The Government under Stalin Flashcards
Between 1923 and 1928, the leadership struggle changed the _______ of the Communist Party
nature
Between 1917 and 1922, Lenin’s government was quite __________
pluralistic
What does pluralism mean?
Pluralism denotes a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method
Stalin had transformed the Party in four ways:
- He had established an ideological orthodoxy
- Destroyed the authority of the other main contenders
- He changed the nature of Party membership
- He had created the patronage system
In order to win the leadership struggle, Stalin had to establish that he was…
the true Leninist
Ideological orthodoxy definition
Of or pertaining to or characteristic of an orientation that characterises the thinking of a group or nation
In order to win the leadership struggle, Stalin had to establish that he was the true Leninist how did this change the nature of the Party
This changed the nature of the Party by establishing an ideological orthodoxy
By 1928, the Communist Party was committed to two ideas which Stalin believed in:
- Socialism in one country
- Collectivisation and industrialisation
Socialism in one country
From 1924, Bukharin and Stalin argued that the USSR could build socialism without a revolution
They argued that socialism in one country was the correct Leninist idea
Why did Bukharin and Stalin argue that Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev were Trotskyites, rather than Leninists?
Because they wanted to wait for a global revolution before socialism
Collectivisation and industrialisation
In 1928, Stalin argued that the time was right to abandon the NEP and transform the Soviet economy
What vague statement did Stalin use to argue that Lenin’s commitment to the NEP was pragmatic?
Lenin had argued that the NEP would “last a while but not forever”
When the economy under the NEP stopped growing in the late 1920s, Stalin argued that peasants should be forced to…
work on state-owned farms.
The profit they produced should be used to industrialise the USSR quickly
How did Stalin dismiss Bukharin?
He argued that Bukharin’s desire to continue the NEP indicated that Bukharin was no longer a true Leninist
Why was the new ideological orthodoxy a big change in the nature of the Party?
Lenin had tolerated differences of view at the top of the government and was prepared to work with people he disagreed with
Stalin argued that Trotskyites and Bukharin’s followers posed a threat to the Party
He therefore had Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky arrested and Trotsky expelled from the Party and the USSR
Under Lenin there were many people who had authority within the Party. Stalin’s strategy for emerging as leader was to destroy…
the authority of his opponents
How did Stalin undermine his opponents?
- Establishing a new ideological orthodoxy and branding opponents enemies of Leninism
- Accusing Bukharin, Zinoviev and Kamenev of plotting against the Party and forming a faction; and these were serious crimes as Lenin had banned factions in 1921
By 1928, the Party had been transformed from an organisation in which there were a large number of people who had a degree of authority to…
an organisation in which Stalin had a near monopoly of authority
Party membership
Another change in the Party introduced by Stalin to help win the leadership struggle was an increase in Party membership
What did Stalin initiate in order to increase Party membership?
Stalin initiated the Lenin Enrolment
From May 1924, Lenin Enrolment allowed ______ people to join the Communist Party
128,000
How did Stalin justify the Lenin Enrolment?
Stalin justified this by saying that the Party needed new working-class members
The new Party members were…
poorly educated people who wanted good paying jobs
Why did the new Party members tend to support Stalin?
They were interested in getting well-paid Party jobs they tended to support Stalin as he was able to promote them within the Party
By 1928, the Party was quite different to the Party of 1921 - how?
The new recruits were less interested in ideas or the goals of the revolution and more interested in their careers
In 1921, the Party was based on…
Democratic centralism
What is democratic centralism
The Leninist organizational system in which policy is decided centrally and is binding on all members
Patronage system
The patronage system refers to a practice in which influential individuals or leaders grant favours, rewards, and promotions to their loyal supporters in exchange for political support and loyalty
Stalin used the patronage system as a tool to…
consolidate his power within the Communist Party and the Soviet government
Stalin used the patronage system as a tool to…
consolidate his power within the Communist Party and the Soviet government
How did Stalin implement the patronage system?
He placed loyalists in key positions, ensuring their allegiance and eliminating potential threats to his rule
Stalin’s patronage system enabled the formation of…
a loyal political elite who owed their positions and privileges to him. This elite group became instrumental in implementing his policies and suppressing dissent within the Soviet Union
Party members became known as…
“apparatchiks”
Define “apparatchiks”
People who worked in the Party “apparatus”, implementing orders rather than thinking creatively about politics
The Party became increasingly privileged under Stain. People with full-time positions in the Party were known as…
the nomenklatura
Define nomenklatura
These were people who enjoyed power and status due to their Party position, and ultimately to patronage
Under Stalin the Party ceased to be full of…
dedicated revolutionary radicals and became full of professional administrators dedicated to their own careers
Stalin was the __________ leader of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union by 1928
undisputed
Stalin was still insecure that he would…
lose power
Stalin was concerned that:
- His own supporters were prepared to challenge his authority
- His old rivals would conspire against him
Stalin was concerned that:
- His own supporters were prepared to challenge his authority
- His old rivals would conspire against him
Stalin responded to these threats by…
launching the Great Terror, a campaign of arrests, torture, mass imprisonments and executions that finally removed his opponents
The Great Terror was at its height from…
1935 to 1938
The Great Terror was responsible for the deaths of around ___ million Soviet citizens, which was nearly ___ per cent of the population
10
10
The Great Terror had several causes. They were all related to…
Stalin’s desire to safeguard his position
What were the causes of the Great Terror
- Opposition
- Economic Problems
- The Congress of Victors
- Kirov’s murder
Opposition from the _________ was one of the causes of the Great Terror
Politburo
How was opposition from the Politburo was one of the causes of the Great Terror?
By 1932, there was a group of moderates in the Politburo associated with Sergei Kirov, head of the Communist Party in Leningrad
Kirov’s growing authority within the Party was clearly a challenge to Stalin
Sergei Kirov and Martemyan Ryutin
Ryutin had circulated a - document that was highly critical of Stalin’s policies
He also formed the Union of Marxists Leninists, an opposition group which included supporters of Bukharin, Zinoviev and Trotsky
Stalin demanded his execution
Kirov with the support of Politburo moderates, argued successfully that he should be sent to prison
In 1933 Kirov and the moderates argued for…
more realistic targets in the Second Five-Year Plan and for a greater emphasis on the production of consumer goods
Why were economic problems were also a cause of the Great Terror?
Senior figures within government were aware of the problems with Stalin’s industrial and agricultural policies, which undermined Stalin’s authority in government
By accusing workers and managers of being wreckers and saboteurs Stalin could blame them for the problems. Rather than accepting responsibility for the failure of his policies
When was the Congress of Victors held?
February 1934
Events during the Congress of Victors, held in February 1934, also indicated that Stalin’s position was under threat - expand on this claim
Stalin came second to Kirov in the vote at the end of the Congress which elected the new Central Committee
How many votes did Kirov receive in comparison to Stalin in the vote at the end of the Congress which elected the new Central Committee?
Kirov received 1225 votes compared to Stalin’s 927
Senior members of the Party approached Kirov, urging him to…
stand against Stalin as General Secretary
What did the Congress of Victor’s demonstrate?
The Congress demonstrated that Stalin had a rival in the Communist Party
How did Kirov’s murder lead to the Great Terror?
Kirov’s murder was a useful pretext for launching the terror
When was Kirov murdered?
December 1934
How was Kirov’s murder a useful pretext for launching the terror?
The murder allowed Stalin to claim that there was a dangerous conspiracy that aimed to overthrow the Communist Government.
In that sense, it gave Stalin a reason to arrest his rivals and launch a mass terror campaign
The most public aspect of the terror were…
three show trials that took place in 1936, 1937 and 1938
The Trial of the 16
The Trial of the 16, 1936, led to the execution of Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 of their supporters
The Trial of the 17
The Trial of the 17, 1937, led to the execution and imprisonment of 17 of Trotsky’s former supporters
The Trial of the 21
The Trial of the 21, 1938, led to the execution of Bukharin and many of his supporters
95% of those affected by the terror were…
men between the ages of 3 and 45 who held senior positions in the Party or an important role in the economy
Secret trials
In addition to the public trials, Stalin organised a trial of the Red Army’s leaders
Trial of the Red Armys leaders
In 1937, 8 senior generals were tried for plotting to overthrow the government
The 8 leaders had worked with Trotsky when he was head of the Red Army
Therefore Stalin did not trust them
All were executed
Following the secret trials…
more than 37,000 officers were purged from the army
Stalin Stalin inherited the Communist Party and the Soviet State from…
Lenin
Lenin had created both the Communist Party and the Soviet State but had failed to…
define the relationship between them
As non-Communist political parties were outlawed, the Communist Party, rather than the state, became the…
most powerful organisation in the USSR
The exact relationship however, between the Party and the State was never _______. Stalin used the ________ of the relationship between the Party and the state to his __________ throughout the 1940s and the early 1950s
defined
vagueness
advantage
The Second World War led to a change in the relationship between…
party and state
As well as becoming Chair of the Council of Ministers, Stalin promoted effective government during the war in the following ways:
Ended mass terror to help them work more efficiently during war
Created the State Defence Committee (GKO).
Responsible for economic co-ordination and military production and defence during the war.
Following the war, how did Stalin use the party-state relationship to his advantage?
He did this by appointing rival personnel to key positions in the Party and State
Stalin shifted power from the Party to the state and back again
Encouraging competition between Party and state officials meant that…
senior officials in the Soviet Government competed with each other and not with Stalin
By shifting the centre of power within the government, Stalin was able to…
ensure that none of these senior committees grew to rival him
Stalin shifted power from the Party to the state and back again
In 1938, the Politburo was the most senior committee in government
By 1942, the GKO was the most powerful committee, and after the war, the Council of Ministers became more powerful
The Leningrad Affair, 1949
During 1949, Stalin launched a purge against the Leningrad Party
Stalin was concerned that Leningrad, Russia’s second city, was developing a degree of independence from his powerbase in Moscow
The Leningrad Affair casualties
Around 100 officials were shot and 2000 arrested and dismissed
The Leningrad Affair potential explanation
One explanation was that Beria encouraged Stalin to purge Leningrad because it contained a group of senior officials, rivals to Stalin
One final method that Stalin used was to…
test the loyalty of his allies
How did Stalin test the loyalty of his allies?
One way he did this was to imprison or sack the wives and daughters of the senior figures in government
Stalin and Molotov
- One of Stalin’s closest allies
- Molotov had been a member of the Politburo since 1926 and Minister of Foreign Affairs since 1939
- In 1948, Stalin demanded that the Politburo vote to expel Molotov’s wife from the Party
- Molotov abstained from the vote and later apologised to Stalin for this disloyalty
- In 1949, Stalin had Molotov’s wife arrested and imprisoned
- Molotov made no effort to stop the arrest or end the imprisonment
Stalin conclusion
The struggle for power and the Great Terror transformed the Soviet Government
Under Lenin various politicians and the Communist Party itself, had an authority that was independent of Lenin
Moreover, Lenin established the convention that political terror should never be used against the Party
There was room for debate and discussion within the Party
By 1938, this had changed, during the 20s, Stalin established a single ideological orthodoxy and a party which rewarded loyalty rather than free discussion
The 1920s also saw the authority of Lenin’s closest allies destroyed
By 1928, Stalin had full control of the Party
Great Terror took this process further
Many of Stalin’s allies were purged; believed that people were more likely to obey him out of fear over loyalty.
Stalin was prepared to rule through terror
Stalin ruled rather than the Communist Party
Party and state had very limited authority
