The Emergence of the Communist Dictatorship 1917-41 Flashcards
What was the ideological implications of ending the war
Marxist theories expected a revolution in Germany, yet they needed to end the war
What were the different groups in response to ending the war
- Nikolai Bukharin led the ‘revoloutionary war group’
- Trotsky argued for ‘neither peace nor war’
- Lenin took a pragmatic view
What did it take for the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
Had to be ratified by an emergency Party Congress and after Lenin offered to resign twice
What were the 4 terms of the treaty of Brest Litovsk
1) Most of the the territory on Russia’s western border became independent republics
2) semi-independent governments were set up in Georgia, Belarus and the Ukraine
3) Russia lost a sixth of its population (62 million people) and 2 million square kilometres of land including a 1/3 of Russia’s agricultural produce.
4) 26% of Russia’s railways and 74% of irs iron and coal supplies
What did Lenin argue in State and Revolution about the one party government
- The people would see a government that ruled in their ‘interests’
- a strong party to provide for the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’
- This represented a ‘higher democracy’
How did Lenin sideline the Petrograd Soviet
- Sidelined Petrograd Soviet and formed the Bolshevik-only Sovnarkom
- Sovnarkomm ruled by decree without approval; intitated peace talks without Soviet
How did Lenin solidfy the one party state
Left-wing Social Revoloutionaries walked out of the Sovnarkom in protests at the Treaty of Brest Litovsk
March 1918 Bolsheviks formally adopted the title of ‘Communist Party and from then on governed alone
How was War Communism used to ideologically preserve the socialist state
Central Planning and nationalisation of industry were fufillment of socialist industries
could also be the pragmatic response to the war
In what crucial measure did Lenin maintain unity with the party
He made the party infalliable and introduced a ban on factions
What did Lenin abandon from his original stance in the October Revolution
Support for national minorities and self determination
What happened in Georgia under Lenin
Stalin lied to Lenin about a Bolsheviks overthrowing Mensheviks in the capital.
He instead brutally crushed an independence movement, appaling Lenin and Trotsky
What did Lenin do to the Church
- Lenin made all religions legally equal and all seminaries back to the state and liquidation of church marriage and gov. subsidisation of church building and priests wage’
- 1918 decree separated Church from state, religious ceremnoies removed from ptactice, practice couldn’t distrub public order, religious education was forbidden, church prohibited from possessions
What did Lenin do to the SR
- Arrest of 5000 for ‘counter revolutionary activities’
- 1922 a group of SR’s were given a show trial for plotting to assassinate Lenin: resulted in 11 leaders executed and party outlawed
What did Lenin’s letter say
- gave his critical opinion of Grigorii, Lev Kamenev, Nikolai Bukharin and Trotsky
- He particularly criticised Stalin who had become the Party’s first General Secretary and said he should be removed
What made Leon Trotsky a leadership candidate
- Organised the October 1917 takeover
- created the Red Army, hero of the civil war
- member of the Sovnarkom
- regarded by Lenin as the ‘most ablle’ man in the Central Committee believed in the permanent revolution
- joined the Bolsheviks in summer of 1917
- a Jew with burgeois background
What made Grigorii Zinoviev a leadership candidate
- Founder member of Bolshevik party
- close associate of Lenin 1903-17
- joined Kamenev to oppose timing of October Revolution
- not a member of Sovnarkom
- powerbase in Leningrad
- a Jew with burgeois background
What made Joseph Stalin a leadership candidate
- Old Bolshevik but not senior member until 1912
- member of Sovnarkom
- General Secretary of Communist Party from 1922
- positions in Orgburo and Secretariat
- peasant background
What made Len Kamenev a leadership candidate
Old Bolshevik and close associate of Lenin
opposed timing of October Reolvution
not a member of Sovnarkom powerbase in Moscow
a jew with a burgeois background
What made Nicholas Bukharin a leadership candidate
Joined Bolsheviks 1906
not a senior member until 1922
theorist
described by Lenin as the ‘golden boy
some support in Moscow and among youth
What made Nicholas Bukharin a leadership candidate
Joined Bolsheviks 1906
not a senior member until 1922
theorist
described by Lenin as the ‘golden boy
some support in Moscow and among youth
What was Stalin’s steps to leadership from 1922-4
December 1922 - ‘Triumvirate’ alliance formed between Zinoviev, Kamenev an Stalin as they seek to block Trotsky
April 1923 - At the 12th Party Congress a new enlarged Centrral Committee of 40 members are elected; only 3 support Trotsky
January 1924-Lenin dies and Stalin gives Trotsky the wrong date. Stalin gives the funeral oration and dimisses supporters of the Left Opposition
How many of the 40 new members of the Central Committee elected at the 12th Party Congress (april 1923) were supporters of Trotsky
only 3.
What were Stalin’s steps to leadership from 1924-5
May 1924
Lenin’s widow, Krupskaya, releases Lenin’s testament to the Central Committee. Zinoviev and Kamenev arguue against its publication and Trotsky refuses to get involved - aids Stalin
Nov 1924
Trotsky gives speeches in favour of democracy and the over-bureaycratisation of the Party but defeated by Stalinist delegates and Zinoviev and Kamenec blocs
Jan 1925
Trotsky publishes ‘Lessons of October’ showing how Zinoviev and Kamenev opposed Lenin; Stalin isn’t mentioned. Stalin brings in more supporters
Dec 1925
Trotsky is forced from his position as Commissar of War
What were Stalin’s steps to leadership from 1926
Jul 1926
At 14th Party Congress, Stalin supports Bukharin, on the right, claiming to share similar views on economic policy. Zinoviev and Kamenev attack and call a vote of no confidence but lose because the delegates are largely Stalinists. A New Central Committee and Politbur are elected with a Stalinist-Bukharin majority and Zinoviev is forced to step down as leader of the Leningrad Party for Stalin’s supporter, Kirov
Nov 1926
Zinoviev and Kamenev join Trotsky in the left-wing ‘United Opposition’ and try to organise demonstrations in Moscow. They are accused of ‘factionalism and Zinoviev is removed from the Politburo. Zinoviev and Trotsky are expelled from the Communist Party and Kamenev removed from the Central Committee
What were Stalins steps towards leadership in 1928
Jan 1928
Trotsky deported to a remote spot near the Chinese border. Stalin announces a new left-leaning economic strategy that disagress with Bukharin. Some of Trotskys remaining supporters join Stalin because of this
Sep 1928
In desparation, Bukharin contacts Trotsky and an alliance is considered but rejected as supportes on both sides are hesitant. Stalin accuses both men of factionalism
What were Stalins steps towards leadership in 1929
Feb 1929
Stalin has Trotsky deported to Constantinople
Apr 1929
Bukharin removed as editor of Pravda
Nov 1929
Bukharin and his supporters, Rykov and Tomsky, are removed from the Politburo
Dec 1929
Stalin celebrates his 50th as the undisputed Soviet LEader
What was at the heart of communist economic debate
Lenins ‘New Economic Policy’ of 1921 had allowed some private enterprise
,wether this was temporary or not was at the heart of the ideological debates
How was the Communist Party split over continuing the NEP
Left as represented by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev favourted abdoning the NEP.
Bukharin, Ryok and Tomsky supported its continuance.
Stlain fluctuated from left to temporary right support from 1925 to 28 back to the left due to bread shortages and high food prices
What was the differing ideology over the ‘continuous revolution’
Russia was the only Communist State. Trotsky believed in the ‘continuous revolution’.
Stalin adopted ‘socialism in once country’ and that they should focus on a ‘workers paradise’. This appealed to those who favoured stability
What was differing ideology over central leadership
Many felt they should abandon the central leadership principle, instead seeking collective control . It was mainly forwarded to oppose Trotsky dominance
What power did Stalin’s position as Party Secretary give him
Allowed him to some extent to control buisness of the Politburo e.g. drawing up agenda for meetings
What power did Stalin’s position in the Orgburo and the Secretariat give him
- Get his supporters into key positions
- Party secretariats became Stalins men and decided how party members at lower levels voted
What power did Stalin’s control of party organisation give him
- Pack Congress with his own supporters
- Deliver votes in congress
e.g. Trotsky hostile reception from 1924
What power did Stalin’s control of party membership give him
- got rid of potential Trotsky supporters
- Supervised Lenin Enrolement when party membership doubled
- Made sure new members were poorly ideologically educated and were likely to be loyal to Stalinism
What did Trotsky write in 1936
Revolution Betrayed in 1936, Trotsky wrote that Stalin’s power in the 1930s rested on a vast ‘administrative pyramid’ of five or six million Party officials, which needed to be swept away by a new proletarian revolution.
What were Lenins decrees in October 1917
1) Maximum 8 hour daily for workers
2) Social Insurance provides old age, health and unemployment benefits
3) Ban on opposition press
4) Decree on Peace and Land
What were Lenin’s decrees in November 1917
1) Rights of the People of Russia Decree; gives self-determination to minorities in Empire
2) Abolition of titles and class ranks
3) Workers control of factories
4) Abolition of old legal system
5) Women given equality with men and right to own property
What were Lenin’s decrees in December 1917
- Military Decree to outlaw class ranks
- Decrees on the Church
- Nationalisation of banks
What were Lenin’s decrees in January 1918
- Workers control of railways
- creation of Red Army
- Church and State separated
What were Lenin’s decrees of February 1918
- Nationalisation of industry
- socialisation of land
What were the main features of the 1918 Constitution
- All power rested with the all Russian Congress of Soviets; made up of deputies from elected local soviets across Russia
- Central Executive committee of that congress was to be ‘supreme organ of power’
- Congress made resposible for electing Sovnarkom
What were the limitations of the 1918 Constitution in it being ‘democratic’
- Vote was reserved for the toiling masses. Members of exploiting classes (Businessmen, clergy and tsarist officers) were excluded from voting or holding public office
- Workers vote was weighted in 5:1 against the peasants
- Sovnarkom was officially appointed by the congress, but in practice chosen by the Bolshevik Central Committee
- Congress could only meet in intervals - executive authority remained in hands of the Sovnarkom
How did the Whites form
Anger at the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk merged with political opposition
Why did Russia’s previous wartime allies give the Whites support
1) Ideological; capitalist nations opposed communism
2) Force Russia back into the war
3) Defend their own interests (Bolsheviks refused to pay back money borrowed in tsarist times and nationalised foreign-owned industries)
What were the 4 main reasons for Bolshevik Victory in the Civil War by 1920
1) Geography; Reds commanded the hub of communications, the armaments factories and the most densely populated regions of central Russia. The Whites were widely dispersed
2) Unity and Organisation: White Generals operated ad fought for different objectives. The Reds had a unified command structure
3) Leadership: Red Army became a well disciplined fighting force under Trotsky’s leadership, White’s had few competent
4) Support: Red Land policies prevailed over the White’s association with traditional Tsarist policies
5) Other: Hostility to foreign involvement.
At what cost did the Bolsheviks win the civil war
Cost of as many as 10 million deaths from hunger and epidemic disease
How did the Civil War end in Poland
- Poles rose again and defeated the Red Army, leading to the Treaty of Riga (March 1921) which granted Poland self-rule along with Glacia and parts of Belorussia.
- This independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania was also confirmed
What were the main impacts of the Russian Civil War on government and the Party
- Creation of Politburo as new policy centre
- 1921 Ban on Factions
- 1922 new post of ‘General Secretary’ created to coordinate its workings’ filled by Stalin
- Introduction of the nomenklatura system added to the Party’s domination; Party elite had to aprove promotions
- 1919 creation of the Orgburo to supervise the work of local Party committees
- Local Soviets should only consist of Party members
What happened to national minorities after the civil war
- Government abandoned its earlier support for ‘national self determination’ as in the November 1917 decree
- 1922 Georgian demands were crushed
What change was made in the 1922 Constitution
- the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally established in December 1922, replacing the RSFSR.
- In practice, the difference was minimal.
- Although Lenin prevailed over Trotsky in creating a federation of republics on a similar footing, rather than imposing direct control from Moscow which would have mirrored tsarist imperialism, the states which made up the union were kept under very strict control.
How did Stalin stifle debate over his policies
Party Congresses were called less frequently - and none at all were summoned between 1929 and 1952
How did Stalin’s position as General Secretary allow him to command patronage over all the important positions of the party
he controlled the more important appointments to the Party ‘apparat’.
The apparatchiki in turn controlled the nomenklatura which meant Stalin commanded vast patronage over all of the important positions
How much did Party membership grow in the Lenin enrollment
membership almost doubled to one million
How much did Party membership grow after Lenin’s death in 1924 (Lenin Enrollment) by 1933
Further extensions increased the number of members to 1,677,910 by 1930 and 3,555,338 by 1933
What did the new members of the Party tend to be like
younger and less educated urban workers and ex peasants who were less interested in ideological debate
Attracted by Stalins nationalist policies and knew loyalty would bring benefits
What did Trotsky argue in 1936 in Revolution Betrayed on Stalin’s power
relied on a vast ‘administrative pyramid’ of 5 or 6 million Party officials, which needed to be swept away by a new proletarian revolution
What did the 1936 Constituion do
- Split up into 11 Soviet Republics with each having a Supreme Soviet
- Supreme Soviet made up of Soviet of Union or Nationalities
- Promised local autonomy to ethnic groups and support for national cultures and language
- Promised 4 yearly elections with the right to vote for all over 18 (raised to 23 in 1945)
- Vote reserved for the ‘toiling masses’
- Extensive freedoms; speech and arbitrary arrest
What were the main issues of the 1936 Constitution
- Promised rights were largely ignored and central control over republics budget
- Ignored rights of secession; Party leaders in Georgia purged in 1951 when planned it
- Elections were not contested so the right to vote was just affiriming the choice of representative
- Supreme Soviet only met for a few days twice a year
How did Stalin’s cult of personality operate
- Stalin was universally portrayed as Lenin’s true disciple
- Paintings, Posters and sculptures. Stalin as disciples of Marx
What was the history textbook and how did it describe Stalin and his enemies
The History of the All-Union Communist Party (or the Short Course) was published as the main historical textbook for all educational institutions in 1938.
It said Stalin assumed a major role in the October Revolution, while Trotsky or other old Bolsheviks were portrayed as ‘enemies of the people’. Photos were doctored to remove Stalin’s enemies and put Stalin next to Lenin.
How many copies did the Short Course sell by 1948
The Book sold 34 Million copies in the Soviet Union by 1948
What did the commitment to Stalin represent
a very traditional sense of loyalty to the leader; the Red Tsar
What was Stalin’s position by 1941
- Stalin’s rule was a personal one where he was above the party and no longer dependent on it
- Not invincible outvoted in POlitburo in plan to replace Nikolar Yezhov with Georgii Malenkov as head of the NKVD in 1937
What did Lenin envision as the first economic stage to communism
a form of ‘state capitalism’; during this stage there would be a degree of state control but private markets would remain as an important feature of economic life
What decrees did Lenin enlist in late 1917
- Lenin’s Decree on Land in October 1917 abolished private ownership of land
- Decrees in November recognised workers’ control over their own factories and gave them the right to supervise management through factory committeess
What was the role of the Veshenka (Council of the National Economy) established in December 1917
established to supervise and control economic development but Lenin remained cautious about nationalisation of industry
What were the issues with State Capitalism 1917- Spring 1918
- Workers awarded themselves unsustainable pay-rises and output shrank when most needed
- With more money than goods there was high inflation
- The food shortages in town grew; citizens of Petrograd were living on rations of just 50 grams of bread a day in February 1918
What was War Communism 1918-20
A rapid centralisation of the economy under the threat of the Civil War and ensure army had munitions and food
How were the Peasants subdivided by Lenin
The poor – regarded as allies of the urban proletariat
The moderately poor– regarded as allies of the urban proletariat
The Kulaks – “enemies of the people”. Had their entire stocks seized.
How did Lenin respond to the grain crisis emerging at the end of 1917 under State Capitalism
- Programme of food requistioning
- Encouraged collevitvisation
- May 1918 Food Supplies Policy; detatchments of soldiers and workers ensured grain was delivered; often brtualy confiscating peasants grains and detatchments kept some as a reward
What happened to Kulaks under War Communism
- Labelled as enemies of the people
- Had entire crop seized
How did peasants respond to grain requistion under War Communism
- Hid crops, grew less
- Murdered requistion squads
- Forced use of Cheka
By 1920 how many buisness were nationalised under War Communism
- By November 1920 nationalisation was extended to nearly all factories and businesses
What happened to workers under War Communism
- State Managers extended Working hours and ration-card books replaced wages.
- Internal passboks stoped employees going back to the countryside
- All private trade and manufacture was forbidden
What was the effect of War Communism on total industrial output
- 1921 total industrial output had fallen to 20% of prewar levels
What impact did War Communism have on cities
end of 1920 the population of Petrograd 57.5% lower than 1917 levels
Moscow was 44.5% lower
What impact did War Communism have on agriculture
- 1/3 of Land abandoned to grass and livestock was slaughtered in thousands
- Harvest of 1921 produced only 48% of 1913 causing widespread famine
What impact did War Communism have on Russia’s population
Widespreadd Famine: 1913-21 Russia’s population fell from 170.9 million in 1913 to 130.9 million in 1921
What was declared in January 1921
January 1921: Martial law declared. Some regular soldiers refused to take action. The Cheka was used to crush demonstrations.
Soldiers refusing likely scared Lenin
What was the Tambov Revolt of 1920
- Tambov revolt of 1920 led by Alexander Antonov was a 70,000 man Peasant Army. Struggle continued until 1921 and spead across south-eastern Russia
Over 100,00 Red Army troops were deployed who brutally put them down
What was the demands of the Kronstadt naval base of 1921 and what happened to them as a result
- most loyal supporters of the October revolution
- In March 1921 they sent a manifesto to Lenin demanding an end to one-party communist rule
- The Red Army took 15,000 rebel prisoners and shot the leaders, denouncing them as ‘White Traitors’
What was the effect of the revolt of the Kronstadt naval base
- ‘Workers Opposition’ group was set up under Aleksandr Shiyapknikov and Alexandra Kollontai and argued for greater worker control and removal of military managers.
- Lenin claimed the Kronstadr revolt was ‘the flash which lit up reality better than anything else’ but it was proabably the coincidence of the many troubles of the 1921
What was the NEP (New Economic Policy 1921-7)
- Nationaliation of transport, banking and heavy industry continued
the NEP allowed for private ownership of smaller businesses (through cooperatives and trusts) and permitted private trade - Rationing ended and industries had to pay workers from their profits, ensuring efficient use of resources
- End to the requisitioning of grain, peasants paid some grain as a tax but permitted to sell any surplus
seen as ideological betrayal by rank and file
What was the scissors crisis
Peasants responded quicked than the town workshops and industrial cooperatives, creating a scissors crisis
- A huge increase in grain supplies brought down food prices in towns
- a lack of indsutrial goods for peasants to buy in exchange encouraged them to hold back their supplues
- Consequently the government capped industrial prices and replaced the peasants’ quotas with money taxes from 1923, forcing the peasants to sell
What were the effects of the NEP 1922-1927
- By 1926 the production levels of 1913 had been reached again, this brought with it better living standards and an end to the revolts and disputes
- There were favourable trade agreeements with Britain and Germany
- Nepmen traders flourished by buying grain and selling industrial goods across the country and the kulak class re-emerged
What was the Nepmen
speculative traders who bought up produce from the peasants to sell in the towns and consumer items in the towns to sell in the peasant markets.
Controlled about 75% of the retail trade in 1923
What happened from 1925-Dec 1927 in economic policy
this
What caused the First Five Year Plan 1928-33
- By 1927 the NEP was failing to produce the growth tha many leading communists sought and a war scare n the late 1920s made them nervous
Industrilised central planning was suited ideologically
What were the issues with the targets of the five year plans
- Targets were very ambitious
- Failure to achieve targets was a criminal offence
- As a result all those involved went to great lengths to ensure that reported statistics showed huge imporvements- often way above targets originally set
- Thus corruption and faulty reporting was built into the system from the outset
What were the aims of the First Five Year Plan 1928-33
- Increase production by 300%
- Develop heavy industry
- Boost electricity production by 600%
- Double the output from light industry such as the chemicals production
What were the positive impactss of the First Five Year Plan (1928-33)
- Electric, coal and iron output doubled while steel production increased by 33%
- Massive infastructure such as Magnitogorsk was set up
- tractor works developed in Kharkov and Stalingrad
met farmer demand
What were the failures of the First Five Year Plan (1928-33)
- The targets for the chemical industry were not met and house builiding, food processing and other consumer industries were woefully neglected
- There were too few skilled workers and too little effective ventral coordination
What was Magnitogorsk
A gigantic steel plant built and a town of 150,000 people were created from nothing.
Workers lived in communcal barracks and were subject to constant lectures and political discussions
What were the aims of the Second Five Year Plan (1933-37)
1) Continue development of heavy industry
2) Put new emphasis on light industries such as chemicals, electrical and consumer goods
3) Develop communications to provide links between cities and areas of industry; 4,500 enterprises opened
4) Consolidate gains made in First Five Year Plan that had moved quickly
What were the positive effects of the Second Five Year Plan (1933-37)
‘three good years’ 1934-6
* Moscow Metro opened in 1935, Volga Canal in 1937 and the Dnieper Dam extended to largest in Europe
- Electricity/chemical indsutries grew; Metallurgy developed
- Steel output trebled, coal production doubled and by 1937 the Soviet Union was virtually self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools by 1917
- Rearmament grew from 4% of GDP in 1933 to 17% by 1937
What were the negative effects of the Second Five Year Plan (1933-37)
- Oil production failed to meet its targets
- despire some increase in footwear and good-processing there was still no appreciable increase in consumer goods
- Emphasis on quantity over quality continued
What were the Aims of the Third Five Year Plan (1938-42)
1) Focus on the development of heavy industry
2) Promote rapid rearmament
3) Complete transition to communism
What impact did the Third Five Year Plan (1938-42) have on rearmament spending
Spending on rearmament doubled between 1938-42
What did the rapid growth of rearmament spending during the Third Five Year Plan (1938-42) have on other areas
- other areas as steel production stagnate, oil failed to meet its targets
- many sectors found themselves short of raw materials
- Consumer goods were also relegated again to the lowest priority
What were the failures of the Third Five Year Plan (1938-42)
dearth of good managers, specialists and technicians following the purges and an exceptionally hard winter in 1938 along with diversion of funds to defence
Oil production fall led to a fuel crisis
Describe the chain of command for central planning of the economy and it’s main features
What happened to Managers who failed to meet targets
- Accussed of the criminal offence of ‘wrecking’
What happend to the bonuses paid to enterprises that exceeded targets
- Managers had to pay ‘extra’ to workers who exceeded norms rather than use bonuses to invest in buisness
Why was a change in agricultual orgainsation essential by 1927
- Surplus graains needed to be exported to enable purcharse of industrial equipment and feed growing industrial fworkforce
- Despite that by 1927 peasants were not producing enough sparking a food crisis
Whatt ideological attacks were used against the peasants
- criticised the free market created by the NEP as it was working towards the advantage of the peasants over the industrial workers and that the peasants (with their ‘petty-bourgeois’ attitude’) were holding back the move to true socialism
What was the Petty-Bourgeois attitude of the peasants
a term used in a derogatory way to suggest the peasants were middle class or ‘bourgeois’ in outlook , thinking only of themselves and how they could make personal profits
What prompted Stalin’s announcement in favour of strengthning cooperatives and supporting voluntary collectivisation at the 15th Party Congress in Dec 1927
- 1926: requisition og grain producess only 50% of expectations despite good harvest; grain is likely being hoarded
- 1927: Grain Procurement Crisis from low state collections causing a food crisis in industrial towns
What are the key changes in agricultural policy from 1928-9
1928
Continuing problems lead to rationing in cities. Stalin supports seizure of grain and closing down of the markets in the ‘Ural-Siberian method’ . This brings unrest in rural areas
1929
‘Ural Siberian’ method is used throughout Soviet Union brining NEP to an end. Stalin launches forced collectivisation
What did Stalin say about the kulaks in December 1929
announced he would ‘annihilate the kulaks as a class’
Stalin believed the grain procurement problems were caused by the kulaks
What was the discrepancy between what the Red Army + Cheka were supposed to do to the Kulaks and what happened in Reality
Red Army and Cheka were used to identify, execute or deport kulaks, said to represent 4% of peasant households
In Reality around 15% of peasant households were destroyed and 150,000 richer peasants forced to migrate to poorer land as they killed livestock and burnt crops
What was the effect of Stalins January 1930 announcement that 25% of Grain would be collectivised this year
work of 25,000 urban activists to oversee collectivisation, backed by local police, OPGU and the military; 58% of peasant households had been collectivised
A decree on 1 February 1920 gave local party organisations the power to use necessary measures against the kulaks.
How many people had been deported to Siberia or labour camps by the end of collectivisation
Up to 10 million people had been deported to Siberia or labour camps by the end of the collectivisation process
What was the effect of the rapid collectivisation in 1930
‘Dizzy with success’ blamed the hostility on local officials who were over-eager. Speech led to a slow down in collectivisation
speed of collectivisation created such hostility that a brief return to voluntary collectivisation so by October 1930 only 20% of households were still collectivised
What was the Kolhoz
a collective operated by a number of peasant families on state-owned land, where peasants lived rent-free but had to fill quotas,
Any surplus was divided between the families and each family had a small private plot
How did Collectivisation Stage 2 (1930-41) start
- Slower Pace
- Establish 2500 machine tractor stations (MTS)
What effect did the Machine Tractor Stations (MTS) have
- They provided seed and maintained machinery to the kolkhozes while also ensuring quotas were collected
How many of the most successful farmers did Collectivisation’s Dekulakisation remove
10 million
What percentage of livestock was slaughtered by peasants from 1929-33 through the Ural Siberian Method
25-30% of livestock were slaughtered by peasants from 1929-33.
Livestock numbers did not exceed pre-collectivisation until 1953
How effectively were collectiges organised
poorly organised by inexperienced Party officials with too few tractors, insufficient animals and a lack of fertilisers
causing Peasants to have little surplus grain to share and little incentive to work hard
How did Stalin respond to the Holodomor of 1932-4 and how did this effect grain exports
In Ukraine, thousands of extra officials rooted out hidden stocks to get grain at any cost to boost exports; 1.73 million tons in 1932, only slightly less than the following year at the worst period of the famine
What was the effect of the Famine of 1932-4 (Holodomor)
Conquest in his The Harvest of Sorrow puts his figure as high as 7 million peasants died
What Decrees in and after 1932 made collectisation like ‘second serfdom’
law of 7/8ths in 1932, anyone who stole from a collective could be jailed for 10 years (subsequently made a capital crime)
Further decrees gave ten year sentences for any attempt to sell meat or grain before quotas were filed along with internal passports to prevent peasants leaving
How much of the Soviet Union’s vegetable, meat and milk production was made in the peasants small private plolt that they could sell on the market
52% of vegetables, 70% of meat and 71% of milk in the Soviet Union was produced this way
What was the Philosopy that supported the 5-year Plans
- road to socialism via industrialization; creating a new society superior to capitalism
- Industrialization was the way to break through to socialism
What were the main aims of Stalin’s economic policies
- Military Strength + Self Sufficiency -war scare in 1920s and 1930s increased Stalin’s fear of attack.
- Grain supplies - end dependance on backwards agricultural sytsem
- Socilaist state - Marxism could only be created in a highly industrialised nation, 1928 only 20% population were workers
- Establish his credentials - Stalin nneeeded to prove himself
What were the 3 types of collective farm
1) Toz: where peasants owned their own land but shared machinery and cooperated in activities
2) Sovkhoz: Owned and run by state; paid a regular wage
Kolkhoz: wheree all land held in common and run by an elected committee. All land, tools and livestock were pooled. Each household given its own private plot
Why did the Communists think collectivisation was the solution to the USSR’s agricultural problems
1) Machinisation made larger farms more efficiently farmed; could also utilised modern methods
3) Easier to procure grain and ensured no hoarding
4) Socialist solution to agriculture
Why was Collectivisation carried out so rapidly
- shortages in 1929 made Stalin announce a policy of forced mass collectivisation
- 1927 war scare forced an increase in the pace of industrilisation
- Lot of support in urban working class
- Credibility and Political battle with the rights
- Looking at success of the URals SIberian Method
- Long Term socialist plans of agrotowns
What indicates the ill-prepared and reactive nature of collectivisation
Simply not enough tractors, harvesters or fertilisers to carry out a high speed collectivisation programme
How many people had been deported to Siberia or labour camps by the end of collectivisation
Up to 10 million people had been deported to Siberia or labour camps by the end of the collectivisation process
What was the effect of collectivisation on grain harvests
grain harvests dropped in 1930s when it was most needed and didn’t recover to their 1928 level until 1935 which was only a bit above the 1918 level
What was the human cost of collectivisation
10 million peasants were dispossesed between 1939-32 of whom around 2 or 3 million lives lost their lives
Conquest estimates 7 million died from the famine
What was the effect of collectivisation on the State
· Party didn’t want peasants have power over the state
· In this sense they won
· Party gained control of the villages and did not have to bargain with the peasants nay more, it established a system using local soviets and MTS of controlling the countryside
· While harvest fell, State procurement did not; Dispossesed peasants fled to cities, providing labour
· USSR didn’t get as much as expected because the Great Depression forced down prices
What was the aim of the ‘classless society’
- Create a society without classes and based on the socialist man; publicly engaged and put community over individual
- Collective class enemy was the burzhui and their way of life (byt)
What did the abolishment of the burzhui class lead to
creation of plain citizen (grazhdanin) while Party members were (tovarishch) comrades
What happened to former nobles or burgeoisie
- Former nobles or burgeoisie were forced to undertake menial tasks, had houses requisitioned and turned into kommunalka ( community living )
- 2 to 7 families shared a hallway, kitchen and bathroom with each family having a room
How were rations politicised based on classes
workers and soldiers receiving the most while essential professionals and civil servants like doctors got a lower rate and the burzhui barely enough to live on
* Some sold their possessions but middle-class girls turned to prostitution
What was proletrianisation
turning masses of the population into urban workers to destroy selfish capitalism
How was the workers life under War Communism and the NEP
- During 1921 workers could be imprisoned or short if they failed to mee t targets
Harsh living persisted during NEP little increase in wages
How was the workers life under Stalin up till 1931
- 7 day working week and longer hours
- Arriving late could result in dismissal and eviction
Leaving a job or striking was illegal
How had the urban labour force increase by 1932
doubled
What changes for workers were intorduced in 1931
wage differntials and payment by the piece giving opportunities for better housing
* Workers could choose their place of work
* Disciplinary rules eased
Who was Aleksei Stakhanov and the Stakhanovite movement
- Aleksei Stakhanov extracted in 5hrs 45 mins 102 tonnes of coal - 14 times the expected work rate
- Competitions set up to emulate this across the country to gain the prestige of a ‘shock worker’; socialist competition
What contributed to the creation of a proletarian elite
- Socialist competition
- Vacancies ‘at the top’ after purges
- Wage Differentials
What was the quicksand society
- Skilled labourers realised their value and were moving a lot to get competitive wages
Only 17% of workers skilled
What were Party Solutions to Labour Problems
- Wage differentials and Piece Work - those who stayed in their job were given bonuses to reduce turnover
- Training - training was poorly executed and rushed. Better quality in the second FYP
- Toughness - absenteeism punished with eviction, dismissal and loss of benefits. Damage or leaving was punishable with prison.
○ 1938: labour books and internal passports were issued. - Forced Labour - 300,000 prisoners worked on the Baltic-White Sea Canal. Anyone with a 3+ year sentence is forced into labour. In extreme conditions. Swelled in number during the Great Purges.
- Propaganda and Encouragement - Stakhanovite Movement
How were Managers impacted during this period
- resorted to bribery and corruption to fulfill targets
- favouritism with rations and bonuses
- resentment from workers derived from stakhanovism ; those who failed to meet targets were branded as ‘saboteurs’
What did Party Secreataries do during this period
- oversaw implementation
- Prioritised meeting/beating targets
- Placed pressure on managers and helped to gain scarce resources
How did living conditions and wages for workers change during this period
- Living conditions remained primitive and cramped; inadequate sanitation and erratic water supplies
Real wages increased during the 2nd 5yr plan but still lower in 1937 than 1928 which was only a little better than in 1913
What were Lenin’s decrees on women from 1917
1917 decree against gender discrimination and allowed women to own property
- Recognition of only civil marriage and Divorce made easier
- 1920 abortion legalised w free contraceptive advice
How did Lenin’s decrees affect Women
- Women expected to work for equality, yet this was misleading as women worked but also attending to all the household’s tasks and the family needs
- Spent a considerable number of non-working hours in food queues
Girls were given same educational rights but double life made it a constant toll
What was impetus and trend for Stalin’s policie towards women
- Stalin reverted to more traditional policies; due to fall in pop. Growth and fears of war
‘Family’ became the focus of a new propaganda wave where Stalin was the father figure with the replacement with the musuclar woman of the 20s with a more feminine family woman
From 1936 what policies did Stalin introduce with regards to women
1) Large fees introduced to deter divorce, added penalty that men contribute 60% of their income to child support
2) Adultery criminalised (names of male offenders put in the press)
3) Contraception banned, only permitted on medical grounds
4) Tax exemptions for families of 6 or more and bonus payment for every additional child up to 10
By how much did women in education and work increase from 1928 -40
in work: female industrial workers grew from 3 million to 13 million 1928-40
women in education doubled
How many abortions were there to live births
150,000 arbotion to every 57,000 live births
In 1937 how many men and women in their 30s were married
In 1937 91% of men and 82% of women in their thirties were married, years 1928-40 saw a falling rate of population growth
What were Lenin’s policies towards education of Young People
- set up the Commissariat of the Enlightenment which provided free education at all levels in coeducational schools
- new secondary schools which combined general education with vocational training
- Most schools abolished textbooks and exams but there was a fair amount of freedom and physical punishment was banned
How did Stalin’s expansion of unveristies affect enrolement rates from 1927 to 1940
enrolement rates starting at 170,000 in 1927 reaching 812,000 by 1940
What was the War against Literacy
16th party congress 1930 eliminate illiteracy ensure primary compulsory
- 3 million vollunteers recruited from the Komsomol to educate workers and peasants
- 90% of adults attended literacy course and 68% literate
How did policies towards education of young people change under Stalin
- Increasing vocational work, nationalism and military training
- Schools responsibility of collectives and Unis put under Veshenka
- Quota system for working class abolished giving an advantage for wealthier
How did the Stakhanovite movement affect teachers
teachers encouraged to set high targets and make students meet them or they’d be purged
* Teachers were closely watched
How many of the 90% of middle Class children who went to secondary education finished it
- Only 3% of the 90% of middle class children finished it
Dominated by wealthy 97% paid fees
By 1941 what % of towns and the countryside were literate
By 1941 some 94% of the towns were literate and 86% in the countryside
USSR produced very strong science graduates
What was the Russian Young Communist League (RKSM)/ Komsomol
Organisaiton for youth that taught communist value:
* Free summer and winter camps
* Members helped Party Campaigns in assisting the Red Army
* Youth Newspaper Komonsolskaia Pravda
* Offered chances for social mobility
in 1926 what % of the elligble youth joined Komsomol
Only 6% as youth had other interests in Western Culture
What was Lenin’s poliicies towards Religion
Toleration:
* 1917 Church+Muslim lands seized and Official Separation in 1918 with abolishment of Sharia courts
* 1921 teaching of religion forbidden in schools
* Patriarch of the Orthodox Church Tikhon arrested in 1922 and his successor Sergius spent first 2 years in jail
* 1923 League of the Godless condemned Bible stories and spread atheism
What was Stalin’s policies towards Religion
- 1932 introduction of ‘uninterrupted 6 day working week’ (each day had a sixth of workers off) meant Sunday Church Service disrupted
- 1935, frequency of prayers, fasts and feasts reduced while the hijab was banned, Hajj/Umrah banned
- 1936 Constitution criminalised the publication of religious propoganda
By 1941 how many Churches and Mosque had been closed
1941, nearly 40,000 Christian Churches and 25,000 Muslim mosques had been closed
By 1937 how much of the population identified themselves as believers
57% of the population identified themselves as believers
What was Lenin’s policies towards national minorities as they came to power with their support
- Decree of 1917 encouraged separatist movements as Finald opted to become an independent state and an elected rada in Ukraine
- All major nationalities were given representation in the Communist Party
- in 1926 Soviet Jews were given a special ‘national homeland’ autonomous republic in 1934. By 1941 about a quarter of the region’s population was Jewish
- Early communists encouraged use of national language and abolished all anti-Semitic laws in 1917
Why did Lenin supress independence in Ukraine or Georgia
Although in the civil war regime couldn’t afford to lose the Ukraine or Georgia (Stalin repressed independence)
What was the general trend of Stalin’s policies towards national minorities
Stalinist policy veered towards greater centralisation and a Soviet identity and nationalism was only Russian
Leaders of different republics put down as bourgeois nationalists if deviated from Moscow
How did Stalin use the Russian language in his policies
- From 1928 learning Russian became compulsory in all Soviet Schools
Russia was the only langauage used in the Red Army
How did Stalin use deportations to remove threats of national minorities in the 1930s
- Finns (29-31 and 32-36) and Poles from Belorusia, the Ukraine and European Russia (32-36)
- In 1937 Koreans in the far east of Russia were deported
- divided central Asia into 5 separate republics and forced the migration of Muslim ethnic groups to weaken any loyalty
How did Stalin treat nationali minorities he annexed during WW2
After annexation of Eastern Poland 1.45 million deported and process repeated in the Blatic republics
What was the Leninist silver age
Commissariat of Popular Enlightenment headed by Lunarcharsky
Focus moved from ‘high art’ - ballet, opera, fine art and museums which was seen as bourgeoisie and elitist to ‘popular culture’
Many of Russia’s finest artist initially engaged in this socialist experiment creating the 1920’s ‘silver age’ of Russian literature and poetry
How did Stalin view cultural pursuits
only worthwhile if they served socialist ideology and the creation of a new socialist man.
Creating ‘socialist realism’ and the Cultural Revolution of 1928-31 being enforced by the Komsomols
What was the Shakhty Trial of May 1928
an attack on ‘bourgeoisie specialist’ and is seen as the start of the cultural revolution, that attacked old intelligentsia and bourgeoisie specialists.
What was the Union of Soviet Writers
all writers had to belong to the Union of Soviet Writers, similar bodies were established for musicians, filmmakers, painters and sculptors.
Non-membership meant isolation and no oportunities for commissions
These exerted control over what was created and by whom according to socialist realism norms
How did Stalin utilise Lenin’s death to create a cult of personality
- Lenin after death was treated largely like a god
- Stalin insisted against Krupskaya’s wishes Lenin be embalmed
Lenin’s tomb became a shrine and in 1924 Petrograd became Leningrad
Stalin was seen as a genius part of the natural progression from the genius of Marx, Engels and Lenin
What was the Stalinist Cult of Personality like
- Universally portrayed as Lenin’s true successor
- Father of a nation
- Cult peaked after ‘Patriotic War’
- Photographs were doctored to put Stalin at Bolshevik successs and condemn enemies
- Red Corner in most houses
Why did the Stalinist Cult of Personality gain success
- Benefactors – Those who prospered such as Stakhanovites, soldiers some of the young
- Traditional defender of the people – he tapped into a traditional desire to believe in a benevolent leader harking back to Tsarist Russia
Charismatic leader - He was honored much like traditional Christian saints, with shrines this was difficult to avoid especially by 1940s and many built into the charismatic nature of the image created of him.
How did the decreee of April 1932 contribute to Russian Cultural Change
A decree of April 1932 abolished all proletarian artistic and literary organisations and centralised all artists into a single union.
Avant Garde artists such as Malevich were excluded , leading realist artists became very successful guided down the path to socialist realism.
Socialist realism appeared first in 1932 at the newly founded Union of Writers in 1934. It was designed to show soviet heroes and be a glimpse into a brighter future
What is an example of reprpession of avant garde art in the 1930s
the director of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a theatre director who spoke in his defence was seized and brutally tortured by the NKVD and shot along with his wife
How did Stalin promote traditional and a ‘Great Retreat’ in culture
Music saw a return to Russian classsical composers like Tchaikovsky and literature saw a return to Pushkin and Tolstoy
- Folk culture was also promoted with traditional peasant arts and crafts praised linked to ‘traditional’ culture
Contrast to previous persecution of Tsarist intelligentsia
What did the Moscow Metro of 1935 represent
- Moscow Metro of 1935 had ‘stations of light’ and symbols of ‘all victorious socialism’
Stalinist era brought solid classical imposing forms in Architecture
What were the main 3 types of opposition under Lenin
1) From other political groups
2) From opponents throughout the Empire; tsarists/peasants
3) Ideological opposition from bourgeoise and upper classes of society against whom the Bolsheviks had fought
What was the Red Terror
- Civil war brought new wave of coercion against both real and assumed enemies, creating ‘The Red Terror’
What set up the Red Terrror
- 1918 assassination attempt on lenin justified an attack on the bourgeoise, Cheka rounded up thousands and names of ‘accomplices’ were obtained by torture
- Sept 1918 sovnarkom gave cheka authority to find, question, arrest and destroy the families of any suspected traitors
What happened to opposition and class enemies in the Red Terror off 1918-21
- All remaining SR and Mensheviks (500) shot as traitors in Petrograd
- Local cheka found hidden ‘opposition’ from Tsar’s family to workers suspected of ‘counter-revolution’
- Merchants and traders (nepmen), professors, prositutes and kulaks all suffered
What happened to religious people during the Red Terror
- Priests, Jews, Catholics and Muslims persecuted
8000 priests executed in 1921 for not handing over Church valuables
How many people were shot in Russia from 1918-21 due to the Red Terror
Estimated that between 1/2 a million to a million people were shot in the 1918-21 period
What happened to victims in Kharkov and Kiev during the Red Terror
- In Kharkov, they put victims hands in boiling water and kept topping it up until the blisters became so bad the skin started to peel off
In kiev, a cage full of rats was placed around the victims body, this was heated to make rats eat the victims body to escape
How did Lenin deal with the forming opposition of factions within the Party such as the 1921 ‘Workers Opposition ‘
1921 Lenin ban on factions made debate and challenge impossible, especially from the highly centralised, authoritarian, one-party state that emerged from the years of civil war
What was Stalin’s main use of terror and class warfare until 1932
- Extended use of Terror and class warfare, to destroy kulaks and enforce collectivisation
- Sent ‘bourgeois managers’, specialist and engineers whom he accused of sabotage to labour camps
e.g. Shakhty Show Trial, Industrial Party, Metro Vickers Trial - Expansion of Gulag system
What was the Shakty and Metro Vickers Show Trial
- 1928, 53 engineers at Shakhty coal mine were given a ‘show trial’ where they were foreced to confess. 5 executed and 44 got long-prison sentences
1933 Metro-Vickers trial, British specialists found guilty of wrecking activities
What prompted the expansion of the gulag system under the head of the Secret Policy Genrkkh Yagoda
- By 1929 soviet prisons could no longer cope with the numbers
- He recommended recpanding the Leninist labour camps by creating a new serios of camps of 50,000c prisoners each in remote areas of the North and Siberia where diamonds, gold, platinum nickel, oil, coal and timber were all to be found - economiic benefit
- Housed over a million people
What was the White Sea Canal
White Sea Canal joined the Baltic Sea and the White Sea
* Dug cheaply with no power tools in freezing cold temperatures
* Some 100,000 prisoners were employed on this task in 1932 but nearly 25,000 died in the 1931-2 winter
* It was opened by Stalin in a blaze of publicity in 1913 but since it was only 12 feet in depth, it proved useless to bigger shipping
What was the Crisis of 1932
- Suicide of wife Nadeya and her having the ‘Ryutin Platform’; deeply unhinged Stalin
- Famine in Countryside and workers strikes brought critcism of Stalin’s leadership
- Bukharin re-elected to Central Committee and Emergence of 2 opposition groups
What was the aftermath of the Ryutin Platform
- Ryutin’s was arrested and Stalin called for their immediate executions, but was overruled by the Politburo and in particular, by Sergei Kirov, the Leningrad Party Secretary.
- 24 were expelled from the Party and exiled from Moscow while several other old Bolsheviks like Zinoviev and Kamenev were expelled and exiled, simply for knowing of the group
- Ryutin was imprisoned and shot in 1937
- April 1933 he announced a general purge of the Party over the next 2 years and conducted a paranoid struggle in which over 18% of the Party membership were branded as Ryutinies and purged
- Most of them were new and Stalin was unsure of them
Who were the 2 opposition groups emerged from within the Party in 1932
- an informal group of ‘old Bolsheviks’ which included Leonid Smirnov, was discovered to have held meetings at which they had debated Stalin’s removal but they were quickly arrested and expelled
- A second group was led by Martemyan Ryutinan (former Moscow Party Secretary and a ‘rightists’) and their criticisms became known as the ‘Ryutin Platform’.
Ryutin even sent an appeal signed by prominent communists to the Central Committee urging Stalin’s removal
What happened at the 17th Party Congress
- At 17th Party Congress Stalin announced that the ‘anti-Leninist opposition’ had been defeated
- Bukharin had been defeated + Rykov, Tomsky, Radek and others who had challenged Stalin all admitted their errors
What opposition formed at the 17th Party Congress
- Stalin received c150 negative votes; only 3 officially recorded
- A split between maintain the pace of industrilisation and others, like Kirov, who spoke about stopping forcible grain serizures and increasing workers’ rations.
- Only 2 of the Politbburo firmly supported Stalin (Molotov and Kaganovich) while Kirov received a long, standing ovation for his speech advoating a more moderate approach
- The title of ‘General Secretary’ was abolished and replaced with ‘Secretary of Equal Rank’, given to Stalin, Kirov, Andrei Zhdanov and Kaganovich
What happened to Kirov
- Leonid Nikolayev murdered Kirov, who was a disgruntled party memner whose wife may have been having an affair with Kirov
- Kirov’s bodyguard and NKVD men were mysteriously killed in a car accident before they could give evidence and leading NKVD men were sentenced for failure to protect Kirov
- But their terms were short and treatment was lenient
1938 Yagoda pleaded guilty to allowing Nikolayev to reach Kirov, although may have been said under duress
What was the aftermath of the Kirov Affair
*Stalin claimed murder was part of Trotskyite conspiracy, led by ‘Zinovieties’ to overthrow the Party
A decree published a day after giving Yagoda powers to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of ‘terrorist planning;’ 6500 people arrested due to this law
- Jan 1935 Zinovev, Kamenev and 17 otherrs arrested for terrorism (5-10 yrs imprison)
- 843 former associates were also arrested
11,000 ‘former people’ were arrested, exiled or placed in camps while 250,000 Party Members were expelled as ‘anti Leninists’
What political purge of stalin’s opposition started the 1936-8 Great Purges
- 1936 show trial of Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others
- All 16 found guilt in a plot to murder Stalin, all executed with 160 accomplies
- Further show trial of 17 prominent communists like Radek, sentenced to death
Who was Nikolai Yezhov
Sept 1936 succeeded Yagoda as NKVD chief and carried out the Yezhovshchina. 1938 he was under suspicion and replaced by Lavrenty Beria. Arrested and shot in 1940
What was the purge of the army that took place during the Great Purges
- 1937: 8 senior military commanders including Mikhail Tukachevsky - heroes of civil war- tortured to sign false confessions and shot
767 of High Command arrested:
512 were executed, 29 died in prison, 13 committed suicide
What was the 3rd and largest major political show trial in the Great Purges
- 3rd and Largest major political show trial took place in March 1938, 21 Bolsheviks were interrogated and Bukharin, Ryok and Yagodha sentenced to be shot
Bukharin tried to defend himself ; shot
What was the Yezhoshchina 1937-8
The purge of ordinary citizens as it spread to all classes and all towns
What were the main features of the Yezhovschina
- Surveillance everywhere; ordinary citizens encouraged to root out hidden enemies even if ffamilies or friendss
- NKVD employed reliables; who informed them
What happened to the leading party members due to the Great Purges
Leading Party Members
-70% of the members of Central Committeee at the 17th Party Congress were arrested and shot
- Molotov + Kalinin eventually excepted that their wives would stay imprisoned
- Sergo committed suicide after a heated row with Stalin; last person to oppose
- Old Bolsheviks were removed through show trials; less than 10% of the Party Membership in 1939 had joined the Party before 1920
What happened to national minorities due to the Great Purges
Minority Nationalities
- Leaders of national republics were charged with treason
- In Georgia, 2 state prime ministers, 4/5 regional Party Secretaries and thousands of lesser officials lost posts
- Around 350,000 people from minority ethnic groups put on trial, 140,000 Poles
What happened to the armed forces due to the Great Purges
Armed Forces
- 8 senior generals, 3/5 marshalls, all eleven war commissars, all 8 admirals and their replacements were shot
- All but one of the senior airforce, approximately 50% of the officer corps in all three services and a substantial numbers in military intelligence were also tried; many were shot
What happened to Managers, Scientists and engineers during the Great Purges
Managers, engineers and scientists
High proportions of managers, leading scientists lost their positions, some were executed
What happened to the NKVD during the Great Purges
Yagoda and more than 230,000 NKVD put on trial; most were shot
What happened to the the Peasants and Industrial workers during the Great Purges
kulaks represented 50% of all arrests and more than half the total number of executions
How did the purges end
Stalin used Yezhov as a scapegoat, accusing him of excessive seal
* 18th Party Congress declared that ‘mass cleansings’ were no longer needed. 1.5 million cases were reviewed and reversed
* Trotsky and Yezhov shot by 1940 so there was no one with a greater claim to leadership than Stalin
* Quashing of sentences and release of prisosners helped restore faith in the system
* Yezhov viewed as cause of the problems
How did the Purges affectt the makeup of the Party
1935-39 membership fell by a million due to arrests of which 600,000 were exeecuted
New members recruited in late 1930s who saw Stalin as the only possible leader
By 1941 what was the extent of one party centralisation
- Ultimate authority increasingly rested with Stalin; could avoid calling congresses
- No independent insitutions, no rival power centres and younger officials, indebted to Stalin were placed in authority
- Mistakes blamed on scapegoats like Yezhov
Nomenklatura system of priveleges to reward loyalty concentrated decision making into few hands
* However, Stalin relied on a highly bureaucratic system that relied on drive from local officials
* Plenty of corruption, lying and even non-compliance at lower levels of administration + lack of innovation
How had the attacks on opposition develop by 1941
- Intensified class warfare and political attacks even on leaders became violent and widespread under Stalin
- Correction camps developed into gulags providing slace labour
- Lots of evidence of rural hostility and some gave welcoems to invading Germans in 1941
How did heavy industry develop by 1941
- 1926–>1939, 17%–>33% population lived in towns
- By 1940 Russia took over Britain in iron and steel (400%) production and wasn’t far behind Germany
- Heavy industry development lay foundation for war success:
9 aircraft factoris construcred in 1939
between 1938-41 rearmament spending rose from 17.5 billion to 70.9 billion roubles
What were the problems in the economy by 1941
- Yet consumer goods were scarcer in 1941 than even under the NEP
- Quality was poor as bureaucrats prioritised targets, while central planning w as inefficient at local levels
- Purges of specialists and managers didn’t help - culture of fear
- In 1941 the nation was still producing less grain than under the NEP
- Insufficient attention paid to modern farming technologies
What was the Stalinist society by 1941
- Communist control of countryside grew; peasants living in kolkhoz and under supervision of Party Officials, and by the NKVD at each Motor Tractor Station
- Increased urbanisation, expansion of town populations created a far stronger working class - the backbone of the Communist State
- A new ‘mass culture’ developed by education, propganda, leadership cult, public celebration, arts culture and show trials
- Quality of life didn’t increase substantially increase with low rations, poor housing and a lack of consumer goods
- Internal passports, strict censorship restricted freedoms
- Rather than a classless society there was a heirachal society with a priveleged elite organised around the party
What did Soviet refugees say about the effect of Stalinism and support for him
‘Stalinism’ never entirely reshaped public opinion, Service said that through interviews with Soviet refugees said there was support for a State welfare and strong government, along with policies and strong gov., as well as pride in Soviet achievements, there was also a feeling of resignation to life’s hardships, mingled with hope that one day things might get better
What was the Soviet Unions position by the time the Germans attacked on June 1941
- Stalin was caught by surprise by the attack in 1941, had ignored intelligence and reports
- Purges of red army from 1936-8 sapped strength and skill; Mikhail Tukachevsky who wass an exponent of massive tank operations and others had been removed. Shown in lack of intiative in Winter War with Finland 1939-40
- Stalin re-established dual command with political commissars; increasing party control but weakening combat performance
- Most equipment was old design and Stalin insisted on traditional battleships and cruisers rather than aircraft carriers
- However industrial growth meant that by 1941 SU was more than 100,000 rifles per month
