20. Political authority, 1945-53

Question 1

What happened to war hero Zhukov after WW2?

Answer 1

He was demoted to Odessa and removed from the Central Committee.

Question 2

How many meetings of the Central Committee were there between 1939 and 1952?

Answer 2

6

Question 3

What was the Zhdanovshchina?

Answer 3

Cultural purge initiated by Zhdanov from 1946. Pro-Russian, anti-Western.

Those whose works were deemed to be anti-Soviet were suppressed. Only a few ‘approved’ Western books were permitted.

Condemned artists would have to publicly recant their ‘errors’.

Question 4

Why was “The Adventures of a Monkey” by Mikhail Zoshchenko condemned?

Answer 4

The monkey was seen as anti-Soviet.

Question 5

In what ways was the Zhdanovshchina anti-Semitic?

Answer 5

• Many Jewish literary critics disappeared.
• The last Jewish newspaper was closed down.
• Nazi atrocities were portrayed without mentioning Jews.

Question 6

When were marriages to foreigners banned?

Answer 6

1947

Question 7

How many war survivors were sent to ‘filtration camps’?

Answer 7

12 million

Question 8

What was the NKVD split into after WW2?

Answer 8

MVD (domestic/gulags) and MGB (espionage)

Question 9

What was the Leningrad affair?

Answer 9

Stalin purged several leaders of the local Leningrad party, which had always acted somewhat independently (and had also been a support base for Kamenev and Kirov).

Question 10

When was the Georgian purge?

Answer 10

1951-52

Question 11

What was the doctors’ plot of 1952?

Answer 11

• 9 doctors were accused of failing to treat Zhdanov in 1948.
• In 1952, Stalin reopened the file and arrested them, accusing them of a Zionist conspiracy.
• Hundreds of doctors forced into false confessions. Thousands of ordinary Jews deported to labour camps.

Question 12

What was the Presidium?

Answer 12

A larger body which replaced the Politburo. All members nominated by Stalin. This diluted other people’s power and was seen as part of preparations for another purge.