A level exam: Chapter 20-Political authority 1945-53 Flashcards
What was political high stalinism?
Stalin’s approach to post-war government was ‘back to the future’. Wartime institutions were dismantled and the GKO was dissolved. Zhdanov returned to the Party secretariat in Moscow and challenged the policy of Malenkov, Stalins closest wartime aid. Malenkov subsequently lost his position and Zhdanov became Stalin’s closest advisor. Further disagreements occured over foreign policy and Malenkov was reappointed, ensuring Stalin remained dominant. The party did not meet between 1939 and 1952 and the politburo was reduced to an advisory body which awaited instructions from Stalin. Recruitment to the party fell and ‘new men’ were dominating politics as they accepted the party as a way of life and waited to receive orders. This all gave Stalin more power.
What was cultural high Stalinism?
Zhdanov created the Zhadanovschina movement which stressed conformity to socialist ideas and the cult of Stalin. Everything western was condemned as bourgeouise. Zhadanovschina began with the purges of 2 literary journals published in Leningrad as they were accused of being anti-Soviet. Socialist realism again became the norm and many artists were condemned as a result. Anti-semitism was common and western influence was completely blocked.
What happened to terror?
There was a revival of terror as Stalin demanded isolation from the non-Soviet world. Vigilance was needed to ensure loyalty and a careless word or brief contact with a foreigner could land you in a gulag. In 1947 a law was passed outlawing hotels and marriages to foreigners and restaurants were watched by the police to prevent soviet girls meeting foreign men. The NKVD was strengthened and reorganised into the MVD who controlled domestic security and the gulags, and the MGB which controlled counter intelligence and espionage.
How was opposition dealt with?
Stalin dealt with those who had fallen from favour by removing them from pictures and books.
What was the Leningrad case?
In 1949, Stalin took a stand against the Leningrad party as they had shown independence in views and actions and on the basis of false evidence, several leading officials were arrested
