theme 1: government 1917-85

Question 1

by what year was Russia a communist one part state?

Answer 1

1922

Question 2

how did Bolsheviks prevent other political parties gaining influence?

Answer 2

banned bourgeois from voting (did not agree with Bolsheviks seeing as they were redistributing bourgeois possessions)
did not allow other parties to publish their own newspapers
april 1921 stated SRs’ and mensheviks belonged in prison
1921 other parties banned

Question 3

why and whenwas treaty of brest litovsk signed and what were its consequences

Answer 3

lenin needed troops out of WW2 so they can fight in civil war. 1918
Russia lost control over Baltic states and lots of land and industry. was humiliating and created enemies

Question 4

constituent assembly January 1918?

Answer 4

socialist revolutionaries gained more votes than bolsheviks, lenin shut down assembly and condemned it an instrument of the bourgeoisie

Question 5

how did the civil war consolidate bolshvik power

Answer 5

they had won over the whites. people unlikely to switch sides and not be a Bolshevik because of their experiences in the civil war

Question 6

how did stalin undermine trotsky

Answer 6

stopped lenins testament being read out stating preference for Trotsky
supposedly caused him to miss lenins funeral
trotsky wanted nep discontinued, used this to make him seem against lenin and expel him from the party

Question 7

how did stlain undermine bukharin

Answer 7

stressed bukharins disagreements with lenin from early 1920s
accused him of Trotskyism as he criticised the increasing bureaucracy of the party
accused him of forming factions after he had a secret meeting with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1928

Question 8

how did stalin use his position as general secretary?

Answer 8

had access to files of everyone

controlled all the jobs so most people owed their positions to stalin

Question 9

what did Khrushchev do to consolidate power?

Answer 9

arrested and executed beria so Khrushchev could have real power in collective leadership after stalins death

Question 10

how did Brezhnev consolidate power?

Answer 10

sidelined potential rivals in the politburo and gave them less central and less important roles within the party

Question 11

following the civil war what was power like under lenin

Answer 11

highly centralised due to need for quick decisions in civil war.
organisations that genuinely represented the people (trade unions and soviets) were bought under control and then sidelines
political opponents removed but debate was allowed

Question 12

what happened in the tenth party congress

Answer 12

1921. banned factions in “one party unity” as growth in membership posed threat to party stability

Question 13

what was the structure of government?

Answer 13

all Russian congress of soviets elected central executive committee which elected the sovnarkom

Question 14

what was the structure of the party?

Answer 14

party congress elected the central committee which elected the politburo

Question 15

what was the role of the sovnarkom

Answer 15

also known as the council of peoples commissars. in theory in charge of making key decisions and passing gov orders. 20 members

Question 16

what was the role of the central executive committee

Answer 16

coordinated admin and law making process. in practice rubber stamped orders from sovnarkom

Question 17

what was the role of the all Russian congress of soviets

Answer 17

members were elected by local soviets. supposed to approve laws from sovnarkom. in practice also rubber stamped laws. late 1920s all congress representatives had to be communist party members

Question 18

what was the role of the politburo

Answer 18

7-9 members met daily. filled in for slower central committee and made all key decisions

Question 19

what was the role of the central committee

Answer 19

power delegated o politburo. didn’t really do anything

Question 20

what was the role of the party congress?

Answer 20

discussed general programme of the party but didn’t do much. little discussion

Question 21

what was democratic centralism and what was the reality

Answer 21

all decisions were made in the interest of the people and those decisions were passed onto regional and local levels and implemented. in reality Bolsheviks rules by decree where soviets were not involved in decision making

Question 22

what was the nomenklatura system

Answer 22

list of names of approved party members. jobs and promotions allocated via this list. encouraged loyalty

Question 23

when was the soviet state renamed the union of soviet socialist republics (USSR)

Answer 23

1924. this confirmed the power of the communist party

Question 24

where did power lie under stalin

Answer 24

shifted power from party to the state. 1938 politburo most powerful, by 1942 the state defence committee was the most powerful and senior

Question 25

how did stalin deflect competition away from himself

Answer 25

encouraged rivalry between party and state by placing rivals in similar positions either side.

Question 26

politburo meeting less frequently numbers

Answer 26

1920s met weekly. mid 1930s met 9 times a year

Question 27

what was the 1936 soviet constitution

Answer 27

named Russia “the most democratic system in the world”. said as bourgeois class had been removed every citizen now had the right to vote and all civil right were given. it was a fraud.

Question 28

what kept communists in powerful positions under stalin

Answer 28

only communist party members could stand for elections

removal of left and right sides meant the government was full of stalin supporters.

Question 29

what did stalin keep from lenins government?

Answer 29

the main party structure and the nomenklatura system

Question 30

in what year was the politburo renamed the presidium and under which leader

Answer 30

1952. Khrushchev

Question 31

what went back to how it used to be in terms of government under Khrushchev?

Answer 31

regular meetings of the presidium and central committee resumed
1/2 those elected to central committee in 1952 were removed
debate in the party was allowed

Question 32

how did government change that wasn’t a reversing of stalins ways?

Answer 32

the central committee was given more authority over government and party structures
decision making was decentralised and more power was given to regional level organisations

Question 33

what happened in the twenty-second party congress?

Answer 33

1961 -> Khrushchev
stalins body was removed from lenins mausoleum
the party was divided into agricultural and industrial sectors
the time any person could spend in their post was limited to 3 years (this was resented and led to his downfall)

Question 34

what did Brezhnev reverse that Khrushchev had done?

Answer 34

division of agriculture and industry dropped

dropped limits of tenure in office

Question 35

what did the soviet constitution of 1977 give citizens the right to?

Answer 35

the right to criticise ineffective party secretaries

Question 36

what did article 6 do under brezhnev

Answer 36

gave communist party power over the state

Question 37

what did Brezhnev emerge as in 1966

Answer 37

the first among equals. however he still discussed important matters with colleagues and the politburo

Question 38

what happened at the 23rd party congress and what year did it happen ?

Answer 38

1966. so little discussion nicknamed the congress of silence.

Question 39

who was chenenko like in terms of government structre?

Answer 39

brezhnev

Question 40

what did anropov do?

Answer 40

he recognised the need to reform and wanted to get rid of the corruption under Brezhnev

Question 41

what was lenins ideology?

Answer 41

followed Marxism but recognised a need fro total control to get the country into a position to withstand communism. which is why he allowed terror

Question 42

what debate cause in lenins government?

Answer 42

factions

Question 43

what was stalins idea and how did it contradict trotskys

Answer 43

Trotsky believed in causing a socialist worl revolution before industrialising their own country. stalin believed in “socialism in one country” where the country would industrialise first before trying to spread socialism and communism

Question 44

example of khrushchevs erratic and unpredictable nature

Answer 44

1960 UN debate he banged his shoe on his desk.

Question 45

when did Khrushchev become prime minister as well as general secretary and what did this mirror

Answer 45

1958. mirrored stalin-like power

Question 46

how can Brezhnev’s government be described?

Answer 46

oligarchy (run by small elite)
gerontocracy (run by old people)
stagnant (no longer growing or improving))
corrupt (nepotism and internal promotion was rife)

Question 47

example of Brezhnev being vain

Answer 47

awarded himself 100+ medals. became the butt of many jokes

Question 48

chenenko description

Answer 48

in his 70s. dying of emphysema. Brezhnev man. died march 1985

Question 49

Andropov description

Answer 49

tried to fix corruption but was too ill and lacked charm

Question 50

Chistka under lenin

Answer 50

1918 and another in the early 1920s. about 1/3 party purged under lenin. non violent usually just handed in membership and were expelled from the party

Question 51

when did terror start

Answer 51

civil war

Question 52

what happened to political terror after civil war

Answer 52

turned bureaucratic and had periodic purges of the party. achieved so effectively that party could significantly expand without sacrificing unity or conformity

Question 53

stalin chistka when was it and why did it happen

Answer 53

1932-35 in response to difficulties with 5 year plan and collectivisation where local officials ignored orders as they were concerned about the speed of implementation. designed to remove such officials

Question 54

how many purged in stalins chistka

Answer 54

by 1935 22% party removed. essentially non violent. showed mounting opposition to stalin

Question 55

how were the 1930s purges within the party escalated?

Answer 55

stain set quotas for the percentage of each party branch to be identified as enemies of the people

Question 56

what were the accusations people faced in stalins political purges?

Answer 56

one victim accused of plotting against the state in a hotel that was not yet built. reflected stalins paranoid nature

Question 57

examples of mounting criticism against stalin that caused the great purge

Answer 57

• 1932 ryutin issued document accusing stalin of building a personal dictatorship and called for him to be removed from power
• stalins wife raised concerns of brutal enforcement of collectivisation before committing suicide
• party officials criticised unrealistic production targets of 5 year plans

Question 58

what event led to the murder of kirov

Answer 58

17th party congress, Kirov voiced concerns of production targets and 5 year plan to standing ovation.

Question 59

when was Kirov murdered and what did this lead to?

Answer 59

1934. purging large sections of the party

Question 60

who were first arrested and scentenced for kirovs muder?

Answer 60

Kamenev and zionviev in 1935

Question 61

what were show trials

Answer 61

trials that were filmed and recorded and relayed to the soviet population via radio and tv. the accused usually confessed often due to torture. death penalty met guilty verdicts

Question 62

trial of the sixteen

Answer 62

1936 purge of leaders of the left including zionviev, Kamenev. accused of undermining the state with Trotsky. confessed under pressure from NKVD

Question 63

trial of the seventeen

Answer 63

1937. purge of party officials accused of working for Trotsky and foreign governments to undermine soviet gov. real rime was criticising the 5 year plans

Question 64

trial of the twenty-one

Answer 64

1938 purged of the right. Bukharin and rykov accused of forming a ‘Trotskyite rightist block’ both confessed. tomsky committed suicide before trial

Question 65

Shakhty trial

Answer 65

1928. managers and technical experts put on trial for holding back the process of industrialisation. used to send threat about if a lack commitment was shown

Question 66

purge of the red army numbers

Answer 66

1937-1938 3/5 marshals. 14/16 commanders. 35000 officers shot or imprisoned. every naval admiral

Question 67

why was the army targeted?

Answer 67

they were critical of the demoralising effect of collectivisation

Question 68

purge of the secret policenumbers.

Answer 68

undedr yezhov 3,000 of his own personnel purged in his first 6 months 1936

Question 69

when were how Trotsky assassinated?

Answer 69

1940 mexico ice pick

Question 70

evidence of stains new major purge of what and when?

Answer 70

“Doctors plot” 1953. prelude of campaign against jews. attack on people of beria’s nationality. warning to beria who had a lot of power

Question 71

how many prisoners did Khrushchev release and why wasn’t it that great

Answer 71

2 million 1953-1960. process was slow even though numbers were significant

Question 72

what did heavy punishments remain for under krushchev?

Answer 72

corruption and criticism out of the party’s boundaries

Question 73

how did Brezhnev deal with people within the government who would previously be purged?

Answer 73

people were side ined and given less important jobs within the party

Question 74

what did the congress of silence 1966 show?

Answer 74

the nature of party was conservative and cautious due to high and sophisticated surveillance