s guide for the Russian Revolution and related topics such as Communism, Propaganda, Mass Movements, and more. Part of PBS Red Flag series, it requires the accompanying video.