Chapter 2 - Rise of Stalin Flashcards
Why did the Russians lose confidence in the Tsar?
1) Russia entered WWI in 1914 on the side of the Allies against Austria-Hungary and Germany.
2) By 1917, Russia was struggling to cope with the effects of a terrible winter and to keep up with the war effort.
3) Many Russians were unhappy because of the heavy losses in the war and poor economic conditions.
4) The peasants and factory workers had to live and work in terrible conditions in growing cities such as Petrograd and Moscow.
5) As a result, most people lost confidence in the government and their ruler, Tsar Nicholas II.
What caused the Tsar to abdicate?
1) In February 1917, the people expressed their unhappiness through strikes and demonstrations which occurred throughout Petrograd.
2) Many Russian workers refused to work and began to protest.
3) Having lost the support of the people, Tsar Nicholas II abdicated on 15 March.
Explain how the Russian Provisional Government was overthrown.
1) The Russian Provisional Government could not control the revolutionary forces sweeping Russia and was overthrown on 25 October 1917.
2) One main reason was that they refused to pull Russia out of WWI. Economic hardships and political problems in Russia continued. The workers and peasants continued their strikes and uprisings.
3) A group called the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Trotsky, refused to recognise the authority of the Provisional Government. They believed that the soviets should gain political power and rights.
4) Stalin, who at the time was one of Lenin’s close political assistants and editor of the communist newspaper Truth, supported the call for revolution.
5) With the immense support of the workers and soldiers in Petrograd, the Bolsheviks stormed the Winter Palace, overthrew the PG and established their own government in its place.
Who were the two groups competing for power in the Russian civil war? Describe the two groups.
1) Bolsheviks and the Red Army: The Red Army was a revolutionary combat group created by the Bolshevik government in January 1918.
2) The ‘Whites’: A mixed group of anti-communists who opposed the Bolshevik government.
Who won the civil war, and why?
The Bolsheviks won the war because they had:
1) Greater unity
2) Greater military skill
3) Enjoyed strong support from the peasants
How did the Bolsheviks rule Russia after their victory in the civil war?
1) The Bolsheviks declared their newly-formed state to be the Soviet Union.
2) The Bolsheviks also renamed themselves as the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.
3) By 1924, Soviet Russia was governed by a centralised, one-party authoritarian government.
4) Under the leadership of Lenin and a committee of leading communists, Russia underwent a process of centralisation and bureaucratisation that continued from the civil war to 1924.
5) At the district and local levels, the local Communist Party also took control of the soviets across Russia.
6) Hence, although the Party was not the government, it controlled the government and made all the important decisions.
What led to the creation of the Politburo, and what was it in charge of?
1) The need for quick and decisive decisions during the Civil War led to the creation of the Politburo in 1919, forming an inner ruling group of around seven people at the top of the Communist Party.
2) It soon took over the Council of People’s Commissars as the key-decision making body.
List the economic reforms under Lenin’s rule.
1) Factories were taken away from owners and placed under the control of communist party
2) All land taken away from the Tsar and the old landlords
3) Money and jewellery of the rich were taken by the state
4) Rich were forced to share their houses with the poor
5) Peasants had to hand over surplus of grains to the state to ensure those in the cities had food
What were the measures taken under Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP) and what were the results of it?
Measures:
1) Peasants could possess their own land
2) Peasants could plant crops for personal use and sell extras for profit
Results:
1) A new group of rich peasants (Kulaks) was formed
2) Some chose to keep their grains to increase profits, meaning that there were shortages that affected those in cities and towns.
What were the reasons for the rise of Stalin?
1) Non-disclosure of Lenin’s Testament
2) Trotsky’s unpopularity in the Politburo
3) Stalin’s manipulations:
- Pretended to have been close to Lenin
- Control over Party organisation
- Exploitation of ideological divisions
Explain how the non-disclosure of Lenin’s Testament helped Stalin rise to power.
1) When Lenin suffered a stroke and went into semi-retirement in 1922, Stalin visited him often and acted as his connection to the rest of the world.
2) However, they often quarrelled, and Lenin became suspicious of Stalin’s character and ambitions.
3) He made his views known in his Testament, where he voiced criticisms on his leading successors, but was especially clear in advising that Stalin be removed from his position as Secretary-General of the Communist Party.
4) When Lenin died in 1924, his Testament was read out at a meeting of the Central Executive Committee, where all of Lenin’s potential successors were present.
5) However, the Party agreed that the Testament was not to be made public as Lenin had criticised all of them.
6) Some Party members felt that Trotsky was a greater threat due to his powerful personality and close connection to the army, and thus decided to ignore Lenin’s warning.
Explain why Trotsky was unpopular in the Politburo.
1) He was seen as the biggest threat by others in the Politburo, as he was regarded as Lenin’s right-hand man, was head of the Red Army and thus had their support. This made him very unpopular amongst the other members of the Politburo, and led to the troika alliance being formed.
2) Trotsky had always been outspoken and had argued with Lenin and the Party on several topics. As a result, there was plenty of material that his enemies could use to attack him. For e.g., he criticised Lenin’s NEP and the increasing control of the Party by the Politburo and Central Executive Committee. These criticisms openly challenged the organisation and policies of the Party and were thus seen as acts of disloyalty to Lenin and to the Party’s decisions.
3) Trotsky’s ‘permanent revolution’ VS Stalin’s ‘socialism in one country’. Stalin made sure he had the support of other Party members on this, and cleverly made it seem like Trotsky was moving away from the Party’s decisions and ideas, affecting his credibility.
4) Around Lenin’s death, Trotsky fell very ill and was often too weak to organise his own supporters. He also chose to remain silent on Lenin’s criticism of Stalin, and was thus unable to deal with party politics as the other Party members began to exclude him from decision making and undermined his position within the Party.
How did Stalin pretending to be close to Lenin lead to his rise in power?
1) HIs fellow Party members, as well as the general public, had the impression that Lenin favoured and trusted Stalin
2) After Lenin died, Stalin organised Lenin’s funeral, making it a grand affair. He ordered Lenin’s body to be embalmed and displayed in a mausoleum in the Red Square in Moscow.
3) Stalin also gave the funeral speech and established himself as the chief mourner, showing himself deeply sorrowful over the loss of Lenin.
4) Stalin arranged for the city of Petrograd to be renamed Leningrad in his honour.
5) Stalin also kept Trotsky from attending Lenin’s funeral by giving him the wrong date.
How did Stalin having control over Party organisation lead to his rise in power?
1) As the Secretary-General, he had the authority to appoint and re-assign Party members. He was thus able to replace the allies of his opponents, especially Trotsky, with his own allies.
2) Trotsky’s support base shrank considerably. With his reputation destroyed, his ideas discredited and his lack of support within the Party, Trotsky was forced to resign as the head of the Red Army in 1925.
3) Stalin had Trotsky expelled from the Party in 1927.
4) After his expulsion, Trotsky continued to oppose Stalin through writings that criticised Stalin’s control over the Party, his policies and his supporters.
5) Stalin thus had Trotsky assassinated in 1940.
How did the exploitation of ideological divisions lead to Stalin’s rise in power?
1) Members of the Communist Party were divided between the moderates and the radicals. The moderates followed Lenin’s leadership and ideology closely, while the radicals formed new ideas and challenged the system.
2) To eliminate his competitors, Stalin took advantage of these ideological divisions within the Party, allying himself with both sides at different times.
Step 1: Expelled Trotsky (sided with moderates)
Step 2: Isolated Kamenev and Zinoviev (convinced moderates that they were plotting with Trotsky to overthrow the government)
Step 3: Attacked Bukharin and Rykov (sided with radicals)
