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
