soviet union 1924-64 Flashcards
german invasion (ww2)
-operation barbarossa began the night of 21/22 June 1941
-Stalin himself was shocked despite being warned by his intelligence agents
-he worked hard to devise a plan but then retreated to his country home for ten days, led to accusations of him becoming so depressed by the invasion he could not face action
-politburo took command in his absence
role of GKO in ww2
-power over all existing party and state bodies, to supervise the military, political and economic life of the country
role of Stavka in ww2
-responsible for all land, sea and air operations
success of stalin as wartime leader
speeches can be compared to churchill in respect of their effect
-ruthless orders e.g. order 270 issued after the surrender of 100,000 encircled men in Ukraine
-economy continued production
failures of stalin as wartime leader
-purge of high ranking red army officers shattered morale
-inflexible mentality prevented tactical withdrawals that could have avoided catastrophic losses
-only gave 9 public speeches
-food distribution not organised effectively
-failed to transfer armaments from Ukraine deeper into USSR
-first 6 months of war 3 million POW taken
role of NKVD during the war
-discipline and terror tactics remained vigilant
-german attack of Stalingrad caused issuing of order 227 ‘not one step backwards’ any soldier who fell behind shot on sight
-‘blocking units’ equipped with machine guns were added to NKVD units to prevention desertion or retreat
change in composition of party due to war
-role of commissars downgraded
-troops given political education, increasing the number in the party
-of the 3.9 million new members during the war 2.5 million were military
situation for national minorities during war
-Stalin feared betrayal from non-russians and as a result had many moved to remote, barren areas, a process carried out by Beria and the NKVD
-after the german invasion in 1941, 400,000 ethnic germans were deported to siberia and central asia
hitler’s plan for russian agriculture
-aimed to seize farmland and industry and use it to german advantage
-end of 1941, german occupied soviet territory contained 63% of the country’s coal, 58% steel, 45% railways and 41% arable land
wartime economy
-established 30th June 1941
-‘scorched earth’ policy (to destroy anything useful to the enemy before retreat) rendered farmland useless
-1523 soviet factories with their workers were transported from western russia to the east
-industrial growth of five year plans capitalised on
foreign aid for the war
-UK and US supplied essential materials e.g. tyres and telephones
-17.5 million tons of military equipment was shipped from the west to the USSR, 94% from US
-Lend-Lease scheme meant 11 billion dollars of aid was provided by US
conditions for workers during the war
-dec 1941 new law, all undrafted workers mobilised for war
-overtime obligatory, holidays suspended, working day increased to 12 hours
-factories placed under martial law, absenteeism seen as desertion and could result in death
conditions for citizens during war
-8.6 million soldiers killed 1941-45, average daily rate twice that of the allies
-such a loss of life lead to food shortages, over a quarter of the deaths suffered by the USSR were said to be by starvation
-allies provided tinned spam
war propaganda
-people encouraged to sacrifice themselves for ‘great mother russia’
-anti-german letters published in pravda one wrote ‘we must not say good morning or goodnight in the morning we must say kill the germans and at night we must say kill the germans’
culture during the war
-artists enjoyed more freedom, previously banned individuals allowed to work again
churches during the war
-russian patriarch’s position restored and clergy set free from camps but had to swear to soviet state
-staling wanted to use the church to lift morale so attendance was encouraged
-services became patriotic ceremonies of worship of Stalin
women and the family during the war
-new measures to combat falling birth rate:taxes increased for those with fewer than two children, restrictions on divorce tightened, abortion forbidden
-women’s burdens increased as they became essential to the workforce whilst being expected to raise a family
-by 1945: over half of workers were female and 4/5 land workers were too
stalin’s post wat attitude
-emerged more paranoid than ever, mainly with returning POW who he regarded as being tainted with western values
-collaborationist citizens who fought for germany were executed and their communities made to suffer (cossacks virtually wiped out)
-other returning men were interrogated by NKVD in ‘filtration camps’
political impact of war
-seen as triumph for stalinist system, made soviet government popular in national terms and in international terms it emerged as a great financial power
-it retained all land from nazi-soviet pact and more
-stalin retained posts of head of government and party secretary and chose very much the same men to be in the politburo as in 1939
impact of war on civilians
-many achievements on 1930s destroyed
-19 million civilians were lost
-comradeship brought about more liberal thinking especially due to the exposure of the west
-hollywood media and western goods made it to the USSR giving the citizens hope of a new open society emerging but 1945-53 was some of the harshest time under stalin
impact of war on industry
-quarter of industry destroyed
-villages, towns down to the ground and nearly 100,000 collective farms destroyed, livestock slaughtered
-thousands of kilometers of railtrack destroyed
-1946 saw the introduction of a fourth five year plan aimed at national reconstruction
post war industrial recovery
-came at an amazingly fast pace, by end of 1947, hydro-electric power station on dneiper dam was back in operation
-production of coal and steel nationally passed pre war figure
-but there were still issues with consumer goods, they were few and far between
impact of war on agriculture
-many had turned their back on kolkhozes and in the late war years the peasantry made up the backbone of the army causing an acute labour shortage
-much of Russia’s arable land was left uncultivated
-shortage of labour and machinery made progress difficult
-grain harvest of 1946 was barely half of that of 1940
agricultural policy post war
-1946, all those that worked on their own plots had their land confiscated and lost their entitlement to rations
-1948, Stalin introduced ‘transformation of nature’ plan including extensive tree planting, the construction of irrigation canals and the adoption of Lyensko’s ideas
lyensko’s agricultural plans
-theory of vernalisation: crops and animals could acquire new characteristics through modification (enforced change)
-he claimed that grain intended for spring sowing could be changed to be suitable for winter sowing if it were subject to moistening and refridgeration
social change under stalin
-peasants squeezed by quota system and lived on an income less than 20% of an industrial worker
-working week remained at pre war levels
-continuation of Stakhanovite programme
-women were expected to to make up for war dead, in the building trade 1/3 of workers were women
-by 1950 household consumption was only 1/10 higher than 1928
Krushchev’s aims for society
-interpreted communism as meaning a better life for everyone
-always remained a true believer in communism
-but the way in which he removed his opponents suggest a man furthering personal power
-role of the party became greater
new party programme 1961
-soviet union had already built socialism and was on the way to creating communism
-communist party was of everyone, not dictatorship of the proletariat
-communist party was key institution towards communism
-by 1970 there would be no housing shortage
-soviet union will have overtaken US in production by 1970
-by 1980 real income will have increased by more than 250%
krushchev’s success in improving living standards
-consumer goods: radios, televisions etc. became more readily available and small quantities of foreign goods were imported
-housing: construction of prefabricated houses somewhat alleviated overcrowding
-taxation changes: bachelors tax and childless couples tax removed
-education: higher education numbers almost trebled
-services: improvement in medicine and welfare
change to ‘socialist legality’ under Krushchev
-new criminal code introduced 1958, this code overturned the basis on which trials were conducted and brought about ‘due process’
-KGB reformed following the release of gulag prisoners 1956, many top officials were replaced by komosol members whose career had been formed in the party rather than the police
continuity with ‘socialist legality’ under Krushchev
-new criminal code was more of a propaganda move than a shift in the law, USSR remained a police state rather than experiencing reform
-1957 ‘Parasite Law’, which encouraged citizens to report to the authorities for those not undertaking paid work
-Krushchev attempted to restore the death penalty for those with a wealth of more than 2 million roubles
continuity of churches with Krushchev
-had a different approach to Stalin but was more ideologically consistent
-anti-religious propaganda was strengthened and taxes on religious activity were increased
-atheism was brought into the curriculum
-mass closure of monasteries, churches reducing churches from 22,000 in 1959 to just under 8,000 by 1965
-churches were often turned into museums or community centres
continuity of ethnic minorities under Krushchev
-made no moves towards greater independence for nationalities
-ultimate aim was for ethnic distinctions to disappear and for all of the soviet union to adopt one
-refused to let jews emigrate to israel after the second world war
cultural change under Krushchev
-de-stalinisation was accompanied by a ‘thaw’ , connections with the west opened and better freedoms granted
-literary works e.g. Not by Bread by Vladimir Dudinstev could criticise Stalin but not the general regime
-restrictions on listening to foreign radio broadcasts were lifted and some citizens could travel abroad
-World Festival of Youth in Moscow (1965) allowed young russians to see the behaviour of westerns, Russians had their own version of ‘teddy boys’ - ‘stilagi’
culture continuity under Krushchev
-not all work was deemed appropriate, work still had to conform to party ideals
-Boris Pasternak’s novel Dr Zhivago was portrayed as critical of the regime and was rejected
opposition under krushchev (publishing)
-written word, particularly poetry, was a favourite medium to express opposition
-tamzidat: evading censorship by publishing works abroad
-samzidat: duplicating copies of material then copies would be distributed
-high risk activity could result in imprisonment
-dissident literature was spread in societies underground e.g. ‘The Youngest Society of Genius’
opposition under krushchev (poetry)
-1958 unveiled a monument to Mayakovsky, satirical poet critical of Stalin, followed a impromptu poetry reading and then regular ones (‘Mayak’-lighthouse) these were very popular and attended by students and inteligentsia
-1961 some regular attenders were arrested for being in opposition
opposition under Krushchev (magazines)
-Ginzburg was arrested several times for smuggling foreign press into the USSR and sent to labour camps on three separate occasions
-130,000 people were identified in 1961 as leading an ‘anti-social parasitic way of life’
-some writers avoided imprisonment by taking unskilled job
opposition under krushchev (music)
-magnitizdat: illegal recordings of illegal music e.g. rock and roll
-Yuliy Kim, reacted to political events in his song writing
opposition under krushchev (art)
‘nonconformist’ art was spread around
-limitations on ‘thaw’ shown when Krushchev attended Manezh Art Exhibition at which several nonconformist artists were presenting
-most artists were largely able to escape persecution and most were able to manage ‘legal’ work
internal party opposition under krushchev
-his rise to power saw a struggle between reformers and hardline pro-stalin conservatives
-reformers included Krushchev and Suslov
-hardliners included Molotov and Malenkov
-hardliners did not oppose Krushchev’s policies but wanted to restore Stalinism
treatment of political opposition under krushchev
-hardliners were demoted
-at a lower level, gulag treatment improved and political prison population was reduced
-by 1955, 250,000 appeals from gulags were considered by the Procuracy, but only 4% had been released
-opposition from normal people was limited due to stalinist terror
the situation after stalin’s death
five men pledged themselves to collective leadership of the USSR but there was fierce rivalry and a power struggle, from which Krushchev emerged victorious
-leadership was as follows: Malenkov (Prime minister), Beria (Minister of the Interior and Head of Secret Police), Molotov (Foreign Minister), Vososhilov (Head of State), and Krushchev (First Party Secretary)
the leadership struggle, Malenkov
-6th March 1953 announced he would combine the roles of secretary of the party central committee and chairman of the council of ministers, within a few days forced to just focus on governmental role
-Malenkov and other Presidium members conspired against Beria and arranged his arrest June 1953
-Malenkov placed government above party (in opposition to Krushchev)
-found himself isolated and had to step down 1955, taking the role of minister for power stations
the leadership struggle, Beria
-most anxious to depart from Stalinist policies, advocated the release of all but the most dangerous prisoners, moderate line on foreign policy, denounced mingrelian purge and sought to scale back some of the costly construction projects
-he was accused of anti-part and anti-state activities and secretly tried and executed 21 December 1953, his supporters were purged too
the leadership struggle, krushchev
-Krushchev took Malenkov’s former post and began promoting his own proteges to important posts and built himself and network
-placed party before government offered proposals opposing Malenkov’s , less radical for parallel development of heavy and light industry and sold himself as an agricultural expert , early successes of 1954 virgin lands scheme gave him power in the party
secret speech
Krushchev’s famous speech was given Feb 25th 1956
-he denounced Stalin and the cult of personality, blamed him for foreign policy errors, the failings of soviet agriculture, the mass terror and war mistakes
-it deflected blame from the party onto Stalin’s shoulders
-the speech was reported in foreign media the next day, and his words cut the ground from underneath communist party member’s feet
political party and change after stalin’s death
-after the death of Stalin both party and government were restored as centres of debate and the police competed for influence but following Beria’s death lacked to do so
-Krushchev sought to restore the party to what it was in the 1920s, but he also had two other contradicting goals, democratisation and decentralisation
measures brought in to bring about democratisation and decentralisation (Krushchev)
-1962, party split into urban and rural sections at all levels
-new rules on how long party officials could serve
-membership expanded to include more working class members from 7 million 1956 to 11 million 1964
-non party members encouraged to take supervisory roles and some invited to party congresses
-Krushchev visited towns and villages showing a desire to meet with people
-economic decentralisation pursued
elements of high stalinsim
-strict media censorship
-no independent social or cultural organisations
-propaganda to portray Stalin as god-like
-emphasis on nationalism and patriotism
-revival of traditional family and artistic values
-tremendous personal power of the leader
-terror used to control population
-highly centralised control from Moscow
-minimal workers rights and low priority given to citizen’s needs
role of the party under high stalinism
-no real supervision over government, and its institutions undermined
-party congresses not held 1939-52 and there were only 6 full meetings of the central committee through this time
-politburo reduced to an advisory body
leningrad affair
-after the death of Zhdanov, purging of the party began in Leningrad, a number of high ranking officials executed of imprisoned
-this then spread nationwide and thousands of officials were sent to labour camps
-leading politburo members sought to win favour with stalin by discrediting others
zhadanovism
-all forms of artistic and intellectual activity had to conform to communist ideals and promote stalinist achievements and the cult of stalin
-akhmatova (an eminent poet) was denounced as being ‘half nun and half whore’ and was expelled from the union of soviet writers and her works burned
revival of terror
Stalin demanded excessive isolation from the non soviet world during this period, partly due to the emerging cold war but also because of a fear of ideological contamination
-contact with foreigners could land people in prison, Feb 1947 law was passed outlawing hotels and marriages to foreigners
NKVD during high stalinism
-MVD (ministry of internal affairs) controlled domestic security and the gulags
-MGB (ministry of state security-forerunner of KGB) took charge of counter intelligence and espionage
leningrad case
-1949
-Stalin took a stand against the leningrad party, which had always shown independence in views and actions
-off the back of false evidence, several leading officials were arrested including the head of Gosplan and Voznesensky
-after Stalin’s death it wad found that four of those arrested were executed
anti-semitism during high stalinism
-when Israel turned out to be pro-USA, Stalin reverted to anti-semitism
-this feeling reinforced by the arrival of israeli ambassador to the USSR, Golda Meir, in 1948
-director of jewish theatre in Moscow was mysteriously killed in a car accident in 1948
mingrelian case
-1951-52
-1951 saw the launch of a purge in Georgia, directed against the followers of Beria, accusing them of collaboration with western powers
-Beria himself was of mingrelian ethnic extraction, likely this purge was aimed at weakening the authority of Beria, though it may have had some anti-semitic overtones
doctors plot
-1952
-Lydia Timashuk (doctor) wrote to Stalin 2 days before Zhdanov’s death accusing nine doctors of failing to diagnose and treat him properly
-Stalin accused them of zionist conspiracy to murder Zhdanov and other members of the leadership
-hundred of doctors arrested and tortured
-thousands of ordinary jews rounded up and deported to new labour camps
-anti-jewish hysteria was whipped up in the press
cult of personality
on the back of his reputation as a wartime leader, he was awarded god-like status, portrayed as an equal genius in all areas
-the image being carefully cultivated in the media and speeches devoted to Stalin’s genius on the subject matter of academic works became custom for the first and last paragraphs
-though Stalin had no visited a kolkhoz for 25 years he was portrayed as a ‘man of the people’
-70th birthday saw whole papers dedicated to him
-Stalin prizes introduced to counteract western nobel prizes
economic problems for Stalin in 1945
-70% industrial capacity destroyed due to war
-workforce severely reduced
-economy needed revival to what it was in peacetime
-huge defence budget due to new satellite states e.g. Poland and Hungary
-emerging cost of cold war
-lend-lease came to an end and Stalin refused to accept Marshal aid instead offering comecon
economic strengths for stalin in 1945
redistribution of industry during the war provided a base for recovery, industry had not been totally destroyed during the war
-expansion eastwards allowed for exploitation of new raw materials and energy
fourth five year plan(industry)
-1946-50
-goals: catch up with USA, rebuild heavy industry, revive Ukraine
-use reparations from eastern germany
-maintain wartime controls on labour force (low wages, high targets, female labour)
-grand projects: canals and HEP plants
results of fourth five year plan (industry)
-USSR became 2nd to US in industrial capacity
-main targets in heavy industry met
-production doubled
-urban workforce increased by 10 million
-switch from war time industry to traditional goods was slow
fifth five year plan (industry)
-1951-55
-goals: continue to develop heavy industry and transport,post 1953 (under Malenkov) consumer goods, housing and services received greater investment
-continue fourth five year plan
-resources diverted to armament 1950-53 (Korean war)
-after 1953 expenditure of military and heavy industry reduced
results of fifth five year plan (industry)
-most growth targets met
-national income increased 71%
-Malenkov’s changes met opposition resulting in his fall in 1955
issues with stalinist economy
-ministers in Moscow often out of touch, increasingly complex planning set by them began to break down
-too few administrators to work the system properly
-exceeding targets would mean targets were raised next year so managers ‘played safe’ and hid productive capacity of their enterprise to avoid too much innovation and improvement
-output usually assessed by weight,heavier goods prioritised even if that wasn’t what was wanted by the consumer
decentralisation methods, 1957
-sixty Moscow ministries abolished
-USSR divide into 105 economic regions, each with their own local economic council (Sovnarkhoz) to plan and supervise economic affairs
seven year plan of 1959
-emphasis on improving living standards of normal people, promise of 40 hour work week and 40% wage rise by 1965
-chemical industry vastly expanded
-housing factories produced prefab houses
-increase in production of consumer goods
-rail network greatly expanded
-1957 Sputnik launched, and took Laika (dog) to space , red flag placed on moon and pictures of the dark side were taken
-Yuri Gagarin became first human in space 1961
wars effect on agriculture
-scorched earth policy destroyed western regions
-only 1/3 of farms operational
-1945 harvest produced less than 60% of pre-war harvests and 1946 saw worst drought since 1891
-2/3 of work force gone
-many animals destroyed
-little machinery
fourth five year plan (agriculture)
-goals: force kolkhozes to deliver agricultural products, revival of wheat field in Ukraine, ‘transform nature’ and revitalise barren land
-high grain and livestock quotas,low peasant wages
-higher taxes to produce on private plots, private land taken during the war returned to kolkhozes
-tree planting, irrigation ditches to make land more useable
result of fourth five year plan (agriculture)
-state procured 70% of 1946 harvest, leaving peasants with little
-output of kolkhozes increased
-food rationing ended 1946
-almost half of output came from private plots
-lagged behind industry
fifth five year plan (agriculture)
goals: continue fourth five year plan, ‘virgin lands’ and ‘agrocities’ from 1953
-high procurement levels remained
-expansion of agriculture in formerly uncultivated areas
results of fifth five year plan (agriculture)
-agricultural production was still behind industry
-not yet at 1940 levels
-virgin lands and agrocities had some success
Krushchev’s 1953 assessment of agriculture
-productivity too low, did not meet needs of people
-livestock numbers lower than 1928
-agricultural policy under Stalin concealed by unreliable statistics
-farmers incomes low because of low state procurement prices
-high taxes on private plots discouraged production
-unproductive farming methods under Stalin
incentives for peasants to produce more (Krushchev)
-price for state procurement increased and quotas reduced
-taxes reduced
-quotas on private plots reduced
-peasants that didn’t produce animals not required to deliver meat to the state
-collectives allowed to set their own production targets
changes designed to increase production (Krushchev)
-increase number of farms connected to electricity grid
-encourage use of chemical fertilisers
-increase use of farm machinery
-encourage to merge kolkohzes to create sovkhozes
virgin lands scheme
-designed to plough up vast track of uncultivated fallow land in Kazakhstan the Urals and Siberia for grain cultivation
-300,000+ volunteers mobilised to settle in these areas and cultivate the land
-by 1956, 35.9million hectares of ‘virgin land’ had been ploughed for wheat
agriculture campaigns under Krushchev
-maize: produced higher tonnage per hectare but could be used for animal fodder to feed cattle and revive meat and dairy farming
-cows: campaign for peasants to voluntarily transfer their cows to the collective
-agrocities: huge collective towns to try and replicate urban conditions of working and living on the land
-fertilisers: aim to increase fertilizer production by 700%
successes of Krushchev’s agricultural campaigns
-agriculture freed from central collective control, greater autonomy
-1956 harvest was largest in Soviet history so far
-workers on the sovkhozes received social benefits such as pensions
-living standards increased considerably
-soviet controlled press dedicated pages to agricultural achievements
limitations of Krushchev’s agricultural campaigns
-maize rarely ripened outside of the Ukraine, 85 million acres planted only 1/6 harvested ripe
-reliance on single crop cultivation took a toll on the soil, failure to adopt anti-erosion methods meant millions of tons of topsoil blew away
-state officials kept altering prices making hard for peasants to predict
-poor harvest in 1963 caused there to be imports from North America
-agrocities never got beyond visionary stage
the event of Krushchev’s fall from power
-Krushchev was on holiday in Pitsunda, Oct 1964, received emergency call from Brezhnev summoning him to emergency meeting of Presidium
-returned to Moscow, sensed opposition, his former supporters expressed their criticisms of him, he initially tried to interrupt but could not drum up popular support
reasons for Krushchev’s downfall
-policy and leadership style caused widespread discontent, there was widespread disapproval of his handling of the Cuban missiles crisis
-economically, he had upset those that though the industry should focus on heavy goods rather than consumer goods
-virgin land scheme had failed, seen as personal responsibility of Krushchev as he named himself as an agricultural expert
-decentralisation upset party members as they lost authority
political condition of USSR by 1964
-Krushchev’s years were spent trying to steer the system away from Stalin’s rule and autocratic control
-trying to establish limited reform was difficult whilst trying to preserve the one party state and command economy
economic condition of USSR by 1964
-large industrial base created and much of it had been rebuilt after the war
-USSR developed technologically post war and with the acquiring of nuclear weapons it was seen as a great military power
-Krushchev’s campaigns were not always well thought through and there was no real significant increase of output in factories or farms
social condition of USSR by 1964
living standards began to rapidly rise in the 1950s and consumers began to reep the benefits of industrialisation
-mood of optimism generated, but beneath the surface massive problems had not been resolved
