Portrait of a Dictator- Jan 2019

The Portrait of a Dictator

Apprentice

Study and Learn

1- Read Story of the World vol 4 pages 147-149, 223-226, 251-254, and 260-266.

2- Read History of US vol 9  pages 34-36, 111-115, and 134-138.

3.  Read the ebook  The Russian Revolution: History in an Hour

       OR

      If you would rather watch a documentary, here is one by PBS interviewing people who were                actually there.   People's Century 1917 Red Flag. (53 minutes) 

4. Read the ebook Stalin: History in an Hour by Rupert Colley
    
    OR

    Watch the documentary Stalin: Inside the Terror (While not graphic, this film does contain dramatized execution scenes)

5.  Copy these terms and definitions onto your notecards and refer to them as you read. (These may or may not come in handy in class also, just sayin').

6. (Optional but strongly reccommended)
        
              • Watch Dr. Zhivago* (1965 version)

              • And/or watch Nicholas and Alexandra (1971 version)

*While not graphic, this movie does contain infidelity. However, it is a poignant view into the life of people before, during, and after the revolution. Here is the plot summary: "A Russian epic, the movie traces the life of surgeon-poet Yury Zhivago before and during the Russian Revolution. Married to an upper-class girl who is devoted to him, yet in love with an unfortunate woman who becomes his muse, Zhivago is torn between fidelity and passion. Sympathetic with the revolution but shaken by the wars and purges, he struggles to retain his individualism as a humanist amid the spirit of collectivism." 
  

Know/Understand

Choose 1 one of the following inspirements:

• Pretend you are an active member of the Bolshevik Party. Place yourself in one of the events that occurred during the revolution, like the storming of the Winter Palace, and write about your involvement, your feelings, and your goals.

• Choose some Russian Revolution propaganda posters (translated), print them out and mount them on a poster board. Write a short analysis of each one, describing the emotions that the posters are trying to stir in the people and the message they are trying to get across.

• Compare the Russian Revolution to the American Revolution. How are they similar and how are they different?

• What was life like in Russia? Create a poster with a map of Russia. Label the major cities mentioned in the reading. Also draw in the geographical features like seas, mountains, and deserts. Write down the seasonal temperatures, population, languages spoken, describe the culture, as it was in the early 1900s.

• Make a timeline of events that led up to and comprised the Russian Revolution.  

• Make a presentation on the major people involved in the revolution, including Lenin, Tsar Nicholas, Trotsky, and Stalin, and tell us briefly about them and their roles).

• Pretend you are Tsar Nicholas II. Looking back, would you have done anything differently in order to prevent revolution?

• Read Alma 46-50 and do a character study comparing and contrasting Amalickiah and Captain Moroni. Who do you think was the better leader? Why? Do you see any similarities between Stalin and Amalickiah?

• Other Dictators: Read a short life sketch of Benito Mussolini (Fascist Italian dictator that controlled Italy from 1925-1943),  Fransisco Franco (Fascist dictator that controlled Spain from 1939-1975) or Chairman Mao  (Chinese Communist Revoltionary from 1949-1976). Prepare a short presentation for the class discussing similarities and differences between him and Stalin.

• In the Topical Guide in your Bibles, look up Pride. Pray for the Spirit to enlighten your understanding as you read some scriptures listed there and see if you can find the definition of pride, why it is so dangerous, and how we can recognize it in ourselves and others. What effects could pride have in the hands of someone with a lot of power? What is the opposite of pride? Please come prepared to discuss your thoughts and inspirations with the class.


Become/Serve

• Absolute monarchies are those in which all power is given to or, as is more often the case, taken by, the monarch. Examples of absolute power corrupting are Roman emperors (who declared themselves gods) and Napoleon Bonaparte (who declared himself an emperor). Think about this statement by Lord Acton:

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men."

Write a page or two about whether or not you agree with this statement. Is it possible to be a great leader without corruption? Can you think of some examples? As a leader what can you do to safeguard yourself from the influences of corruption? Send this to me and your writing mentor.

MASTERS

Read/Study

1. Read Animal Farm by George Orwell


Background: Animal Farm is an allegorical and dystopian novel by George Orwell, published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to the Russian Revolution of 1917 and then on into the Stalin era in the Soviet Union. Orwell, a democratic socialist, was a critic of Joseph Stalin and hostile to Moscow-directed Stalinism, an attitude that was critically shaped by his experiences during the Spanish Civil War. The Soviet Union, he believed, had become a brutal dictatorship, built upon a cult of personality and enforced by a reign of terror.

2. This book is a satire about the Russian Revolution. Orwell said that almost every detail in the story was inspired by actual events and people. Make a list of the characters in the book and what real-life people they represent, as well as a list of the major events in the story and their corresponding real-life events. (If you need help, you can look it up online).

3. Write 2-3 discussion questions about the book to bring up in our class discussion.


Know/Understand
Complete one of the following:

• In 1946, Orwell wrote of Animal Farm: "Of course I intended it primarily as a satire on the Russian revolution..[and] that kind of revolution (violent conspiratorial revolution, led by unconsciously power hungry people) can only lead to a change of masters [-] revolutions only effect a radical improvement when the masses are alert." In one-two pages, discuss the book and how it relates to this quote. Do you agree? Compare and contrast the differences between the Russian Revolution and the American Revolution. What were the outcomes of each and why do you think they were different? Send this to me and your writing mentor.

• What do you think about the ending of the book? Write 1-2 pages on what point you think Orwell was trying to get across when the animals, looking into the kitchen window, could not tell the difference between the pigs and the people? Send this to me and your writing mentor.

• Make a poster of the cast of characters. Next to each animal, write what historical person/people they represent, and why you think Orwell chose that particular animal to represent that person. Also analyze the significance of the names of the animals. Bring this to class.