Stalin communist governments in the USSR Flashcards
1
Q
Who were the rivals for power in 1923
A
- Stalin
Had supported Lenin and the Bolsheviks from the start. Lenin held him in high regard and supported his promotion to general secretary in 1921. However Lenin had written in his testament how Stalin was not fit for the role, although the other contenders were also criticised not to the same extent, in a meeting in 1923 they agreed not to make the testament public - Trotsky
Revolutionary hero from his role in the October revolution and civil war. He was Lenin’s right hand man, however had disagreed with him from 1903 to 1917 and therefore not seen as a true Leninist - Zinoviev
Stalins closest friend and had been a supporter of the Bolsheviks from the start. In 1923 to 1925 formed the triumvirate with himself, Kamenev and Stalin, to keep Trotsky out of power. They achieved this by launching a successful political campaign to prove Trotsky wasn’t a true Leninist - Bukharin
From 1925-28 he was the most prominent figure in the USSR. In 1925 he formed the duumvirate with Stalin giving them a majority in the party. Him and Lenin had had a father- son relationship, Bukharin was the editor of Pravda, however he was also the youngest and seen as inexperienced.
In 1925 Trotsky lost his position because of fear of Bonapartism. In 1926 Zinoviev and Kamenev were not voted back into the party. The three of them formed the united opposition (left) against Stalin and Bukharin
2
Q
Lenin enrolment
A
- 1924
- Stalin argued that they needed more lower class memebers in the party
- In reality he wanted party members more interested in a well paid job, so that they’d be loyal to him as he could promote them
3
Q
What two ideas had Stalin committed the communist party to by 1928
A
- Socialism in one country - Stalin believed they didn’t need to wait for a worldly revolution to establish communism in Russia and anyone who said otherwise like Trotsky and Zinoviev weren’t true Leninists
- Collectivisation and industrialisation - Stalin argued that the time for the NEP had come to an end, which Lenin had said would not last forever. Stalin wanted a more radical approach to improving the economy.
4
Q
What did Stalin do to Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev after he came to power
A
Accused them of forming a faction and got them arrested under that pretense
5
Q
Stalins patronage system
A
- In 1921 the party was based on democratic centralism all party members voted for party delegates who attended party congress which elected the central committee. However from 1923 Stalin began sending an approved list to party members of who they should vote for as party delegates. Around 1/3 of delegates were appointed from stalins list in 1923
- Stalin was general secretary therefore he was able to give promotions making party members loyal to him
- He was head of the central control commission and Rabkrin, allowing him to investigate and sack party memebers Zane government officials, making them loyal to him
- The party no longer consisted of radical revolutionaries rather professional administrators dedicated to their own careers. Stalin had turned the Soviet union into a personal dictatorship.
6
Q
How was opposition a cause for Stalin’s great terror
A
- By 1930 there was an opposition group in the Politburo centred around a man called Kirov, head of the communist party in Leningrad
- 1932 - one of Kirov’s supporters who had formed the Marxist Leninists (opposition group to Stalin) , circulated a highly critical document of Stalin’s policies.
- 1933 - Kirov argued for more realistic goals for the five year plans and a stronger focus on the production of consumer goods
- Kirovs growing authority threatened Stalin
7
Q
How was kirovs murder a reason for Stalins great terror
A
- In December 1934
- Allowed Stalin to claim that there was a dangerous conspiracy theory planning to overthrow the communist government, therefore giving a reason for him to launch the great terror
8
Q
How were economic problems a cause for Stalins great terror
A
- Senior government figures were aware of Stalins agricultural and industrial failures, this undermined his power
- The great terror allowed Stalin to accuse workers of being “wreckers” or saboteurs”, deflecting his responsibilities - dizzy with succes
- he sent the accused to Gulags, this essentially allowed Stalin to build a slave labour army to build factories or mine resources
9
Q
How was the congress of the victors a cause for Stalins great terror
A
- February 1934, to elect the new central committee
- Kirov beat Stalin
- Senior members of the communist party urged Kirov to stand against Stalin for general secretary, Kirov refused and the vote was kept secret
- But it was clear Stalin had rivals in the party
10
Q
Who was the congress of the victors a cause for Stalins great terror
A
- February 1934, to elect the new central committee
- Kirov beat Stalin
- Senior members of the communist party urged Kirov to stand against Stalin for general secretary, Kirov refused and the vote was kept secret
- But it was clear Stalin had rivals in the party
11
Q
When was the great terror
A
1934-38
12
Q
Show trials (Stalin)
A
- most public aspect of the terror
- At each trial the defendants were forced to confess to plotting to kill Kirov, and working with capitalist nations to overthrow the Soviet Union, they were then executed
There were three of them - 1936-trial of the 16, executed Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 of their supporters
- 1937- trial of the 17, executed 17 of Trotsky’s former supporters
- 1938- trial of the 21, executed Bukharin and 20 of his supporters
- The show trial were a very tiny fraction of the terror, 95% of those purged held senior positions in the communist government
13
Q
Stalin purged the red army
A
- He feared Trotsky still had influence over them
- Stalin organised a secret trial of 8 Red army leaders, they were all found guilty of plotting to overthrow the communist party, they had all worked closesly with Trotsky
- Following this Stalin 37000 officers from the army
14
Q
Consequences of the great terror
A
- Killed 10 million ( 10% of the population)
- Led to the imprisonment of a whole generation of communists who had worked closely with Lenin
- Emergence of a new generation of communists who owed their position to Stalin
- Established the principle that Stalin had the right to use terror to suppress opposition
- Stalin’s political police the NKVD became a very important aspect to the regime
15
Q
What was the constitution of 1936 and how did Stalin use it to consolidate his power?
A
- Sometimes called the Stalin costitution, set out the structure of the Party
- soviets were elected by the people as representatives there were two types; Soviets of the people 1 for every 300,000 voters and Soviets of the nationalities.
- The soviets would then elect supreme soviets
- Supreme Soviets would elect the council of ministers
- The constitution also guaranteed freedom of speech, religion and movement
- Western socialists claimed it was the most democratic government in existence
- In reality the constitution had little to do with the government as each of the bodies was dominated by the communist party
- There was no rule of law in the soviet union and therefore rights were meaningless as the government didn’t need to obey the law
16
Q
How did WW2 affect the power structure
A
- Initially the USSR was neutral but supplied the Nazis
- In 1941 germany onvaded russia forcing them to ally with britain and the USA forming the grand alliance
- Only in 1941 did Stalin become chair of Sovnarkom
- The government was really ineffective especially for wartime as Stalin had purged government officials and the military
Stalin changed the government in the following ways: - Ended mass terror so government could run more smoothly
- Gave more power to the state- state ministers rather than party members made important decisions
- Changed the composition of the Politburro, giving state minkister positions in it and former members important ministerial roles
- State defense committee (GKO) set up to co-ordinate the economy, military production and defense
17
Q
How did Stalin consolidate his power post WW2?
A
- Stalin still used terror but not to the same extent, however a long lasting fear of Stalin was still instilled in the people
- Stalin appointed Zhdanov, Beria’s key rival, to be in charge of supervision of berias police force, this meant that senior officials were competing with each other rather than Stalin
- !938, the Politburo held the most power in the government, by 1942 it was GKO and post war it was the council of ministers, this ensured no committee had more power or influence than Stalin
18
Q
What was one way Stalin tested the loyalty of his closest supporters?
A
- Imprison or sack their wives or daughters
- 1948, Stalin demanded that the Politburo vote to expel Molotov’s wife from the party, Molotov abstained from the vote, he later apologised to Stalin for his disloyalty
- In 1949 Stalin had Molotov’s wife imprisoned, having learnt his lesson he made no move to stop it
19
Q
What was the Leningrad affair and how did Stalin use it to consolidate his power?
A
- 1949-52
- Purge of the Leningrad party, Stalin feared they were becoming too independent, 100 officials were shot and 2000 dismissed and imprisoned
- The Leningrad affair occurred after Zhdanov’s death, Beria’s key rival in the power struggle (Stalin was 70), therefore one explanation is that Beira encouraged the purge as Zhdanov had been head of the Leningrad Party and therefore it contained beria’s most senior rivals
20
Q
What were Stalin’s personal limits on power?
A
The soviet union was so large that it was impossible for Stalin to be in control of every situation, therefore he had to prioritise
21
Q
What were Stalin’s limits imposed by party on his power?
A
- Stalin had used his position in Nomenklatura to appoint the politburo therefore they were loyal to him, however there is some evidence to opposition
- 1934 party congress Kirov was voted central committee over Stalin
- The politburo had disproved of Stalin’s ambitious goals for the first five year plan and therefore he was forced to redraft it
- Some politburo members expressed concern of Stalin’s increasing use of terror and brutality
22
Q
What were Stalin’s limits on his power from below?
A
many party members were concerned with threats from enemies at home or abroad, this put extra pressure on Stalin to push for a more socialist state
23
Q
A
