Analyzing Russian and Chinese Propaganda

State Standards 10.7 Students analyze the rise of totalitarian

governments after World War I. – Understand the causes and consequences of the Russian

Revolution, including Lenin’s use of totalitarian means to seize and maintain control (e.g., the Gulag).

– Trace Stalin’s rise to power in the Soviet Union and the connection between economic policies, political policies, the absence of a free press, and systematic violations of human rights (e.g., the Terror Famine in Ukraine).

– Analyze the rise, aggression, and human costs of totalitarian regimes (Fascist and Communist) in Germany, Italy, and the Soviet Union, noting especially their common and dissimilar traits.

10.9 Students analyze the international developments in the post–World War II world– Analyze the Chinese Civil War, the rise of Mao Tse-tung, and

the subsequent political and economic upheavals in China (e.g., the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and the Tiananmen Square uprising).

Common Core CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.2 Determine the

central ideas or information of a primary or secondary source; provide an accurate summary of how key events or ideas develop over the course of the text.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.6 Compare the point of view of two or more authors for how they treat the same or similar topics, including which details they include and emphasize in their respective accounts.

CCSS.ELA-Literacy.RH.9-10.9 Compare and contrast treatments of the same topic in several primary and secondary sources.

Compare the outcomes of TWO of the following 20th century revolutions:

Russian Chinese Mexican

Analyzing Russian and Chinese Propaganda

Analyze each propaganda poster with your neighbor

Discuss “Discussion Questions” Record Answers to “Critical Thinking

Questions” in margins of student handout

Analyzing Russian and Chinese Propaganda

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated the Chinese and Russian leadership

to create these propaganda posters? B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?C. How do these posters support what we already know about

Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Discussion Questions Who is at the “center” of each

image? Who are they surrounded by?

Describe these people. (look closely at how they’re dressed… what does this represent?)

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Cult of Personality

E

Discussion Questions Who is at the “center” of each

image? Describe the people who

surround them. Describe the setting of the

images.

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

1Peasants

Discussion Questions Describe the peasants in these

images. What else do you see? Based on the banners & posters in

the background, who/what is responsible for this “abundance”?

What does collectivization mean? Do you think these posters offer accurate depictions of the effects of collectivization?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated the

Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Agricultural Collectivization

Feast on a Collective Farm

Collectivization Leads to Abundance

2

Discussion Questions Describe the background of

each poster. What are the men doing?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have

motivated the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Industry

Smelt Steel, Accelerate Socialist Construction

Are you ready for the future Comrade?

3

Enemies

Stop American Imperialism

We Don’t Need Any of Your Bourgeois Luxuries

Discussion Questions How are Americans portrayed

in each poster? What are the Americans

holding? Describe the background of

each poster. Who is “defending” these

backgrounds?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

4

GenderDiscussion Questions What are these women

doing? How are the women being

“received” in the Chinese poster?

Were these activities typical for women of the time period?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

5

CultureDiscussion Questions What symbols can you

identify in the bottom left corner?

What is the young Chinese man in the image doing to these symbols?

Destroy the Old World; Forge the New

6

CultureDiscussion Questions Who do the men on the

litter represent? Who do the people

carrying the litter represent?

What is the relationship between the two groups?

The Czar, the Church, & the Lash

6

CultureCritical Thinking Questions

A. What might have motivated the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

6

Compare the outcomes of TWO of the following 20th century revolutions:

Russian Chinese Mexican

1PeasantsDiscussion Questions Who is at the “center” of each

image? Describe the people who

surround them. Describe the setting of the

images.

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Agricultural Collectivization

Feast on a Collective Farm

Collectivization Leads to Abundance

2

Discussion Questions Describe the peasants in these

images. What else do you see? Based on the banners & posters in

the background, who/what is responsible for this “abundance”?

What does collectivization mean? Do you think these posters offer accurate depictions of the effects of collectivization?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated the

Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Industry

Smelt Steel, Accelerate Socialist Construction

Are you ready for the future Comrade?

3

Discussion Questions Describe the background of

each poster. What are the men doing?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have

motivated the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

Enemies

Stop American Imperialism

We Don’t Need Any of Your Bourgeois Luxuries

4

Discussion Questions How are Americans portrayed

in each poster? What are the Americans

holding? Describe the background of

each poster. Who is “defending” these

backgrounds?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

GenderDiscussion Questions What are these women

doing? How are the women being

“received” in the Chinese poster?

Were these activities typical for women of the time period?

Critical Thinking QuestionsA. What might have motivated

the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

5

CultureDiscussion Questions Chinese Poster

– What symbols can you identify in the bottom left corner?

– What is the young Chinese man in the image doing to these symbols?

Russian Poster– Who do the men on the litter

represent?– Who do the people carrying the

litter represent?– What is the relationship between

the two groups?

Critical Thinking Questions

A. What might have motivated the Chinese and Russian leadership to create these propaganda posters?

B. What strategies did they employ to achieve these goals?

C. How do these posters support what we already know about Russia and China in the 20th Century?

6Destroy the Old World; Forge the

New

The Czar, the Church, & the Lash