section 5- stalinism, politics and control 1929-41

Question 1

stalin’s government = totalitarian

Answer 1

• stalin had complete control over the economy
• used widespread terror to eliminate opponents
• had complete control over the media
• used extensive propaganda to win over the people

Question 2

stalin’s concerns when he became leader

Answer 2

• that his own supporters were prepared to challenge his authority
• that his own rivals could conspire against him and overthrow him

Question 3

purges

Answer 3

tool used to get rid of unwanted people or ideas

Question 4

NKVD

Answer 4

state secret police
used by stalin to enforce the purges of the party and in soviet society
had control over the police, border and security guards, labour camp commanders

Question 5

sergei kirov

Answer 5

a leading member of the party in the 1920s

Question 6

kirov’s challenges to stalin

Answer 6

1932- defended Ryutin after he circulated a critical document of stalin- sent him to prison instead of execution
1933- argued for more realistic targets in the 2nd 5YP, nominated stalin’s deputy
1934- 17th party congress- stalin came 2nd to Kirov in a vote which elected the new central committee

Question 7

17th party congress

Answer 7

decided role of NKVD- Kirov wanted to limit it while stalin wanted its roles to expand- explain Kirov’s murder???

Question 8

Kirov’s murder

Answer 8

dec 1934- shot by Nikolayev
suspicion that stalin ordered the attack, NKVD implicated
removed stalin’s key rival and allowed him to claim a dangerous conspiracy aimed to overthrow the government

Question 9

show trials- trial of the 16 1936

Answer 9

led to the executions of Kamenev and Zinoviev and 14 of their supporters
accused as trotskyites and saboteurs

Question 10

trial of the 17 1937

Answer 10

led to the execution and imprisonment of 17 of trotsky’s former supporters

Question 11

trial of the 21 1938

Answer 11

led to the executions of Bukharin and many of his closest supporters
threatened his family to get him to confess- Yagoda’s failures to get a confession from Bukharin = replaced

Question 12

stalin constitution 1936

Answer 12

set out the structure of government and the rights of its citizens
govt = based on election of local soviets which elected higher bodies
guaranteed rights to:
- freedom of speech
- freedom of movement
- freedom of religion

Question 13

reality of the stalin constitution 1936

Answer 13

had little effect on the government
soviets and higher bodies = dominated by the communist party
no rule of law- rights were meaningless as the govt did not have to obey the law

Question 14

yezhovshchina 1937-38 - impact on the government

Answer 14

• eliminates stalin’s rivals from the 20s
• led to death/imprisonment of the generation that had known and worked with Lenin (any who could claim authority independent of stalin)
• new gen of party leaders who owed their position to stalin
• established principle that stalin had the right to use terror against any who were disloyal
• NKVD = powerful org, and leader Beria = important govt figure

Question 15

yezhovshchina 37-38- mass terror and repression

Answer 15

• purge of the party- stalin was the last remaining 1917 central committee member
• purged NKVD- Yagoda replaced with Yezhov, loss of 20,000 operatives
• purged the military- Tukhachevsky (Chief of Gen Staff) executed, 35,000 others executed, but 1/4 reinstated at the start of WW2
• wider society- encouraged to denounce traitors e.g. Morozov denounced his father at 12 yo

Question 16

yezhovschina 37-38- national minorities

Answer 16

• Soviet Koreans deported to central Asia following tension with Japan- ~50,000 dead
• national ‘sweeps’ of Eastern and Central Europeans took place as seen as potential spies
• chinese and afghans targeted
• 150,000 Volga Germans deported to Siberia

Question 17

gulags

Answer 17

prison camps originally established by the cheka in 1918
network across the country by the 1930s- 8-9 million prisoners by 1941
average sentence = 10 years
contributed to industrialisation through forced labour e.g. Volga canal 1937

Question 18

end of Yezhovschina- downfall of Yezhov

Answer 18

1939- accused of framing innocent civilians and arrested + shot
replaced by Beria, his deputy
symbolic end to terror

Question 19

death of trotsky

Answer 19

1929- exiled from the SU
1940- settled in Mexico, assassinated by Mercader, a recruited agent, USSR denied responsibility
final episode of stalin eliminating rivals

Question 20

success of the yezhovshchina for stalin

Answer 20

• got rid of enemies and potential opposition
• gained personal control of government
• helped him achieve his economic policy objectives of transforming society and protecting the regime

Question 21

responsibility for the Yezhovshchina

Answer 21

stalin alone cannot be blamed
- party members took advantage of the purges to advance their position and status
- some accepted the purges
- lenin had established the principle of using purges, secret police and labour camps
- society at the time = chaotic, is not connected events

Question 22

social impact of the Yezhovshchina

Answer 22

social networks broke down due to fear of denouncement and encouragement by authorities
Conquest- estimates 1 million deaths

Question 23

political impact of the Yezhovshchina

Answer 23

helped stalin maintain control and ensure the conformity of the entire pop
destroyed all leading opponents
secured personal dominance over the military, social, economic and political elements of society

Question 24

economic impact of the Yezhovshchina

Answer 24

height of the purges coincided with an economic slowdown in 1937
led to a shortage in expert workers and skilled labour during the purges
economic planning was impossible due to falsification of production figures

Question 25

stalin and the church

Answer 25

believed religion did not play a role in communist society
church = prohibited and closed down
religious leaders = arrested and exiled
only 1% churches were open for worship in 1940

Question 26

stalin and women

Answer 26

reversed earlier policies e.g. easier divorce and legal abortion
1930- highest divorce rate in europe and fall in pop growth
emphasised trad values of the home
1936- decree on the prohibition of abortions
measures to get women to have many children- were ‘heroines of the SU’
expected to both work and provide childcare- great strain

Question 27

zhenotdel (women’s bureau)

Answer 27

set up by lenin to rep women’s interests
was lapsed in 1930
womens orgs = subject to the demands of the industrialising SU

Question 28

youth education

Answer 28

served purpose of indoctrinating into communist ideals
vital for creating a workforce that could support the modern economy
1930- primary education = compulsory for 4 yrs
core curriculum established, traditional discipline, state-approved textbooks
literacy rate- 51% 1926 to 88% 1939

Question 29

komsomol (young communist league)

Answer 29

established in 1926 for 10-28 yo
1940- 10 million members
opportunity to become a full member of the party
engaged in supporting policy e.g. 5YP
BUT some were attracted to western culture e.g. cinema, fashion music

Question 30

similarities between lenin and stalin’s regimes

Answer 30

• centralised govt
• strict control over the party
• used terror to control the pop
• censored culture e.g. religion, the arts
• suppressed the peasantry
• central planning for the economy
• mobilised workers to carry out their policies

Question 31

differences between lenin and stalin’s policies

Answer 31

• lenin did not use terror against party members
• lenin’s dictatorship = temporary, less authoritarian
• lenin’s centralised state = forced due to circumstances of the revolution- doubtful lenin would have gone as far as stalin
• stalin used repression to crush national minorities, lenin allowed them right to self-determination

Question 32

the ‘socialist man’

Answer 32

ideal soviet citizen
- willing servant of the state
- clear sense of social responsibility and morals
supported by Lysenko (scientist) who claimed people can acquire characteristics which could be passed on to future gens

Question 33

impact of cultural change

Answer 33

put emphasis on cultural change to soften harshness of trad life
aim = to demonstrate how they should be cultured e.g.:
- campaigns to improve men’s behaviour toward women
- spitting = discouraged
magazines and literature encouraged self-improvement, drive to encourage reading
BUT took decades, and these goods were often unable to be accessed by normal people

Question 34

stalin and germany

Answer 34

cooperation
- non-aggression pacts with France and Czechoslovakia 1935- collective security against germany (BUT no military clause)
- maintained relationship of military and trade cooperation e.g. in talks 1935-37

Question 35

western appeasement and the LoN

Answer 35

1934- USSR joins the league of nations
Litvinov- ‘collective security’ against fascism

Question 36

intervention in the spanish civil war

Answer 36

the civil war epitomised the struggle between socialism and fascism
USSR offered support to the leftist Coalition govt fighting the fascists
comintern arranged to send supplies
BUT support = dependent on following stalinist principles, NKVD murders and arrests in spain discredited soviet support

Question 37

nazi-soviet pact 1939

Answer 37

signed a non-aggression pact
triggered by failure to agree an alliance between USSR and GB
agreed to split poland between them and allow USSR to annex Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland
gave stalin time to prepare for a future possible german invasion
caused WW2 as allowed Hitler to invade poland and ended GB prospect of an alliance