Brainscape's Knowledge GenomeTM


Top Flashcards (Certified)
All Flashcards

History yr13 > Russia 8 > Flashcards

Russia 8 Flashcards

1
Q

what was the name of the political police force under Stalin?

A

NKVD

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
2
Q

what did the NKVD control?

A

secret police, interior troops, regular police and gulag

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
3
Q

what did the secret police of the NKVD used for?

A

used to arrest people suspected of “crimes” against the Soviet state and leadership

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
4
Q

how was the issue of a lack of NKVD secret police resolved?

A

aided by a network of informers, ordinary people who passed on info

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
5
Q

what did the NKVD’s collection of popular opinion reveal and what was their weakness?

A

reports demonstrated that ordinary people grumbled about food shortages, long hours, and local govt + communist officials but the NKVD generally powerless to stop low-level dissent

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
6
Q

what were the purpose of show trials?

A

held in public to shame and condemn “enemies”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
7
Q

what was the first great show trial and what year?

A

1928- engineers of the Shakty coal mines were accused of “counter-revolutionary” activity. five executed and 44 given long prison sentences

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
8
Q

what show trial was held in 1930?

A

against the “industrial party”, a group of scientists that Soviet prosecutors claimed were plotting against the govt

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
9
Q

who came up with the Gulag?

A

Genrikh Yagoda

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
10
Q

what were the intentions for the gulag?

A

to contribute to soviet industry and genuine effort to “re-educate” some gulag inmates through political courses and libraries

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
11
Q

by 1934 how many political prisoners held in the gulag?

A

over a mill

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
12
Q

when did the gulag system reach its peak?

A

1952-53, prisoner no.s peaked at 2.5 mill

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
13
Q

what industrial project demonstrated the weakness of the gulag system?

A

white sea canal cost the lives of 25,000 prisoners and produced a canal so shallow that its couldnt be used to big ships. (gulag work typically poor quality)

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
14
Q

what happened in 1930 acting as one of the first catalysts for the great purges?

A

Bukharin reelected to the central committee + 2 opposition groups had emerged. one led by Ryutin who sent an appeal to central committee for Stalin’s removal

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
15
Q

what purge occured in 1933 and which month?

A

April 1933- Stalin began massive purge of party members and over the next 2 years, 18% of party members branded “Ryunites” and expelled

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
16
Q

who did Stalin feel particularly threatened by in 1934?

A

Sergei Kirov

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
17
Q

what happened at the 17th party congress? what year?

A

1934-the position of general secretary was abolished and Stalin, along with Kirov and 2 other communist party leaders, given title of “secretary of Equal Rank”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
18
Q

what date was Kirov assassinated?

A

Dec 1934

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
19
Q

what decree was passed associated with Yagoda?

A

gave Yagoda, head of the NKVD, powers to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of “terrorist plotting”

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
20
Q

how many people were arrested in December 1934 alone?

A

6,500 arrested

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
21
Q

who was arrested in Jan 1935?

A

Zinoviev and Kamenev with 17 other communist leaders and 100s of their supporters

How well did you know this?
1
Not at all
2
3
4
5
Perfectly
22
Q

during 1935, how many “former people” arrested exiled or sent to camps and party members arrested?

A

FP=11,000
PM=250,000

23
Q

what show trial occurred in August 1936?

A

Zinoviev and Kamenev + 14 others put on show trial and found guilty of plotting with Trotsky and executed

24
Q

who was Yagoda replaced by in 1936?

25
which other communist leader was arrested and expelled from the party ?
Bukharin
26
who was purged under Yezhov's military purges and what year?
1937, 8 military commanders tries, of 767 members of military high command, 512 executed. large no. of military intelligence operatives arrested and executed. however by 1940 around 1/4 had been reinstated in jobs
27
wha show trail occurred in March 1938?
third and largest show trial of communist leaders. 16 executed including Bukharin and Yagoda
28
what was the 'Great terror' also known as?
"Yezhovshchina"
29
what examples of terror were there during Yezhovshchina?
-Politburo drew up list of 250,000 people to be arrested -citizens urged to begin surveillance on eachother -children in young pioneers and komsomol encouraged to spy on parents and relatives -employees took the opportunity to denounce bosses they hated
30
what did the 18th party congress declare and when was it?
1939, no further need for "mass cleansings". around 1.5 mill cases against people pruged were reviewed and 300,000 people released from gulag
31
what happened to Yezhov following purges?
arrested and shot in 1940
32
what were the signs of the USSR moving towards nationalism during the 1930s?
-non- Russian nationalities allowed to enter govt and communist party ("indigenisation") -local govts used non-Russian native languages in non-Russian republics and regions -non-Russian nationalities given own flags -for nationalities without a written language, communists developed scripts and written culture
33
what were the signs of oppression towards non-Russian nationalities during the 1930s?
-many people had no sense of "nationality" and were forced to accept a new nationality -soviet ethnographers drew borders between nations -people of nationalities not part of USSR were ruthlessly targeted in the Great terror by "national operations" -Jews treated as a nationality not a religion -some languages privileged over others -religions of non-Russians was suppressed
34
what Jewish language was suppressed?
Hebrew was an ancient biblical language and communists felt it was too religious so Yiddish was ruled to be the national language
35
what was the name of the area that the Soviet govt announced as a project to settle Soviet Jews in? and when?
Birobidzhan, March 1928
36
why was Birodbizhan a failure?
lack of basic infrastructure and sanitation. By 1940, 0.4% of houses had running water, 1.1% sewerage and 5.9% central heating
37
By 1932, how many of Birobidzhan's population was Jewish?
5,125 out of 44,574
38
how did ordinary people resist the Soviet govt during the 1930s?
workers grumbled about their bosses, peasants grumbled about their kolhkoz, and many grumbled about party leaders.
39
how was the grumbling of ordinary people dealt with?
vast majority of cases it went unpunished but still very risky to complain openly
40
what was the meaning of "we let the women do the talking"?
during collectivisation, peasants protested and resisted against kolkhozy but they were ruthlessly crushed. but, at this time, peasant women were seen as being less poltically aware so less likely to face harsh punishment so women-led resistance was used instead
41
what was the name of the women's protests that were marked by great violence and hostility?
"bab'i bunty"
42
what did some "bab'i bunty" achieve?
some were able to shut down local govt organisations with their protests
43
what year did Stalin make homosexuality illegal?
1934
44
how was homosexual men show resistance?
homosexual encounters between men found in police reports and court records. Gay men met secretively in public places and the scale of homosexual encounters was certainly greater than what the police and courts reveal
45
who were the "peasant proletarians"?
during industrialisation, millions of peasants flocked to cities to work in factories.
46
how did the "peasant proletarians" display resistance to the Soviet govt?
often kept their peasant customs and traditions. lacked training and motivation, many worked slowly, chatted, idled and walked off the job. this was because there were too many jobs and not enough workers
47
give an example of poor work discipline in one factory
in a large factory in Moscow, workers wandered the corridor buying books and ice cream
48
How did the Soviet govt repress religion during the 1930s?
anti-religious propaganda and campaigns . the no. of working churches fell from 79,000-1926 to 31,000- 1937
49
how did repression of the Orthodox church not always prevent popular religious beliefs?
on kolkhozy, particularly difficult to uproot religion. peasants refused to attend the communist-led alternatives to easter and christmas celebrations. eventhough priests repressed, still "self-ordained" priests in villages
50
what was the campaign to end Muslim women wearing veils called?
Hujum
51
what did the Hujum encourage women to do?
go uncovered and burn their veils in public
52
how was Hujum resisted?
attacks on women and communists who supported the unveiling. Muslim communist officials sabotaged the campaign by refusing to allow their wives and female relatives to unveil
53
what was the largest workers' uprising since 1921 and what was it in response to?
after the first five year plan, huge wave of strikes as workers had seen a sharp decline in rations, harsh labour regulations and long hours. they refused to work, smashed machinery, organised 'emergency assemblies' + held public demonstrations.
54
other than grumbling, what other example of low-level resistance was there during the 1930s?
jokes and popular stories which made fun of Soviet leaders

History yr13 (12 decks)

Brainscape helps you reach your goals faster, through stronger study habits.
© 2025 Bold Learning Solutions. Terms and Conditions