national minorities

Question 1

The bolsheviks come to power with the support of the ethnic minorities , what had they promised them?
in what decree was this pledge fulfilled?

Answer 1

they had promised national self-determination
this pledge was fulfilled by their decree of November 1917
-although this encouraged separatist movements, particularly in Finland, the Baltic and the Caucasus

Question 2

when did Finland opt to become an independent state

Answer 2

in 1917

Question 3

what was set up in Ukraine?

Answer 3

an elected dada (parliament ) was set up

Question 4

whether or not to force the integration of the minorities provoked heated debate within the party
in this Lenin stood by his principles throughout arguing?

Answer 4

although in the difficult circumstances of the civil war, the regime could not lose the Ukraine or Georgia

Question 5

In Stalin’s reign he did not hesitate to ?

Answer 5

repress harshly the attempts at independence in his native province

Question 6

nevertheless all major nationalities including the jews were given?
what were soviet jews given in 1926?

Answer 6

separate representation within the communist party
in 1926 Jews were given a special ‘national homeland’ settlement in which they could maintain their cultural heritage

Question 7

by 1941 how much of the region’s population was Jewish?

Answer 7

1/4 of the population

Question 8

early communists promoted literacy campaigns which encouraged?

Answer 8

the use of national langauges

Question 9

in 1917 what was abolished

Answer 9

all anti-semitic laws were abolished in 1917
yiddish became an acceptable language, although Hebrew with its religious connotations did not

Question 10

Stalinist policy in the 1920s veered towards?

Answer 10

greater centralisation and less tolerance of the ethnic groups

Question 11

Stalin sought to create?

Answer 11

a single ‘soviet identity’

Question 12

Nationalism meant ?

Answer 12

Russian nationalism and the leaders of the different republics that formed the USSR were purged as ‘bourgeois nationalists’

Question 13

in the red army what language was used?

Answer 13

Russian language was the only language used in the Russia army

Question 14

despite the propaganda which proclaimed the ‘family of nations’ embracing variety of different people

Answer 14

Russians firmly at the head

Question 15

What did Stalin begin for non-Russians in 1930s

Answer 15

deportations

Question 16

deportations before 1941 consisted mostly of

Answer 16

internal, forced migrations
started with the Finns (1923-31 and 1935-39)

Question 17

in 1937 Koreans in the far east of Russia were?
What ddi Stalin do to Central Asia?

Answer 17

deported
Stalin divided Central Asia into 5 separate republics = forced the migration of muslim ethnic groups, to weaken any loyalty to a single muslim state

Question 18

during Stalin’s period, the decade saw what revive?

Answer 18

anti-semitic attitudes revive, especially in rural areas during campaigns against ‘saboteurs’

Question 19

As a result of the invasion of Eastern Poland and the Baltic republics how many jews were incorporated into the Soviet Union 1939-40 ?

Answer 19

2 million jews were incorporated into the Soviet Union in 1939-40
- many rabbis and religious leaders were arrested in these areas

Question 20

however, Stalin’s state remained officially opposed to?

Answer 20

opposed to racial discrimination and inter-marriage was welcomed as a way of assimilating the different national groups
- most of the campaigns of the period were politically rather than racially motivated