Was the USSR a totalitarianism state between 1945-1953? Flashcards
What would your overall argument be for an essay on wether the USSR was a totalitarian regime between 1945-1953?
The USSR under Stalin between 1945-1953 was certainly a totalitarian state/reigime. Totalitarianism was at the hight of the period of High Stalinism when his cult of personality was incredibly consolidated. Stalins inner circle lived in fear and they themselves were vunerable to Stalins will and intense renewal of purges such as the Mingrelain Case + The Doctors Plot act as evidence of terror + elimination of non-russian nationalities + sparked a wave of anti-semetism. Western influence was practically eradicated + Stalin completely altered the stuctural makeup of the party to enhance personal control. Therefore I would argue the ussr was a totalitarian state between 1945-1953.
State your key 4 points to argue that the USSR was a totalitarian regime between 1945-1953
1 - Stalin’s regime seemed unchallengeable due to the heightening of the cult of personality around Stalin;
2 - Renewed purges + reformation of the NKVD
3 - Post war stalin felt intense fears of ideological contamination + perhaps lack of control is evident in the regimes harsh treatment prisoners of war + HOWEVER its his fear of the outside/western world which makes him obsessive about successfully limiting western/foriegn influence which he does;
4 - He reduced the internal role of the politburo + changing of the structural makeup of the party;
State your key 1 points to argue the USSR was NOT a totalitarian regime between 1945-1953
1 - Stalin was still continuously threatened by individuals within his inner circle.
Explain point NO.1 to argue the USSR was a totalitarian state between 1945-1953
1 - Stalin’s regime seemed unchallengeable due to the heightening of the cult of personality around Stalin;
The Cult of personality portrayed stalin as a genius whos superior in philosophy, economic decision making + military strategies.
This was cultivated in films, news, speeches and educational books. Academic books commonly had to acknowledge stalin’s genius in the last couple of pages.
- Even though he hadn’t visited a kolkhoz in 25 years he was portrayed as a man knowledgeable of what everyone was thinking + It reached a climax on his 70th birthday were Moscow square was dominated by giant portraits of stalin. Stalin’s dictatorship seemed unchallengeable and as the heroic leader of the great patriotic war + saviour of the ussr.
Explain point NO.2 to argue the USSR was a totalitarian state between 1945-1953
2 - Renewed purges + reformation of the NKVD;
There was very tight control over terror, the cult, fear + the pride and joy of war victory had disintergrated.
On the one hand purges such as the Doctors Plot + attacks on key officials shows extent which stalin did still feel somewhat threatened + paranoid of other ministers, officials and people (so could argue this shows it wasn’t an entirety totalitarian state). However these purges reinforced his own control + power (creating totalitarian state)
- There was rapid tightening of control over areas of society previously not targeted by the regime i.e. the Mingrelian case + Doctors’ Plot 1952 which had anti-Semitic motives. These purging of officials gaining power only tightened stalin’s own control + authority + thus his totalitarian regime.
The Reformation of NKVD under Berria reinforces totalitarian nature of the state;
Beria presided over a vast expansion of prison labour camps and gulags + his sadistic, psychopathic personality cast a long shadow over the USSR. The NKVD wad reorganised into two separate ministeries;
MVD - Ministry of internal affairs - which controlled domestic security of the gulags
MGB - Ministry of state security - handled counter-revolutionary intelligence + espionage
Despite the fact that far less people were killed than in the great terror of 1930s than during this period, tens of thousands were arrested yearly for counter revolutionary activities and in total around 12 million wartime survivors were sent to labour camps suffering in appealing conditions + tens of thousands were arrested annually for ‘counter- revolutionary’ activities during these last years of Stalin’s life.
Explain key point NO.3 to argue the USSR was a totalitarian regime between 1945-1953
3 - Post war stalin felt intense fears of ideological contamination + perhaps lack of control is evident in the regimes harsh treatment prisoners of war + HOWEVER its his fear of the outside/western world which makes him obsessive about successfully limiting western/foriegn influence which he does;
High Stalinism is characterised by the revival of red terror and he ruthlessly enforced isolation from the non-soviet world which was partly due to concern for national security at a time when the cold war was emerging but also cause of his obsessive fear of ideological contamination (people who had seen a non-sovit world and spent time outside russia).
One sign of this fear of lack of control was stalin’s harsh treatment of returned prisoners of war or even the relatives of those who spent time outside the USSR were also considered suspects.
Thus within the USSR (areas newly incorporated into it ie Baltic states) people needed to show unwavering respect and loyalty as even the smallest word or brief contact with foreigners coil get someone denounced and arrested. In February 1947 a law was passed that outlawed marriages to foreigners. This acts as evidence the USSR was certainly a totalitarian state.
- In order to maintain his totalitarian state he created a strong buffer zone, satellite states which gave him military and ideological influence + isolated + he created this buffer zone to ensure there were no key threats to the ussr and his regime and communism itself
Explain key point NO.1 to argue the USSR was NOT a totalitarian state between 1945-1953
1 - Stalin was still continuously threatened by individuals within his inner circle;
- He continued to play leading figures of the Soviet government – Molotov, Malenkov, Milkoyan, Beria and Zhdanov – against each other as a basis for his own personal control.
I.e. There had always been party rivals between leningrad + moscow as leningrad wa the capital of Russia and stalin always too care to prevent politicians with a power-ase in Leningrad from becoming too powerful. Trotsly had been prominent in 1905 and again in 1917 as leader of the Petrograd soviet. Zinoviev controlled the leningrad party until he was removed from power + replaced with Kirov. When Kirov became too powerful + popular by 1934 he was then eliminated.
There were a variety of reasons why Zhandov was pushed aside in 1948 but one key factor was his power-base in Leningrad
Nonetheless, the Party represented less and less of a threat over this time as no Party congresses were held between 1939 and 1952 and the Politburo was reduced to a purely advisory body. Most big decisions were taken in ad hoc gatherings of Stalin’s inner circle.
State the definition of a totalitarian state + explain the state that the ussr was in under stalin
Totalitarianism is a form of government that attempts to assert total control over the lives of its citizens. It is characterised by strong central rule that attempts to control and direct all aspects of individual life through coercion and repression.
The period of High Stalinism (1945-1953) was a period at the peak of stalin’s political reign whereby he held authority over the state, the party and the people - complete totalitarianism and there was a mass emphasis on the Stalin Cult;
Explain point NO.4 to argue the USSR was a totalitarian state between 1945-1953
2 - He reduced the internal role of the politburo + changing of the structural makeup of the party;
- The central committee and politburo previously met regularly but stalin was able to bypass both government and party to exert direct central authority + control.
The party + its institutions were undermined. No party congresses were held between 1939-1952. The Politburo was reduced to a purely advisory body which awaited instructions from stalin as to orders and instructions.
However membership of the party + its organisations did remain high nevertheless though they were less committed ideologists ie moreso peasants + workers perhaps showing the success of Stalin’s cult of personality with membership reduced to a sign of loyalty and support for Stalin.
