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
What were the priorities of the first five year plan?
Heavy industry (coal, oil, metals etc.) - accounted for 80% of total investment
What were the successes of the second five year plan?
Transport/comms grew rapidly, chemical industries growing, self-sufficiency in machine-making and metalworking, metals such as copper, zinc and tin mined for first time
What were the failures of the second five year plan?
Consumer industries still lagging however showed slight growth, oil production didn’t make expected advances
What were the priorities of the second five year plan?
Still focus on heavy industry however new industries opened up such as railways and communications
When was the first five year plan?
Oct 1928 - Dec 1932
When was the second five year plan?
Jan 1933 - Dec 1937
When was the third five year plan?
Jan 1938 - Jun 1941
What were the priorities of the third five year plan?
Heavy industry again prioritised, increasing resources diverted to armaments as Russia headed for war
What were the successes of the third five year plan?
Defence and armaments grew rapidly as resources became diverted to them, heavy industry still grew in some areas like machinery and engineering
What were the failures of the third five year plan?
Steel and oil production stagnated, consumer industries neglected, many factories ran short on materials
How were living standards in urban Moscow during the five year plans?
Extremely overcrowded, population was at 38 million (6m higher than planned) whilst there was only a 16% increase in housing which was a 50% shortfall on the 33% increase planned
How was life in towns during the five year plans?
Poor - rationing between 1929-35, Moscow real wages halved between 1928-32 and nationally real wages didn’t hit 1925 levels until the late 1950s under Khrushchev
Were there any developments between 1928-41 to have a positive impact on the standard of living?
Increase in provisions for education and health care, more employment opportunities for women
How much did the number of women working in industry increase between 1928-40?
From 3 million in 1928 to 13 million in 1940 however there weren’t many high ranking women
What percentage of Leningrad workers were women?
44%
How many more industrial enterprises were formed during the first two five year plans?
From 9,000 in 1928 to 64,000 in 1938
Why were such strict targets in the five year plans a bad idea?
Quality was sacrificed for quantity and lots of production was declared defective
What factors led Stalin to the Great Terror?
Battle against peasantry, famine, suicide of his wife, discontent within party (Ryutin Platform was a 200 page critique of his leadership), worsening international situation
How many party members were expelled in 1934?
250,000
Which prominent Communists were assassinated during the Great Terror?
Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, Rykov and Kirov
What % of the delegates in attendance at the 1934 party congress were arrested and executed?
55% arrested, 42% executed
What % of Central Committee members in 1934 were shot in the Great Terror?
71%
How many Ukranian local party secretaries survived?
3 out of 200
What was the major difference in the makeup of the 1934 and 1939 party congresses?
In 1934 81% of delegates had joined the party before 1920, while in 1939 it was only 19%
What was NKVD Order 00447?
Ordered sweeps of kulaks, ‘anti-Soviets’ and criminals and separated these into two categories - those to be shot and those to be sent to camps for 8-10 years
How many victims of Order 00447 were there?
Estimated between 600,000 and 800,000
How high were the quotas for murder set in Order 00447?
An example in Moscow was where 1/7th of the population were to be shot
What were ‘national sweeps’ in the Great Terror?
Mass campaign to uproot, deport and shoot national minorities from the western column because of ‘fears they would collude with an invader’
How many were killed during the national sweeps?
Over 250,000
How many died during the Great Terror?
Between 1-1.2 million
What was Stalin’s role in the Great Terror?
‘Chief mover, agent and director of the terror’
What was historian Robert Service’s quote regarding the extent of the terror?
“Even the purgers of the purgers of the purgers had been arrested in some places”
When and why did Stalin call an end to the Great Terror?
In Nov 1938 Stalin called it off as society was being destabilised - admin systems were falling apart without key personnel and economic growth was curtailed
Who was Yezhov and how was he described by fellow Communists?
Head of NKVD during Great Terror, described as ‘Bloodthirsty Dwarf’, ‘sadistic’ and lacked ‘any trace of conscience or moral principles’
What change in personnel did Stalin make at the end of the Great Terror?
Had Yezhov killed and replaced by Beria
How many workers and Communists entered higher education during the first five year plan?
150,000
How many workers moved into white-collar jobs during the first five year plan?
1.5 million
What were the key elements of the Family Code of May 1936?
Abortion outlawed, divorce made harder, child support payments fixed, mothers with six children to receive substantial payments
Why was Stalin accused by Trotsky of betraying the revolution?
Offered material incentives (better pay, consumer goods, apartments, holidays etc.)
What was Stalin’s policy to the nationalities?
Russian became compulsory and sole language of Red Army, increased emphasis on Russian nationalism
What was the ‘Great Retreat’?
Backtracking on cultural revolution in terms of traditional values, schooling and arts
How secured was Stalin’s power by 1941?
Personal and streamlined dictatorship led by terror, force and propaganda
What is McCauley’s quote regarding Stalin’s authority?
“Stalin came nearer to creating the model totalitarian state than anyone before or since”
How much was Stalinism an extension of Leninism?
Depends on view of Leninism - nowhere near as cruel and would never have supported collectivisation or purges however Lenin did encourage terror and concentration of power
