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History > Stalin > Flashcards

Stalin Flashcards

1
Q

Why did some people like Trotsky?

A

He was the most able and popular with the army. He led the army brilliantly during the civil war.

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2
Q

Why did some people dislike Trotsky?

A

He was too arrogant, he lacked support in the Politburo, he wasn’t trusted as he had previously been a Menshevik and he often made enemies. He also got too caught up in admin work.

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3
Q

Why was Stalin popular in the party?

A

He was General Secretary of the party and accumulated power through it. This allowed him to appoint people who were loyal to him in senior positions and Stalin’s rivals had no support in the party. He also suppressed Lenin’s statement. Also, only party members could hold government positions and they were chosen by party voting - it was a one party state.

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4
Q

What did Lenin say about Stalin?

A

He should be removed from office as he was too rude and ambitious.

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5
Q

What did Stalin want?

A

A period of peace and rebuilding in the USSR - ‘Communism in one country’.

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6
Q

What did Trotsky want?

A

Revolution to spread to other countries - he called for the USSR to work for a world revolution.

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7
Q

What did Stalin mean?

A

Man of steel

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8
Q

Who did Stalin join against Trotsky?

A

Kamenev and Zinoviev

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9
Q

What did Kamenev and Zinoviev believe?

A

They agreed with Trotsky’s ideas about state control of land and continuing the revolution but they were determined to stop him from becoming leader.

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10
Q

When was Trotsky thrown out of the communist party?

A

1927

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11
Q

What did Stalin support that led to Kamenev and Zinoviev being dismissed from the communist party?

A

He supported the NEP and wanted gradual reform of the economy whereas they wanted fast economic modernisation.

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12
Q

What happened to Trotsky after the left the communist party?

A

He was exiled to Kazakhstan in 1928, then forced to leave the USSR in 1929.

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13
Q

How did Stalin change his policies in 1928?

A

He adopted fast modernisation instead of the NEP

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14
Q

What did this change in policy allow him to do?

A

It meant he could remove leading figures on the right of the party such as Rykov and Bukharin who supported the NEP and could have been a threat to his position.

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15
Q

When was Stalin officially the leader of the USSR?

A

1929

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16
Q

What was the position of Trotsky in the communist party?

A

Commissar for war.

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17
Q

When was Trotsky murdered?

A

1941

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18
Q

What happened with Lenin’s funeral?

A

Stalin told Trotsky the wrong date so Trotsky ended up turning a day late

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19
Q

Why did Stalin believe that revolution had to happen at home first?

A

He felt that the Soviet Union was so backward in agriculture and industry, it would be attacked and destroyed by capitalist states.

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20
Q

What were the weaknesses of Stalin?

A

He had a quick temper, he was suspicious and had sudden changes of mind for no good reason.

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21
Q

What was the effect of Trotsky missing the funeral?

A

It led to people thinking that Stalin was closer to Lenin thus gaining him more support.

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22
Q

Why was Stalin allowed to dismiss Zinoviev and Kamenev?

A

They allied with Trotsky in a group called the United Opposition and this broke party rules on the banning of factions.

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23
Q

What were the key features of the cult of Stalin?

A

Statues, streets and poems were named after him, newspapers nicknamed him ‘man of steel’ and ‘shining sun of humanity’ - a genius who saved the soviet world from its enemies, parades and murals in Moscow, films showing him as good and wise, rewarding those who were most loyal.

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24
Q

How did Stalin change history?

A

Stalin re-wrote the Bolshevik revolution to glorify himself and remove the old bolsheviks, he created new photographs and accounts of the past emphasising his role and links with Lenin.

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25
Q

What is an example of the propaganda he used to show him as a fatherly figure?

A

He took a picture with a girl who Stalin had both of her parents killed.

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26
Q

Who was Kirov and when was he murdered?

A

He was a popular head of the communist party in Leningrad and he was murdered in 1934.

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27
Q

What did some people claim about Kirov’s death?

A

That Stalin was responsible for it.

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28
Q

What was the result of the Kirov murder?

A

Stalin immediately began a purge of people who he believed were involved in a conspiracy against Kirov and himself.

29
Q

What were show trials?

A

When old communist members were forced by torture or by threats to confess to betraying Stalin. They were put on trial for the whole world to see.

30
Q

What was the total number of people killed by Stalin’s purges?

A

As high a ten million.

31
Q

What happened to ordinary people?

A

Anyone who was suspected of disloyalty to Stalin was taken away by the NKVD, most were shot or taken to labour camps, people avoided arrest through providing information about other people even if it was false.

32
Q

How much of the communist party was purged?

A

A third

33
Q

How many generals and admirals were purged?

A

4/5

34
Q

What were the consequences of the purges?

A

Many of the most gifted and talented citizens had disappeared, the army and navy were seriously weakened by the loss of most of their senior officers, industrial and technical progress were hampered by loss of top scientists.

35
Q

What was the new constitution in 1936?

A

Every four years there were elections and only official party candidates were allowed to stand - power was kept in the politburo. Promise of free conscience. It changed the name of the central executives committee to the supreme soviet, the supreme soviet was empowered to set up commissions which administered most of the government, it focused power onto Stalin’s hands, it gave people the right to vote but only for the communist party, to work, rest and leisure, to health protection, to care in old age and sickness and to housing and education. The leader of the presidium was declared the head of the state.

36
Q

What were party apparatchiks?

A

People who were loyal to Stalin and received privileges.

37
Q

What were the reasons for the purges?

A

Stalin believed his enemies were plotting to overthrow him, once they started they had a snowball effect, it was a scapegoat for explaining why the five year plans were not succeeding and it is said that Stalin was suffering from a persecution complex.

38
Q

What was Russification?

A

The acceptance of Russian language and customs was enforced throughout the Soviet Union.

39
Q

Why did Stalin want to introduce modernisation?

A

To increase the USSR’s military strength, to rival the economies of the USA and other capitalist countries, to increase food supplies, to create a communist society and to establish his reputation.

40
Q

What were the aims of the first five year plan?

A

To focus on major industries but not all of the targets were met.

41
Q

What happened in the second five year plan?

A

It was based on the first - industry was still a priority and mining for raw materials increased rapidly as Stalin exploited Siberia’s rush natural mineral resources. Developments made in transport and communication centre.

42
Q

What happened with the third five year plan?

A

Factories were told to produce consumer goods and agriculture was boosted but the plan was disrupted by the Second World War.

43
Q

What happened with religion under Stalin?

A

Religion was allowed in theory however priests were purged and atheism was pushed.

44
Q

When was the policy of Russification introduced?

A

1938

45
Q

What happened to loving conditions under Stalin?

A

Workers had less space to live in than before however flats were better and built for them.

46
Q

How were women treated under Stalin?

A

Equal voting rights, made divorce simpler, equal pay for work however most managers were still men. They had to work at home but free child care was provided.

47
Q

What was gosplan?

A

The state planning agency which drew up targets for production for each factory.

48
Q

What were Stakhanovites?

A

Workers who were named after a coal miner who broke the record for the amount of coal dug up in one shift.

49
Q

How did the production of coal improve?

A

From 36 million tonnes to 130 million tonnes.

50
Q

What were some key achievements?

A

Turkestan-Siberian railroad, the dneiper dam and the belomor canal

51
Q

What was Magnitogorsk?

A

A huge steelworks in Siberia.

52
Q

What was the name given to keen young communists who planted new towns in barren areas?

A

Pioneers.

53
Q

Why did Stalin introduce collectivisation?

A

To destroy the kulaks, he needed the peasants to produce more food so the workers in towns had enough to eat to support the five year plans, wanted to export food to get money to buy machines and materials for industry

54
Q

What were sovkozy?

A

Large state farms run by a manager.

55
Q

What was kolkhozy?

A

Farms run by committees of peasants.

56
Q

How were the different types of collective farming different?

A

Sovkozy often had more facilities, such as nurseries and schools, and were better organised,

57
Q

Why did the peasants object to collectivisation?

A

They disliked being told what to grow and what animals to breed, they did not want to work set hours on set jobs or to be fined if they did not obey the rules.

58
Q

How did peasants react?

A

Many of them killed their animals and hid their crops and some burned their homes.

59
Q

How did Stalin react to the opposition of the peasants?

A

He sent out officials to search for hidden crops and if they failed then he sent in the army, people were shot if they resisted arrest, people who would not join a collective farm were treated like the kulaks.

60
Q

What was de-kulakisation?

A

Kulaks were purged, they were encouraging people to protest against collectivisation, they went against the concept of communism and Stalin used them as a scapegoat.

61
Q

What was the result of collectivisation?

A

A famine in 1932-33 as peasants had destroyed their crops and animals.

62
Q

What was the kolkhoz charter?

A

Allowed peasants about an acre of land to grow their crops on and keep cows and pigs.

63
Q

What was the great retreat?

A

Abortion was made illegal except to protect the health of the mother, divorce was made more difficult, divorced fathers had to pay maintenance for their children, mothers received cash payments for their children up to the age of five, the NKVD were allowed to deal harshly with youth crime and parents could be fined if their children caused trouble.

64
Q

What happened to ethnic minorities?

A

They were deported, Russification and purged.

65
Q

What was the cult of Stalin?

A

Idolising Stalin in a religious type worship.

66
Q

What were the benefits of collectivisation?

A

Bigger farms allowed for more efficient equipment to be used.

67
Q

What were the serious problems of the five year plans?

A

New houses were set up but they were of poor quality, long hours were worked for low pay, bonuses were given to Stakhanovites, much of the work was done by forced labour camps of criminals and political prisoners.

68
Q

How much land had been collectivised by 1939?

A

99%

History (12 decks)

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