Stalin Flashcards
When was Stalin announced to be the ‘Undisputed Leader of Russia’?
1929
What was assumed that would happen in terms of Government when Lenin died?
Russia would have a Collective Leadership
What did Lenin’s testament state?
- He didn’t want Collective Leadership
- Didn’t want Stalin to rule; saw him as rough and even wanted him to be kicked out
- Favoured Bukharin
When was the Power Struggle?
1924-1929
When did Lenin die?
Jan 1924
What were the 8 Factors that helped Stalin get into power?
1) No clear Succession
2) Ability & Ambition
3) Administrative Positions
4) Lenin Enrollment
5) Assistance from his Wife
6) No Factionalism
7) The Lenin Legacy
8) The Defeat of Trotsky
What positions did Stalin hold that helped him become leader?
General Secretary (1922)
Commissar to the Nationalities (1917)
Liaison Officer between the Politburo and the Orgburo (1919)
What could Stalin do as General Secretary?
Allowed him to dismiss and accept people into the party
Could fly people in for votes
What were the 2 main Economic Policies Stalin enforced?
- 5 Year Plans (industry)
- Collectivisation (agriculture)
What were Stalin’s economic policies also known as?
The Great Turn
What motivated the ‘Great Turn’?
- Threat of War
- Self-Sufficiency
- Socialist Society
- Ideology
- ‘Catch up 100 years in 10’
Define Collectivisation
The joining together of individual farms and the sharing of resources
- joined by state
What were MTS?
Machine-Tractor Station
State supplied machinery to help peasants to modernise farming methods
What were the 3 types of Collective Farms?
Toz
Sovkhoz
Kolkhoz
What type of collective farm was favoured?
the Kolkhoz
When was the Grain Procurement Crisis?
1928-29
What happened in the Grain Procurement Crisis?
Peasants hoarded grain
What was a consequence of the Grain Procurement Crisis?
Dekulakisation
Who were Kulaks?
Rich peasants in collective farms
What happened during Dekulakisation?
Kulaks were used as scapegoats by Stalin for the failures in agriculture
NKVD killed Counter Revolutionaries
Kulaks were expelled from farms
How did Stalin use Dekulakisation to his advantage?
He used the fear to force people into joining collective farms
Who were the NKVD?
The Secret Police
How many farms were collectivised by March 1930?
60%
What was the political impact of Collectivisation?
5 Stalks Law
Stalin Claimed that officials were “dizzy with success”
What was the social impact of Collectivisation?
- Famine
- Kulaks and NEP men prospered
- Forced Collectivisation caused discontent (14.2 million collectivised households by March 1931)
Why was there a Famine in 1932-33?
Collectivisation and Dekulakisation led to brutal repression and were already failing
Stalin purposely cause it as a method of control
How was Russia’s agriculture production compared to other countries by 1928?
It was the least productive country
How much grain was given to the state?
40%
- the rest was for personal use
What was the focus of the first 5YP?
Heavy Industry
When was the first 5YP?
1929-34
What were some successes of the first 5YP?
- Coal and Iron output increased
- Electricity trebled
- New Sectors of industry introduced
How much did grain production increase between 1939-41?
9%
Give 3 examples of the type of sectors that were introduced in industry during the first 5YP
Machine Tool Production
Car and Tractor Factories
Synthetics production
Approximately how many kulaks were shot during Dekulakisation?
300,000
What were some failures of the first 5YP?
Consumer industry was neglected
Smaller workshops stopped functioning
What did the second 5YP focus on?
Consumerism
When was the second 5YP?
1935-40
What were some successes under the second 5YP?
By 1937 Russia was self-sufficient in industry
Improvements to transport and communications
When was the 3rd 5YP?
1940-45
What was the focus of the 3rd 5YP?
Militerisation
What were some successes of the 3rd 5YP?
Stakhanovite Movement
Increase in heavy industry
Increase in steel output
What were some of the failures of the 3rd 5YP?
Fuel crisis - oil targets not met
Purges caused areas to be leglected
Why did people lie about the targets being met during the 5YPs?
If they were not met then they would be sent to the Gulag
When were the series of the Great Purges?
1934-39
What happened to Sergei Kirov?
Assassinated Dec 1st 1934 by Nikolayev
What was the conspiracy theory around Kirov’s death?
That Stalin was involved as there was evidence linking Nikolayev to the NKVD
Who was Sergei Kirov?
A Popular Party Member & the Party Secretary in Leningrad
What caused the Purges?
- Murder of Kirov
- Stalin wanted complete control and was paranoid
- Scapegoat for the economic and political problems in the 1930s
- To get rid of internal opposition in the party
How many officers were killed in the Purging of the Military?
50%
How many War Commissars were shot during the purges?
11
When was the Trial of the Generals?
1937 - immediately after an announcement that there was a conspiracy in the Red Army
What happened in the Trials of the Generals?
Generals were accused of spying for the Germans and the Japanese and were shot e.g. Tukhachevsky
Why was there a wholescale destruction of the Red Army?
To prevent a military reaction to the trials of the generals
What were Show Trials?
the public trials of political figured during the purges
When was the Trial of 16?
1936 - it justified the purges
When was the Decree of Anti-Soviet Elements? What was it?
1937
Created a regional quota for arrests
How many political figures were executed during the Purges?
328,000
Who did Stalin target in the purges?
old Bolsheviks who still supported Lenin
Why were the people purged?
To scapegoat the failed policies Stalin brought about
What happened to the Nationalities during the Purges?
They were forced into political submission
When did the Purges begin to scale down by?
1939
How many prisoners were in the Gulags by 1938 due to the purges?
8 million
What did prisoners do in the Gulags?
Built roads and railway
How did the purges impact trade?
Countries reluctant to trade with Russia
