Chapter 17 Flashcards
What were the 3 main types of opposition under Lenin and Stalin
- Political opposition
- Ideological opposition
- Potential opposition
When Cheka established, and under who
- December 1917
- Felix Dzerzhinsky
When Cheka’s name change
From 1934, known as the NKVD
What allowed Lenin to persecute ideological opposition
- Assasintion attempt in August 1918, provoked a frenzied attack on the burzhui
- September 1918, Sovnarkom gave the Cheka the ability to imprison and destory suspected traitors
Evidence for Lenin’s persecution of political opposition
- In 1922, 5000 Mensheviks were arrested for counter-revolutionary activity
- 500 SR’s were shot in Petrograd alone
When Tsar executed
17th July 1918
Lenin’s persecution of religioius officials (ideological opposition)
8000 priests executed in 1921 for failing to hand over Church possessions
Key evidence to show Lenin’s persecution of ideological opposition
Between 500,000 to 1 million burzhui were shot or sent to labour camps between 1928-21
Example of torture under Cheka
In Karkov, victims hands were put into boiling water, that was continously topped up until skin began to peel off
How did Lenin crush internal political opposition
Ban on factions in 1921 meant everyone had to agree with party policies, on pain of expulsion
How did Lenin crush potential opposition
He did not
What was Stalin’s first use of terror as a show trial
- 53 engineers accused of counter-revolutionary activity in Shakhty show trial, 1928
- Stalin used them as a scapegoat for economic faliures
What was established in 1929 to deal with opponents to the regime
- Prisions were at maximum capacity
- Gulags were established under the NKVD
Why were gulags so effective
Created fear
Example of a gulag
- 100,000 prisoners tasked with digging the White Sea Canal
- 25,000 died, and was a faliure
What personal event made Stalin more concerned with political purges
Wife committed suicide in Novemberr 1932, unhinging Stalin, as he felt he couldn’t trust those closest to him
Explain how Stalin dealt with political opposition
- April 1933 - general party purge announced
- Over two years, 600,000 part members were shot
- 70% of the 17th Party Congress were included
Example of how Stalin refused to not be the undisputed Soviet leader
- Kirov Affair, 1934
- Abolished his title as General Secretary, taking up ‘Secretary of equal rankl’ to spread blame for economic policies
- Kirov murdered in December 1934, fearing he was becoming too popular
How did Stalin remove old Bolsheviks
- In August 1936, a show trial involving Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 other Old Bolsheviks resulted in their executions
- Found guilt of a plot to kill Stalin
Evidence of Stalin’s military purges
- In May/June 1937, eight senior military officials, all heroes of the Civil War, were forced to sign false confessions
- Of the 767 high command, 613 were executed or shot
How did Stalin remove potential opposition
- From 1937, Yezovschina occured
- An arrest list of over 250,000 was drawn up, with all areas of society affected
- Collegues, family and friends of suspects were also purged
How did Stalin purge the NKVD
Yagoda, Head of the NKVD and 23,000 officerfs were put on trial and shot
What was the reason as to why the purges had to slow from 1938
The State was becoming unstable without specialists
Sequence of who Stalin purged
- April 1933 - political opposition
- August 1936 - old Bolsheviks
- May/June 1937 - military
- 1937 - Yezovschina
