Nature of Gov- Communists Flashcards
what is marxism?
-written by karl marx
-society should have no social classes
-means of production should be owned
-everyone works as much as they can and recieves what they want
Lenins ideology
Dictatorship
-marxism leninism
-adopted communism in april theses
-dictatorship of proletariat
-policies like grain requisitioning under war communism
-like N2, willing to make changes to appease
what was marxism leninism?
basis of lenins rule
-tsartist superstructure had to be replaced with bodies to ensure egalitarianism
-all people equal, equal rights and opportunities
-labour theory of value, wanted a gov run by workers
what was stalins period of rule?
totalitarianism
stalins ideology
-Stalinism
-Collectivisation, by 1939 90% collectivized
-less willing to change due to character
-use of terror
-meglomaniac
why was stalins ideology succesful
-enforced through fear
-exploited circumstances, no one allowed to question whether they were appropriate
what was stalin
a meglomaniac
why was stalin a meglomaniac
he did whatever he needed to maintain absolute control
-created a culture of fear
how did lenin think the economy should run?
war communim: wasnt giving workers their full value of labour, food requisitioned, long hours for low pay
NEP: move towards capitalism, so not really marxism
how did stalin think the economy should run?
command economy: all controlled by state
5 year plan and collectivisation
what was collectivization
state controlled farms on mass scale
what were problems with lenins ideology
kept adapting, making divisions in party
moving away from communism with NEP
what were problems with stalins ideology?
economic policies hard to implement and unpopular
So different to original marxism
what approach did khrushchev take to rule
destalinisation
what was destalinisation
steps taken to reform policies of soviet union following stalin
key features of destalinisation
-free political prisoners
-relaxed censorship
-destroyed cult personality, statues and pictures removed
when was the Bolshevik Gov developed
after october revolution in 1917
what was prov gov ideology
manage transition from tsarism
structure of prov gov
gov had no mandate and exterted little power
who challenged the prov gov
the petrogad soviet, 3,000 delegates challenged the govs authority
-ruled alongside
why did prov gov fail to introduce democratic system?
-interferance of petrogad soviet
-inflation and hunger got worse, failed to end food shortages
-peasants started to revolt and take noble land
was the Bolshevik gov democratic?
tried to be, ended up being a dictatorship
what were the illusions of democracy in bolsh gov
-village soviets could choose representatives
-they then elected members to be provisional soviets
reality of bolsh gov
1918, menshviks and sr’s expelled from executive commitee
dominated by Bolsh
russia wasnt far of being ruled as a one party state
what was stalins new constitution like
-communist party still dominated
-disagreement and criticism not tolerated
how did prov gov use army
-army in WW2 and after
-faced huge casualties
how did lenin use army
-150,000 members of petrogad soviet supported 1917 revolution
-Desertion of army during N2 was important for lenin
-Red army faced 500,000 in white army
-red army instrumental to civil war, 5 mil by end
how did stalin use army
-Army helped NKVD in great terror and purges
-used to collect grain for collectivization
how did khrushchev use army
-focused on resolving international conflicts
-reduction in army
-but cuban missile crisis showed that russia still needed to maintain a military presence
-army reduced from 3.6 mil - 2.4 mil
how did Prov gov use police
-focus on wartime security
-established counter espionage Bureau
-designed to weed out those undermining the war effort
-inclusing bolsheviks
how did lenin use police
-Executed romanovs in 1918, used to deal with revolutionaries
-nasty and ruthess torture methods
-1922 cheka disbanded, replaced with similar police
how did stalin use police
–1923-1934 OGPU
-1934-1943 NKVD
-1943-1953 MGB
- in total sent over 40 mil to gulags
-25% inmates died each year
how did khrushchev use police
-reorganised MVD in 1954
-KGB gathered intelligence
-much less harsh
how did lenin use censorship
1921 agitation an propoganda department established
-promoted idealised russia
-schools, cinema, radio, libraries under surveillance to prevent revoluntionist materia;
how did stalin use censorship
increased lots
-1932 all literary groups shut down, all writers had to join soviet writers union
-all work had to be approved
how did khrushchev use censorship
-eased
-books and libraries proliferated
-by late 1950s nearly 65,000 books published
-newspapers flourished
-bu 1959, 145 films had been made, cinemas increased to 59,000
how did khrushchev use censorship
-eased
-books and libraries proliferated
-by late 1950s nearly 65,000 books published
-newspapers flourished
-bu 1959, 145 films had been made, cinemas increased to 59,000
who opposed lenin and why
-trotsky
opposed treaty of brest litovsk
communist expansion
how did lenin deal with opposition?
-claimed the war would soon end, didnt really deal with it
who opposed stalin and why?
trotsky
-pressed for permenant revolution
-more free speech
how did stalin deal with opposition
-expelled
-trotsky expelled from party in 1927
-exiled to kazackstan and 1929 expelled from USSR all together
Khrushchev ideology
-Destalinisation
-far more liberal
-de centralization
-terror abolished
-policies came from genuine desire to improve conditions
structure of Gov stalin
-Centralized power
-Soviet of the Union- supposed to have elections every 4 years
-Soviet of the nationalities - like theh house of lords. elite ruling group
Structure of Gov Lenin
-chairman of sovnarkom, autocratic once again
-Cheka as body of Gov
-Constituent assembly elections in 1917 rigged
Structure of Gov Khrushchev
-decentralization, autocratic ruler lost some power
-KGB secret police
-MVD regular police
worker opposition Lenin
Fairly docile in 1920s
Worker opposition Stalin
Fairly docile in 1930s
-1940s workers suicide rates increased due to pressure to obtain production targets and poor conditions
Worker opposition Khrushchev
1962 worker protest over food shortages and high prices
-20 killed
Peasant opposition Lenin
-Green armies in Civil war
-Protests on grain requisitioning, largely dealt with by NEP
Peasant opposition Stalin
1930 temporary opt out of concession to collectivization to appease opposition
-peasants burned crops and killed animals to avoid them being taken
Peasant opposition Khrushchev
Not much
