Stalin's Rise To Power Flashcards
What were Kamenev’s 7 strengths as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Helped form party policy and was close to Lenin so had great influence, Lenin entrusted many of his personal papers to Kamenev after his stroke in 1922, strong power base in Moscow where he ran the local party, thoughtful and intelligent, good at smoothing out difficulties amongst colleagues, reconciled with Lenin following the revolution and remained close, working class background made him popular with the party
What were Kamenev’s 8 weaknesses as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Underestimated his rivals like Stalin, too closely linked to zinoviev who was more popular than him, gained a reputation for compromise and giving up easily in the face of opposition, uninspiring public speaker, many believed he lacked the drive to be a sole leader, inconsistent and opportunist (switched alliances between Stalin and Trotsky), disagreed with Lenin on April Theses/October Revolution/creation of an all communist government, Lenin pointed out Kamenev and Zinovievs disloyalty during the 1917 revolution in his last will and testament
What were Zinoviev’s 4 strengths as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Before 1924 he was Lenin’s ‘closest and most trusted assistant’ (Lenin words), party boss in Leningrad (Petrograd) which was second in importance only to Moscow so he had a strong political power base, one of the party’s best speech makers with a commanding presence in the Comintern Congresses, reconciled with Lenin following the revolution
What were Zinoviev’s 10 weaknesses as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Compromised, tended to buckle under pressure, vain and prone to mood swings, inconsistent, least educated of all potential party leaders, left it to late when siding with trotsky, opposed planned Bolshevik coup in October 1917 and stayed far away from the fighting during the civil war, many in the party expressed their open contempt to him, zinoviev suggested communists share power with other socialist parties which Lenin disagree with, Lenin in his last will and testament said ‘I will remind you that the October episode of Zinoviev and Kamenev was of course not accidental’
What were Bukharin’s 8 strengths as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Lenin called him the ‘darling of the party’, regarded as the best theoretician in the party, friendly relations with people on the left and right eg Stalin and Trotsky, expert on economics and agriculture, highly popular with politburo colleagues, embraced Lenin’s NEP, Lenin recognised him as the favourite of the party’, open and cooperative, in 1921 a foreign visitor to Moscow claimed that Bukharin was named in Russia as the eventual successor to Lenin
What were Bukharin’s 7 weaknesses as a candidate to replace Lenin?
No power base because had friendly relations with everybody, underestimated Stalin who was less popular than him so bukharin became a target for his enmity, Lenin said ‘his theoretical views can only with the greatest doubt be regarded as fully marxist’ in his last will, headed the first Communist opposition group the Left Communists after the revolution who criticised Lenin’s peace policy
What were Rykov’s 3 strengths as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Widely respected in the party for his old Bolshevism, administrative ability shown in the implementation of war communism and switching to NEP, extensive support from Sovnarkom who chose him as deputy chairman in 1923 and chairman in 1924
What were Rykov’s 6 weaknesses as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Conciliator more than a plotter who was overshadowed by Bukharin, largely ceremonial position in collective leadership and lacked a power base, policy of putting heavy taxes on vodka was socially correct but politically unwise and aroused intense opposition from the party, underrated Stalin, disagrees with Lenin frequently as he was more aligned to the views of Bukharin and Tomsky in terms of policy, as chairman he wanted to play a unifying role
What were Tomsky’s 3 strengths as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Respected for his old Bolshevism, working class origins made him popular in the party, role as chief spokesman for trade unions gave him a strong position within the party (General Secretary of Red International of the Trade Unions from 1920 and elected to central committee and the Politburo in 1922)
What were Tomsky’s 3 weaknesses as a candidate to replace Lenin?
Intense hostility to Trotsky blinded him to the danger of Stalin (his alliance with Stalin and rykov and bukharin in purging left wingers in 1926 from the party handed massive potential power to stalin), power base in trade unions made him target for Stalin jealousy, support for NEP used against him after crisis of 1927 hit the economy
How did Zinoviev react when the contents of Lenin’s last will were read out to a closed session?
Rose to tell the delegates that Lenin’s fears regarding Stalin were unfounded. Lenin’s wife had sent it to the politburo but they were never read publicly
What mistake did Trotsky make prior to the Twelfth Party Congress 1923?
He made a bitter attack on the way the affairs of the Party were being managed and he was asked to attend the congress to explain his views but failed to turn up. The triumvirate turned on him and accused him of factionalism, the term Trotskyist was used for the first time. Few months later he didn’t attend Lenin’s funeral
What did Zinoviev do at the Thirteenth Party Congress and how did Trotsky react?
In May 1924 he renewed the attack on Trotsky and called on him to refute his earlier claims. Six months later Trotsky published ‘Lessons of October’ attacking Kamenev and Zinoviev who responded with a torrent of abuse of so Trotsky gave up his position as Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs (surrendering his only power base) but Stalin took a back seat during this
How did the bureaucracy and the proletariat play a role in dividing the party?
Trotsky was opposed to the extension of bureaucratic government (centralised government by officials and departments at the top) and he wanted a return to the ideals of the revolution with a broad based government guided by the wishes of the proletariat. Stalin favoured a centralised bureaucracy that as secretary of the party gave him the greatest influence
How were Trotsky and Stalin divided on the concept of permanent revolution?
Trotsky and left believed the USSR couldn’t survive without support from other socialist countries so revolutions must be constantly encouraged in Europe (Lenin had made this argument many times). 1924 Stalin developed his theory of ‘Socialism in one country’ so socialism should first be firmly established in the Soviet Union and that once its success was obvious others would wish to follow their example, USSR could build socialism without support of socialist states, referenced an old article by Lenin that said one country could show the rest of the world the benefits of socialism and workers would rush to rise up in revolutions in their country, Stalin used his argument to criticise Trotsky for disagreeing with Lenin and underestimating the potential of the USSR
How did the NEP and rapid industrialisation divide the party?
Left (led by Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev) wanted to abandon NEP in favour of a state controlled rapid industrialisation funded by ‘squeezing’ the peasants
Right (led by Bukharin, Tomsky, Rykov) believed NEP should continue with peasants becoming richer and the state using taxes on the peasants to fund gradual industrialisation.
Stalin opposed left and supported NEP during his struggle against Trotsky but once Trotsky was no longer a threat 1928-9 and the regime faced a grain procurement crisis early 1928 and NEP criticism increased in party he split from bukharin and shifted to a policy of replacing NEP with rapid industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture
When did Kamenev and Zinoviev form an alliance with Trotsky and what was this?
July 1926, the United Opposition was an anti Stalinist bloc aimed at opposing the policies of the right which was backed by Lenin’s widow, formed after Kamenev had Zinoviev had criticised Stalin’s move to the right and support of NEP December 1925 at fourteenth party congress where they lost all votes due to Stalin’s control of the party machine, Stalins socialism in one country theory became popular and he formed duumvirate
What happened to Kamenev and Zinoviev and Trotsky after the United Opposition was formed? 6 points
Kamenev and Zinoviev removed from the Politburo, United opposition took their case to people by addressing public meetings and groups of factory workers, at Party Congress of October 1926 Trotskys last speech was heard in silence but Kamenev and Zinoviev were booed, Stalin reminded Kamenev of his mistake in 1917 (he sent a letter of congratulation to the Grand Duke of Nichalos in his accession to the throne after Tsar Nicholas abdication and later that year he opposed the Bolshevik coup), it was recalled that Trotsky had once been a Menshevik but after his conversion to Bolshevism he disagreed frequently with Lenin, Zinoviev lost his position as head of Comintern and replaced by Bukharin
When did Trotsky produce the ‘Declaration of the 83’ and what was this?
After the party congress of October 1926, attacked the policies of leadership and criticised their failures in foreign policy, Stalin accused Trotsky of being a resistor, summer 1926 was difficult for the United Opposition (they had no press to put forward their case so organised public meetings but everywhere they were abused)
What happened at the Fifteenth Party Congress?
December 1527, Stalin convinced the congress party congress of the need to expel Trotsky and Zinoviev from the party, Kamenev lost his seat on the central committee at the same time, Trotsky sent to Alma Ata in Kazakhstan close to the Chinese border and in 1929 was deported to Turkey, kamenev and zinoviev able tor join party in 1928 but lost high positions and places in Politburo (Trotsky refused this)
How did Stalin demote and remove the members of the Right who had helped him overthrow the New Opposition in 1925? 4 points
1928 Tomsky replaced as leader of trade unions and not re elected to the politburo, April 1928 bukharin criticised the ‘excesses’ of officials following Stalins methods and complained Stalin ‘is an unprincipled schemer who subordinates everything to his lust for power’ but received no support and was forced to resign as the editor of Pravda, bukharin and rykov expelled from the central committee, group of pro Stalinists replaced them eg Mikhail Kalinin, Vyacheslav Molotov and Kliment Voroshilov. initially able to stay in party after admitting their ‘mistakes’
What are two main reasons Stalin was able to win the power struggle?
His broad power base (as general secretary of the communist party he wielded immense power and was able to place supporters in strategic positions, within the party bureaucracy all the important positions were held by placements of Lenin). The left wanted rapid industrialisation and peasantry pressurised into producing more grain and paying higher taxes whilst the right wanted to move forward at a more moderate pace and peasants to continue to flourish under NEP but Stalin was happy to play one side off against the other and manipulate the changing alliances within the politburo
What 8 positions did Stalin have by the time he became leader in 1928?
General secretary from 1922 so could use control of the party machine to gain majority support in key divisions, this position allowed Hun go promote or demote the top 5500 officials in the Soviet Union commissar of the Workers and peasants inspectorate (the Rabkrin), could investigate and expel those working for the government, member of the Orgburo (organising body of central committee) he was a middle man between this and the politburo, member of the secretariat (control of appointments to positions of responsibility in the party), supervised ‘Lenin enrolment’ of 1924 and 1925 in which party membership doubled to 1 million, commissar for nationalities in the sovnarkom (oversaw affairs of all non Russians in the USSR which was some 50% of the populstion
How did a Lenin’s impact on party politics help Stalin get into power? 5 points
Highly centralised government government which banned all other political parties, banned party members from opposing party leadership by ban on factionalism in 1921, Stalin removed rivals by accusing them of factionalism, Stalin used Lenin’s writings which were often vague and contradictory to gain power, Stalin able to claim his ideology was the same as Lenin’s
What is a duumvirate?
Alliance of 4. Stalin bukharin tomsky rykov
What happened at the 14th Party Congress in 1925?
Zinoviev and Kamenev attacked Stalin calling for a vote of no confidence in him an ending of NEP and tough line against the peasants. Stalin’s control of the party machine meant they lost every vote because Stalin had control of the delegates
When did Trotsky’s economic policies get rejected by the congress?
1925
Why did Trotsky not turn up to Lenin’s funeral?
Stalin told him the wrong date to claim that Trotsky did not respect Lenin
When did Stalin announce his economic aims and what were they?
Critical resolution of the party congress in 1926 ‘to transform our country from an agrarian one to an industrial one’, aimed to modernise the Soviet economy so in 1928 collectivisation and industrialisation were introduced so Soviet state took over running the economy. He needed to bring his economically backward nation up to a level of industrial production that would enable it to catch up and overtake advanced economies of Western Europe and the USA, in 1931 he said ‘those who fall behind get beaten’
What was Stalin’s reform of the economy referred to as?
A ‘second revolution’ and a ‘revolution from above’ because it ended Bukharin’s thinking that the USSR society was proletarian so should develop without interference from above
How was Stalin’s economic plan different to that of Lenin?
A central planning agency (Gosplan) created under Lenin but Stalin saw a hard line policy where state control was total as the best way to confirm his authority over party and government. Stalin’s claimed his economic changes marked as significant a change in soviet communism as had Lenin’s decision to sanction the October 1917 revolution
What was collectivisation?
Process by which Russian agriculture was reformed, traditionally peasants worked on small farms with very limited technology but Stalin planned to merge all small forms with larger collective farms which would pool labour and resources, state provided tractors and fertilisers would modernise production, both measures would make farms operate more efficiently
What were the economic causes of collectivisation? 5 points
Autumn of 1926 saw record grain harvests for the USSR but the harvests of 1927, 1928 and 1929 were all poorer (77 million tonnes of grain produced in 1926 but only 72-3 in the following years), decrease in production forced the price of agricultural products up, standard of living amongst workers declined, decrease in production affected the soviet government because since 1921 Russia’s government had been selling grain surpluses abroad in order to gain foreign currency necessary to provide resources for industrialisation, collectivisation promised increased production and needed less people to work on farms (extra manpower for russias developing industry) so more could be sold overseas and higher standards of living for workers
What were the ideological causes of collectivisation?
Peasants were still using traditional farming techniques and lacked revolutionary spirit so produced grain for themselves and own profit rather than for the good of the community, communists believed collectivisation was essential if the capitalist peasants were to embrace socialism, government officially blamed ‘kulak spirit’ among peasants for poor harvests and this propaganda fed suspicions of urban workers that peasants were refusing to play their part in building socialism
What were the political causes of collectivisation?
Stalin’s struggle against bukharin and the party’s left wing motivated it. This policy was more appealing to the communist party than the right wing alternative of importing grain because grain imports meant reducing the pace of industrialisation because the money used to buy grain couldn’t be used to develop Russia’s industry, Stalin knew little about agriculture and only visited farming land once (this visit in 1928 lasted less than a month) and believed Russia’s agriculture could be transformed by an act of will and strong leadership and asserted that peasants who refused to cooperate with state agricultural policy were essentially terrorists
What was the Grain Procurement Crisis?
Under NEP the Government brought grain from the peasants on the free market, poor harvests from 1927 onwards forced the price of grain up and the kulaks started to withhold grain from the market in order to push up the price further, this ‘Kulak Grain Strike’ used by Stalin as excuse to revive grain requisitioning, this crisis was evidence of the peasants’ capitalist ideology and of NEP’s failure
Describe the emergency measures in the course of collectivisation in 4 points
Winter 1928-9 Stalin reintroduced rationing to the cities and at the end of 1928 the state resumed grain requisitioning, under article 107 of the Soviet Criminal Code grain hoarding could be punished but Stalin rewarded poorer peasants who informed on their richer neighbours by giving them land that belonged to the Kulaks, Bukharin persuaded the party to abandon the policy but as Stalin’s power grew it was restarted, Spring 1929 Government started to requisition meat and in the middle of the same year they revised Article 61 of the Criminal Code giving police powers to send kulaks to labour camps for up to two years for ‘failure to carry out general state instructions’
Describe the liquidation of the kulaks as part of collectivisation in 8 points
Winter 1929-30 Stalin ordered 25 million peasants farms should be combined to form 240,000 collective farms which involved 120 million people, in 1929 there were about 5 million people in kulak families (typically kulak families had two or three horses and several cows and a larger then average farm), December 1929 he said he intended to liquidate kulaks as a social class, actively hostile kulaks deported to distant areas of the country eg Siberia, wealthiest kulaks deported to other regions, least harmful kulaks allowed to stay in the region but given the worst land, property of first two groups confiscated and given to the local kolkhoz and no arrangements were made for them in their new regions, about 300,000 kulak families deported from homes (1.5 million people) and probably a quarter died of starvation or disease or the cold
Who were the Twenty-five-thousanders?
Prior to the start of forced collectivisation Stalin issued a decree sending 25000 socially conscious industrial workers into the countryside and over 27000 enthusiastic workers volunteered for the scheme, after a two week course the twenty five thousanders were supposed to offer technical help to peasants and instruct them on the use of new more complex machinery but instead they were used to enforce dekulakisation (find secret stores of grains and confiscate them, round up kulaks and organise their exile, force remaining peasants into collective farms)
How did the peasants respond to collectivisation? 6 points
Attacked communist officials, burned crops, slaughtered 14 million cattle within first two months of 1930, dekulakisation squads and the OGPU secret police used to forcibly organise collectives and deport kulaks and peasants who refused to cooperate to labour camps in remote regions of the USSR, Red army used to quell unrest in the countryside and some villages bombed by Air Force, peasants forbidden to leave kolkhoz through system of internal passports from 1932
What happened after Stalin’s halted forced collectivisation?
‘DIzzy with Success’ was an article published in Pravda in March 1930 in which Stalin defended his policy but claimed that some local officials had been over enthusiastic when implementing collectivisation, argued that the target for collectivisation had been met so the programme would be suspended but never admitted that it caused problems or that so many people had been killed or exiled
Describe the second wave of collectivisation in 1931 in 7 points
In 1931 the government issued hugely unrealistic targets to Russian farmers of up to 40% of crops and Stalin announced that failure to meet these targets would be punished severely as sabotage, Stalin ordered seizure of grain by the red army and the secret police so all grain was confiscated, peasants caught hiding even one or two ears or corn were exiled or shot, Stalin set up military checkpoints to stop food entering Ukraine, trains in the region ordered to keep windows shut so no food fell on tracks, international aid rejected as Stalin claimed there was no famine in Russia (there was a really bad one which estimates suggest 10 million died during), people fought over horse manure which contained some undigested grain to survive
How did exiling peasants cause collectivisation to fail?
Harvest of 1933 nine million tonnes less than that of 1926, number of cattle halved 1928-32 due to slaughtering and not recovered by 1953, number of pigs dropped by 65% in this period, grain production fell 73.3 million in 1928 to 67.6 million in 1934
What did the Central actually committee agree to in June 1930?
The creation of a national network of machine tractor stations (to provide machinery and training and exercise political control over collective farms they were supporting and would spy on peasants), implementation not started until 1931 due to bad planning, to extract more grain from peasants the government kept price of hiring tractors high so few farms were able to acquire new machinery, by the end of 1932 there were almost 75,000 tractors and 2500 MTSs across Russia but half of Russian farms were left out of the network and extra tractors did not make up for the loss of millions of horses or make significant improvements in the productive capacity of Russian agriculture
Describe the successes of collectivisation
The state procured 11 million tonnes of grain in 1928 and this rose to 16 million in 1929 and to 23 million tonnes in 1923, grain exports rose from 0.03 million tonnes in 1928 to over 5 million tonnes in 1931, chaos united the party behind their leader -they feared a civil war so party leaders were fiercely loyal to new policies, communists on the left wing of the party viewed Stalin’s hard line policy against peasants as a return to the heroic traditions of the civil war
What social consequences did collectivisation have?
Wages fell by half 1928-32,amount of meat consumed by urban workers fell by two thirds from 1928-32, in 1928 only 18% of soviet citizens were working class and this figure rose to 50% in 1939, urban population in some cities trebled during the 1930s, between 1922 and 1940 the number of Russians living in cities rose from 22 million to 63 million, elements of the old world such as village priest and school master removed, in 1930 village commune abolished and replaced by the kolkhoz administration headed by a chairman who was a party member from the towns
What happened after Stalin’s published his ‘Dizzy with Success’ article? 4 points
Encouraged patients to sow grain in the eroding but thousands of peasants left the collective farms after this, march 50% of households collectivised but in August this fell to 21%, autumn the campaign began again as the twenty five thousanders helped impose collectivisation, by 1932 62% of peasant households were collectivised but by 1937 it was 93%
What did members of the Communist Young Pioneers do?
Spied on peasants in field to make sure they did not steak food to feed their own families
Describe the famine caused by collectivisation
Occurred mainly in the ukraine and Kazakhstan and Caucasus region 1932-3, government introduced a passport system in 1933 to prevent peasants moving to towns and they found it impossible to get passports, some peasants ate their children, famine related deaths stood at 4 million in 1933
Why did the economic aims of collectivisation fail? 4 points
collectives often too large and suffered too much central control with party officials in Moscow giving orders to collectives which took little account of the conditions on the ground, mass movement of peasants from countryside to towns before 1933 passport system deprived the collective of younger able bodied peasants, push to collectivise not coordinated with manufacture of tractors or agricultural machinery, machine tractor stations not only provided machinery for peasants but gave lectures on benefits of socialism so were despised
Describe a typical collective farm in 5 points
50 to 100 families farming an average of 450 hectares of land, machine tractor stations (one to every 40 farms) provided tractors and drivers to plough and harvest, after 1935 a family was allowed no more than one cow and its calves and one sow and its piglets but as many poultry and rabbits as they wanted, by 1937 about four percent of the kolkhaz has electricity, there is a school for workers children
What were the five aims of the First Five Year Plan and when was it?
1928-32. Develop heavy industry, boost overall production by 300%, improve the transport system, transform society and the economy by electrification by generating six times more electric power by 1933 than the total in 1928, feed the expanding industrial workforce through big increases in agricultural production. There was to be a new investment in infrastructure especially in railways and energy production and vast new industrial complexes were planned such as Magnitogorsk and Stalinsk
What were the 4 successes of the first Five Year Plan?
Targets were met in four years, electricity output trebled, coal production in 1927 was 35.5 and in 75 million tonnes, steel production in 1927 was 4 million tonnes and in 10.4 million tonnes
What were the 8 failures of the first Five Year Plan?
Meeting of targets was probably down to over enthusiastic reporting by local officials, target for the chemical industry not met, consumer goods neglected, too few skilled workers and too little effective central coordination, quality ignored over quantity, level of pig iron and steel only increased by 200,000 tonnes to 800,000 in 1929 which barely surpassed the 1913/14 level, only 3300 tractors produced in 1929, railways working poorly
When was the second Five Year Plan and what were the 4 aims?
1933-7 adopted by the 17th Party Congress in February 1934 Continue the development of heavy industry, promote the growth of light industries such as chemicals and electrical and consumer goods (focus on consumer goods pushed by ‘Kirov group’ in politburo, develop communications to provide links between cities and other industrial areas, foster engineering and tool making
What were the 8 successes of the second Five Year Plan?
Moscow metro opened in 1935 with one 11km line and 13 stations and was designed to prove a socialist metro could surpass capitalist designs, Volga canal opened in 1537 connected to Muskva and Volga rivers and a 25m high Lenin statue built in 1937 there, electricity production and chemical industries grew rapidly, steel output trebled from 5.9 million tonnes in 1932 to 17.7 million tonnes in 1937, coal production doubles (64.4 million tonnes in 1932 and 128 million tonnes in 1937), 1937 the Soviet Union was virtually self sufficient in metal goods and machine tools, bread rationing ended 1934, 4000 heavy industry projects developed
What were the 4 failures of the second Five Year Plan?
Oil production only 28.5 million tonnes but target was 46.8 million tonnes, tractors production only 66,500 but target was 166,700, no appreciable increase in consumer goods, still emphasis on quantity rather than quality, houses lacked running water and sanitation 650,000 people had no access to bathhouses
How were the Volga canal and Komsomolsk (shipyard on River Amur in East Russia) built?
Volga canal built by 200,000 prisoners from Dmitlag labour camp and 22,000 died, White Sea Baltic Canal was also built by forced labour, Komsomolsk built using volunteer labour from the communist youth group Komsomol and some labour from nearby prisons
When was the third five year plan and what were the three targets?
1938-42 but prepared 1937-8. Rise industrial production by 92%, targets changed with war and rapid rearmament became a focus, complete transition to communism
What were the 3 successes of the third Five Year Plan?
Strong growth in machinery and engineering, resources were increasingly diverted to rearmament on which spending doubled 1938-40, in 1941 the USSR was economically strong enough to engage in an ultimately successful military struggle when Nazi germany invaded
What were the 8 failures of the third Five Year Plan?
Steel production stagnated, oil failed to meet targets which caused a fuel crisis and many industries were short of raw materials, harsh new measures to ensure labour disciplines eg internal passports introduced in 1540 to stop workers switching jobs, large numbers of officials investigated and removed from Gosplan and some killed in Stalin’s purges, in 1940 a decree issued making poor quality production a criminal offence, in 1941 the German invasion effectively destroyed this plan so living conditions were lower than in 1928, by 1941 only 1 shop per 476 people, food rationing reintroduced (bread, meat, pasta, sugar, fish, butter, soap, lighter fluid, cigarettes)
Describe living conditions under the first three Five Year Plans in 9 points
Seven day working week and longer hours implemented, arriving late to work or missing work could result in dismissal and eviction from housing and loss of benefits, damaging machinery or leaving a job without permission was a criminal offences and strikes were issues, from 1938 labour books recorded workers employment and skills and disciplinary issues, opportunities for advancement by learning new skills meant some workers did well, intellectuals and white collar workers purged which reduced the number competing for jobs and created plenty of vacancies at the top, numbers pouring into towns and cities meant many workers lived in cramped communal apartments where they had to cope with inadequate sanitation and erratic water supplies, public transport overcrowded but shops often empty, between 1933-7 defence expenditure rose 4-17% of overall industrial budget and by 1940 a third of USSRs government spending went on rearmament not on living standards
Describe the fourth Five Year Plan in 6 points
1945 gosplan instructed to prepare a new Five Year Plan for economic recovery, one third of the Plan’s expenditure was to be spent on the Ukraine which had been one of the areas most devastated by war but was very important for industry and agriculture, much of industrial production switched from military needs to the civilian economy, mining production was running at less than half the 1940 level, electricity power at 52%, steel at 45%
How did the fourth five year plan exceed its targets regarding industry? 4 points
Coal was 165.9 tonnes in 1940 then 149.3 in 1945 then 261.1 tonnes in 1950. Oil was 31.1 tonnes in 1940 then 19.4 tonnes in 1945 then 37.9 tonnes in 1950. Steel was 18.3 tonnes in 1940 then 12.3 in 1945 then 27.3 in 1950. Electricity was 48.3kW in 1940 then 43.2 in 1945 then 91.2 in 1950
How was agriculture in the USSR devastated by the war? 7 stats
98,000 collective farms ruined with the loss of 137,000 tractors and 49,000 combine harvesters and 7 million horses and 17 million cattle and 20 million pigs. 1946 was the driest year since 1891
How was the agricultural sector still unsatisfactory by the time of Stalin’s death in 1953? 4 points
In Stalin’s book in 1952 called Economic problems of socialism in the USSR his writings were seen as incontrovertible which discouraged any tendencies towards innovation and change, grain was 95.6 million tonnes in 1940 but 92.2 million tonnes in 1950, potatoes were 76.1 million tonnes in 1940 but 69.2 million tonnes in 1950, cattle was 28 million in 1940 but 25 million in 1950
What was the Stakhanovite movement? 7 points
Alexei Stakhanov was a coal miner in the Don basin who, on 30th August 1535, did a five hour shift and cut 102 tonnes of coal with his pick which was sixteen times the amount for a normal shift, he was hailed a soviet hero and given a large bonus and other material benefits (holiday tickets, one months pay in one day, telephone) , propaganda magnified his status and the idea of forming ‘Stakhanov groups’ in the attempt of achieving similar feats caught on, less enthusiastic colleagues attacked them as they resented campaigns which wanted them to work harder, 55,000 senior officials entitled to higher standard of living
Describe resistance and sabotage of the FYP in three points
Stalin presented the FYP as a defence of the USSR against international hostility which enabled him to brand resistance to the plan as sabotage, in 1928 before the first plan Stalin claimed to have discovered an anti soviet conspiracy among the mining engineers of Shakhty in the Donbass region of the Ukraine and their public trial intended to frighten workers into line, Stalin’s gigantomania (love of mighty building projects) and his knowledge that untrained peasants who filled the factories (because his political purges were so fierce during the second and third FYP and thousands of engineers and technologists were sent to distant concentration camps) would not turn immediately into skilled workers caused the push towards sheer volume of output
Describe how blame was passed during the FYP in 5 points
His notions of industrial saboteurs and wreckers allowed him to place the blame for poor quality and underproduction on managers ans workers who were not prepared to play their proper part in rebuilding the nation, OGPU agents and party cadres used to terrorise the workforce, factory managers or foremen who did not meet their production quotas might find themselves on public trial a enemies of the soviet state, fear meant output figures were inflated, regional and site managers formulated the actual schemes for reaching their given production quotas so Stalin and his Kremlin colleagues accused lesser officials of sabotage while themselves avoiding any taint of incompetence, nobody willing to admit there was an error in planning so faults went unchecked until serious breakdowns occurred
What was one of the hardest struggles of the FYP?
Maintaining a proper supply of materials which often led to fierce competition between regions and sectors of industry which caused hoarding of resources and a lack of co operation between various parts or the industrial system
Describe workers rights under the FYP in 6 points
After 1917 Russian trade unions had become powerless, in Bolshevik theory in a truly socialist state such as Russia there was no distinction between interests of government and workers, in 1920 Trotsky took violent steps to destroy independence of the unions and they became the means by which the Bolshevik government enforced its requirements on the workers, under Stalin’s FYP strikes were prohibited and traditional demands for better pay and conditions were regarded as selfish in a time of crisis, a code of labour discipline demanded maximum effort and output, wages improved under the second FYP but food rationing and high prices made living standards lower in 1937 than in 1928
What are the three arguments about Stalin’s economic policies?
Whatever the economic gains, the methods used were inhumane (social change must be gradual and consensual to be effective, violence doesn’t transform how people think and act, arrest and execution of millions of people sowed hatred and mistrust, Ukraine/south Russia/Kazakhstan starving, Gulag (Russia’s labour camp system) heaving, Magnitogorsk ans White Sea canal constructed at expense of lives of Gulag prisoners and Ukrainian peasants and some factory workers) Economic objectives mot even met (caused upheaval on land, didn’t produce industrial growth needed, living condition of industrial workers deteriorated, needed proper investment and planning) Problems facing Soviet Union justifies Stalin’s policies (Stalin trying to bring stability to Russia, Russia couldn’t have been modernised by any other method, by 1941 economy was strong enough to sustain four years of war)
Describe the role of women in collectivisation in 4 points
In Okhochaya in Ukraine women broke into barns and seized bags of grain dumped by requisition squads after being taken from peasants, some women led in front of tractors with their children that had been sent to break up private farms, they were mothers and organisers of household so first to feel harsh consequences of collectivisation, men preferred women to lead demonstrations because they were less likely to suffer reprisals from authorities
How many of the party members changed 1929-39?
Over two thirds, new party of young able bodied men willing to work for Stalin
What were Gulags? 4 points
More built during 1930s to house political prisoners and class enemies and provide prison camp labour for industrial projects, great purges from 1936 caused huge surge in gulag population 800,000 in 1935 then 9.5million in 1938, aim no longer to re-educate clsss enemies but work them to death or murder them outright, mortality rates in camps 4-6 times higher than rest of USSR as a result of long working hours meagre rations and harsh conditions
What was the purpose of the Great Terror?
These purges of the Communist Party ranks were in theory for cleansing the party of careerists and elements that were not committed to ideals of building communism but in reality the purpose was to get rid of any threats in the party to Stalin’s power
Who were the leaders of the Cheka between Dec 1917 and 1922?
Felix Dzerzhinsky 1917-18, Yakov Peters 1918, Felix Dzherzhinsky 1922-23
Who was the leader of the GPU?
Feliz Dzerzhinsky Feb 6th 1922 to 1923
Who was the leader of the OGPU between November 15th 1923 and 1934?
Felix Dzerzhinsky 1923-1926, Vyacheslav Menzhinsky, this body was under direct control of the Council of Peoples Commissars
Who were the leaders of the NKVD?
Genrikh Yagoda 1934-36 (shot in 1938), Nikolai Yezhov 1937-38 (shot in 1940), Lavrenty Beria 1938-45 (shot in 1956)
Describe the first stage of the Great Terror in 7 points
The Show Trials (publicised in news with no judge or jury) 1936-37. Trial of Sixteen 1936 (Kamenev and Zinoviev included), Trial of Seventeen 1937 (Trotsky’s former allies Pyatakov, Radek, Sokolnikov, Ordzhonikidze -first product of Yezhovs conveyor belt system), Trial of Twenty One 1938 (Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky, Yagoda), Fall of Yagoda and introduction of Yezhov in the NKVD, Military purge of 1937 (Tukhachevsky, 2 Marshals of Soviet Union, War Commissars, 50% of officer corps), 34,000 soldiers purged from army
Describe the second stage of the Great Terror
The Yezhovschina lasted 1936-38. Increased Stalin’s political dominance and personal dictatorship (autocratic form of absolute rule by leadership unrestricted by law, constitutions and other political and economic factors), Stalin was in a position of supreme power by 1938 and had absolute control over the party
What were the six causes of the Great Terror?
Rapid industrialisation and collectivisation, Ryutin platform, 17th Party Congress (the Congress of victors), terror economics, economic terror (the shakhty trials), murder of Kirov
How was rapid industrialisation a cause for the Great terror?
This and forced collectivisation split the communist party, throughout the first Five Year Plan the central Party in Moscow had difficulties getting local party secretaries and members to implement central policies and orders eg the degree of terror demanded, they argued about high grain collection targets and were unwilling to identify kulaks and were reluctant get rid of bourgeois specialists. In December 1932 Moscow launched a CHISTKA to root out these elements and by 1933 22% of communist members lost party cards
How was the Ryutin platform a cause for the Great terror?
Former Moscow party secretary Ryutin circulated 200 page document in 1932 in which he called Stalin the ‘evil genius of the Russian revolution’ who was ‘motivated by personal desire for power and revenge’ and urged for Stalin’s removal from the party. Stalin wanted the death penalty for Ryutin but Kirov and Ordzhonikidze and other Politburo members opposed Stalin, 22nd September 1932 Ryutin arrested and admitted to opposing Stalin’s policies since 1928, 27th sept Ryutin and supporters (Kamenev and Zinoviev aswell because they failed to report existence of the document) expelled from party, Ryutin found guilty of being an ‘enemy of the people’ so sentenced to 10 years in prison, Ryutin executed 10th Jan 1937 followed by his two sons and his wife died in a Gulag
How was the 17th Party Congress a cause for the Great terror?
Congress of Victors meant to celebrate Stalin’s economic achievements but congress voted to select Kirov over Stalin as secretary (1225 votes over 927) so Stalin and Kirov became Secretary of Equal Rank so Stalin could be removed and demoted and only commanded the unswerving respect of two members of the Politburo (Kaganovich and Molotov)
What is the first reason for why was terror economics was a cause for the Great terror?
Introduction of terror allowed Stalin to blame economic problems on political enemies, ongoing problems of five year plans explained by the presence of wreckers in the workforce (Stalin said these were in the employ of Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev and were working to sabotage the Russian economy) so this allowed him to create scapegoats
What is the second reason for why was terror economics was a cause for the Great terror?
It would allow for a huge reservoir of cheap labour , majority of people purged in Stalin’s Great terror were sent to Gulags. Eg trial of Shakhty engineers (one of a series of trials of industrial specialists from middle class or foreign backgrounds in which they were accused of sabotage or spying or anti socialism and some were shot), in Menshevik Trial of 1931 and trial of the State Farm and agricultural officials all accused were tried and found guilty of sabotage
How was Stalin’s paranoia a cause for the Great terror?
He felt unable to trust many within the communist party so wanted to remove those he saw as potential threats, he feared old communists who were firm supporters of Lenin and didn’t think Stalin deserved the position of general secretary let alone leader, feared assassination attempts from red army and secret police who he did not have full control over.
When was Kirov murdered?
After congress of victors Stalin wanted to exclude him from the politburo so insisted he stay in Leningrad to supervise the local arty, in Dec 1934 he was shot outside his Leningrad headquarters, Soviet press quickly blamed Leonid Nikolayev (claiming he was working for a Trotskite-Zinovievite terror group aiming to overthrow the soviet government but he was clearly not), Zinoviev and kamenev arrested for conspiracy to murder Kirov, thus gave Stalin a pretext to hunt down his secret ‘terror group’ and showed that political dissidents were plotting acts of terror. Possible that Stalin and the NKVD were behind the murder
What was the Trial of Sixteen? 5 points
1936 Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others charged with espionage on behalf of hostile foreign powers, 300 prisoners were ruthlessly interrogated to gain information against the accused, July 1936 Yezhov (NKVD) told them their children would be accused of being part of the conspiracy and be executed, Kamenev told Stalin he would cooperate if his family was not persecuted and no old line Bolsheviks at the trial were executed and in the future no former opposition would be subjected to the death penalty, Stalin said ‘that goes without saying’
What was the outcome of the Trial of Sixteen?
Soviet newspapers announce all 16 defendants put to death (Kamenev and Zinoviev pleaded guilty to planning Kirov murder) including NKVD agents who provided false confessions, even in British newspapers
What was the Trial of Seventeen? 4 points
January 1937 Yuri Piatakov, Karl Radek, Grigori Sokolnikov and other leading members of communist party put on trial and accused of working with Trotsky to overthrow the soviet government ‘to restore capitalism’, sufficient evidence was compiled by the NKVD to convince the most sceptical that these men were in conjunction with Trotsky and fascist powers, NKVD used Yekhovs ‘conveyer belt system’ of continual torture and sleep deprivation and forged evidence, possibly working to get Radek to give evidence against the other 13 members
What was the outcome of Trial of Seventeen?
Piatakov and thirteen accused found guilty and sentenced to death, Karl Radek and Grigori Sokolnikov get ten years
What was the Trial of Twenty One? 4 points
1938 Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda, Krestinsky, Ravosky, Tomsky charged with assassination attempts of Stalin and other Politburo members to restore capitalism but Tomsky committed suicide before the Trial, NKVD fabricated evidence for the charge about restoring capitalism and wrecking the country’s military and economic power, Stalin able to rid himself of old right wing rivals from the power struggle, all found guilty and executed or died in labour camps
What was the Military Purge? 4 points
11th June 1937 Tukhachevsky, 2 marshals of Soviet Union, 11 War commissars charged with treason for conspiring with Germany, January 1937 a soviet journalist heard stories that senior members of the German army had secret talks with General Mikhail Tukhachevsky which was an idea reinforced by a diplomat from soviet embassy in Paris who sent a telegram to Moscow saying he learned of plans by ‘German circles to promote a coup d’etat in the soviet union’ using ‘persons from the command staff of the red army’, story by Nikolai Skoblin (NKVD agent who was a double agent with soviet and German secret agencies and most likely a link by which info was passed between SD and NKVD), Major V Dapishev of Soviet General Staff claimed the plot ‘originated with Stalin’ who wanted to purge leadership of armed forces
What was the outcome of the Military Purge?
11th June 1937 Tukhachevsky and 7 other Soviet generals appeared in court on charges of treason for having conspired with Germany and were executed, any officer remotely connected to them in past or present was rounded up and executed, 34,000 soldiers purged from arms, 74 military officials shot for refusing to approve execution of their colleagues
What was the Stalin Constitution? 8 points
Drafted by bukharin and introduced 1937 to declare that socialism had been achieved in the USSR and proclaim that USSR was to be a federation of 11 soviet republics, each republic had its own ‘supreme soviet’ which met together in new ‘Supreme Soviet’ which replaced Congress of Soviets, ethnic groups promised autonomy within union with support for national cultures and languages, soviet citizens promised elections every four years and anyone even old bourgeois elites could vote if over 18, civil rights such as freedom from arbitrary arrest and freedom of press/religion/speech set out, citizens expected to work and guaranteed work/education/social welfare, promised rights largely ignored in practice eg stalin didn’t let republics leave union, soviet citizens made use of the constitution when complaining about things such as anti religious discrimination
