Stalin Flashcards
The Great Turn
Radical change in economic policy to rapid industrialisation and the mass mobilisation of workers, involved shifting away from the NEP and towards collectivisation
Reasons for the Great Turn
The slow pace of industrialisation under the NEP
The grain procurement crisis in 1927-28, grain purchased by government down by 25% on the previous year
Ideological concerns about the NEP
To remove the right side of Stalin’s opposition
Collectivisation and Reasons
More mobility, better grain procurement, more socialist, more state control, allowed for industrialisation, removed kulaks
Attempted to get 25 million peasants onto 250,000 large scale collective farms. At this point only 5% of farms were collective
Dekulakisation
1929: Stalin’s ‘war against the kulaks’ speech. Kulaks to be eliminated as class enemies.
Dec 1929: Stalin says kulaks should be ‘liquidated as a class’
Used to keep other peasants in line through fear.
However, people relied on Kulaks due to their usefulness, skilled at farming, and were reluctant to renounce them.
Features of Collectivisation
May 1929: ‘Urals-Siberian’ method of enforced grain requisitioning extended to almost all grain-producing regions of the USSR
Nov 1929: 25,000 Party activists (Twenty-five Thousanders) sent to help dekulakisation and to promote collective farms and provide help. Didn’t know how to organise collective farms.
Used propaganda and fear of what was happening to the Kulaks
First Five Year Plan Reasons
Catch up with the industrial strength of capitalist countries
Ready the USSR for a war with capitalist counties
Achieve Socialism in one country
Assert his own authority and dominance over the Party.
No intention to improve workers conditions.
FFYP: Successes
Socialist Success:
State controlled allocation of materials and resources, set quotas through the Gosplan, no free trade.
Industrial Success:
Electrical power increased from 5 to 13.5 billion kWh from 1928 to 1932.
Coal Output increased from 35.5 to 64.4 million tonnes from 1928 to 1932.
FFYP: Industrial Issues
Incredibly high, unachievable targets, enormous strain on the economy. Lack of detailed planning on how to achieve targets.
Steel Target: 10.4 mill tonnes
Steel Production in 1927: 4 mill tonnes
Targets set by the state were lawfully enforced, failure to meet was a criminal offense. Managers lied about production to avoid punishment
Targets increased rapidly, e.g. in Magnitogorsk pig iron targets increased from 656,000 tons per year to 2.5 million from 1928 to late 1929.
FFYP: Over and Underproduction Issues
Overproduction of certain goods due to high targets
Wasted raw materials, factories demanded more than they needed, contributed to large material shortages caused underproduction of other necessary goods.
Production of fabrics dropped between 1929 to 1932
Quality of goods, such as pig iron in Magnitogorsk also fell so as to meet targets.
FFYP: Political Issues
Party officials refused to admit something was wrong due to fear of punishment.
Specialist staff were replaced due to political agenda and this was damaging to the industry, stopped in 1931.
E.g. Bourgeoise specialists, nepmen and professionals were blamed from holding up state plans and imprisoned , negatively impacted industry
Foreign Policy Pre-1929
Pre 1929: Socialism in one country, no attempts to spread communisim, keep USSR safe whilst industrialising, not aggressive.
Stalin: China
1926: CCP tried to take power in China, Stalin didn’t think they were strong enough to take control, he backed a bourgeoise revolution from the GMD, urged CCP to work with GMD, GMD with resources from Stalin built up an army and massacred the CCP members.
Stalin: Germany and Poland
Germany: Treaty of Berlin 1926. Germany joined LoN in 1926, less reliant on Russia, some tensions but not severe until Hitler.
Poland: Pilsudski took power in Poland, he was very anti-Communist, if Poland made an alliance with the West they would have access to Russia through Poland.
Stalin’s Comintern/ Foreign Policy Post-1929
After 1929: instructed Communist parties abroad to denounce social democratic parties as ‘Social Fascists’.
This split the left and weakened the Communist parties as the moderate socialists actively opposed them.
USSR control over other communist parties increased, imposed strict discipline, ensured they followed policy given by USSR.
Cult of Personality
Stalin relied heavily on propaganda to launch campaigns. e.g. collectivisation and FFYP launched with images of happy workers
Presented Stalin at the helm steering the USSR and as Lenin’s heir.
Treated Lenin like a God and thus Stalin, his apparent heir and disciple, was presented in a similar image.
