Communist government in the USSR: Stalin Flashcards
How did Stalin use his position in the party to secure power?
- General secretary had access to all information and coordinated work all across the party
- Maintained files and constant surveillance on all party members, including his rivals
- Had the head of the secret police report to him regularly
- responsible for the agendas of party meetings which he then bent to his will
- Stalin was responsible for supervising the 1923-25 Lenin enrolment in which the party gained over 500,000 workers, all who would have their needs met and represented by him. In return they remained loyal to the party to ensure promotion and good standing, also dictated by Stalin
- Stalin had the right to promote people to certain positions within the party, so making the majority of party officials loyal to him could ensure support. e.g. Molotov and Kirov
- Many overlooked him as just the administrator so he was able to quietly build his own power
- Represented the new classes of bureaucrats who wanted to keep their positions and comforts
Who were Stalin’s opponents in the Politburo?
Leon Trotsky
- Viewed as the obvious successor, however did little to tactically secure his position or support
Gregory Zinoviev
- Worked closely with Lenin and had a strong power base as Party Secretary in Leningrad. Skilled Orator but vain and impractical
Nikolai Bukharin
- A favourite of Lenin, but young and inexperienced despite his high intelligence
Mikhail Tomsky
- Leading figure in the trade union movement, but his influence declined with them
Alexei Rykov
- Succeeded Lenin as the chair of the Sovnarkom, however his outspokenness and drinking problem lessened his influence
How did Stalin remove his opposition and secure his position of power further? - Left
- Exploited divisions within the party
- Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev had called for permanent revolution to be encouraged and supported by the Soviet union and the breaking away from the NEP
- In the 1926 15 party congress their views were scrutinised and then they were accused of creating factions and expelled from the Politburo and eventually expelled from the party
- In 1928 Zinoviev and Kamenev were readmitted after renouncing their views but Trotsky refused and a year later was exiled from the USSR
How did Stalin remove his opposition and secure his position of power further? - Right
- In 1927-28 after the announcement of the first 5 year plan, the party once again was split on the issue of the removal of the NEP, as it was believed food production would decrease
- Stalin saw this as against his policy of “Socialism in one country”, threatening to hinder economic and industrial progression within the country
- Issued an easily understandable directive called “The foundations of Leninism” which was targeted towards those from the Lenin enrolment to gain support
- Supporters of the right in the Moscow party branch and the trade unions were removed on Stalin’s orders
- When it came to policy votes in times such as April 1929, Stalin could rely on support from loyal members - leading to the removal of all the right’s key members from power
How did Stalin remove Bukharin?
- Undermined Bukharin through bringing up his past grievances with Lenin, and also how he proposed increasing bureaucracy like Trotsky had
- In 1928 Stalin accused Bukharin of trying to form factions after a secret meeting with Kamenev and Zinoviev, after which he was cautious about gaining support
- Stalin undermined Bukharin by pointing out its faliures to prevent food shortages etc
- In April 1929 he was forced to admit errors of political judgement
What were the key instruments of terror?
- The party secretariat which collected all information on party members to which they could be held accountable as enemies
- The secret police (NKVD after 1934) carried out arrests, surveillance and executions. It dominated the police force and ran gulags where many victims of the purges were held
- Gulags, or labour camps, were set up to imprison all opposition to Stalin away from the population and where they could spread dissent
What and when was the Chistka?
1932 - 1935
- Occurred in reaction to rising unhappiness and ignoring of policies implemented by Stalin from the 5 year plan
- By 1935 22% of the party had been removed non-violently
- Displayed the rising opposition to Stalin
Was Stalin’s opposition real or imagined?
- Purges were becoming increasingly violent and directed at a large number in the party
- Key victims were Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov
- Many targeted lower down in the party being called “enemies of the people”
- Reflected Stalin’s paranoid personality, rising criticism to methods however due to the stable circumstances and time
- In 1932 a former party secretary called Ryutin issued a document accusing Stalin of creating a personal dictatorship
- Brutality of forced collectivisation had been criticised heavily, especially by Stalin’s own wife who took her life in 1932
- Unrealistic targets for 5 year plans - party officials
What did Kirov do and what happened to him?
- Pressured to bring to light criticisms at the 17th party congress in 1934 so that the pace of the 5 year plans could be slowed
- Murdered on the 1st of December 1934, the official explanation being that an assassin from an opposition group led by Zinoviev and Kamenev had killed him. This then led to the arrest of both and the sentencing in January 1935 of long imprisonment
- Murder acted as the catalyst for the great purge
What were the show trials and which ones were the biggest?
- Had been used before in 1928 to send a message to the workers and officials that they could be taken in for the obstruction of the plans
- Well publicised by radio recording or film footage so others would be intimidated. Death penalty would occur afterwards and confessions were always produced under torture
- Many were arrested after the death of Kirov etc, so show trials were rigged so that former leading figures in the party were accused of anti-soviet activities
Trial of the 16
- Zinoviev and Kamenev were dragged out of prison in August 1936 and were forced under severe pressure from the NKVD to admit to crimes such as the murder of Kirov and working with Trotsky. Others were mentioned and implicated in this
Trial of the 17
- 1937 Multiple party officials had to admit to sabotage and working for Trotsky, even though their real crime was probably just criticising the 5 year plan
Trial of the 21
- In 1938 Bukharin and Rykov were forced to admit to forming factions and working for Trotsky. Tomsky had committed suicide before he could be brought to trial
How did Stalin use purges to control the people?
- Red army between 1937-38 had every one of its navy removed, 3 out of 5 marshals, 35,000 officers and 14 out of 16 commanders. This was due to the criticism involving collectivisation and the growing import and investment into defence
- NKVD grew to a large size in the period due to the work created by the purges, so Stalin purged those who lacked absolute loyalty to him. Yezhov purged over 3000 of his own men in the first six months as head of the secret police
- Trotsky was executed in 1940 with an ice pick in Mexico
- Many local officials were purged however the numbers began to get out of hand when people were simply targeted for tensions or personal conflicts
How did government change under Stalin?
- All members of the 1924 Politburo were removed by 1930, many going on to be purged
- As Stalin had total control and centralisation around him the Politburo went from meeting weekly to 9 times a year, the same with many other institutions
- Power became focused on subgroups outside the Politburo so Stalin could inflict greater control
- No one opposed Stalin out of fear and executions, even in meetings
How did government change under Stalin?
- All members of the 1924 Politburo were removed by 1930, many going on to be purged
- As Stalin had total control and centralisation around him the Politburo went from meeting weekly to 9 times a year, the same with many other institutions
- Power became focused on subgroups outside the Politburo so Stalin could inflict greater control
- No one opposed Stalin out of fear and executions, even in meetings
What was the Soviet constitution of 1936 like?
- Everyone had the vote, despite having only the communist party to vote for due to the idea advocated by the party about how different political parties/beliefs were products of a contrast in class (which didn’t exist in the USSR
- Guaranteed employment while countries dealt with the great depression
- Listed restrictions on the rights of citizens which could not be altered
- Only communist party members could stand in elections
- Aimed to make foreign powers believe in the fairness and democracy of Russia, however those who observed such things as collectivisation were under no illusion
What were the limits on Stalin’s power?
Personal limits
- Only one man and could not control every issue, had to delegate and focus on certain things
Leadership limits
Despite being all loyal to Stalin and his ideas, there remains some evidence of opposition to him within the Politburo:
- Politburo refused to accept the execution of Ryutin in 1932, instead sending him to a labour camp
- Opposed his targets for the second 5 year plan so then he had to change them
- Kirov, who gained more votes than Stalin and was liked by a lot more people, represented the growing opposition to him
- Head of Gosplan raised concerns of the over use of brutality, while others objected to the use of terror during meetings
- Showed dissatisfaction with Stalin did exist and that it was raised in meetings occasionally
Limits from below
- Party can be seen to be very enthusiastic about many policies, Stalin therefore just fulfilling their wishes about issues such as industrialisation and greater security of socialism
- Stalin found it difficult to exercise control at a local level, his officials taking part in overzealous purges for their own agendas
