Russia 1894-1945: stalin's USSR Flashcards
How did Stalin become leader of the USSR
Lenin died
Lenin left a testament stating Trotsky should be a leader not Stalin - Stalin insured Lenin’s Testament was not made public
Stalin told Trotsky wrong date for Lenin’s funeral
Stalin appeared as chief mourner and Lennon’s closest follower at the funeral
Russians lost faith in Trotsky for not attending the funeral
Stalin sided with Zinoviev and Kamenev to push out Trotsky then Bukharin to push out Zinoviev and Kamenev
- Trotsky also was seen as an arrogant man who frightened many people in the USSR
- Stalins policies also met with greater favour than Trotskys
Why were the Purges created and when did they begin
began in 1914
Purges were created to crush anyone who might oppose Stalin
What occured in the Show trials
Loyal Bolsheviks Kamenev & Zinoviev confessed to being traitors of state
he used threats against families to ensure they complied
How many Communist party members were arrested and where were they sent
500,000 communist party members were arrested and sent to gulags
What occurred in the great terror
25,000 officers in the army were removed
What was a negative about the great terror
It affected the USSR badly when Germany attacked in 1941
Every family lost someone in the purges uni lecturers ministers teachers disappeared
unpredictability- arrest was occur at night and victims rarely told what they were accused of
What was a positive of the great terror for Stalin
Everyone who was left knew that life depended on supporting Stalin
Where were the labour camps (Gulags) located
Located in remote inaccessible regions of the USSR
What was the regime in labour camps
regime- harsh, very hard physical labour in extremely cold conditions
What did prisoners in the labour camps produce
what did they play an important role in
Prisoners produce gold timber and other resources from mines
prisoners played an important role in the building of roads, railways, Belomor Canal
How did Stalin used propaganda and censorship
propaganda- soviet people were deluged with portraits,photos and statues of Stalin
Writers and musicians created items that praised Stalin
cult of personality- every town had a Stalin square/ avenue
education changed to make Stalins role in history more important
censorship- All music and arts were carefully monitored by the NKVD (secret police)
What happened as a result of Stalin’s use of propaganda
-what was this known as
Average Soviet citizens admirer Stalin
people believe purges had nothing to do with him
- Stalin and his government were popular
- Cult of Personality
Why did Stalin want to modernise USSR
To increase USSR’s military
strength- needed to have weaponry needed to win
to rival capitalist economies- wanted to make USSR make everything it needed for itself
to establish his reputation- wanted to prove himself by greatly changing Russia
to create a communist society- most Russians needed to work for Russia to become communist
to increase food supplies
What is Stalin’s targets for collectivisation
wanted to modernise USSR’s agriculture
wanted to raise money for the five year plan by selling exports of surplus food abroad
What were the successes of collectivisation
New buildings created due to industrialisation
increase in production of raw materials
increase in workers for industry
What were the failures of collectivisation
30 million peasants died in famine by 1938
-food production fell
How are the five year plan targets set
GOSPLAN set overall targets for an industry
each region was told its targets
region set targets for each factory, mine
manager for each factory set individual targets for workers
What did the first five year plan focus on and when did it take place
First five year plan 1928-33
Focused on the major industries