RUSSIA Politics- Stalin Flashcards
When did Lenin die?
January 1924
When did Stalin emerge as the real power in the Communist Party?
1928
Why can it be argued that Stalin’s method of ruling built on trends evident under Lenin?
Used power to eliminate his opponents
Why was Stalin able to outmaneuvere his opponents?
Recognised that main focus of power was in Party rather than the government
How many personal files did Stalin have access to as General Secretary?
26,000
Who reported to Stalin regularly from 1922?
Dzerzhinsky, head of the secret police
What enhanced Stalin’s position as General Secretary?
Launching of the Lenin Enrolment between 1923-25
How many Party members were recruited due to the Lenin Enrolment?
500,000
What were many of the new Party members recruited due to the Lenin Enrolment like?
Poorly educated; politically naive
Who did Stalin replace Zinoviev with in 1926?
Kirov
Who were Stalin’s main opponents in the power struggle following Lenin’s death?
Trotsky; Zinoviev; Kamenev; Bukharin; Tomsky; Rykov
Who was on the Left of the Party in the 1920s?
Trotsky; Kamenev; Zinoviev
Who was on the Right of the Party in the 1920s?
Bukharin; Tomsky; Rykov
How did Stalin successfully manipulate his opponents in the leadership struggle?
Exploited divisions within Politburo over the best way for the Revolution to move forward
How did Stalin deal with the Left of the Party in the leadership struggle?
Criticised their views at the Fifteenth Party Conference in 1926; accused them of forming factions
When were Zinoviev and Kamenev readmitted to the Party after renouncing their previous views?
1928
When did the Party find itself divided over the issue of industrialisation?
Winter of 1927-28
What did the Right of the Party do in response to Stalin’s proposals for the launching of the FYPs?
Formed a Right Opposition group
Who did Stalin criticise for his previous disagreements with Lenin and ‘Trotskyism’?
Bukharin
Why was Stalin able to accuse Bukharin of forming factions?
He had arranged a secret meeting with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1928
How did Stalin undermine the NEP?
Highlighted its failure to prevent food shortages in cities; approved emergency grain requisitioning
When was Bukharin forced to admit errors of political judgement?
April 1929
Which Rightist was not persecuted until 1930?
Rykov
When did the Cheka evolve into the NKVD?
1934
How did the NKVD differ from the Cheka?
More bureaucratic; its role began to dominate the whole police force
When was the Chistka?
1932-35
What was the Chistka in reponse to?
Difficulties experienced during the launching of the 1FYP and the collectivisation of agriculture
How much of the Party had been removed from their posts by 1935?
22%
Who was the target of the Chistka?
Party membership
Which event precipitated the Great Purge?
Murder of Kirov 1934
When was there increasing criticism of Stalin’s policies?
By 1932
Who issued a document, highly critical of Stalin, to the Central Committee in 1932?
Ryutin
What were the criticisms made of Stalin by 1932?
Brutality used in enforcing collectivisation; unreastic targets of FYPs; Stalin’s personal dictatorship
When did the 1932 criticisms of Stalin gain strength?
Seventeenth Party Congress of 1934
What happened at the Seventeenth Party Congress of 1934?
Moderates put pressure on Kirov, the up-and-coming Leningrad Secretary, to present criticisms on FYPs
What was the Seventeenth Party Congress supposed to be about?
Celebrating the successes of 1FYP
Who assassinated Kirov?
Leonid Nikolayev
What was the official explanation about Kirov’s death?
His assassin was a member of an opposition group led by Zinoviev and Kamenev
When were Zinoviev and Kamemev brought to trial for the murder of Kirov?
January 1935
When was there a wave of denunciations and arrests of members of the Left Opposition in the form of the show trials?
1935-36
Who did the Trial of the Sixteen affect?
Leaders of the Left, including Zinoviev and Kamenev
When was the Trial of the Sixteen?
August 1936
What were the victims of the Trial of the Sixteen accused of?
Working as agents of Trotsky to undermine the state