Life In Communist Russia Flashcards
After WW1
Tsar (Emperor) Nicholas II was forced to step down in February 1917. Vladimir Lenin came in to power.
Bolsheviks
Lenins followers
Karl Marx
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.
Communism
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.
The Red Army
The Bolsheviks army
The White Army
An alliance of various anit-communist groups)
The Russian Civil War
Leon Trotsky and his Red Army fought the White Army. In july 1918, Tsar Nicholas II, his wife and five children were executed.
Ending of Russian Civil War
By 1921, Lenin and the Bolsheviks had gained control of the country and renamed it the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.
Lenins Death
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.
Stalins rise to power
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.
Economic Policy in Stalins Russia
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.
Five-Year Plan
A set of targets (and policies designed to meet them) over a period of five years.
The First Five-Year Plan
It was during 1928-1932, it focused on heavy industry and the production of coal, oil, steel and electricity.
Kulaks
Wealthy independent farmers
Gulags
Forced labour camps
The Second Five-Year Plan
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
The Third Five-Year Plan
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.
Results of the Five Year Plans
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.
Terror in Stalins Russia
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.
The Cheka
The Bolsheviks’ secret police
Show Trial
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.
The First Show Trial
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.
The Second Show Trial
In 1937, also the Trial of the Seventeen. 13 executed and rest were sentenced to ten years in the gulags.
The Third Show Trial
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.
The Red Army in 1937
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.
Propaganda in Stalins Russia
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.
Propagand in Education in Stalins Russia
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
Education in Stalins Russia
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.
Women Lives
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.
Collectivisation
The joining of small, unproductive farms together to create large state-owned farms.
