The Stalinist Dictatorship and Reaction 1941-65 Flashcards
1
Q
GPW: Stalin’s view of Soviet POWs
A
“There are no Russian POWs, only traitors”
Guilty of high treason and susceptable to execution.
Had to be sent to filtration camps
2
Q
GPW: Name of traitors
A
Hilfswilliger. Minorites (eg Cossacks) defected to Nazis in hopes of getting independence, in reality they were sent to workcamps.
1,000,000 Hilfswilliger
3
Q
GPW: Penal battalions
A
Prisoners used to clear minefields. 420,000.
50% casualties
4
Q
GPW: Two turning-point battles
A
Stalingrad
July - Feb 1942
1,200,000 Russian deaths
Kursk
860,000 Russian deaths
Largest tank battle ever
5
Q
GPW: Total casualties
A
25m (1/4 due to starvation)
6
Q
GPW: Winter War casualty ratio
A
3 Russian deaths for each Finnish death
7
Q
GPW: Political Commissars
A
Political branch of military, with the ability to execute officers at a whim.
Power curbed at the start of GPW though
8
Q
GPW: Supplies from West
A
17.5m tonnes of equipment
$11bn
9
Q
GPW: Plight of minorites
A
Volga German autonomous republic dissolved, and they were forced to march West. 1/3 of them died.
1,500,000 were uprooted in total
Chechens, Kalmuks, Karachis and Tartars deported
10
Q
GPW: SS deathsquad in Russia
A
Einsatzgruppen
11
Q
GPW: How many lived in wooden huts after their homes were destroyed?
A
25 million
12
Q
Post-War cabinet of Stalin
A
Molotov, Kaganovich, Khrushchev, Zhdanov, Malenkov
13
Q
GPW: Number of factories moved to Urals
A
1523
14
Q
When did Operation Barbarossa start?
A
22nd June 1941
15
Q
GPW: How soon into war did Minsk fall
A
One week
16
Q
GPW: Not One Step Back order
A
Order 227 - Formed Penal Battalions and Blocking Detachments. Barred doctrine of retreat.
17
Q
GPW: Blocking Detachment
A
Units facing backwards in divisions, with orders to shoot any retreating soldiers
18
Q
GPW: Percentage of industry focused on munitions
A
3/4
19
Q
GPW: War Cabinet
A
Stavka
20
Q
GPW: Post-War gains
A
Buffer states in East Germany, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Hungary, Romania, Yugoslavia, Albania
Permanent seat on UNSC
21
Q
Zhdanovschina
A
Post-War cultural purge out of fears of war-time Westernisation.
22
Q
Stalin on Jews
A
After the alignment of Israel with the West he took an Anti-Jewish stance.
Arrest of the Jewish wife of Molotov.
NKVD assassinated the director of the Jewish Theatre.
Doctor’s Plot was aimed at Jews.
23
Q
Party membership composition after war
A
Army and bureaucrats who had to be in the party to get their job
During the war 2.5m soldiers joined the party
7m by 1952
24
Q
Fate of Zhukov
A
Marshal Zhukov (immensely decorated war hero who took Berlin and defended Moscow) was demoted to a low-ranking post in Odessa as he was seen as a potential risk to Stalin
25
Name for post-war Stalinist period
High Stalinism - Height of his political authority and cult of personality
26
High Stalinism: How many were sent to camps
12 million
27
Statistical impacts of GPW
19m civilian deaths
9m military deaths
100,000 kolkhozes wasted
70,000 villages destroyed
28
What Soviet policy caused so much destruction during GPW?
Scorched Earth Strategies
29
Ideology of Red Army after GPW
Became more liberal as the need for modernisation was seen
30
How did Stalin spend his time after GPW
In his holiday home drinking with his war-time friends
31
High Stalinism: Fate of Politburo and Orgburo
Replaced by the enlarged Presidium in 1952. Not elected, hand-picked by Stalin / Khrushchev
32
Stalin attempted resignation
Stalin wanted to step down in 1952, but was voted down, as people thought it was a plot to see who wanted him to go
33
When did Stalin die?
March 1953
34
Leningrad Case
Stalin purged the largely independent Leningrad branch of the CP in 1949
35
Malenkov
Emerged from the apparatchiki, part of five-man defence council during GPW, confidant of Stalin. Part of collective leadership with Khrushchev after Stalin's death, lobbied for a focus on consumer goods, ousted by Khrushchev.
36
Mingrelian Case
Beria purge of Georgia in 1951-2
37
Doctor's Plot
Counter-intelligence informant said doctors were purposefully mistreating Zhdanov as part of a Zionist plot. Stalin threatened Ignatiev with execution if he did not get confessions.
Hundreds of doctors arrested and tortured.
Released by Beria
38
Was Stalin a man of the people after the war
Had not visited a kolkhoz in 25 years
39
GPW: Working hours
12 hour day, 77h work week
40
GPW: Pravda quote
"We must not say goodmorning or goodnight, rather Kill the Germans and Kill the Germans"
41
GPW: How many were sentenced to death under No Step Back?
150,000
42
GPW: How many GPW soldiers were in the party?
1/4 by 1945
43
GPW: Was Stalin prepared for the war?
Stalin punished intelligence officers who warned him of the threat of a German invasion, and ignored Allied politicians.
44
GPW: How many German soldiers took part in Operation Barbarossa initially?
3m
45
GPW: Stalin's initial response to the war
Hid in his dacha (holiday home) for ten days, not talking to anyone.
Probably mental breakdown
46
GPW: War Cabinet
GKO
5 man defence council
Incredibly powerful during war
47
GPW: Percentage of resources occupied by Nazis
By 1941:
70% of Iron
40% of Arable land
48
GPW: Decrease in grain harvest
1942 harvest was half of the 1940 harvest
49
GPW: Gulags
15% of amunition made by slave labour
25% death rate
50
GPW: Religion
Stalin reopened the churches to encourage morale
Priests were vetted, had to swear an oath to the USSR and had to preach communist and nationalist ideas
51
High Stalinism: Role of the Party and Politburo
Reduced to essentially advisory bodies as Stalin retained the war-time centralisation of power
52
Khrushchev's Power Struggle
Stalin dies
Malenkov becomes GenSec
Khrushchev replaced Malenkov a week later and collective leadership is established
Beria is arrested in June, executed in December
Malenkov is replaced with Bulganin
Anti-Party Group's coup fails
Bulganin is forced to resign
Power rests with Khrushchev
53
What rank did Stalin take after the GPW?
Minister of Defence
54
Troika
After Stalin's death, Beria, Malenkov and Molotov formed a Triumvirate (Troika), but this fell apart when Malenkov and Molotov turned on Beria when he was arrested
55
Youth Survey
In 1961, a youth survey showed that most youths were cynical of the ideas of the October Revolution
56
Beria's manouvreing after Stalin's death
Released 1,000,000 prisoners
Advocated a moderate foreign policy
Denounced the Mingrelian Purge
Forged collective leadership with Malenkov and Molotov
57
Malenkov's economics
Believed that the USSR had been sufficiently industrialised, and economics should now focus on improving living standards through consumer goods and lowered peasant taxes
Shifted FYP5 to focus on consumer goods
58
Anti-Party Group
Group of Stalinist hardliners who opposed Khrushchev's leadership
Launched a coup against him in 1957
Most of Presidium voted for his removal, but he deferred it to CentCom which he as GenSec had been packing who voted down the Anti-Party Group
Bulganin was later said to have helped them and so was ousted
59
Secret Speech
Khrushchev's speech at the 20th Party Congress
Denounced the terror, purges, gulags and Stalin's war-time leadership
Claimed Stalin killed Kirov
Called for Trotsky's rehabilitation
60
Real name of the Secret Speech
On the Cult of Personality and its Consequences
61
Secret Police under Khrushchev
Changed its name to KGB
Brought under state control and weakened after Beria's execution
62
How did the party under Khrushchev return to the party of the 20s?
Less secret police
More collective
Anti-religious
Smaller institutions responsible to parent institutions
Less bureaucratised
63
How did Stalin counter Marshall Aid
COMECON (economic union) and COMINFORM (propaganda union)
64
How much did party membership increase under Khrushchev?
Up 60%
65
Loss of industrial capacity after GPW?
70% lost
66
FYP: Aims of FYP4
1946-50
Catch up with USA
Rebuild after war
Revive the Ukraine
67
FYP: Results of FYP4
Production doubled
Dniepr Dam rebuilt
USSR became 2nd to US in industrial capacity
Peasants were only allowed 30% of their yield
68
FYP: Aims of FYP5
1951-55
Continue building heavy industry
Consumer goods (after Stalin's death)
69
FYP: Results of FYP5
National income up 70%
Malenkov ousted for consumer goods focus
Demobilisation halted by Korean War
70
FYP: Sixth Five Year Plan
1956-58
Cancelleds by Khrushchev after 2 years for overenthusiastic goals
71
FYP: Aims of FYP7
(1959-)1961-1965
(Began as 7YP but merged into 5YP)
Improve living standards
Overtake USA by 1970
Improve neglected industries (consumer goods and plastic)
72
FYP: Results of FYP7
Industrial output up 85%
40% pay rise
73
Economic decentralisation
Khrushchev set up 105 sovnarkhoz each with a regional economic council organised by the Supreme Economic Council
Abolished 60 Moscow ministries
11,000 factories transfered to regional bodies
73
Rise in consumerism under Khrushchev
Retail doubled to 100m roubles
Fridges up 10x
TVs up 7x to 3.7m
73
When was Sputnik launched
1957
73
Which play was banned during High Stalinism and unbanned by Khrushchev
Shostakovich's Lady Macbeth of Mtensk
73
Which banning did Zhdanovschina start with?
The Adventures of a Monkey (monkey was anti-socialist)
74
How did air transport become accessible under Khrushchev?
Subsidisation of Aeroflot
74
When did Yuri Gagarin go to space?
1961
75
Who was the Soviet biologist?
Trofim Lysenko
## Footnote
Pseudoscientist who rejected orthodox plant biologist in favour of coldtreating crops. Stalin put him in power. Caused large decline in harvests.
76
When did Soviet growth start to slow down?
1958
77
Growth of consumer goods industry under Khrushchev
Only 2% in 1964
78
How many farms were operational after Scorched Earth?
1/3
79
What area of the economy did Khrushchev focus on?
Agriculture
80
Khrushchev's policies towards peasants
- Procurement quotas decreaed
- Peasants paid more for grain
- Taxes reduced
- Collectives could set their own targets
- MTSs turned into repair stations, cancelling peasants' debts for tractors
81
What did Khrushchev tell CentCom about agricultural production
Due to lying, harvests under Stalin were lower than under the Tsarist regime
82
How much did Khrushchev increase grain prices?
25% in his first 3 years
83
How did Khrushchev try to increase agricultural proudce?
- Electrify farms
- Chemical fertiliser campaign in 1962
- Encouraged kolkhoz to merge (# halved)
84
85
What was the Virgin Lands Scheme
Khrushchev's campaign to start farming in Kazakhstan and Siberia
86
How much virgin land had been ploughed for wheat?
4m hectares by 1956
87
Increase in non-maize cereal prodution under Khrushchev?
80m tonnes -> 130m
87
Which crop did Khrushchev enourage?
Maize
## Footnote
Most Russians didn't like it though so it didn't work too well
88
Agrocity
Huge collective farm towns to bring urban working conditions, destroy conservative villages and increase efficiency
89
Food protest
1962 protest in Novocherkassk. KGB fired on them and killed 25
90
Which anti-gulag books were banned by Khrushchev
1. Gulag Archipelago (Solzhenitsyn)
2. One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich
## Footnote
Book about the repression of workcamps during the Khrushchev Thaw
91
How efficient were private plots
- Half of peasants' incomes
- 30% of USSR produce
- 3% of the total farms were private though
92
Why did the Virgin Land Scheme fail?
It didn't take climate into account
Wheat wasn't rotated, causing infertile soil
Poor 1963 harvest led to American grain imports
93
How rich were peasants compared to proletarians?
Peasants lived on incomes <20% of those of the urban workers
94
Devaluation
Rouble was devalued by 90% in 1947 wiping out savings
95
Change in work hours after GPW
Remained at war-time levels of 12h days
96
Rise in consumer goods under Khrushchev
1955-66:
* 2 cars / thousand -> 5 / k
* 4 TVs / k -> 82 TVs/k
97
Khrushchev's liberal reforms to work life
Bachelors' tax removed
Peasants became eligable for a state pension
40h work week
Wage equalisation (difference between richest and poorest lower than any other industrial economy)
Improvements in medicine, welfare and transport
98
Limits of Khrushchev's focus on welfare
Non-monetary benfits such as commodities, healthcare and holidays continued to drive inequality
Living standards still lower than any other industrial economy
99
Khruschev Thaw tenets
- Foreign literature and radio allowed
- Marginal increase in freedom of speech
- Foreign travel opened up
100
Youth festival
World Youth Festival 1957
International festival in Moscow with 35k from 130 countries attending
101
Examples of Western cultural infiltration
Jeans, Rock & Roll, Jazz, _Stiliagi_ (teddy boys)
102
First book banned in Zhdanovschina
Adventures of a Monkey
-Zoshchenko
103
Oppositional book allowed by Khrushchev
Not by Bread Alone
104
Which foreign books were sold in the USSR
Hemmingway
105
Which critical book was not allowed by Khrushchev?
Dr Zhivago
## Footnote
-Boris Pasternak
106
When were children banned from churches?
1961
107
Khrushchev's antitheistic policies
- Parents not allowed to raise children religiously
- All seminaries and most churches closed
- Hajj banned
- Atheism taugh in schools
- Children banned from churches
- Devout individuals could be imprisoned or lose their children
108
Khrushchev on ethnic minorities
Annouced in 1961 at the 21st Party Congress that all ethnic differences should be dissolved to create a single nationalism
Forbade Jews moving to Israel
109
How many churches were shut under Khrushchev?
20,000 in 1960 -> 8,000 in 1965
110
How much maize was harvested ripe in the Virgin Lands Scheme?
14m/85m hectares
111
Tamizdat
Printing banned books abroad and smuggling them into USSR (eg Dr Zhivago)
112
Samizdat
Duplicating banned material by hand and illegally distributing them
113
Dissident publishing group
Youngest Society of Geniuses
-> Published The Sphinxes magasine to spread banned literature
114
Which anti-Stalinist satirist had a statue unveiled?
Vlad Mayakovsky
115
How many were identified as leading 'antisocial, parasitic lives'?
130k in 1961
(ie dissident intellectuals)
116
Who were the liberals and hardliners in the Khrushchev era?
Liberals:
- Khrushchev
- Bulganin
- Suslov
Hardliners:
- Molotov
- Malenkov
- Kaganovich
117
Fate of Malenkov?
Outsted as Chairman
Moved to a HEP station in Kazakhstan
(not shot tho)
118
How many political prisoners had been rehabillitated under Khrushchev?
8-9m in 1956
119
How many returned from the gulag during the Thaw?
2m
120
How much of the Soviet prison population were political prisoners after Khrushchev's rehabilitation campaign?
2%
121
Khrushchev's fall from power
On Khrushchev's 70th birthday in 1964, Brezhnev gave a speech praising Khrushchev. Khrushchev was awarded a Hero of the Soviet Union award.
A few months later, Khrushchev was summoned back from holiday and was reprimanded by the Presidium. He was surprised and refused to step down, but was trapped and couldn't access the media.
Khrushchev then signed his regination the next day and stepped down due to _old age and ill health_ in favour of Brezhnev.
Pravda would soon after denounce Khrushchev
122
When did Khrushchev resign?
October 1964
123
Reasons for Khrushchev's fall
- One-man style of ruling
- Meddling in affairs he knew little about
- Decentralisation
- Failure of Virgin Lands Scheme
- Promotion of consumer goods
- Tried to reduce military spending in exchange for nukes
- Poor handling of Cuban Missile Crisis
- Deteriorating relationships with China
124
When did USSR get nukes?
1949
125
GPW: National Anthem
Socialist anthem "The International" replaced with patriotic "Song of the Motherland"
126
Khrushchev and houses
Rate of housbuilding doubled under him
127
Decrease in work hours
7h work day in 1960
128
Which public figure defected?
Ballet dancer Rudolph Nereyev
129
Khrushchev's quote on the need for consumer welfare
"You cannot put theory in your soup or Marxism in your clothes"
130
Examples of factories moved from Germany to Moscow as part of reparations
Opel Plant
Zeiss Optical Works
131
Uprisings quashed under Khrushchev
Hungarian Revolution, Georgia Demostrations and Polish October
