Communist control and terror Flashcards
What political opposition did the Bolsheviks face initially?
Political groups- Menshevik and SR opposition destroyed themselves as they walked out leaving Bolsh’s in power
Sovnarkom banned opposition of press and Kadet, Menshevik + SR leaders
Other opposition Bolshevik’s faced
Opponents throughout empire inc. peasants
Ideological oppositions inc. bourgeoisie + upper class
Establishment of the Cheka
Dec ‘17, controlled units of Red Guard and military, most provinces had own Cheka branch w/ officials reporting directly to Lenin + politburo
Lenin and class warfare
Intended to intimidate + get revenge on middle + upper classes
Bourgeois property confiscated, social privilege ended and discriminatory taxes levied on burzhui (enemies of the people)
Ideological opponents arrested, exiled or killed
What event encouraged Red Terror to take off
August ‘18, attempt on Lenin’s life gave excuse for attack on bourgeois, Cheka pinned this label on thousands
Confessions and names of accomplices obtained by torture, beginning ‘Terror’
1/2 mil executed between ‘18 + ‘21
Cheka September 1918
Sovnarkom gave them authority to find, question, arrest + destroy families of suspected traitors
All remaining SRs and Menshs branded traitors and 500 shot in Petrograd
Red Terror and Tsar
Cheka often took matters into own hands
Killed Tsar and family 17th July ‘18
8000 priests executed ‘21
Methods of torture under Lenin
Some execute immediately, others tortured and/or sent to labour camps where many died resulting from physically demanding work and lack of food
Put victims hands in boiling water until blisters so bad that skin peeled off
Cage of rats put over victims body, heated meaning rats ate through body to escape
Lenin’s ban on factions
Serious disagreements about political and economic policy, demanding workers have more control over own affairs
Believed this weakened the party so banned factions in ‘21 meaning all party members had to agree w/ decisions of central committee, anyone who opposed threatened w/ expulsion
Stalin and use of Terror
Extended use of Terror and class warfare as done so by Lenin, enforced collectivisation, destruction of kulaks and maintained harsh FYP He sent 'bourgeois managers', specialists and engineers who he accused of machine breaking and sabotage to labour camps
Shakhty show trail
‘28, 53 engineers at Shakhty mine accused of counter-revolutionary activity after there was decline in production there, given ‘show trail’ + forced to confess, 5 executed and rest sent to prison
Stalin wanted a scapegoat for his own economic failures
Other show trails
Industrial Party show trial accused of sabotage
Metro-Vickers trial accused of wrecking activities
Issue with Soviet prisons
Due to no. of kulaks, opponents etc., prisons couldn’t cope so Yagoda commissioned ‘29 to see how prison population could be put to better use
What did Yagoda suggest?
Adding on Lenin’s corrective-labour camps, building new ones w/ 50,000 prisoners each in remote Siberia where minerals gold, diamond etc. were to be found (gulags)
How were gulags to help economically?
By offering minimum funding and imposing economies of scale, believed the gulags could contribute to economic growth whilst simultaneously offering ‘correction’ for prisoners
The White Sea Canal
Major gulag project, construction of White Sea Canal which was dug w/ axes, saws and hammers in freezing cold
100,000 prisoners employed but 25,000 died in ‘31-‘32 winter
Ended up being useless as only 12ft deep
Stalin’s wife’s suicide
Nov ‘32. left note criticising Stalin’s policies + showed sympathy to his enemies
This ‘unhinged’ Stalin, he felt he could no longer trust anyone + over next year he excluded 1 million members from his party
Kirov assassination
‘34 Kirov, popular figure + potential rival to Stalin was killed, Stalin used this as pretext to arrest for arrest of members of Trotskyite + Zinoviev-Kamanev factions
Those purged replaced w/ loyal stalinists
Stalin’s political assassinations
‘36, Zinoviev + Kamanev and 14 other Bolsh’s shot after ‘show trial’ where they confessed to killing Kirov
‘37 Bolsh leaders + most of military and naval high command were shot
‘40 Trotsky tracked down and assassinated in Mexico
Terror on ordinary citizens (purges)
‘38 onwards, terror directed at normal citizens, ppl encouraged to inform on ‘hidden enemies’, quotas of victims to be arrested in every region drawn up and hundreds of thousands executed or died in prison
1/18 arrested during purges
Stalin and national minorities
Campaign to deport national minorities from regions near Soviet Union’s western borders over fears they might join invading armies
100,000 poles shot during this campaign
Halt to purges
Stalin called halt ‘38 over fear of war but purges left people frightened
Stalin achieved aim of eliminating all rivals, replacing them w/ stalinists and attaining absolute control over the party and the people
