Features and Conditions of Dictatorships

Question 1

Conditions - Russia

Answer 1

• Economic, social, political instability due to Tsar Nicholas’ reign
• Battles of Masurian and Tannenberg significantly reduced Russian military
• Peasants are 80% of the population and there is a growing working class
• Communist revolution was exploited by Bolsheviks, establishing a socialist party
  -Political failure of the parliamentary system (Tsar + Provisional Gov.)
• Creation of the Soviet Union → power struggle after Lenin’s death
  Trotsky wanted permanent world revolution → wanted proletariat to rise up
• Stalin wanted socialism in one country → wanted to secure communism within Russia

Question 2

Features - Russia

Answer 2

• Stalin used his secret police the NKVD, to prevent any opposition against his rule and to imprison anyone who spoke out against him
• During his reign, many political opponents were banished to Gulags in Siberia. In 1936, Stalin began the Great Purge to eliminate all political rivals in the communist party.
  Policy of collectivisation meant peasants were to pull their land into government arms
• Any resistance to their regime led to brutal government force
• A cult of personality was created around Stalin, and his image dominated everyday life in the Soviet Union. All major factories and buildings displayed pictures of Stalin - associating him with every positive facet of Soviet life.

Question 3

Conditions - Italy

Answer 3

• WW1 and its aftermath led the groundwork for their rise to power
  Italy had entered World War 1 on the side of the Allies with the promise of gaining extra territory once the central powers had been defeated
• After the treaty of Versailles, Italy received less territory than what they had hoped for. Many Italian lives lost, essentially for nothing
• Growing resentment amongst the people against Italy’s ineffective post-war government; Luigi Facta
  Nation was in debt, unemployment high, poverty rising, government corruption rife
• Threat of communism - economic and political distress
• Mussolini was able to gain the support of left wing interventionists, radical nationalists, and WW1 veterans who were all strong proponents of Italian nationalism and opponents of communism
• In 1921, Mussolini founded the National Fascist Party, and used this movement as a way to transform the old multiparty political system into a fascist monopoly.

Question 4

Features - Italy

Answer 4

• When Mussolini took over in 1922 his vision was to recapture the glory of the ancient Roman empire, believing it could be achieved through war. Italian foreign policy was therefore geared towards military preparedness and national glory.
• Mussolini was fervent about imperialism, creating a large Italian empire. Italy already had three colonies in North Africa, and although the League of Nations attempted to impose sanctions against Italy this proved ineffectual - seen through invasion on Ethiopia in the 1930s
• Mussolini promised to solve the nation’s deep economic and political problems, as well as securing land that Italy was promised in the Treaty of London.
• His corporate state was concerned with improving working and living conditions, as well as the economy and relations with the Catholic Church
• Fascist revolutionary party created in 1919
• Party attracted the working class and war veterans, particularly those who were violently anti-communist
  Wanted to rid Italy of the liberal west; believed it to be weak
• Rule was reminiscent of those qualities associated with the traditional political values that characterised the nation before unification in 1871
• Renamed to ‘National Fascist Party’, gained seats in parliament
  Blackshirts engaged in violent street clashes with communists, socialists, and anarchists
• 1922 March on Rome, the National Fascist Party demanded the resignation of the Italian Prime Minister. Fearing civil war, the king handed Mussolini the reigns of power.
• 1925 Mussolini claimed himself dictator of Italy “Il Duce”, which he held for 20 years. Anyone who opposed fascism was exiled and a single party regime prevailed.
  He neutralised the judiciary, censored the press, employed propaganda and the secret police

Question 5

Conditions - Japan

Answer 5

• After the war, Japan was looked on as a major military industrial superpower
• However there was a growing resentment towards Western nations; Japan’s request for there to be a racial equality clause within the Treaty of Versailles had been refused
  Shift in political structure, used to be a group of unelected statesmen to a more democratic parliamentary system which included communist and socialist party
• Taisho Democracy - Emperor still held ultimate authority
  In the cities, younger generations were rejecting the traditional way of life for a more western life
• As the economy started to slow during the 1920s,as silk and rice prices dropped, peasants were advocating for a more socialist government.
• When the Great Depression hit, exports collapsed and unemployment increased dramatically
• In 1923, the Great Kanto Earthquake destroyed much of Tokyo and devastated Japan’s economic capacity, which brought about a dark period which was aggravated by the global depression in 1929.
• Anger within the imperial army and navy due to agreements made about limiting Japanese expansion
• The army decided, independent of the government and emperor Hirihto, to take advantage of China’s ongoing civil war and invade Manchuria in 1931
• Whilst Japan recovered from the Great Depression in the late 1930s, Japanese nationalists promoted the concepts of a Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere in which Japan, as the superior Asian race, was entitled to expand its empire by colonising Asian nations.

Question 6

Features - Japan

Answer 6

• General Tojo, who supported the build of the military, quickly rose through army ranks and played a major role instigating hostilities with China
• Nationalistic fervour grew as the government moved towards authoritarian rule to maintain order
  Nationalist organisations started killing business owners and politicians who didn’t support militarism
• In its effort to invade China, Japan invaded other Asian nations. Philippines, Malaya, French IndoChina, and Indonesia to obtain oil and iron ore for war effort
  Nationalist propaganda claimed that the Japanese were destined to rule over the inferior races of Asia
• The outbreak of WW2 in 1939 saw Japan move towards an alliance with Germany and Italy
• By 1941, General Tojo had become Prime Minister and Army Minister
  Regime characterised by brutality and relentless aggression