Overview

Question 1

What is Alexander II known as?

Answer 1

The Tsar Reformer

Question 2

What reform in 1861 appeared that Alexander’s reign was adopting a ‘new course?

Answer 2

The Emancipation of the Serfs

Question 3

How many serfs were freed?

Answer 3

51 million serfs

Question 4

How long did the serfs have to pay redemption payments for?

Answer 4

49 years

Question 5

What other major condition did the serfs have that restricted the development of agriculture?

Answer 5

The serfs had to remain within their commune, the mir

Question 6

What were the benefits for the serfs after the emancipation in 1861?

Answer 6

• They were granted an an allotment of land
• Serfs were released from their bondage to landowners and become free men . They would be free to marry, own property, set up businesses and enjoy legal rights

Question 7

What were the six major areas in society of which Alexander II reformed?

Answer 7

1. Emancipation of the serfs
2. Military
3. Education
4. Local Government
5. Judiciary
6. Censorship

Question 8

What were the main changes within the military reform?

Answer 8

• Length of service was reduced from 25 years to 15 years
• Conscription was made compulsory for all classes (including nobles) from the age of 20
• Punishments were made less serve
• New modern weaponry was introduced
• Military colleges were set up to provide better training for the officer corps

Question 9

Were Alexander’s military reforms in his early reign successful?

Answer 9

• Created a smaller but better-trained army
• Reduced the heavy government expenditure
• Literacy improved however still a substantial amount of illiterate peasants who could not benefit from the better training on offer
• Officer classes still remained and it remained, in essence, remained a peasant conscripted army

Question 10

Which minister was appointed to implement change within the Local Government?

Answer 10

Alexander Milyutin (1860)
Pyotr Valuev (1864)

Question 11

What was the main change in Local Government under Alexander II?

Answer 11

Local councils were set up - named the Zemstva which was organised through ‘electoral colleges’.

Question 12

What powers did the Zemstva have?

Answer 12

• It was given the power to improve public services (e.g. schools, roads), develop industrial projects and improve infrastructure
• They were mainly filled by liberal-minded professional people, such as doctors, lawyers and teachers so it provided a forum for debate about central government
• The powers of the Zemstva still however remained limited as the Tsar could overturn decisions and he appointed the officials

Question 13

What impact did Alexander’s education reforms have?

Answer 13

• Universities could govern themselves
• Zemstva had responsibility of schools
• Primary/secondary education was extended - ‘open to all regardless of class and sex’
• However this caused political opposition to increase as people became more aware of Western ideologies and radical ideas.

Question 14

How did the Judiciary change?

Answer 14

1. Innocent till proven guilty
2. ‘Equality before law’ was established
3. Judges were given better training and better pay
4. Juries and lawyers present

Question 15

What reform caused the development of the intelligentsia?

Answer 15

Censorship

Question 16

Who was the minister of finance between 1862 and 1878?

Answer 16

Von Reutern

Question 17

What economic changes did Von Reutern implement under Alexander II?
(GIFT)

Answer 17

G - government support increased for cotton & mining
I - import duties (tariffs) were reduced to promote trade
F - foreign investment was encouraged
T - the treasury was reformed - abolished tax-farming

Question 18

Who assassinated Alexander II?

Answer 18

A group of Social Revolutionaries known as the ‘People’s Will’

Question 19

Micheal Lynch quote about Alexander II’s reforms:

Answer 19

‘It was unthinkable that he would continue with a process that might compromise his power as tsar’

Question 20

What did Alexander II do when he feared he had gone ‘too far’ with his reforms?

Answer 20

He abandoned his reformist policies and returned to the tsarists tradition of oppression

Question 21

During Alexander II’s reign, what new ‘class’ emerged?

Answer 21

The Kulaks - richer peasants

Question 22

What was one of the major decision that Alexander II made that jeopardised the tsarists regime and its authority?

Answer 22

Removal of restrictions on the press meaning they could report freely and criticise the regime. This led to more people joining revolutionary groups that opposed the tsars and wanted individual freedom

Question 23

What is meant by ‘Young Russia’?

Answer 23

A new, more radical and modernised Russia.

In June 1882, a series of fires in St Petersburg destroyed over 2,000 shops, there were rumours that radical students and ‘Young Russia’ supporters were responsible.

Question 24

What was the Okhrana?

Answer 24

The secret police - used to control any opposition or illegal radical groups working underground

Question 25

Terrence Emmons quote on the outcome of the Emancipation of the Serfs:

Answer 25

the edict was a ‘state-directed’ manipulation of society aimed to ‘strengthen social and political stability’

Question 26

Why did some historians believe the Emancipation Edict in 1861 was vital?

Answer 26

For the transition towards a Capitalist economy

Question 27

Reasons for the Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861?

Answer 27

1. Frequent peasant unrest/uprisings
2. Prominence of liberal ideologies - intelligentsia
3. Undeveloped economy
4. Defeat in the Crimean war/poor military
5. Influences over Alexander II - his brother, aunt, the nobility circle ‘Party of St.Petersburg progress’

Question 28

How many riots took place four months after the Emancipation Edict in 1861?

Answer 28

647 riots

Question 29

In 1861 what % of farms were not self-sufficient?

Answer 29

25%

Question 30

How many more primary schools were built from 1856 compared to 1880?

Answer 30

8000 in 1856

23,000 in 1880

Question 31

By the 1870s, how many university students were they?

Answer 31

10,000

Question 32

When was the Russo-Turkish war?

Answer 32

1879-1880

Question 33

Who was appointed Minister of Internal Affairs?

Answer 33

Mikhail Loris-Meilkov

Question 34

What major changes did Loris-Meilkov take?

Answer 34

Released political prisoners, relaxed censorship and lifted restrictions on the activities of the zemstva

Question 35

Who were ‘Westerners’?

Answer 35

People who believed Russia to adopt the best features of the political and economic systems of Western countries

Question 36

Who were ‘Slavophiles’?

Answer 36

People who regarded western values as corrupting and attempted to preserve traditional Russian values

Question 37

Who was Alexander’s tutor?

Answer 37

Pobedonostev

Question 38

How did Alexander’s reign begin?

Answer 38

With the public hanging of the conspirators involved in his father’s assassination and the 1881 ‘Manifesto of Unshakable Autocracy’

Question 39

What was the Law on Exceptional Measures issued by Alexander?

Answer 39

A statement that declared that, if necessary, a Commander-in-Chief could be appointed to take control of a locality, using military courts.

Question 40

Created in July 1889, this could override elections to the zemstvo to disregard decisions made

Answer 40

‘Land Captain’ appointed by the state

Question 41

When was the peasants vote reduced in the zemstva?

Answer 41

1890

Question 42

When were the zemstvo’s placed under government control?

Answer 42

1890

Question 43

Who was head of the Police Department between 1881 and 1884?

Answer 43

Von Plehve

Question 44

What statue in 1882 enabled police to search, arrest, imprison or exile any one who had committed a crime or those who it was thought would likely commit a crime?

Answer 44

The 1882 Statue on police Surveillance

Question 45

In 1889 which courts were put under the control of Land Captains in the countryside and under judges in the towns?

Answer 45

Volost courts

Question 46

What was the Education curriculum in universities changed to?

Answer 46

Based on ‘religious, moral and patriotic orientation’ rather than academic grounds

Question 47

In 1897 what % of the population were literate?

Answer 47

21%

Question 48

What did the ‘temporary regulations’ act in 1882 allow?

Answer 48

It allowed newspapers to be closed down and a life ban placed on editors and publishers

Question 49

What were some positive changes under Alexander III?

Answer 49

1. Reduction in redemption payments in 1881
2. In 1885, the poll tax was abolished and the introduction of inheritance tax helped to shift the burden of taxation a little
3. Peasant Land Bank introduced in 1883

Question 50

Who were the two Ministers of Finance during AIII reign?

Answer 50

Nikolai Bunge (1881-86) and Vyshnegradsky (1887-1892)

Question 51

What were the main changes Bunge made to the economy?

Answer 51

1. First income tax
2. Supported government intervention, railway building and tariff protection
3. REDUCED REDEMPTION PAYMENTS
4. Peasant Land Banks in 1883 - helped to buy additional land from the nobility
   However peasants still paid 90% of taxes

Question 52

What were the main changes Vyshnegradsky made to the economy?

Answer 52

1. High tariff of 30% - to boost home production
2. Negotiated loans and increased indirect taxes
3. Grain exports increased by 18%
   however this caused a widespread Great Famine from 1891-92

Question 53

When were the Peasant Land Banks introduced?

Answer 53

1883

Question 54

When were the Nobles Land Banks introduced?

Answer 54

1885

Question 55

What year was the Russian Budget in surplus?

Answer 55

1892

Question 56

What % did grain exports increase?

Answer 56

18%

Question 57

The Secret Police

Answer 57

The Gestapo

Question 58

Forcing everyone within the Russian Empire to think of themselves as ‘Russian’, by enforcing the Russian language and culture

Answer 58

Russification

Question 59

Being prejudiced against and persecuting Jews

Answer 59

Anti-Semitism

Question 60

An old Russian word which means ‘round up’ or lynching

Answer 60

Pogrom

Question 61

What major impact did Russification have on Finland?

Answer 61

• The ‘diet’ [parliament] was reorganized in 1892
• Russian coinage replaced the local currency
• The Russian language was increasingly demanded

Question 62

What major impact did Russification have on Poland?

Answer 62

• The Polish National Bank was closed in 1885

- In education, the teaching of all subjects, apart from Polish, had to be in Russian

Question 63

What major impact did Russification have on the Ukraine?

Answer 63

• Limited the use of the Ukrainian language in 1883

- In 1884, all theatres in the five Ukrainian provinces were closed

Question 64

Who was the head of the Orthodox Church?

Answer 64

The Tsar

Question 65

Why did many people support the Orthodox Church?

Answer 65

As there were laws benefiting those of Orthodox faith and many wanted to take advantage of the special measures of support

Question 66

From what year were members of non-Orthodox Churches not allowed to build new places of worship or spread any religious propaganda?

Answer 66

1883

Question 67

What did Russification cause?

Answer 67

Resentment among the educated and wealthy national minorities: Finns, poles and Baltic Germans. Led to secret publications of local language books. It also caused many national minorities to emigrate and join political opposition groups

Question 68

How many mass disturbances took place in 1888 over Russification?

Answer 68

322 cases
51 of these cases had military employed

Question 69

What were the beliefs of Russification?

Answer 69

1. Supporters genuinely believed they were acting for the good of the country an to enable modernization to reassert Russian strength.
2. More generally believed that it was a misguided policy that had the opposite effect from that intended

Question 70

What is Walter Moss’ view on Russification?

Answer 70

That although it seemed ‘foolish and counterproductive’, it was ultimately part of the ‘counter-reform mentality’ and that it was needed in order to maintain the Empire’s political stability

Question 71

Russification ‘failed to achieve its ends’ by…

Answer 71

Peter Waldron

Question 72

How many Jews were in the Russian Empire at this time?

Answer 72

5 million

Question 73

From what year had the Jewish population been confined to area of western Russia known as the Pale of Settlement?

Answer 73

1836

Question 74

What was Pobedonostev’s slogan about Anti-Semitism?

Answer 74

‘Beat the Yids - Save Russia’

Question 75

What type of violent actions were taken place against the Jews during pogroms?

Answer 75

Jewish property was burnt, shops and businesses destroyed and there were many incidences of rape and murder

Question 76

What laws introduced in 1882 added to the discrimination against the Jews?

Answer 76

The May Laws in 1882

- condemned the Jews to living in ghettos in cities and towns

Question 77

In the winter of 1891-92, how many Russian Jews were expelled from Moscow/

Answer 77

10,000

Question 78

What was the impact of anti-Semitism on the Jewish population in Russia?

Answer 78

Caused Jews to drive towards revolutionary groups, and in particular Marxist circles. Many Jews also left the country and some were even expelled (e.g. Kiev in 1886)

Question 79

When did AIII restrict the powers of the zemstvo and who did this disappoint?

Answer 79

In 1889-90 and the zemstva liberals

Question 80

In the 1990s, the attraction of the Slavophiles diminished causing a…………………………………………..to take root. This caused a split in the…………………………….

Answer 80

Western-style socialism

Intelligentsia

Question 81

What is argued to be the main reason why opposition increased from 1891?

Answer 81

The Great Famine

Question 82

What idea does Orlando Figes illustrate about the growing opposition?

Answer 82

The importance of the Famine as a turning point in the development of opposition

Question 83

Why was Menshevik and Bolshevik opposition very restricted up until 1917?

Answer 83

Many of the leaders remained on exile

The Okhrana and the military were very loyal to the Tsar

Question 84

Who established the ‘Emancipation of Labour group’? when? and why?

Answer 84

George Plekhanov (became a Marxist in 1903)
1883
To arrange Marxist tracts to be smuggled into Russia and to demonstrate that Marxism was fully applicable in Russia

Question 85

What year was Vyshnegradsky dismissed and why?

Answer 85

In 1892 due to the disaster of the Great Famine

Question 86

How many people died from starvation or disease during the Great Famine?

Answer 86

350,000

Question 87

The failure of the government to find a solution and intervene in the Great Famine led to an increase in…

Answer 87

opposition against the regime

Question 88

What were the main things during AIII reign that threatened autocracy?

Answer 88

1. The Great Famine in 1891-92 which spurred opposition > perhaps even led to the 1905 revolution
2. Russification and anti-Semitism increased opposition to the regime as very few supported these policies

Question 89

By 1882, how many nobles owned their own businesses in Moscow?

Answer 89

700 nobles

Question 90

What reforms were introduced in 1891-92?

Answer 90

Regulations of child labour, a reduction in working hours, a reduction in excess fines and ‘payment in kind’ > payments in goods/services rather than money

^ however these contributed very little towards improving he lives o the growing working class

Question 91

How many strikes were there per year between 1886-1894?

Answer 91

Around 33 strikes per year - even though they were illegal

Question 92

Average life expectancy was around…

Answer 92

27 for males and 29 for females

Question 93

When did Nicholas come into power?

Answer 93

1894

Question 94

What was Nicholas’ personality?

Answer 94

Small, natural reserved, indecisive, not a practical man

Exclaimed ‘what is going to happen to me and to all of Russia’

Question 95

Nationalist gangs devoted to the ‘Tsar, Church and Motherland’ > played a major role in crushing the 1905 revolution

Answer 95

The Black Hundreds

Question 96

Give an example of outburst in Russian universities

Answer 96

In 1901, force was used against a crowd of students in St Petersburg killing thirteen, and in the aftermath of the incident, 1500 students were imprisoned

Question 97

What was the nickname of the mass disturbances and arson attacks in rural communities from 1902 to 1907>

Answer 97

The years of the red cockerel

Question 98

What kind of action did the peasants take in the rural area’s?

Answer 98

Set fire to landlords’ barns, destroying grain, seized woodland and physically attacked landlords

Question 99

What was the result of the ‘years of the red cockerel’?

Answer 99

Stolypin dealt with the disturbances. Peasants were arrested and exiled, or shot in their thousands

Question 100

How many strikes took place in the year 1904?

Answer 100

90,000

Question 101

Give an example of an industrial strike that escalated in the towns?

Answer 101

In 1901, the Obukhov factory in St Petersburg so violent clashes between armed police and Cossacks

Question 102

What union was formed in 1904 by Father Gregorii Gapon and how many members did it have?

Answer 102

The Assembly of St Petersburg Factory Workers and it had 8000 members

Question 103

When was the Russo-Japanese war?

Answer 103

1904

Question 104

When was Plehve assassinated?

Answer 104

1904

Question 105

What was the Russo-Japanese war unpopular?

Answer 105

It was announced it was going to be a ‘short swift victorious war’ > ended in defeat and caused anti-Japanese patriotism

Question 106

When was Blood Sunday?

Answer 106

9th January 1905

Question 107

What triggered the 1905 revolution?

Answer 107

A strike began at Putilov iron Works in St Petersburg, led by Father Gapon and soo involved 150,000 workers

Question 108

What was the result of Blood Sunday?

Answer 108

12,000 troops were used to break up the demonstration leaving 150 dead and thousands wounded

Question 109

How many people died on Blood Sunday?

Answer 109

150 people

Question 110

What was the October Manifesto in 1905?

Answer 110

• Established a State Duma so allowing a voice to all classes of the population and it gave them power to approve laws

Question 111

What was the initial reaction to the October Manifesto?

Answer 111

It was greeted with celebrations on the streets of St. Petersburg and the pre-organized General Strike was called off

Question 112

How many St Petersburg Soviets are arrested on the 3rd December 1905?

Answer 112

250 members including Trotsky

Question 113

What other measures does Nicholas II take in order to control opposition and unrest?

Answer 113

1. Peasant redemption payments are halved

2. Press censorship end

Question 114

What was the purpose of the Fundamental Laws issued by Nicholas II in 1906 and what powers did it give him?

Answer 114

It was issued to reassert his power. The tsar also claimed the right to:

• to veto legislation
• dissolve the duma
• to appoint and dismiss government ministers
• to control the Orthodox Church
• to control the military and declare war

Question 115

The First Duma…(April-June 1906)

Answer 115

• Boycotted by the Bolsheviks, SR’s and extreme rights

- Requested radical reforms which were all rejected

Question 116

The Second Duma…(Feb-June 1907)

Answer 116

• More left-wing and opposed the government
• Refusal to support Stolypin’s agricultural reforms
• Dissolved due to attack on the army

Question 117

The Third Duma…(Nov 1907-June 19120

Answer 117

• Agreed to most government reforms
• Set up schools for poor children
• National Insurance for workers

Question 118

The Fourth Duma…(Nov 1912-August 1914)

Answer 118

• Voiced criticisms to the Tsar

- It was blind of the Tsar to not consider the power of the Duma as this may have saved the Tsarist regime

Question 119

When was Stolypin assassinated?

Answer 119

1911

Question 120

What did Stolypin establish in 1906 that dealt with crimes deemed to be political in intent?

Answer 120

Court Martials led by senior military officers

Question 121

How many people were convicted and execute between 1906-1909 under the Court Martials?

Answer 121

3000 people

Question 122

Stolypin’s intolerance and ruthlessness became known as…

Answer 122

Stolypin’s Neck Tie

Question 123

What had opposition weakened by 1914?

Answer 123

• Internal quarrels within the opposition groups
• Increased police activity
• Revival of patriotism

Question 124

What major figure caused the Royal Families reputation to be damaged?

Answer 124

Rasputin

Question 125

Who was the Minister of Finance under Nicholas II?

Answer 125

Sergei Witte

Question 126

What main changes did Witte undergo for the economy?

Answer 126

1. Development of the Trans-Siberian railway
2. ‘The Great Spurt’ > boom in ‘heavy’ industries
3. Economic modernization > State Capitalism
4. Heavy taxation and tariffs > caused prices to rise
5. Russia was placed on the Gold Standard to encourage international investment

Question 127

How much did coal output increase in 1900?

Answer 127

671 million puds

Question 128

What was the State Capital used for?

Answer 128

Fund public works, develop Russia’s infrastructure (railways, telegraph lines) as well as develop mines, oilfields and forests for timber

Question 129

By early 1900’s , what % of the railways was state controlled?

Answer 129

70%

Question 130

What was Nicholas II’s main aim to improve industry?

Answer 130

For rearmament in preparation for war

Question 131

How did the development aid Russia’s economy?

Answer 131

Allowed more extensive exploitation of Russia’s raw materials and reinforced the export drive of grain

Question 132

By 1913, Russia’s railway network was second largest in the world with……………………kilometers

Answer 132

62,200 km

Question 133

Pro’s and con’s of the Trans-Siberian railway?

Answer 133

+ brought economic benefits (e.g. opened up Western Siberia for emigration and farming)
- it promised more than it delivered and by 1914 was not fully completed

Question 134

Between 1908-1913 - aka. ‘the Great Spurt’ - what was the % industrial growth rate per year?

Answer 134

8.5% per year

Question 135

By 1914, Russia was the………………………..largest industrial power in the world

Answer 135

Fifth (5th)

Question 136

Overall conditions in the factories?

Answer 136

Working conditions were poor, over-crowding due to high industrialization and there was a lack of modern machinery meaning it was very labour intensive

Question 137

Developments in agriculture?

Answer 137

• Traditional farming methods continued (e.g. medieval rotation systems and wooden ploughs)
• Railway proved insufficient to alleviate the pressure of a growing population
• However, Stolypin sought more ‘kulaks’

Question 138

How did Stolypin describe the kulaks? and why?

Answer 138

‘Sturdy and Strong’

To win their loyalty to tsardom and to aid him to develop thee economy by improving agriculture

Question 139

What was the major issue with Stolypin’s proposed agricultural reforms?

Answer 139

He claimed that he needed 20 years of peace for his reforms to have effect > the impossible as the coming of war prevented this

Question 140

What was the value of grain production in 1914?

Answer 140

90 million

Question 141

Failures of Stolypin’s reforms

Answer 141

1. By 1914, only 10% of land had been transferred from communal to private ownership
2. In 1914, 90% of peasant holdings were still in traditional strips, with conservative peasants reluctant to give up their traditional practices and the security that the ‘Mir’ provided them
3. Landowners were often reluctant to give up land
4. Fewer than 1% achieved ‘kulak’ status

Question 142

By 1913, how many factory workers were in Russia?

Answer 142

6 million

Question 143

What had the Empire’s Urban population risen to from 1867 to 1917?

Answer 143

7 million in 1867

28 million in 1917

Question 144

What was the Empire’s Urban population in 1917?

Answer 144

28 million

Question 145

What were the facilities like in the cities?

Answer 145

Inadequate, unhygienic, workers had to eat in canteens and wash in communal bathhouses

Question 146

In St Petersburg at the turn of the century, what % of houses had no running water or sewage system?

Answer 146

40%

Question 147

How many workers died of cholera in 1908-09?

Answer 147

30,000

Question 148

When was the industrial depression and how was it caused?

Answer 148

1900-08

The wages of workers were failing to keep pace with inflation and the booming economy

Question 149

There was an……….% rise in primary school provisions between 1905 and 1914

Answer 149

85%

Question 150

However only ……..% of children were in full-time education by 1914

Answer 150

55%

Question 151

Give an example of the Governments only way of dealing with strikes/opposition - repression

Answer 151

Siberia, 1912 -Lena Goldfields workers went on strike for better wages and conditions and troops were went in > 270 workers killed and 250 injured

Question 152

How many workers were killed in the ‘Lena Goldfields Massacre’ in 1912?

Answer 152

270 workers

Question 153

Did conditions for peasants in the countryside improve?

Answer 153

No - widespread rural poverty, many were forced to leave their farms and join the bands of migrant laborers looking for either seasonal farming work or industrial employment

Question 154

How many peasants migrated to Siberia in Stolypin’s attempt to improve agriculture?

Answer 154

3.5 million peasants - out of the 9 million

Question 155

What % of illiteracy was around in 1914?

Answer 155

60%

Question 156

Position of the nobility under NII?

Answer 156

• Knock-on effect from the Emancipation Edict in 1861
• Many had thrived on favorable land arrangements
• Many had strong military connections
• High influence over the zemstva
• Retained much of their previous wealth and status

Question 157

Position of the middle class under NII?

Answer 157

• Increased number of businesses and professional men
• Some social mobility as nobles’ sons chose to join the business world or hard-working peasants rose up
• Found themselves on the councils of the zemstva and the state dumas

Question 158

Position of the workers and peasantry under NII?

Answer 158

• Poor conditions, disease and famine caused an increase in ‘political activism’

Question 159

How did women benefit under NII reign?

Answer 159

Political and economic development brought some new opportunities for women including factory work, mainly on the evenings. Also more educational opportunities and in December 1908, the First All-Russian Congress of Women campaigned for a female franchise

Question 160

What was the government expenditure on primary education in 1914?

Answer 160

82 million roubles

Question 161

Cultural changes under NII?

Answer 161

• ‘silver age’ of Russian culture
• Censorship was relaxed allowing more publications of books, newspapers and articles
• Culture had diversified beyond the intelligentsia
• Domination of poets and classic literature

Question 162

Between 1860 and 1914, by how much did the number of university students grow?

Answer 162

5000 to 69,000

Question 163

What caused an outpour of patriotism and support for the tsar when war was announced in 1914?

Answer 163

Traditionalism - soldiers carried icons of Nicholas as they marched to the front and all social groups rallied in defence of the Russian Motherland

Question 164

What major events/issues caused Liberal opposition?

Answer 164

• The Great Famine 1991-92
• Reduction of zemstva powers
• Poor educational reforms
• Industrial depression fro 1900-08

Question 165

Who was Prince Lvov?

Answer 165

Wealthy landowner and liberal Kadet leader > served in the first Duma

Question 166

What were the tactics of the Social Revolutionaries?

Answer 166

They tried to stir up discontent in the countryside nd strikes in towns, similarly to the Populist movement, and disrupt government through political assassinations.
^ played an active role in the 1905 Revolution

Question 167

Between 1901 and 1905, how many assassinations did SR’s carry out?

Answer 167

2000 - including Plehve

Question 168

When was the split in the Social Democrats? and what groups did they split into?

Answer 168

1904
Mensheviks > Trotsky
Bolsheviks > Lenin

Question 169

What were the tactics/aims of the Mensheviks?

Answer 169

• Believed that revolution had to come from the workers themselves. They had alliances with other bourgeois liberal parties

Question 170

What were the tactics/aims of the Bolsheviks?

Answer 170

• Believed in class struggle and that revolution would occur by aiding and educating the workers. Described as a ‘democratic centralism’

Question 171

How did the government react to fear of independent working-class strike activity?

Answer 171

497 trade unions were closed down and a further 604 were denied registration between 1906 and 1910

Question 172

What strike activity a major threat to autocracy before 1914?

Answer 172

No, pre-war strike movement was less than it seemed.
Geographically limited, only 12% of enterprises experienced a strike and even the General Strike in July 1914 only brought out a quarter of the manufacturing labour force

Question 173

What was the initial spirit of national solidarity damped?

Answer 173

Battle of Tannenburg left 300,000 dead or wounded and many were captured prisoner > it was clear it would not be a clear victory

Question 174

Why did the liberal zemstva oppose the ‘military zones’ set up by the government to restrict all civilian authority?

Answer 174

They regarded the government as insensitive to the needs of the people and believed civilians had a major part to play in running the war

Question 175

When and who killed Rasputin?

Answer 175

1916 and a group of nobilities loyal to the Tsar

Question 176

What equipment issues affected the war?

Answer 176

By Christmas 1914, there was already a serious shortage of munitions.
In 1914, the infantry had only two rifles for every three soldiers
There was a lack of suitable clothing/footwear

Question 177

Spending on the war rose from………………… in 1914 to ………………….by 1918

Answer 177

1,500 million roubles

14,500 million roubles

Question 178

What did the increase need for grain to the military cause some farmers to do?

Answer 178

Hoarded what grain and foodstuffs they produced

Question 179

Why had the railways been taken over?

Answer 179

To transport men and goods to the frontline causing acute food and fuel shortages.

Question 180

What was the impact of increased numbers of workers in essential war industries?

Answer 180

Armament manufacture improved in 1916 - rifle production doubled and heavy artillery quadrupled

Question 181

When did unemployment increase in urban area’s?

Answer 181

As non-essential industries were closed down and lock-outs and strikes crippled what little industry survived

Question 182

What was the % rise of living?

Answer 182

300%

Question 183

In January 1917, how many workers went on strike in Moscow and Petrograd?

Answer 183

Moscow > 30,000

Petrograd > 145,000

Question 184

Why did the revolution in 1917 cause the collapse of the Tsarist Regime?

Answer 184

1. Nicholas no longer had the support of the military or the nobility
2. Impact of war caused uncontrollable situations
3. Opposition groups were more united

Question 185

What was ‘Order No.1’?

Answer 185

A charter of soldier rights which was agreed by the Petrograd Soviet (‘councils’). Seen as revolutionary and insisted that all soldiers and workers should obey the Provisional Government

Question 186

How many years of Romanov dynasty came to an end in 1917?

Answer 186

304 years

Question 187

What revolutionary disturbances were happening elsewhere outside of Petrograd?

Answer 187

• In cities, workers seized control of their factories and set up workers’ committees and deposed their former bosses
• The army, under the command of the Petrograd Soviet, disintegrated into semi-independent bodies without clear leadership
• In the countryside, peasants attacked landlords’ properties and felled trees illegally
• In provinces such as Finland, Poland and the Ukraine, national minorities declared their independence

Question 188

What do soviet historians interpret about the events of February 1917?

Answer 188

• An inevitable class struggle between the bourgeoisie-proletarian forces and traditional aristocratic forces of the urban workers in St Petersburg.
• They believe it was the Bolsheviks who inspired the revolution and the setting up of the Petrograd

Question 189

What was the ‘Provisional Government’?

Answer 189

Grand-Duke Mikhail relinquished political authority under Prince Lvov and its members represented included influential elites and compromised those who had previously favoured the monarchy (e.g. liberals, moderate socialists and Kadets)

Question 190

What groups who previously supported the monarchy were under-threat due to the Provisional Government?

Answer 190

Kadets, Liberals and Moderate Socialists

Question 191

Who was the Petrograd Soviet dominated by?

Answer 191

Mensheviks, SR’s and a small number of Bolsheviks

Question 192

What laid the foundations of the Dual Power period in 1917?

Answer 192

Negotiations by Alexander Kerensky for the Provisional Government and the Soviet to work together

Question 193

What promises of the Provisional Government did the Soviet accept?

Answer 193

1. A general amnesty for political prisoners
2. Basic civil liberties
3. The abolition of legal disabilities based on class, religion and nationality
4. The right to organize trade unions and to strike
5. That a Constituent Assembly would be elected

Question 194

What other changes were made under Dual power?

Answer 194

• Freedom off religion and the press
• Abolishment of the death penalty
• Replaced the tsarist police force with ‘people’s militia’

Question 195

Why were local ‘soviets’ set up by peasants and workers all across Russia?

Answer 195

To demand a say in the running of factories and to be able to control their own affairs

Question 196

What did Milyukov’s announcement in April 1917 cause?

Answer 196

He stated that the government would keep on fighting until ‘just peace’ had been won. This led to massive war demonstrations in Petrograd forcing him to resign

Question 197

How many desertions were they between March to May in 1917?

Answer 197

365,000 > caused the death penalty to be reinstated as the only way of controlling troops

Question 198

What was the Kornilov coup?

Answer 198

Kornilov, Commander-in-Chief of the army, ordered six regiments of troop sot march on Petrograd with the intention of crushing the Soviet and establish a military dictatorship. Kornilov’s supplies were cut and the cup leaders were arrested

Question 199

Why did the Provisional Government lose support from the countryside?

Answer 199

Due to the continuation of the war and the failure to redistribute land

Question 200

Why did the Provisional Government lose support from the workers?

Answer 200

Food shortages and real wages fell. Also when the right of factory owners to dismiss workers who went on strikes was confirmed, and the meetings of factory committees during working hours was forbidden

Question 201

Where from and when did Lenin return from?

Answer 201

From exile in Switzerland and in April 1917

Question 202

How did Lenin manage to return from exile? Who helped him?

Answer 202

Germans who expected him to seize power and make peace

Question 203

Who became the first Minister (of war) in 1917?

Answer 203

Kerensky

Question 204

What was the ‘April Thesis’?

Answer 204

A gist of words spoken by Lenin in his speech to the greeting crowds at the Finland Station in Petrograd.
Demand for ‘peace, bread and land’

Question 205

Where was the ‘April Thesis’ published?

Answer 205

In the party’s official newspaper - the ‘Pravda’

Question 206

What did the ‘April Thesis’ demand?

Answer 206

• Power should be transferred to the Soviets
• The war should be brought to an immediate end
• All land should be taken over by the State and re-allocated by local soviets

Question 207

What did the ‘April Thesis’ demands become known as?

Answer 207

‘Peace, bread and land’

Question 208

What was Lenin’s motto?

Answer 208

‘All power to the soviets’

Question 209

What was the initial reaction to the reappearance of Lenin?

Answer 209

• Fear that Lenin had grown ‘out of touch’
• Fear that Lenin’s radical proposals would do more harm than good
• That Lenin’ call to oppose the Provisional Government was unrealistic
• Mensheviks feared Lenin would provoke a right-wing reaction and stir up discontent

Question 210

How many members did the Bolsheviks have?

Answer 210

26,000 - still a minority to the socialists

Question 211

How did Lenin win over the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party?

Answer 211

By sheer force of personality

Question 212

When did Trotsky decide to throw his full weight behind the Bolshevik cause?

Answer 212

Beginning of July 1917

Question 213

What were the ‘July Days’?

Answer 213

Forcing of 586 factories causing 100,000 to be unemployed caused the workers to want price controls, Even the Kronstadt sailors joined the workers on the streets and protested ‘all power to the soviets’

Question 214

In October 1917, what was the new Bolshevik membership figure?

Answer 214

200,000

Question 215

Who became chairman of the Petrograd Soviet in September?

Answer 215

Trotsky

Question 216

What was Kerensky’s reaction to the Bolshevik’s threat to seize power?

Answer 216

Responded by sending some of the more radical army units out of the capital. He also tried to close down two Bolshevik newspapers and restricted the Military Revolutionary Committee’s power when Lenin announced that ‘an armed rising is the order of the day’

Question 217

The name given to the Bolshevik Secret Police

Answer 217

The Cheka

Question 218

What happened through the night on October 24th-25th?

Answer 218

In the name of the Second Congress of Soviets, 5000 sailors and soldiers from Kronstadt moved into the city and Bolshevik Red Guards seized key positions around the capital (e.g. post offices, railways stations).

Question 219

What happened on the evening of the 25th?

Answer 219

The storming of the Winter Palace - 15,000 gathered to watch or took part in the Bolsheviks claim to power.

Question 220

What did Trotsky admit about the October Revolution?

Answer 220

Only 25,000-30,000 ‘at the most’ were actively involved and the revolution was essentially a series of ‘small operations, calculated and prepared in advance’

Question 221

Historians views on how the revolution occurred?

Answer 221

Fitzpatrick - adopts a more Liberal view that it was a spontaneous rebellion which the Bolsheviks were bae to exploit
Carr - argues Lenin was the directing force
Critics of the ‘heroic Lenin’ would argue that he was absent for most of 1917 and it was indeed Trotsky who was the leading power in the revolution as he organized the Red Guards + the storming of the Winter Palace

Question 222

What immediate measures did Lenin take?

Answer 222

1. Decree on peace: promised an end to war ‘without annexation and indemnities’ - demobilization followed
2. Decree on land: abolished private ownership and legitimized peasant seizures without compensation to landlords
3. Workers control decree: gave workers the right to ‘supervise management’
4. Decrees on the Church were nationalised
5. Government outlawed sex discrimination and gave women the right to own property
6. Closure of anti-Bolshevik newspapers
7. Propaganda campaign against political and ‘class enemies (e.g. the bourgeoisie)

Question 223

Who benefitted/did not benefit form the Bolshevik Revolution in October 1917?

Answer 223

+ Women did benefit > outlawed sex discrimination
+ Workers did benefit > ‘supervise management’
+ Peasants did benefit > legitimized peasant seizures, promise to redistribution of land in ‘April Thesis
+ Soldiers did benefit > end to war and military decree removed class-ranks in the army
+ National Minorities did benefit > promised independence to the peoples of the former Russian Empire
- Landowners did not > abolishment of private ownership
- Nobility did not > decree against titles, all to become ‘citizens’

Question 224

How was Lenin’s determination for a one-party Bolshevik State shown?

Answer 224

• No intention of sharing any power with other socialists
• There was a new Bolshevik/Communist power structure
• Dispersal of the Constituent Assembly in Jan 1918. When civilians demonstrated against his action, they were fired on and 12 were killed
• ‘the dictatorship of the proletariat’
• Creation of the Cheka = repression of ‘counter-revolutionary’ enemies

Question 225

When did the Bolsheviks formerly adopt the title of ‘Communist Party’?

Answer 225

March 1918

Question 226

Why did Lenin start to allow more ‘capitalistic practices’ after the war in 1921?

Answer 226

Occurred when he was faced with revolt from workers and peasants who sought to end wartime policies and the Kronstadt sailors, who previously has supported Lenin (eye-opener for Lenin)

Question 227

Lenin’s introduction of ‘central planning’ and nationalization of industry can be seen as a………

Answer 227

pragmatic (realistic) reaction to the crisis after the war rather than one supporting communist ideologies

Question 228

Why did Lenin argue for a ‘ban on factions’ within the Communist Party?

Answer 228

As party unity was deemed paramount in difficult circumstances. Stalin used this to defeat his rivals later on

Question 229

How did Lenin die?

Answer 229

Due to ill-health and paralysis from the 1918 attack where he was shot by a SR.

Question 230

What political opposition did the signing of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk cause?

Answer 230

‘Whites’ who were supported by Western forces (Britain and France) as well as the US to fight to keep Russia a capitalist nation as well as their own interests (loans)

Question 231

What was the treaty called that withdrew Russian forces from the First World War?

Answer 231

Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Question 232

When was the Tsar and his family murdered?

Answer 232

July 1918 in the Urals mountains

Question 233

How did the Communists defeat the Whites?

Answer 233

Due to the Bolsheviks geographical advantages and superior organization. This was at the expense of 10 million death from hunger and epidemic disease, as well as military action

Question 234

What body was created that became the real-centre for Party policy?

Answer 234

The Politburo in 1919 including Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin

Question 235

What does Marxism teach?

Answer 235

That society evolves through class struggle

Question 236

What education act was set up under Lenin?

Answer 236

The Commissariat of Enlightenment - which provided free education at all levels in schools

Question 237

What opposition types did the Bolsheviks face?

Answer 237

• From other political groups
• From former tsarist officers and loyal peasants
• From the ideological ‘opposition’ - upper classes of society

Question 238

Who was the first leader of the Cheka established in 1917?

Answer 238

Felix Dzerzhinsky

Question 239

What made it clear to the Russian people that the state would do all in its power to destroy enemies?

Answer 239

The establishment of the Cheka, the dismissal of the Constituent Assembly and the extension of the Red Army to deal with rebellion

Question 240

How were the bourgeoisie and the upper classes effected by the ‘Red Terror’?

Answer 240

There was a form of ‘class welfare’ and bourgeoisie property was confiscated, social privilege ended and discriminatory taxes levied on the burzhui (the enemy of the people)

Question 241

Who were the ‘burzhui’?

Answer 241

the ‘enemies of the people’.

Ideological opponents as much as political ones were arrested, exiled or executed

Question 242

What provided the excuse of ‘Terror’ to begin?

Answer 242

The attempt on Lenin’s life in August 1918

Question 243

When did political opposition come to an end under Lenin?

Answer 243

In 1921, when 34 SR’s (social Revolutionaries) were given ‘show trails’, and made to admit their crimes in public and denounce others.

Question 244

Why were around 8000 priests executed in 1921?

Answer 244

For failing to hand over valuable Church possessions, which were supposedly required for the relief of famine victims

Question 245

How many people were shot due to the ‘Red Terror’ in the 1918-21 period?

Answer 245

1 million people

Question 246

What did the ‘ban on factions’ mean in 1921?

Answer 246

That all Party members had to accept the decisions of the Central Committee and anyone who opposed was threatened with expulsion from the party.

Question 247

What are the three main reasons why Stalin emerged as leader in 1929?

Answer 247

1. Ideological reasons
2. Ruthless political ambition
3. His rival’s weaknesses

Question 248

What was Lenin’s Testament?

Answer 248

A letter to be read to the Party congress on his death. In the letter he gave his critical opinion of other members of the Politburo.

Question 249

How did Lenin refer to Stalin in his ‘Testament’?

Answer 249

‘personal rudeness, unnecessary roughness and lack of finesse’ and he suggested that comrades should consider ‘removing Stalin from his post’

Question 250

Why was Lenin’s Testament never read in public as intended?

Answer 250

The Central Committee decided among themselves to suppress it and this played massively in Stalin’s hands

Question 251

What role previous to Lenin’s death gave Stalin a great advantage in the power struggle?

Answer 251

He was appointed general Secretary in 1922 which meant he could appoint people to high-status jobs and he had a powerful influence because of this

Question 252

Name the four other leadership candidates present in the power struggle

Answer 252

Kamenev
Zinoviev
Trotsky
Bukharin

Question 253

What gained Stalin even more support and popularity from the party?

Answer 253

His commitment to continuing the NEP of which solved problems created by War communism and also helped to improve Russia’s industry

Question 254

What does Stalin do to Trotsky that slightly damages his reputation?

Answer 254

He told the wrong date of Lenin’s funeral so Trotsky was absent

Question 255

What did Trotsky publish that further benefits Stalin?

Answer 255

‘Lessons of October’ which show how Zinoviev and Kamenev have (unlike Trotsky) opposed Lenin on a number of issues. Stalin however is not mentioned.

Question 256

When is Trotsky forced from his position as Commissar of War?

Answer 256

Dec 1925

Question 257

Who does Stalin first ‘buddy’ with to gain more supporters and get rid of Zinoviev and Trotsky?

Answer 257

Bukharin

Question 258

Stalin celebrates his ………… as the undisputed Soviet leader

Answer 258

50th

Question 259

How many members were there in the party in 1933?

Answer 259

3,555,338

Question 260

Who were the majority support base of the party and Stalin?

Answer 260

Younger and less-educated urban workers and ex-peasants who were less interested in ideological debate

Question 261

How did Stalin describe the 1936 Constitution drafted by Bukharin?

Answer 261

‘the most democratic in the world’

Question 262

What did the 1936 Constitution promise?

Answer 262

> Local autonomy to ethnic groups and support for national cultures and languages.
Four-yearly elections with the right to vote for all over 18 including the ‘former people’ who had previously been deprived of voting rights.
Extensive statement of civil rights - such as freedom for random arrest and right to free speech

Question 263

The new constitution did, indeed, look democratic but what could be argued was its main purpose?

Answer 263

To impress foreigners as the promised rights were largely ignored

Question 264

What propaganda slogans, paintings and sculptures were used to portray Stalin during the early years of his leadership?

Answer 264

• ‘Stalin is the Lenin of today’
• ’ father of the nation’
• ‘might leader’
• ‘universal genius’
• ‘Red Tsar’
• Regarded as a ‘God-like’ figure

Question 265

A system of rule established by Stalin from the mid-1930s onwards

Answer 265

‘Stalinism’

Question 266

What situation , in 1937, caused Stalin’s power to be undermined and threatened?

Answer 266

He was outvoted in the Politburo in his plan to replace Yezhov with Malenkov as head of the NKVD

Question 267

What did the end of the NEP in 1927 become known as?

Answer 267

‘The Great Turn’

Question 268

Why was the NEP abandoned?

Answer 268

By 1927, it was failing to produce growth and progress. Stalin also wanted to focus on increase the USSR’s military strength and develop its self-sufficiency. Stalin also wanted a move towards true ‘socialism’.

Question 269

What did Stalin’s strong control over the economy become known as?

Answer 269

‘Central planning’

Question 270

What were the 5 yr plans and what did they aim to do?

Answer 270

A series of targets for chosen industries to strive towards and they were intend to force managers and workers to devote their maximum effort into working

Question 271

Failure to achieve target was a ………..offence. This led to many………. statistics about the actual progress of the 5 yr plans causing …………… in the system

Answer 271

1. Criminal
2. False
3. Corruption

Question 272

Aims of the first five year plan include:

Answer 272

1. Increase production by 300%
2. Develop HEAVY industry
3. Boost electricity production by 600%
4. Double the output in light industry such as chemicals

Question 273

What did Stalin claim about the first five year plan?

Answer 273

That targets were met in 4 years. This was most likely due to ‘over-enthusiastic’ reporting as none of the major targets were met in reality

Question 274

Give an example of an industrial complex that sprung up due to the first five year plan?

Answer 274

Magnitogorsk in the Urals

Question 275

What were the failures of the first five year plan?

Answer 275

1. House building and other consumer industries were neglected
2. Too few skilled workers and little effective co-ordination for development to occur.
3. Smaller industrial works lost out due to competition

Question 276

Aims of the Second five year plan include:

Answer 276

1. Continued development of heavy industry
2. New emphasis on lighter industries
3. Develop communications to aid industry
4. Boost engineering and tool-making
5. In 1936, focus was changed to rearmament

Question 277

Outcomes of the Second five year plans?

Answer 277

• Moscow Metro opened in 1935
• Volga Canal opened in 1937
• Steel output trebled
• Coal output doubled
• However oil production failed to meet its targets
• No major increase in consumer goods
• Focus on quantity over quality

Question 278

Aims of the Third Five year plans include:

Answer 278

1. Focus on development of heavy industry (due to fear of war)
2. Promote rapid rearmament
3. Complete transition to come

Question 279

What was the outcome of oil production failing to reach its targets again?

Answer 279

There was a fuel crisis

Question 280

What was the biggest problem with the Third Five year plan?

Answer 280

The lack of good managers, specialist and technicians following Stalin’s purges

Question 281

Why did the Third Five year plan have to be finished early?

Answer 281

Due to the German invasion in 1941

Question 282

What incentive did enterprises and workers have to work hard?

Answer 282

Bonuses were paid to enterprises that exceeded targets and Managers had to pay ‘extra’ to workers who exceeded norms

Question 283

Why was the development of agriculture important to Stalin?

Answer 283

Agriculture was important to aid industrialisation as: to enable the purchase of industrial equipment, surplus grain was needed for export and to feed a growing industrial workforce

Question 284

What did Stalin’s ‘Great Turn’ entail for Russian agriculture?

Answer 284

A move towards ‘collective farming’ - aka. Collectivisation

Question 285

What was it hoped that ‘collective farming’ would do to farming?

Answer 285

It was hoped it would provide more efficient farming, new modern equipment, ‘socialise’ the peasants and make grain easier to collect

Question 286

Why did Stalin carry out ‘de-kulakisation’?

Answer 286

As he believed some of the grain problems had been caused by them as they understood how to make money by holding back supplies

Question 287

In December 1929, what did Stalin announce he was to do about the ‘kulaks’?

Answer 287

‘annihilate the kulaks as a class’

- The Red Army and the Cheka were used to identify, execute or deport kulaks

Question 288

What % of the peasants were said to be ‘kulaks’?

Answer 288

4%

Question 289

How many ‘richer peasants’ were forced to migrate North and East to poorer land?

Answer 289

150,000

Question 290

What % of grain-framing areas were announced by Stalin in 1930 to be collectivised that year?

Answer 290

25%

Question 291

‘kolkhoz’

Answer 291

A collective number of peasant families on state-owned land, where peasants lived rent-free but had to fulfill state grain quotas and set targets

Question 292

By 1930, what % of peasant households had been collectivised?

Answer 292

58%

Question 293

What did the second stage of collectivisation cause in 1932 in the Ukraine?

Answer 293

Mass famine - one of the worst famines in Russian history (1932-33). Aka. Holodomor famine

Question 294

How many agricultural machines were established by Machine Tractor Stations (MTS)?

Answer 294

2500 machines

Question 295

What was there purpose of MTS?

Answer 295

To allow hiring of machinery to the kolkhozes, to control the countryside form ‘troublemakers’ and to ensure quotas were collected. however prices were very high so many could not afford

Question 296

What were the main problems of Collectivisation from 1931?

Answer 296

1. ‘Dekulakisation’ was inhumane - 10 million successful farmers removed
2. Grain and livestock was destroyed
3. Unrealistic quotas led to many peasants having to and over all of their grain, this led to hoarding of grain
4. Collectives were poorly organised
5. 1932-33 famine in the Ukraine

Question 297

What was collectivisation referred to by the peasants?

Answer 297

a ‘Second serfdom’

Question 298

+ and - of collectivisation for Stalin?

Answer 298

+ Strengthened his political position and his authority and support from the party reached new heights
- Failed to bring socialism and economic efficiency to the countryside

Question 299

QUOTE: What was Stalin’s famous quote about the value of life?

Answer 299

‘one death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic’

Question 300

How many people were exiled as part of Dekulakisation?

Answer 300

10 million

Question 301

By 1941, what was said the USSR had achieved in terms of the economy?

Answer 301

A ‘command economy’ tightly run by the State - where many groups of people had been sacrificed

Question 302

What is a similarity between Lenin and Stalin’s approach to improving the workforce and production rates in factories?

Answer 302

Workers could be imprisoned or shot if they failed to meet targets - a criminal offence

Question 303

What was the ‘Stakhanovite’ movement?

Answer 303

A way of forcing management to support their workers top increase production rates by rewarding hard workers with bonuses. It increased ‘socialist competition’

Question 304

How did children of workers benefit from industrialisation?

Answer 304

Increased educational opportunities that Stalinist Russia offered

Question 305

QUOTE: What did Stalin announce in 1933 about the quality of life for people in Russia?

Answer 305

‘life has become better, comrades, life has become more joyous’
however… rationing in cities
overcrowding on public transport
empty shops and short supplies

Question 306

Why did Stalin revert to more traditional policies in society in the 1930s?

Answer 306

• due to fall in population - not helped by purges, collectivisation or poor living conditions
• also due to fears of war

Question 307

What became the focus of a new propaganda wave, in which Stalin was presented as a ‘father figure’?

Answer 307

The ‘family’ - causing divorce and abortion to be attacked and the importance of marriage to be re-emphasised

Question 308

What measures were introduced in 1936 that reversed many of Lenin’s policies?

Answer 308

• Contraception was banned
• Financial incentives were offered to large families
• Adultery was criminalised
• Large fees introduced to discourage divorce however the divorce rate still remained high (37% in Moscow in 1934)

Question 309

The number of female industrial workers grew from………in 1928 to……….in 1940

Answer 309

1. 3 million

2. 13 million

Question 310

By 1940, what % of the industrial workforce were women?

Answer 310

43%

Question 311

What other changes were there for women during the 1930s?

Answer 311

Women in education doubled and large numbers of women worked on collective farms however women earned 40% less than men

Question 312

What was the name of the economic planning agency that universities were put under control by?

Answer 312

Veshenka

Question 313

What did the Stakhanovite movement extended to?

Answer 313

The teaching profession and teachers were encouraged to set high targets for themselves and their students. Teachers however could be purged if not achieved so targets were usually set very low

Question 314

By 1941, what % of the 9-49 age group in TOWNS were literate?

Answer 314

94%

Question 315

By 1941, what % of the 9-49 age group in the COUNTRYSIDE were literate?

Answer 315

86%

Question 316

What did the new opportunities did education provide in terms of the hierarchical system in society?

Answer 316

Proved itself as a vehicle for socials mobility

Question 317

What was the ‘Komsomol’?

Answer 317

The youth division of the Communist Party which taught communist values

Question 318

When was the ‘uninterrupted six-day work week’ introduced? what did this prevent?

Answer 318

From 1932 which prevented a ‘holy day’ of church attendance

Question 319

How did Stalin’s 1936 constitution affect the church?

Answer 319

It criminalised the publication or organisation of religious propaganda, although the priests regained the right to vote

Question 320

By 1941, how many Christian churches and Muslim mosques had been closed down? and what had they been converted to?

Answer 320

40,000 Christian churches
25,000 Muslim mosques
Converted to: cinema’s, schools, prisons, grain storage and museums

Question 321

What did Stalin aim to create in Russia that belittled national minorities?

Answer 321

Create a ‘Soviet identity’. there were deportations of non-Russians and anti-Semitic attitudes were revised.

Question 322

Petrograd changed to….

Answer 322

Leningrad

Question 323

Changes in music, art, literature, the theatre and film all led to the creation of the…

Answer 323

‘new socialist man’

Question 324

How was collectivisation enforced and the five year plans maintained?

Answer 324

Through the use of Terror - the NKVD, the Cheka, the Red Army

Question 325

Shakhty Show trails in…

Answer 325

128 showed how Stalin used scapegoats for the chaos caused by his own economic policies creating an ‘industrial Terror’

Question 326

The ‘industrial party’ trail was…

Answer 326

In November 1930, where a group of industrialists were accused as sabotage and used as scapegoats to the failure of Stalin’s industrial plans

Question 327

What was it believed that ‘gulags’ would do?

Answer 327

They could contribute to the economic growth of the USSR by offering minimum ‘per capita’ funding, whilst also punishing and ‘correcting’ the prisoners

Question 328

The gulags were under strict control of the…

Answer 328

NKVD

Question 329

Give an example of a major project of the gulags?

Answer 329

The construction of the White Sea Canal. 100,000 prisoners were employed on the project and in the end it was a failure. 25,000 died in the 1931-32 Winter

Question 330

What caused Stalin to become ‘unhinged’ and even more paranoid as Figes suggests?

Answer 330

The suicide of his wife in 1932 which was also exaggerated by the famine in 1932-33 and an increase in workers strikes, which Stalin was blamed for

Question 331

How did Stalin deal with growing opposition in the party such as the ‘Old Bolsheviks’?

Answer 331

Ordering the NKVD to arrest them and many were expelled form the party

Question 332

How did Stalin deal with opposition from the ‘Ryutin Platform’ who disapproved of Stalin’s political direction and personality?

Answer 332

Crushed them by calling for their immediate execution and they were arrested. 24 expelled from the party and exiled in Moscow. Ryutin himself was sent to 10 years in prison but was shot on the orders of Stalin 1937

Question 333

How many people died form the 1932-33 famine?

Answer 333

6 million

Question 334

What was the Gosplan?

Answer 334

The State Planning Commission

Question 335

What is a Totalitarian view on why Stalin used terror?

complete control of every aspect = totalitarian

Answer 335

Stalin used the purges/terror:

• as a weapon to establish control of the party
• as a mechanism to control the populace
• as he sought to get rid of the ‘Old Bolsheviks’ who might threaten his leadership
• The NKVD carried out orders passed down to them

Question 336

What is a Revisionist view on why Stalin used terror?

the state had more control = revisionist

Answer 336

• Stalin is responsible for the terror but his personality alone is not sufficient enough to blame
• Stalin did not have a masterplan for the terror
• NKVD acted on their own initiative
• The terror was very productive anyway as control spiralled out of control > no major impact

Question 337

What do later USSR leaders, Khrushchev and Gorbachev, say about revolution under Stalin?

Answer 337

That Stalin’s personality cult and ruthlessness pushed revolution off course and the October 1917 revolution had been a healthier first step in creating an ideal communist society

Question 338

How was there continuation between Lenin and Stalin?

Answer 338

Stalin extended the use of Terror and class warfare, as practised by Lenin, to enforce collectivisation through the destruction of the kulaks and maintain his five year plans for industry.

Question 339

What was the Shakhty Show Trial in 1928?

Answer 339

53 engineers were accused of counter-revolutionary activity’ and were forced to confess. 5 were executed

Question 340

What was the 1928 Shakhty Show trail a clear indication of?

Answer 340

Stalin’s determination to find a scapegoat for the chaos caused by his own economic policies, while delivering the message that the regime had to maintain its vigilance against those who were set to destroy it

Question 341

How were gulags a continuation of Lenin?

Answer 341

As the corrective-labour camps (aka. ‘corrective camps’) established by Lenin were extended to create the gulags - he set the foundations

Question 342

What is a ‘gulag’?

Answer 342

‘economic colonies’ - a way of exploiting the prison population to boost economic growth

Question 343

Who was Stalin’s main opponent in the 1930s?

Answer 343

Bukharin and Kirov (until he was killed)

Question 344

When did Stalin announce the ‘anti-Leninist opposition?’

Answer 344

1934

Question 345

When was Kirov murdered?

Answer 345

December 1934

Question 346

What did the murder of Kirov allow Stalin to do?

Answer 346

Publish a decree a day after the assassination, giving Yagoda, head of the NKVD, powers to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of ‘terrorist plotting’

Question 347

How many people were arrested under the decree published after Kirov’s assassination?

Answer 347

6,500 people

Question 348

In 1935, how many ‘former people’ of the state were arrested , exiled or placed in camps of suspicion of instigating terrorism?

Answer 348

11,000

Question 349

How many Part members were expelled by Stalin as ‘anti-Leninists’ in 1935?

Answer 349

250,000

Question 350

Why was there a purge on ‘Kremlin employees’?

Answer 350

To uncover reputed ‘foreign spies’

Question 351

When were the ‘Great Purges’?

Answer 351

1936-38

Question 352

QUOTE: Volkogonov on why Stalin’s purges were necessary.

Answer 352

‘For the Stalinist system to function, permanent purge was a necessity’

Question 353

Who was involved in the conspiracy to plot to murder Stalin in 1936 that led to a show trial?

Answer 353

Zinoviev, Kamenev, Yagoda (NKVD leader) and Trotsky

Question 354

Who was involved in the largest political show trial in March 1938?

Answer 354

21 Bolsheviks and Bukharin, Rykov and Yagoda and 13-others were sent to be shot

Question 355

What was the Yezhovshchina?

Answer 355

The purges of ordinary citizens from 1937-38 followed on from the Great Purges in 1936-8

Question 356

Who was Yezhov?

Answer 356

The head of the NKVD (SECRET POLICE) who replaced Yagoda in 1936

Question 357

When was Yezhov replaced by Beria as the NKVD leader?

Answer 357

December 1938

Question 358

In 1937, a Politburo resolution condemned ‘anti-Soviet elements’ which caused……………..arrests including…………

Answer 358

250,000 including artists, musicians, scientists and writers

Question 359

Why did the purges slow down after 1938?

Answer 359

As the Yezhovshchina had threatened to destabilise the State and both industry and administration had suffered. Stalin used Yezhov as a scapegoat foe the failure

Question 360

What did Stalin refer to the purges as?

Answer 360

‘Mass cleansing’

Question 361

How many cases were reviewed following the end of the purges?

Answer 361

1.5 million

Question 362

When was Yezhov arrested and shot?

Answer 362

February 1940

Question 363

By the end of the purges, what position was Stalin in?

Answer 363

He was in a position of ‘supreme’ power and his political rivals had gone and the release of so many prisoners helped restore faith in the system and its leader

Question 364

How can the foundations of Stalin’s 1941 highly centralised and authoritarian one-party sate be seen from Lenin’s era?

Answer 364

Lenin had favoured a one-party rule, ban on factions in 1921 and forced the closure of the Constituent Assembly

Question 365

What evidence was there in Stalin’s new constitution in 1936 of democratic structures?

Answer 365

Universal suffrage

Question 366

What was the ‘nomenklatura’?

Answer 366

A system of privileges that was used to reward loyal officials

Question 367

What was a similar characteristic of the Communist State of all leaders?

Answer 367

Its intolerance of opposition.
> Lenin had created the Cheka and a developed a prison camp system to deal with political enemies and Stalin intensified on this (targeted at kulaks and bourgeoisie)

Question 368

By 1941, what was the overall outcome of Stalin’s 5 year plans?

Answer 368

They had transformed Russia into a highly industrialised and urbanised nation, while all Russian farms had been collectivised.

Question 369

By 1940, what industries had Russia taken over Britain?

Answer 369

Steel and Iron

Question 370

Between 1938-1941, how much did spending on rearmament increase?

Answer 370

From 27.5 billion roubles to 71 billion roubles

Question 371

What was the crucial weakness of Russia’s economy by 1941?

Answer 371

Development was uneven and consumer production had been neglected. The quality of goods was poor and the central planning system was inefficient.

Question 372

In 1941, the nation was producing less grain that under what other economic policy?

Answer 372

The NEP under Lenin

Question 373

How was agriculture still behind in 1941?

Answer 373

There was little attention paid to modern farming techniques and there was also limited use of machinery in agriculture.

Question 374

What helped create a far stronger working class ‘proletariat’?

Answer 374

Urbanisation - the working class were was the backbone of the Communist Sate

Question 375

How was a new ‘mass culture’ being developed?

Answer 375

Through education, propaganda, the leadership cult, the show trails, public celebrations, arts and culture

Question 376

What restrictions under Stalin reflect similarity to under the Tsarist regime?

Answer 376

> Internal passports restricted freedom of movement (peasants in the Mir)
Strict censorship (AIII)

Question 377

Was Stalin a continuation of Lenin?

Answer 377

Some of the foundations were certainly laid out by Lenin and Stalin not only continued these, he went further than Lenin had ever done, extending one-party domination and redifining centralisation

Question 378

When were the Internal passports introduced under Stalin and what did they do?

Answer 378

1932 and they restricted freedom of moment - similarly to the ex-serfs from 1961 who had to remain within their commune/Mir

Question 379

What was the % of defence spending in 1940?

Answer 379

32.6%

Question 380

Why was Stalin taken by surprise when the Nazi’s invaded on 22nd June?

Answer 380

Due to the previous Nazi-Soviet pact signed as well as Stalin’s ignorance towards intelligence reports and he seemed to miscalculate when the Germans would turn East

Question 381

Why was Stalin’s army disadvantaged upon arrival of war? (Soviet Union)

Answer 381

> Due to the purges of the Red Army between 1936 and 1938 which had removed most senior officers and sapped the strength of the army.
Soviet fighting capacity had also been affected by inadequate training.
Stalin had also re-established the ‘dual command’ of military units - bringing back political commissars which had been abandoned in the late 1930s. This increased Party control but hindered combat capabilities

Question 382

By 1941, how many rifles were the Soviet Union producing per month?

Answer 382

100,000 rifles

Question 383

Why was the Soviet Union not economically ready for war?

Answer 383

Despite the move towards rearmament in the Third Five Year Plan, there were deficiencies in the quantity and quality of equipment. Due to increased expenditure on the military, there had been insufficient investment in the collective and state farm system, which was still not producing enough to feed population.

Question 384

How did Stalin’s terror continue even during the war?

Answer 384

In the first weeks of the Second World War, Stalin authorised the shootings of more officers for ‘cowardice’ when they failed to prevent the advance of the Germans

Question 385

Why is Stalin argued to be an ‘absolute monarch’ by Volkogonov?

Answer 385

As he wielded unrestricted political power over the Stater and its people

Question 386

What was the invasion of the Germans on 22nd June 1941 known as?

Answer 386

Operation Barbarossa

Question 387

Who did Stalin leave the public announcement of war to?

Answer 387

Molotov - ‘our cause is just, the enemy will be smashed, victory will be ours’

Question 388

What was the Stavka established in 1941?

Answer 388

Supreme Military demand responsible for all military planning

Question 389

What was the ‘dacha’ and when was it withdrawn by Stalin?

Answer 389

A second home in the country, often used by Russians in the summer and on 27th June 1941

Question 390

What Committee was set up by the Politburo after the announcement of war?

Answer 390

State Defence Committee (GKO)

Question 391

What was the State Defence Committee in control of?

Answer 391

Absolute authority over the Party, state, military and other organisations and directs the wartime economy = a small group of five

Question 392

Who did Stalin heavily rely on to organise military forces?

Answer 392

Zhukov, deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Red Army, who successfully defended Moscow in November 1941 and ultimately led the Soviet Troops to Berlin in April 1945

Question 393

What did Stalin issue in 1942 when Germans threatened Stalingrad?

Answer 393

Order 227 = ‘Not One Step Backwards’
> Any soldier who fell behind or tried top retreat was to be shot on sight, and more than 150,000 people were sent to death under this order
> The NKVD gained ‘blocking units’ equipped with machine guns in the rear action, to prevent desertion or retreat

Question 394

Partisan…

Answer 394

is a member of a military force behind the front line opposing the control of the area by the enemy

Question 395

What action did Stalin take to prevent political disintegration in 1941?

Answer 395

He dissolved the Volga German autonomous republic in 1941 and sent its people to the East. He also relied on the deportation of ‘suspect’ ethnic groups such as the Karacahi, the Chechens and the Crimean Tartars < argued to be an extension of the purges as they were brutally treated

Question 396

Which ethnic groups were deported by Stalin on terms of being ‘suspicious’?

Answer 396

The Karachai
The Chechens
The Ingushi
The Crimean Tartars
^ around 1.5 million people

Question 397

How many people were deported by Stalin away from their homeland during the war?

Answer 397

1.5 million > argued as an extension of the purges as they were treated brutally and only two thirds survived the journey to Siberia

Question 398

What was the result of Stalin putting an emphasis on the political education of troops?

Answer 398

Increasing numbers chose to join the Party and over the war, 3.6 million new members joined the Party of which 2.5 million of these were from the amry

Question 399

What did the war help to strengthen politically?

Answer 399

The belief in the communist system and Stalin, by 1945, declared the war had shown superiority and resilience of the socialist system. It was a victory for communism over fascism.

Question 400

What was the ‘scorched earth policy’?

Answer 400

Destroying anything useful to the enemy before retreating. Stalin ordered both soldiers and civilians to deny the German troops basic supplies as they moved Eastwards

Question 401

How many entire factories together with workers were moved from western Russia and the Ukraine to area’s in the East?

Answer 401

1523

Question 402

What other changes were made to benefit the war? (WW2)

Answer 402

New railways were built or redirected and the industrial bases rapidly linked to the front line

Question 403

Why were People’s Commissars established?

Answer 403

To supervise the different sections of wartime production such as tanks, aircraft and guns

Question 404

What did compulsory State Orders allow?

Answer 404

For changes to take place in a very short time frame > full control

Question 405

How many new industrial enterprises were built during the war in the Urals (mountains)?

Answer 405

3500

Question 406

How was the food problem controlled?

Answer 406

Strict rationing and demanding quotas on collective farms

Question 407

How was the morale and incentive of peasants kept high?

Answer 407

Peasants were allowed to keep private plots and to sell their produce

Question 408

What foreign aid did the Soviet Union benefit from that the kept hidden from the people of Russia?

Answer 408

• The UK and the USA supplied essential war materials
• In total, 17.5 million tons of military equipment, vehicles, industrial supplies, and food were shipped from the West to the USSR - 94% coming from the USA
• Lend-Lease scheme in 1941, $11 billion of aid from USA

Question 409

How many tons of military equipment was provided to the USSR from the west?

Answer 409

17.5 million tons

Question 410

How many $ did the Lend-Lease scheme in 1941 provide for the USSR?

Answer 410

$11 billion

Question 411

How many Soviets initially signed up after the announcement of war in Moscow?

Answer 411

120,000 to fight for the ‘Motherland’

Question 412

Where were the White Collar Workers sent?

Answer 412

To munition factories

Question 413

What was the impact of war fro workers?

Answer 413

> 12 hour day
Became normal for workers to sleep in their factories
Factories were under martial law and discipline was tightened so severe punishments for negligence, lateness or absenteeism.
Unauthorised absences were punishable by death

Question 414

How was soldiers families who were taken captive affected?

Answer 414

They had their military ration cards confiscated.

Question 415

How many soldiers were killed from 1941 and 1945?

Answer 415

8.6 million

Question 416

How many deaths were there during the war due to starvation?

Answer 416

25 million deaths

Question 417

What social problems did the Soviet Union face during the war?

Answer 417

> A pathetic rationing system that led to mass starvation
Acute housing and fuel shortages, causing health problems to escalate
Poor living conditions and working conditions

Question 418

What role did the Gulag ‘slave-labour’ camps have?

Answer 418

Used to produce around 15% of all Soviet ammunition, as well as extracting coal and oil - mostly fro Arctic regions

Question 419

What propaganda tactics did Stalin use to boost morale?

Answer 419

> People were encouraged top sacrifice themselves int he interest of ‘Holy Mother Russia’ against the godless invaders
‘Everything for Victory’
Deeply patriotic and anti-German letters were published in Pravda, to inspire heroism and self-sacrifice

Question 420

What other cultural group enjoyed more freedoms due to the war?

Answer 420

Artists - in the interest of fostering an atmosphere of national reconciliation, and previously banned individuals were allowed to work again, so long as they avoided direct criticism of Marxist-Leninism

Question 421

Which poet broadcasted a patriotic verse on the radio?

Answer 421

Anna Akhmatova

Question 422

What other type of entertainment was sued to boost morale during the war?

Answer 422

Music - musicians gave concerts such as Maria Yudina, a concert pianist > they were given extra rations

Question 423

How was the Church affected by war?

Answer 423

There was a respite in the persecution of the Churches, which were reopened. The Russian patriarch, abolished by the Tsars, was restored and clergy were released from camps. It lofted morale and people were encouraged to attend as it praised the greatest leader, Stalin.

Question 424

How were women affected by war?

Answer 424

> Reaffirmation of the importance of family
Mothers with tow or mode children were made ‘heroines of the Soviet Union’
Became essential members of the workforce and were expected to raise large families
More than four fifths of land workers were female
Over half a million women fought in the Soviet armed forces as pilots, snipers and even tank commanders
47% increase in employment for women

Question 425

How was the importance of family shown during the war?

Answer 425

New measures were introduced to try combat the falling birth rate and deaths brought by the war. Taxes were increased for those with fewer than two children, restrictions on divorce were tightened, abortion was forbidden, the right to inherit family property was reestablished, and mothers of more than two were made ‘heroines of the Soviet Union’

Question 426

How many women served in the armed forces?

Answer 426

500,000

Question 427

What reward did women receive for their war effort which was crucial for Soviet victory?

Answer 427

Little: in fact women’s pay rates fell between 1930 and 1945

Question 428

What tactics did partisan groups use?

Answer 428

Guerrilla tactics to harass the enemy and sabotage operations

Question 429

By 1945, how many partisans were there?

Answer 429

1 million > many of them were women

Question 430

What effect did the war have on Stalin as a leader?

Answer 430

He was seen as a ‘national superhero’ and paintings portraying him as the glorious wartime leader were seen put up in all public buildings

Question 431

What effect did the war have on Stalin as a person?

Answer 431

He became much more paranoid and his suspicion of real or imagined enemies had grown. This was shown in his treatment of prisoners-of-war, whom Stalin regarded as tainted with Western values causing many of them to be transferred directly to Soviet labour camps

Question 432

What happened to any collaborationist Soviet citizens who had fought for Germany against the USSR?

Answer 432

They were immediately executed

E.g. the Cossack’s were virtually wiped out in retribution for their support of German armies

Question 433

How was victory portrayed by Stalin?

Answer 433

a victory for the socialist system, not the people

Question 434

How many people by the end of the war in the Western provinces had nothing but wooden huts to live in?

Answer 434

25 million people

Question 435

What benefits did the wear bring for society/ordinary people?

Answer 435

> More opportunity for individual initiative and helped to bring State and people closer.
The sense of collective endeavour for the country, their government and Stalin, gave new hope of change when the war was over.
The comradeship among soldiers helped to spread new liberal thinking
Soviet society was opened to Western influence through the lend-lease scheme and movement of soldiers .

Question 436

How was the USSR impacted by the Western influences post war?

Answer 436

Hollywood films, Western books, Western music (e..g Jazz), Western goods found their way into the USSR

Question 437

How many civilians deaths were they due to the war?

Answer 437

19 million

Question 438

How many hospitals were destroyed due to the war?

Answer 438

40,000

Question 439

How many towns were destroyed due to the war?

Answer 439

1200

Question 440

What are the years from 1945 to 1953 known as?

Answer 440

‘High Stalinism’

Question 441

What was Stalin’s approach to post-war government?

Answer 441

‘back to the future’

Question 442

When was the GKO (State Defence Committee) dissolved?

Answer 442

September 1945

Question 443

Why was Zhukov demoted by Stalin?

Answer 443

As he was seen as a potential rival for popular adulation. He was sent to the military command at Odessa, losing his postilion on the Central Committee of the Party

Question 444

Who became Stalin’s closest advisor?

Answer 444

Zhdanov - Zhdanovschina

Question 445

When was a new Politburo elected and what changes were made to it?

Answer 445

March 1946 by the Central Committee and it was reduced to an advisory body, which awaited instruction on the ‘official’ line from Stalin

Question 446

How many members did the Komsomol have by 1952?

Answer 446

16 million

Question 447

Who launched a cultural purge in 1946 and what did this become known as?

Answer 447

Zhdanov and Zhdanovschina - he did this as there was a growing fear of the increased Westernisation of the war years so instead the movement stressed conformity in socialism and promoted the cult of Stalin

Question 448

Why was the Zhdanovschina movement introduced and what did it do?

Answer 448

Why? was a growing fear of the increased Westernisation of the war years
What? instead the movement stressed conformity in socialism and promoted the cult of Stalin. It brought an intense persecution of artists and intellectuals

Question 449

What did the Zhdanovschina begin with?

Answer 449

The purges of two literary journals published in Leningrad which were condemned for being ‘anti-soviet’

Question 450

Soviet writers who were deemed to be ………………….. were sent to ……………..E.g……………………

Answer 450

1. anti-soviet
2. gulags
3. Olga Ivinskaya

Question 451

How was western influence completely blocked?

Answer 451

> Non-communist foreign papers were unobtainable
Foreign radio transmissions were jammed
Only a few ‘approved’ foreign books were translated into Russian
Only pro-soviet foreign writers and artists were allowed to visit the USSR
Very few Soviets were allowed to go to the West

Question 452

Name a renownded international composer?

Answer 452

Dmitry Shostakovich

Question 453

Who was deputy Prime Minister, a full member of the Politburo as well as the head of security apparatus?

Answer 453

Beria

Question 454

What was Beria largely responsible for during High Stalinism?

Answer 454

The expansion of the gulag system and his dreary personality which cast a long shadow over the USSR

Question 455

What two ministries was the reorganised NKVD split into?

Answer 455

1. MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) = controlled domestic security and the gulags
2. MGB (Ministry of State Security) took charge of counter-intelligence and espionage

Question 456

How many wartime survivors were sent to the labour camps, suffering appalling conditions?

Answer 456

12 million

Question 457

How did Stalin deal with those who had already fallen?

Answer 457

By removing them from history using airbrush to alter images and altering documents/history books

Question 458

What was the Leningrad Case in 1949?

Answer 458

Stalin took a stand against the ‘Leningrad Party’ on the basis of false evidence causing several leading officials to be arrested, including the head of Gosplan and Voznesensky, an economic reformer who held a position in the Politburo

Question 459

Why did Stalin revert to his former anti-Semitic stance?

Answer 459

In fear that all Jews within the USSR were potential rivals and enemies

Question 460

What was the Mingrealian Case (Georgian purge) in 1951-52?

Answer 460

A purge was launched in Georgia, directed against the followers of Beria, the head of the NKVD as they were accused of collaboration with Western powers - this was aimed at weakening the authority of Beria

Question 461

What was the Doctors Plot in 1952?

Answer 461

A ‘conspiracy’ was discovered where nine doctors failed to diagnose and treat Zhdanov professionally causing them to be arrested. This escalated and led to Stalin threatening execution if confessions were not made, and hundreds of doctors were arrested and tortured. Stalin blamed the Jews and this led to Anti-Jewish hysteria in the press

Question 462

What led to Stalin’s increasing paranoia post-war?

Answer 462

He suffered a mild stroke in 1946

Question 463

How was Stalin portrayed as a ‘man of the people’?

Answer 463

> Her hadn’t visited a peasant village or kolkhoz for 25 years and spent most of his later years at his dacha (country house) meaning he mainly relied on films and written papers for his knowledge and was probably misled by hos own propagandists

Question 464

How was Stalin’s cult of personality expressed further after WW2?

Answer 464

> Giant portraits and statues were made in copper
Towns were named after him (e.g. Stalingrad)
Stalin prizes were introduced for artistic or scientific work
Monuments of him appeared all over the USSR

Question 465

When did Stalin die?

Answer 465

March 1953

Question 466

When did Stalin request to relieve his position as Party Secretary because of his advanced age?

Answer 466

October 1952

Question 467

After the party congress in 1952, what did Khrushchev announce?

Answer 467

The abolition of the Orgburo (Central Committee) and the Politburo replace by an enlarged Presidium > this was s hint of preparations for another purge

Question 468

What was the impact of Stalin’s death?

Answer 468

Hysterical public displays of grief, and crowds queued to see his embalmed body which was laid in the hall of Columns within the Party Congress Hall in Moscow.

Question 469

Negative impact on industry of the war?

Answer 469

• Consumer goods still in short supply
• Stakhanovite programme maintained and wage differentials remained
• Rations maintained long after the war
• Working week and 12 hour days remained post-war

Question 470

By …….. production had exceeded pre-war levels

Answer 470

1950

Question 471

How did Stalin deal with agriculture post-war?

Answer 471

1948 Plan for “The Transformation of Nature” - called for tree planting to prevent soil erosion

Question 472

How was Agriculture affected by the war?

Answer 472

• 100,000 farms destroyed along with livestock and machinery
• The ‘scorched earth’ policy caused Western regions to suffer
• The strongest workers, who formed backbone of the Red Army, had be eliminated due to the war

Question 473

How was Agriculture affected by the war?

Answer 473

• 100,000 farms destroyed along with livestock and machinery
• The ‘scorched earth’ policy caused Western regions to suffer
• The strongest workers, who formed backbone of the Red Army, had be eliminated due to the war

Question 474

What effect did the German siege of Leningrad have?

Answer 474

3 million Russians causalities in its 900 days

Question 475

How many factories did the USSR lose due to war?

Answer 475

32,000 factories

Question 476

What % increase on employment was there for women during the war?

Answer 476

47% increase

Question 477

Lenin and Stalin: continuation ( +)or not (-) ?

Answer 477

+ Strong State, a monopolistic communist party and a desire to transform society according to policy agreed at the top and imposed on society
+ Use of terror via secret police
+ Origins of the Great purges in 1930s lay in Marxist Leninism
+ Both used extensive/influential propaganda techniques
- However, Stalin’s highly conservative policies of the 1940s and unlimited personal dictatorship was a change

Question 478

What does Tucker refer to the Stalinist area as?

Answer 478

A ‘revolution from above’ with the aim to achieve modernisation. An example of this is the collectivisation and industrial drives which together formed the building blocks for ‘Socialism in one country’ starting with the economic Five Year Plans

Question 479

How can support from the peasants be seen through Stalin’s era even with collectivisation according to proposed by Maurice Hindus in the ‘Red Bread’ published in 1931?

Answer 479

Support among the younger peasants as they saw what the regime was trying to achieve and many peasant were keen to learn new methods of farming - as proposed by Maurice Hindus in the ‘Red Bread’ published in 1931

Question 480

When does the new Presidium (newer, bigger Politburo) start discussing Stalin’s succession?

Answer 480

October 1952

Question 481

When is Beria executed under Khrushchev?

Answer 481

December 1953

Question 482

Who were Khrushchev’s initial rivals for leadership of the Soviet Union?

Answer 482

Malenkov, Molotov, Bulganin and Beria

Question 483

What happened to Malenkov?

Answer 483

He was expelled from the Presidium in 1957, and from the party in 1961

Question 484

Why was Beria executed in Dec 1953?

Answer 484

For wanting to continue with Stalinist policies and an anti-Beria campaign was conducted in the press. His supporters were also purged

Question 485

What role was Malenkov demoted to?

Answer 485

From Chairman of the Council Ministers to Minister for Power Stations. He was succeeded by Bulganin

Question 486

Who succeeded Malenkov as Chairman of the Council Ministers?

Answer 486

Nikolai Bulganin

Question 487

For how long did Khrushchev and Bulganin act as joint leaders for?

Answer 487

Until 1958 - when a majority in the Presidium voted for Khrushchev’s dismissal however he insisted the matter be put forward to the Central Committee. Khrushchev brought those in favour of him to Moscow to vote in his favour and Khrushchev also benefited from the support of Zhukov who spoke out against Malenkov and Molotov

Question 488

Who did Khrushchev accuse of involvement in the purges of the 1930s?

Answer 488

Malenkov and Molotov who became known as the ‘anti-Party group’. They were expelled from the Central Committee and sent to jobs far from Moscow, while Zhukov was rewarded with seats in the Presidium

Question 489

How did Khrushchev turn against Zhukov?

Answer 489

He was dismissed in October 1957 and a propaganda campaign against him accused him of hindering the Party work in the army and creating his own personality cult .

Question 490

How did Khrushchev turn against Bulganin?

Answer 490

He was accused of encouraging the anti-Party group and was forced to step down in march 1958. This led Khrushchev to take over as General Secretary as well

Question 491

Which people did Khrushchev turn his back on and eliminate as potential opposition, just as Stalin did?

Answer 491

1. Beria - executed 1953
2. Zhukov - expelled 1957
3. Bulganin - expelled 1958

Question 492

How did Khrushchev initially reverse Stalinist policies?

Answer 492

1. Those accused in the Doctors’ Plot were released
2. Beria, the police and the gulag system had all been attacked
3. A cultural ‘thaw’ was underway

Question 493

What did Khrushchev announce in his ‘secret speech’?

Answer 493

Destalinisation and delivered a blistering attack on Stalin,a accusing him of responsibility for the purges, terror, torture, mass arrests, executions and gulags. he also quoted from Lenin’s testament and accused Stalin of betraying Leninist principles. he blamed Stalin for the murder of Kirov, called for the rehabilitation of Trotsky and questioned Stalin’s war leadership.

Question 494

How come the ‘secret speech’ did not become so secret anymore?

Answer 494

Copies were soon sent to foreign parties and its content soon filtered down through their Party ranks in the USSR.

Question 495

Why was it clear that Khrushchev’s ‘secret speech’ was for his benefit/ rise to power and not to avenge Stalin in any way?

Answer 495

As a young communist called Mikhail Gorbachev demanded that those responsible for Stalinist ‘crimes’ should be brought to justice, but Khrushchev quietly avoided comment on such suggestions.

Question 496

What contradictions might Khrushchev’s ‘secret speech’ have?

Answer 496

It condemned matter such as autocratic leadership, undermining of the Party and the brutal suppression of Party members ( of which Khrushchev was guilty of himself). It also argued that economic controls, strong leadership, a single Party and elimination of factions were perfectly legitimate.

Question 497

What did Khrushchev’s speech inspire to happen?

Answer 497

Uprisings in favour of reform in Georgia, Poland and Hungary (1953). Khrushchev’s support for the use of force to crush these risings shows limitation of his reformist policies/ continuation of Stalin.

Question 498

What two goals did Khrushchev strive to achieve from 1957 that contradicted communism?

Answer 498

1. Democratisation - involve weakening the traditional bureaucracy to give more responsibility to the people
2. Decentralisation - give more initiative to the localities

Question 499

What two area’s was the Party split into in 1962?

Answer 499

Urban and rural sections at all levels

Question 500

What was the increase in membership of the Party from 1956 to 1964? What type of support did this bring?

Answer 500

1956 - 7 million
1964 - 11 million
- This brought more working-class members while reducing the power of higher level bureaucrats

Question 501

What other changes were main in order to achieve the ‘twin goals’? (decentralisation and democratisation)

Answer 501

• New rules issued, limiting how long Party officials could serve
• The role of local soviets was increased and comrade courts to handle minor offences were revived
• Non-Party members were encouraged to take supervisory roles and some were invited to party congress
• Khrushchev visited the villages and towns - showing a personal desire for first-hand contact with the people
• Economic decentralisation was pursued

Question 502

What was the main reason for the power struggle after Stalin’s death?

Answer 502

About the political direction that the USSR should take

Question 503

Who’s economic proposal did Khrushchev reject that suggested moving the focus away from heavy to light industry?

Answer 503

Malenkov

Question 504

In what year was the Sixth Five Year Plan?

Answer 504

1956

Question 505

In what year was the Seven year plan introduced and the establishment of Supreme Economic Council?

Answer 505

1959

Question 506

In what year was the Seventh Five Year Plan?

Answer 506

1961

Question 507

Economic Stalinist policies that caused many issues:

Answer 507

1. Ministers of Moscow (who were often ‘out of touch’) set different industrial targets for each enterprises
2. Managers preferred to ‘play it safe; and hide the productive capacity of their enterprises so that their targets were not raised
3. Output targets were assessed in weight causing heavy goods to favour over lighter ones and this was another disincentive to modernisation
4. Increasing amounts of capital investments were needed even to stand still as resources were being used inefficiently

Question 508

Why was the Sixth Five Year Plan a failure?

Answer 508

Targets were over-optimistic and the plan had top be abandoned after two years

Question 509

What actions in 1957 helped to move the Soviet economy towards decentralisation?

Answer 509

1. 60 Moscow ministries were abolished
2. The USSR was divided into 105 economic regions, each with it sown local economic council (sovnarkhoz) to plan and supervise economic affairs

^ this had an ulterior political motive in that it removed Malenkov’s men and extended Khrushchev’s ‘s patronage network in localities.

Question 510

What were Khrushchev’s local economic councils called?

Answer 510

sovnarkhoz

Question 511

Advantages of a centralised economy?

Answer 511

• allowed the country to prepare for war quicker
• allowed Grand projects
• same opportunity’s for success in all enterprises as same investment amounts

Question 512

Advantages of a decentralised economy?

Answer 512

• allows people to deal with their own needs at local levels

- development of consumer goods and more modern industries

Question 513

Disadvantages of a centralised economy?

Answer 513

• Ministers ‘out of touch’

- Unrealistic targets never met caused false statistics and corruption

Question 514

Disadvantages of decentralised economy?

Answer 514

• Country not unified in its aims
• Industries not supported by the state fell behind
• Lower incentive to work and modernise

Question 515

What did the Seven-year plan of 1959 have the emphasis on?

Answer 515

Emphasis on improving standards of living for ordinary people, with a 40-hour week and a 40% wage rise promised by 1965. There was a shift in priorities from the old heavy industries to the previously-neglected ‘modern industries’

Question 516

What % wage rise did Khrushchev promise by 1965?

Answer 516

40%

Question 517

What was the slogan of the Seven-year plan?

Answer 517

‘Catch up and overtake the USA by 1970’

^ catching up with the West was a constant theme of all the leaders of Russia, even the Tsars

Question 518

Give some positives of the seven-year plans and the industrial change under Khrushchev’s

Answer 518

1. Vast expansion of chemical industries
2. Housing factories to produce prefabricated sections for new flats
3. increased production of consumer goods
4. greater exploitation of the USSR’s resources - natural gas, oil and coal - and the building of power stations

Question 519

How was communications and technology improved throughout the Khrushchev’s period?

Answer 519

• Many railway lines were electrified
• Air transport was expanded
• The USSR launched the Earth’s first artificial satellite called Sputnik = 1957
• The icebreaker Lenin was launched which was the world’s first civil nuclear-powered ship = 1959
• Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space = 1963

Question 520

What was the increase in TV sets from 1958 to 1965?

Answer 520

TV sets:
1958 = 1 million
1965 = 3.5 million

Question 521

Did the USSR come anywhere close to catching up with he USA?

Answer 521

No, the gap was narrowed however by 1958, Soviet industrial growth began to slow down significantly, annum fell to 7.5% in 1964 from 10% in 1950s.

Question 522

What previous policy had left Russian agriculture in a desperate state where only a third of farms were left operational?

Answer 522

The ‘scorched earth’ policy during the war

Question 523

When was Khrushchev’s ‘s initiative to develop ‘virgin lands’ and build ‘agrocities’ introduced?

Answer 523

During the Fifth Five Year plan in 1953

Question 524

What was Khrushchev’s speciality argued to be in?

Answer 524

Agriculture - he was interested in farming matters, and loved visiting the countryside and the peasants

Question 525

What changes were introduced to incentivise peasants to produce more?

Answer 525

1. The price paid for state procurement of grain and other agricultural goods were raised
2. Quotas were reduced
3. Taxes were reduced
4. Quotas on peasants’ private plots were cut
5. Collectives were allowed to set their own production rates.

Question 526

What was the % increase of grain prices between 1953 and 1956?

Answer 526

25% grain prices increase

Question 527

How was production amounts increased/

Answer 527

• a 1962 campaign to increase use of chemical fertiliser
• increase in number of farms which were connected to the electricity grid
• increase in the use of farm machinery
• encouragement to merge collectives to create larger farms

Question 528

By 1956, how many million hectares of ‘virgin land’ had been ploughed for wheat?

Answer 528

35.9 million hectares

Question 529

Which members of society were encouraged to spend time on the new farms, helping top build settlements, put up fences, dig ditches and build roads?

Answer 529

The Soviet youth movement = the Komsomol

Question 530

What did Khrushchev believe the answer to the USSR’s food shortages would be?

Answer 530

Launching campaigns for new crops, such as maize and he encouraged the production of cornflakes (made of maize)

Question 531

What were ‘agrocities’?

Answer 531

Huge collective farm/towns which was an attempt to replicated urban conditions of work and living on the land and sod destroying the old, conservative, rural villages = making for greater efficiency. This never got beyond the visionary stage!

Question 532

What were the failures of the Khrushchev’s new agricultural measures?

Answer 532

1. Failed to encourage the peasants to put more effort into their work on the collectives and state farms
2. the new pricing system proved a failure because state officials kept altering the prices, so farmers found it difficult to plan ahead
3. The selling of tractors to collectives was less effective than it might have been as there was few farmers capable of carrying out repair
4. The Virgin Land Scheme failed due to the climatic conditions (which had not been considered) were poor due to land erosion and infertile soil. Forced Khrushchev to import grain as a result

Question 533

How did elderly people benefit from Khrushchev’s reign?

Answer 533

Pension arrangements were improved and even peasants became eligible for a state pension

Question 534

What could be argued undermines any claim that Khrushchev’s USSR was an equal society?

Answer 534

Privileges still remained in the form of non-wage payments, access to scare commodities, health care and holidays for those at the higher level of political hierarchy.

Question 535

did living standards (Khrushchev’s main aim) actually improve?

Answer 535

Although living standards were better than in earlier years, they were significantly lower than in most industrialised states.

Question 536

What did the cultural ‘thaw’ bring?

Answer 536

A greater personal freedom for Soviet citizens

Question 537

What was ‘Intourist’ established by Khrushchev?

Answer 537

This allowed foreigners to visit the USSR and witness Soviet achievements at first hand. Seeing Westerns at close range for many ordinary citizens was a transformative experience which opened new horizons

Question 538

Give a difference between culture under Stalin and Khrushchev

Answer 538

Khrushchev allowed Western influences - e.g. the World festival of Youth staged in Moscow in 1957, whereas Stalin repressed anything of the sort. Under Khrushchev, young people saw the dress, music (JAZZ) and behaviour of Westerners as exciting and ‘modern’

Question 539

What did changes in youth attitudes bring?

Answer 539

More incidents of petty vandalism and hooliganism, while in universities they were incidents of students boycotting lecturers and protesting against controls > this became a serious threat to the system

Question 540

Who was refused acceptance of his Novel prize for his book Dr Zhivago?

Answer 540

Boris Pasternak - he was also expelled from the Soviet Union of writers and heavily criticised in the Pravda

Question 541

What impact did Khrushchev have on the churches?

Answer 541

• Khrushchev revived the socialist campaign against the churches and atheism was brought into school curriculum, children were banned from church services from 1961 and it was forbidden for parents to teach religion to their children
• mass closure on monasteries = reduction from 22,000 in 1959 to 8000 by 1965.
• Pilgrimages were banned

Question 542

What was Khrushchev’s view on ethnic minorities/

Answer 542

He made no moves towards greater independence for the nationalities

Question 543

Tamizdat…

Answer 543

printing banned writings abroad

Question 544

Samizdat…

Answer 544

dissident activity whereby individuals reproduced works that would not pass the censor, and distributed them - illegal sharing’s of foreign work underground

Question 545

What new group emerged under Khrushchev with he return of greater intellectual and artistic freedom?

Answer 545

‘cultural dissidents’

Question 546

Give an example of a student group that spread and produced dissident literature in underground societies

Answer 546

‘The Youngest Society of Geniuses’ in mid-1960s

Question 547

Give an example of a dissident magazine established

Answer 547

Syntaxis

Question 548

Give an example of how subjects of cultural dissidents were treated under Khrushchev

Answer 548

Alexander Ginzburg, editor and publisher of Syntaxis, was sent to labour camps for exposing human rights abuses and demanding reforms

Question 549

What were the illegal recordings known as?

Answer 549

Magnitizdat

Question 550

When did the limitations of the ‘thaw’ become apparent?

Answer 550

in 1962 when Khrushchev attended an Art Exhibition (Manezh) at which several nonconformists artists were exhibiting. He dismissed their work and suggested they should continue in private.

Question 551

Why did people try to oust Khrushchev in 1957?

Answer 551

As the hardliners could not forgive his attack on the Stalinist policies (e.g. Molotov, Malenkov, Kaganovich). Khrushchev survived by appealing to the wider Central Committee over the vote against him, the end result was the expulsion of the ‘anti-Party’

Question 552

In 1956, how many former prisoners were rehabilitated?

Answer 552

9 million

Question 553

By 1957, what % of the Soviet prison population were political prisoners?

Answer 553

2%

Question 554

General view of opposition to Khrushchev

Answer 554

• Outright opposition among ordinary Soviet citizens was minimal. Having been conditioned by the Stalinist Terror, most ordinary people remained silent. However, this is not say there was no dissent.
• Uprisings in countries under Soviet control (e..g Hungary, Poland) who wanted more freedom.

Question 555

Who was Khrushchev ousted by in 1964?

Answer 555

A coup orchestrated by Brezhnev, Podgorny and Suslov

Question 556

What was Khrushchev’s initial reaction to the criticisms put forward in the Politburo?

Answer 556

He refused to resign, but was denied access to the media, which may have been able to whip up popular support to resist his attackers

Question 557

Khrushchev had little option but to sign his resignation. How was his resignation announced?

Answer 557

A public announcement was made that Khrushchev had resigned through ‘advanced age and ill health’. This was mainly to appease the international community. Only the Pravda were granted access to publish his resignation

Question 558

Reasons for Khrushchev’s fall from power?

Answer 558

1. Personal/style of rule > ‘one-man style’
2. Decentralisation > caused offence to members of Politburo and hardline Stalinists
3. Agriculture > failure of Virgin Land Schemes
4. Industry > consumer goods was very unpopular
5. Military > offended military by wanting to reduce expenditure and poor dealings abroad
6. Foreign policy > Cuban Missile Crisis was embarrassing

Question 559

What happened to Khrushchev after this?

Answer 559

He was granted a personal pension and live din obscurity outside Moscow writing his memoirs, which were published in Europe and the USA in 1970. He died in 1971 but received no state funeral