starter activity Read and listen to Alexei Surkov’s ‘Song about Stalin’. The image left shows a popular postcard from the 1930s with the words of the song written out in full. How useful is this song in understanding how successful the Five-Year Plans were? На все века великими делами Прославил Сталин наш родной народ. Над миром реет ленинское знамя, На путь борьбы и подвиги зовет. At all times the great deeds Glorified Stalin our native people. Hovers over the world Leninist banner, To fight and exploits calls. Припев: Chorus: Для нас открыты солнечные дали, Горят огни победы над страной, На радость нам живет товарищ Сталин Наш мудрый вождь, учитель дорогой. We gave the sunny, Fires burn victory over the country, To the delight of our lives, Stalin Our wise leader, teacher dear. В огне труда и в пламени сражений Сердца героев Сталин закалил. Как светлый луч, его могучий гений Нам в коммунизм дорогу осветил. In the fire of labor and fire fighting Stalin hardened hearts of heroes. As a light beam, his mighty genius We lit the road to communism. Припев. Chorus. Мы строим счастье волей непреклонной, Дорога на нам указана Вождем; Подняв высоко красные знамена, Мы в коммунизм за Сталиным идем. Припев. We build happiness will inflexible, Road to the Leader pointed out to us; Rose high red flags We're in for Stalin communism go. Chorus. Key words: Gosplan Command economy shock workers nd 2 rd 3 Were the and Five-Year Plans any more successful? Learning objectives TBAT explain the reasons why Stalin introduced further Five-Year Plans, the methods used & evaluate their success Soviet propaganda poster from 1936. The text reads, ‘Workers of all countries unite’. Based on this poster and your own knowledge, what do you think would be the aims of the next Five-Year Plans? Compare these aims with the original Five-Year Plan (1928-32) Alexei Stakhanov, an international celebrity, on the front cover of ‘Time’ magazine in 1935. Read about his life in Corin & Fiehn, p.237 and note down reasons why he became so famous in Russia and an important ambassador for the Soviet authorities. How true were Stakhanov’s achievements? You will be given a picture on an electricity pylon. Work alone and colour in as many of the pylons as possible using at least 5 different colours for each pylon in 3 minutes. Work in table teams. Each table team must colour in as many pylons as possible in 3 minutes using at least 5 different colours for each pylon. The team that finishes the most pylons is the winner. Work in table teams. You may reorganise yourselves, but the challenge is to beat the winning total for the previous round. Why do you think output increases? In your table, note down the successes & failures of the 2 nd & 3rd FiveYear Plans. What does the opening of the Moscow Metro in 1935 tell us about Stalin’s ambitions for Russia? How much had Stalin achieved by the end of the Third FiveYear Plan? Write a secret diary entry for Stalin detailing the following: His major achievements His failings The things he could still do for Russia His greatest fears in 1941 This house believes that Five-Year Plans were the best way to industrialise Russia and prepare it from the threat of war with Germany Essay ‘How successful were the Five-Year Plans in transforming Russian industry in the years to 1941?’ Tips on tackling this essay?