Stalin's early government Flashcards
what was the main source of Stalin’s power?
-his role as general secretary - this allowed him to have so much personal authority because he could control who was at each level of government
what were the differences in Stalinist and Leninist power?
-under Lenin it was him and the central committee that had the power
-Stalin had unquestioned personal control and authority
-Lenin put up a smokescreen of democratic bureaucracy to create the illusion that power didn’t solely lie in the hands of the centre of the party, however Stalin didn’t bother going through channels to make it look official
how did Stalin extend the political structures established by Lenin?
-one party rule and centralised control were extended
-Stalin asserted an increasingly dominant personal influence
-control was ensured through the use of parallel structures at most levels and the dual membership if the party
-government offices were held by nomenklatura members
what changed to give Stalin more personal control?
-he called party congresses much less frequently, with none being called between 1939 and 1952
-this made it easier for the party to reflect Stalin’s personal wishes
what changed about party membership between 1924 and 1930s?
-it grew after Lenin’s death - known as ‘the Lenin enrolment’
-almost doubled its membership to 1 million
-by 1933 it had over 3.5 million members
what sort of members joined the party in this period?
-young, less well-educated urban workers or ex peasants
-these people were less interested in the ideological roots of the party and were only joining the party to better their own lives
-new members were attracted by Stalin’s more nationalist and brutal policies
what did Trotsky identify as the source of Stalin’ power, but what was he incorrect about?
-he said Stalin’s power came from an administrative pyramid of 5 million party officials, which needed to be swept away by a new proletariat revolution
-however this didn’t happen, instead the bureaucrats became more entrenched and defenders of the stalinist socialist order
describe the structure of the USSR’s government under the 1936 constitution:
-made up of 11 soviet republics
-each republic had their own supreme soviet
-there was local autonomy for ethnic groups
-there would be 4 yearly elections
evidence of ‘democracy’ within the 1936 constitution:
-support for national cultures
-civil rights e.g. right to free speech
-right to vote for everyone over 18, even the former elites
what were the practical limitations of the 1936 constitution?
-each supreme soviet only met for a few days twice a year
-there was little regional independence due to central control over the republic’s budget
-promised civil rights were largely ignored
-elections weren’t contested
