Russia: communist governments in the USSR Flashcards
1
Q
The february revolution
A
1917- an uprising in petrograd that overthrew the Tsars and set up a provisional government
2
Q
The provisional government
A
- Introduced a series of new reforms including, freedom of expression and freedom of religion. They promised democratic elections to appoint a new government. The Tsar’s despotism was replaced by a liberal system. However they chose to stay in the war.
- Lenin was a radical member of the Russian Social Democratic Party (RSDP). He encouraged a revolution against the provisional government, he wanted an end to Russian involvement in WWI and the redistribution of land to peasants. By October 1917, Lenins followers the Bolsheviks had enough support to organise a coup d’etat, which led to the end of the provisional government
3
Q
Political background to 1917 Russia
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- Tsarism was oppressive (autocracy)
- Military defeat threatened the legitimacy of the Tsars
4
Q
Economic background to 1917 Russia
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- 80% of the populations were serfs
- Russia’s economy was unable to provide food and equipment for WW1
5
Q
Social background to 1917 Russia
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- The people of Russia were uniting against the Tsars
- Peasants being conscripted to the army caused food shortages
6
Q
October revolution
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- October 1917, Lenin seized control on behalf of the soviets
- The soviets were small democratic councils that had emerged in every town across Russia
- The local soviets would send representatives to the all Russian congress of Soviets, which met in June 1917 and again in October- Lenin and other senior Bolsheviks believed that the All Russian Congress of Soviets should become the new basis of Russian government
- As the congress was too large to meet regularly they elected the Sovnarkom to handle the day to day runnings of the country
7
Q
Sovnarkom: People’s commissars
A
- The Sovnarkom was made up of 13 People’s commissars
- Lenin was elected head of sovnarkom and other comissars included Leon Trotsky; head of People’s commissariat of foreign affairs and Stalin; Peoples commisariat of nationality affairs
- All of the commissars were revolutions and majority had supported Lenin since 1903
8
Q
Sovnarkom: decrees
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- Decree on land (October 1917)- gave peasants the right to seize land from nobility
- Decree of Peace(October 1917)- withdrew Russia from WWI
- Workers Decree (November 1917)- set 8 hour maximum working days and a minimum wage
- Decree on workers control (April 1918) allowed workers to elect committees to run their factories
9
Q
Sovnarkom: control and power?
A
- It took a while after the October Revolution which seized control of Petrograd for Lenin to gain control of other major cities and the rural areas of Russia
- Senior figures from the former government still had power and refused to recognise Bolshevik authority. For example General Dukholnim, Chief of staff of the Russian army refused Lenin’s order to stop fighting and begin peace talks
- The State bank and treasury went on strike after the October revolution denying Lenin’s new government the funds they needed
- Sovnarkom was very disorganised overall.
10
Q
October revolution
A
- October 1917 Lenin seized control of Russia on behalf of the Soviets
- the soviets were democratic councils that had popped up in every town across Russia
- The local Soviets would elect representatives to the all Russian congress which met in June 1917 and again in October
- Lenin and other senior Bolsheviks agreed that the all Russian congress should be the basis of the new Russian government
- As the congress was too large to meet regularly they elected the Sovnarkom to handle the day to day runnings of the country
11
Q
Sovnarkom: people’s commissars
A
- Sovnarkom was made up of 13 peoples commissars
- Lenin was elected head of Sovnarkom, Trotsky; people’s commissar of foreign affairs, Stalin; people’s commissars of nationalities
- Most of the commissars were revolutionaries and had supported the Lenin from 1903
12
Q
Sovnarkom: decrees
A
- Decree on land (October 1917) - give peasant the right to seize land from landowners
- Decree on peace (October 1917) - declared Russias withdrawal from WW1
- workers decree (November 1917) - set 8 hour maximum work day
- Decree on control of workers ( April 1918) - allowed workers to elect a committee to run their factories
13
Q
Sovnarkom: power and control
A
- it took a while after the October revolution which only seize d control in Petrograd for Lenin to take control of other major cities and the rural areas of Russia
- Senior figures from the government refused to recognised the Bolsheviks rule, for example General Dulkhonim chief of the army refused Lenin’s order to stop fighting and begin peace talks
- The state bank treasury went on strike after the October revolution denying the Bolsheviks the funds they needed
- Sovnarkom was disorganised overall
14
Q
In what ways was Russia democratic when Lenin came to power in 1917
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- Not a one party state - the Soviets represented different parties
- Some social revolutionaries supported the Bolsheviks and had junior roles in government
15
Q
In what ways was Russia not democratic when Lenin came to power in 1917
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- decrees were set by Lenin rather than the people
- Lenin refused to recognise the results of the constituent assembly election in 1917 as the Bolsheviks were a minority party
- Lenin approved the Treaty of Brest Litovsk despite opposition- which gave a significant portion of Russian territory to the central powers in order to leave WW1
- From April Mensheviks and SRs were expelled from Soviets
- Lenin postponed elections after the outbreak of the civil war
16
Q
The civil war:
Who were the reds, what were their aims, their geography and their leadership?
A
- They were the Bolsheviks
- Their aims were united and to create a socialist state, maintain Bolshevik power
- They held the central area of Western Russia which contained industrial centres to produce war and munition supplies , also controlled railways which connected to Moscow Petrograd and other cities
- Trotsky was the military leader of the reds, he introduced conscription for 18+ and appointed 50,000 former Tsarist officers, who were knowledgeable in war. “Trotsky’s train” - armoured, boosted morale
17
Q
The civil war:
Who were the whites, what were their aims, their geography and their leadership?
A
- They were : landowners, factor owners, royalists, church members, opposers of Brest Litovsk, Mensheviks, SRs , national minorities seeking independence from Russia
- their aims were not united however they all agreed that they didn’t want the Bolsheviks in power
- They were scattered around Russia often with hundreds of miles between them, communication were hard and military leaders acted on their own either way
- no centralised leaders, commanders were often cruel which served as a reminder of WW1, military commanders didn’t trust each other as they had different goals
18
Q
Changes to government during the civil war
A
- government became increasingly centralised this was done through war communism
- ## communist party became increasing powerful, political centralism, nomenklatura; largely made up of former members of the educated middle classes not the Soviets
19
Q
The emergence of a party state during the civil war
A
- Decisions needed to be made quickly therefore Lenin relied on the politburo as it was smaller it contained his closest advisors, this led to Sovnarkom ceasin to function from 1920
- communist party dominance also emerged at local level, senior communists preferred to work through the party as they didn’t trust the soviet councils which had SRs and Mensheviks present in them
- Russia was no longer a soviet state
20
Q
Red terror and the red army during the civil war
A
- Lenin set up the Cheka in 1917, it was the political police set with the task of defeating any opposers of the Bolsheviks through torture and executions, for example they impaled church leaders on spikes
- Intially soldiers were allowed to elect their own officers however this rule was abolished and Trotsky elected former Tsarist officers which caused opposition however made the army more disciplined and succesful
21
Q
What year did the Bolsheviks win the civil war
A
1921
22
Q
Popular unrest as a result of the civil war
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- the civil war ruined Russias economy this was made worse by a drought in 1920-21 which threatened famine
-Peasnants inTambov led by Aleksander Antonov revolted against Cheka brutality and grain requisitioning, by January 1921 he had gathered 50,000 anti communist supporters, their rebellion was harshly put down by the Cheka and in May the Cheka had deported 100,000 to Gulags - March 1921 peasants attacked grain stores across the Volga river
- outbreak of strikes in early 1921 which was put down by the red army opening fire on unarmed workers
- Sailors in Kronstadt were horrified and rebelled they wanted a return of soviet democracy
- Some communists a,so be levied Lenin had taken it too far
23
Q
How did Russia become a one party state after the civil war
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- Lenin responded unrest by crushing political opposition
- in 1921 Lenin authorised the Cheka to destroy opposition political parties
- By February all the the Mensheviks and SRs had been imprisoned in theButyrka prison
24
Q
The 1921 party congress
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Lenin pushed through a series of reforms:
- the “new economic policy” - liberalised the economy
- ban on factions within the party
25
Q
The Soviet Union
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- created in 1922
- by 1940 there were 15 different republics including Ukraine, Georgia and Estonia
- Each had their own soviet system and communist party
26
Q
Why was there a power struggle after Lenin’s death
A
- Lenin’s support within the party was based on respect rather than position
- Therefore the way that the next leader will have to win power was based on support within the party not position
- they had to prove they were a true Leninist
27
Q
Who were the rivals for power in 1923
A
- Stalin
Had supported Lenin and the Bolsheviks from the start. Lenin held him in high regard and supported his promotion to general secretary in 1921. However Lenin had written in his testament how Stalin was not fit for the role, although the other contenders were also criticised not to the same extent, in a meeting in 1923 they agreed not to make the testament public - Trotsky
Revolutionary hero from his role in the October revolution and civil war. He was Lenin’s right hand man, however had disagreed with him from 1903 to 1917 and therefore not seen as a true Leninist - Zinoviev
Stalins closest friend and had been a supporter of the Bolsheviks from the start. In 1923 to 1925 formed the triumvirate with himself, Kamenev and Stalin, to keep Trotsky out of power. They achieved this by launching a successful political campaign to prove Trotsky wasn’t a true Leninist - Bukharin
From 1925-28 he was the most prominent figure in the USSR. In 1925 he formed the duumvirate with Stalin giving them a majority in the party. Him and Lenin had had a father- son relationship, Bukharin was the editor of Pravda, however he was also the youngest and seen as inexperienced.
In 1925 Trotsky lost his position because of fear of Bonapartism. In 1926 Zinoviev and Kamenev were not voted back into the party. The three of them formed the united opposition (left) against Stalin and Bukharin
28
Q
Lenin enrolment
A
- 1924
- Stalin argued that they needed more lower class memebers in the party
- In reality he wanted party members more interested in a well paid job, so that they’d be loyal to him as he could promote them
29
Q
What two ideas had Stalin committed the communist party to by 1928
A
- Socialism in one country - Stalin believed they didn’t need to wait for a worldly revolution to establish communism in Russia and anyone who said otherwise like Trotsky and Zinoviev weren’t true Leninists
- Collectivisation and industrialisation - Stalin argued that the time for the NEP had come to an end, which Lenin had said would not last forever. Stalin wanted a more radical approach to improving the economy.
30
Q
What did Stalin do to Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev after he came to power
A
Accused them of forming a faction and got them arrested under that pretense
31
Q
Stalins patronage system
A
- In 1921 the party was based on democratic centralism all party members voted for party delegates who attended party congress which elected the central committee. However from 1923 Stalin began sending an approved list to party members of who they should vote for as party delegates. Around 1/3 of delegates were appointed from stalins list in 1923
- Stalin was general secretary therefore he was able to give promotions making party members loyal to him
- He was head of the central control commission and Rabkrin, allowing him to investigate and sack party memebers Zane government officials, making them loyal to him
- The party no longer consisted of radical revolutionaries rather professional administrators dedicated to their own careers. Stalin had turned the Soviet union into a personal dictatorship.
32
Q
How was opposition a cause for Stalin’s great terror
A
- By 1930 there was an opposition group in the Politburo centred around a man called Kirov, head of the communist party in Leningrad
- 1932 - one of Kirov’s supporters who had formed the Marxist Leninists (opposition group to Stalin) , circulated a highly critical document of Stalin’s policies.
- 1933 - Kirov argued for more realistic goals for the five year plans and a stronger focus on the production of consumer goods
- Kirovs growing authority threatened Stalin
33
Q
How was kirovs murder a reason for Stalins great terror
A
- In December 1934
- Allowed Stalin to claim that there was a dangerous conspiracy theory planning to overthrow the communist government, therefore giving a reason for him to launch the great terror
34
Q
How were economic problems a cause for Stalins great terror
A
- Senior government figures were aware of Stalins agricultural and industrial failures, this undermined his power
- The great terror allowed Stalin to accuse workers of being “wreckers” or saboteurs”, deflecting his responsibilities - dizzy with succes
- he sent the accused to Gulags, this essentially allowed Stalin to build a slave labour army to build factories or mine resources
35
Q
How was the congress of the victors a cause for Stalins great terror
A
- February 1934, to elect the new central committee
- Kirov beat Stalin
- Senior members of the communist party urged Kirov to stand against Stalin for general secretary, Kirov refused and the vote was kept secret
- But it was clear Stalin had rivals in the party
36
Q
Who was the congress of the victors a cause for Stalins great terror
A
- February 1934, to elect the new central committee
- Kirov beat Stalin
- Senior members of the communist party urged Kirov to stand against Stalin for general secretary, Kirov refused and the vote was kept secret
- But it was clear Stalin had rivals in the party
37
Q
When was the great terror
A
1934-38
38
Q
Show trials (Stalin)
A
- most public aspect of the terror
- At each trial the defendants were forced to confess to plotting to kill Kirov, and working with capitalist nations to overthrow the Soviet Union, they were then executed
There were three of them - 1936-trial of the 16, executed Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 of their supporters
- 1937- trial of the 17, executed 17 of Trotsky’s former supporters
- 1938- trial of the 21, executed Bukharin and 20 of his supporters
- The show trial were a very tiny fraction of the terror, 95% of those purged held senior positions in the communist government
39
Q
Stalin purged the red army
A
- He feared Trotsky still had influence over them
- Stalin organised a secret trial of 8 Red army leaders, they were all found guilty of plotting to overthrow the communist party, they had all worked closesly with Trotsky
- Following this Stalin 37000 officers from the army
40
Q
Consequences of the great terror
A
- Killed 10 million ( 10% of the population)
- Led to the imprisonment of a whole generation of communists who had worked closely with Lenin
- Emergence of a new generation of communists who owed their position to Stalin
- Established the principle that Stalin had the right to use terror to suppress opposition
- Stalin’s political police the NKVD became a very important aspect to the regime
41
Q
What was the constitution of 1936 and how did Stalin use it to consolidate his power?
A
- Sometimes called the Stalin costitution, set out the structure of the Party
- soviets were elected by the people as representatives there were two types; Soviets of the people 1 for every 300,000 voters and Soviets of the nationalities.
- The soviets would then elect supreme soviets
- Supreme Soviets would elect the council of ministers
- The constitution also guaranteed freedom of speech, religion and movement
- Western socialists claimed it was the most democratic government in existence
- In reality the constitution had little to do with the government as each of the bodies was dominated by the communist party
- There was no rule of law in the soviet union and therefore rights were meaningless as the government didn’t need to obey the law
42
Q
How did WW2 affect the power structure
A
- Initially the USSR was neutral but supplied the Nazis
- In 1941 germany onvaded russia forcing them to ally with britain and the USA forming the grand alliance
- Only in 1941 did Stalin become chair of Sovnarkom
- The government was really ineffective especially for wartime as Stalin had purged government officials and the military
Stalin changed the government in the following ways: - Ended mass terror so government could run more smoothly
- Gave more power to the state- state ministers rather than party members made important decisions
- Changed the composition of the Politburro, giving state minkister positions in it and former members important ministerial roles
- State defense committee (GKO) set up to co-ordinate the economy, military production and defense
43
Q
How did Stalin consolidate his power post WW2?
A
- Stalin still used terror but not to the same extent, however a long lasting fear of Stalin was still instilled in the people
- Stalin appointed Zhdanov, Beria’s key rival, to be in charge of supervision of berias police force, this meant that senior officials were competing with each other rather than Stalin
- !938, the Politburo held the most power in the government, by 1942 it was GKO and post war it was the council of ministers, this ensured no committee had more power or influence than Stalin
44
Q
What was one way Stalin tested the loyalty of his closest supporters?
A
- Imprison or sack their wives or daughters
- 1948, Stalin demanded that the Politburo vote to expel Molotov’s wife from the party, Molotov abstained from the vote, he later apologised to Stalin for his disloyalty
- In 1949 Stalin had Molotov’s wife imprisoned, having learnt his lesson he made no move to stop it
45
Q
What was the Leningrad affair and how did Stalin use it to consolidate his power?
A
- 1949-52
- Purge of the Leningrad party, Stalin feared they were becoming too independent, 100 officials were shot and 2000 dismissed and imprisoned
- The Leningrad affair occurred after Zhdanov’s death, Beria’s key rival in the power struggle (Stalin was 70), therefore one explanation is that Beira encouraged the purge as Zhdanov had been head of the Leningrad Party and therefore it contained beria’s most senior rivals
46
Q
What were Stalin’s personal limits on power?
A
The soviet union was so large that it was impossible for Stalin to be in control of every situation, therefore he had to prioritise
47
Q
What were Stalin’s limits imposed by party on his power?
A
- Stalin had used his position in Nomenklatura to appoint the politburo therefore they were loyal to him, however there is some evidence to opposition
- 1934 party congress Kirov was voted central committee over Stalin
- The politburo had disproved of Stalin’s ambitious goals for the first five year plan and therefore he was forced to redraft it
- Some politburo members expressed concern of Stalin’s increasing use of terror and brutality
48
Q
What were Stalin’s limits on his power from below?
A
many party members were concerned with threats from enemies at home or abroad, this put extra pressure on Stalin to push for a more socialist state
