War & Revolution - The Communists (1917-1964) Flashcards
Impact of Russian Revolution: What happened in the first 100 days once Lenin Came into Power?
- Sovnarkom was established: This saw centralized control of all organs of power under Lenin & the Party
- The dictatorship of the proletariat in essence became Lenin dictating to the proletariat.
Impact of the Civil War: How did the Civil War change attitudes to foreign relations?
- Although Comintern & World Revolution were not abandoned, the Bolshevik Government moved towards a foreign policy of co-existence and peaceful relations with the West
Impact of the Civil War: How did the Civil War change the Nature of Government?
- The Post War Communist Governments consisted of men who had served during the Civil War (Organs of Power such as the Cheka, Red Army & Other bodies)
Impact of the Civil War: How many Russians died as a result of famine?
Between 4-5 Million. (The policy of War Communism meted out during the Civil War heavily contributed to this)
Impact of the Civil War: What policy replaced War Communism when the Civil War ended in 1921?
The New Economic Policy
True or False - The Civil War (1918-1921) led to more centralisation than before within Russia.
True - Power revolved around the Politburo & Orgburo. This meant that these very tightly knit party sub-committees became the main organs of government.
Impact of the Second World War: How many Russians (in total) died during the Second World War?
27 Million
(This consisted Civilians that made up 2/3 of this death toll)
Impact of the Second World War: How many prisoners were taken by the enemy during the Second World War?
5 Million
(This meant that there was a dire shortage of labour to till the fields or to work in the factories)
Impact of the Second World War: In what way did the War hamper/affect the Industrial Sector
- A dire shortage of labour to till the fields or to work in the factories (Death toll & Captured as POW’s)
- Many of the factories within Russia had to be relocated East to avoid falling into hands of the Germans. These were in poorer areas like the Volga Basin - These had to be relocated after the war back West
- Sheer cost of moving factories back onto a consumer footing from a war footing.
Impact of the Second World War: What are the dates of the 4th Five Year Plan?
1946-1950
Impact of the Second World War: Name one area of neglect or a issue of the Five Year Plans.
- Consumer Goods were not a priority and thus neglected
- Too much investment in ‘Gargantuan’ Projects that provided very little economic return
- Agriculture suffered through neglect
Impact of the Second World War: Name three ways that the ‘Nature of Government’ did not change or shift after the war.
- Politburo remained the same as it did before. All individuals (eg. Molotov) there in 1948 had been there 10 years before, showing consistency.
- Party Membership remained high and carried on that trend. (eg. 1941 3.76 million vs 5.8 million 1945)
- NKVD still remained a tool used by the state.
Impact of the Second World War: What is the key differences between the effects of leadership between the two World Wars?
Stalin became supreme commander of the military just in the same way that the Tsar had taken command from the front in 1916.
The difference is that Stalin retained power from 1945. This survival has a lot to do from the fact that Stalin worked and listened to his generals.
Name the three conferences that took place between the Allies between 1941-1945.
Tehran (1943)
Yalta (1945)
Potsdam (1945)
Impact of the Second World War: How many additional people did Stalin have responsibility over by the conclusion of the war?
24 million people
(This included land in Eastern Europe, Kurile Islands & Sakhalin)
Impact of the Cold War: What is Containment?
This was the policy enacted out by the Western Powers to stop the spread of Communism within Europe and the wider world.
Impact of the Cold War: What seismic change took place in 1956?
De-Stalinisation took place in 1956 - This saw the leadership of Khrushchev dismantle the dictatorship of Stalin.
Name two hotspots of the Cold war between 1945-1949
- The Nuclear Arms Race (USSR would get the bomb in 1949)
- Berlin Airlift (1947-1949)
- Telegrams (1946)
- Iron Curtain Speech (1946)
Name two hotspots of the Cold war between 1950-1959
- The Arms Race
- The Korean War (1950-1953)
- The Hungarian Uprising (1956)
Name two hotspots of the Cold War between 1960-1964
- U2 Spy Plane Incident (1960)
- Building the Berlin Wall (1961)
- Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
- The Fall of Khrushchev (1964)
