Stalin's dictatorship, 1928-41 Flashcards
2 points regarding the Urals-Siberian method
Stalin visited the Urals in Jan 1926 for 3 weeks
In this time the method developed, involving grain requisitioning through a series of emergency measures
When and how did collectivisation begin?
Nov 1929, Central Committee recruited 25,000 industrial workers to travel to countryside, organising kolkhozy and forcing peasants to surrender their individual farms
How many peasants were collectivised through 1930s?
Around 60 million (half the soviet peasantry) in first 2 months of 1930
By end of 1930s 90% of peasant households had been collectivised
When did Stalin call for the offensive against the kulaks?
27 Dec 1929
2 points re dekulakisation
1930-31, about 1.8 million peasants were deported in cattle trucks to Siberia, Kazakhstan and other inhospitable areas
390,000 were arrested and mostly sent to labour camps, with 21,000 executed
3 points re peasant opposition to collectivisation
1930 saw 13,754 displays of mass unrest, involving over 2.5 million peasants
Wave of women’s revolts (bab’i bunty) in North Caucsus in Feb 1930 - gov reluctant to take action
1928-41 saw 20 million peasants migrate to towns and cities
3 points re the famine in Ukraine 1932-33
Despie the famine arising, in 1933 state procurements were more than double the levels under the NEP
7 million died of starvation
Law of five ears of corn punished theft of grain with death or imprisonment as famine increased theft
What was the kolkhoz model statute
In 1935 a Party Congress adopted this ‘model statute’, remaining the basis for kolkhoz structure until the late 1960s and legalised private plots of up to an acre per household
3 points rearding the first five year plan
Oct 1928 - Dec 1932
Emphasis on heavy industry, accounting for 80% of total investment
No of industrial workers doubled throughout
Overall judgement on first five year plan
Many targets were unachievable and collectivisation meant much investment went into agriculture. Yet strong growth in certain sectors kick started industrial growth
2 consequences of first five year plan
Incentives such as increased wages made inequality rise
The road to socialism inspired many young people and dissenters were denounced as part of ‘Cultural revolution’
3 points re the second five year plan
Jan 1933 to Dec 1937
More realistic than first - 1934-36 saw gradual recovery in agriculture ad rapid increase in industrial output
Second half of 1936, however, prosperity deteriorated with poor harvest and economic slowdown - managers resorted to bribery and theft so factories often forged output figures and produced poor quality goods
Overall judgement of second five year plan
Was more realistic and served as consolidation of the first. 1934-36 were the ‘three good years’ as rationing ended, income rose and pressure was relaxed
3 points of third five year plan
Jan 1938 - June 1941
Was cut short upon USSR’s entry into WW2
Heavy industry emphasised for armaments
3 points re life in the cities through the industrialisation
Migration of 20 million peasants 1928-41 led to overcrowding in communal apartments
The peasants neglected the working class lifestyle, never developing allegiance to the gov
Real wages had declined to 52% of their 1928 level in 1932, despite Stalin’s claims of prosperity for the workers
2 points re women’s lives as a result of industrialisation
10 million women entered had entered the workforce, forming 44% of Leningrad’s workforce in 1935
They were generally paid less and faced discrimination, still expected to uphold family duties
3 points which influenced the great terror
Situation in 1932-33, battle against peasants, famine, suicide of his wife, discontent within Party and worsening international relations increased Stalin’s vindictiveness
1932 Ryutin Platform - he and his family were killed in 1937
1934’s 17th Party Congress saw Kirov top the polls - he was assassinated in December
One point for each of the show trials of 1936-38
First, August 1936, saw Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others executed on charges of counter-revolution
Second, Jan 1937, accused Karl Radek and Pyatakov of economic double dealing
Third, March 1938, saw Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda, and 18 others, executed
3 points of terror of the officer corps
June 1937 Tukhachevsky ‘Red Napoleon’ (Deputy Commissar for Defence) and 7 other military commanders were tortured and shot on grounds of treachery
Of 767 members in High Command, 512 were shot, 29 died in prison, 3 killed themselves and 59 remained in prison
In army and navy, 10,000 officers were arrested and 23,000 dismissed
3 points re NKVD order 00447
Document released 30 July 1937
Quotas for arrest made for every region - highest was Moscow with 35,000 and 5,000 were shot
Estimated victims of the order range 600-800,000
3 points re national sweeps in the terror
Campaign against national minorities from August 1937, due to Stalin’s fear of fifth column
Polish operations arrested 140,000 Poles, with 110,000 of them executed
At least 250,000 were killed through ‘ethnic cleansing’
What is the official NKVD death count for the terror 1937-38
Out of the 1.5 million arrested, 681,693 were shot (analysis suggests up to 25% higher)
During the first five year plan, how many Soviets entered higher education?
Around 150,000
2 points regarding Stalin’s cultural revolution
From 1928-31, alongside the economic transformation, a cultural revolution arose, involving a return to the class struggle of the civil war, attacking bourgeoisie and kulaks Stalin sought to create the New Soviet Person, embodying values of a good communist and part of the modernised society
3 points re the cultural revolution in the arts
The RAPP (Russian Association of Proletarian Writers) became the dominant force in literature, enforcing socialist ideals Art galleries began to discriminate according to artist class origin, promoting proletarian backgrounds Artistic brigades were formed to promote Stalinist policies, although some writers could not advocate - Boris Pasternak could not write for a year after witnessing the horrors of collectivisation
How did the great retreat impact education and the family
From 1938 learning Russian became compulsory (Russification) and old professors were reinstated - at expense of cultural revolution activists
Traditional family life reemerged, with Family Code of May 1936 banning abortion and making divorce harder
How did the great retreat see to a return in inequality
Officials and elites were rewarded with better pay and there was an increase in differentiation of worker wages - in 1932 average engineer salary stood higher in relation to average worker than any era in USSR
3 points re the great retreat in the arts
Decree of April 1932 abolished proletarian organisations, like the RAPP, calling all artists and writers to unite
Avant-garde artists, such as Malevich, were excluded, replaced by realist artists
Term ‘Socialist Realism’ appeared first in 1932 - meaning seeing life as it ought to be, inspired by socialist ideals
How has the scale of the great retreat been challenged?
No retreat on private ownership of land or meant of production
USSR was still distinctly anti-capitalist
Stalinist culture may have embraced tradition, yet it was still modern, emphasising socialist utopia and adulation of a leader
