USSR Topic 1 - Communist Government In The USSR Flashcards
When was the Bolshevik Party established and their aims upon establishment
Established in 1903
Wished to bring about change in Russia - main targeted was the Tsarist regime
When did the Bolsheviks seize power
1917
The October Revolution
What were Lenin’s aims for Russia during the revolution
Believed in having a highly centralised and disciplined party which would seize power on behalf of the proletariat
Power taken away from the bourgeoise and placed in the hands of the party - party to act as a dictatorship of the proletariat to promote socialism by government control over the economy in the interests of the workers
What happened in the October Revolution, 1917
Bolsheviks seized power in October through a well-planned and well-executed uprising
Provisional government forced from power
Bolshevik was a small party at the time, but revolution portrayed by the Bolsheviks as a mass uprising of the workers
Propaganda presented the event as a heroic storming of the Winter Palace (when the gates were opened for the Bolsheviks)
What kind of government did the Bolsheviks establish at the start
In 1917 - Bolsheviks claimed a desire to set up a democratic system which would rule on behalf of the people
By 1921 - became clear that they established a one-party state where all other political groups were banned
Given the opposition they faced, this seems like a good way to secure their power
What difficulties did the Bolsheviks face during the creation of the USSR
- although party had grown in support since 1917, Bolsheviks were still a small group
- tried to represent view of proletariat and peasant, but not enough support to lead a revolution, therefore they seized power by force
- opposition from other groups: left-wing groups (socialist revolutionaries [SRs] and the Mensheviks), right winged groups (Tsarist supporters), liberal groups (middle class representation), Nationalist groups within the Russian empire (Ukrainians, Poles, Finns) - saw this as a chance to gain independence
How did the Bolsheviks deal with other left-wing groups?
Lenin made it clear that power would not be shared (although they share similar views)
The Constituent Assembly in January 1918 were in favour of the SRs and Mensheviks (gained most of the seats - SRs had 410 seats with 21 million votes while Bolsheviks had 175 seats with 9 million votes)
Lenin then dissolved the Assembly after one meeting
Ensured that there was no real forum for opposition
How did the Bolsheviks remove the other political parties
- removal of vote from ‘bourgeois classes’ - employers and priests stripped opposition parties of support
- Mensheviks and SRs had restrictions on their newspapers
- left-wing SRs who had a role in the Bolshevik government lost all influence when they walked out in protest of the Bolsheviks pulling out from WW1
- March 1918, Bolshevik party remained itself the Communist Party
- 1921, all other parties banned
- April 1921, Lenin declared “the place for Mensheviks and SRs is in prison” - waves of arrests for SRs and Mensheviks and also supporters
When was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
1918
What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk do?
It put a peaceful end to the Russian involvement in WW1
What did the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk cost for Russia
- lost control over Baltic States (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland, Ukraine and parts of the Caucasus region)
- national humiliation for conservatives, especially those who served in the Tsar’s army
- motivated the Whites to fight against the Bolsheviks
Why did Lenin sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?
Took a lot of energy and resources from the government with little chance of military success
Lenin realised that to hold power in Russia, he had to pull out of the war to concentrate on his internal enemies
Who were the ‘whites’
A range of political groups: those who wanted Tsarist Regime, Liberals, supporters of the Provisional government, military leaders, national minorities seeking independents and members of the Menshevik and SR parties
When did the Bolsheviks win the civil war
The end of 1920 - Bolsheviks defeated the Whites and secured communist rule
What was the Bolshevik’s military strategy in the civil war
Leon Trotsky - turned the Red Army into an effective fighting machine
Army was red guard units and old Tsarist armed forces, conscription introduced - number of soldiers went up to over 5 million by the end of the war
War communism - Bolshevik control of economy, in favour of the red guards
Large scale nationalisation of industry ensured supplies of Red Army
Food supplies requisitioned from the peasants
Resulted in supplies and food to keep the army going
Increase in support for the Bolsheviks during the civil war
Workers: saw what the Bolsheviks stood for, best guarantors of their gains from the Revolution
Peasants: didn’t like food requisitioning, but Land Decree of 1917 guaranteed a distribution of land in their favour
Key results of the civil war
Centralisation: Bolshevik state became highly centralised through demands of civil war - power now in the hands of the government (Sovnarkom) and party leadership (politburo) based in Moscow
Use of terror: civil war resulted in use of terror, used for development of the party later
Support: supporters went through a formative experience, reinforced militaristic values in the population
When was the tenth party congress
March 1921
What happened in the tenth party congress
Lenin put forward the ban on formation of factions within the party - ‘on party unity’ - an attempt to impose the view of the leadership of the party
Political tightening of the power of party leadership
What was the Kronstadt Mutiny
1921
Sailors at the Kronstadt naval base formed a mutiny against the imposition of orders form the local soviet
Mutiny crushed by Red army - severe shock as sailors were previously strong supporters of the Bolsheviks
What was the Tambov Rising
1920-21
Peasant uprising in the Tambov region of central Russia after the requisite of grain for use in the cities and army
Peasants formed a Green army and established control over a large area
Took over 50,000 Bolshevik troops to put down the revolt
Apparatus of the government - proletariat organisations
Proletariat organisations like soviets, trade unions, factory committees were brought under Bolshevik rule then sidelined
What was created to represent bodies in the Soviet Union
Stemmed from the All-Russian Congress of Soviets, headed by the Sovnarkom
What was the Sovnarkom
The council of People’s Commissars, took the role of a cabinet of top government ministers
In theory - responsible for making key decisions and giving government orders
20 members elected by the Central Executive Committee
What was the central executive committee
A larger group elected by the congress of soviets
Task was to oversee the work of the government and its administration
What was the all-Russian congress of soviets
Supreme law-making body of the state
All laws issued by the Sovnarkom had to be approved by the congress
In theory, a highly representative body made up of members elected by local soviets, all those citizens engaged in ‘useful work’
What was at the bottom of the government
Provincial and city soviets made up of representatives from local soviets
These bodies conducted the administration of government at local level
What was the reality behind the government structure in the party
In principle it was democratic
In reality the Bolsheviks used their control over positions in the Sovnarkom to issue orders which were imposed on the country
What was the politburo
Group of 7-9 leading members of the Bolshevik party, who were chosen by the Party’s central committee to make key decisions affecting policy
Met daily under Lenin, became more important than the Sovnarkom
Leading members: Lenin, Gregory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev, Leon Trotsky and Josef Stalin
What was the central committee
Group of 30-40 members chosen by the Party Congress to represent its members
Supposed to make key decisions on policy, but, after 1919, power was increasingly delegated to the Politburo
What was the party congress
A body made up of representatives of local party branches
Discussed the general programme of the party
After ‘on party unity’, which stifled debate, the role of the congress in influencing policy declined
Met yearly under Lenin from 1917, ended in 1926
What was the local party branches
Below level of congress
Each branch headed by a party secretary - they can be very powerful
What principle did the Bolsheviks claim their government was based on
Democratic centralism
What is democratic centralism
Soviets were used as bodies that represented the workers at local level, their wishes could be expressed through a structure of representative organisations which would take their concerns up the higher levels of the party, then decisions would be implemented at local level
The reality of the USSR’s democratic nature
Did not use democratic centralism
Ruled by decree, soviets were not involved in decision-making
Soviets were dominated by the Bolsheviks, unable to represent the workers
Local soviets were part of the local government but only followed orders from local PArty bosses
The representative bodies merely carried out orders given by the centre
How was the power distributed within the party structure
Party leadership had rigid central control over the Party structure and its own member
Local branches of the Party were brought firmly under the control of the organisations at the centre of the party
During civil war, for decision-making, power transferred upwards to politburo - so there can be rapid responses to constantly changing circumstances
After civil war, the system became entrenched as those with power were reluctant to give up
What were Lenin’s official positions within the government
Chair of the sonvarkom and one of the politburo members
Lenin’s influence and power over the party
Influence - many Bolsheviks looked up to him, saw him as a source of inspiration
Power (1922-) - Lenin’s power to extent influence over Party and the government was limited by severe illness
After his third stroke in March 1923, he lost the capacity to speak
What is the nomenklatura system
A system of appointing people to jobs from a list approved by the Party leadership
Evidence of commitment to the Party cause was necessary in order to remain on the list
Also encouraged corruption as favours were expected from those who were placed on the list and promoted
Growth of party bureaucracy
Aided communist party control
By 1921, the Bolshevik party was much bigger than it was in 1917 - many joined the party to improve their career prospects but not necessarily committed communists
Party then developed nomenklatura system to combat the commitment of people
By 1924, membership reached about 1 million - entailed a large organisation peopled by administrators who were forming their own class with their own values and attitudes
When was the Soviet Constitution established
1924
~ after the position of the Bolsheviks were strong enough to extend the control of the Party
What was the USSR
Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - tightened the authority of the Communist Party based in Moscow
Party embodies in various republics, e.g. Ukraine
Made up of a range of different republics - Russians made up 90% of the land-area and 72% of the population
Nearly 3/4 of the communist party were Russian
What was the OGPU
All-union state political administration
Activities brought under greater supervision by the state to ensure that it worked within the law
What did the Cheka do (1918-1921)
Planned arrests, tortured prisoners, executed suspects without using official courts
Left-wing opponents arrested by August 1918 after an assassination attempt on Lenin
Carried out Red Terror
Between 1917 and 1923 - responsible for executions of up to 200,000 people
Secret police grew enormously, from 40,000 in December 1918 to 250,000 in 1921
What methods did the secret police use to maintain terror
Intimidation and purges used to maintain discipline and order
Aimed at adventurers, drunkards and hooligans
Towards the end of Lenin’s life, he seemed to have an obsession over the use of terror
Limitations in centralising the USSR
- the size of Russia, central control did not always extend to remote areas
- government often chaotic, opportunities for local mafias and black marketeers to defy party orders
- Kamenev and Zinoviev opposed Lenin’s decision to launch a revolution in 1917
- fierce debate within Party over Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918
- introduction of NEP led to formation of right and left wing factions within the party
- role of trade unions led to much debate within the Party
What was Stalin’s role under Lenin’s leadership
General secretary - head of Party secretariat
What powers did Stalin have as general secretary
- responsible for day-to-day running of the party
- co-ordinated work across all party departments, had access to a range of information
- gained access to over 26,000 personal files on party members, could use against rivals
- responsible for deciding Party meeting agendas, could restrict issues
- had the right to appoint people to Party positions, could promote his supporters to key positions, ended up with more officials becoming loyal to Stalin - could always outvote his opponents with his supporters
Who were Stalin’s opponents in the Politburo for the struggle of power
- Leon Trotsky: seen as obvious successor
- Gregory Zinoviev: worked closely with Lenin, had a strong power base as Leningrad Party Secretary
- Lev Kamenev: Moscow Party Secretary
- Nikolai Bukharin: described by Lenin as ‘the golden boy’
- Mikhail Tomsky: leading figure in trade union movement
- Alexei Rykov: succeeded Lenin as Chair of the Sovnarkom
Stalin’s removal of political rivals and his securing of power
- undermined Bukharin’s position by stressing Bukharin’s disagreements with Lenin
- Bukharin accounted of trotskiyism
- Bukharin arranged secret meeting with Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1928: enabled Stalin to accuse Bukharin of forming factions within the PArty
- supports of the Right in Moscow party branch removed
- undermined Bukharin’s support for retaining the NEP by highlighting the failures of the NEP
- during vote sfor policy decisions, Stalin relied on those who held higher power and supported him
How did the communists use terror during the great purge
Party secretariat: collected information on party members to use against them
Secret police: carried out surveillances, arrests and executions, also ran the gulags
When was the Chistka
1932-35
What was the Chistka
New purge of Party membership - response to the difficulties experienced during the launching of the First Five-Year Plan and agricultural collectivisation
Designed to remove officials (those unhappy with Party leadership) to speed up the implementation of economic policy
By 1935, 22% of the Party were removed from their posts
How were purges at a more local party level carried out to a large extent
Quotas were set by Stalin, detailing what percentage of each Party branch should be identified as enemies of the people
This ended with many Party branches trying to meet those quotas or even going over the quota in order to satisfy Stalin
The increasing criticism of Stalin’s policy by 1932
- 1932, Ryutin (former party secretary) issued a document to the central committee that was highly critical of Stalin
- brutality that was used to enforce the policy of collectivisation in agriculture was a major cause of criticism - Peasant resistance had resulted in serious unrest
- Party officials often critical of the unrealistic targets set under the 5-Year Plans and that it couldn’t be achieved
- Seventeenth Party Congress of 1934, these criticisms gained strength, pressure was placed on Kirov
When was Kirov murdered
1 December 1934
Who murdered Kirov
Some suggested that his murder was carried out on Stalin’s orders
Official explanation: assassin was a member of an opposition group led by Zinoviev and Kamenev - both were then arrested and brought to trail in January 1935 and sentenced to long terms of imprisonment
Influence of Kirov’s murder
The catalyst for the purging of large sections of the Communist Party
What were the show trials
During 1935 and 1936
A wave of denounce actions and arrests of members in the Left Opposition who were still at large
Leading figures in the Party were accused of anti-Soviet activities
When was the trial of the sixteen
August 1936
What was the trial of the sixteen
Involved leaders of the left (including Zinoviev and Kamenev)
Dragged from prison and accused of working as agents of Trotsky to undermine the state
Under pressure from the NKVD, confessed to crimes they could not have carried out
When was the trial of the seventeen
1937
What was the trial of the seventeen
Purge of party officials such as Karl Radek and Georgy Pyatakov
Accused of working for Trotsky and foreign government to undermine Soviet economy through wrecking and Sabotage
Real rime was probably criticising the Five year plans
When was the trial of the twenty-one
1938
What was the trial of the twenty-one
Purge of the right - tomsky committed suicide before he could be brought to trial
Bukharin and Rykov accused of forming a “Trotskyite-Rightist Bloc” - both confessed
No hard evidence of these links with Trotsky, but Bukharin’s article which criticised Stalin’s economic policies showed that he was a threat to Stalin
How were the show trials publicised
Staged to ensure party members were intimidated by the power of the state
Proceedings relayed to Soviet population via radio and film footage
Public didn’t know that the confessions were produced under pressure
Purges in the red army
1937 and 1938
- 3/5 marshals purged
- 14/16 army commanders and 35,000 officers either shot or imprisoned
- navy lost every one of its admirals
Purge of the secret police
Yezhov oversaw the most excessive phase of murders
- purging over 3000 of his own personnel in the first 6 months as head of the secret police
How did the purges influence Stalin’s power within the Party
Safeguarded the power of Stalin and the position of the Communist Party
How did the government and Party reflect Stalin’s growing control in the 30s
- politburo and institutions met less frequently as Stalin increased his control over them
- power became focused in subgroups set outside the Politburo, where Stalin could exercise firmer control
- attended important meetings, where he could imitate others as a they spoke
What did the Soviet Constitution of 1936 do?
Tried to be democratic
Every citizen in the USSR was given the right to vote - even ‘bourgeois’ classes such as the kulaks and priests who weren’t allowed before
Constitution claimed that since the bourgeoise no longer existed, there was no reason to deny them the right to vote
What was the reality of the Soviet Constitution of 1936
Constitution was a fraud - listed restrictions on the rights of citizens and it was clear that nothing could threaten the dominance of the Communist Party
Democracy imposed from above and limited by the leadership
Only candidates from the party were allowed to stand in elections
The government announced that political parties in the democratic sense were a product of conflicts between classes which generated capitalism
What were the personal limits of Stalin’s power
Stalin would not have been able to decide and control every issue
It is impossible for him to keep on top of all the events in the large country
Required Stalin to prioritise and focus on issues that he was most concerned about
Limits on Stalin’s power from within the leadership
Even after removal of opposition groups, there were limitations
- when Stalin wanted to execute Ryutin, Politburo disagreed
- Stalin’s ambitious targets for the 2nd 5-year-plan was considered too high by many both inside and outside of the Party - politburo felt that the plan would result in chaos sand opposition
- Kirov was growing in popularity as well, suggesting growing opposition to Stalin’s policies
- Politburo members expressed concern over Stalin’s increasing use of brutality
Stalin’s power over the party during WW2 in 1941-1945
German invasion of USSR ended with co-ordinating the country’s administration to defend themselves
Use of terror reduced and some ex-Party officials and generals were released form the Gulags so they could help
Propaganda used to mobilise the masses for war effort - increased Stalin’s power as he was presented as a symbol of unity
Effects of the German invasion of the USSR
Stalin was so shocked he suffered a breakdown
Retired fro several days - leaving communication in the front confused
However, he was still able to emerge form the WW2 as a hero to the Soviet people
When was high Stalinism
1945-53
Aftermath of WW2 and restoring power
Party leadership moved quickly to assert their authority after the slight relaxation of control during the war
Terror used to reinforce control as concessions like those given to the Orthodox Church were withdrawn
Stalin’s 70th birthday
Celebrated in 1949
His cult of personality gave him the facade of enormous power
But his health has been in decline since the war and those around him were engaged in rivalry for power and influence
He increasingly relied on political scheming to divide potential rivals to his pew or and minimise their threat
What was the Mingrelian Affair of 1951
A purge of the Party in Georgia that removed some of Beria’s allies - seemed to target those of Mingrelian nationality which Beria belonged to
What did the Politburo become in 1952?
Remained the presidium
Enlarged from 10 to 36 members
Allowed Stalin to bring in relative newcomers like Brezhnev and Ignatev
What was the ‘doctor’s plot’
A group of doctors were arrested in January of 1953, accused of trying to assassinate the leadership
May have been a campaign of terror against Soviet Jews, but more likely to be the elimination of Beria
Stalin died before the purge could take place
