Life In Communist Russia

Question 1

After WW1

Answer 1

Tsar (Emperor) Nicholas II was forced to step down in February 1917. Vladimir Lenin came in to power.

Question 2

Bolsheviks

Answer 2

Lenins followers

Question 3

Karl Marx

Answer 3

A German political thinker who said that the working class should stage revolutions to end private ownership and distribute wealth, making society ‘classless’. Essientally communism.

Question 4

Communism

Answer 4

A system of government where the state controls all aspects of the economy (property, business and jobs) and of society, with limited rights for individuals.

Question 5

The Red Army

Answer 5

The Bolsheviks army

Question 6

The White Army

Answer 6

An alliance of various anit-communist groups)

Question 7

The Russian Civil War

Answer 7

Leon Trotsky and his Red Army fought the White Army. In july 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and five children were executed.

Question 8

Ending of Russian Civil War

Answer 8

By 1921, Lenin and the Bolsheviks had gained control of the country and renamed it the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

Question 9

Lenins Death

Answer 9

Before Lenin he died, he wrote a testement, he was very critical of Josef Stalin, he died on 21 January 1924 without a named successor.

Question 10

Stalins rise to power

Answer 10

Leon Trotsky was the frontrunner for the leadership of the Communist Party. Many of the leaders dislike him, they were worried he would have to much power as a leader. Stalin took control of Lenins funeral arrangements and gave the speech there; this led people to believe that he was to be Lenin’s successor.
Stalin played the various members off against each other. Stalin wanted Socialism in One Country. By 1928, Stalin was the absolute ruler of the USSR.

Question 11

Economic Policy in Stalins Russia

Answer 11

Stalin used a scheme called Collectivisation. Many farmers would’nt surrender their farms. Stalin began to Gulags and sent many Kulaks there. By 1936, 90% of farmland had been colectivised.

Question 12

Five-Year Plan

Answer 12

A set of targets (and policies designed to meet them) over a period of five years.

Question 13

The First Five-Year Plan

Answer 13

It was during 1928-1932, it focused on heavy industry and the production of coal, oil, steel and electricity.

Question 14

Kulaks

Answer 14

Wealthy independent farmers

Question 15

Gulags

Answer 15

Forced labour camps

Question 16

The Second Five-Year Plan

Answer 16

It was during 1933-1937, it had a continued focus on industry and also on transport and the production of consumer goods. The Moscow underground was built, as were canal and rail links

Question 17

The Third Five-Year Plan

Answer 17

It was during 1938-1941, it was cut short due to the 1941 invasion by Germany. Instead, the focus switched to the production of arms and ammunition.

Question 18

Results of the Five Year Plans

Answer 18

Some regions were devasted by famines
Rewards such as higher wages were given to the most productive workers.
Many of the workers were provided with an apartment, free schooling and free basic healthcare.

Question 19

Terror in Stalins Russia

Answer 19

Stalin was a dictator, reorganised the Cheka (secret police) and renamed them the NKVD. They arrested and tortured, people who could be a threat to the country. The NKVD ran the gulags. Prisoners were forced to carry out manual work such as felling trees, mining or building railroads. It was an extremely high death rate.
Stalin organised three show trials between 1936 and 1938.

Question 20

The Cheka

Answer 20

The Bolsheviks’ secret police

Question 21

Show Trial

Answer 21

It was a stage trial held in public to influence popular opinion. It was a method of propaganda. The defendants had been tortured for their confessions. Their families were also threatened with arrest and torture.

Question 22

The First Show Trial

Answer 22

In 1936. It was known as the Trial of the Sixteen because 16 Communist Party leaders were tried for the assassination of a man and for trying to overthrow the government. All were execucted, despite Stalin saying that they would be safe if pleaded guilty.

Question 23

The Second Show Trial

Answer 23

In 1937, also the Trial of the Seventeen. 13 executed and rest were sentenced to ten years in the gulags.

Question 24

The Third Show Trial

Answer 24

In 1938, also known as the Trial of the Twenty-One. Stalins three rivals were executed, it took three months to confess and only do so when threats were made against his family.

Question 25

The Red Army in 1937

Answer 25

The Red Army was purged in 1937. Stalin did not trust anyone who had served under Trotsky. All 8 commanders confessed and were executed and almost 30,000 Red Army officers were either fired or executed.

Question 26

Propaganda in Stalins Russia

Answer 26

The Pravda, a newspaper where Stalin was praised and his rivals or enemies were criticised.
Posters and works of art had to present the idea of a successful country with a happy workforce.
Posters and statues of Stalin were everywhere.
Cites and streets were named after Stalin.
Stalin was referred as ‘the Father of Nations’
Many photographs of declared enemies were removed from all records.

Question 27

Propagand in Education in Stalins Russia

Answer 27

Textbooks were rewritten to make Stalins role in the October Revolution and the Russian Civil War look more impressive, where his enemy was downplayed or erased completely

Question 28

Education in Stalins Russia

Answer 28

Stalin made attending school compulsory to combat illiteracy and improve efficiency in the workplace.
Literacy rate was 28% before Stalin and after it soared to 56% in 1924 and to 75% by 1937.
Young Communists and Komsomol were founded.

Question 29

Women Lives

Answer 29

Marx insisted equality of men and women. Under Stalin, women got to vote and the right to an education. They could be head of the household; all jobs were open to women:(in theory)
Stalin wanted the birth rate to be high, because he wanted to build up its workforce and army.
Women who had 6 or more children were payed money, and they were also given a medal if mothers had 9 or more children.
By 1937, women were 50% of the workforce.
Parents received a child allowance, but only if married.

Question 30

Collectivisation

Answer 30

The joining of small, unproductive farms together to create large state-owned farms.