Russia Topic 8 - Stalin’s government, propaganda and foreign relations Flashcards
stalin’s style of government: how did he build this? ——> loyal supporters
built this during the power struggle with lower levels of the party leadership- those who helped Stalin outmanoeuvre high-placed rivals, but owed political position to him
propaganda and stalinist cult: what did he do?
- heavily associated himself to lenin, especially close to his death. however, he did this because people had respect for lenin so stalin assumed he’d receive the same. if they didn’t respect him, they’d be seen as disloyal to lenin
- he specifies used happy, productive and strong workers in images to reinforce the social message behind industrialisation and collectivisation
- he created a god-like status of lenin because he expressed that lenin’s ‘words had the answers to all russian problems’. stalin believed that the people would think the same of stalin
how did stalin use propaganda in the countryside? and result?
- far reaching, especially in rural areas, helped by collectivisation
- peasants unimpressed by the message and attacks on churches
How did styling use propaganda in cities? And results?
- most success = more party members
- censorship rigorous = artistic freedom disappeared
- ‘ socialist realism’ = new style, convey a message that socialism was great and life was good for workers and peasants
The cult of personality: what were the four themes?
- Stalin as a political genius: as Lenin’s right hand man there were slogans such as ‘ styling is the lenin of today’
- Stalin as the great economic planner: the man responsible for the achievements of the 5YPs
- Stalin is a man of the people: he was shown where he playing clothes in the 1930s, surrounded by workers and peasants, often with children. In truth, he rarely met ordinary people.
- Stalin is the generalissimo: after the great patriotic war, Sterling was portrayed as the Great War leader, often in military uniform
What does the cult of personality suggest?
- Stalin was built into a godlike figure, referred to as ‘vozhd’ or ‘ the big hero’
- This was reinforced by journalists and artists
- Schools and youth groups taught children to love Stalin more than their parents
- And the cult of personality followed 4 themes
How was censorship used?
- Information was very tightly controlled along with propaganda there was strict censorship
- censors checked everything and nothing critical of the government was published
- Newspapers, broadcast films, books, posters, plays, ballets, paintings, music was all checked
- Public debate could therefore be limited
- Creative life suffered in 1936: 30 films and 10 plays were banned
- Any individual who attempted to keep their artistic freedom risking their life
What are the factors determine Stalin’s foreign policy?
- security – fear of invasion: Russia’s frontier in the north east was 3200 km long and lacked natural boundaries. As the only communist state, it was not unnatural to fear invasion from capitalists powers.
- Attitudes of other countries: foreign intervention in the Civil War had left a legacy of suspicion and rise of fascism in Europe: Italy, Germany, and Spain and this couldn’t be ignored
-The internal situation: the state of the country at the end of the Civil War, the power struggle, the five-year plan collectivisation all had influence on foreign policy aims
- economic backwardness: needed to catch up with the west as they were isolated. Help from Germany allowed this to happen.
- Ideology: the changes in common to increase the spread of the world revolution had failed by the third conference. An example is a Spartacist uprising in Germany in January 1919 which failed.
-politicians:
~ G.V Chicherin (1918-1930): had close relations with Germany, was anti-British, believed in the USSR
~ M.M Litvinov (1930-1939): wanted to prevent all walls, was British, favoured collective security over fascism
~V.M Molotov (1939-1949): favoured relations with Germany
- aim = keep russia safe while concentration in domestic affairs to build ‘socialism in one country’.
What is social fascism?
Many in comintern put forward the view that social Democratic parties in Western Europe were actually assisting fascism because they compromised with capitalism and prevented progress towards class revolution
What was Stalin’s relations with China?
- The Chinese communist party (CCP) formed in 1921 to carry a communist Revolution in China with the support of Starlin and Comintern
- Stalin preferred to back Jiang Jieshi who was the leader of the revolutionary nationalist movement, the Guomindang (GMD)
- He advised the CCP and GMD to join an alliance, but the GMD massacred striking workers in Canton and Wuhan (30,000 deaths). However, Stalin cared about protecting Russia so he gave financial banking and military help to the GMD. This decreased the link between the CCP and the Soviet union. He welcomed to the GMD into Comintern.
- The betrayal of the CCP was criticised by the left but ‘ socialism in one country’ had a lot of support. Congress Bell Trotsky from the party.
what were the changes in the comintern?
- between 1924 to 1929, comintern was a low priority for Stalin because he was more concerned with internal affairs
- In 1929, Stalin moved towards a radical new policy as part of his ‘ Stalin revolution’ which was much more aggressive
- In July 1928, at the sixth comintern Congress, Stalin put his view forward that the world situation was changing, that world capitalism was facing a terminal crisis and that the time was right for an all-out attack on anti-Communist parties across Europe, specifically those he labelled social fascists
Who were the Guomindang?
This was led by Jiang Jieshi and was essentially a right wing nationalist movement that claimed to be revolutionary.
The GMD fought long, political battles with the Chinese communist party (CCP) from 1926 until they were defeated in 1949 by the Communist revolution.
They are also known as the kutomintang (KM T)
what were stalins attitude to germany?
- 1925 = stresemann’s attempts to restore their diplomatic position in europe resulted in the Locarno treaties which included France and Britain
- The Treaty of Berlin was signed in 1926 and this adapted the german-russian agreement at Rapallo to a ‘new political position’
what did the Treaty of Berlin state?
Article 1 = the importance of Rapallo with regard to political and economical questions
Article 2 = If either country is attacked by a third power, the other remain neutral in conflict.
Article 3 = Joint promise not to join an economic bycott that might be launched against the other.
Article 4 = the treaty lasts 5 years and would discuss the future, ‘in time’
stalin’s style of government: how did he build this? ——> factionalism
a crime against the party. dissent equaled disloyalty. this was used against his opponents in that if you were disloyal to him, you were disloyal to lenin
stalin’s style of government: how did he build this? ——> terror
fear was the driving force in the system. dear permeated the imposition of stalin’s policies. include purges and gulags
stalin’s style of government: how did he build this? ——> lenin’s legacy
anything stalin was doing was what he believed lenin would’ve wanted - disrespecting lenin is the same as disrespecting stalin
stalin’s style of government: how did he build this? ——> OGPU
renamed in 1926 under authority of stalin and vyachestav menzhinsky (felix dzerhinsky’s successor)
stalin’s style of government: how did he build this? ——> bureaucratic centralisation
central appointment of district officers and the bureaucracy - key to the style of his government
