weird Flashcards
What was the 1905 October Manifesto
- ‘free citizenship’ and ‘freedom of person, conscience, speech, assembly and union’
- Introduction of a consultative assembly (Duma) with legislative powers elected by a broad franchise that would include social groups that had no elected rights
What was the Fundamental Laws of the Russian EMpire published on the 23rd April 1906 with the Duma first day
- Exercise law-making power in conjunction with the Council of the Empire and the Imperial Duma
- Approve the laws, and without his approval no law could come into existence
- Hold all governmental powers in their widest extent throughout the whole Russian empire
- Appoint and dismiss the president of the Council; Ministers were responsible to him alone and even if the Duma, by 2/3rds majority passed a vote of censure on the Government, the government did not have to resign
- Declare war and approve a peace settlement
- Rule by decree during periods when the Duma was not in session
What was the peasant response to Nicholas’ concessions of 1905
- November Manifesto put an end to the redemption payments, many joined the 1905 revolution because they feared that the government would repossess the land of mortgage holders after many bad harvests
- Some peasants interpreted the Manifesto as a right to seize the land that they considered to be theirs by custom
- Number of peasants disturbances rose during the spring and summer 1906 the peasants burnt the landlord’s house, reaching a peak in November and December but then declined as Stolypin’s agricultural reforms took effect
What was the army response to Nicholas’ 1905 concessions
- They interpreted the November Manifesto as permission to ignore authority and indulge in expressions of resentment
- Between October and December 1905 mutinies in the army reduced the regime’s effective control over the cities and blocked communication
- These mutinies were usually confied to a petition demanding improvements in conditions and they always expressed loyalty to the tsar
What was the most famous incident of mutiny
The most famous incident was the mutiny at Kronstadt naval base which was put down with force only after 26 men were killed and another 107 injuries
How many mutinies during 1906
There were over 200 mutinies during 1906, affecting more than 20% of units
What happened to the St Petersburg Soviet after the 1905 concessions
- St Petersburg Soviet continued and on the 1st November 1905 called the second general assembly
- However the soviet increasingly met with little response and on the 5th of November called off its strike and had all its members arrested on the 3rd of December including Trotsky
How many times did the Chairmen of the Council of Ministers, Ministers of the Interior and Ministers of Education change between 1894-1917
8 Chairmen of the Council of Ministers
15 Ministers of the Interior
11 Ministers of education
How much of voting was intially given to landowners, peasants and those who lived in towns
-
31% of vote to landowners, 42% to peasants and town 27%
- property qualification meant very few factory workers had access to the ballot box
What did Stolypin do to make the Duma’s less radical
- dismissed the second Duma and issued a new electoral law, enormously restricting the franchise and added representation to the landowners and the peasantry
- This reduced the number of men who could vote to one in six so that the peasants and the working class were almost excluded, in addition representation of the hostile minorities, particularly the Poles was significantly cut.
What did Stolypin’s new electoral law make the compositrion of the third Duma
produced a third Duma with a greatly increased extreme right and right of centre grouping, this was more favourable and lasted the full term
What role did the SD’s Bolsheviks play in the Duma’s
Gained a majority by 1917 supporting Lenin’s view of a narrow centralised party of professional revolutionaries, remained a small insignificant group till this point
What role did the SD’s Mensheviks play in the Duma’s
- Believed society should progress by natural evolution towards socialism, so opposed November revolution, drew membership from the ranks of the intellectuals
- Most influential in the second duma but ceased to have any representation in the 3rd and the 4th
What role did the Social Revolutionaries play in the the Dumas
- Boycotted every Duma apart from the 3rd
Why did cooperation stumble in 1910
cooperation stumbled when Stolypin encountered landlord opposition to the proposed reform of local government
What other reforms did the Third Duma acheive
- Introduction in June 1912 of accident and health insurance for workers consisting of a ‘hospital fund; financed mainly by employers and employees paying only 2-3% of their wages
- Restoration of the office of the justice of peace whose judicial powers had been transferred to the land commandments
What groups was the autocracy reliant on after 1912
After 1912 it was isolated and reliant on extreme right-wing groups like the Black Hundreds or the Union of the Russian People along with the army. Nicholas didn’t recognise the need to increase his appeal
Autocracy lost traditional supporters, the landed nobility as well as the entrepreneurs and the intelligentsia
How did enrolment in secondary and higher education respectively grow from 1900-14
- Enrolment in secondary education quadrupled and in higher education tripled from 1900 to 1914
How much did the budget for educational reform grow from 1900-13
In 1913 the education budget was 400% larger than it had been in 1900
What were most farms like before 1906
Before 1906 most farmings had remained small scale , in the hands of former serfs and state peasants, tied to their local mir
How much affect did land hunger have on the average holdings of peasants from 1877-1905
Land hunger caused the average holding to fall from 35 acres in 1877 to 28 by 1905
What traditional agricultural practices were perpetuated by the mir
- The solcha or wooden plough was still widely used
- medieval rotation systems, which wastefully left fallow land each year
What did a lack of husbandry do to the grain output of Russian farms compared to British farms
A lack of Husbandry also deprived the soil of manure so that the grain output from the British farmland was 4 times as great compared to Russian farms
What was the context to Stolypin’s agarian reforms
- Famine of 1891-2 prompted look at a lack of progress in agriculture and the government was also concerned about the dangerous peasant disturbances (1905-6)
- Russian governments mostly received reports from the poorly performing tradition agricultural areas where peasant poverty was at its worst
- This painted a picture of the ‘dark masses’ - drunken, illiterate and rebellious peasants who needed to be educated.
What did Stolypin think about the mir
Identified the Mir being stuck with backward practises paralysed ‘personal intiative’
What did Stolypins agarian reforms aim to do
- Allow peasants to leave the Mir, to consolidate strips into a single unit
- Reduce Mir power
- Redistribute the land of some nobles
- Help go-ahead peasants to buy land from less enterprising peasants and create larger,more efficient, farms
What did Stolypin call his reforms
Calling it a ‘gamble…on the sober and strong’
What financial assistance was provided along with Stolypin’s reforms
Financial assistance was provided by the Peasant Land Bank to help the independent peasant buy land, giving them full rights and stakes in the country
Why was land transfer slow
Land transfer was slow due to ensuring of equality and disentangling Mir
How did FDI grow from 1895-1914
FDI grew from 280 million in 1895 to 2000 million in 1914
What role did the State play in industry by the 1900s
By 1900’s the State controlled 70% of Russia’s railways and was buying almost 2/3s of all Russia’s metallurgical production
From 1903-13 how much of the government income was from its industrial investments
In the years 1903-13 the government received more than 25% of its income from its industrial investments
How much of Russia’s coal did the Donbas supply by 1913
87% of all Russian coal by 1913
How much of Russia’s pig iron did the Kirvoi Rog produce by 1913
- rich ironfields of the Kirvoi Rog produced 74% of all Russian pig iron by 1913
How much coal, pig iron and steel did Russia produce by 1914
By 1914 Russia was the world’s 4th largest producer of coal, pig iron and steel
How much did Russian oil production increase from 1185-1913 in the Caspian Sea port of Baku
The Caspian Sea port of Baku, Russian oil production trebled between 1885-1913
Strike activity grew from 1912-4, how many stoppages were there in 1914
there were 3574 stoppages
How did the workers and peasantry develop until 1914
- Most peasant protest before 1914 was the result of traditional grievances like harvests and unfair land allocations
- Slow process of awakening the peasantry was already underway by 1914, although it was to take the exceptional conditions of war to complete the task
- In urban areas, former peasants, were alienated from their families and their ‘roots’ gradually lost something of their former identity
- Here they became an easy target for the political agitators
What happened to the cultural force of a ‘patriarchal’ structure
fundamental ‘patrarchal’ structure of Russia society remained untouched with ties of family
What showed change towards attitudes to females in 1908
In December 1908, the First All-Russian Congress of Women was attented by 1035 delegates in St Petersburg and it campaigned for a femalre franchise
How did gov. expenditure on primary educationgrow from 1862-1914 and what effect did this have
Gov. expenditure on primary education grew from 5 million in 1862 to over 82 million by 1914
Led to a flourishing of literacy rates
What was the effect of flourishing literacy rates
- 1767 newspapers being published weekly by 1914
- Reading rooms were also established and popular literature flourished, in which the portrayal of those who had succeeded in bettering themselves was a common theme
- By the early twentieth century, the nineteenth century classics of Russian literature could be obtained in cheap mass-produced editions
What did Nicholas and Alexandra think about the tercentary celebrations
Nicholas returned convinced that ‘my people love me’ and Alexandra added ‘ We need merely show ourselves and at once their hearts are ours’
How did the Union of Liberation function in 1904 to avoid police suscipicion
Held over ‘50 banquets’ rather than political meetings attended by the liberal elite
What happened at the First Congress of the SD’s in Minsk
- Creation of 3 man committee and manifesto
- Manifesto put impetus for change on the working men themselves
- Broken up by Okhrana who arrested 2 of the newly elected committee
What happened at the second congress of the SDs
- 51 delegates were divided on how the Party should move forward
- Lenin argued for a strong disciplined organisation of preofessional revoloutionaries to lead the proletariat
- Julius Martov believed they shoulod develop a broad party with mass membership and cooperation with other liberal groups
- Lenin won the vote after manny represenatives withdrew
- Julius Martov believed they shoulod develop a broad party with mass membership and cooperation with other liberal groups
How many trade unions did the State close down and deny registration from 1906-10
497 unions were closed down and 604 denied registration between 1906-10
What events game a new impetus to workers from 1912
The Lena Goldfiels Massacre along with the beginnings of economic recovery from 1911 giving workers more bargaining power
What strike activity took place from 1912
- This activity mainly confined to St Petersburg where ¾ of activity took place
- Bitter resistance of employers and repressive measures taken to break strikes added to anger and opposition
How was the strike movement limited
- movement was geographically limited, only 12% of enterprises experienced a strike and even the General Strike in St Petersburg in July 1914 only brought a ¼ of the workforce
What happened to the opposition of Moderate liberals
Moderate liberals were largely appeased by the Tsarist concessions and tried to cooperate with the Duma in the hope of further constitutional evolution
What happened to the opposition from nationalities
Poles and Finns were only ones who wanted independence while Ukranians and Belorussians were kept down and assimilated
What happened to the opposition of the SR and SD
- SR and SD were weakened by exiled leaders, the rivalry between each other and the split in the SD’s
- Ideological differences were compounded by disagreement of a response to 1905 and the use of the Duma
- All the while the agents of the Secret Police were very effective and smashing cells
- The Industrial Depression of 1907 led to declined memberships and neither SR nor SD establishing even a city-wide organisation, resorting to underground groups
What was the condition of Opposition in 1914
- Radicalism survived thinly
- Apathetic workers were repressed
- Coming of war created a patriotic fevour; opposition was treasonous
What effect did Rasputin have on destabilising Russia
- Rasputin began to meddle in political appointments and there were rumours Alexandra, who was German, was meddling in the war
E.g. in 12 months after September 1915 there were 4 change in ministers put down to Rasputin
- Mikhail Rodzianko warned Nicholas of Rasputin’s unpopularity but Nicholas couldn’t bring himself to act against a person whom his wife relied on so heavily
What shoes Nicholas’ indifference to political demands and economic crisis during Wartime?
- his letters to Alexandra showed more anxiety about the children’s measles than ‘young boys and girls running about and screaming that they have no bread’.
- Nicholas reassured his wife that will all pass and quieten down
What was the problem with Russia’s military by 1916
- By the time of the Brusilov offensive in June 1916, most frontline units had a reasonable complement of machine guns and artillery shells but a severe lack of experience, this offensive was ground to a halt by the Germans
- By 1916 morale had plummeted. Heavy casualties and the deterioration of the economy and political situation led to 1.5 million desertions that year
How was the defecit of wartime equipment satisfied
Spending on the war rose from 1,500 million roubles in 1914 to 14,500 in 1918
Recruitment drive meant that armament manufacturing swelled; rifle production doubled and heavy artillery production quadrupled in 1916
What economically important regions were lost during the war
- Poland, parts of Western Russia (Donbas and Kirvoi Rog)
- Naval Blockades of the Baltic and Black Sea
What was the impact of an excessive spending on the war
- In urban centres unemployment soared as nonmilitary factories were forced to close
- Railway locomotive production halved between 1913-6 and there were acute fuel shortages; foodstuff that should have gone to the city were left to rot and huge crops of grain were sent to the frontline rather than for the desperate townsfolk
How many went on strike in Janurary 1917
in January 1917, 145,000 workers went on strike in Petrograd
What happened beyond Petrograd after the February Revolution
- In cities, workers seized control of their factories, set up workers’ committees and deposed their former bosses
- Rebellious people set up their own regional assemblies and soviets everywhere
- The army was technically under the control of the Petrograd soviet, but it disintegrated into semi-independent bodies without clear leadership or cooperation
In provinces such as Finland, Poland, Ukraine and the Caucasus, national minorities declared their independence
What did the Petrograd Soviet do under Dual Power with the Provisional Government
- The Soviet made no attempt to demand land redistributtion or the nationalisation of indsutry but acceptted the PG promises of:
- A general amnesty for political prisoners
- Basic civil liberties
- Abortion of legal disabilities based on class,religion and nationality
- Right to organise trade unions and to strike
- That a constituent Assembly would be elected
- To these the PG added in April that ‘the consent of free citizens to the power they themselves created’
- They allowed freedom of religion, press and abolished the death penalty, replaced the tsarist police force with a ‘people’s militia’ and dismissed Provincial Governors giving their work to the elected zemstva
What made Leon Trotsky a leadership candidate
- Organised the October 1917 takeover
- created the Red Army, hero of the civil war
- member of the Sovnarkom
- regarded by Lenin as the ‘most ablle’ man in the Central Committee believed in the permanent revolution
- joined the Bolsheviks in summer of 1917
- a Jew with burgeois background
How many of the 40 new members of the Central Committee elected at the 12th Party Congress (april 1923) were supporters of Trotsky
only 3.
What were Stalin’s steps to leadership from 1924-5
May 1924
Lenin’s widow, Krupskaya, releases Lenin’s testament to the Central Committee. Zinoviev and Kamenev arguue against its publication and Trotsky refuses to get involved - aids Stalin
Nov 1924
Trotsky gives speeches in favour of democracy and the over-bureaycratisation of the Party but defeated by Stalinist delegates and Zinoviev and Kamenec blocs
Jan 1925
Trotsky publishes ‘Lessons of October’ showing how Zinoviev and Kamenev opposed Lenin; Stalin isn’t mentioned. Stalin brings in more supporters
Dec 1925
Trotsky is forced from his position as Commissar of War
What were Stalin’s steps to leadership from 1926
Jul 1926
At 14th Party Congress, Stalin supports Bukharin, on the right, claiming to share similar views on economic policy. Zinoviev and Kamenev attack and call a vote of no confidence but lose because the delegates are largely Stalinists. A New Central Committee and Politbur are elected with a Stalinist-Bukharin majority and Zinoviev is forced to step down as leader of the Leningrad Party for Stalin’s supporter, Kirov
Nov 1926
Zinoviev and Kamenev join Trotsky in the left-wing ‘United Opposition’ and try to organise demonstrations in Moscow. They are accused of ‘factionalism and Zinoviev is removed from the Politburo. Zinoviev and Trotsky are expelled from the Communist Party and Kamenev removed from the Central Committee
What were Stalins steps towards leadership in 1928
Jan 1928
Trotsky deported to a remote spot near the Chinese border. Stalin announces a new left-leaning economic strategy that disagress with Bukharin. Some of Trotskys remaining supporters join Stalin because of this
Sep 1928
In desparation, Bukharin contacts Trotsky and an alliance is considered but rejected as supportes on both sides are hesitant. Stalin accuses both men of factionalism
What were Stalins steps towards leadership in 1929
Feb 1929
Stalin has Trotsky deported to Constantinople
Apr 1929
Bukharin removed as editor of Pravda
Nov 1929
Bukharin and his supporters, Rykov and Tomsky, are removed from the Politburo
Dec 1929
Stalin celebrates his 50th as the undisputed Soviet LEader
What was at the heart of communist economic debate
Lenins ‘New Economic Policy’ of 1921 had allowed some private enterprise
,wether this was temporary or not was at the heart of the ideological debates
How was the Communist Party split over continuing the NEP
Left as represented by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev favourted abdoning the NEP.
Bukharin, Ryok and Tomsky supported its continuance.
Stlain fluctuated from left to temporary right support from 1925 to 28 back to the left due to bread shortages and high food prices
What was the differing ideology over the ‘continuous revolution’
Russia was the only Communist State. Trotsky believed in the ‘continuous revolution’.
Stalin adopted ‘socialism in once country’ and that they should focus on a ‘workers paradise’. This appealed to those who favoured stability
What were Lenins decrees in October 1917
1) Maximum 8 hour daily for workers
2) Social Insurance provides old age, health and unemployment benefits
3) Ban on opposition press
4) Decree on Peace and Land
What were Lenin’s decrees in November 1917
1) Rights of the People of Russia Decree; gives self-determination to minorities in Empire
2) Abolition of titles and class ranks
3) Workers control of factories
4) Abolition of old legal system
5) Women given equality with men and right to own property
What were Lenin’s decrees in December 1917
- Military Decree to outlaw class ranks
- Decrees on the Church
- Nationalisation of banks
What were Lenin’s decrees in January 1918
- Workers control of railways
- creation of Red Army
- Church and State separated
What were the limitations of the 1918 Constitution in it being ‘democratic’
- Vote was reserved for the toiling masses. Members of exploiting classes (Businessmen, clergy and tsarist officers) were excluded from voting or holding public office
- Workers vote was weighted in 5:1 against the peasants
- Sovnarkom was officially appointed by the congress, but in practice chosen by the Bolshevik Central Committee
- Congress could only meet in intervals - executive authority remained in hands of the Sovnarkom
At what cost did the Bolsheviks win the civil war
Cost of as many as 10 million deaths from hunger and epidemic disease
What were the main impacts of the Russian Civil War on government and the Party
- Creation of Politburo as new policy centre
- 1921 Ban on Factions
- 1922 new post of ‘General Secretary’ created to coordinate its workings’ filled by Stalin
- Introduction of the nomenklatura system added to the Party’s domination; Party elite had to aprove promotions
- 1919 creation of the Orgburo to supervise the work of local Party committees
- Local Soviets should only consist of Party members
What happened to national minorities after the civil war
- Government abandoned its earlier support for ‘national self determination’ as in the November 1917 decree
- 1922 Georgian demands were crushed
What change was made in the 1922 Constitution
- the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) was formally established in December 1922, replacing the RSFSR.
- In practice, the difference was minimal.
- Although Lenin prevailed over Trotsky in creating a federation of republics on a similar footing, rather than imposing direct control from Moscow which would have mirrored tsarist imperialism, the states which made up the union were kept under very strict control.
How did Stalin stifle debate over his policies
Party Congresses were called less frequently - and none at all were summoned between 1929 and 1952
How much did Party membership grow after Lenin’s death in 1924 (Lenin Enrollment) by 1933
Further extensions increased the number of members to 1,677,910 by 1930 and 3,555,338 by 1933
What did Trotsky argue in 1936 in Revolution Betrayed on Stalin’s power
relied on a vast ‘administrative pyramid’ of 5 or 6 million Party officials, which needed to be swept away by a new proletarian revolution
What did the 1936 Constituion do
- Split up into 11 Soviet Republics with each having a Supreme Soviet
- Supreme Soviet made up of Soviet of Union or Nationalities
- Promised local autonomy to ethnic groups and support for national cultures and language
- Promised 4 yearly elections with the right to vote for all over 18 (raised to 23 in 1945)
- Vote reserved for the ‘toiling masses’
- Extensive freedoms; speech and arbitrary arrest
What were the main issues of the 1936 Constitution
- Promised rights were largely ignored and central control over republics budget
- Ignored rights of secession; Party leaders in Georgia purged in 1951 when planned it
- Elections were not contested so the right to vote was just affiriming the choice of representative
- Supreme Soviet only met for a few days twice a year
How did Stalin’s cult of personality operate
- Stalin was universally portrayed as Lenin’s true disciple
- Paintings, Posters and sculptures. Stalin as disciples of Marx
What was the history textbook and how did it describe Stalin and his enemies
The History of the All-Union Communist Party (or the Short Course) was published as the main historical textbook for all educational institutions in 1938.
It said Stalin assumed a major role in the October Revolution, while Trotsky or other old Bolsheviks were portrayed as ‘enemies of the people’. Photos were doctored to remove Stalin’s enemies and put Stalin next to Lenin.
How many copies did the Short Course sell by 1948
The Book sold 34 Million copies in the Soviet Union by 1948
What was Stalin’s position by 1941
- Stalin’s rule was a personal one where he was above the party and no longer dependent on it
- Not invincible outvoted in POlitburo in plan to replace Nikolar Yezhov with Georgii Malenkov as head of the NKVD in 1937
What were the issues with State Capitalism 1917- Spring 1918
- Workers awarded themselves unsustainable pay-rises and output shrank when most needed
- With more money than goods there was high inflation
- The food shortages in town grew; citizens of Petrograd were living on rations of just 50 grams of bread a day in February 1918
How did Lenin respond to the grain crisis emerging at the end of 1917 under State Capitalism
- Programme of food requistioning
- Encouraged collevitvisation
- May 1918 Food Supplies Policy; detatchments of soldiers and workers ensured grain was delivered; often brtualy confiscating peasants grains and detatchments kept some as a reward
What was the effect of War Communism on total industrial output
- 1921 total industrial output had fallen to 20% of prewar levels
What impact did War Communism have on cities
end of 1920 the population of Petrograd 57.5% lower than 1917 levels
Moscow was 44.5% lower
What impact did War Communism have on agriculture
- 1/3 of Land abandoned to grass and livestock was slaughtered in thousands
- Harvest of 1921 produced only 48% of 1913 causing widespread famine
What impact did War Communism have on Russia’s population
Widespreadd Famine: 1913-21 Russia’s population fell from 170.9 million in 1913 to 130.9 million in 1921
What was the Tambov Revolt of 1920
- Tambov revolt of 1920 led by Alexander Antonov was a 70,000 man Peasant Army. Struggle continued until 1921 and spead across south-eastern Russia
Over 100,00 Red Army troops were deployed who brutally put them down
What was the demands of the Kronstadt naval base of 1921 and what happened to them as a result
- most loyal supporters of the October revolution
- In March 1921 they sent a manifesto to Lenin demanding an end to one-party communist rule
- The Red Army took 15,000 rebel prisoners and shot the leaders, denouncing them as ‘White Traitors’
What was the effect of the revolt of the Kronstadt naval base
- ‘Workers Opposition’ group was set up under Aleksandr Shiyapknikov and Alexandra Kollontai and argued for greater worker control and removal of military managers.
- Lenin claimed the Kronstadr revolt was ‘the flash which lit up reality better than anything else’ but it was proabably the coincidence of the many troubles of the 1921
What was Magnitogorsk
A gigantic steel plant built and a town of 150,000 people were created from nothing.
Workers lived in communcal barracks and were subject to constant lectures and political discussions
What were the positive effects of the Second Five Year Plan (1933-37)
‘three good years’ 1934-6
* Moscow Metro opened in 1935, Volga Canal in 1937 and the Dnieper Dam extended to largest in Europe
- Electricity/chemical indsutries grew; Metallurgy developed
- Steel output trebled, coal production doubled and by 1937 the Soviet Union was virtually self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools by 1917
- Rearmament grew from 4% of GDP in 1933 to 17% by 1937
What impact did the Third Five Year Plan (1938-42) have on rearmament spending
Spending on rearmament doubled between 1938-42
What prompted Stalin’s announcement in favour of strengthning cooperatives and supporting voluntary collectivisation at the 15th Party Congress in Dec 1927
- 1926: requisition og grain producess only 50% of expectations despite good harvest; grain is likely being hoarded
- 1927: Grain Procurement Crisis from low state collections causing a food crisis in industrial towns
What was the discrepancy between what the Red Army + Cheka were supposed to do to the Kulaks and what happened in Reality
Red Army and Cheka were used to identify, execute or deport kulaks, said to represent 4% of peasant households
In Reality around 15% of peasant households were destroyed and 150,000 richer peasants forced to migrate to poorer land as they killed livestock and burnt crops
How many of the most successful farmers did Collectivisation’s Dekulakisation remove
10 million
What percentage of livestock was slaughtered by peasants from 1929-33 through the Ural Siberian Method
25-30% of livestock were slaughtered by peasants from 1929-33.
Livestock numbers did not exceed pre-collectivisation until 1953
What Decrees in and after 1932 made collectisation like ‘second serfdom’
law of 7/8ths in 1932, anyone who stole from a collective could be jailed for 10 years (subsequently made a capital crime)
Further decrees gave ten year sentences for any attempt to sell meat or grain before quotas were filed along with internal passports to prevent peasants leaving
How much of the Soviet Union’s vegetable, meat and milk production was made in the peasants small private plolt that they could sell on the market
52% of vegetables, 70% of meat and 71% of milk in the Soviet Union was produced this way
What was declared in January 1921
January 1921: Martial law declared. Some regular soldiers refused to take action. The Cheka was used to crush demonstrations.
Soldiers refusing likely scared Lenin
What was the effect of collectivisation on grain harvests
grain harvests dropped in 1930s when it was most needed and didn’t recover to their 1928 level until 1935 which was only a bit above the 1918 level
What were the positive impactss of the First Five Year Plan (1928-33)
- Electric, coal and iron output doubled while steel production increased by 33%
- Massive infastructure such as Magnitogorsk was set up
- tractor works developed in Kharkov and Stalingrad
met farmer demand
What happened to former nobles or burgeoisie
- Former nobles or burgeoisie were forced to undertake menial tasks, had houses requisitioned and turned into kommunalka ( community living )
- 2 to 7 families shared a hallway, kitchen and bathroom with each family having a room
How were rations politicised based on classes
workers and soldiers receiving the most while essential professionals and civil servants like doctors got a lower rate and the burzhui barely enough to live on
* Some sold their possessions but middle-class girls turned to prostitution
How was the workers life under War Communism and the NEP
- During 1921 workers could be imprisoned or short if they failed to mee t targets
Harsh living persisted during NEP little increase in wages
How was the workers life under Stalin up till 1931
- 7 day working week and longer hours
- Arriving late could result in dismissal and eviction
Leaving a job or striking was illegal
How had the urban labour force increase by 1932
doubled
What were Lenin’s decrees on women from 1917
1917 decree against gender discrimination and allowed women to own property
- Recognition of only civil marriage and Divorce made easier
- 1920 abortion legalised w free contraceptive advice
From 1936 what policies did Stalin introduce with regards to women
1) Large fees introduced to deter divorce, added penalty that men contribute 60% of their income to child support
2) Adultery criminalised (names of male offenders put in the press)
3) Contraception banned, only permitted on medical grounds
4) Tax exemptions for families of 6 or more and bonus payment for every additional child up to 10
By how much did women in education and work increase from 1928 -40
in work: female industrial workers grew from 3 million to 13 million 1928-40
women in education doubled
How many abortions were there to live births
150,000 arbotion to every 57,000 live births
In 1937 how many men and women in their 30s were married
In 1937 91% of men and 82% of women in their thirties were married, years 1928-40 saw a falling rate of population growth
What were Lenin’s policies towards education of Young People
- set up the Commissariat of the Enlightenment which provided free education at all levels in coeducational schools
- new secondary schools which combined general education with vocational training
- Most schools abolished textbooks and exams but there was a fair amount of freedom and physical punishment was banned
How did policies towards education of young people change under Stalin
- Increasing vocational work, nationalism and military training
- Schools responsibility of collectives and Unis put under Veshenka
- Quota system for working class abolished giving an advantage for wealthier
By 1941 what % of towns and the countryside were literate
By 1941 some 94% of the towns were literate and 86% in the countryside
USSR produced very strong science graduates
What was Lenin’s poliicies towards Religion
Toleration:
* 1917 Church+Muslim lands seized and Official Separation in 1918 with abolishment of Sharia courts
* 1921 teaching of religion forbidden in schools
* Patriarch of the Orthodox Church Tikhon arrested in 1922 and his successor Sergius spent first 2 years in jail
* 1923 League of the Godless condemned Bible stories and spread atheism
What was Stalin’s policies towards Religion
- 1932 introduction of ‘uninterrupted 6 day working week’ (each day had a sixth of workers off) meant Sunday Church Service disrupted
- 1935, frequency of prayers, fasts and feasts reduced while the hijab was banned, Hajj/Umrah banned
- 1936 Constitution criminalised the publication of religious propoganda
By 1941 how many Churches and Mosque had been closed
1941, nearly 40,000 Christian Churches and 25,000 Muslim mosques had been closed
By 1937 how much of the population identified themselves as believers
57% of the population identified themselves as believers
How did Stalin’s expansion of unveristies affect enrolement rates from 1927 to 1940
enrolement rates starting at 170,000 in 1927 reaching 812,000 by 1940
What was the War against Literacy
16th party congress 1930 eliminate illiteracy ensure primary compulsory
- 3 million vollunteers recruited from the Komsomol to educate workers and peasants
- 90% of adults attended literacy course and 68% literate
How many of the 90% of middle Class children who went to secondary education finished it
- Only 3% of the 90% of middle class children finished it
Dominated by wealthy 97% paid fees
What was Lenin’s policies towards national minorities as they came to power with their support
- Decree of 1917 encouraged separatist movements as Finald opted to become an independent state and an elected rada in Ukraine
- All major nationalities were given representation in the Communist Party
- in 1926 Soviet Jews were given a special ‘national homeland’ autonomous republic in 1934. By 1941 about a quarter of the region’s population was Jewish
- Early communists encouraged use of national language and abolished all anti-Semitic laws in 1917
How did Stalin use the Russian language in his policies
- From 1928 learning Russian became compulsory in all Soviet Schools
Russia was the only langauage used in the Red Army
How did Stalin use deportations to remove threats of national minorities in the 1930s
- Finns (29-31 and 32-36) and Poles from Belorusia, the Ukraine and European Russia (32-36)
- In 1937 Koreans in the far east of Russia were deported
- divided central Asia into 5 separate republics and forced the migration of Muslim ethnic groups to weaken any loyalty
How did Stalin treat nationali minorities he annexed during WW2
After annexation of Eastern Poland 1.45 million deported and process repeated in the Blatic republics
What was the Leninist silver age
Commissariat of Popular Enlightenment headed by Lunarcharsky
Focus moved from ‘high art’ - ballet, opera, fine art and museums which was seen as bourgeoisie and elitist to ‘popular culture’
Many of Russia’s finest artist initially engaged in this socialist experiment creating the 1920’s ‘silver age’ of Russian literature and poetry
What was the Shakhty Trial of May 1928
an attack on ‘bourgeoisie specialist’ and is seen as the start of the cultural revolution, that attacked old intelligentsia and bourgeoisie specialists.
What was the Union of Soviet Writers
all writers had to belong to the Union of Soviet Writers, similar bodies were established for musicians, filmmakers, painters and sculptors.
Non-membership meant isolation and no oportunities for commissions
These exerted control over what was created and by whom according to socialist realism norms
How did the decreee of April 1932 contribute to Russian Cultural Change
A decree of April 1932 abolished all proletarian artistic and literary organisations and centralised all artists into a single union.
Avant Garde artists such as Malevich were excluded , leading realist artists became very successful guided down the path to socialist realism.
Socialist realism appeared first in 1932 at the newly founded Union of Writers in 1934. It was designed to show soviet heroes and be a glimpse into a brighter future
What is an example of reprpession of avant garde art in the 1930s
the director of Shostakovich’s Lady Macbeth of Mtsensk, a theatre director who spoke in his defence was seized and brutally tortured by the NKVD and shot along with his wife
What did the Moscow Metro of 1935 represent
- Moscow Metro of 1935 had ‘stations of light’ and symbols of ‘all victorious socialism’
Stalinist era brought solid classical imposing forms in Architecture
What set up the Red Terrror
- 1918 assassination attempt on lenin justified an attack on the bourgeoise, Cheka rounded up thousands and names of ‘accomplices’ were obtained by torture
- Sept 1918 sovnarkom gave cheka authority to find, question, arrest and destroy the families of any suspected traitors
What happened to opposition and class enemies in the Red Terror off 1918-21
- All remaining SR and Mensheviks (500) shot as traitors in Petrograd
- Local cheka found hidden ‘opposition’ from Tsar’s family to workers suspected of ‘counter-revolution’
- Merchants and traders (nepmen), professors, prositutes and kulaks all suffered
What happened to religious people during the Red Terror
- Priests, Jews, Catholics and Muslims persecuted
8000 priests executed in 1921 for not handing over Church valuables
What was the Shakty and Metro Vickers Show Trial
- 1928, 53 engineers at Shakhty coal mine were given a ‘show trial’ where they were foreced to confess. 5 executed and 44 got long-prison sentences
1933 Metro-Vickers trial, British specialists found guilty of wrecking activities
What happened at the 17th Party Congress
- At 17th Party Congress Stalin announced that the ‘anti-Leninist opposition’ had been defeated
- Bukharin had been defeated + Rykov, Tomsky, Radek and others who had challenged Stalin all admitted their errors
What was the aftermath of the Kirov Affair
*Stalin claimed murder was part of Trotskyite conspiracy, led by ‘Zinovieties’ to overthrow the Party
A decree published a day after giving Yagoda powers to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of ‘terrorist planning;’ 6500 people arrested due to this law
- Jan 1935 Zinovev, Kamenev and 17 otherrs arrested for terrorism (5-10 yrs imprison)
- 843 former associates were also arrested
11,000 ‘former people’ were arrested, exiled or placed in camps while 250,000 Party Members were expelled as ‘anti Leninists’
What political purge of stalin’s opposition started the 1936-8 Great Purges
- 1936 show trial of Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others
- All 16 found guilt in a plot to murder Stalin, all executed with 160 accomplies
- Further show trial of 17 prominent communists like Radek, sentenced to death
What was the purge of the army that took place during the Great Purges
- 1937: 8 senior military commanders including Mikhail Tukachevsky - heroes of civil war- tortured to sign false confessions and shot
767 of High Command arrested:
512 were executed, 29 died in prison, 13 committed suicide
What was the 3rd and largest major political show trial in the Great Purges
- 3rd and Largest major political show trial took place in March 1938, 21 Bolsheviks were interrogated and Bukharin, Ryok and Yagodha sentenced to be shot
Bukharin tried to defend himself ; shot
What were the main features of the Yezhovschina
- Surveillance everywhere; ordinary citizens encouraged to root out hidden enemies even if ffamilies or friendss
- NKVD employed reliables; who informed them
What happened to the leading party members due to the Great Purges
Leading Party Members
-70% of the members of Central Committeee at the 17th Party Congress were arrested and shot
- Molotov + Kalinin eventually excepted that their wives would stay imprisoned
- Sergo committed suicide after a heated row with Stalin; last person to oppose
- Old Bolsheviks were removed through show trials; less than 10% of the Party Membership in 1939 had joined the Party before 1920
What happened to national minorities due to the Great Purges
Minority Nationalities
- Leaders of national republics were charged with treason
- In Georgia, 2 state prime ministers, 4/5 regional Party Secretaries and thousands of lesser officials lost posts
- Around 350,000 people from minority ethnic groups put on trial, 140,000 Poles
What happened to the armed forces due to the Great Purges
Armed Forces
- 8 senior generals, 3/5 marshalls, all eleven war commissars, all 8 admirals and their replacements were shot
- All but one of the senior airforce, approximately 50% of the officer corps in all three services and a substantial numbers in military intelligence were also tried; many were shot
What happened to Managers, Scientists and engineers during the Great Purges
Managers, engineers and scientists
High proportions of managers, leading scientists lost their positions, some were executed
What happened to the NKVD during the Great Purges
Yagoda and more than 23,000 NKVD put on trial; most were shot
What happened to the the Peasants and Industrial workers during the Great Purges
kulaks represented 50% of all arrests and more than half the total number of executions
How did the purges end
Stalin used Yezhov as a scapegoat, accusing him of excessive seal
* 18th Party Congress declared that ‘mass cleansings’ were no longer needed. 1.5 million cases were reviewed and reversed
* Trotsky and Yezhov shot by 1940 so there was no one with a greater claim to leadership than Stalin
* Quashing of sentences and release of prisosners helped restore faith in the system
* Yezhov viewed as cause of the problems
What was the aftermath of the Ryutin Platform
- Ryutin’s was arrested and Stalin called for their immediate executions, but was overruled by the Politburo and in particular, by Sergei Kirov, the Leningrad Party Secretary.
- 24 were expelled from the Party and exiled from Moscow while several other old Bolsheviks like Zinoviev and Kamenev were expelled and exiled, simply for knowing of the group
- Ryutin was imprisoned and shot in 1937
- April 1933 he announced a general purge of the Party over the next 2 years and conducted a paranoid struggle in which over 18% of the Party membership were branded as Ryutinies and purged
- Most of them were new and Stalin was unsure of them
How did heavy industry develop by 1941
- 1926–>1939, 17%–>33% population lived in towns
- By 1940 Russia took over Britain in iron and steel (400%) production and wasn’t far behind Germany
- Heavy industry development lay foundation for war success:
9 aircraft factoris construcred in 1939
between 1938-41 rearmament spending rose from 17.5 billion to 70.9 billion roubles
What were the problems in the economy by 1941
- Yet consumer goods were scarcer in 1941 than even under the NEP
- Quality was poor as bureaucrats prioritised targets, while central planning w as inefficient at local levels
- Purges of specialists and managers didn’t help - culture of fear
- In 1941 the nation was still producing less grain than under the NEP
- Insufficient attention paid to modern farming technologies
How did national minorities oppose the regime during the war
- Some were* Hulfswillige* - those willing to help the Germans; serving as drivers, cooks, ammunition carriers and messengers
- Others became direct collaborationists
e.g. Russian Liberation Front in Ukraine became part of the Waffen-SS with over 50,000 soldiers
Over a million joined Hitler;s side but Slavs were only allowed to perform lesser jobs
How did Stalin deal with the threat of national minorities during the war
- Multinational nature seen as potential threat so Stalin dissolved 600K Volga German autonomous republic in 1941 and sent its people east
2 million deported from Caucaus
Only 2/3 survived the journeys
How did Stalin appease the army
Stalin pleased the army by downgrading the role of political commissars attached to the army units and bringing back special badges of rank
How much of the economy did Germans capture during the War
1941: German occupied 63% of countrys coal, 68% of it’s iron, 58% of it’s steel, 45% of it’s railways and 41% of it’s arable land
+ scorched earth policy + 10% Soviet Factories were moved east in 1941
How did industry grow during the war
- Industrial grwoth were focused on military; 1942 military budget risen from 29% to 57% while munitions manufacture was 76% of all production
- 3500 new industrial enterprises in Urals over course of war
- Industrial output exceeded Germany by 1943 but T-43 tank Katsyusha and Yak-1 fighter aircraft were best weaponry produced
What was the size of the grain harvest of 1942 compared to 1940
Grain harvest of 1942 was only a third that of 1940; survival ensured by strict rationing
Russia lost 40% of agricultural output during the war
How did foreign aid help Russia in the war
2) In total 17.5 million tons of military equipment supplied; 94% coming from the USA
3) Under the Lend-Lease scheme; 11 billion dollars of aid (10% of GDP) was provided by the USA
4) By the end of the war, 427,000/665,000 vehicles in USSR came from overseas - about 65%
How did working conditions change during the war
- pensioners, students, white collar workers encouraged to work in munitions factories
- Overtime became obligatory and holidays were suspended
- Working day was increased to 12 hours and average working week as 70-77 hours
- Factories placed under martial law with unauthorised absence punishable by death
How did the war change artists freedoms and name some examples
- Artists enjoyed freedom in fostering an atmosphere of national-reconciliation and previously banned individuals were allowed to work again
- Maria Yudina was flown into Leningrad during the 1943 siege performing live and on the radio
Shostakovich’s ‘Leningrad’ Symphony no.7 which was performed at the height of the siege on 9th August 1912
How did wartime impact womens freedoms
- Taxes were increased for those with fewer than 2 children, restrictions on divorce tightened, aboriton forbidden, right to inherit family property re-established
1945 women half of all soviet workers and over 4/5th of land workers were female
How did the war impact the people of russia
- By end of the war, 25 million people had nothing but wooden huts to live in
- Acheivements of the 1930s had been destoryed
How many times did the Party of Congress + the Central Committee respectively meet between 1939-52
Party Congress meant to be very 3 years but no meetings
Central Committee only 6 full meetings
Politburo reduced to advisory board
What happened to Anna Akhmatova, Boris Plasternak, Shostakovich and Doestoevsky during the Zhdanovschina
Anna Akhmatova’s poetry described as ‘poisonous’
* Boris Pasternak was also condemned for ‘apolitical poems’ and his mistress sent to a gulag
* Doestoevsky was removed from sale as its heroes lacked socialist qualities
Dmitry Shostakovich accused of ‘rootless cosmopolitanism’
How did the Zhdanoschina affect the sciences
- Communist values also dominated the study of the sciences while Stalin’s own theories were published and unchallenged; normal to start and end paper with Stalin’s own thoughts
e.g. Zhdanov restated his support for the theories of the condemned Lysenko
How did Stallin deal with those who fell out of favour
- Stalin dealt with those who fell out of favour by removing them from history
- Existence was written out of history books using airburshing e.g. Great Soviet Encylopedia
Books that didnt follow the State narrative of history like A History of European Philosophy by G.F. Alexandrov were banned
How was jewish ‘opposition’ crushed by Stalin
- Israel being pro-US made him revert to Anti-Semitic and said all Soviet jews were a fith column
- Rienforced by arrival of Israeli ambassador to the USSR, Golda Meir in 1948 being cheered by Jews wherever she went
- Director of the Jewish Theatre in Moscow, Solomon Mikhoels killed in a car accident arranged by the MVD
- **Jewish wives of Politburo **members Molotov and Kalinin **arrested **
How did the cult of personality develop after 1945
- Stalin had a god-like status; made as the world’s greatest genius in al subjects
- Customary for first and last paragraph of any book to be devoted to Stalin’s genius in a subject matter
- 1948 biogrpahy of Stalin exalted him as the modern Lenin and leading Marxist theortician
- On his 70th bday newspapers were given over to his priase and in Red Square in Moscow, a giant portrait of Stalin was suspended in the sky, illuminated by halo of searchlights
- Towns vied to use Stalins name (Stalingrad,Stalinsk, Stalinabad, Stalinogorsk)
- Stalin prizes created for artistic and scientific work
What was the February 1946 Bolshoi Theatre
- In February 1946 in his Bolshoi Theatre speech, his first major speech of the postwar era Stalin dashed the hopes of a relaxing of legislation
He announced that in view of the imperialist danger that continued to threaten Russia, the country would have to endure at least three or four more Five-Year plans.
Talked of the inevitable war with capitalism
What happened in 1952 in the Leadership Struggle
October: Presidium begins debate on succession
What happened in 1953 in the Leadership Struggle
- March: Stalin dies; Malenkov takes leadership as Chariman of Council of Ministers and General Secretary of the Party, but a week later is replaced as General Secretary by Khrushchev and a collective leadership is established
- June: Beria is arrested
December: Beria is executed
What happened from 1954 - 8 in the leadership struggle
1954
- Krushchev launches his Virgin Lands Scheme
1955
* Feb: Malenkov is replaced by Bulganin as Chairman of Council of Ministerrs
1957
- June: Anti-Party Group tries to oust Krushchev, but fails and is purged
- Zhukov is dismissed
1958
March: Bulganin is forced to resign
How did Krushchev get the role of Party Secretary
- It was announced on 6 March 1953 that Malenkov would combine his roles of Secretary of the Party Central Committee and Chairmen of the Council of Ministers, but within a few days his rivalls had forced him to step down as Party Secretary
This post was taken by Nikita Krushchev
What happened to Lavrenti Beria
Beria emerged as the leader who was most anxious to depart from Stalinist policies
malenkov and other presidium members including Krushchev conspired against him and arranged Beria’s arrest in ‘53
- Anti-Beria campaignedd was conducted in the press and was accussed of ‘criminal anti-party and anti-State activities’ to be tried and executed on 24th December 1953
How did Khrushchev deal with the threat of the ‘Anti-Party’ group in 1957
- Majority voted for his removal but Krushchev took the matter to the Central Committee, where he ensured those favourable to himsself were brought to Moscow
- He also benefitted from the** support of Marshal Zukho**v who was now deputy Minister of Defence and brought Red Amry support; he spoke out against Malenkov, Molotov and their supporter Kaganovich who became known as the ‘anti-Party’ group were then expelled from the Central committee while Zukhov was rewarded with Presidium seats
What did Khrushchev do to Georgi Zukhov
Krushchev in Oct 1957 dismissed Zukhov and launched a porpoganda caampaign accussing of him creating a cult of personality
What did Khrushchev do to Bulganin
In 1958, Bulganin was accused of encouraging the anti-Party group and forced to step down as Krushchev took over as Premier; allowing him to have the top two jobs in Party and in Government
What continuity did Khrushchev’s speech have with Stalin
- The speech paid little attention to the purging of ordinary soviet citizens and accepted economic controls, accepted economic controls, strong leadership, a single party and the elimination of factions as perfectly legitimate
- This there was a good deal of continuity as there was no wish to incriminate those like Khrushchev who had benefitted from the Stalinist Community
How did the Party change after Stalin’s death
- Under Stalin, both Party and state governmental instiutions had become more ‘rubber-stamping organisations’ dependent on Stalin
With the leadership struggle they assumed renewed importance as centres for debate along with the police that competed for influence - though Beria’s execution in ‘53 stopped this
What were examples of the implementation of thesedemocratisation and decentralisation
1) 1962: Party split into urban and rural sections at all levels
2) New rules issued e.g. limiting length of Party Officials
3) Membership was expanded: 7 million 1956 –> 11 million 1964
4) Role of the local soviets augmented and comrade courts to handle minor offences were revived
5) Non-Party members were encouraged to take supervisory roles and some were invited to Party congresses
6) Krushchev visited villages and towns
7) Economic decentralisation pursued
How did Khrushchev decentralise the Party
- Closing 60 Moscow ministries and giving greater economic control to 15 SR’s
- 1957: 105 Sovnarkhozy (regional councils)
- Creating a Khrushchev patronage network across the country
- Partially independent judicial system - revivial of comrade courts
- Size of KGB reduced + brought directly under gov. control
How much did the War destroy the USSR’s industrial capacity
- destroyed 70% of it’s industrial capacity + ruined workforce
How were the industrial aims of the Fourth Five Year Plan 1946-50 implemented
- Extensive Reparations from East Germany
- Maintenance of wartime controls on labour - long hours, low wages, high targets, female labour
- Grand Projects- canals and HEP plants
What were the industrial results of the Fourth Five Year Plan 1946-50
- USSR became 2nd to the USA in industrial capacity
- National income was 61% higher in 1950 than before the war
- Production doubles, urban workforce increased from 67 to 77 million (1941-52)
- By 1947, Dnieper Dam power station in action again
- got nuclear bomb
What were the industrial results of the fifth 5 Year Plan
- Most growth targets met
- National income increased 71%
Malenkov’s changes met opposition resulting in his loss of leadership in 1955
By 1953 why had growth slowed
- Out of touch Ministers in Moscow set different industrial targets for each enterprise
- Too few administrators
- Encouraged to just match targets, exceeding targets meant targets were raised the next year as managers preferred to ‘play safe’
-
Output targets assessed by weight –> heavy goods preferred over light
Inefficient allocation –> increasing amounts of investment needed
What important economic decentralisation policies took place in 1957
1) Sixty Moscow ministries abolished
2) USSR divided into 105 economic regions, each with its own local economic council (sovnarkhoz)
What is the evaluation of these economic decentralisation policies
- Reforms had ulterior motive; removed Malenkov’s men in ministries and extended Krushchev’s patronage network in the localities
- Still needed degree of central planning
What was the aims of the 7 year plan; eventually merged into a 7th five year plan 1961-5
- emphasis on improving standards of living for ordinary people with a 40-hour week and a 40% wage rise promised by 1965
- Expansion of chemicals industry e.g. plastics, fertilisers and artificial fibres #
- Housing factories to produce prefabricated sections for new flats
- Increased production of consumer goods
- Greater exploitation of USSR’s resources - natural gas, oil and coal - and building of power station s
What impressed onlookers at the Brussels World Fair in 1958
Soviet technology and communications amazed the world at the Brussels World Fair in 1958:
How did transport change under Khrushchev
- Air transport was expanded and the Aeroflot corporation was subsidised to offer long-distance passenger travel
e.g. it was said a peasant could afford to buy an air ticket to travel 200 miles to Moscow to sell his produce and still make a profit
- In 1959, icebreaker Lenin was launched, this was the world’s first civil nuclear-powered ship
How did space travel develop under Khrushchev
In 1957, the USSR launched the Earth’s first artificial satellite (Sputnik), 1959 pictures of the dark side of the moon
Russian space science made continuous advances; April 1961 Yuri Gagarin
How did House-Building change under Khrushchev
- Given to local authority to plan specifics
- Families could stay in apartment blocks about 16 square metres
- Had running water, electricity, central heating sewage system
- Neighborhoods were designed as self-sufficient subregions, each having its own school, hospital, and grocery stores, as well as a lot of green spaces and parks within walking distance
How much did living space across the Soviet Union increase from 1956-63
640 million square metres –> 1.2 billion square metres
How did the construction industry show the effectiveness of Khrushchev’s decentralisation methods
Upon decentralisation:
* Construction costs for apartments decreased by 25%
* Employment in construction increased 4x
* Buildings completed 2x faster than in the past`
How much did TV sets and refigerators increase from 1955-65
TV Sets x7
Refrigerators x11
Evaluate Krushchev’s developments in Industry
- Decentralisation added another layer of patronage
- Narrrowed gap w US but still massive
- From 1958 growth slowed to 7%
–> particularly consumer industry growth declined to 2% in 1964 - Cash registers used abacuses
How did the war effect Russian agriculture
- Scorched earth in the war meant only a third of farms were left operational
- 1945 harvest, produced less than 60% of pre-war harvests and 1946 saw the worst drought experienced since 1891
- 2/3 of the agricultural labour force had gone, animals destroyeed and no machinery
What were the agricultural aims of the 4th Five Year Plan (1946-50)
- Force the kolkhozes to deliver agricultural products
Revive the wheat fields of the Ukraine (1/3 of expenditure spent there)
What were the details of the implementation of the agricultural aims of the 4th Five Year Plan (1946-50)
- Massive state direction: high quotas for grain and livestock/low peasant wages
- Higher taxes on private produce, and private land expanded in war absorbed back into kolkhozes
- Tree plantations, canals, irrigation
Ideas of Trofim Lysenko
What were the agricultural results from the Fifth 5 Year Plan
- Agricultural production still behind industry and not yet to the level of 1940
- Sheeps and goats; doubled from 1945-50
- Pigs; tripled in same period
How did Krushchev differ from Stalin’s agricultural policy
· Criticised Stalin’s unreliable statistics and practices; saying it was worse than Tsarist Russia
· Khrushchev put investment and reform but handed implementation into hands of the local Party organisations
· Ministry of Agriculture’s powers were reduced so that it became little more than a consultative and advisory body
What 10 changes did Khrushchev introduce to incentivise peasants to produce more
1) Increased price paid for state procurements of grain,rose 25% between 1953-6
2) State procurement+Private Plot quotas were reduced
3) Taxes were reduced
4) Peasants who did not possess animals were no longer required to deliver meat to the state
5) Collectives allowed to set their own production targets and how they use their land
6) Increase in the number of farms connected to electricity
8) 1962 campaign for the increased use of chemical fertiliser
9) Increase in the use of farm machinery from MTS
10) Encouragement to merge collectives to create larger farms; number of collectives halved from 1950-60, while the number of state farms increased
What was the Virgin Lands Scheme and how many hectares of ‘virgin land’ had been ploughed by 1956
- increase production by cultivating grazing lands in western Siberia and northern Kazakhstan that had not been used
- Komosomol helped this; by 1956 35.9 million hecatres of ‘virgin land’ had been ploughed for wheat; the total cultivated area of Canada
What other agricultural campaigns did Khrushchev engage him
- Khrushchev also launched several campaigns for new crops such as maize due to its high tonnage per acre
He also encouraged cornflakes and a campaign against private cows
What other agricultural campaigns did Khrushchev engage him
- Khrushchev also launched several campaigns for new crops such as maize due to its high tonnage per acre
He also encouraged cornflakes and a campaign against private cows
How much did Cereal, Meat and Milk increase by 1652-64
- Cereal; 1.3x
- Meat; 1.75x
Milk; 1.75x
However Khrushchev’s target of 180 million tons of cereal was not met
Why was the Virgin Lands Scheme and other schemes ineffective in the long run
Climatic conditions not taken into account + land was worked so intensively + w/o any rotation of wheat with other crops = Land erosion took place and the soil rapidly became infertile; 20% of cultivated land produced no harvest + no hay
Tractors ineffecitve as few farmers could carry out repairs –> MTS made into repair palce
Maize grown in unsuitable conditions
State officials kept altering prices; hard for farmers to plan
How important were the private plots despite being only 3% of the total cultivated area
Private plots still made 50% of a peasants private income and contributed over 30% of the produce sold in the USSR
What did the 1963 bad harvest do
1963 bad harvest meant the USSR was forced to import grain for the first time and from the US
How was agricultural output upon Stalin’s death
agricultural output on same level as 1926-29, produced 375 million tons less grain stock than had been produced in 1940
* 1952, soviet citizens consumed:
- 3 times less meat, fish, sugar
- Five times les fruit
Than Americans, but 4x more potato
What did grain shortages lead to in Novocherkassak in 1962
demonstrations in Novocherkassk in 1962 with a brutal State Reaction leading to a massacre with 26 unarmed protesters machine-gunned and 87 wounded
What was the intial success of the Virgin Lands Scheme
Harvest of 1956 - 125 million tons of grain - was a record for the USSR and more than half of it came from the Virgin Lands
Yields were 65% higher than previous years
How did the Virgin Lands Scheme affect machine farming across Russia
- 20,000 tractos moved in Sprin 1954 to vrigin lands, next year it reached 200,000
- But they were often not able to be repaired
- led to decline vehicles in use in Soviet Union from 1958-61; first time in 12 years
How did the 4th and 5th Five Year Plans under Stalin affect standards of living
- Peasants were squeezed by the quotas and lived on an income that was 20% less than that of an industrial worker
- In the towns, diets were poor and housing, services and consumer goods were in short supply
- The working week remained at its wartime levels with a norm of 12 hours per day
- Wage differentials –> higher wages for Party officials
- Women were expected to make up for the war dead
By 1950 how much higher was real household consumption than in 1928
only a 1/10th higher
How did working hours change under Khrushchev
· 1960 working hours reduced to 72(under Stalin) –> 40 hours
How were women incentivised to have babies under Khrushchev
· Built Childcare facilities, boarding schools
* Paid pregnancy leavee increased to 77 days to 112 days
How did wages change under Khrushchev
· Workers rages from 78 –> 96 (1958-65)
Real wages increased by 60% in the decade
USSR lowest wage gap in any other highly industrialised country
How did Khrushchev make education more accessible
- Length of working day of teenagers reduced to a maximum of 6 hours a day
- Abolished tuition fees for education
How fast did Khrushchevkas take to make
Khrushchevkas took** only 50 days to construct**
40% housing rate growth (fastest in the world)
How wmany people attened the World Festival of Youth staged in Moscow in 1947
attended by 34,000 people from 131 different countries- or through radio/TV
How did the cultural thaw affect young people
· Young people saw the Western jazz,dress and behaviour as modern as exciting
‘Tarzan movies did more for de-stalinisation than Khrushchev’s 20th Party Congress Speech’
· Even a Soviet version of the ‘Teddy Boys’- the stiliagi
· Universities saw boycotting and protests
What did a s urvey carried out by Soviet authorities in 1061 say about the youth’s attitude to the October Revolution
· A survey barried out by Soviet authorities in 1961 showed that the majority of young people were cynical about the ideals of the October Revolution and were more motivated by material ambitions
Considering that 55% of the population were under 30, this was an exsistential threat
How did Khrushchev treat those persecuted in the Zhdanovschina
rehabilitated those persecuted in the Zhdanovschina like the compose Shostakovich, writers Akhmatova
What did Khrushchev do with Alexsandr Solzhenitsyn
Help him publish ‘One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich’ in 1962 described gulag conditions and acheieved over a million sales in 6 months
How did Khrushchev treat the Church
- Orthodox Church lost most of the rights; 1960 removal of the Chaimen of Council of Orthodox Church affairs with a much more atheist officer
- Metropolitan Nikolai who was the intermediary between council and church was removed and not replaced
Banning of chuch attendance of anyone under 18
By 1959 how many churches and seminaries had Khrushchev shut down
1959: half of 20,000 churches closed + 5/8 seminaries closed
What happened to Anna akhmatovta during the cultural thaw
Could finally publish her book Requiem in 1963 that she had writted from 1935-40
How were Cosmonaughts used as propoganda
- Statues of Stalin replaced by Cosmonaughts
- Portrayed as the ‘super ideal’ of communism
- Visited over 22 countries - 3 million in Calcutta
- Children inspired to be Cosmonaughts
What were the 2 methods of evading Soviet censorship in publishing
tamizdat: published work abroad hoping it could be smuggled into Russia e.g. Pasternak’s Dr Zhivago. CIA helped get in material
Samizdat: labouriously duplicating material by hand, typewriter or illegal press; very dangerous
e.g. done by underground societies such as ‘The Youngest Society of Geniuses’ a student group set up in the ’60s that produced a journal The Sphinxes, which contained collections of prose and poetry
What did the monument to satirical poet Vladmir Mayakovksy in Moscow attract
became a place of regular readings known as the Mayak in Mayakovsky Square and were popular among students and intelligentsia
What happened at the Mayak in 1941
- In 1961, some of the regular attenders were arrested for political activity such as Vladmir Bukovsky and Edward Kuznetsov
How did authorities commonly deal with dissidents
- Accused them of being crazy
- 1961: 130,000 people were identified as leading an ‘anti-social parasitic way of life’
e.g. Nobel Laureate Joseph Brodsky was charged with ‘social parasitism’ and sentenced to 5 years exile in Archangel
What did the famous ballet dancer Rundolf Nureye do
He defected in Paris in 1961
By 1957, what % of the Soviet prison population was political prisoners
By 1957, only 2% of Soviet prison populations were political prisoners
How did decentralisation contribute to Khrushchev’s fall from power
- Upset central party members who lost jobs (shut down 60 Moscow Ministries)
- Regional Party secretaries offended by way the responsibilities had been divided up
- Khrushev’s demand that a 1/4 of the Central Committee be renewed at every election threatened their influence
What did Khrushchev do with his son in law Alexi Adzhubel
· He was given special favours such as the** editor of Izvestia** and had a direct telephone line to Khrushchev’s office
· Elected to the Central Committee
· He was used to speak to foreign Diplomats in preference the the dour Foreign minister
He was even used by Khrushchev to arrange a visit to West germany in 1964
How did Khrushchev deal with opposition at the 22nd Party congress
- Molotov and Kaganovich were expelled at the 22nd Party Congress
- However, other hardlines such as Suslov continued oppsition within the party
