Animal Farm as Allegory: Some of the Real Players
Karl Marx, and his partner, Friedrich Engels published The Communist Manifesto in 1848.
Under a system of Communism, there is no more private property, everything belongs to everyone, and goods are available as needed. Everyone is equal.
Karl Marx
Friedrich Engels
In the early 1900’s, Russia was ruled by a king, the Tsar. This is a picture of the Tsar with his family.
This was one of their palaces:
Here is the interior of another one:
Meanwhile, 80% of the rest of Russia lived in poor conditions, mostly on farms.
REVOLUTION Vladimir Lenin and Leon Trotsky were the
two leaders of the movement to overthrow the Tsar and install a communist government in all of Russia.
The revolution happened in October of 1917.
The Tsar and his family were shot in a basement of a house in St. Petersburg
V.I. Lenin
Leon Trotsky
The Russian Revolution led to Civil War, as different factions had different ideas of how the country should be run and by whom.
Trotsky was extremely successful with the “Red Army.” He defeated an alliance of British, other Russian, and European troops, and he was known as a great military leader.
More Trotsky Ultimately, Trotsky had
differences with both Lenin and Stalin and was kicked out.
He went to Mexico, where he became good friends with Diego Rivera, and Extremely good friends with Frida Kahlo, Diego’s wife. He continued working for the Communist Cause.
Assassination Trotsky was
assassinated in Mexico City in 1940.
He was stabbed with an ice pick by a Mexican associate of Stalin.
Meanwhile, Lenin had died, and Josef Stalin grabbed all power.
Famine and Purges With his various schemes to communize
farming in Russia, Stalin and his partners actually created horrifying famine conditions. It is estimated that 25,000 people a day died during one year in the Ukraine.
Purges During the 1930’s, Stalin became paranoid that
others were trying to overthrow him. He had many of his closest associates arrested
and executed. He issued an order that anyone disloyal to his
regime would be imprisoned and/or executed. He killed a large percentage of the officers of the
Red Army.
It is estimated that 11,000,000 people died in prison or by execution during Stalin’s regime. This does not count the number of people who died of hunger.
In order to stay in power, the Russian government used a powerful tool: PROPAGANDA.
PROPAGANDA: “Information which is false, or emphasizes
just one part of a situation, used by a government or other group to make people agree with them.”
Russian Propaganda:
The color red symbolizes the red of the blood of the working class, struggling and dying for equality.
Images of strong, father-like leaders and corrupt, slimy aristocrats and intellectuals helped to unify the revolutionary vision in the mind of the public.
Stalin referred to himself as:
“Father of Nations”
“Great architect of Communism”
“Brilliant Genius of Humanity”
“Gardener of Human Happiness”
One example of U.S. anti-Communist propaganda:
