Stalin Flashcards
Main type of farming
Collectivisation
Two groups that sorted out the 5 year plans
Vershenka, Gosplan
Types of collective farm
Sovkhozy, Kolkhozy
When was the Berlin blockade?
1949
When were the show trials?
1938
The main policy making group
Sovnarkom
What contained representatives within all countries within the USSR?
Supreme Soviet
What body was in charge of party affairs?
Orgburo
When was the USSR created?
1924 - from stalin’s constitution
When did the great terror begin?
1936
Who was the head of the Leningrad Bolsheviks?
Sergei Kirov
What was the worker’s council called?
The soviet
The foundation of society
The super structure
What were working conditions like under Stalin?
Working hours increased, 7 day working week, being late resulted in a dismissal, eviction and loss of benefits, strikes were made illegal, eased by 1931
What happened to Yugoslavia in June 1948?
It was expelled from the Comintern, other communist countries were encouraged to make plans to fight Yugoslavia
What were the avg working hours in 1932, 1939 and 1940?
10-12 hrs, 7 hrs and 8 hrs
What was flawed, structurally speaking, in Stalin’s 5 year plans?
Ministers set targets rather than people who knew what they were doing, not enough admin for the system to work
Why did the targets actually cap the 5 year plans?
Targets measured by weight, so quality usually deteriorated, if targets were exceeded, the targets the next year would be excessively high, so people capped their industrial potential
What attitude did Stalin want works to embrace?
A stakhanovite working attitude
How many peasants had died from starvation in the 30’s?
10 to 15 million
What were grain production levels like in 1939?
Had barely reached levels that were achieved in 1913
By the 1930’s, how many workers had been promoted to management positions?
Approximately 1.5 million
How was the school compulsory age changed in 1930?
It went up to 12
How had numbers of kids going to primary school changed from 1929 to 1930?
From 8 million to 18 million
What did the curriculum mainly revolve around?
Mainly literacy and numerical skills, extra subjects related to concept of revolution
How did the secondary school population change from 1931 to 1932?
From 2.5 million to 6.9 million
What did Stalin scrap in 1939?
School fees
What did the 1936 constitution outlaw?
Religious propaganda
What else happened with religion in and after 1936?
Muslims no longer treated leniently, pilgrimages forbidden, harsh on Buddhists
What did Stalin do in 1950, shortly after Mao came into power?
Signed a treaty of friendship
What happened to Trotsky after Lenin’s death?
Discredited by Troika (Soviet leadership), replaced as commissar for war in January 1925, removed from politburo, expelled from party and exiled to Kazakhstan in 1927, expelled from the USSR in January 1929
What happened to Kamenev and Zinoviev after Lenin’s death?
They were removed as secretaries of local parties, formed united opposition group with Trotsky(1926)- opposing NEP and demanded more free speech, all branded as factionalist, Zinoviev removed from Politburo and expelled from party, Kam removed from Central committee
What happened to the politburo after Lenin’s death?
Went from 6 members to 8 - adding more stalinists
What did Lenin’s widow do after his death?
Showed Central committee Lenin’s condemning of Stalin before 13th party Congress, Kamenev and Zinoviev oppose publication, Trotsky doesn’t get involved
What alliance was established in December 1922?
An alliance between Kamenev, Zinoviev and Stalin against Trotsky
What November 1924 speech was shut down?
Trotsky’s speech saying there should be democracy instead of the over-bureaucratisation of party - defeated by Stalin’s delegates and Zinoviev, Kamenev blocks it
What did Trotsky publish in January 1925?
‘Lessons of October’ showed how Zin and Kam opposed Lenin, Stalin not mentioned
What happened at the 14th party congress? (July 1926)
Stalin supports Bhukarin, Zin and Kam lose vote of no confidence in Stalin, Zin forced to step down as Leningrad leader - replaced by Sergei Kirov, new Central Committee and politburo elected - mainly Stalin and Bhukarin majority
Why did Stalin no longer trust Bhukarin?
He contacted Trotsky about possible alliance, (sept 1928) he was removed as editor of Pravda in April 1929
What happened to the Politburo in November 1929?
Bhukarin and Rykov removed
How many grain of corns could you steal and be shot for?
5 grains
How many people were killed from 1929-33?
5 million
What happened as a result of Sergei Kirov’s death?
Stalin made 1st December laws - could execute anyone under suspicion of terror
Within a year of Kirov’s death, how many people had been shot/imprisoned in Leningrad?
200K
What other terror occurred as a result of Kirov’s death?
Most of 2,000 delegates @ 17th party congress were shot and from 1936-7, arrests for terror increased ten fold
What were the mobile courts called?
Troika
How many executions did Stalin sign off, and who was blamed for the purges, and subsequently shot?
40K, the head of the secret police
How many Russians died in WW2?
26 million
What policy did Stalin enforce in 1941?
Retreat prohibited, soldiers not allowed to be captured by nazis
What happened in terms of production under Stalin’s 5 year plans?
Peaks and troughs
What did Alexei Stakhanov receive for his highly efficient work?
A bonus equivalent to a months wages
What was the goal for collectivisation in the 1st 5yr plan and what was achieved?
15% of peasant land, only collectivised 5% by mid 1929, stalin said he wanted it to be 25% by 1930
How many cows were slaughtered in 1929 and then how many in 1933?
23% then 30%
Who was the 1936 Constitution drawn up by and what did it do in regard to elections?
Drawn up by Bhukarin, every 4 years
How many were executed in the great Terror?
In 1936 18 people were executed, Yezhnov made new head of NKVD, Jan 1937 - 17 communists put on show trial 13 executed, Bhukarin refused to confess so expelled from party and arrested, March 1938 - 21 Bolsheviks on trial - 16 executed
How many people were arrested in Stalins purges?
1 in 8 people, 8 million in Gulags
What was collectivisation like before Stalin, in 1937 and 1941?
3%, 93%, 98%
What was the secret police called from 1943?
MVD
