The Making Of A Superpower Flashcards
When was the red army purged?
-what did this mean for the red army?
Between 1937 and 1938
-for the army this meant a loss of military experience and skill
In 1935, how did military discipline within the red army change?
Under Stalin, the old tsarist system of strict discipline and a clear division between officers was reintroduced
Where did Russia have communist sympathisers?
-how did they contribute other Russian war effort?
Uk, USA, Germany and France
-they provided secret information to the soviet government
What was Russia’s intelligence resources focused on?
The hunt for Trotsky as opposed to hitler’s movements
How many different government departments argued with gosplan over war spending?
17
How did defence spending increase between the first 5yr plan and the third 5yr plan?
1st=366 million roubles
2nd=2080 million roubles
3rd=4200 million roubles
What remarkable feats were achieved by the soviet government in 1939?
6 new aircraft factories built
24 new explosives factories built
Between 1938 and 1942 how did tank production increase?
It doubled
How much did Russia and Germany spend on war production in 1940 and what % of their economy was this?
R= $5 billion, 20% of their economy
G=$6 billion, 44% of their economy
Why was the Nazi-soviet pact surprising?
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
When was the nazi-soviet pact signed?
24th august 1939
Why did Stalin sign the nazi-soviet pact?
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
When did Stalin think the nazi-soviet pact would protect him till?
May 1942
When did Germany invade Russia?
Sunday 22nd June 1941
What was operation Barbarossa?
A German offensive, primarily on Moscow and Stalingrad
When was operation typhoon?
-what was it?
September 1941
-to capture Moscow
What happened in Moscow during operation Typhoon?
The people panicked, rioted and looted
Government buildings were deserted
What did Russia launch in December under which general?
-how successful was this?
The first Russian counter-attack, from general Zhukov
-pushed the German army back 200km from he centre of Moscow
What was operation blue?
-when was it launched?
An attack on the city of Stalingrad
-June 1942
How long was the battle of Stalingrad?
6 months
August 1942-January 1943
What was the estimated life expectancy of Russian soldiers and officers in the battle of Stalingrad?
Soldiers=less than 24 hours
Officers=around 3 days
How many died in the battle of Stalingrad?
1.9 million
What was operation Uranus?
-when was it?
The soviet counter-offensive
-September 1942
How many died in the defence of Stalingrad?
1.1 million red army soldiers killed
800,000 German troops
By when had the Germans been driven from Stalingrad?
By February 1943
How much territory had been recaptured by December 1943?
2/3 of German-occupied territory
What was ‘Ten great victories’?
Soviet propaganda focused on he recapture of Crimea, Belarus, Latvia and Estonia
When did the red army enter German territory?
Early January 1945
What did the red army do when they entered German territory?
Destroyed towns and villages, commuted atrocities such as rape and murder
By April 1945, what had reached the outskirts of Berlin?
4,000 red army tanks
23,000 pieces of artillery
4,000 aeroplanes
What did germany do in May 1945?
Surrender to the western allies and the USSR
What % of Russia’s population died between 1941-1945?
10%
How many Russian citizens died as a result of conflict?
20 million
How many died in gulags or from war-related injuries?
Around 10 million
What % the soviet population were under German control for much of the war?
45% (85 million)
How many Russians fled west at the end of the war?
20 million
What happened to the production of tractors during the war?
They effectively ceased because factories had been converted to war-effort
How long were farm and factory workers expected to work during the war?
Between 12-18 hours a day for 7 days a week
Also expected to work an additional night shift on farms during the harvest
When was the first day off for Russian workers after the war?
9th may 1945
How was discipline tightened in factories during the war?
Being 20 mins late/stealing=handed over to the military and tried for their crimes
Changing jobs without permission=5-8yrs in prison
In shadrinsk, what % did women make up the workforce?
75%
Without machines or animals what were women forced to do?
Perform e roles of those machines/animals
Eg women were yoked to ploughs in the absence of tractors and horses
What problems did women have to cope with during the war?
Expected to work in factories/farms as well as taking care of their families
Continual shortages and hunger
What were labour reserve schools?
A form of vocational training in preparation for war work
-> 14-17yr olds were drafted in during the war
What did senior party members tend to do when working in regional areas?
common to start a second family
-generally, these ‘war families’ were abandoned after the war ended
By January 1942, how much of Russia’s industry did Germany have control of?
1/3
What contributed to the fall in economic production during the war?
The loss of Russian industry to Germany (1/3 by jan 1942)
The conscription of Russian labour into the armed forces
How did industrial production change 1942/44 compared to 1940?
1942- 59% of 1940 levels
1944- 79% of 1940 levels
How did grain production change 1942/44 compared to 1940?
1942- 36% of 1940 levels
1944- 64% of 1940 levels
What happens to electricity supplies in 1941?
Supplies to the general public ended, they were only restored when the war ended
What was ‘blockade bread’?
A poor quality bread made largely from sawdust, to sustain the population in Leningrad
How did citizens get meat i. Leningrad during the sieges?
Eating birds, rats, pets and in extreme cases resorted to cannibalism
What did the sovnarkom decree in June 1941?
That workers should destroy or sabotage all industrial equipment that was likely to fall into the hands of the Germans
How much of Russia’s pre-war industry was destroyed between 1941-1945?
A quarter of industry
How much industrial equipment was destroyed in area occupied by German forces?
Two-thirds
What a policy did he Germans adopt to prevent the Russians gaining an economic advantage?
A scorched-earth policy
-> burned crops! destroyed factories and machinery! killed cattle! blew up bridges
How much was destroyed as a result of the war?
70,000 villages
32,000 factories
65,000km of railway
When did the Russians win the war against Germany?
2nd may 1945
What 4 factors contributed to Russia’s victory in the war?
The war economies of Russia and nazi germany
German tactical mistakes
The home front
The grand alliance
How did Russia’s economy prepare for war?
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
How was the nazi economy unprepared for war?
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
What tactical mistakes did Germany make?
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
Why didn’t Stalin appeal to Russians in the name of socialism?
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
How did Stalin appeal to Russian nationalism?
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
Why was Leningrad given the title of “hero city”?
The citizens of Leningrad endured a siege for 900 days without surrendering
How did religious publications change during the war?
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
How many churches were allowed to reopen during the last year of the war?
414 churches
Why was the alliance between USSR,USA and Britain called “a marriage of convenience”?
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
When was the formal treaty between the USSR and Britain signed?
May 1942
How did the grand alliance help defeat the nazis?
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
What was lend-lease?
-when was it extended to Russia?
Where America supplied their allies with their resources to fight the nazis
-it was extended to Russia in November 1941
Why was lend-lease only of minor significance to russia in terms of military support?
American supplied only:
12% aeroplanes
10% tanks
2% artillery
Land-lease accounted for only 4% of the industrial goods
How was lend-lease of major significance to Russia in terms of food and transport?
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
What specialist products did lend-lease supply to Russia?
Aluminium and high-quality steel
Why was the praise of foreign technology officially criminalised in 1942?
American goods were clearly superior to soviet goods-proved the superiority of capitalist forms of production
When did the grand alliance break down?
-what 2 “camps” emerged?
1946
-Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union vs Western Europe and the USA
When was how Tehran conference?
November 1943
When was the Yalta conference?
February 1945
What did the split in Europe mean for Russia?
Russia’s “sphere of influence” would be likely to have neighbours sympathetic to communism
What did the Yalta conference in February 1945 agree?
-what did Russia do instead?
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
How did ‘people’s democracies’ in Eastern Europe work?
Followed the Stalinist model
- regular elections
- ruling politburo
- opposition suppressed through terror and propaganda
What had emerged by 1949?
The ‘eastern bloc’
What did the division of Europe in 1946 lead to?
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
What did Russia develop that contributed to it becoming a superpower?
Nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles
What was the priority of the fourth 5yr plan?
Heavy industry, which had significantly decreased during ww2
How had steel production decreased since 1940 after ww2?
In 1945, levels were at 45% of 1940
How had pig-iron decreased since 1940 after ww2?
In 1945, levels were at 26% of that in 1940
How much did soviet planners allocate for defence spending in the first year of the 4th 5yr plan?
7.4 billion roubles
What happened to total industrial production in 1952?
It was double that of 1940
In 1950, what increased in production from 1940 and by how much did they increase?
In 1950: Steel= 49% Coal= 57% Cement= 75% Glass= 90% Electricity= 87%
How had living standards plummeted from 1946-1951?
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
Who led the soviet bomb project?
Igor Kurchatov
Why was the Russian bomb project able to catch up with the American project so quickly?
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
When was the first atomic bomb tested?
RDS-1 was first tested in 1949
What had the soviets developed in 1953?
The first hydrogen bomb
How long did it take soviet scientists to develop the first atomic bomb compared to America?
Russia=less than 4yrs
America=6yrs
What was the first hydrogen bomb code named?
- when was it tested?
- how powerful was it?
‘Layer cake’
- 1953
- x10 more powerful than the first generation of weapons
What were the 3 most significant pieces of evidence for Stalins weaknesses?
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
