High Stalinism Complete Flashcards
In what years did High Stalinism culminate?
1945-1953
Definition of High Stalinism?
Stalin’s authority over people, state, party and cult of personality was the face of a dictatorship
What is totalitarianism?
A political system that demands absolute obedience- individual rights and freedom do not exist- controlled by the state
How did Stalin’s regime change during the war?
Aspects of the dictatorship were relaxed e.g. religious persecution slackened, Stalin appealed to patriotism the ‘great spirit’ of the people
Changes after the war?
GKO was dissolved September 1945
Military hierarchy was downgraded
Stalin cult intensified
How did Stalin himself change after the war?
He became more reclusive, capricious, unpredictable
What may have increased Stalin’s paranoia after the war?
His age (66) and the mild stroke he had in 1946
Was Lenin responsible for Stalinism?
He created the one party state- dealt ruthlessly with other political parties and was intolerant of opposing views, Stalin’s control of a one party state allowed him to crush all who opposed him- however was Lenin’s actions justified by the consequences of the revolution?
Was terror unique to High Stalinism?
Lenin= class warrior- he attacked the bourgeoise- created the Cheka Stalin only continued this- waged his class warfare against the Kulaks during collectivisation Stalin's terror arguably driven by his personality?
Were purges unique to high Stalinism?
Lenin in his rule did instigate purges within the party to eliminate elements he did not approve of, but these purges were non-violent e.g. the withdrawal of party cards. Stalin used terror within the party which Lenin was against
Did Lenin initiate High Stalinism?
If you see Lenin as a ruthless tyrant who seized power for his own political purposes= yes
If you see Lenin as being forced by circumstances e.g. the Civil War, terrible economic conditions and failure of the world revolution= no
After the war, what political factor helped Stalin assume his dominance?
Rivalries and petty jealousy between party members
Molotov - importance during war- fell out of favour in 1949
Zhadnov political downfall in 1948 instigated by Beria
Reason for Stalin’s enforcement of isolation from the non-Soviet world?
Secure national security after the Cold War
Obsessive fear of ideological contamination
What action of Stalin’s demonstrated his obsessive fear of ideological contamination?
Harsh treatment of returned prisoners of war and his purge of former army officers
Relatives who had spent time outside the USSR were also considered suspects
Punishment for interacting with foreigners/
Denounced, arrested and possibly sent to the Gulag
February 1947 law?
Banned marriage to a foreigner
Enforced to such a high extent that hotels and restaurants had cameras to monitor any illegal meetings between Soviet girls and foreign men
Role of Beria after the war?
NKVD Chief
Deputy Prime Minister
Full member of politburo
Responsible for developing the atomic bomb
Reformed NKVD?
Strengthened and reorganised into two separate ministries
MVD= controlled domestic security and the gulags
MGB= handled counter intelligence and espionage
Terror of 1940’s compared to 1930s?
Far less people were killed in the 1940’s but thousands of people were still arrested annually suspected of counter revolutionary activity
How many war time survivors were sent to labour camps?
12 million
Define Zhadanovchina?
Period in which Zhdanov was in charge of Stalin’s cultural purge launched in 1946- a cultural purge to promote the ‘right’ ideology and suppress dissent
Why did Stalin enforce a cultural purge?
Fear of the spread of ‘bourgeois and decadent western values
How did Zhdanov begin his purges?
He purged two literary works published in Leningrad- The Adventures of a Monkey and a collection of poems by Anna Akhamatova- authors were expelled from Soviet Union
What was Socialist realism?
Promoted as ‘true’ Soviet art- reasserted as the norm in literature, art and cinema
What film was attacked during the cultural purge?
Ivan the Terrible because it portrayed the Tsar’s bodyguard as thugs rather than a progressive army
Aspects of Anti-Semitism?
Nazi war time crimes were labelled ‘fascist crimes’ but there was no mentioned of Jews as crimes
Jewish newspapers were closed down
Many Jewish artists were suppressed or ignored
Which composers came under criticism?
Shostakovich and Prokofiev- anti-socialist tendencies
How was Western influence was completely blocked?
Non communist foreign papers were blocked
Foreign radio transmissions jammed
Very few Soviets were allowed to visit the West
How was Stalin presented after the war?
Saviour of Russia in wartime
Superior in philosophy, science and military strategies
Where was Stalin’s image presented?
In newspapers, radio broadcasts, films, plays and speeches
Every first and last paragraph had to be about Stalin as a genius
What was Stalin praised as?
‘The father of all people’ ‘The best friend of children’
Why were these claims wrong?
He had not visited a peasant village or kolkhoz in 25 years
When did the Stalin cult reach its climax?
On Stalin’s 70th birthday a giant image of him was suspended in the sky in Moscow Red Square
What did towns compete against each other for?
To name themselves after Stalin
What was the Leningrad affair?
Stalin had to prevent politicians in Leningrad from becoming too powerful
Why was Leningrad a threat to Stalin?
Stalin resented the pride Leningrad took from the great siege 1941-1944, praised defenders of city not USSR as a whole -such talk offended Stalin
How did Stalin deal with the Leningrad affair?
He purged the leading officials and escalated attacks on Voznesenski
Outcome for Leningrad?
2000 officials from the city had been dismissed from their posts and exiled and replaced by pro-Stalin communists
What was the Mingrelian Case?
Launched in 1951, the target was party officials in Georgia who were accused of collaborations with Western powers
What was significant about the Mingrelian Case?
The targets were followers of Beria- this was an effort by Stalin to reduce the power of Beria
How did the Mingrelian plot have Anti-Semitist tones?
They were accused of having conspired with Jewish plotters
Doctors plot trigger for action?
Female doctor and secret police informer wrote to Stalin accusing doctors who treated Zhdanov in 1948 of sloppy methods contributing to his death
How did Stalin use the conspiracy against doctors?
At first he did nothing but in 1952 he used the file as an excuse to arrest many doctors for being part of a ‘Zionist conspiracy’ to murder Zhdanov
What were Jewish doctors accused of?
Being in the pay of USA and Israel to abuse their positions in the medical profession to harm the USSR
Consequences for Jews in Doctors plot?
Director of Jewish theatre was mysteriously killed in a car crash in 1948- arranged by secret police?
Jewish wives of Politburo members were arrested
Thousands of ordinary Jews were rounded up and deported to the Gulag
Nine doctors were condemned to death- but survived as executions didn’t occur before Stalin’s death
How was Doctors plot an excuse for political action?
Men high in the regime all feared becoming victims of a new Stalin terror
