Stalin's Dictatorship 1928-41 Flashcards
What was the ‘Great Turn’?
Stalin’s plan to bring about an economic, social and cultural transformation of Russia within a decade
What was a collective farm/kolkhoz?
50-100 households were put together - land, tools and livestock were pooled and the peasants farmed the land as one unit
How did Stalin implement collectivisation?
In Nov 1929 he recruited 25,000 industrial workers (25000ers) to go to the countryside and not return unless they’d organised a collective farm
By the end of the 1930s how many households were collectivised?
25 million peasant households had been combined into 250,000 kolkhozy
Who were the kulaks?
Deemed as better-off peasants - for example those who owned a horse, hired labour or could produce surplus
How were the kulaks divided during dekulakisation?
Into 3 groups: counter-revolutionaries who were to be shot or sent to gulags, opponents of collectivisation who were to be deported to Siberia, and those who were to be expelled from their farms and sent to poorer land
How many ‘kulaks’ were deported in cattle trucks to Siberia and Kazakhstan in 1930-31?
1.8 million
How many were uprooted, arrested or killed during dekulakisation in 1930-31?
400,000 uprooted, further 400,000 arrested, 20,000 killed
When and why was kulak deportation ended?
Ended in May 1933 due to disruption of agriculture and difficulties in organising resettlement
How many people were migrating from the villages to the towns during the early 1930s?
3 million per year, 20 million total between 1928-41
How many peasants were involved in uprisings in protest of collectivisation?
2.5 million peasants were involved in 13,754 uprisings
What was the Holodomor?
Major famine in Ukraine in 1932-33 where 7 million died - Soviet govt prevented people from fleeing and continued exports, seen as genocide to prevent Ukrainian nationalism
What was the Law of Spikelets (Law of five ears of corn)?
Minimum of 10 years imprisonment or execution for stealing from collective farms
Between 1932-40, how many people were arrested due to the law of Spikelets?
180,000
Did collectivisation have the desired impact?
Economically it was a disaster, however it did succeed in providing the necessary resources for industrialisation and was seen as a necessary political measure to shut down private farming trade
How was the grain harvest post collectivisation compared to Tsarist and NEP levels?
80 million tons in 1913, 73 million tons in 1928, 68 million tons in 1934
How did collectivisation impact meat production levels?
Meat production didn’t reach pre-collectivisation levels until 1953
What quotes show the peasant attitude to Stalin post-collectivisation?
Collectivisation was “second serfdom” and “they wished him dead, his regime overthrown, and collectivisation undone, even at the cost of war and foreign occupation”
What was the impact of collectivisation on peasants?
Millions died, further millions fled from villages, end of 500 year-old way of life
What was Stalin’s view on Russia’s industry in 1931 and his future plans regarding it?
“We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall be crushed.”
What were Stalin’s two main long-term objectives regarding the five year plans?
Imitate the Western industrial revolution developments in coal, iron and steel and protect the Soviet Union should it be attacked from the West
What ambitious targets did Stalin set in the first five year plan?
Coal up from 35 to 75 million tons and iron ore from 6 to 19 million tons
What were the successes of the first five year plan?
Electricity production trebled, coal/iron production doubled, steel increased by 1/3, engineering industry began to develop
What were the failures of the first five year plan?
Targets were overambitious so not met, little growth/decline in consumer industries, lack of skilled workers meant they were constantly changing jobs
