Theme 1 Flashcards
who ruled Russia before 1917 revolution
Tsar Nicholas II
when did the Bolsheviks overthrow the Provisional gov
Oct 1917
What was Sovnarkom
essentially new Russian cabinet made up of 13 People’s Commissars
what decrees did Lenin pass in his first few months
Decree on Lan Oct 1917- gave peasants the right to seize land from nobility and Church
Decree of Peace Oct 1917- committed gov from withdrawing from WW1
Workers’ decree Nov 1917 est minimum wage and 8 day working hours
Decree of Workers’ Control Apr 1918- allowed workers to elect committees to run factories
who were the Bolsheviks main rivals
Mensheviks and Socialist revolutionaries
What was the Constituent Assembly and when was it
Jan 1918
Lenin refused to recognise the results of an election in Nov 1917, created a Constituent Assembly with minority of Bolsheviks Lenin demanded new elections but these were postponed s
due to the Civil War
what Treaty did Lenin sign that caused them to lose the election of April/MAy 1918
Treaty of Brestlitovsk
When was the Russian Civil War
1918-21
who did the Civil War involve
Communist Reds and reactionary whites
however was more complicated than this as Bolsheviks had enemies on both sides
what happened to the nature of the gov during the civil war
became more centralised, CP became increasingly powerful
relied on working through nomenklatura rather than democratic soviets
What was the Politburo
small group of Lenin most loyal supporters
what was the nomenklatura
Party members who senior officials trusted to implement gov policy without question
by 1921 the new gov was based on two structures what were they
Cp and soviet state
the soviets were made up of working people but this was replaced by the nomenklatura who were mainly middle class citizens, they were needed for administrative and technical expertise
When was the Cheka established
Dec 1917
What is an example of popular unrest that emerged in 1921
Kronstadt uprising, demanded return to Soviet democracy
Tambov uprising, 100,000 people deported to labour camps
From Feb 1921 what did Lenin order the Cheka to do
destroy all opposition parties
What happen at the 1921 Party Congress
NEP was passed
‘On Party Units banning factions like the Workers’ Opposition
when was the Soviet Union created
1922
During the Civil War the Politburo replaced what as the effective gov of Russia
Sovnarkom
who were Stalin’s rivals for power in 1923
Zinoviev, Bukharin, Trotsky
who was Zinoviev
emerged as front runner 1923
Lenin’s closest friend and supporter since movement in 1903
led Triumvirate (alliance between Kamenev, himself and Stalin, helped keep Trotsky out of power)
convinced Central Committee to ignore Lenin’s instructions to sack Stalin in testament
created effective political strategy that denounced Trotsky
who was Bukharin
joined Bolsheviks in 1906
had an alliance with Stalin
enlisted with role of editorship of Pravda
considered too young and too inexperienced
clashed with Lenin on multiple occasions
Who was Trotsky
between 1903 and 1917 opposed Lenin
had disagreements with Lenin
unpopular in CP for not being a true Leninist
remained in Politburo until 1927, had no influence on decision making
When as the Lenin Enrolment introduced and what did it do
may 1924
allowed 128,000 people to join the CP
what position did Stalin have that allowed him to investigate Party members and sack them if necessary
Central Control Commission
When wa the Great Terror at its height
1935-38
How many Soviet citizens died during the Great Terror
10 million
When was the Congress of Victors and what happened
Feb 1934- Stalin came second to Kirov in a vote which elected the new central committee
when was Kirov murdered
Dec 1934
when were the show trails and what were their names
trial of the 16 1936- led to execution of Kamenev, Zinoviev
Trial of the 17 1937- led to execution and imprisonment of Trotsky’s supporters
Trial of the 21 1938- led to execution of Bukharin and his close supporters
what other show trial did Stalin organise in secret and when was it
trial of Red army leaders 1937
what were the consequences of the Great Terror
eliminated rivals
removed anyone who could claim authority
led to emergence of new generation of Party members who owed positions to Stalin
established the principle that Stalin had the right to use terror against anyone who was disloyal
NKVD became a powerful regime
what was the relationship between Party and state when Stalin inherited it
undefined, which S used to his advantage
when did Stalin become Chair of Sovnarkom
1941- to create better coordination of party and state during the war
what did Stalin do during the war to promote a more effective gov
ended mass terror
allowed state power to grow, State Ministers rather than Party members made decisions
Politburo coordinated state activity as ell as Party activity
created GKO for economic coordination and military production`
how did Stalin use the relationship between Party and state to his advantage
appointing rival personnel to key positions
shifts power between party and state constantly
it distracted from
when was the Leningrad Affair and what was it
1949
a purge against the Leningrad Party
100 officials shot
Who was Molotov and what did Stalin do to test his loyalty
member of Politburo since 1926
expelled Molotov’s wife from the Party and then imprisoned
Molotov made no effort to prevent the arrest
who are the contenders for power after Stalin
Malenkov, Beria, Khrushchev
How did Beria reform the MVD
march 1953 he introduced an amnesty for political prisoners serving short sentences, this was extended to counter-revolutionaries in April
Party commission was set up to reform communists who had been executed due to forced confessions
MVD lost a lot of its economic power
How did Beria reform the republics
June 1953 he introduced a measure that required all senior Party officials to speak the language of the republic they worked in
he ordered that all official publications should be available in the language of the republics
What percentage of the Central Committee did K replace
44%
what did K anti-bureaucracy campaign entail
wanted to weaken the state
proposed cutting the bureaucracy by devolving power from the Soviet gov to republican Govs
what are some tactics of de salinisation used by K
‘humanise communism’
improve standard of living
end terror
annula stalin prizes cancelled
no official celebrations of Stalins brithday
rejection of personality cult
when and what was the Secret Speech
27th Party Congress 1956
profound critique of Stalins rule claimed Stalin robbed Party of leading role by putting himself above it
revealed sale of terror
quoted criticism of Stalin in Lenin’s testament
no criticism of economic policies
copy was leaked to the West
not published in SU until 1989
what are the problems with de-stalinisation
CP in Hungary and Poland began own process of de-stalinisation
encouraged Revolution in which they elected new prime ministers
made people question the legitimacy of the regime
when did de-stalinisation come to a halt and why
1957, Stalinists in the party argued that it had destabilised the gov and blamed K for reforming too quickly
what are examples of democratisation and decentralisation under K
allowed expansion of Party membership from 6.9 mil to 11 mil between 1954 and 1964
introduced field terms for Senior Communists
abolished some central ministries to devolve power
what was the Anti-Party group and when did was it made
1957
vote to replace K
it demonstrated senior Communists would no longer use political terror against each other
recognised power of the Party leader depended on the support of the Central Committee
what are some of K final reforms
restart the process of de-stalinisation
introduced fixed terms for all roles on the party
spilt party in two, one for agriculture and one for industry
this created discontent within the party
how did political organisation change under Brezhnev and Kosygin
ensured two top jobs in the Party are never occupied by the same person
divided key posts in the Party relatively equally
ensured Party officials kept their roles for Long periods of time to avoid patronage
what was stability of cadres
discouraged promotions or demotions in gov
how did the party change under Brezhnev
re established all the ministries that K had abolished
ended the split between agriculture and industry
Article 6 1977officially recognised the Party’s leading role in the Soviet society and superiority over the stat
what is an example of gerontocracy in B gov
between 1964-71 only two people were promoted ti the Politburo
what were the problems with B gov
created general gap between gov and citizens
officials became increasingly ill
limited opportunities for promotion led to increased corruption
no incentives to work
what were some of Andropov’s reforms
abandoned stability of cadres
introduced small scale economic reforms
media exposes of corrupt officials
prosecuted Red Army general and attacked many senior figures
what are some of Chernenkos reforms
unable to perform much a role as leader at 72 years old
