The Soviet Union 1917-1964 Stalin and Lenin Flashcards
What was Lenin’s ideology surrounding communism?
-Highly centralised revolution
-Claimed capitalism was a corrupt system and exploitative
-Believed the spontaneous will of the people would support the revolution
-Dismissed the need for constitutional govt
How can Lenin’s view of a centralised revolution be seen?
-In what is to be done 1902
When was the first Sovnarkom?
October 1917
Why was the first Sovnarkom October 1917 unsuccessful due to weak opposition ?
-Unable to coordinate action against the govt
The power of the Soviets declined > no serious contender on the left to challenge bolshevism
Why was the first Sovnarkom in October 1917 unsuccessful due to political misjudgements?
-SRs and Mensheviks did not take action > thought the bolshevik govt would collapse swiftly
-Underestimated the Bolsheviks
Why was the first Sovnarkom October 1917 unsuccessful due to the army’s collapse?
-Officers and conservative forces could not count on any loyal troops to attack the Bolsheviks
Why was the first Sovnarkom October 1917 unsuccessful due to distracted workers and peasants?
-Declining living conditions and disillusionment with revolution > difficult to rouse anyone for action
-Urban workers > focussed on their factories and jobs
-Peasant sonly concerned with land > what was going on in cities was largely irrelevant to them
Why was the first Sovnarkom October 1917 unsuccessful due to attacks on the opposition?
-Bolsheviks moved quickly to deal with the opposition > Closed the opposition press > arrested key figures/ political opponents
-CLosed the Constituent assembly by force
-Set up the Cheka > make arrests and deal with protests
What was the Cheka?
A secret police force
Why was the first Sovnarkom in October 1917 unsuccessful due to the use of class warfare?
-Effective in deflecting antagonism onto the bourgeoisie
-Brought support from large sections of the working class
Why was the first Sovnarkom October 1917 unsuccessful due to the concessions made to urban workers and peasants?
-Lenin originally gave them what they wanted > 8hour working days > land > peace
-Real gains for these groups after the October revolution
What is a Sovnarkom?
The cabinet
What was done at the November 1917 Sovnarkom?
-Right of self-determination granted to all parts of the former Russian empire
-Abolition of titles and class divisions
-Workers to control factories
-Abolition of the justice sytem
-Women declared equal to men and able to own property
What happened at the December 1917 Sovnarkom?
-CHEKA officially formed > needed to shut down counter-revolution
-Banks nationalised
-Democratisation of the army
-Marriage and divorce become civil matters, no longer linked to the church
What was the Democratisation of the army in December 1917?
-Officers to be elected
-Army to be controlled by Army soviets and soldiers committees
-abolition of ranks, saluting and decorations
What was Lenin’s ideology?
-One party state > no opposition > no factors
-Cheka
-War communism and the NEP
-Central planning (nationalisation)
-Independence movements seen as counter-revolutionary
What was Lenin like as a leader?
-Outstanding leader > able to hold the party together when it could’ve fragmented
-Great organisational abilities > demonstrated through war communism
-Flexible and pragmatic > finding solutions to problems when building a govt from scratch
What was Lenin like as a theorist?
-Adaptations of Marxism> known as Marxism-Leninism
-Concept of the small, disciplined revolutionary party
-the notion that the Proletariat could carry through a socialist revolution without having to go through the ‘bourgeoisie-democratic stage’
What were Stalin’s strengths in the leadership contest?
-Genuine working-class background
-Trust of Lenin
-Experience in the Bolshevik party
What were Stalin’s weaknesses in the leadership contest?
-No involvement in the October revolution
-Pragmatic to win leadership > no real belief ran through
What were Trotsky’s strengths in the leadership contest?
-Popular with radicals
-Strong intellectual and orator
-In charge of the army
-Led the red army in the civil war
What were Trotsky’s weaknesses in the leadership contest?
-Arrogant and aloof
-Dismissive of other leading Bolsheviks
-Viewed as an outsider as only joined the Bolsheviks in 1917
when did the civil war begin?
November 1917
When did the civil war end?
October 1922
Who led the White Army in the civil war?
Admiral Kolchak > viewed as supreme ruler
Who sent troops to help the Whites to put down the Bolsheviks?
-The allies sent troops and resources
Which group was once allied with Kolchak and then turned against him?
The SRs > they believed he wanted to become a Tsar
What did the Whites do to try and prevent communism?
-Banned Trade Unions
-Privatised nationalised institutions
How many civilian deaths were during the civil war?
5million
How many Russians were executed at the Yensei revolt?
10,000
What was signifficant about Omsk?
-Held 2/3 of Russia’s gold reserves as taken from the Bolsheviks
How many died at the Perm operation?
30,000
When was the Perm operation?
24th December 1918 > Victory for the Bolsheviks
How many miles by the end of the Civil war did the Bolsheviks capture from the Whites?
200miles
How many soldiers did the Red army have?
1.5million
What was Finland’s involvement in the civil war?
-Offered to send 100,000 troops to Petrograd > to the whites for recognition of Finnish independence
What did Tsar Nicholas do on the 4th January 1920?
Issued his resignation as his last decree and retreated to mongolia
Why did the Whites fail in the civil war?
-Kolchak’s inability to compromise
-General Janin and Kolchaks’ difficult relationship
-Self pride > declining Finnish support
-Growth in the Red Army under Trotsky > severe discipline under Trotsky
-Kolchak did not do anything that the people supported
-Kolchak’s lack of military equipment > Cavalry
What is Stalinism?
-A system of rule
What is ‘Namenklatura’?
-people who had key administrative positions ( govt, industry, agriculture and education) > granted only with approval of the communist party of the region
What is Democratic centralism?
-Communist idea of democracy > workers and peasants elected members of local soviets who then chose those who sit in a higher position on a higher soviet > All-Russian Congress of soviets > could influence policy
What is the Apparatchik?
-The party/ administrative system
How did the decline in congress meetings suggest Stalin’s rise in power?
-There was one in May 1924, December 1925, December 1927 and then June-July 1930 > after that became more infrequent
-shows power lies more with stalin than with the people suggesting a signifficant indivdual power growth
What was the 1918 Constitution under Lenin?
-Russian Soviet Federative Socialist republic was created
-All russian congress of soviets had supreme power
-vote was reserved for the ‘toilling’ masses > members of former ‘exploitative classes’ were excluded from voting
-Structure of the govt was centralised > real power focus was the party
What was the communist party structure?
Local Parties > Provincial and city parties > Congress > Central committee > Politburo
What was the Constitution 1936 under Stalin?
-freedom from arbitary arrest
-freedom of speech and the press
-the right to demonstrate
-Universal sufferage for over 18s
What was Stalin’s 1936 constitution trying to achieve?
-All rights subordinate to the interests of the working classes > communist party would decide those interests
-Only communists could go up for election > 1 party dominance
-Intended largely for international consumption
-Old congress of soviets > replaced by Supreme soviets
-Stalin wanted to gain control hrough centralisation of govt > centralised democracy
How did the Civil war effect Bolshevik views of the world and their actions?
-Post civil war > Bolsheviks threatened by the white supporters and western democracy > one nation socialism forms from this
When was the seventeenth party congress?
26th February 1934
What happened at the seventeenth party congress under Stalin?
-regarded as the ‘congress of victors’
-feeling that economic groundwork had been accomplished
-Stalin was by no means secure as leader > split opened between stalin and leading members of the Politburo > Kirov
What characterised Stalin’s rise to power?
-rule by terror > assasisnations
-Grasped that Lenin was the ‘God’ of Bolshevism
-Afraid of Trotsky > seen as the lesser of two evils
-Used trotskeists as the scape goat and enemy
When did the power struggle between stalin and the other potential leaders end?
1927
Why did Stalin’s communism remove religion?
-No room for both Stalin and religion > needed full devotion from the people
-Priests were even killed and imprisoned
When was the birth of the ‘Gulag’ under stalin?
-4th stage of collectivisation > classed it as an instituition for re-education
-he sent those who ‘threatend’ the state
-Was like a concentration camp
How many forced labourers were working under Stalins rule?
10million
When was the worst years of the famine?
1933
What characterised the ‘Great Terror’?
-Show trials
-Murder > a part of russian politics
-Masses incarcerated
-Secret police > 4am they would make arrests
What was the name of the secret police under stalin?
NKVD
How many people were liquidated between 1937-1939 during the ‘Great Terror’?
more than half a million
Who controlled the second phase of the Terror under Stalin?
-Nikolai Yezhov
