Russia - Topic 1

Question 1

Establishing Communist Party control 1917-24

Answer 1

Russia experienced 2 revolutions in 1917
• 1st February revolution which led to the downfall of the Tsar
• 2nd The October Revolution which led to the creation of a radical new Commuinst governnmnet led by Lenin

Question 2

Creation of a 1-party state

Answer 2

Communists promised a radical democratic government
• Workers soldiers and peasants could govern themselves through Soviets
• By 1922 Lenin had created a Communist dictatorship of a one-party state

Question 3

Lenins ‘Soviet state’

Answer 3

October 17th, Lenin seized power on behalf of the Soviets.
• Congress created Sovnarkom which replaced the old government of the Provisional Government with Lenin as the head of the new one
• Lenins first government passed the Decree of land, Decree of Peace and the Workers Decrees

Question 4

Civil War 1918-21

Answer 4

1st Few months Sovnarkom had little real power outside Petrograd and Moscow
• Russian Civil War allowed Lenin to establish Communist control over the whole of Russia
• Civil War led to the emergence of an authoritarian, centralised and bureaucratic regime.

Question 5

Civil War - 1918-21 Political centralisation

Answer 5

Centralisation of power was Lenins prime method of ensuring victory
• During the Civil War power passed from Sovnarkom
• The Politburo was the most powerful committee of the highly centralised Communist Party.

Question 6

Civil War - 1918-21 Bureaucracy

Answer 6

New government also became increasingly bureaucratic.
• Government relied on skills of administrators to run the economy and the army during the Civil War.
• Communist nomenklatura who dominated the government were educated members of the former middle class

Question 7

Civil War - 1918-21 - Authoritarianism

Answer 7

Lenin and the Communists had promised a radically democratic regime.
• They used terror and repression against their opponents
• Feb 1921 Lenin went further and authorised the Cheka to destroy the remaining opposition political parties

Question 8

The nature of government under Lenin

Answer 8

Leninn had constantly argued that the abolition of democarcy was a temporary measure in order to win the Civil War
• After the Communists had achieved victory Lenin introduced a series of measures that restricted democracy further

Question 9

The Party congress of 1921

Answer 9

1921, addressed Civil War crisis of War Communism and the Red Terror
• Autumn 1920 peasants in Tambov rebelled against War Communism and Cheka brutality, 50000 was fighting the Communists across the whole Tambov region
• Early 1921 there was a wave of strikers across Russias main cities and in Petrograd the Red Army responded by opening fire on unarmed workers

Question 10

The Party congress of 1921 - The ban on factions

Answer 10

Lenin faced opposition by the Workers opposition and the Democratic Centralists
• Lenin responded by tightening Communist political control
• Also introduced a resolution ‘On Party Unity’ which banned factions inside the Party ones found guilty would be expelled from the party as punishment

Question 11

Lenin’s legacy

Answer 11

Lenin died in 1924 leaving a highly authoritarian political legacy
• Lenin succeeded in creating a dictatorship of the proletariat to defend the revolution
• He destroyed Soviet democracy and replaced it with a one-party state

Question 12

Lenin’s legacy - decline of Sovnarkom

Answer 12

Lenin didnt abolish Sovnarkom
It ceased to function as the main centre of government
From 1920, Politburo effectively became the government of Russia and Politburo just accepted decisions made by the Politburo

Question 13

Lenin’s legacy - the party state

Answer 13

1921 the new government was based on 2 parallel structures: the Communist Party and the Soviet state.
1921 opposition parties were formally banned
Communist Party dominated the Soviets

Question 14

Lenin’s legacy - a new elite

Answer 14

Civil War also changed the nature of the Communist Party

1918 Communist party was a group of workers and revolutionaries

1921 the party became increasingly dominated by administrators and by 1920 was clear that it was becoming a privileged new elite.

Question 15

Stalin in power 1928-53

Answer 15

Between 1928 and 1953 Stalin transformed the government of the Soviet Union

Through a series of violent purges (Great Terror) Stalin
created a personal dictatorship

Question 16

Elimination of opponents

Answer 16

Stalins struggle of power from 1923 to 1928 against Trotsky, Bukharin and Zinoview caused him to use tactics

Stalin had to establish that he was a true Leninist

Stalin used patronage to win support inn the party as General Secretary Stalin could give well paid and powerful jobs to his supporters

Question 17

Purges of the 1930s

Answer 17

Purges of the 1930s consolidated Stalins hold on power

Question 18

Purges of the 1930s - causes

Answer 18

1928 Stalin was undisputed leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union
He expelled Trotsky and Communist Party and Soviet Union and placed Zinoview under house arrest
Party was still full of people who had supported Stalins rivals so he feared he would lose power.

Question 19

Purges of the 1930s - extent

Answer 19

Stalin responded to the threats by launching the Great Terror or Great Purge

A campaign of arrests, torture, mass imprisonments and executions that finally removed his opponents

At its height from 1935 to 1938 and was responsible for the deaths of around 10 million Soviet citizens (10% of the population)

Question 20

Purges of the 1930s - Political consequences

Answer 20

Great terror eliminated Stalin’s old rivals

Most public aspect was the 3 show trials from 1936-37-38 which led to the huimiliation and execution of Zinoview Bukharin and Trotskys main supporters

Great Terror led to the death or imprisonment of a whole generation of Communists who had known and worked with Lenin and allowed Stalin to bring up a new generation

Question 21

Personal dictatorship

Answer 21

Lenin had ruled through the Communist Party and had allowed debate at the top of the Party.

Stalin terrorised the Communist Party and ended Party rule and established the personal rule of Stalin

Under Stalin the Communist Party and the state had very little authority and by 1935 neither party or state could oppose Stalin.

Question 22

Stalins power over Party and state

Answer 22

Stalinn created a new form of government based on his total power over the Party and the state

Question 23

Totalitarianism

Answer 23

Stalin created a new dicatatorship based on complete control of the economy, use of widespread political terror to eliminate his opponents, complete control of the media, use of extensive propaganda to win the hearts and minds of his people

Stalin demanded heartfelt enthusiasm from his people

Stalin didnt want obedience but the full commitment of his people

Question 24

The relationship between Party and state

Answer 24

Stalin inherited the Communist Party and the Soviet state from Lenin

Stalin used the vagueness of the relationship between the Party and the state to his advantage by encouraging competition between the 2 bodies

Question 25

The relationship between party and state - rivalry

Answer 25

Stalin promoted rivals to similar positions in the party

Encouraging competition between Party and state officials meant that senior officials in the Soviet government competed with each other and not with Stalin

Question 26

The relationship between party and state - shifting power bases

Answer 26

1938 the politburo was the most senior committee

By 1942 the State Defence Committee was the most powerful committee in government

After WW2 the Council of Ministers, another committee in the Soviet state, became more powerful

Question 27

Renewed terror

Answer 27

Stalin held on to power by having a continued use of terror

Leningrad Affair of 1949 was a purge of the Leningrad Party, Following Zhdanovs death around 100 of his supporters were shot and 2000 arrested and dismissed

Stalin used persecution to test the loyalty of the senior ministers. Molotovs wife was imprisoned and demonstrated loyalty by doing nothing to win his wifes freedom

Question 28

Stalins legacy

Answer 28

Stalins death in 1953

Soviet state and communist Party had been completely subordinated to Stalin

Neither Party nor state had any independent authority

Question 29

Khrushchevs attempts to reform government

Answer 29

Khrushchev emerged as leader of the Soviet Unionn by 1956

Khruschev wanted to revive the Communist party

Reform threatened to destablise the government

Question 30

De-Stalinisation

Answer 30

Khrushchev wanted to preserve what he saw as the essential features of Commuinst government and de-stalinisation

Ending personal rule

Ending the use of terror

Question 31

De-stalinisation - ending terror

Answer 31

Ending terror began immediately after Stalins death

March and April 1953 there were some amnesties for various classes of prisoners

May 4620 Communist prisoners were rehabilitated

Question 32

De-Stalinisation - Personnel changes

Answer 32

Khrushchev removed Stalin loyalists from senior Party bodies

1953 and 1956 Khrushchev replaced around half of the regional Party secretaries and 44% of the Central Committee

Question 33

De-Stalinisation - the secret speech

Answer 33

1956 Khrushchev criticised Stalin at the Party Congress.

Speech was kept secret

Khrushchev argued that Stalin had abandooned Party government and established a dictatorship based on the ‘cult of personality’

Question 34

De-stalinisation - Impact of the Secret Speech

Answer 34

Stalin was widely loved in the party

Many Communists were shocked at the secret speech

Khrushchev responded by backtracking and agreed with his critics that the Soviet people were ‘not ready’ to know the truth about Stalin.

Question 35

Democratisation and decentralisation

Answer 35

Khrushchev introduced major government reforms

‘Democratisation’’’’ designed to allow workers or peasants to join the Communst Party so membership grew from 6.9 million (1954) to 11 million (1964)

‘Decentralisation’ entailed the abolition of some central ministries. Economic powers were then devolved to 105 newly created economic councils.

Question 36

Democratisation and decentralisation - backlash

Answer 36

Khrushchevs reforms meant that many Communist officials were demoted or lost their jobs.

There was renewed criticism of Khrushchev within the Party.

1957 the ‘Anti-Party group’ attempted to oust Khrushchev but Khrushchev survived due to support of the Central Committee.

Question 37

Khrushchevs final reforms

Answer 37

22nd Party congress of October 1861 introduced khrushchevs final major political reforms

Party was divided into 2: One party supervised agriculture, the other industry

Fixed terms were introduced for all government jobs forcing Party officials to move jobs regularly.

Question 38

Khrushchevs final reforms - the extent of de-stalinisation

Answer 38

Government never publicly rejected Stalins legacy so Stalinism lived on

Khrushchev succeeded in ending the use of terror against party officials

October 1964 Khrushchev was forced to retire by senior figures in the Party who believed that his reforms had gone too far

Question 39

Stability and stagnation under brezhnev 1964-82

Answer 39

Following Khrushchev, government effectively ended reform

Brezhnev believe that the revolution had been completed by Lenin and Stalin

He argued that the Party needed to resist change and should focus instead on‘stability’

Question 40

Restoration

Answer 40

Brezhnev reversed Khrushchevs key reforms in a process called ‘restoration’

Reversed decentralisation, re-establishing the all-union ministries that Khrushchev had abolished

Ended the split between industrial and agricultural wings of the party

Question 41

Stability of cadres

Answer 41

Brezhnev abolished many of Khrushchevs reforms
He reversed fixed-term positions

Brezhnev controlled the Party by offering Party members

security as the ‘Stability of cadres’

Question 42

Political stagnation 1970-85

Answer 42

Restoration led to a period of political stagnation

Question 43

Politica stagnation 1970-85 - Gerontocracy

Answer 43

Stability of cadres meant that government officials stayed in the same job for years

Few young people entered the government and average age of government officials increased.

1964 and 1971 only 2 people were promoted to the politburo

Question 44

Political Stagnation 1970-85 - Inefficiency

Answer 44

As the government aged, it became less effective

Under Brezhnev there were extremely limited opportunities for promotion

Officials were stuck in dead-end jobs with few opportunities of advancement

Question 45

Political stagnation 1970-85 - Corruption

Answer 45

Under Brezhnev sackings were rare

Career development and options for progression were also extremely limited.

This created the context for huge corruption and one form was black markers.

Question 46

Political stagnation 1970-85 - Moral decline

Answer 46

Brezhnevs rule also led to a change in the character of government.

Under Lenin, Stalin and Khrushchev Soviet government followed a utopian vision.

These leaders had encouraged the Soviet people to work hard in order to build socialism and Brezhnev thought the job was done and people realised that corruption occurred often.

Question 47

Andropov and Chernenko (1982-85)

Answer 47

Abandoned the ‘stability of cadres’ policy, replacing a quarter of senior officials

Most important initiative was an anti-corruption campaign

Anti corruption campaign attacked senior figures such as Red Army generals and Minister of the Interioro Nikolai Shchelokov.