Theme 1- Communist government in the USSR, 1917-1985 Flashcards
Establishing Communist Party Control- 1917-1924
-early 1917- economic chaos, military defeat, political mismanagement= Feb Rev= provisional govt
-as continued to fight war… economic problems worse.
-Oct 1917- Lenin+ Bolsheviks overthrew provisional govt
-Marxist view of history- workers rise up + destroy capitalism in Rev. Class conflict= progress from one epoch to the next.
Dictatorship of Proletariat- ruthlessly destroy capitalism
Lenin’s State
- initially- radical democratic state… summer 1918- authoritarian
- ‘Soviet Sate’- local Soviets sent representatives to All Russian Congress of Soviets- basis of new govt.
- As too big= elect the Sovnarkom to govern Russia on daily basis.
- Sovnarkom- Russian cabinet- 13 commissars- Lenin Chairman, Trotsky (head of the people’s Commissariat of Foreign Affairs), Stalin (Head of people’s Commissariat of Nationality)
Decrees
-Decree on land- Oct 1917- peasants right to seize land from nobility and Church.
-Decree of Peace- Oct 1917- committed new govt to withdraw from WW1
-Workers Decree- Nov 1917- 8 hour max working day + minimum wage
-Decree of Workers control- April 1918- workers elect committees to run factories.
decrees= established control because…
won popular support for regime from peasants, workers and soldiers.
ending WW1- rev- breathing space- rebuild economy+ construct new govt
-first months- Sovnarkom= little power- Rev in Petrograd so no control of other cities.
-Senior figures still powerful- GENERAL DUKHONIN- refused Lenin’s order to stop fighting
-Russian State bank+treasury = strike = denying new govt funds needed.
How democratic was Russia in 1918?
-Lenin- claimed to be truly democratic- new state based on committees of working people who participate in govt daily. more democratic than, UK, USA.
-Commitment to people power reflected in titles of leaders- People’s Commissars
-broad based support- first decrees= genuinely popular
1918-Russia not yet one-party state.
-Sovnarkom responsible to Congress of Soviets- contained representatives of many parties- inc Mensheviks
-broad based support because.. belief govt become coalition govt- moderates- Zinoviev+Kamenev supported- when Lenin refused= resign
-new govt dominated by people who wanted party to govern alone
genuine support for this, eg. Pretrograd Trade Union Council- support decrees+courage of govt by overthrowing provisional govt
Constituent Assembly
- Jan 1918- ANTI-DEMOCRATIC- Lenin refused to recognise results of nationwide election held in Nov 1917
- election= constituent assembly with BOLSHEVIK MINORITY
- closed by force- threat to power of soviets
- Lenin also disregard Soviets- March 1918- approve treaty of Brest-Litovsk = unpopular= Bolsheviks lose election in April+May 1918- refused results as unfair
- Bukharin argued- FORMAL DEMOCRACY- elections to Soviets had to be abandoned to win Civil War (CW)
Civil War
-allow Lenin to establish control over Russia+radically change nature of party= creation of party state= authoritarian+centralised
-govt willing to do whatever to win- CENTRALISED+ COMMUNIST PARTY INCREASINGLY POWERFUL.
-Centralised control of economy- War Communism
-political centralisation- working through loyal party- nomenklatura rather than more democratic soviets
-Trotsky- Red Army= authoritarian= conscription+harsh punishments
=win CW but took away power from peasants, workers, soldiers who the Communists claimed to represent.
Party-state
-Lenin relied on Politburo- smaller than Sovnarkom= 5-7 members= decisions more quickly. Contained loyal supports, eg Stalin, Troksky
-Politburo= govt of Russia= clear+effective leadership
but new govt based on party rather than Soviets.
-Sovnarkom= merely approve decisions already made
-emerged at local level, eg Soviets were often bypassed in favour of nomenklatura (party members who senior officials trusted)
-1921- govt based on 2 parallel structures- Communist party and soviet-state. Increased party dominance= party state
Red Terror
-Dec 1917-Cheka- political police force
During CW- raiding anarchist organisations, closing down opposition newspapers, expelling Mensheviks
-Torture/ imprison anyone Communists viewed as threat
eg. Church leaders in Ukraine impaled on spikes. women captured and raped
Building the Red Army
- Feb Rev= army had been democratised, eg. Soldiers committess were empowered to elect senior officals.
- Tsarist generals back in charge=outrage amongst idealist= accused Lenin of betraying principles of Rev
- abolishing democracy+ putting highly trained experts in charge paid off= DISCIPLINED AND SUCCESSFUL FORCE
Changing nature of Party
- Communist nomenklatura- administered policies of war Communism- largely educated members of middle class, eg. economists, statisticians, engineers
- Needed their administrative and technical expertise to run industries and supply army during CW
- 1921- Crisis- showed extent of Lenin opposition and need to reform.
- CW = ruined economy. droughts 1920-1921 = worse= threatening famine.
- PEASANTS IN TAMBOV= REBELLION against grain requisitioning+ Cheka brutality. Jan 1921- Antonvov- 50,000 anti-Communist fighters.
- March 1921- peasants attacks on govt grain stores along Volga River.
- KRONSTADT SAILORS horrified by Communist suppression of Petrograd strikes= demand reforms, eg. immediate free+ fair elections of new soviets. restoration of freedom of speech+press. Abolition of Cheka.
- Mid March- Red Army crushed Kronstadt uprising+ equally ruthless in Tambov= 100,000 deported to labour camps+attacked peasant villages with poisoned gas.
As a result…One-party state
- Feb 1921- authorised Cheka to destroy opposition political parties
- End of Feb 1921- all Mensheviks in Petrograd, Moscow, including leader FYODOR DAN= arrested+sent to Butyrka prison.
1921 party Congress
-recognised workers+peasants dissatisfaction= REFORMS
-NEP- LIBERALISED THE ECONOMY+ BAN ON FACTIONS = tightened Lenin’s political control
-faced opposition from numerous factions
1. workers opposition group- wanted to reintroduce workers control of industry
2. Democratic Centralists- make party more democratic
Therefore introduced- ON PARTY UNITY- banned factions inside party- if found guilty= expelled from party.
=strengthened Lenin’s position+ opposition to policies= difficult to organise.
Stalin in power- 1928-1953
Elimination of his opponents..
- Lenin’s leadership based on personality+his authority.
- respect from senior figures- they knew he had masterminded the rev- he was the leader because he was Lenin.
- problems after his death- contenders had to persuade party they were true Leninist.
- Zinoviev
-Lenin’s closest friend- supported his since start of Bolshevik movement 1903.
1903-1917- Lenin’s right hand man
- 1923-1925- Led Triumvirate- alliance of himself, Kamenev and Stalin= majority in Politburo= kept Trotsky out= FOUNDATIONS FOR STALIN TO BECOME LEADER.
-extremely effective political strategy- denied Trotsky power
-series of speeches about differences between Leninism and Trotsktyism= Trotsky not true Leninist. - Bukharin
-1925-1928= most prominent figure in Soviet govt
-1925- Duumvirate alliance with Stalin) = Bukharin and Stalin majority. - True Leninist because…
joined Bolshevik faction in 1906- supported Lenin consistently
2.close-father-son relationship
3.entrusted with important jobs- editorship of Pravda
-However, disagreed over ending WW1 + 1921 intro of NEP
-Too young and inexperienced?
- Trotsky
- Most famous member of govt other than Lenin
- from 1917- Lenin’s right hand man+closest political collaborator
- between 1903-1917 oppose Lenin
- joined Bolsheviks mid 1917- to gain power rather than true Leninist
- Disagreements with Lenin- timing of Oct Rev + over NEP
- retained position in Politburo until 1927- unable to influence direction of policy and in opposition of ruling alliances - Stalin
- continually part of Politburo majority between 1923-1928
- joined Bolsheviks at the beginning 1903- loyal to Lenin throughout
- began being disloyal in 1922- Lenin too ill to fight back+secret from majority of party
- Lenin trusted with important administrative tasks + supported his promotion of General Secretary 1921.
Communist Party in 1928
Ideological orthodoxy
- 1928- committed to 2 ideas
1. socialism in one country - traditionally- socialism only achieved following global rev= global project, not something in one country.
- from 1924- Bukharin+Stalin argued Soviet Union could build socialism without waiting for global Rev.
- Socialism in one country- correct Leninist idea.
2. collectivisation and industrialisation - 1928=transform Soviet Economy
- Lenin’s commitment to NEP= pragmatic
- when economy stopped growing- Stalin- correct Leninist idea was to abandon Nep+ introduce more radical policy
- 1928-peasants forced to work on state owned farms +profit used to industrialise at rapid pace.
Authority at the top of the Party
- undermined authority of opponents by
1. establishing ideological orthodoxy + branding opponents enemies of Leninism
2. demanding Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev apolgise to party for errors when lost votes at Party congress
3. accused Bukharin, Zinoviev, Kamenev of plotting against the party+ forming faction= serious crimes - by 1928= party transformed from an organisation where lots had authority to one where Stalin had near monopoly of authority.
Party membership
- increased-may 1924- Lenin enrolment allowed 128,000 people to join party- needed new working class members.
- in practice poorly educated- as interested in getting well paid jobs- support Stalin who was able to promote them
- 1928- party= quite different of 1921- less interested in ideas or goals of rev.. more interested in their careers
Stalin’s patronage system
-1921- party based on democratic centralism- party members voted for delegates who attended party congress which elected central committee.
- 1923- Stalin- ‘approved list’= local parties encouraged to send delegates from approved list. 1923- 1/3 delegates selected from list
-Stalin had numerous position in party=win support as act as patron.
eg. As General Secretary- give well paid and powerful jobs to lower ranked members.
As head of Central Control Commission and the Rabkrin- had power to investigate and sack party members
=count on loyalty members who wanted to retain position or be promoted
-mid 1920s- party increasingly had role of administering and implementing decisions of Politburo and leader.
-party members= apparatchiks= work in party implementing orders rather than thinking about politics
-party= increasingly privilege- full time positions were known as ‘nomenklatura’ - enjoyed power and status due to patronage.
-party= no dedicated revolutionaries, rather professional administrators dedicated to own careers
Purges of the 1930s…
Great Terror- Causes
1. opposition from Politburo- by 1932= group of moderates associated with Kirov- able to force some changes.
e.g 1932- Kirov defended Ryutin- circulated document that was highly critical of Stalin’s policies.
Also formed Union of Marxist Leninists- opposition group
-Stalin demanded his execution as growing authority=threat
- economic problems
- senior figures were aware of problems with Stalin’s industrial and agricultural policies= undermined authority.
- managers+workers = wreckers and saboteurs =Stalin blame them.
- sent these to Gulags= terror created an army of slave labour- use to build factories or mine resources. - Congress of Victors- Feb 1934
- Stalin came 2nd to Kirov in the vote which elected new central committee. Kirov- 1225 votes, Stalin 927
- senior party members urged Kirov to stand up against Stalin. Kirov refused+vote=secret - Kirov’s murder
- useful pretext to launch terror
- historians speculated Stalin ordered attack- no proof
- murder= claim dangerous conspiracy that aimed to overthrow govt= reason to arrest rivals
The Great Terror…1934-1938
-Show trials- most public aspect- removed rivals from 1920s
1. Trial of 16 (1936)- execution of Zinoviev, Kamenev+ 14 supporters
2. Trial of 17 (1937)- execution and imprisonment of Trotsky’s former supporters
3. Trial of 21 (1938)- execution of Bukharin and his closest supporters
=death of former rivals+destroyed reputations of key defendants= all confessed to plotting to murder Kirov+working with capitalist nations.
Secret trials- 1937- 8 senior generals tired for plotting to overthrow govt who worked with Trotsky when head of Red Army= more than 37,000 officers purged from Army
Consequences
- death or imprisonment of a whole generation of Communists who had worked with Lenin- no one could claim authority independent from Stalin
- emergence of new Communist leaders- owed position to Stalin
- established that Stalin would use terror against anyone who was disloyal
- NKVD= powerful organisation
- Stalin only source of authority - others not trusted
Stalin’s power over party and state
-dominated both+relationship changed over time to suit Stalin
Party+state relationship
- Lenin created both but failed to define relationship
- 1917- state based on Soviets- but PARTY RATHER THAN STATE BECAME MOST POWERFUL.
- vagueness of relationship to his advantage
WW2
- 1928-most powerful man in party.
- 1941 chair of Sovnarkom- most senior committee in the state
- 1930s= purges= inefficient govt
- 1941 leading position in both= better coordination
- ended mass terror- state+party officials keep working without fear
- STATE POWER GREW- state ministers rather than party bosses made decisions
- changed composition of politburo- ministers joined+ members given important jobs = increasingly coordinated state activity +party
- state defence committee- responsible for economic coordination, military production, defence during war
Competition between Party and State…
- appointed rival personnel to key positions in both
eg. Zhadanov (Beria’s key rival) in charge of party supervision of secret police
-senior officials compete with each other rather than Stalin
-shifted power from party to state and back again
eg. 1938- Politburo most senior committee
1942- State defence committee= most powerful
after war- council of ministers= most powerful
constant shift= ensured none rivalled him
Leningrad Affair..
- 1949- purge against Leningrad Party
- concerned as 2nd city developing independence from his powerbase in Moscow.
- 100 officials shot, 2000 arrested
- Leningrad Affair- part of the struggle to replace Stalin in late 1940s
Testing Loyalty
-imprison/sack wives and daughters of senior figures in govt
eg. Molotov- one of Stalin’s closest allies. Demanded Politburo vote to expel his wife from party.
abstained from vote+ apologised for disloyalty
-1949- Molotov’s wife arrested+imprisoned- made no effort to stop it
Khrushchev
Leadership struggle
- Stalin dominated govt, authority was unique
- power based on his reputation and willingness to use terror = power was personal as not based on positions in party or state.
- left no testament- no indication of who he would like to be leader.
contenders
1. Malenkov- rumoured to be Stalin’s choice.
powerbase= Soviet State. assumed was superior to Communist party
2. Beria- head of Stalin’s political police, powerbase MVD (political police)
3. Khrushchev- secretary of central committee on Stalin’s death. No state role. Party was his powerbase-popular member of Politburo.
Early govt reforms…
- Stalin turned Soviet Union into military and industrial superpower- but major political problems
- Stalin’s power= personal, independent from party and state= power vacuum- threatened to cause chaos within govt
- Malenkov + Khrushchev-shift balance of power away from leader- state+party had independent power
Beria’s reforms- MVD
- reduce and restrict power of MVD - Stalin’s weapon against power of party and state
- reform to calm fears of rivals
- informed Presidium that Gulag system= inefficient+difficult to manage.. Reformed the system
1. March 1953- amnesty for non-political prisoners who were serving short sentences
2. April- extend to some counter-revolutionaries
3. May- party Commission to investigate past executions- rehabilitated 4260 Communists who were executed on basis of forced confessions.
4. MVD- LOST ECONOMIC POWER- had used Gulag labour to construct factories+ power stations= terminated. Prison labour= ceased - Gulag pop dropped from 2 mil 1953 to 1.6 mil 1959
Beria’s reforms- the Republics
- Republics dominated by central soviet institutions under Stalin
- June 1953- 2 measures to make republican govts more representative
1. required all senior party officials to speak language of republic they worked in
2. all official publication should be available in language of Republics + Russian
Beria’s fall…
- reforms weakened MVD
- rivals still feared use of secret police= Khrushchev+ Malenko plot to execute him
- June 1953- Khrushchev accused Beria of handing Soviet secrets to Brit govt and of crimes against Soviet people
- Arrested and tried and executed
- at trial- Malenko accused Beria of using MVD against party- trial and execution another way of limiting MVD power= restore power of party
Khrushchev early govt…
2 goals- enhance own power and power of party at the expense of Malenkov and state.
Personnel changes
- replacing Stalin’s supporters with own
- Used position as Secretary of Central Committee to replace senior officials throughout party
- 1953-1956.. replaced around 1/2 regional party secretaries, 44% of central committee
- secured own position in party by filling up top levels of the party with people loyal to him
Anti-bureaucracy campaign
- designed to weaken state
- proposed cutting bureaucracy by devolving power from Soviet govt to Republican govts- direct attack on Malenkov’s powerbase
- mid 1954- restructured govt- cut number of central Soviet ministers from 55 to 25
De-Stalinisation
- humanise communism- end Stalin’s use of terror+ enhance lives of citizens by improving standards of living
- enrich culture with new novels, plays, other forms of art
- Leninist- rejected cult of personality- shift focus from Stalin as heroic leader to achievements of party and people
- plans to turn Stalin’s dacha into museum= scrapped
- annual Stalin prizes= cancelled, no official celebrations of Stalin’s birthday
- newspapers started quoting Marx and Lenin
Secret speech
- ending Cult of Stalin- criticising Stalin= HUGE RISK- respected as founder of Soviet system= risk undermining authority of Soviet Union and Communism
- risked outrage in party - senior Communists respected him
- criticism of Stalin- reflect badly on them as helped implement policies
- Present criticisms of Stalin at secret session of 20th Party Congress 1956
- 14th Feb- spoke for 4 hours -profound critique of rule- focused on cult of personality- Stalin abandoned collective leadership+set himself up as dictator
- Stalin placed himself above party- serious mistakes, eg. purging red army prior WW2
- enormous crimes- death of thousands of innocent people
- did not criticise industrialisation or collectivisation or any aspect of ideology. Foundations of system=sound
- delegates= profoundly shocked- some took own lives
- private copies sent to senior Communists across Union
- one leaked to West and printed in New York times
Ending terror-
May 1954- special commission to review cases of political prisoners- first year only 4620 of 113,739 were released
-June 1956, 51,439 prisoners including 26,155 political prisoners released.
Problems with de-stalinisation
- Communist parties in Hungary and Poland began own process of de-stalinisation
- Hungary- students seized opportunity- initiated rev and elected new PM
- ended military alliance with Soviet Union- Khrushchev ordered Soviet troops to crush rev.
- unrest in Soviet Union- leaked info about Stalin;s crimes caused people to question legitimacy of Communist rule
- student demonstrations in favour of multi-party democracy at Moscow state uni 1957- suppressed again
Khrushchev’s retreat
- Stalinists argued that de-stalinisation DESTABILISED GOVT
- Moderates accused Khrushchev of reforming too fast
- responded by backtracking- soviet people not ready to know truth about Stalin
- June- Central Committee- statement to party revising Khrushchev speech
- Oct- editors of Soviet mag ‘Questions of history’ disciplined for publishing revelations about Stalin’s terror
- Mid Dec- Khrushchev secretly authorised establishment of special commission- led by Brezhnev to suppress anti-Communist activities
- end of 1957- radical de-stalinisation= halted
Democratisation and Centralisation
-1957, measures to reduce size+power of central party
- democratisation- designed to increase participation of workers in govt but did not involve new elections
1. allowed expansion of party membership, eg. grew from 6.9 mil in 1954 to 11 mil 1964.
=more democratic-greater proportion of members 60% pesants
2. fixed terms for senior communist to ensure replaced regularly, eg. 2/3 regional secretaries replaced between 1957-1961
-in order to decentralise party he ABOLISHED CENTRAL MINISTRIES that oversaw the economy and devolved power to 105 newly created economic councils
-reforms= many senior communists officials were demoted, lost jobs
-renewed criticism of Khrushchev within party
Anti-party group
- discontent with Khrushchev’s reforms and problems created by de-stalinisation = attempts to overthrow Khrushchev
eg. June 1957- majority of Presidium, led by Malenko voted to replace him - Khrushchev argued decision to replace him only be taken by Central committee as he had majority support
- survived attempts to oust him and sacked his opponents
- consolidated his position in 1958 by taking over position of PM and his existing officers
- attempted coup of 1957- significant to evolution of Soviet govt
1. demonstrate senior communists no longer use terror against each other
2. recognised that power of party leader depended on support of Central committee
Final reforms
-22nd party congress oct 1961= finial reforms
-main focus= economic
-re-start de-stalinisation- accused him of being involved in Kirov’s murder
-congress voted to remove Stalin’s body from public display
-radical party reform- built on earlier democratisation measures, eg. fixed terms for ALL jobs within party- fixed 16 year term for Central Committee members
-reforms= split party in 2= new structure= 1 half in charge of agriculture and other industry.
right to top of party- central committee divided into agricultural and industrial bureaus- hoped to boost economic growth
Khrushchev’s fall
- political reforms= discontent, economic reforms failed to boost economic growth- late 1950s economy slowed
- foreign policy= dangerous and rash
- Oct 1964- criticised for mishandling economy, foreign policy and creating own personality cult
- Khrushchev retired- govt put it down to ill health
- given pension and lived under guard for 7 years
