Internal opposition Flashcards
When was the only time the Tsars really had to deal with people defying them within the system itself?
In 1878 when Vera Zasulich was let off by a jury court (created by Alex II) and whisked away before they could have a retrial
Led to a crackdown on political cases, especially under Alexander III
Occasionally, the Tsar would fire ministers who had either become too ____ or were not supported by the wider ____.
These include:
- The M____ ____
- W____
- S____ (who was ____ before Nicholas II could act)
Occasionally, the Tsar would fire ministers who had either become too radical or were not supported by the wider nobility.
These include:
- The Milyutin brothers
- Witte
- Stolypin (who was assassinated before Nicholas II could act)
Until they lost the loyalty of the ____ and the ____ in 1917, the Tsars were not used to, nor were they really challenged, by ____ opposition.
Until they lost the loyalty of the nobility and the army in 1917, the Tsars were not used to, nor were they really challenged, by internal opposition.
What was the Provisional Government mainly toppled by?
Any examples of internal opposition?
External political opposition.
Resignations within - Prince Lvov’s refusal to work with the Soviet, leading to Kerensky’s rise.
Why was there no real external political opposition to the Bolsheviks?
So what did they mainly have to deal with?
Had crushed external political opposition during the Civil War.
Mainly had to deal with internal and social opposition.
Who shot Lenin, badly wounding him, in 1918, and what did this do?
What did this demonstrate?
What did this foreshadow?
Kaplan, an SR - exacerbated the Red Terror
Demonstrated the threat of internal opposition.
Foreshadowed the divisions within the revolutionary movement that would be the main focus of opposition after 1921.
Key divisions within the party:
- What did Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Rykov disagree with? (2)
- What did Trotsky disagree with?
- Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Rykov disagreed with the timing of the October revolution and the decision not to work with other socialists
- Trotsky disagreed with the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk - Lenin had to threaten his resignation to get him to agree to it
Where did Lenin’s main internal opposition come from?
His primary policies.
There were many who thought that War Communism was too harsh, and punished the workers who they were supposed to benefit.
What was a turning point for Lenin’s view on internal opposition?
The result?
The Kronstadt Uprising March 1921
Realised the need for appeasement to keep his supporters on side - conceded with the NEP
What did Lenin’s introduction of the NEP lead to?
A clear split between the ‘rightist’ supporters of the NEP to the more ‘revolutionary’ party members who thought it was a betrayal of Communism
What was Lenin’s main strategy to dealing with the internal schism?
Ban on Factions 1921
Could debate and argue policy in the Central Committee, but once a decision was made they had to stick to it.
‘Factions’ expelled
Positive impacts of the NEP?
Freed up the USSR economically and to a degree socially
What did the NEP not stop?
Specific example?
Heavy repression of internal threats such as the SRs and the Mensheviks.
SR, Denikin, put on a ‘show trial’ for his supposed role in the assassination attempt on Lenin - eery foreshadowing
Was the Ban on Factions successful?
Explain.
Not hugely, no.
After Lenin’s death, the debate on the future of the NEP was at the forefront of Stalin’s power struggle.
How did Stalin use his bureaucratic powers to strengthen his position?
Also his ‘trick’ tactic?
Placed more loyal members of the party (to him) into positions of power through the Lenin Enrolment.
Told Trotsky the wrong day for Lenin’s funeral, so he missed it and looked bad.
How did Stalin exploit Lenin’s legacy to gain power?
Used the ‘Ban on Factions’ to expell Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev for their ‘United Opposition’ demonstration in Red Square against his succession in 1927.
Trotsky exiled in 1929.
Also accused Bukhanin of factionalism in 1929 over his opposition to collectivisation.
What did Stalin’s paranoia from his power struggle result in?
The Great Purges
What was the first wave of the Great Purges?
1932-35 - Chistka
22% of party non-violently expelled
A clearing-out process following the difficult process of collectivisation
What was the second wave of the Great Purges?
1935-37 - The ‘Show Trials’
Prominent old Bolsheviks tried and executed
What was the third wave of the Great Purges?
1937-38 - Yezhvoshchina
Mass terror led by Yekhov, head of NKVD
Thousands killed
How does Stalin’s use of terror compare to Lenin’s?
While Lenin condoned terror against external opposition, did not accept it within the party.
Stalin very much used it on the party.
Describe what spurred the first ‘Chistka’ wave of the Great Purges
The Communist party was widely unpopular by 1933 because of the violent process of collectivisation and the huge pressures of the Five Year Plans.
Local party secretariats unwilling to follow demands and impose level of terror required - had to be ‘rooted out’
What threats from the upper echelons of the party were there to Stalin’s rule in the early 1930s that ultimately led to the ‘Show Trials’?
(2)
- 1932 - ‘Ryutin Platform’ published - criticising Stalin’s leadership and calling him an ‘evil genius’
- 1934 - Seventeenth Party Congress - Kirov opposed Stalin’s push for further industrialisation - was ‘Secretary of Equal Rank’
Just as Kirov became popular he was mysteriously ____ in 19__.
What did Stalin use this as an excuse for?
Just as Kirov became popular he was mysteriously killed in 1934.
Purged the Leningrad Party (where he came from, and often had a seat in power) and root out ‘opposition’ that wished to destroy the party (threatened his supreme power)
