Communist gov (Lenin to Stalin) Flashcards
What was the October revolution?
- Armed seizure of power carried out by the Bols on 25th Oct 1917
- Began at dawn on 24th Oct when the Red Guard took control of the key strategic points in Petrograd before storming the white palace
- Led to the removal of pro gov and establishment of com regime
What was the Russian Civil war?
- Lasted November 1917 to Oct 1922
- Conflict took place between the Bol Red Army and collection of opposition
- started as result of Bols failure to successfully consolidate their power post Oct rev
- Huge conflict thought right across Russia involving 23 separate armies resulting in deaths more Rus than WW1
- Bols won
(Continuation of Lenin to Stalin)
Overall structure of gov?
- Soviet citizens had the right to elect Local Soviets, who sent representatives to the All-Russia Congress of Soviets, from which individuals were selected to make up the Sovnarkom.
- Parallel structure, citizens able to join local branch of the Communist Party, who sent members to the Party Congress, from which individuals were selected to join Central Committee + above this, the Politburo. As opposition parties were banned, this essentially gave the Politburo total control over the entire political system.
- system originally created by Lenin + enshrined in the Soviet Constitution of 1918 + was reinforced by Stalin in the Soviet Constitution of 1936.
(Continuation of Lenin to Stalin)
The continued use of terror
- Lenin formed a secret police force, known as the Cheka, under the leadership of Felix Dzerzhinsky. Between 1917 and 1923, the Cheka executed 200,000 people in a period known as the Red Terror.
- Similarly, during a period known as the Great Terror, between 1935 and 1938, Stalin ordered the deaths of 10 million people, about 10% of the adult male population.
- He also purged the Red Army of many of those that had worked under the command of Trotsky. Eight senior generals were executed after a secret trial in 1937 and 37,000 other officers were purged immediately afterwards.
(Continuation of Lenin to Stalin)
The pretence of democracy
Lenin introduced the Russian Constitution of 1918, which included a guarantee that the government would be made up of Soviet members. He also permitted elections to the Constituent Assembly in January 1918.
- Equally, Stalin passed a new Soviet Constitution in 1936 that theoretically gave every citizen the right to vote for local Soviets from which the national government was drawn.
- It also granted extensive civil liberties, with Article 118 making employment a universal right, Article 120 granting pensions to all citizens and Article 125 guaranteeing freedom of speech.
(Difference of Lenin to Stalin)
The decreased role of the Politburo
Lenin filled the Politburo with intelligent and articulate individuals, like Trotsky and Bukharin, who all had impressive revolutionary records and strong political powerbases.
- He also held meetings on a weekly basis and permitted members to engage in genuine debate, such as over the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918.
• Conversely, by 1939, Stalin had removed many of his rivals from the Politburo, including Bukharin, Zinoviev and Trotsky. He replaced these men with his allies, such as Molotov, Voroshilov and Kaganovich.
- Stalin also decreased the frequency with which the Politburo met, only permitting nine meetings per year in 1930s.
However, Stalin needed the approval of the Politburo on some key decisions e.g. they refused to let him execute Ryutin in 1932, instead sent to Gulag for 10 yrs
(Difference of Lenin to Stalin)
The increased power of the overall leader
Lenin allowed other individuals to hold key government positions, with Trotsky being given command of the Red Army and Stalin holding the position of General Secretary for the last two years of Lenin’s tenure.
- In contrast, Stalin occupied virtually all of the key positions within his own government. He was General Secretary from 1922, giving him control over the workings of every other department, access to 26,000 files of personal information on Party members, command of the secret police and the authority to appoint and dismiss people from their jobs.
- He also in charge of the Rabkrin and made himself Chair of the Sovnarkom in 1941.
(Stalin made totalitarian state)
The widespread use of terror as a means of control?
- Stalin purged the Red Army of many of those that had worked under the command of Trotsky. Eight senior generals were executed after a secret trial in 1937 and 37,000 other officers were removed immediately afterwards.
- Furthermore, he organised ‘show trials’, like the Trial of 16 in August 1936 like Kamenev, the trial of the 17 in 1937 and the Trial of the 21 in 1938. ‘Enemies against the people’
- He also used the secret police force to order the deaths of 10 million people in a period known as the Great Terror.
- The Chistka, 1932-35 > removed opponents to five yr plans + collectivisation from posts. 1932 about 22% party removed, showing opponents mounting.
(Stalin made totalitarian state)
Stalin’s domination of culture
Stalin prompted the decline of avant-garde art and, from 1932, encouraged the development of Socialist Realism.
- Literature in the style of Socialist Realism had simple, sequential plots with relatable characters, such as Fyodor Gladkov’s 1924 novel ‘Cement’.
- Art was also usedas a way to promote the success of Stalin’s policies, like in Gustav Klutsin’s painting ‘In the Storm of the Third Year of the Five Year Plan’, which gave a heroic depiction of miners at work.
- Collectivisation was similarly celebrated in Samuil Adivankin’s painting ‘Voting to Expel the Kulak from the Collective Farm’.
(Stalin made totalitarian state)
Stalin’s complete personal power over government
Stalin was General Secretary of the Communist Party, ran the Central Control Commission, was in charge of the Rabkrin and was Chair of the Sovnarkom from 1941.
- He also dominated the Politburo by removing many of his rivals from it, including Kamenev and Trotsky, and replacing them with his allies, like Molotov and Kaganovich.
- He also decreased the frequency with which it met. In the 1920s, the Politburo had met weekly, but in the 1930s they met only nine times per year.
(A limitation to Stalin’s power)
The partial failure of Stalin’s economic policies
Food production fell dramatically as a result of Collectivisation, with the harvest of 1933 being 9,000,000 tonnes less than that of 1926. The number of horses also halved between 1928 and 1932, whilst the number of pigs decreased by 65% during the same period.
- Similarly, almost none of the targets set during the First Five Year Plan were actually met, whilst production levels in some areas far outstripped demand, meaning up to 40% of the goods produced in certain industries were left to decay in storage.
- Moreover, there were continual shortages of vital consumer goods, with queues of up to 1,000 people waiting for shoes in Moscow.
(Stalin did not make totalitarian state)
The Soviet Constitution of 1936
Article 118 made employment a universal right, Article 120 granted pensions to all citizens, Article 121 promised universal access to education, Article 122 guaranteed gender equality, Article 124 granted freedom of worship and Article 125 guaranteed freedom of speech.
- It is also gave adults the right to participate in elections for all government bodies, including groups despised by the Communists, such as the middle class and religious leaders.
(Stalins power was a continuum 1928-1953)
Stalin held all of the key positions in government
From 1922, Stalin held the position of General Secretary. This role gave Stalin control over the workings of every other department, access to 26,000 files of personal information on Party members, command of the secret police and the authority to appoint and dismiss people from their jobs.
- He was also in charge of the Rabkrin, which gave him the power to investigate and expel members of the Party and the government that were suspected of being disloyal.
- Finally, he made himself Chair of the Sovnarkom in 1941.
(Stalins power did not change 1928-1953)
Stalin’s continual use of terror
Stalin purged the Red Army of many of those that had worked under Trotsky. Eight senior generals were executed after a secret trial in 1937 and 37,000 other officers were removed immediately afterwards.
- Stalin organised ‘show trials’, like the Trial of the 17 in 1937 and the Trial of the 21 in 1938.
- He also used the secret police force to order the deaths of 10 million people in a period known as the Great Terror, which represented around 10% of the adult male population.
(Stalins power was a continuum 1928-1953)
The limited power of the Politburo
Stalin removed many of his rivals from the Politburo, including Bukharin, Zinoviev and Trotsky.
- He replaced these men with his friends and allies, such as Molotov, Voroshilov and Kaganovich.
- Stalin also decreased the frequency with which the Politburo met, only permitting nine meetings per year in 1930s, in contrast to the weekly meetings that had taken place under Lenin.
- When they did convene, Stalin controlled the agenda and was prone to standing behind other members as they spoke in order to intimidate them. Members thought saying something disagreeable was execution e.g. Rychagov, Head of Soviet Air Force
