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)