The Making Of A Superpower Flashcards

0
Q

When was the red army purged?

-what did this mean for the red army?

A

Between 1937 and 1938

-for the army this meant a loss of military experience and skill

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1
Q

In 1935, how did military discipline within the red army change?

A

Under Stalin, the old tsarist system of strict discipline and a clear division between officers was reintroduced

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2
Q

Where did Russia have communist sympathisers?

-how did they contribute other Russian war effort?

A

Uk, USA, Germany and France

-they provided secret information to the soviet government

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3
Q

What was Russia’s intelligence resources focused on?

A

The hunt for Trotsky as opposed to hitler’s movements

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4
Q

How many different government departments argued with gosplan over war spending?

A

17

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5
Q

How did defence spending increase between the first 5yr plan and the third 5yr plan?

A

1st=366 million roubles
2nd=2080 million roubles
3rd=4200 million roubles

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6
Q

What remarkable feats were achieved by the soviet government in 1939?

A

6 new aircraft factories built

24 new explosives factories built

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7
Q

Between 1938 and 1942 how did tank production increase?

A

It doubled

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8
Q

How much did Russia and Germany spend on war production in 1940 and what % of their economy was this?

A

R= $5 billion, 20% of their economy

G=$6 billion, 44% of their economy

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9
Q

Why was the Nazi-soviet pact surprising?

A

Hitler had bitterly attacked communism in “mein kampf”
Communist party called nazism one of the “worst regimes of the age”
They’d fought each other in the Spanish civil war 1936-39

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10
Q

When was the nazi-soviet pact signed?

A

24th august 1939

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11
Q

Why did Stalin sign the nazi-soviet pact?

A

No viable alternative

Attempting to buy time for Russia

Stalin was following Lenin’s example-1920 Lenin encouraged alliances between German communists and fascists to overthrow the democratic government

Stalin wanted to recapture territory that once belonged to the tsar

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12
Q

When did Stalin think the nazi-soviet pact would protect him till?

A

May 1942

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13
Q

When did Germany invade Russia?

A

Sunday 22nd June 1941

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14
Q

What was operation Barbarossa?

A

A German offensive, primarily on Moscow and Stalingrad

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15
Q

When was operation typhoon?

-what was it?

A

September 1941

-to capture Moscow

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16
Q

What happened in Moscow during operation Typhoon?

A

The people panicked, rioted and looted

Government buildings were deserted

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17
Q

What did Russia launch in December under which general?

-how successful was this?

A

The first Russian counter-attack, from general Zhukov

-pushed the German army back 200km from he centre of Moscow

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18
Q

What was operation blue?

-when was it launched?

A

An attack on the city of Stalingrad

-June 1942

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19
Q

How long was the battle of Stalingrad?

A

6 months

August 1942-January 1943

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20
Q

What was the estimated life expectancy of Russian soldiers and officers in the battle of Stalingrad?

A

Soldiers=less than 24 hours

Officers=around 3 days

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21
Q

How many died in the battle of Stalingrad?

A

1.9 million

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22
Q

What was operation Uranus?

-when was it?

A

The soviet counter-offensive

-September 1942

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23
Q

How many died in the defence of Stalingrad?

A

1.1 million red army soldiers killed

800,000 German troops

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24
Q

By when had the Germans been driven from Stalingrad?

A

By February 1943

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25
Q

How much territory had been recaptured by December 1943?

A

2/3 of German-occupied territory

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26
Q

What was ‘Ten great victories’?

A

Soviet propaganda focused on he recapture of Crimea, Belarus, Latvia and Estonia

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27
Q

When did the red army enter German territory?

A

Early January 1945

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28
Q

What did the red army do when they entered German territory?

A

Destroyed towns and villages, commuted atrocities such as rape and murder

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29
Q

By April 1945, what had reached the outskirts of Berlin?

A

4,000 red army tanks
23,000 pieces of artillery
4,000 aeroplanes

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30
Q

What did germany do in May 1945?

A

Surrender to the western allies and the USSR

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31
Q

What % of Russia’s population died between 1941-1945?

A

10%

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32
Q

How many Russian citizens died as a result of conflict?

A

20 million

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33
Q

How many died in gulags or from war-related injuries?

A

Around 10 million

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34
Q

What % the soviet population were under German control for much of the war?

A

45% (85 million)

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35
Q

How many Russians fled west at the end of the war?

A

20 million

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36
Q

What happened to the production of tractors during the war?

A

They effectively ceased because factories had been converted to war-effort

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37
Q

How long were farm and factory workers expected to work during the war?

A

Between 12-18 hours a day for 7 days a week

Also expected to work an additional night shift on farms during the harvest

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38
Q

When was the first day off for Russian workers after the war?

A

9th may 1945

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39
Q

How was discipline tightened in factories during the war?

A

Being 20 mins late/stealing=handed over to the military and tried for their crimes

Changing jobs without permission=5-8yrs in prison

40
Q

In shadrinsk, what % did women make up the workforce?

A

75%

41
Q

Without machines or animals what were women forced to do?

A

Perform e roles of those machines/animals

Eg women were yoked to ploughs in the absence of tractors and horses

42
Q

What problems did women have to cope with during the war?

A

Expected to work in factories/farms as well as taking care of their families

Continual shortages and hunger

43
Q

What were labour reserve schools?

A

A form of vocational training in preparation for war work

-> 14-17yr olds were drafted in during the war

44
Q

What did senior party members tend to do when working in regional areas?

A

common to start a second family

-generally, these ‘war families’ were abandoned after the war ended

45
Q

By January 1942, how much of Russia’s industry did Germany have control of?

A

1/3

46
Q

What contributed to the fall in economic production during the war?

A

The loss of Russian industry to Germany (1/3 by jan 1942)

The conscription of Russian labour into the armed forces

47
Q

How did industrial production change 1942/44 compared to 1940?

A

1942- 59% of 1940 levels

1944- 79% of 1940 levels

48
Q

How did grain production change 1942/44 compared to 1940?

A

1942- 36% of 1940 levels

1944- 64% of 1940 levels

49
Q

What happens to electricity supplies in 1941?

A

Supplies to the general public ended, they were only restored when the war ended

50
Q

What was ‘blockade bread’?

A

A poor quality bread made largely from sawdust, to sustain the population in Leningrad

51
Q

How did citizens get meat i. Leningrad during the sieges?

A

Eating birds, rats, pets and in extreme cases resorted to cannibalism

52
Q

What did the sovnarkom decree in June 1941?

A

That workers should destroy or sabotage all industrial equipment that was likely to fall into the hands of the Germans

53
Q

How much of Russia’s pre-war industry was destroyed between 1941-1945?

A

A quarter of industry

54
Q

How much industrial equipment was destroyed in area occupied by German forces?

A

Two-thirds

55
Q

What a policy did he Germans adopt to prevent the Russians gaining an economic advantage?

A

A scorched-earth policy

-> burned crops! destroyed factories and machinery! killed cattle! blew up bridges

56
Q

How much was destroyed as a result of the war?

A

70,000 villages
32,000 factories
65,000km of railway

57
Q

When did the Russians win the war against Germany?

A

2nd may 1945

58
Q

What 4 factors contributed to Russia’s victory in the war?

A

The war economies of Russia and nazi germany

German tactical mistakes

The home front

The grand alliance

59
Q

How did Russia’s economy prepare for war?

A

Stalin initiated a policy of relocating factories
-> by November 1941 1523 factories had been relocated in Russia’s eastern regions

By 1942, 56% of Russia’s national income was devoted to the war effort

1941-44 the production of armaments almost doubled

60
Q

How was the nazi economy unprepared for war?

A

Lacked direction-senior nazis had competing priorities eg Goerring insisted on maintaining high living standards

Goerring opposed the introduction of mass production
-> produced less than 1,000 aircraft a month

61
Q

What tactical mistakes did Germany make?

A

Launching a war on 2 fronts=over-ambitious

Operation Barbarossa launched too late to reach Moscow before the first snows of winter=unprepared for harsh conditions

Hitler didn’t take Leningrad/Moscow by force=prolonged the war, gave russians time to regroup

Hitler over stretched the army by sending them to Stalingrad/Ukraine before conquering Moscow/Leningrad

62
Q

Why didn’t Stalin appeal to Russians in the name of socialism?

A

It wouldn’t motivate them-the soviet economy brought little improvement and the great terror had affected most of its citizens

Appealed to traditional nationalism and religion

63
Q

How did Stalin appeal to Russian nationalism?

A

Called on people to defend the “motherland”

Named the war “the great patriotic war”

Encouraged soldiers to use nationalistic nicknames eg hand, fritz, kraut
-> emphasis Germany as a foreign enemy rather than an ideological one

64
Q

Why was Leningrad given the title of “hero city”?

A

The citizens of Leningrad endured a siege for 900 days without surrendering

65
Q

How did religious publications change during the war?

A

Anti-religious propaganda ceased
The communist publication bezbozhnik (“the godless” was officially closed

Stalin promised the metropolitan Sergey that religious publications couldn’t be censored

66
Q

How many churches were allowed to reopen during the last year of the war?

A

414 churches

67
Q

Why was the alliance between USSR,USA and Britain called “a marriage of convenience”?

A

There was little that united the USSR with Britain and the USA except a common enemy
The 3 leaders had an uneasy relationship eg Churchill (British war minister) didn’t trust Stalin and saw his view of war as highly unrealistic

68
Q

When was the formal treaty between the USSR and Britain signed?

A

May 1942

69
Q

How did the grand alliance help defeat the nazis?

A

The alliance diverted hitters attention

British bombers targeted German cities so the
Luftwaffe couldn’t concentrate on Russia

The British and Americans opened a third front against Germany in France

70
Q

What was lend-lease?

-when was it extended to Russia?

A

Where America supplied their allies with their resources to fight the nazis
-it was extended to Russia in November 1941

71
Q

Why was lend-lease only of minor significance to russia in terms of military support?

A

American supplied only:
12% aeroplanes
10% tanks
2% artillery

Land-lease accounted for only 4% of the industrial goods

72
Q

How was lend-lease of major significance to Russia in terms of food and transport?

A

The red army was dependant on American and Canadian wheat and tinned goods eg spam

By 1943, 17% calorie intake supplied by America

By the end of the war, 12 million soldiers were receiving about 200g of US food a day

1900/2000 trains used by Russians were American

American jeeps formed 2/3 of all those used by the red army

73
Q

What specialist products did lend-lease supply to Russia?

A

Aluminium and high-quality steel

74
Q

Why was the praise of foreign technology officially criminalised in 1942?

A

American goods were clearly superior to soviet goods-proved the superiority of capitalist forms of production

75
Q

When did the grand alliance break down?

-what 2 “camps” emerged?

A

1946

-Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union vs Western Europe and the USA

76
Q

When was how Tehran conference?

A

November 1943

77
Q

When was the Yalta conference?

A

February 1945

78
Q

What did the split in Europe mean for Russia?

A

Russia’s “sphere of influence” would be likely to have neighbours sympathetic to communism

79
Q

What did the Yalta conference in February 1945 agree?

-what did Russia do instead?

A

Agreed a joint allied declaration on liberated Europe-set up democratic regions in occupied areas

-Stalin ordered the red army to establish communist governments in Eastern Germany, Czechoslovakia, Hungary Poland, Romania and Bulgaria

80
Q

How did ‘people’s democracies’ in Eastern Europe work?

A

Followed the Stalinist model

  • regular elections
  • ruling politburo
  • opposition suppressed through terror and propaganda
81
Q

What had emerged by 1949?

A

The ‘eastern bloc’

82
Q

What did the division of Europe in 1946 lead to?

A

A breakdown in trust between East and west=a Cold War with both sides continually spying on one another

The Cold War gave Stalin a reason to demand full cooperation for communist leaders

83
Q

What did Russia develop that contributed to it becoming a superpower?

A

Nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles

84
Q

What was the priority of the fourth 5yr plan?

A

Heavy industry, which had significantly decreased during ww2

85
Q

How had steel production decreased since 1940 after ww2?

A

In 1945, levels were at 45% of 1940

86
Q

How had pig-iron decreased since 1940 after ww2?

A

In 1945, levels were at 26% of that in 1940

87
Q

How much did soviet planners allocate for defence spending in the first year of the 4th 5yr plan?

A

7.4 billion roubles

88
Q

What happened to total industrial production in 1952?

A

It was double that of 1940

89
Q

In 1950, what increased in production from 1940 and by how much did they increase?

A
In 1950:
Steel= 49%
Coal= 57%
Cement= 75%
Glass= 90%
Electricity= 87%
90
Q

How had living standards plummeted from 1946-1951?

A

50% soviet accommodation destroyed in ww2

In 1946, 90% of Moscow Central heating systems didn’t work

Regime kept prices high and wages low

The regime failed to achieve the vast majority of consumer goods targets

91
Q

Who led the soviet bomb project?

A

Igor Kurchatov

92
Q

Why was the Russian bomb project able to catch up with the American project so quickly?

A

Russia’s control of the eastern bloc-large uranium deposits

Gosplan was able to divert resources to the project

The physicists involved had spies with access to British and American nuclear secrets

Soviet scientists continuously exposed to propaganda emphasising the importance of world peace and the defence of the motherland

Beria (NKVD head) put in charge of the project-most scientists were never purged and got considerable intellectual freedom

93
Q

When was the first atomic bomb tested?

A

RDS-1 was first tested in 1949

94
Q

What had the soviets developed in 1953?

A

The first hydrogen bomb

95
Q

How long did it take soviet scientists to develop the first atomic bomb compared to America?

A

Russia=less than 4yrs

America=6yrs

96
Q

What was the first hydrogen bomb code named?

  • when was it tested?
  • how powerful was it?
A

‘Layer cake’

  • 1953
  • x10 more powerful than the first generation of weapons
97
Q

What were the 3 most significant pieces of evidence for Stalins weaknesses?

A

1924- Lenin’s testament demanded his removal

1934-Congress of victors proved Kirov more popular

1941-Hitler invading Russia showed Stalins foreign policy as a failure