Stalin in power 1928-53 Flashcards
How did Stalin undermine Trotsky?
- Stopped Lenin’s testament being read out as it stated a preference for Trotsky to succeed
- Told Trotsky the wrong date of Lenin’s funeral
- Used Trotsky wish for the NEP discontinued to argue that he is against Lenin
How did Stalin undermine Bukharin?
- Accused him of Trotskyism as he criticised the increasing bureaucracy of the party
- accused him of forming factions after he had a secret meeting with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1928
What was the nomenklatura system?
list of names of approved party members. jobs and promotions allocated via this list. encouraged loyalty
where did power lie under stalin?
he shifted power from party to the state.
- 1938 politburo most powerful
- by 1942 the state defence committee was the most powerful and senior
How did stalin deflect competition away from himself?
- Encouraged rivalry between party and state by placing rivals in similar positions either side
What kept communists in powerful positions under Stalin?
Only communist party members could stand for elections
What did stalin keep from lenins government?
the main party structure and the nomenklatura system
How did Stalin implement terror on the Party?
- The show trials during the great purge:
- 1936 - Trial of 16 - Zinoviev + Kamenev + their supporters
- 1937 - Trial of 17 - Trotsky supporters
- 1938 - Trial of 21 - Bukharin executed
Was Stalin’s cult of personality successful?
Evidence of Success - After WW2, Stalin was viewed as the saviour of Russia and socialism, a lot of people hated Khrushchev’s process of de-Stalinisation.
Evidence of Failure - Many saw his cult as an over-exaggeration.
How did Stalin expand the use of censorship?
- Works of Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Trotsky were removed from libraries
- Lenin’s work was also edited to remove positive information about Stalin’s opponents
When was the first five-year plan?
1928-1932
What were the successes and failures of the first five-year plan?
Successes - Rewards for model workers like a new flat and bigger rations.
Failures - New plants didn’t make a significant impact on production until 1934. Work was hard. Quality was poor as industry rushed to hit targets.
Who did the triumvirate consist of?
Zinoviev, Kamenev + Stalin
Who did the duumvirate consist of?
Bukharin + Stalin
What two ideas were Stalin and the party dedicated to in 1928?
- Socialism in one country
- collectivisation and industrialisation
What was ideological orthodoxy?
Stalin eliminated politcal opponents by arguing they were not true ‘Leninists’ or ‘Marxists’ but rather ‘trotskyists’ to differentiate them
Would Lenin have agreed with Stalin’s ideological orthodoxy?
No - Lenin had tolerated differences of view at the top of the government and was prepared to work with people he disagreed with.
How did Stalin gain authority at the top of the party and how did this differ from Lenin’s government?
- Under Lenin there were many people who had authority within the Party
He undermined them by:
- Establishing a new ideological orthodoxy and branding opponents enemies of Leninism.
- Accusing Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev of plotting against the Party and forming a faction; and these were serious crimes as Lenin had banned factions in 1921.
By what year had Stalin gained a near monopoly of authority?
1928
Who was Stalin unable to strip power completely from by 1928 and why?
Bukharin - he was still highly regarded by the party but his policies were rejected
How many joined the Lenin enrollment in 1924?
128,000 - Stalin justified this by saying the party needed new working class members
How did Stalin use the Lenin enrollment to his advantage?
- their lack of education meant the new members were suspicious of leading intellectuals Trotsky + Bukharin
- their interest in getting well paying jobs meant they tended to support Stalin
How did Stalin’s patronage system lead to a change in the nature of the party?
- The party became increasingly privaleged - the nomenklatura
- People were less creative + radical and cared more about implementing orders and dedication to careers
How many did Stalin purge in the 1930’s?
10 million - nearly 10% of the population
Why did Stalin cause the Great Terror?
- opposition from the Politburo
- Kirov defended Ryutin who was highly critical of Stalin
- Kirov argued for more realistic targets in the second five year plan + for greater emphasis on consumer goods
- Stalin came second to Kirov at the congress of victors
How many votes did Kirov get vs Stalin at the Congress of Victors in 1934?
Stalin - 927
Kirov - 1225
When was Kirov murdered?
December 1934
How many senior generals did Stalin purge in 1937? and how many officers?
8 as they had worked with Trotsky, then a further 37,000
Consequences of the Great Terror?
- Eliminated Stalin’s rivals from the 1920s.
- Led to the death or imprisonment of a whole generation of communists who had known and worked with Lenin.
- Led to the emergence of a new generation of Communist Party leaders who owed their positions to Stalin and were loyal.
- Established the principle that Stalin had the right to use terror against anyone who was disloyal.
- Stalin’s political police, the NKVD became a powerful organisation within the regime.
When did Stalin become Chair of Sovnarkom?
1941
Negative consequences of the Great Terror?
by purging the senior levels of the state, the Party and the military he had sabotaged the effectiveness of all aspects of the government
How did Stalin promote an effective government during WW2?
- Ended mass terror to help them work more efficiently during war.
- Allowed state power to grow – done to let State Ministers make important decisions.
- Changed the composition of the Politburo – Ministers joined the Politburo and members of the Politburo were given important jobs - meant that the Politburo increasingly co-ordinated state activity as well as Party activity.
When and what was the Leningrad Affair?
- during 1949
- Stalin was concerned that Leningrad, Russia’s second city, was developing a degree of independence from his powerbase in Moscow.
- Around 100 officials were shot and 2000 arrested and dismissed.
What did Stalin do to Molotov?
- In 1948, Stalin demanded that the Politburo vote to expel Molotov’s wife from the Party.
- Molotov abstained from the vote and later apologised to Stalin for this disloyalty.
- In 1949, Stalin had Molotov’s wife arrested and imprisoned.
- Molotov made no effort to stop the arrest or end the imprisonment.