•Operation Barbarossa: Nazi Germany’s invasion of soviet union on June 22, 1941

-This resulted in the Russian involvement in the war

•Alliance of Britain, USA, and USSR- formed in 1941 after bombing of Pearl Harbor

•Battle in Stalingrad in 1943 is considered as decisive. It had positive psychological results on the Russians and negative on the Germans.

with the strategic goal of cutting off fuel to Stalin's war machine. The fact that the city bore the name of the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin, would make its capture an ideological and propaganda coup and a huge psychological blow to the Russian citizens.

The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945The Great Patriotic War 1941-1945

When Germany attacked the USSR in 1941, Stalin used the same ruthlessness to defend his country.

The defence of the USSR was the bloodiest war in history and cost the lives of millions of people and the destruction of thousands of villages, towns and cities.

The final victory in 1945 was, like everything else, put down to the personal leadership of Stalin by the Soviet propaganda machine.

•In January 1945 Russian troops began final push to Berlin

War Production- Half of the national income was being

devoted to a military expenditure-Immediately after the German invasion, all

the factories in the West were relocated to Urals -The railway system was reconstructed and extended so the troops and supplies could move fast

- New weapons: T-34 tanks, Katyusha rockets, Yak fighter planes

- By 1943 Russia produced more war material than Germany

•Stalinism- Command style of economy continued, and

gulag remained full-pre war policies remained imposed and

censorship grew tighter•Stalin’s political power declined after the war

The concept of the Iron Curtain symbolized the ideological and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War

The Iron Curtain

•There was no change in the way the public viewed stalin

•Stalin’s cult of personality was enhanced because of the USSR victory, he was a national hero, and the power of propaganda grew

•Power of patronage was weakened

•Establishment of NATO in 1945

Cold War•The west saw Stalins’ moves as expansionist and because it violated previous agreements

•Ideological differences between Stalin and the West and he refused the Marshall Plan

The Berlin Blockade (24 June 1948 – 12 May 1949) was one of the first major international crises of the Cold War and the first such crisis that resulted in casualties. The Soviet Union blocked the Western Allies' railway and road access to the sectors of Berlin under their control. Their aim was to force the western powers to allow the Soviet zone to start supplying Berlin with food and fuel, thereby giving the Soviets practical control over the entire city.

•Truman Doctrine 1947

•Start of Cold War is debatable but, Stalin's aggresive actions may have been a main trigger of the start of the Cold War

•Russian civilian losses were 19 million and 9 million soldier casualties

• In 1949 there was another Party purge- ‘the Leningrad Affair’. Leading Party and city officials were arrested and shot

•Mass executions of the people who fought for Germany in order for the USSR to gain order. Those executed were fighting men and also whole communities that supported Hitler’s forces

• The Soviet prisoners of war (POWs) were largely transported from German prison camps to Soviet labour camps because Stalin thought that they collaborated with Germans in order to stay alive (10million were transported, 5-6million of these died in captivity)

• Anti-Semitism policy continued even after the war

• During 1947-1953, 1million died in various purges and repressions

• 1953- Stalin dies

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<http://www.jstor.org/pss/2903225>. "Reference for History of the Soviet Union (1927?1953) - Search.com." Metasearch Search Engine - Search.com. Web. 25 Feb. 2010.

<http://www.search.com/reference/History_of_the_Soviet_Union_%281927-1953%29>. "Resources for the study of Stalinist Terror." Stalinist Terror: An International Conference hosted by The University of Leeds. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.36to38.com/hist5830.html>. "Russia - The Purges." Country Data. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.country-data.com/cgi-bin/query/r-11366.html>.

"Russia 1941-1953 -." The Student Education Forum. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. http://studenteducationforum.ipbhost.com/index.php?showtopic=659"Stalin & Political Power: The Purges, The Later Purges, 1941-53." Blacksacademy.net. Web. 25 Feb. 2010. <http://www.blacksacademy.net/content/3699.html>.