Russia 2 Flashcards
What were the economic reasons supporting collectivisation (1929)?
Wanted to industrialise and catch up with the west out of fear of invasion and war again.
Fewer people would be needed to farm the land so they could become workers in factories.
Between the peasants they would be able to afford machinery to produce a greater yield.
What were the food production reasons to support collectivisation?
More land would produce more food.
Could generate an excess of grain. Could use as an export and use to prevent more famine in cities like in War Communism.
Previous farms were smaller and less efficient, became smaller and smaller over generations.
There had been a poor harvest in 1928 they wanted to prevent again.
What were the political reasons to support the collectivisation?
Was happening during the power struggle.
Stalin adopts the lefts ideology after Trotsky and co. Removed from party so he can begin taking down the right.
Opposed Bukharin’s view of ‘Peasants enrich yourselves’
Would strengthen his control over the countryside which was weak before.
What were the ideological reasons to support collectivisation?
Collective ownership is a Marxist idea.
Puts priority of workers over peasantry (if there’s famine again it will not be in the cities)
More control of the country to the state.
Class war against Kulaks.
Collectivisation during the great turn (1927-1928)
Entirely voluntary
Encouraged with propaganda via posters, films, photos
Less than 5% of farms collectivised
When did Stalin announce is plans for ‘dekulakisation’?
December 1929
Wanted to ‘liquidate the kulaks as a class’
How did stage 1 of collectivisation (1929-1930) work?
Government enforced quotas of grain to be sold (cheaply) to them.
Those who could not keep up were punished.
Created propaganda campaigns against Kulaks.
1929 began forcing collectivisation.
How did forced collectivisation work?
Moved onto farms in a variety of ways by 25,000ers, OGPU and the Red Army
Who were the 25,000ers?
Groups of young party members usually students and from cities who volunteered to move peasants onto Kholkhoz.
What % of peasants were ‘Kulaks’?
4%
What made a ‘Kulak’?
Was no set quota or definition, anyone could be accused of it, someone who had more animals/money than most other peasants.
What happened to Kulaks in the collective farms?
We’re not allowed on them.
Party groups told to identify and export/execute any. Sometimes whole family sent.
Some escaped to cities, most sent to do labour in Siberia.
What happened with the collectivised farms in 1930?
Jan- Stalin aims to have 25% of farm collectivised.
By March 58% of households are moved.
Stalin blames his people being ‘dizzy with success’
Made voluntary again until next harvest (Oct).
What was a Kolkhoz?
Collective farms comprised of many peasants land.
Quotas of grain to be given to gov. Rest sold for profit which is split evenly.
50-100 families
Overseen by an inexperienced party member
Larger ones had clinics and schools.
What was a Sovkhoz?
State run collective farm.
Usually bigger
Worked for a wage.
Had ‘workers’ not peasants.
First dibs on machinery.
Poorer people worked on
On land of previous bourgeois estates
What did the two types of collective farms have in common?
Limited movement with internal passports introduced in 1932
Used modern farming methods and more machinery
What was the specialist name given to the Ukrainian famine (1932-1933)?
Holodomor
‘Holod’ hunger
‘Mor’ extermination
How many Ukrainians starved during the Holodomor?
Between 3.9 and 8 million
How did Stalin try to stamp out the Ukrainian identity?
Banning the speaking of the language.
Persecuted intellectuals and nationalist ideologies
Why was Stalin so interested in Ukraine?
It ha very fertile black soil.
Wanted to make it the ‘breadbasket of the soviet union’ for exporting grain
They had attempted to gain indépendance in 1917 under the Decree on Independence
What evidence is there to suggest the famine was targeted specifically against Ukraine?
Peasants desperately writing to Stalin, that he ignored.
Continued to export grain
Policemen confiscating food, livestock and pets so there was nothing to eat.
Examples of ‘Social dislocation’ in response to Holodomor
Women taking food from their children because they could have more
Burying children in pits so they wouldn’t have to see them starve
Lynch mobs
Murdering children before they starved to death
Cannibalism :}
Evidence to suggest the famine was not targeted to Ukraine
Was generallly making a point against Kulaks
No evidence of intentional genocide
Other areas suffered from famine like Kazakhstan
What was the ‘Five ears of corn’ law
Enforced 16th September 1932
Stalin was state property so anyone caught stealing more than a handful of the grain would be imprisoned or even executed.
In 1 year, 6,000 had been shot under this law.
What were the aims of the First 5 Year plan (1928-1932)?
Focus on Russia’s heavy industry e.g. coal, oil, iron, steel machinery
Increase electricity output by 600%
Double output of chemical industry
What were the results of the First 5 Year Plan (1928-1932)?
Electricity industry tripled. Coal and Iron industries doubled
Targeted 75M tonnes of coal, 35M attained
22M of oil, 12M attained
10M tonnes of steel, 4 attained
10M of pig iron, 3.3M attained
Goals not met but there was still significant growth, targets set too high
What was Magnetogorsk?
Entire city built on an iron store in the Urrals
Declared a city in 1931, population 150,000
Intended to be a new Industrial city
Most workers unskilled, young men who were previous peasants (made 1/2 of workers 1932)
Who were the ‘Bourgeois Specialists’?
Scapegoat of the industrial cities.
Usually ex-middle class factory owners and managers.
Accused of working with foreigners (or Trotsky) to sabotage USSR and production by ‘wrecking’ machinery.
What were the aims of the Second 5 Year Plan (1933-1937)?
Focus on consumer goods and infastructure, keep up heavy industry from the first plan.
Promote lighter industries.
Develop communication between cities.
Build on engineering
What were the results of the Second 5 Year Plan (1933-19137)?
Big projects like the Moscow metro (1935) Volga canal, Dneiprostroi Dam (for hydroelectrics)
Russia basically self sufficient on metals by 1937
Steel industry tripled, Coal doubled
Basically met or nearly met most targets.
Oil target aimed for 47M tonnes, only attained 29M + Tractors aimed for 166 M but only got 66 M.
From 1936 moved to focus on réarment so its output increased 300%
What were the aims of the Third 5 Year Plan (1938-1942)?
Move focus to defence and rearmement
Continue development of heavy industry.
Transition into communism
What were the results of the Third 5 Year Plan (1938-1942)?
Spending on rearmement doubled
Shortages because targets weren’t met
Consumer goods left on low priority
Stalins purges decreased number of manager and technicians
Plan interrupted by the invasion of the Nazis into Russia
Who was Alexei Stakhanov?
Russian worker who on the 30th of August 1935 managed to mine 102 tonnes of coal in five hours. (With support) and became an icon of propaganda for the productivity of the Soviet Union.
Received awards such as dinner with Stalin, 200 rouble bonus, better apartment, holidays, passes for the cinema
Who were the Stakhanovites?
Movement of workers trying to emulate Stakhanov’s achievement to th extent that by December 1935 the lis of broken records for factories filled two volumes.
How were Stakhanovites treated?
Rewarded by government with awards, bonuses and rewards
However, other workers were often jealous of their special treatment and they were resented or attacked by colleagues. Managers didn’t like them because their productivity could lead to higher targets factory-wide/
What were the working conditions of managers during the five year plans?
Had to keep their worker to the ‘work norms’ of the number of hours they should work. In 1936, the work norms were raised between 10-50%.
Little control over the resources, wages, prices of their factories.
Had to lie on their numbers of production to meet targets and get bonuses- they could be imprisoned or executed if their weren’t met.
Most likely to be targeted by the purges. Accused of wrecking by their workforce, who often mistrusted them.
During 3rd 5YP faced with labour shortages bc of the military emphasis
Rewarded for their efforts with better pay
How did the workers benefit from the 5 Year Plans?
Free training and Education programmes (not allowed inn if you were a Kulak)
1931- introduced wage differentials so workers who produced more were paid more with bonuses/ pay by the piece
Hard workers rewarded with nicer housing.
Where did the workers not benefit in the 5 Year Plans?
Could lose job/housing for being absent form work, 1940 being late for work made illegal as well as no longer free labour market and a 7 day work week.
Could be accused of wrecking for damages.
Striking was illegal
Shortages, no consumer goods to spend wage on
Lack of housing. Public transport bad
The Purges - mostly targeted ex- middle class-
Slave/camp labour prevalent- lots of death involved
From 1938 Labour Books and Internal Passports introduced to limit movement
How did the 5 Year Plans benefit women?
By 1935, 42% of the workforce were women, more let into workforce so they had more people to meet quotas, including in heavy industry when they had usually worked in light industry.
State provided childcare for when they worked.
Had a section of government, Zhenotdel which was made for women’s complaints.
Purges from 1936 made it easier for women to enter management positions.
How did the 5 Year Plans fail to benefit women?
Usually kept in low-skilled, low paying jobs like light industries.
Discrimination on average paid 40% less than men.
Zhenotdel shut down 1930, suggesting it was no longer needed but women still faces harassment and assault at work.
Not trained or promoted.
How did the Autocracy pre-1917 support the ‘Cult of Personality’?
Used to autocratic/ dictator ruling
‘Red Corner’ -> ‘Lenin Corner’
Line of Succession rather than democracy
What was the Cult of Lenin?
After Lenin’s death January 1924, almost worshiped, body embalmed, posters and statues of him everywhere.
How did the Cult of Stalin become established?
Uses the Cult of Lenin and imagery of Stalin alongside him, Marx and Engles to show him as carrying on the legacy and being a natural successor. Photographs/ history changed to make Stalin his ‘right hand man’ not Trotsky.
1925- Tsaritsyn renamed Stalingrad
How did the Cult of Stalin intensify?
Presented him as the ‘father of the nation’. Icons of him, posters, parades, banners, youth movements, paintings, soviet cinema, god-like status.
For his 60th birthday, Stalin received 350 cards.
Why was the ‘Cult of Personality’ Necessary?
Needed to find a way to derive legitimacy for the government without democracy or line of succession.
Reassurance through a hard time and a lot of change and social dislocation.
How was the ‘Cult of Personality’ religious?
Religion used to control masses, Bolsheviks atheist (separated church and state, Union of Militant Godless, Priests targeted in Red Terror).
So create the structure of a religion with them as the gods.
Post-War what had the Cult of Stalin become?
Treated like a God, elaborate birthday celebrations with a portrait of him above the square like God.
Saviour as a War Leader.
Childhood home became a shrine
How did Stalin rewrite history?
Removed opponents like Trotsky and Zinoviev from Civil War photos.
The History of the All-Union Communist Party (1938) was the ‘official’s story supposedly written by Stalin and by 1948 34 mil copies sold.
Who was Pavlik Morozov?
13 year old young communist who was killed by his family for reporting his father to the OGPU.
According to propaganda he was the leader of the Young Pioneers group in his village (unlikely)
Became a martyr for his commitment to the state over his family- called ‘Pioneer number 1’
Operas, songs and poems written about him, His school became a shrine to visit on school trips.
What was the Gulag?
Concentration and administrative camps across Russia used for political enemies- but eventually could just be anyone. Existed from 1918 to the end of the Soviet Union.
How many gulags were there, where were they?
476- many were a complex of many smaller ones
Across the whole of USSR, from far north and Urrals to big cities and towns
How many served in a Gulag?
Between 15 and 18 million people.
1,8 million people in camps on the 1st of 1938 in the middle of the Great Terror.
What was the Kolyma Highway?
‘the Road of Bones’ in far east of Russia
Almost entirely built with slave labour and named after the hundreds of thousands that died in its construction.
Who was Yakov Blyumkin?
‘the first victim of Trotskyism’
1929- first card carrying Bolshevik party member to be executed for bringing a letter from Trotsky in exile.
What was the Ryutin platform?
In 1932, Ryutin wrote and distributed a 200 page document about his opinions on the party, including defending Trotsky and Bukharin and condemning Stalin’s collectivisation process. Stalin wanted to have him executed but the rest of the party wouldn’t have it and settled on exiling him.
At this point Stalin did not have the power he would get to in the terror.
What was the Chistka?
Peaceful purges of the party starting as early as 1918.
Would let new members in and then cut down on inactive and outdated documentation in the party.
For example the Purge 1932-1935- expelled 22% of the party.
But the 37/38 purge had 1,000s expelled and arrested or executed.
What impact did Nadezda Allilueva’s suicide have?
Stalin’s second wife
Mentally Ill previously but shot herself in Nov of 1932 after a dinner party where he was particularly rude to her.
In her note she talked about collectivisation and how Bukharin was right.
He may have been rude and unfaithful to her but his daughter said her death changed him and he never remarried.
What happened at The 17th Party Congress (1934)?
January of 1934 was 10 years since Lenin’s death
Stalin expected the congress to be a celebration of teh progress of the 5YPs but Kirov + others wanted to slow the pace and most of the party voted to promote him to General-Secretary
The death of Sergei Kirov
The same year of the 17th party congress on 1st December Kirov was assassinated at the Smolney institute under suspicious grounds. Led Stalin to go to Leningrad (Trotsky old are and Kirov was party boss there). On train he drafted the 1st December Law
The secret police 1917- 1953
1917- Cheka- Dzezhinsky- against ‘counter revolution’- Red Terrot
1923- OGPU- Dzerzhinsky- Collectivisation
1934- NKVD- Yagoda- Purges, show trials
1938- Yezhov- Terror, Purges
1940- Beria-
The road to Stalinism/ Terror
1st Dec 34- Kirov Killed, 1st Dec law- gives NKVD more freedom to arrest on whim
Jan 35- K+Z + 1,000s arrested
April 35- children over 12 subjected to same punishment as adults
Aug 36- Trial of 16
Jan 37- Trial of 17
May 38- Trial of 21
The trial of 16 (19-24th August 1936)
Kam, Zin and 14 others accused of Trotskyism, killing Rikov, plotting to kill Stalin. Ended with execution despite Zinoviev pleading guilty and reading out false confession to try save his life. Pressured into admitting by NKVD, threatened their family.
Led to Yagoda losing job for not working hard enough and his place in the third show trial.
The Stalin Constitution (1936)
Made 11 soviet republics
All lead by a ‘supreme soviet’ which was split into the soviet of the union and soviet of nationalities, voted for every 4 years.
Gave civil rights like ‘freedom from arbitrary arrest’, freedom of press, free speech, right to education and work
Autonomy for ethnic groups and their cultures and language
Why was the 17th Party Congress (1934) nicknamed ‘the congress of the condemned’?
139 attended
By 1934- 98 had been shot and 5 had committed suicide
Who made up the 18th Party Congress (1939)?
80% were under the age of 40
46% only had primary education
By 1939 how many surviving Old Bolsheviks were there?
124,000 of the original 180,000
Approximately 1/3 had been killed
What position was the Red Army in by 1939?
85% were under 35 and had never experienced a war
1 in 8 had no military training
Who was on trial in The Trial of the Seventeen (1937)?
January 1937
17 prominent old bolsheviks- supporters of Trotsky, accused of plotting with Trotsky to Sabatage industry
Included Radek and Pyatakov, significant Trotskyites
The Military Show Trial (1937)
Military Purge mostly happened between May and June 1937
Execution of Tukhachevsky and seven high rank military commanders in June for Espionage and Plotting with Trotsky.
Great Military Purge included-
3/5 Marshalls of the Soviet Union
6/180 generals survived
50% of officers purged
74 military officials for refusing to execute the innocent
The Trial of the 21 (1938)
Accused of being a Rightist and Trotskyist Bloc, trying to kill Lenin in 1918, Conspiring with teh Germans and Japanese, Working against the USSR
Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda
18 executed in the end
During interrogation, Bukharin held out for 3 months and 37 letters to Stalin, threatened with his wife and son, Didn’t make a full confession in the end
What did Order 00447 do?
Drawn up by Yezhov, approved by Politburo in July 1937
Created local NKVD committees to target ‘anti-Soviet elements’
Had quotas to meet on numbers to 1. Execute 2. Send to Gulags
Specifically targeted intelligentsia, artists, scientists, philosophers, writers, as well as as managers and administrators.
The quotas were met x9
Within one month 100,000 arrests
Certain social groups targeted more like- ethnic minorities for being ‘dangerous to society’
Why carry out the Great Terror?
Removing opposition
Civil War fear of being surrounded by enemies
Stop people from doubting his policy
Attack ethnic minorities and other social groups
The average number of executions per night in Leningrad- 1938
200
The % of people arrested in the purge to be executed
47%, had risen from 0.5% due to overcrowding in the Gulags
Number of people convicted in the Great Terror
1.5Million
700,000 were shot
How many hours did Stalin and Yezhov work together 1937-1938?
Over 840 hours
Statistics showing the Terror t argeted specific groups
95% arrested were men
37% were national minorities despite making up 18% of the population
Evidence of Stalin’s involvement in the Great Terror
The Politburo confirmed 3,000 executions in one day
Personally approved the execution of over 40,000 people
How did the Great Purges impact on the Gulags?
800,000 in 1935 -> 5-10 Million in 1938
Death rates increased x4-6
Large amounts of intelligentsia
Worked to death, shortages of food, clothing, medical care, accommodation
How were ethnic minorities treated in the Great Terror?
1937- Koreans deported into Central Asia from fear of War breaking out with Japan
1941- 400,000 Volga Germans deported into Siberia and Central Asia
Purged in Poland and the Baltics continued into 1940
2 million Jews from Eastern Poland added to the union 1939/1940
Rabbis targeted in purges
Jewish more likely to be accused of wrecking
3/4 of Polish population were arrested
The Assassination of Trotsky
Mexico City
May 1940- first attempt, assassins open fire on Trotsky’s house. Both he and his Wife escaped unharmed. Following this they make very little change to the fortifications on their house. Despite that two of their sons had died mysteriously in the previous years.
August 1940- 2nd and final attempt. Ramon Mercador shows up at Trotsky’s house posing as a fan of his political writings. Attacked him with an ice pick to the back of his head.
Mercador was imprisoned for 20 years in Mexico, His mother was given an Order of Lenin award for this service.
Why did Stalin have Trotsky assassinated?
Stalin hated him
Final of the power struggle contenders alive
Annoyed Stalin by continuing to be active politically, writing ‘The Revolution Betrayed’
Had a death sentence over his head
How did Stalin approach the Church’s power?
Marx called religion the ‘opium of the people’. Bolsheviks very unreligious party, associates it with exploitation of workers. Reflected in Stalin’s policy:
Teaching of religion in schools banned, had to be registered to go to church congregations, Sunday removed as holy day 1929-1940, churches no longer built in new towns/cities, Synagogues, Mosques and churches were closed/ converted into cinemas, community centres, museums, schools etc. by 1941 40,000 churches and 25,000 Mosques, religious leaders targeted in purges, Stalin Constitution criminalised religious propaganda
How did Stalin impact prevalence of Religion in society?
Couldn’t stop people believing
1937 census 500,000+ described themselves as religious (in reality was many more)
1/40 churched functional in 1940
Stalinist policy towards Soviet Muslims
Hajj forbidden in 1935, Sharia courts abolished, Muslim priests purged, Created ‘New Mosque’ which was pro-Soviet, reduced amount of mandatory prayer, fast and feast, made it forbidden to wear a veil
Backlash- traditionalist responded to the ‘New Mosque’ by murdering those in the movement
What was Stalin’s approach to women?
What was Stalin’s approach to women?
Called ‘the Great Retreat’ by Trotsky- return to traditional gender roles and family.
Emphasised importance of marriage, return wedding rings and certificates (previously been ‘bourgeouis’), women presented more feminine and less muscular in film and propaganda, propaganda focused on the family + Stalin as fatherly
Introduced the ‘Family Code’ in May 1936- abortion illegal, harder to get divorce with higher fees, contraceptives banned, women with 6+ children got tax exemptions, child support 60% father’s income, children 12+ trialed as adults, adultery, prostitution and homosexuality criminalised.
What impact did Stalin’s policy have on women in society?
Number of working women still increased to 43% of workforce in 1941
Female participation in the party fell
Harder for women to get justice in courts
Divorce rate still high- 37% in Moscow 1934
Ratio of abortions to births was 150,000 : 57,000
1929-1940 population growth continued to fall
Number of prostitutes rose
Single/ divorced women struggled to find work
By 1937- 82% of women in their 30s were married
What was Stalin’s approach to young people?
Wanted to focus on building skilled workforce and a generation of scientists and engineers.
Reformed school system to be more traditional-
1935- removed policy given % of secondary school places given to working class children, key subjects reading writing science and history, parents had to start contributing money for education, education available on collectives/in towns, around start of war military training in school, Universities under control of Veshenka, teachers had to make quotas too could be purged if not met.
Youth groups like Komsomol and Young Pioneers-
Komsomol running since 1926 for ages 10-28- taught communist values and discouraged smoking,drinking, religion, Young Pioneers offered free summer and winter camps, Komsonolskaia Pravda youth newspaper
How did Stalin’s policy towards young people affect their place in society?
Teachers were likely to be party members so would spread nationalist propaganda.
Literacy rates were very high- 94% ages 9-49 in cities literate, 86% in countryside
Red bandana of Komsomol had status around young people- full time commitment, helped prevent anti-social behaviour
Komosomol linked directly with party in 1939 and used to assist police/ red army
Children easily influenced by propaganda, very passionate about communism and industrialisation.
Stalin’s impact on the working man/woman
Most benefits for skilled workers w/ wage differentials- 1931 and good jobs available due to skill shortage.
Technical education and trailing readily available
1938- labour books introduced
Standard of living increased
But kommunalkas (accommodation) were low quality, lack of space, sharing with other families.
Many problems with crime and alcoholism
Impending was 1940/1941 meant standard of living fell again.
What was the ‘Socialist man/woman’
Priorotised community over individual identity
Dedicated to the party
Educated but followed the state completely
Atheist
Urban worker
Who was Trofim Lysenko?
Soviet scientist of the belief that they could create a perfect society of soviet men and women by breeding out characteristics cs that weren’t desirable (same argument as eugenics).
His theories were not disproved until 1964 because Stalin approved of them.
How did Stalin change Russian culture in the 1930s?
Art was controlled by the state, socialist realism was the only acceptable style - focused on large groups of people in industrialised/ collectivised spaces, had to have an optimistic light. Controlled so art moved away from individual and to the collective.
All art forms literature/music/art must serve the state politically and to publish in their form creatives mut join the union of soviet _.
1934- first meeting of union of soviet writers overseen by Zhadanov (Commisar for culture)
Ostrovsky- writer published ‘How the Steel was Tempered’ about a soviet man who was there in October, Served in Civil War etc. Most borrowed book in Magnetogorsk library.
Cinema important to culture- western cinema available to watch as well as Bolshevik films like Eisensein’s ‘October’
Some like Boris Pasternak refused to engage in Socialist Realism and decided to no longer write/publish. Made living translating classics instead. Eventually in WW11 he write Dr Zhivago
How did Stalin change Russian culture in the 1930s?
Art was controlled by the state, socialist realism was the only acceptable style - focused on large groups of people in industrialised/ collectivised spaces, had to have an optimistic light. Controlled so art moved away from individual and to the collective.
All art forms literature/music/art must serve the state politically and to publish in their form creatives mut join the union of soviet _.
1934- first meeting of union of soviet writers overseen by Zhadanov (Commisar for culture)
Ostrovsky- writer published ‘How the Steel was Tempered’ about a soviet man who was there in October, Served in Civil War etc. Most borrowed book in Magnetogorsk library.
Cinema important to culture- western cinema available to watch as well as Bolshevik films like Eisensein’s ‘October’
Some like Boris Pasternak refused to engage in Socialist Realism and decided to no longer write/publish. Made living translating classics instead. Eventually in WW11 he write Dr Zhivago
What was the Treaty of Berlin (1926)?
Re-established the terms of the Treaty of Rapallo (1922)
Agreed that if either country was attacked the other would reman neutral
Agreed to not join in with boycotts of each others goods
To last for 5 years
Who was Maxim Litvinov?
Commissar for Foreign Affairs from 1930
‘The acceptable face of communism’
Lived in Britain for many years, married to an English woman
Was Jewish and removed from his post in 1939 in an attempt to suck up to Hitler
What was Stalin’s foreign policy 1924-1928?
Socialism in One Country (which he used in the power struggle)
Focused on building up socialism in Russia rather than trying to spread it abroad
What was Stalin’s foreign policy 1928-1934?
Attacking ‘Social Fascism’
16th Comintern congress 1928 said that ‘social fascists’ were the deadliest enemy of communism. Idea that moderate socialist parties split the vote of working people from communist parties.
What was Stalin’s Foreign Policy 1934-1939?
Supporting ‘Popular Fronts’.
Supporting moderate socialist countries like France and Britain due to growing threat of fascism in Italy and Germany.
E.g. Russia joins the League of Nations in 1934
What is the ‘Stalin Doctrine’?
Historical Term for idea that Stalin’s foreign policy was strategic with a long time goal of collective security and that a war in the west will cause the end of capitalism.
Diplomatic relations with The USA and the USSR pre WW2?
US embassy opened in Moscow 1933
Helped the USSR the enter into the LoN which was finalised in 1933 in Washington
Where did Japan invade 1931?
Manchuria- An area in China moving towards the USSR
What pacts did the USSR sign with France prior to WW2?
The non-aggression pact- November 1932
Franco-Soviet Pact- May 1935
Pact signed between USSR and Czechoslovakia
Soviet-Czechoslovak Pact 1935
Both France and USSR agreed to defend Czechoslovakia if it was invaded
What was the significance of the Soviet involvement in the Spanish Civil War?
Stalin supplied the Spanish government with troops, advisors and supplies because the Nazis were supporting rebels to try get a fascist in power. Wanted to prevent Italy and Germany from getting another ally but the other allies had agreed to not interfere.
Stalin purposefully prolonged the fighting to try wear down the Nazis.
He also used this as an opportunity to purge the Spanish communist party of Trotskyites
When was the Nazi-Soviet Pact signed?
23rd August 1939
Why did Stalin sign the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
Allies were weak- didn’t defend Czechoslovakia from invasion, allowed Germany to move troops into the Rhineland, appeasement at the Munich conference, not supporting Spain in the Civil War
Avoid a war on two fronts fighting both Japan and Germany
Buy USSR more time to restore the Red Army
What benefits did the USSR gain from the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
No threat of a two fronts war
Would leave the capitalist powers to fight with USSR as a neutral party
Gained territory in Eastern Poland and the Baltic states (Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania)
Had time to reform to Red Army and prepare for any fighting
What benefits did Germany gain from the signing of the Nazi-Soviet Pact?
Free to invade Poland
Not risking a war on two fronts
Gained materials from Russia
Fighting different powers to those they lost to in WW1
What was operation Barbarossa?
Codename for the 1941 Nazi invasion of the USSR
When was operation Barbarossa launched?
22nd August
Why was operation barbarossa delayed for 3 weeks?
Nazi last minute invasion of Yugoslavia
How did the delay of the invasion impact the German Army?
Less time before winter set in
How many written warnings of impending invasion did Stalin ignore?
84
How did the Russian winter impact the German army?
Lacked supplies for the cold like oil and warm clothing
Oil froze in the tanks of the vehicles, meant planes were grounded
What was the significance of the USSRs invasion of FInland?
November 1939
Unsuccessful invasion. Showed the weakness of the Red Army so close to the invasion
What is the German term for the Nazi tactic of ‘lightning war’?
Britzkrieg
Why was Hitler so confident about the invasion of Russia?
He had already conquered most of Western Europe taking whole countries in a matter of weeks
How large was the German invading army?
3 million men
Largest invasion in human history
What were Hitlers aims with Russia?
Control soviet economy
Eradicate communism
Use Western Russia as ‘living space’ for German public
What was the German tactic for invasion?
Army split into three groups going different directions
One going North through Baltic states to destroy Leningrad
One going south through Ukraine and to the oil fields
One central going directly to Moscow
What was Stavka?
Russian war cabinet created on 22nd June, the day of the invasion
How did Stalin’s leadership fail at the beginning of the war?
First three weeks had a breakdown, relied on lower down commanders, Molotov first to address the nation in response to the invasion, ignored 84 reports of invasion, sending Germany supplies until the day before the invasion, afraid the party was going to turn against him in war
How did propaganda change during the Great Patriotic War?
Relied more on patriotism, religious persecution eased, unity of all the nations of the USSR
How prepared was the Red Army for the Invasion?
9.6 million soldiers built up in preparation
3:1 ratio of the Nazi army
Gulag labour building up roads, rails, military airfields
5 times as many Tanks as the Nazis had
The Great Patriotic War in Ukraine
By September 1941 Kiev had fallen
In the invasion of Ukraine, 250,000 Ukrainians joined the Nazis
Over 600,000 people captured in Kiev alone
How many Soviet citizens were taken as PoW?
By 1941 3 million
Failures of the USSR in the early GPW
Lost 30% of their ammunitions in the first week
As well as 50% of their fuel and food
What happened in the siege of Leningrad?
Under siege for 872 days
150,000 shells fired on the city
Over half the population died
Relief could only be sent in winter over a frozen lake
Not evacuated because Stalin thought people would fight harder with people in danger
13th December 1941 the NKVD received the first report of cannibalism
What was significant about the Battle of Stalingrad?
Turning point in the war, Soviets pushed the Nazis out of the city at the cost of 2 million casualties
Why did Hitler direct the force to the oilfields to Stalingrad?
Symbolic victory over a city named after Stalin
What was the Battle of Prokhorovka?
Largest tank battle in history
July 1943
Soviet win though they lost 8x as many tanks
Stalin accepting defeat early war
Oct 1941 he feared if the Germans took Moscow he would have to face a second front against the Japanese
Authorised Beria and Molotov to have secret negotiations with Germany
When did the siege of Leningrad end?
27th January 1944
What was the Tehran summit?
Meeting of Stalin, Churchill and Roosevelt ‘the big three’ in Tehran to discuss end of the war plans November 1943
What was the race for Berlin?
Race between Britain and USSR to reclaim Berlin from the Nazis
When does the Red Army reach Berlin?
April 1945
How many people did the USSR lose in WW1?
26 Million (1/8th population)
4.5 Million by Dec 1941 alone
Who was Zoya Kosmodemyanskaya?
18 year old girl who attempted to sabotage Nazi army but was executed by them in 1941
Posthumously made a Hero of the Soviet Union
Many Soviet soldiers wrote For Zoya on their vehicles in her honour
What roles did women take up in the Red Army?
Soldiers
Pilots
Running Munitions factories
Driving Tanks
What was Eisatzgruppen?
Nazi policy of using death squads to round up undesirables and shoot them
What was the Nazi ideology that made the death count of Soviets so high?
Lebenstraum- idea that Germans wanted Russia as ‘living space’ and to deport Russians to East of the Urrals. Predicted over 60 million casualties in this plan
Believed Slavic people to be sub human and less important that Western Europeans so valued their lives less
What happened at Babi Yar?
September 1941, Germans rounded up 34,000 Soviet Jews and shot them at Babi Yar, leaving them in mass graves
Example of Terror occurring during the war
Beria organised the deportation of 240,000 Muslim Tatars from Crimea to Uzbekistan in May 1944
In 1940 Stalin and Beria signed off on the Kalyn Forrest Massacre which killed 15,000 Polish officers and a further 10,000 Polish intellectuals. They played this off as a Nazi crime
What was Order 227?
‘Not one step backwards’
Soviet troops were not aloud to retreat without command from higher up or they risked being shot
How many factories were evacuated from Moscow in the War?
500
80,000 wagons used to transport them east of the Urrals
What rate was Russian industry working at in the war?
In 1943, producing 2,000 tanks a month
Also losing tanks at that rate
How did the USSR evacuate industry?
Used 20,000 trains to move factories, equipment and workers
What military aid did the USSR receive through the war?
Lend-lease aid from the USA
Also received aid from Britain
How much aid did the USSR receive from the USA?
$500 million worth
More than 300,000 trucks
Armaments, industrial goods and foodstuff like SPAM too
How did Stalin’s diplomacy aid him in the War?
Signed neutrality pact with Japan to avoid a 2 front war
Received over $500 million of aid from lend-lease
Pressured Allies to open a second front. Invasion of Sicily in 1944
Abolished Comintern in 1943 to appeal to the allies
How many towns and cities had been destroyed in the war?
1,700
How many villages were destroyed in the war?
70,000
How many collective farms were destroyed in the war?
98,000
How much spending was allotted to Ukraine following the GPW?
1/3
How many people were made homeless following teh GPW?
20 million
When was the fourth 5 year plan?
1945-1950
When was the 5th 5 year plan?
From 1950
How well did the 4th and 5th 5YPs go?
Many targets met/exceeded
Production went above pre-war levels
By what year had Soviet incomes exceeded 1938?
1948
How was housing post war?
Shortages were still prevalent in 1953
What % of money went to the military post-war?
25%
What was the coal output in 1950?
261 tons
By 1953 what % of pre-war levels was food production in the USSR?
60%
Why was there famine 1946-1967?
1946had been the driest year since 1891
By what year had grain production met pre-war levels?
1952
What was High Stalinism?
Extreme control and dictatorship seen in Stalin’s leadership following the Great Patriotic War
How had the War changed Stalin?
More paranoid, became extremely unpredictable
Crack down on nationalism/religious attacks again
How long was the gap between the 18th and 19th Party Congress?
18th Party Congress- 1939
19th Party Congress- 1952
13 years apart
How did Stalin change the running of the party?
mostly newer beaurocrats who instantly agreed with Stalin including the Politburo
How did Stalin control the Politburo?
Played other members like Beria, Molotov, Malenkov and Mikoyan against each other
No clear second in command who could usurp him
How were soldiers/ officers treated after the war?
Prisoners of War (or anyone else who had spent time outside of the USSR) were often executed or imprisoned as contact woth the outside world was not trusted
15% of returning soldiers were sent to the Gulag
Over 12 million war survivors were put into Gulags
How did Stalin isolate the USSR from the rest of the world following the war?
Febuary 1947- Marriages to foreigners were outlawed
Talking to a foreigner could have you arrested
Media from western countries was not allowed in- their radio signalls were blockedd, very few translated works allowed
How did Beria reorganise the NKVD?
Two sections
MVD (Ministry of Internal Affairs) controlled domestic affairs and the Gulag system
MGM (Ministry of State Security) handled espionage and intelligence networks
What was the population of the Gulags 1950-1953?
Around 2.5 million
compared to 1.9 million in the terror
What happened to Marshall Zhukov following the Great Patriotic War?
In 1946 he was demoted to the Odessa Military District which had much less importance
How large was the Soviet Army after the war?
Reduced to around 2.5 million
What was the Zhadanshchina?
The ‘great cultural purge’ launched in 1946, co-ordinated by Zhadanov
Who was Anna Akhmatova?
famous Soviet poet whose poetry was banned for being politially indifferent.
Expelled from the Union of Soviet Writers so she could not publish anything else
She was not purged though her flat was very heavily bugged following this
Who was Boris Pasternak?
Soviet writer and future author of Dr Zhivago
Refused to write during the cultural purge, instead translated works for money
His work was attacked and his girlfriend was sent to a Gulag
How did the attitude towards Dostoevsky channge durig teh Zhadanshchina?
His works were heavily criticised for not embodying socialist realism
Growing antisemetic attitudes in the soviet union post-war
Jewish art was suppressed
The night of the murdered poets
Molotov’s wife was sent to a Gulag, she was Jewish and friends with Jewish nationalists e.g the future Prime Minister of Israel
Why did Stalin take an antisemetic stance?
The creation of Israel as a nation
They were allies with the USA therefore he thought of Jewish nationalists as spies of the West
Who was Trofim Lysenko?
A soviet biologist supported by Stalin who pushed the belief of Lamarckism that rejeted natural selection and said instead parents passed on features that they did a lot?
What was Lysenkoism?
The soviet political campaign against natural selection. Resulted in over 3,000 biologists being dismissed/ imprisoned for resisting the movement.
How did the Great Patriotic War impact on the cult of personality?
The Great Patriotic War replaced the October Revolution as the greatest event in Russian History
What was the Night of the Murdered Poets (August 1952)?
The execution of 13 prominent Soviet Yiddish writers under the orders of Stalin
Most of them had been a part of an organisation which wanted to preserve Jewish culture in Eastern Europe
What happened in the Leningrad affair?
Zhadanov died in 1948
Following this in 1949 Stalin launched a purge of the Leningrad party removing those who had come from Zhadanov’s area of influence
Why did Stalin resent Leningrad in particular?
Historically many of his political rivals had influence in Leningrad e.g. Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kirov, Zhadanov
Stalin had always been more powerful in Moscow rather than Leningrad
Resented their collective pride in surviving the seige during the war
How many people were purged in the Leningrad affair?
over 2,000 officials were dismissed or exiled
Who organised the Leningrad affair?
Malenkov and Beria
What was the Mingrelian Case?
A planned purge of the party in Georgia, specifically of those of Mingrelian ethnicity.
Party members were accused of working with the West
Who in the Politburo was of Mingrelian origin?
Beria therefore he had a lot of influence in this area of the party
An attempt to limit his power
Where did the ‘evidence’ for the Doctor’s plot stem from?
In 1948 Lydia Timashuk reported to Stalin a conspiracy that Zhadnov died because of the methods of the doctors
What was the Doctor’s Plot (1952)?
In 1952 Timashuk’s report was used as justification to arrest a group of doctors for murdering Zhadnov and taking part in a ‘zionist conspiracy’.
Stalin claimed the US and Israel were using these doctors to infiltrate the party and the red army.
Attacks in Jewish soviets following WW2
Stalin considered sending the Jewish population to Siberia
1000s of Jewish people were arrested/ sent to Gulags
Jewish professionals were shunned in their fields
in 1948- a Jewish theatre director in Moscow mysteriously died in a car crash
In the Cold War what was the membership of the Soviet army?
7.5 million troops
Where had the USSR expanded following WWII?
Parts of Poland and the Baltic States
Where had the USSR established Satelite states following WWII?
Hungary, Romania, Poland, Bulgaria, East Germany, Czechoslovakia
Where/When were the three meetings of the ‘big three’?
Tehran Conference- 1943- Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill
Yalta Conference- Feb 1945- Roosevelt, Stalin, Churchill
Potsdam Conference- July 1945- Truman, Stalin, Attlee
How does the UN prove the USSR as a superpower?
When it was formed in 1945, the USSR was made 1 of 5 nations with a permanent role on the council
How did the USSR clash with the West at Potsdam in July 1945?
Disagreement on the control of Germany
Truman didn’t approve of the USSR’s communist policy across Eastern Europe
Opinions on Reparations for Germany
How did the USSR control satellite states?
Took control of their armies
Put communist leaders trained in Russia in charge
Set up secret police services
Arrested opponents to communism
When does the USSR invade Albania?
1945
When did the USSR invade Bulgaria?
1945
What was the Long Telegram, why did it cause a breakdown in Soviet/Western relations?
Sent in February 1946
8,000 word telegram from an American diplomat back to the US saying the USSR had a “neurotic view of world affairs” and the USA should do everything in its powers to contain the spread of Communism
When did Churchill make the Iron Curtain speech?
March 1946
What was the Truman Doctrine?
US policy launched in March 1947 aimed to support Western Europe and prevent the spread of communism .
Stalin saw this as hostile to the USSR
What was the Marshall Plan?
Launched in June 1947- US funding sent to Western Europe to help recover from the war, used to expand American sphere of influence
What was the Marshall Plan?
Encouraged countries in the Soviet Bloc to turn down the aid
When does the USSR take control of Poland?
1947
What was Cominform?
Comintern 2.0
Formed 1947
Aims to spread communism, offered protection from the USA
What was the significance of the introduction of a new currency to Western Berlin in June 1948?
The following day Stalin sets up a blockade into Western Berlin
What was the significance of the introduction of a new currency to Western Berlin in June 1948?
The blockade into Western Berlin
Lasted June 1948- May 1949
Cut off all roads and rail into Western Berlin
The Allies responded by transporting supplies in by aircraft
When did the USSr take control of Czechoslovakia?
February 1948
When was NATO formed?
1949
When did the USA get the atomic bomb?
July 1945
When did the USSR get the atomic bomb?
1949
By 1953 how many atomic weapons did the USSR have?
120
When did the USA develop the hydrogen bomb?
1952
When did the Chinese communists win the Chinese civil war?
1949
Chairman Moa took power
How did Yugoslavia undermine the USSR as a superpower?
Was a communist nation controlled by Josip Tito but refused to be a Soviet puppet state.
Stalin sent a hit man to Tito, it didn’t work and Tito just sent an angry letter back
What were ‘Salami Tactics’?
Term coined by Miklos Rakosi
Method of gaining power through small incremental steps
taking over trade unions/ local government/ assassinations on anti-Soviet leaders
What was COMECON?
Formed in 1949
Economic agreement between communist nations giving Eastern European countries money in response to the Marshall Aid
What was the deal with Germany after WWII?
Split into 4 parts, each controlled by UK, Fr, US, USSR
Britain, France, USA united their areas to become Western Germany
Also had ctrl over Western Berlin
USSR kept sole ctrl of Eastern Berlin and Eastern Germany
When did Stalin die?
5th March 1953
What did Stalin die from?
Stroke
Who were the power struggle candidates following Stalin’s death?
Malenkov
Beria
Khrushchev
When was Beria executed by the party?
December 1953
When did Khrushchev announce de-Stalinisation?
At the 20th Party Congress in 1956
Criticised Stalin specifically:
Cult of Personality
Tyranny
Use of Terror
Bad economic planning
However following this NKVD still continued to be used following this
What happened in East Berlin on the 17th June 1953?
Uprising in East Berlin
Calling for an end to the communist government
Crushed by Soviet tanks
