GCSE MOCK- Stalin's leadership & success Flashcards
How did Stalin become the leader of Russia
Stalin associated himself with lenin wherever possible
Lenin died
Lenin left a testament stating Trotsky should be a leader not Stalin - Stalin insured Lenin’s Testament was not made public
Stalin told Trotsky wrong date for Lenin’s funeral
Stalin appeared as chief mourner and Lennon’s closest follower at the funeral
Russians lost faith in Trotsky for not attending the funeral
Stalin sided with Zinoviev and Kamenev to push out Trotsky then Bukharin to push out Zinoviev and Kamenev
How did Stalin ensure that he was in a position where no one could possibly challenge him
-like lenin he used terror and force; ‘the purges’ and ‘the Great terror’
When did the Purges beign and how did they begin
- 1934
- when Kirov, leader of Leningrad Communist Party was murdered
- Stalin used the purges to ‘clear’ out his opponents in the party
What occured in the Show trials in 1936
loyal Bolsheviks: Kamenev and Zinoviev confessed to being traitors of state
he used threats against their family to ensure they complied
How many Communist party members were arrested and where were they sent as a result of the purges
-what were they accused of
500,000 communist party members were arrested and sent to gulags
-accused of anti-Soviet activities
Why did Stalin organise the Terror?
- desire for political power
- paranoia about non-existent threats
- ensuring only loyal citizens remained should there be a war
How did the Communist party ensure they had total control of the government and the country
- 1936- Stalin Constituation guranteed human rights and freedom
- Stalin used politburo to force his policies upon country
- only one legal political party- Communist party- no alternative choice for the Soviet people
- secret police (NKVD helped Stalin to monitor and control population preventing any opposition
- strong armed forces with latest equipment helped Stalin intimidate and control population
What occurred in 1940
-NKVD agent went all the way to Mexico to murder Trotsky in 1940
Why did Stalin create the ‘Show trials’
-what were the show trials
- to make the process of him torturing and murdering people look legal.
- show trials forced confessions of treachery and were reported by the press
-who took the lead in organising the terror and what occurred in the Great terror
- NKVD
- between 1936 and 1938- arrest, exiles, executions spread to people outside the Communist Party
-Who was affected as a result of the Great terror
- 25,000 army officers were removed from their positions
- university lecturers, teachers, miners etc all disappeared
-
Why was the Great terror frightening
- unpredictable
- people were rarely told of the reason for their arrest
- charges were almost never true but due to the physical torture people confessed to anything they were accused of
How many people had been transported to labour camps by 1937
-how many people had died by 1937
- 18 million
- 10 million deaths
What were prisoners forced to do in labour camps and what effect did this have on the Russian economy
- forced to complete harsh labour
- helped the economy by mining gold, building the Belomor Canal, roads and railways for no pay
What were the disadvantages of Stalin’s Great terror
- severely weakened the army- lack of experienced and talented army officers threatened the USSR when Germany invaded in 1941
- whole country was weakened- many talented individuals were removed from society
