IDEOLOGY Flashcards
What did the Tsar expect as part of the ideological belief of autocracy?
‘expected willing and total submission of his subjects’.
What attitude did the Tsars have towards the people?
Paternalistic - a duty to protect his subjects.
How was autocracy viewed as a necessity?
With Russia being so vast, it seemed better if just one person ruled.
What did Pobedonostev believe about liberal democracy?
Be disastrous for Russia, as it would have led to too many people demanding too many different policies.
How did NII use propaganda to promote ideology? How was this reinforced?
Used slogans such as, ‘Orthodoxy, Autocracy and Nationality’. This was reinforced through legislation such as the Fundamental Laws.
What did AII do after the assassination attempt by Karakozov in 1866?
Adhered very strongly to the concept of autocracy.
What did AII bring censorship under in 1863?
The Ministry of the Interior, who had the ability to forbid certain topics from discussion.
Who were the two individuals AII appointed as part of this move back towards autocracy in 1866?
Count Dimitri Tolstoy as Education Minister.
Count Peter Shuvalov as Head of the Third Section.
How did AIII quickly restore a more repressive, autocratic style of rule?
Opposition such as the People’s Will was ruthlessly suppressed, as part of the ‘Reaction’.
What did AIII pass in August 1881? What did it do?
Statute of State Security - significantly strengthened and extended the powers of the state in pursuit of revolutionaries.
What did AIII state in his manifesto which demonstrated a return to repressive autocracy?
“With faith in the strength and rightness of autocratic power”.
Why were constitutional reforms passed in NII’s reign?
Forced on the Tsar as a result of economic crisis and the Russo-Japanese War.
What notion did the Fundamental Laws of 1906 reinforce?
The Duma would always be accountable to the Tsar.
What did the 1907 Electoral Laws do?
The number of peasants, workers and national minorities in the Duma drastically reduced.
What was the Russian concept of dictatorship partly derived from?
The writings of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engles.
What did Lenin believe about the reaction of the authorities to the St Petersburg strikes proved?
That the ‘superstructure’ would always prevail to keep workers in their place.
What did the labour theory of value claim?
Under a capitalist economy the proletariat would never gain the full value of their efforts.
How much of the population were workers in 1928?
Only 20% - Marx believed Russia was not the kind of place where revolution would happen.
What would emerge before full communism?
A dictatorship of the proletariat in which political control would be placed in the hands of the workers and those representing their interests.
What did the Bolsheviks under Lenin and Stalin do to this ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’?
Modified the guidelines to suit the circumstances they found themselves in.
How is this ideological idea of a ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ contradicted under Lenin’s war communism?
Rationing worked on a class-based system and more people were leaving cities as Petrograd lost 70% of its inhabitants.
What did the result of the civil war mean for Marxism-Leninism?
Although the Bolshevik Reds defeated the Whites, this did not safeguard Marxism-Leninism.
What did Trotsky push towards instead of the ‘bourgeois’ NEP?
A move towards ‘Permanent Revolution’ which entailed spreading communism through the world and not just Russia.
What did NEP in particular show about Lenin?
Like the tsars, he adjusted his ideology and policies to starve off opposition.
What did Stalin implement?
Totalitarianism - a centralised form of dictatorial government.
What did Stalin argue about the ‘base’ of society? How did he implement this?
Could only be permanently changed by utilising a particular type of ‘superstructure’ - which he implemented through a command economy centred on 5YPs and collectivisation.
What ideological belief did Stalin’s ‘dekulakisation’ reinforce?
Class enemy.
What did Stalin centre propaganda on to reinforce ideology?
Centred on the cult of personality and repression.
What was assumed to follow Stalin’s death in line with ideology?
A collective leadership.
How did Khrushchev go about establishing himself through Malenkov?
By 1955, under pressure from Khrushchev, Malenkov was forced to resign and be replaced by Bulganin who was far more sympathetic toward Khrushchev.
What did Khrushchev make a speech on at the Twentieth Party Congress in 1956?
‘The Cult of the Individual and its Consequences’.
What were three of the criticisms Khrushchev gave of Stalin in his de-Stalinisation speech?
- He had never been accepted by Lenin.
- Created a state unprepared for war in 1941.
- Committed a range of unforgivable crimes.
What did Khrushchev have to be careful to do through the secret speech?
Not tarnish the reputation of Communism, but only Stalinism.
Who were the Anti-Party Group?
Opposed Khrushchev and attempted to abolish the post of first secretary of the party, which would’ve destroyed Khrushchev’s power base.
What were the three main features of de-Stalinisation?
- Release of political prisoners from labour camps.
- Relaxation of Censorship.
- The erosion of legacy of the cult of personality.
Where did Khrushchev demonstrate ruthless ‘Stalinist’ rule?
The Hungarian uprising, 1956.
