Stalin’s USSR Flashcards
What role did Stalin take in the communist party that helped him gain power?
General Secretary
What is the name of the group of people at the top of the communist party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)?
Politburo
Who was Stalin’s main rival for power?
Trotsky
In which document did Lenin criticise Stalin?
Lenin’s testament
What was created in the USSR that portrayed Stalin as a perfect, godlike figure to be worshipped by the people of the USSR?
‘Cult of personality’
What was described by Stalin as ‘the most democratic in the world’?
1936 constitution of the USSR
What was the name of Stalin’s secret police that replaced the OGPU in 1934?
NKVD
Whose death is said to have triggered the Purges?
Sergei Kirov
What happened to every member of the central committee of 1917?
They were all dead or missing
What was the name of Petrograd changed to in 1924?
Leningrad
What is the name given for forced labour camps?
Gulags
Roughly how many people were sent to these camps between 1929-1953?
20 million
Where were important communist figures found guilty of crimes they usually did not commit?
Show trials
Define collectivisation
Stalin’s policy to join farms together, so that peasants would share resources and produce more food for the USSR.
Up to how many peasants died as a result of collectivisation?
13 million
What did Stalin use to modernise the Soviet Union’s industry?
Five-Year Plans
Which agency set up the Five-Year Plans?
Gosplan
Who was the famous soviet coal miner who became a ‘Hero of Socialist ALabour’ for mining 102 tons of coal in a shift?
Alexei Stakhanov
How many people starved to death in the Siege of Leningrad during WW2?
1.5 million people
What was the code name for the German invasion of the Soviet Union?
Operation Barbarossa
