The nature of government: Stalin Flashcards
When did stalin become general secretary?
1922, he used this bureaucratic post to get his allies into positions of power and make it more likely that he would be Lenin’s successor.
What did Stalin want to continue?
Democratic centralism as it was crucial to the implementation of his economic policies and dealing with discontent.
What was the supreme soviet?
Set up in 1938 it met twice a year, delegates could find out about and debate government policies, republics were also given the right to administer their own educational systems.
What was the reality of the soviet political system post 1936?
The communists dominated, dissent was never tolerated and the party was still at the center of all things.
What was the Stalin constitution of 1936?
Gave freedom of speech and press, the right to education, work, maintenance in old age and sickness to all citizens as long as it was ‘in conformity with the interests of the working people.’
What was gosplan?
Set in up 1921, it was responsible for the planned economy and outlined the government’s polices and where state investments would go.
What did Stalin do to political institutions?
He reduced their power, the politburo met less frequently and political power became condensed and given to smaller groups outside of the politburo.
How did Stalin change the politburo?
He removed members like Trotsky, Bukharin and zinoviev for disagreeing with economic policies, he filled it with his loyal friends such as Molotov and kaganovich, this meant he was not faced with opposition and could easily force through his own agenda.
Was Stalin ever challenged?
The party refused to allow the execution of ryutin in 1932, party members were concerned over the ambitious targets of the second five year plan and forced him to lower them. Ordzhonikidze openly expressed opposition to Stalin’s use of terror in a meeting.
What were the limits of politburo opposition?
They were rather meek and passive for allowing him to get away with virtually anything he wanted, their efforts to limit his power were minimal and many members took advantage of the power Stalin gave them, using it to fulfill their own agendas.
What happened to local party members?
Many local officials were overzealous in their implementation of collectivization, leading to conflict with Stalin, if he believed any party member was threatening his control, that member was executed.
How did government change during WWII?
Less terror was required, with a greater focus on mobilizing resources. The state defense committee controlled war administration and the supreme command controlled the military.
What were the years 1945-53?
‘High Stalinism’, he focused on consolidating his authority through terror, but by 1949 he was becoming weak, using divide and conquer tactics to divide any rivals, a new generation of party members threatened his power.
What happened in 1951?
The mingrelian affair, a purge of the Georgian communist party which targeted Beria’s allies, in 1952 Stalin transformed the politburo into the praesidium and expanded it from 10 to 36.
What was going to happen in 1953?
Many believed Stalin was planning another purge, with the arrest of doctors who had been ‘planning to assassinate Stalin’, this would be a pretext to purging Jews in the USSR.
