Govt under Stalin Flashcards
What two instruments of terror had Stalin used
- Party secretariat, which collected information on party members that could be used to condemn them as enemies of the people
- Secret police - carried out surveillance, arrests and executions and also ran the Gulag
What were 2 causes of Great Terror
Opposition : Kirov being able to force changes in policy e.g. realistic targets in 2nd 5 year plans
Economic problems: failures of plans so he could use scapegoats to avoid blame
What were show trials
Where they removed Stalin’s rivals public trials. Can be used as propaganda and warning
e.g Trotsky former supportes
1936,37,38
Consequences of the Great Terror
- Eliminated Stalin’s rivals
- Led to emergence of a new generation of communist party leaders who were loyal to Stalin
- Established the principle that Stalin had the right to use terror against anyone who as disloyal
What happened in purges of the secret police
To ensure that the secret police were no threat they were purged. Nikolai Yezhov ‘bloody dwarf’ purged 3,000 members
How was Trotsky eliminated
Chased out of countries and eventually assassinated
How did Stalin control the party
- Less frequent meetings. by 1930’s only met 9x a year
- Intimidation
- Centralized power
What were the strengths of Stalin’s position? (4)
PTPA - main
Reduced power of the
Politburo
Widespread terror
Held key positions
Set ideological agenda
What were the weaknesses of Stalin’s position? (2)
Reliance on others
The Soviet Constitution of
1936
How many killed in great terror
10% of adult male population. Around 10 million
How did Stalin set ideological agenda (c)
Stalin insisted on everyone in the Party supporting his ideas on the economy, such as Collectivisation and rapid industrialisation through the Five Year Plans. This had previously been a topic of debate within the Party.
How was Stalin reliant on others
Stalin relied on the continued support of his allies, such as Molotov and Kagnovich, in order to avoid opposition from the Politburo. He also delegated significant power to the leaders of the various ministries that comprised the government, e.g Yezhov as head of the NKVD,
Stalin was restricted by his own personal limits. Although he was famed for working late into the night, it was physically impossible for him to be aware of every detail, make every decision or directly control every project in a country as large as Russia.
This meant that he had to put a certain amount of power into the hands of others.
How did the Soviet constitution harm Stalin
a new Soviet constitution in 1936 that gave every Russian citizen the right to vote for local Soviets. Included groups despised by the Bolsheviks, such as the middle class and religious leaders. In theory, this meant that Stalin’s power was subject to public approval.
Granted extensive civil liberties, with:
Article 118 making employment a universal right,
Article 120 granting pensions to all citizens
Article 125 guaranteeing freedom of speech.
What were some economic benefits of the great terror
By 1940, there were 423 forced labour
camps, or Gulags, across Russia. The prisoners housed in these camps provided a huge amount of free labour
that helped to boost the economy.
The Great Terror created a convenient scapegoat for Russia’s economic problems as Stalin was able to blame the victims of terror for the failures of his
policies. As much as 10% of the population of some villages were imprisoned for resisting Collectivisation.
How was Stalin paranoid
Stalin was very conscious of the history that many prominent members of the
Bolshevik Party had been plotted against. Lenin had been the victim of failed
assassination attempts by Fritz Platten in January 1918 and Fanya Kaplan in August
1918.
Stalin himself had plotted against many of his colleagues and was worried about
people seeking revenge, or using similar tactics on him. For example, he had
arrested and held show trials for Zinoviev and kamenev in 1936, known as the Trial
of the Sixteen.
Stalin also feared the power and independence of the Red Army and secret police,
who he felt could be a serious threat to his power.
How did Stalin carry most influence in the Politburo
1/4 of power in politburo
Stalin had been a member of the Politburo since its creation in 1917 and, by 1930, he was the only remaining original member. = most senior member = most influence
What did Stalin do to the meetings
2/4 of power in politburo
Stalin was able to run the country according to his individual wishes. He decreased frequency with which the Politburo met. For example, in the 1920s, the Politburo had met weekly, but in the 1930s they met only nine times per year.
What did Stalin to do make Politburo biased
3/4 of power in politburo
By 1930, Stalin had filled the Politburo with his most loyal friends and allies, such as Molotov
This meant that the Politburo nearly always accepted Stalin’s decisions without question or debate.
How did Stalin get unopposed in Politburo
4/4 of power in politburo
By 1939, Stalin had removed many of his rivals from the Politburo, including Kamenev and Trotsky. This left Stalin as the longest serving and most influential member of the Politburo.
How did Stalin use terror (purge)
Stalin controlled the secret police force, which had the authority to act outside of the law.
He used them to conduct frequent ‘purges’ of his opponents. During a period known as the Great Terror, about 10% of the adult male population. This removed many of the threats to Stalin’s power.
What did Stalin do publicly to his rivals
Stalin organised ‘show trials’, where his rivals were forced to stand highly public trials for crimes that were often made up. The victims were not given the chance to defend themselves and they usually led to the execution of those on trial.
Impact of Show Trials
The Trial of the 16 in 1936 led to the death of Kamenev and 14 of their supporters. Other show trials included the Trial of the
17 in 1937 and the Trial of the 21 in 1938. This sent a powerful message not to challenge Stalin’s power.
What did Stalin do to control red army
Stalin purged the Red Army of many of those that had worked under the command of Trotsky.
8 senior generals were executed after a secret trial in 1937
37,000 other officers were purged immediately afterwards.
This gave Stalin greater personal
control over the Red Army.
What did Stalin do to test loyalty
Used terror and persecution to test loyalty of ministers e.g Molotov’s wife. He was one of Stalin’s closest allies. Molotov demonstrated loyalty to Stalin by doing nothing to win wife’s freedom
One limitation of Stalin’s power
During WW2. Stalin needed able military commanders and politicians in order to combat the Nazi threat. This forced him to release some political prisoners from labour camps so that he could take advantage of their skills. For example, he released General Zhukov.
What was Stalin in charge of Stalin holding key position (3)
Rabkrin, General Secretary and Chair of Sovarkom
.
What did chair of Rabkrin mean
gave him the power to expel members of the Party and the government that were suspected of being disloyal.
What did General Secretary offer
This role gave Stalin control over the workings of
every other department in the Party, access to 26,000 files of personal information on Party members,
What was Chair of Sovnarkom
important for one man to have almost total control of the country in order to effectively combat the Nazi threat.
How did Stalin establish a personal dictatorship
3
- Using force to remove threats to authority
- Ideological agenda (collectivisation and 5 year plan)
- Occupied key positions in govt
