stalinism, politics and control 1929-1941

Question 1

machinery of state terror and early purges

Answer 1

much of machinery of terror and coercion had developed under the rule of Lenin and was well established by 1928

citizens kept in under heavy surveillence by secret police, acitivists, informers and gen secretariat had extensive records on the population

Question 2

when was kirov mudered?

Answer 2

1934

Question 3

who was Kirov?

Answer 3

old bolshevik
organised railway strikes in 1909
by 1925 member of central committee
later became party secretary of leningrad
very popular
spoke in favour of increasing rations for workers
kirov and stalin given title Secretary of Equal rank
political rival to Stalin

Question 4

motivations for nikolayev to kill Kirov

Answer 4

disgruntled with the party
affair between his wife and kirov
disillusionment with Kirov leadership in Leningrad

Question 5

motivations for Stalin to kill kirov

Answer 5

remove a potent leadership within the party
embarrassed within the politburo at 17th party congress
reestablish political control at the top
purge the Leningrad party - never had appea there
spread fear more widely - 1 year after reichstag fire

Question 6

motivations for NKVD to kill Kirov

Answer 6

told that Stalin wanted kirov removed
kirov wanted to relax terror, threatening NKVD
didn’t want Kirov to replace Stalin

Question 7

consequences of Kirov’s assasination

Answer 7

potential rival removed permanently
left Stalin as sole leader
state tightened its gold over whole country
Stalin’s determination to excerisise total control over party and country start form 1934
Stalin’s paranoia and suspicion got worse after 1934
NKVD consolidated position as the primary security force

Question 8

why were show trials carried out?

Answer 8

maintain control of party and state
Stalin could remove his enemies
publicity of trials used as propaganda used to legitimise rule of Stalin

Question 9

how were show trials carried out?

Answer 9

foreign journalists invited to prove that Stalin was facing opposition from enemies of the state and removal of enemies was justified
all aspects of trial controlled
purpose of trial was to demonstrate that they were 100% guilty.
torture used as interrogation
threatened family
from 1935, children over 12 faced same punishments as adults

Question 10

results of show trials

Answer 10

first major show trial was in 1936 and targeted zinoviev, kamanev and trotsky
accused of plotting to kill stalin
yagoda controlled trial

Question 11

why was yagoda replaced with yezhov in september 1936?

Answer 11

accused of not being thorough enough

Question 12

what was the stalin constitution 1936?

Answer 12

declared that true socialism had been achieved
confirmed a series of constitutional rights for the soviet people
appears highly democratic but main function was to impress external observers

Question 13

what were the main features of the stalin constitution 1936? x5

Answer 13

USSR federation of 11 soviet republics
promised local autonomy to ethnic groups and support for national culture and languages
right to vote given to all 18 year olds
freedom from abitary arrest, freedom of the press, religion and right to free speech
citizerns expected to work and guaranteed opportunities to work, education and welfare

Question 14

NKVD order 00447

Answer 14

july 1937
established catergories to be dealt with by NKVD across every republic and region
quotas for arrest - number of class enemies per region
small NKVD communities set up to target kulaks, criminals, artists and managers
Yezhov would give permission to excees quotas

Question 15

how many were arrested under NKVD order 00447 in one month?

Answer 15

100,000 arrested
14,000 sent to gulags

Question 16

trial of the 17

Answer 16

may/june 1937
show trial accused 17 trotskyists accused of spying and sabotages

Question 17

trial of the 21

Answer 17

march 1938
21 accused of trotskyite/ rightist plot including Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda + tomsky
old Bs accused of plotting to kill Lenin in 1918

Question 18

military purge stage one

Answer 18

may/june 1937
red army officers accused of planning military coup
tukhachevsky and gamamik

Question 19

military purge stage 2

Answer 19

led to wider purge
50% of all officer corps in air, navy and army

Question 20

how many party members were purged by 1938?

Answer 20

1/3 of all party members purged by 1938
mostly trotskyites
70% of central committee at 17th party congress had been arrested

Question 21

impact of Yezhovschina on NKVD

Answer 21

Yagoda arrested in 1937
23,000 NKVD men died

Question 22

impact of Yezhovschina on army

Answer 22

50% of officers purged

Question 23

impact of Yezhovschina on party and state leaders

Answer 23

in every republic charged with treason or bourgeouis nationalism

Question 24

impact of Yezhovschina on class enemies

Answer 24

high proportion of managers at all levels purged

Question 25

impact of Yezhovschina on mass terror

Answer 25

anoyone with contacts abroad, social marginals, religious groups

Question 26

impact of Yezhovschina on minorities

Answer 26

mass movement of minorities from West border
attacks on Korean and Chinese
400,000 Volga Germans deported
2 million Jews in 1939-1940 purged

Question 27

expansion of gulags

Answer 27

expanded in 1930s for cheap labour for FYPs
1935 = 800,000 prisoners, 1938 = 9 million
possibility of release disappeared
mortality rates 6x higher than general population
pace slowed after 1938 as yezhovschina threatened de-establishment of state and economy

Question 28

causes of yezhovschina

Answer 28

Stalin paranoid, revenging old guard
integral terror - important part of soviets since 1917, mechanism established
external opposition - regime protected
economy - enforcing collectivisation and industrialisation
local control - terror needed for officials in provinces to maintain control
self-escalation - proved loyalty by denunciation

Question 29

impact of yezhovschina

Answer 29

supreme power
removal of ops - all rivals gone by 1940
party evolution - expelled 850,000 members
military impacts - lost experienced officers
brain drain

Question 30

improvements in life for women, family and education

Answer 30

family code of 1936 - tax exemptions given for having 6 or more children
outlawed prostitution
number of women working in factories and on collective farms increased by 10 million
by 1940, 66% of labour in light industry were women
youth organisations set up : Youth Pioneers for under 15s and Komosol for older children
placed under control of Narkompros (people’s commissariat for education) all children aged 8-11 had to be enrolled in a school
numbers in education increased from 14 million to 20 million between 1929-1931
greater focus on technical subjects - science and maths
by 1940 there were 199,000 new schools - universities chose brightest students

Question 31

setbacks in life for women, family and education

Answer 31

zhenotdel was established in 1919 as a political womens department, abolished in 1930
single and divorced women were often left unemployed and marginalised
family code made contraception and abortion illegal but there were 150,000 abortions to every 57,000 live births
children who committed violent crimes were treated as adults from the age of 12
poorer women still expected to look after their children and contribute to full time workforce
Leninist schooling was a disaster and majority of children were not communist
divorce rate remained high - 37% in Moscow

Question 32

Decree on Separation of Church and State 1918
LENIN

Answer 32

delcared that the church could not own property
buildings had to be rented
religious teaching outlawed
clergy not allowed to vote and didn’t get rations

Question 33

union of militant godless 1921
LENIN

Answer 33

established with branches across the country
5 million members held events and debates to disprove existence of God
relics replaced with Bolshevik inconography

Question 34

anti clerical propaganda and direct action
LENIN

Answer 34

prevalent between 1921-1922
bitter resistance put down
most than 8000 people excecuted during campaign including bishops and over 1000 priests

Question 35

living church
LENIN

Answer 35

hailed october revolution as a christian deed
denied that communism persecuted that church

Question 36

stalin attacking church

Answer 36

religious schools closed down
churchgoers labelled kulaks
by 1930s - 80% of churches shut down
soviet muslims had property seized , 250,000 mosques closed by 1941

Question 37

did religious oppression work?

Answer 37

55% of soviets still identified as christians
after fall of soviet union in 1991, church immediatly reopened

Question 38

new soviet man

Answer 38

embodiment of the morality, values and characteristics of a good Soviet citizen

Question 39

benefits in urban environment of cultural revolution

Answer 39

job opportunites
living standards improved
consumer trading increased
urban workers prioritised
workers had regulated hours and wages and access to canteens and shops

Question 40

benefits in rural environment of cultural revolution

Answer 40

complusory schooling enforced for the first time ever
increase in rural literacy
benfitted from increased access to machinery
peasants could fall back on private plots

Question 41

disadvantages in urban environment of cultural revolution

Answer 41

great famine caused overpopulation
rationing system continued
shortage of housing
apartment blocks supervised by NKVD informers
dependent on black market
poor sanitation
poor harvests caused price increases

Question 42

disadvantages in rural environment of cultural revolution

Answer 42

increase in strong centralised control
regime policed countryside during forced collectivisation
basic features of rural life began to disintegrate
old traditions disappeared
peasants viewed as inferior citizens

Question 43

art changes under Lenin

Answer 43

80,000 active art studios with 400,000 members
agitprop art in line with party ideology

Question 44

music changes under Lenin

Answer 44

repurposed
revolutionary anthems

Question 45

literature changes under Lenin

Answer 45

tool of state - propaganda
engineered human souls
dystopia banned

Question 46

film changes under Lenin

Answer 46

shortages of film equipment
agitprop

Question 47

art changes under Stalin

Answer 47

union of artists
had to adhere to social realism

Question 48

music changes under Stalin

Answer 48

return to traditional russian works
eg Tchaikovsky
emulate 19th century greats

Question 49

literature changes under Stalin

Answer 49

19th century greats eg Tolstoy returning in popularity
had to belong to Russian Association of Proletarian Writers

Question 50

film changes under Stalin

Answer 50

shift to social realism
used as propaganda

Question 51

social strengths by 1941

Answer 51

party moved towards true socialism
collective ownership of farms to avoid extreme wealth
party justified its ownership as social ownership protecting individual from nepmen, kulaks…
acquired greater control over its people through kolhoz and sovkhoz
party officials were connected to all farms and factories - stationed at MTSs

Question 52

social weaknesses by 1941

Answer 52

pace of Stalins reforms caused a heirachal society dominated by party elite
peasants at mercy of collectives and part officials
internal passports reduced freedom
state more formidable and coercive
social ownership seen as form of toltalitarian control
famine
innocent mangers in labour camps
quality of life suffered
class warfare

Question 53

why was collective security adopted by Stalin’s regime?

Answer 53

1930, Litvinov replaced Chicherin as Foreign Commissar and he favoured collective security against fascism in order to prevent wars contrary to USSRs interests

USSR entered League of Nations in 1934 - reacceptance into international community

fear of german aggression resulted in the signing of Franco Soviet Mutual Assistance Pact in 1935

Question 54

why did collective security fail?

Answer 54

League of Nations ineffective during the 1930s - couldn’t prevent Manchuria, Abyssinia

British and French selfish - Hoare- Laval pact

Spanish Civil War - showed that Britain and France would not intervene to support republicanism or democracy, confirmed anti-cominterm pact

Munich agreement 1938 - Stalin displeased by appeasement of Hitler - realised no reliable allies

Question 55

why was the nazi soviet pact signed in 1939?

Answer 55

security - soviets wanted security against German aggression while they were weak militarily. Russia would also avoid a conflict with Germany’s ally, Japan

time - Soviets needed time to strengthen military and industry

imperialism - both secured a free hand in Poland ahead of autumn rains. Stalin seized Baltic states and received assurances of Soviet influence in Bessabaria

economic gain- Germany received gold, food, and raw materials from Russia. Enough to overcome any Anglo-French blockade

strategy - Stalin would benefit from Germany fighting a long exhaustive war in West

Question 56

what were the causes of the Winter War 1939-1940?

Answer 56

Stalin concerned that Leningrad was too vulnerable since the border of Finland was only 18 miles NW of the city
wanted it to be moved back 25 miles

Question 57

why did the soviets lose the Winter War 1939-1940?

Answer 57

expected easy victory but Finnish army was well equipped for a winter war, unlike russians

local knowledge - Finns were expert winter war fighters and knew land. operated behind enemy lines

command + organisation = Red army officer corps had bee purged, not effectively led

fighting capability = relied on poorly trained conscripts who deserted

geography = dense woodlands, guerilla warfare

Question 58

was the winter war successful?

Answer 58

NO
red army unsuccessful
200,000 men killed but only 25,000 Finns killed

YES
Timoshenko was efficient organiser and determined to make the red army professional