Stalin's Soviet Union Flashcards
What were the Reasons of the Rise of Comrade Stalin (Used his Position as Secretary-General)
First Reason: Used his Position as Secretary-General
As Secretary-General, Stalin was able to appoint his supporters to important posts in the party. Many Party Officials owed their positions to him. In the 1927 meeting, most of the officials who attended were Stalin’s Supporters. He was able to use the meeting to remove Kamenev and Zinoviev from their posts.
What were the Reasons of the Rise of Comrade Stalin (Lenin’s Funeral)
Second Reason: Lenin’s Funeral
Stalin tricked Trotsky and he missed Lenin’s funeral. Many party members were angry with Trotsky for that. Showed that Trotsky had no respect for Lenin. His standing quickly diminished.
What were the Reasons of the Rise of Comrade Stalin (Lenin’s Testament)
Third Reason: Lenin’s Testament
Lenin’s Testament was suppose to be read to the Parliament after his death. However, in his testament, he made many negative comments on Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev and Stalin, especially Stalin. It was to the advantage of everybody is the testament was not made public. As a results, Lenin testament was never made known to the Russians until 1956. This saved Stalin as in Lenin’s Testament - Stalin was seen as a major threat and was to be removed from the position as Secretary-General. Thus, Stalin was able to retain his position and standing within the Party.
What were the Reasons of the Rise of Comrade Stalin (Pretended to have been close to Lenin)
Fourth Reason: Pretended to have been close to Lenin
Stalin was the main organiser of Lenin’s funeral and played the role of Chief Mourner. Stalin had Lenin’s body embalmed. He changed St.Petersburg to Leningrad in honour of Lenin just 3 days after his death. He had statues of Lenin built and placed in all major cities in the USSR. He also named streets and towns after Lenin. He got people to doctor photographs and do painting to show Stalin and Lenin together. This show the people that Stalin was close to Lenin, and made them see Stalin as Lenin’s natural successor.
What were the Reasons of the Rise of Comrade Stalin (Trotsky’s Weakness)
Fifth Reason: Trotsky’s Weakness
Trotsky was an arrogant man. Trotsky was too confident that he would be Lenin’s successor. He did not see any worthy rival and became complacent. Thus, Stalin have more supporters than Trotsky and was able to come up on top of the power struggle. Even though Trotsky was Lenin’s successor.
What were the Reasons of the Rise of Comrade Stalin (Made Alliances)
Sixth Reason: Made Alliances
Stalin made friends with Kamenev and Zinoviev to get rid of Trotsky. Trotsky was sacked from the Communist Party and forced into exile. However, once he had gotten rid of Trotsky, Stalin found new allies to get rid of Kamenev and Zinoviev.
What were the Economic Impact of Stalin’s Rule (Collectivisation)
Collectivisation was not popular with the farmers. Backed by the NKVD, party officials now forced the farmers into collective farms at gun point. All the fields, livestock, tools and buildings of the farmers were confiscated. Farmers who resisted were shot or sent to labour camps. The Kulaks - Rich Farmers, whom Stalin saw as the Major Obstacles to his collectivisation program, were round up and sent to labour camps or were killed indiscriminately. Stalin also ordered 17 millions horses killed so that farmers would be forced to use tractors. However, there were not enough tractors. The farmers also killed their animals to prevent them from being collectivised. Millions and millions of clthes, pigs, sheep were loss. Farmers were also not motivated to work in collective farms. Situation made worse by droughts and floods. There were severe food shortages but Stalin continued to export grains to raise money for his industrialise programs. As a result, there was severe famine in 1931 - 1932. More than 10 million peasants died of the famine.
What were the Economic Impact of Stalin’s Rule (The First Five Year Plans)
The First Five Year Plans lasted from 1928 - 1932. It was successful and Stalin ordered it to be completed in 4 years. It was not really true as some of the targets were not met. However, it was true that it propelled the USSR into an industrialised Nation. More than 1500 factories and 100 cities were built. Production of oil, coal and steel increased tremendously. However, there was little growth in consumer industries. Also marked by poor condition and planning. Some factories overproduced while other factories underproduced, leading to wastage. Quality of goods were sub-standard.
What were the Economic Impact of Stalin’s Rule (The Second/Third Five Year Plans)
Again focused on heavy industries. There was a fear of war and the USSR began to produce more military equipment. New factories were built beyond the Urals. Infrastructure was greatly improved to more the Red Army quickly in the event of war. Results shows a declining rate of growth. Economic slowdown after 1937 as many heavy industries reached their maximum growth.
What were the Economic Impact of Stalin’s Rule (All the Five Year Plans)
The USSR moved from a backward nation to an enormous industrial power in 10 years. The USSR was able to harness its industrial capacity to not only stall the Germans but also defeat them in 1945.
What were the Political Impact of Stalin’s Rule (The Great Terror 1934 - 1938)
On 1 Dec 1934, Kirov, an important member of the Communist Party, was assassinated. Stalin used the assassination as an excuse to get rid of his opponents in the party. Thousands of people were arrested. Show trials were set up to prove that the accused were guilty of overthrowing the state. Many were shot and even more, were sent to prison. The NKVD(Secret Police) arrested millions of people in USSR. Nobody was safe, even Stalin’s closest friends/relatives. 1 million Communist Party members were expelled and arrested. The military also suffered mass arrests and execution. Even the NKVD itself was later investigated and those who were arresting people were themselves arrested later. People were encouraged to inform on their fellow workers, families and friends. No evidence was needed for arrest, an accusation was often enough to get others arrested. As a result, the people were very careful of what they said and lived in fear of being arrested. Estimated that more than 20 million Russians were victims of the purges, with more than 1 million executed. Stalin became very powerful as nobody dared to oppose him. All the old leaders were forgotten and photographs of them were doctored to show only Stalin. He became the only leader of the USSR. The Great Terror created the loss of Intellectuals, Skilled workers and Officers. Engineers/ Scientist/ Skilled Workers - Affected the industrialisation plans. Administrators/ Teachers - Affected the quality of the Civil Service and the efficiency in managing government affairs. Military - Affected the Combat Effectiveness of the red army (1941)
What were the Political Impact of Stalin’s Rule (Propaganda: Cult of Stalin)
Stalin made the people worship him as the leader. He was portrayed as a fatherly, cheerful and popular man. Status of him was set up all over the USSR. Cities and towns were named after him. Songs/ Painting/ Poems were about him and his achievements. People in meetings were required to clap whenever his name was mentioned. All officers, factories and classrooms in the USSR were required to have a picture of Stalin. Large portions of history were rewritten to boost Stalin’s status and discredit his rivals. Pictures were doctored to remove his political opponents. The cult of Stalin ensured that became the undisputable leader of the USSR. Made opposition against him impossible.
What were the Social Impact of Stalin’s Rule (State Control of Society)
All private enterprise was banned. The State was the only distributor of everyday goods. Members of the working class or CPSU members were given preferential treatment. Long queues were common as state-controlled industries could not meet al the demands of the people.
What were the Social Impact of Stalin’s Rule (Fall in Standard of living)
There was a shortage of housing even during the Tsar’s time. Made worse by the fact that industrialisation caused more people to move into cities. Houses could not be bought or built as these were controlled by the states. Many were forced to live in cramp conditions often without running water or sanitation. The workers were also required to work very long hours under poor working conditions. This led to a steady fall in the standard of living.
What were the Social Impact of Stalin’s Rule (Famine)
The State controlled all the collective farms and collected grain and produce at the expense of the farmers. The State continued to take grains away from the farmers even though the production of grain fell. Resulted in the Great Famine of 1932. Even then, the State did not release the stockpiled grain to relieve the famine but sold them overseas to raise money for industrialisation.
