Rutgers University Within the Whirlwind Film Essay

1. Watch the film entitled Within the Whirlwind again.

2. Write a 2-3 page response to the following:

Based upon Within the Whirlwind and any other material you encountered in our study of

the Russian Revolution, identify and discuss 3 or 4 essential differences between the

legal/political realities faced by a criminal defendant charged with a political crime in the

communist Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin and the legal/political realities that would

be faced by a criminal defendant in a Western democracy, like the US or England.

3. This paper fundamentally asks the question: How would the concept of the Rule of Law helped Professor Ginzburg? I am looking for you to identify what was so wrong with the Soviet form of law and government from the perspective of an ordinary citizen – – i.e., what were the basic legal/political freedoms, protections, and/or opportunities they lacked? What principles (or lack of principles) of the Soviet system of law/government in Stalinist Russia allowed this type of injustice to happen to Professor Ginzburg? Why would things have gone differently for Professor Ginsburg in the USA?

4. Do not summarize the film. Get straight to answering the question. In grading this paper, I will be looking for concision

and your ability to stay on point.