Theme 3 (control) Flashcards
when was the Decree on Press
1917
power to ban any “counter revolutionary” papers
when was the Revolutionary Tribunal on Press established
1918
power to censor the press and punish journalists who committed ‘crimes against the people’
when was Glavit established
1922
professional censors
when was printing press nationalised
1920
Prevented any non communist publications
circulation of Trud and Pravada by 1983 (most popular papers)
Trud: 13.5 million
Pravada: 10.7 million
what % of Russian people illiterate in 1921
65%
when did the communist government start broadcasting radio
1921
how many radio stations were there (pre Brezhnev)
1
when did Brezhnev introduce a secondary radio channel
1964
‘Radio Maiak’ played some foreign music and was popular with young people
number of television sets from 1950s-80s (shows improvement)
1950: 10,000
1958: 3 million
1980: most of the population had a TV
how many TV channels in 1985?
2
UK only had 6
how tall was Stalin?
5’6
all statues depict him over 6ft
when was krushchev’s secret speech?
1956
how many medals did Brezhnev award himself
over 100
when did attack on russian orthodox church begin?
1918
statistics to prove early attack on orthodox church (under Lenin)
by 1923: 28 bishops and over 1000 priests killed
league of militant godless established in
1929
Did ‘god disproving’ activities such as taking peasants in plane rides to show there was no heaven
statistic to show early attacks (under Lenin) on Orthodox Church not successful
mid 1920s, 55% of the USSR population were still active christians
statistic to show attack of church (under Stalin)
1930: 4/5 village churches either destroyed or out of operation
1939: only 12/163 bishops not in prison
when did Stalin change his policy towards the church
after German invasion 1941 (Church helped support war effort)
400 churches allowed to reopen during WW@
when did Khrushchev launch his anti-religious campaign
1958
Closed churches & launched anti religious campaign
statistic to show harshness of Khrushchev’s anti religious campaign
in 4 years, 10,000 churches were closed
when was the Christian Committee for the Defence of Believers’ Rights set up?
1976
Leader imprisoned in 1979 (didnt last long)
[Brezhnev]
when did Lenin establish the Cheka
1917
how many opponents shot by Cheka 1921-22
Red Terror 1921-22
200,000 shot
when was the Cheka replaced by the GPU
1922
when was the GPU replaced with the OGPU
1923
when did the OGPU merge with the interior ministry to form the NKVD
1934
same year that Kirov was murdered
when did Yagoda become head of the secret police
1934
same year OGPU merges with interior ministry to become NKVD, Kirov dies this year under his protection
when did Yagoda expand the Gulag system?
1930
to support industrialisation with free slave labour
(before he was head)
White Sea canal
1931-32
141 miles long
180,000 slaves contracted it
10,000 slaves died
removal of Yagoda
removed: 1936 (replaced by Yezhov)
shot: 1938
(blamed for not protecting Kirov)
how tall was Yezhov
5’0
“bloody dwarf’
Karealian Troika (court)
in 1937, they sentenced 231 prisoners a day
shows excessive purging under Yezhov/Stalin
Yezhov dismissal
dismissed in 1938 (replaced by Beria)
scapegoat for excessive purging
when was Beria made head of secret police
1938
changes made by Beria to Gulags
1939: raised rations (to make prisoners more productive)
made the 1000 scientists in gulags work towards space programme
raised economic activity of gulags under Beria
1937: 2000 million roubles
1940: 4500 million roubles
1/3 of gold now came from Gulag mines
purge of polish officers at Katyn during WW2
1943
SMERSH oversaw the killing of (minimum) 4,000 polish officers
Katyn forrest
purge of Leningrad party under Beria
1949
2000 party members purged
Beria’s amnesty
1953
released 1 million prisoners
attempt to gain power after Stalin’s death
When did Andropov become leader of KGB
1967
when was the national front formed in Lithuania
1974
(Brezhnev, Cold War)
check book, did they invade / how many deaths
new criminal code
1960
abolished nighttime raiding and sentencing without proof of acting against state
new criminal code scrapped
1966
still had to be trialed before sentencing
leading dissidents begin being sent to psychiatric hospitals rather than gulags
Started under Brezhnev (1964 onwards)
More common once Andropov was leader of KGB (1967 onwards)
Helsinki agreements ‘guarantee’ certain human rights
1975
re-enactment of the storming of the winter palace
1920
8,000 people used (not accurate)
deliberate challenge of high culture
when was the cultural revolution
1925 - 1932
lifetime of the RAPP
when was the Russian Association of Proletarian Writers (RAPP) closed down
1932
this was the end of cultural revolution
when was the saxophone banned
1940s
when did ‘Voice of America’ begin purposely broadcasting into the USSR
1955
when did the banned novel ‘Doctor Zhivago’ win a Nobel Prize
1958
epic story about Russian civil war contained some criticism and banned by Stalin
arrest of Sinyavsky and Daniel
wrote short novels depicting life in USSR as harsh
1965
demonstration of over 200 students
open letter of support for writers signed by 63 intellectuals
(Brezhnev)
Lenin’s cult of personality (most happened after his death)
- images, statues, films and newspapers all depicted lenin as a hero
- his body was embalmed and put on display
- Petrograd renamed Leningrad 1924
Stalin’s cult of personality 1924-1930
- links between lenin and stalin enforced
- pictures doctored to remove political opponents
- 1925 a town renamed Stalingrad
- slogan “Stalin is the Lenin of today” used
Stalin’s cult of personality 1930-1950
- images of stalin being godlike
- pictures of stalin with children –> father figure image
- images of him meeting average people –> down to earth, happy man
- family home turned into shrine, happy childhood painted (despite only seeing his mother 3 times in 40 years)
- statues, films and biographies made of stalin
Stalin’s cult of personality 1950-1953
- many towns named after him
- cult of personality provided big image during health decline
- large celebrations for 70th birthday
decree separating state and church
1918
Decree in freedom of consciousness
separated the orthodox church from the state and it lost its status. deprived of its land, banned religious education outside of the home, publications outlawed
when did attacks on Islam begin?
1920s onwards (Lenin did not attack islam very much)
what % people religious in 1980s?
only 25% believed in god
far fewer engaged in religious worship
Mingrelian affair
1951
purge targeted at a minority which Beria belonged to (threaten him, Stalin worried he becomes too powerful)
when was slave labour stopped?
1953
Khrushchev
when was the commissariat of enlightenment (culture) founded?
1917
when did USSR invade Czechoslovakia
august 1968
reformist trends in Prague needed shutting down
(same year as Brezhnev’s new family code)
protest against invasion of USSR by Czechoslovakia
1968
only 7 people actually showed up
too afraid
