section 3- Stalin's rise to power 1924-29 Flashcards
contenders for power- stalin
- general secretary
- working class background
- positioned himself as Lenin’s successor
- seen as cruel and violent
- minor role in the revolution
- criticised in the last testament
- underestimated
contenders for power- trotsky
- theorist with good speeches
- rude and dismissive of others
- joined in 1917- hero of the revolution
- ill during critical moments in the struggle
- amassed a lot of power- feared
contenders for power- kamenev and zinoviev
- popular old bolsheviks
- seen as inconsistent in alliances
- high in lenin’s favour BUT known to have opposed lenin in 1917
- high positions in the party
contenders for power- bukharin
- prominent in the party
- popular
- best theorist
- stalin worked to undermine him
- old bolshevik
contenders for power- rykov
- old bolshevik
- underestimated stalin
- overshadowed by bukharin
- heavy drinker
- good with admin in the civil war
- popular in the sovnarkom
- supported NEP
- no obvious power base
contenders for power- tomsky
- hostility for trotsky
- supported NEP
- working class- spokesman for trade unions
- argued with lenin BUT was pallbearer
NEP vs industrialisation
NEP:
- peasants benefitted so contributed to the economy- alienating them would bring ruin
- industry was recovered and grew
Industrialisation:
- NEP led to growth of a new superclass (kulaks)
- NEP is not socialist
permanent revolution vs socialism in one country
Permanent revolution:
- needs support of the wc abroad to survive
- outcast state and needed allies
SIOC:
- PR failed, no more revolution occurred
- need to ensure USSR is independent
how stalin became leader- building up power
- controlled enrolment in the Lenin Enrolment- ensured loyalty
- fashioned himself lenin’s successor
- party secretary- controlled info and discussion in the Politburo
how stalin became leader- removal of opposition
trotsky: S formed triumvirate with K+Z and dominated 13th party congress 1925, T loses Red Army post and commissar for military and naval affairs, 1928 exiled to Kazakhstan
K+Z: broke with S and were demoted, tried to hold a vote of no confidence that didn’t work
the right: great turn 1928, B expelled from politburo after disagreeing with collectivisation
how stalin became leader- securing his position as leader
- fashioned himself as lenin’s successor
- 1st 5YP used to start industrialisation
- Great Turn 1928
economic condition of russia 1924-28- agriculture
- backward- 5 million wooden ploughs in use 1927
- farms = small subsistence farms
- govt stopped private trade so had to sell at a lower price, retaliated by feeding grain to livestock
- horded grain to wait for higher prices -> fall in production by 25% 1926-27
- grain requisitioning campaigns = successful but alienated peasants
economic condition of russia 1924-28- urban areas
- real wages only recovered in 1928
- 8 hour workday and rep in trade unions (BUT were still very hierarchical)
- high unemployment
- women lost work they took on in the war- many unemployed
- live in overcrowded, poor housing, 6-7 people in 1 room
- increasing crime rate, growth of youth crime
reasons for the great turn- failures of the NEP
- wrong type of society formed- new ruling classes e.g. kulaks
- kulaks and NEPmen were financially benefitting from the profit incentive
- by 1927 growth was stagnating
- removal of the NEP = removal of the right in the party
BUT still need support of the peasants
reasons for the great turn- russia and the world
- outcast state- wanted to be self-sufficient
- had to use sale of surplus grain to industrialise
- 100 years behind Europe industrially
- needed to become more socialist- create the ‘new soviet man’
- move to a command economy
