Russia Key Issue 3 Flashcards
Why did Stalin win the leadership contest?
Father= shoemaker and alcoholic
Socialism in one country
Trotsky underestimated him: ‘the most imminent mediocrity’
Snaked Trotsky about Lenin’s funeral
Doctored photos to appear close to Lenin
He built his power base by putting enemies in small jobs
What was the purges?
Began 1934
Loyal Bolsheviks like Bukharin killed in 1938 as they confessed to treason.
500,000 party members arrested
Trotsky killed in Mexico in 1940
What was the great terror?
Where any threat was removed by Stalin.
Number of victims peaked in 1937, where there were 18m in the gulags. 10m died.
1 in 5 officers removed, even supreme commander of the RA
How did Stalin use propaganda and censorship?
Used it everywhere to become part of people’s lives
Religion banned in 1939 with only 7 bishops
New style of art called socialist realism aimed to praise Stalin
School kids brainwashed in curriculum
What was the cult of personality?
Most citizens liked and trusted Stalin.
this faith was built up by propaganda
Why did Stalin want to modernise Russia?
Increase military strength. Rival capitalist countries Increase food for army and proletariats. Wanted to sell grain to buy equipment Establish his reputation
Why did Stalin collectivise?
Under the NEP most farms were too small for new modern methods.
Peasants had enough food so there was no point producing more to feed towns
Attitudes to collectivisation
To make collectivisation more appealing, government offered free seed and other perks.
Peasants were always suspicious based on their experiences with Lenin so they were suspicious about the speed of collectivisation
Most peasants didn’t like collectivisation because Stalin was asking them to abandon a way of life
How did collectivisation affect kulaks?
Kulaks refused to collectivise so Stalin turned people away from them using propaganda. Soon turned violent.
Kulaks were sent to the gulags so they burnt their crops in revenge. This led to famine
Negatives of collectivisation
Famine in 1932 to 33
Millions died in the richer areas like Ukraine
By 1934: no kulaks
Germans invaded and were welcomed in Ukraine in 1941
Almost all lands collectivised by 1941
Despite so many negatives Stalin continued
what is GOS plan?
state planning organisation setup by lenin
in 1921 they set up ambitious targets for industry
what where the dates of the 3 5 year plans?
- 1928
- 1933
- 1938
what was the focus of the 1st 5 year plan?
1928-32
focus: industry
factories built from nothing because all resources were in serbia
new dams, steel mills and hydroelectricity
experts went to uzbekistan and created industry from scratch
what was the focus of the 2nd 5 year plan?
1933-37
Industry and other areas:
development in mining zinc and lead
Siberian resources exploited
moscow railway also built
what was the focus of the 3rd 5 year plan 1938-43?
focus: agriculture and consumer goods
not completed because of ww2
what were the positives of the 5 year plans?
- fertilisers 3x in 1940
- plastics 0-11million tonnes by 1940
- 1.3k-31.6k tractors
- saved ussr from defeat in ww2
what were the negatives of the 5yp?
- huge human cost
- 1000s dead
- starvation/ accidents
- almost no targets met
when is the nazi- soviet non aggression pact agreed?
1939
when did germany and the ussr conquer poland?
1939
what was the scorched earth policy?
stalin ordered this policy in 1941
- over 1000 factories were dismantled and relocated
- animals and and crops moved, if could not be moved then destroyed
- all so that land could be useless to the germans
what was the situation like for germans in russia in the winter of 1941?
- hitler expected a quick victory
- was surprised by relentless russian winter
- in the cold of November many german soldiers died and their vehicles ceased to work
what was the situation like in the summer of 1942?
- Germans conquered huge areas of western russia, but failed to take leningrad
- hitler concentrated his attacks on stalingrad which was a potent symbol of stalins power
when did the germans surrender?
- feb 1943
fighting between 1942-3 was fierce
in the end germans failed to take leningrad, moscow and stalingrad
what did the Red Army do in 1945?
- red army counteroffensive: 1.3 million soldiers and 3000 tanks liberate german occupied land
- RA captured berlin in 1945
- stalin used propaganda and speeches
- stalin argued sacrifices of the 5yp were essential to beat hitler
what were social and economic problems of ww2?
- 27milion died
- 6 million horses dead
- much of stalingrad destroyed
- 6M houses damaged
- 2000 towns destroyed
- 100,000 collective farms destroyed
what were political problems of stalin ww2 leadership?
- destruction of stalingrad could be seen as destruction of stalins power
- some nationalities suffered more than others as a result of Stalins leadership e.g. west Ukraine had nazi sympathisers
