Unit 3 Quotes and Statistics

Order Number 1

'The orders of the (Provisional Government) are to be obeyed, with the exception of those instances in which they contradict the orders and decrees of the Soviet.’ (Soviet Order No. 1, 1917)

Minister of war comments on order number 1

"The Provisional Government possesses no real power and its orders are executed only…as this is permitted by the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies, which holds in its hands the most important elements of actual power, such as troops, railroads, postal and telegraph service…" (Guchkov, 1917)

Lenin say what people want to say quote

"His whole genius consists in his ability to say what these people want to say, but do not know how to say." (Serge, 1937)

Lenin and trotsky leadership quote

"They possessed in Lenin a leader of great strength and astuteness, and in Trotsky an organiser of extraordinary capacity." (Greenwood, 1973)

Majority in soviet quote

"Having obtained the majority in the Soviet of Workers' and Soldiers' Deputies in both capitals, the Bolsheviks can and must take state power into their hands." (Lenin, 1917)

Lenin’s speeches quote

"Lenin's speeches, noted for their profound content and brilliant delivery, inspired workers and soldiers … The Bolshevik Party's membership began to grow rapidly." (Kukushkin, 1981)

Counter argument historian Lenin quote

"In his guidance of the uprising, Lenin's genius as a leader of the masses, a wise a fearless strategist, who clearly saw what direction the revolution would take, was strikingly revealed." (Obichkin, 1967)

Bolshevik railway statistic

By 1919, the Bolsheviks controlled about 70% of Russia’s railway network, which was crucial for moving troops and supplies rapidly across the vast country. (Mawdsley, 2007)

Historian Bolsheviks had it good in civil war quote

“The Bolsheviks held the industrial and population heartland of Russia, which provided them with essential resources, manpower, and infrastructure crucial for sustaining the war effort.”(Fitzpatrick, 2008)

Trotsky we need railways to win quote

“Without the railways, the army cannot function; without the railways, the revolution cannot be victorious.” (Trotsky, 1919)

Trotsky will die fighting for Russia quote

"He strikes me as a man who would willingly die fighting for Russia provided there was a big enough audience to see him do it." (Lockhart, 1918)

Plot twist Lenin’s actually a big kulak hating meanie quote

"Hang (and I mean hang so that people can see) not less than 100 known Kulaks...Do this so that for hundreds of miles around the people can see…they are killing and will go on killing the blood sucking Kulaks." (Lenin, 1918)

Figes red terror quote

"The Red Terror did not come out of the blue. It was implicit in the regime from the start." (Figes, 1996)

Historian counter argument whites were weak but reds were organised quotes

“While the Whites were indeed fragmented, it was the Bolsheviks’ superior organisation, control of central Russia, effective use of propaganda, and the leadership of figures like Trotsky that ultimately secured their victory." (Mawdsley, 2007)

Lenin land quote

“Landed proprietorship is abolished forthwith without any compensation.” (Lenin, 1917)

Land seized by peasants stats

By early 1918, an estimated 60–70% of the Russian peasantry had actively begun seizing land from landlords, emboldened by the Land Decree’s legalization of their actions. (Figes, 1996)

Brest-litovsk loss of territory stats

Russia lost approximately one-third of its European territory as a result of the Treaty, including Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic states, and parts of Poland and Finland, totaling over 700,000 square kilometers. (Figes, 1996)

Had to accept peace Lenin quote

“To reject the Brest peace would be a ruinous policy... we had no choice but to accept it.” (Lenin, 1918)

Brest-Litovsk was very bad historian quote

“For Russian patriots... the Brest-Litovsk Treaty was a national catastrophe.” (Figes, 1996)

Lenin bread quote

“The supply of bread and food is the first test of our power. Without it, no government can survive.” (Lenin, 1917)

Bread rations statistics after October revolution

By early 1918, bread rations in Petrograd and Moscow were as low as 50% of pre-war levels, leading to widespread hunger and riots. (Fitzpatrick, 2008)

Historian food shortage quote

“The severe economic crisis and food shortages of 1917-18 set the stage for War Communism, as the Bolsheviks resorted to forced grain requisitioning and state control to sustain their regime.” (Mawdsley, 2007)

Historian quote counterargument Bolsheviks though dictatoship was temporary

“The Bolsheviks were not just a band of fanatics lusting after power. They were revolutionaries who believed that their dictatorship was temporary and would lead to the liberation of the working class.” (Fitzpatrick, 2008)

Stalin on not because of reason but… quote

"A triumph not of reason, but of organisation" (E.H. Carr, 1950)

Historian Stalin’s control was a key factor in rise to power

“He used the Orgburo to appoint provincial secretaries who owed their positions to him, ensuring a loyal base of support.” (Figes, 1997)

Trotsky thought Stalin was a joke quote

“It seemed to Trotsky almost a bad joke that Stalin, the willful and sly but shabby and inarticulate man in the background should be his rival”. (Deutacher, 1959)

Stalin won vote not argument quote

“Trotsky and Bukharin might win the argument, but Stalin invariably won the vote”. (Ward, 1993)

Stalin’s got willpower quote

“He’s not an intellectual like the other people you will meet…but he know what he wants. He’s got willpower, and he’s going to be top of the pile some day” (Reed, 1919)

Stalin has all those possibilities quote

"Trotsky never had control of the political system as it operated in Soviet Russia. Politics is the art of the possible. After 1924 all the possibilities belonged to Stalin" (Lynch, 2008)

Stalin’s rise to power was not accident quote for counter argument

“Stalin’s rise was neither inevitable nor accidental. It was the outcome of his persistent political maneuvering, his readiness to exploit opportunities, and his ruthless elimination of rivals.” (Service, 2004)

Stalin says we’re lagging behind quote

"We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this lag in ten years. Either we do it, or we shall go under." (Stalin, 1931)

Factory output statistic

Factory output increased 350% (Neill, 2023)

Coal production growth in late 1930s stat

Coal production 128-166 million from 1937-40 (Whitten, 2023)

Coal production initial goal stat

Coal to increase from 35 million to 75 million tonnes in 4 years (Figes, 2014)

Working class increased percentage stat

The working class as a percentage of the total population rose significantly from 18% to 50% between 1928 and 1939 (Nove, 1992)

Don’t be late on Stalin’s watch stat

During Stalin's third FYP a worker could be tried and sent to a forced labour camp for being late to work three times in one month (Pike, 2020)

Account of workers living situation under stalin quote

"My section consisted of a packing case and two reeking kerosene stoves … The room was good for Moscow we were assured. At least we would not have to share with another family." (Rowland, 1979)

People died from plans stats

Between 4.6 million and 8.5 million people died of starvation or disease between 1930 and 1933 (Figes, 2014)

Impact on people five year plans quote

"countless individuals and families in entire regions... were stigmatised as kulaks, driven from their lands, forced into collectives exiled or shot." (Ward, 1933)

Plan huge propaganda project quote

“Essentially the Plan was a huge propaganda project which aimed at convincing the Soviet people that they were engaged in vast industrial enterprise of their own making” (Lynch, 2008)

Terror didn’t have to happen counter argument quote

"Stalin's forced-rate industrialisation and forcible mass collectivisation were not indispensable to the transformation of Russia into a military power" (Service, 2009)

Cost of divorce stats

50 roubles for the first divorce, 150 for the second, and 300 for any subsequent divorce. (Decree on the Prohibition of Abortions, 1936)

Stalin controlled womens lives quote

“The Stalinist regime celebrated the family and motherhood while tightening control over women’s lives and curtailing their independence.” (Goldman, 1993)

Double burden quote

“The state expected women to bear children, raise them, and work full time…The burden was enormous.”  (Goldman, 1993)

Education is a cult quote

"The idea was to initiate the children into the practices, cults and rituals of the Soviet system so that they would grow up to become loyal and active Communists." (Figes, 2007)

Education implemented more quote

"The policy of promoting workers into administrative jobs and sending workers to higher education was not new, but it had never been implemented with such urgency or on such a massive scale as during the Cultural Revolution." (Fitzpatrick, 1979)

Persecuting religion quote

"The persecution of religion was the most ferocious and sustained of all the campaigns unleashed by the Soviet regime against its real or imagined enemies." (Pipes, 1994)

Attacked religion ruthlessly quote

“Thousands of churches were closed or destroyed, and countless priests were executed or imprisoned.” (Volkogonov, 1998)

Party membership statistics

 Party membership falling from 3.5 million to 2.35 million between 1933 and 1935. (Khlevniuk, 2009)

17th party congress stats

The 17th Party Congress, held from January 26 to February 10, 1934, saw many of the 2000 delegates vote against Stalin. by 1939, 1108 of the 1966 delegates to the 17th Party Congress had been arrested, and almost every one of the 2000 delegates from that congress was dead. (Conquest, 1990)

Stats on amount killed in great terror

Estimates vary but most experts say 750 000 people executed in great terror (Sullivan, 2018)

Creepy Stalin quote

“Everything in the Soviet Union takes place under the fixed stare of the plaster, bronze, drawn or embroidered eye of Stalin…He is everywhere, he sees everything" (Steinbeck, 1947)

Stalin new God quote

"In the minds of millions Stalin was transformed into a mythical demi-god: all trembled as they said his name, believed that he alone could save the Soviet Union from disaster." (Medvedev, 1989)

Was all stalin baby quote

“The nature of the whole Purges depends…on the personal and political drives of Stalin" (Conquest, 1990)

Movement of factories statistic

Dispatching 1500 factories between July and November 1941. (Ford, 2021)

Rearmament spending stats

Spending in rearmament rose from 4% of GDP in 1933 to 17% of GDP in 1937 (Whitten, 2023)

Aircraft production capacity stat

Aircraft production capacity reached 35 000 in 1944 (Livesay, 2023)

Stalin victory quote

"Our cause is righteous. The enemy shall be defeated. Victory will be ours." (Stalin, 1941)

Sweaty land stalin quote

‘He [Hitler] is out to seize our lands watered by the sweat of our brows.’ (Stalin, 1941)

Tsar coming back stalin quote

‘He is out to restore rule of the landlords, to restore tsarism’ (Stalin, 1941)

German soldiers stalingrad stats

Of the 300,000 Germans part of the offensive (Stalingrad), 91,000 were captured, with only 6,000 making it home. (Beevor, 1998)

order to not retreat stalin

order number 227 on July 27, 1942, known as ‘not one step backwards’

Bolsheviks use terror to silence critics historian quote

"The Bolsheviks were forced to turn increasingly to terror to silence their political critics and subjugate a society they could not control by other means" (Figes, 1996)

Lenin’s NEP quote

"Let us retreat and construct everything in a new and solid manner; otherwise we shall be beaten". (Lenin, 1921)

War communism was the civil war historian quote

"War Communism was not just a response to the civil war; it was also a means of making civil war…the policies of War Communism were seen by the Bolsheviks as an instrument of struggle against their social or ‘internal’ enemies”. (Figes, 1996)

Historian Lenin invented his stuff

"The basic compound of the Soviet order had been invented by Lenin and his fellow communist leaders within a couple of years of the October Revolution” (Service, 1997)