18: political, economic and social condition USSR by 1941 Flashcards
How can Stalin’s state be described by 1941
Highly centralised and authoritarian
How can some of the foundations of Stalin’s state by 1941 be seen in the Leninist years
- Lenin always favoured single party rule
- fought against coalition gov 1917 and forced closure of constituent assembly
What did Marxist doctrine speak of the state doing
Withering away
How did Stalin go further than Lenin in upholding the state
Extended one oarty domination and redefined centralisation
Examples of democratic structures that Stalin’s 1936 constitution included
Universal suffrage
What was made clear that reinforced Stalin’s intent to preserve the one party state
It was made clear that the communist oarty and its institutions were the only bodies that could put candidates up for election
What did the structure of government still provide for
Parallel appointments in both government and party hierarchy
What was the nomenklatura system of propellers used to do
Reward loyal officials
What effect did the nomenklatura system of price levels have
Concentrated decision making into a much smaller number of hands
Where was the ultimate source of all authority concentrated in the hands of
Stalin
What policy meant that all power emanated from Stalin himself
Centralisation
What did Stalin add to his own mystique by doing
Restricting those who he had direct access with
What has it been suggested that the Soviet Union changed from
A one party state with a powerful leader to a personal dictatorship
Who did Stalin attack within the communist oarty
Those who he saw as potential enemies and rivals
What evidence is there that Stalin could not exert perfect control
Rural hostility and the welcome which some soviet citizens gave to the invading Germans in 1941
What had Stalin’s 5 year plans transformed Russia into by 1941
Highly industrialised and urbanised nation
What percentage of population lived in towns in 1926
17%
What percentage of people lived in towns 1939
33%
What had the USSR overtaken Britain in by 1940
Iron and steel production
How did Stalin help lay the foundation for the ultimate soviet victory in the Second World War
By developing heavy industry, transport and power resources
Production of what was vastly stepped up in third five year plan
Coal and oil production
What did spending on rearmament rise from between 1938-1941
27.5 billion roubles to 70.9 billion roubles
How was economic development uneven
Massive growth in heavy industry but consumer production had been so neglected that consumer goods were scarcer in 1941 than they had been under NEP
What did drive for quantity not quality lead to
Bad quality of goods
What was the 1941 nation still producing less grain than
Under the NEP
What techniques were there insufficient attention paid to
Modern farming techniques and limited use of agricultural machiner
Why was agricultural equipment sometimes neglected
There was insufficient trained individuals to service and repair it
Why had communist control in the countryside grown stronger
Socialist communal values had been put in place
What had increased urbanisation and expansion of town populations helped create
A far stronger working class proletariat
What was claimed through education, propaganda arts etc
That the fulfilment of socialist values was well underway
What does Robert Servixe suggest after interviewing soviet citizens
Support for welfare pokcicies at time there was also a feeling of resignation to life’s hardships
What was the society that emerged in the 1930s different from
The socialist ideals of the October revolution
What was there instead of a classless society
A hierarchical society dominated by the privelleged elite organised around party and nomenklatura
What were the urban and rural working classes ruthlessly driven by
Their soviet masters
