A-Level History : Russia (A2)

What was "The Great Turn?"

-The move away from the NEP towards a more socialist economic policy. -Stalin's Five-year Plans dealt with industrial production, but something needed to be done about the food supply so Stalin introduced collectivisation.

What was Collectivisation?

The political principle of centralised social and economic control, especially of all means of production.

Why did Stalin want to Collectivise?

-POLITICAL REASONS Stalin wanted to get out of Lenin's shadow

• To get rid of the Kulaks

• To eliminate opposition - namely Bukharin.

ECONOMIC REASONS

• Fewer peasants were needed

• The population was growing in the cities so they needed more efficiency in the countryside

• The country was desperate for grain after the grain procurement crisis in the winter of 1927 - 1928.

• It gave the peasants incentives to produce more grain.

• It increased rapid industrialisation.

• It would introduce mechanism on a large scale.

• State farms were becoming inefficient.

• It created profit for the Government.

IDEOLOGICAL REASONS

• The cities were more left wing, whereas the countryside was right wing.

• Collectivisation was a socialist idea and Stalin believed this would help him to create his "Socialist Utopia"

Collectivisation in Practice

• By the end of the 1920s, it was clear that Russian agriculture was inadequate.

• Although the kulaks were relatively wealthy and successful, the thousands of tiny, backward peasant farms were not producing enough to feed the population.

• In 1927, Stalin declared that the way forward was for people in each village to voluntarily unite their farms into one collective farm.

• This kolkhoz would be able to afford machinery, be more efficient, and be able to create a surplus to send to the towns.

• After two years, when everyone had ignored his idea and there had been a famine, Stalin made collectivisation compulsory.

• The peasants hated the idea, so they burned their crops and killed their animals rather than hand them over to the state. There was another famine in 1930.

The Process of Collectivisation

1928 - Stalin committed the USSR to collective farming as a result of the great turn.

1929- The government began the campaign with the issue of new procurement (delivery) quotas. The Government created a deliberate propaganda campaign against the kulaks, and by 1929 they began a programme of all-out forced collectivisation. The Red Army and OGPU were used to identify Kulaks.

1930 - Stalin announced that 25% of grain farming areas were collectivised that year. By March 58% of peasant household has been collectivised. By October only 20% of households were still collectivised.

1931 - The process of collectivisation sped up again.

1935 - 75% of households were collectivised

1941 - 100% of households were collectivised.

Kolkhoz

State farm -

• Small, combining small individual farms together.

• You were allowed so sell anything left for profit.

• You had to deliver a set quota to the state.

• You lived in your own home brought together in the village.

• Utilised land and facilities, movements were restricted and was collectivised.

Sovkhoz

Independent Farm -

• Large, created on land confiscated from formerly large estates.

• More independent than the Kolkhoz

• Suited the grain growing areas in the Ukraine and in Southern Russia.

• Workers were paid a wage from the state.

• Utilised land and facilities, movements were restricted and was collectivised.

Why was there a drive for mechanisation?

Less people were needed to work in the fields, which made it more efficient and practical.

• Machine tractor stations were set up from 1931, to provide seed and to hire out tractors and machinery to collectivise. 2500 were established - one MTS for every 40 collective farms by 1940.

• The state farms generally received more and better machinery - for example, combine harvesters and chemical fertilisers.

• Agricolgists, veterinary surgeons, surveyors and technicians were sent to the countryside to advise - State farms got more support.

• The MTS acted as a party prop in rural areas.

How did collectivisation effect the peasantry?

PEASANT RESISTANCE

• Raids by women proved the most effective form of opposition and often reported in the press

• Resisting peasants were deported to remote areas, such as Siberia to form work gangs, building canals or bridges or in labour camps (gulags)

• Any peasants who resisted was classed a kulak and a class enemy. Peasants were fearful of being called kulaks, so they burned their farms and crops and killed livestock.

• Most peasants did not voluntarily join a collective farm, and peasants from particularly fertile agricultural areas, like Ukraine were particularly hostile.

• Over 10 million died as a result of resistance or the effects of deportation.

• By 1939, about 19 million peasants had migrated to towns.

STATE BRUTALITY

• By August 1932, anyone who stole from a collective farm were met with brutal force.

• Armed forces dealt brutally with unrest, sometimes burning whole villages.

• When dealing with Kulaks, party organisations would shoot the head of the household and put his family on a train to Siberia.

• International passports were issued to prevent peasants fleeing famine-stricken areas.

• Peasants were meant to receive a profit from their collective farm but the quotas were so high that there was rarely any profit.

SERVING INDUSTRY

• Kaganovich, a member of the Politburo, recognised that "Women had played the most advanced role in the reaction to the collective farm"

• By 1939, for every 3 peasants who joined a collective, one left to become an urban worker.

• The peasantry was in effect, sacrificed in the name of Soviet ideology, to meet the needs of industry.

1932 Famine

• It affected the major grain producing areas of the Soviet which led to millions of deaths in these areas and severe food shortages throughout the USSR.

• The famine was the result of the actions of the Soviet in implementing forced collectivisation, in economic planning and political repression in the countryside

• There was also a specifically low harvest due to natural disasters combined with increased demand for food caused by collectivisation, industrialisation and urbanisation, as well as grain exports at the time.

• The famine was officially denied. The results of 1937 census were classified as they revealed demographic losses from the famine. The estimated death was around 7 million people with many dying from related diseases.

• The Ukraine called the famine "Holodomor" - death by hunger and recognised it as a genocide. Ukraine, according to the President Viktor Yushchenko, became a "vast death camp"

HUMAN COSTS

• 7 million people died

• Over 5 million households were affected by deportation, imprisonment or execution

• Dekulakisation

• Starvation

MATERIAL COSTS

• Animals died or were eaten

• Houses were burnt down

• Economic downturn

• Destroyed belongings

Was the 1932 famine man made or natural?

MAN MADE

• Grain procurement was rising

• Activists lacked knowledge

• Not enough animals for ploughs

• Tractors weren't being distributed

• Stalin didn't trust the peasants

• The terror that was enforced created peasant resistance

NATURAL _ Grain production was falling

• There was drought in large parts of the USSR

• Drastic measures had to take place

Was collectivisation a success?

SOCIAL

• Urban populations grew from the over populated countryside.

• 5 million people died from the famine in the Ukraine alone, 7 million in total.

• Class differences were abolished and apart from the existence of small private plots, any remains of capitalism had been destroyed.

POLITICAL

• The government had established a system, using local soviets and MTS, of controlling the countryside and making agriculture serve industry.

• The party gained control of the countryside and did not have to bargain with peasants anymore.

• Those on the right lost power such as Bukharin and Rykov. Stalin's power was reinforced.

• Communism was exported to the countryside.

ECONOMIC

• Grain production fell from 73.3 million tonnes in 1928 to 67.6 million tonnes in 1934.

• Collectivisation succeeded in providing resources for industrialisation.

• It took until 1953 before livestock numbers were back to where they had been before collectivisation.

• State procurement of grain increased from 10.8 million tonnes in 1928 to 22.8 million tonnes in 1931.

• Valuable resources had to be diverted to the countryside to build machinery and send activists to keep control.

• Cattle numbers nearly halved from 70.5 million in 1928 to 38.4 million in 1933.

• Grain exports rose from 0.03 million tonnes in 1928 to 5.06 million tonnes in 1931.

How was collectivisation linked to industrialisation?

Collectivisation provided more food for the workers in the towns and cities and encouraged peasants to move from the countryside to urban areas.

Did collectivisation achieve its aims?

It succeeded in providing resources for industrialisation. Exports increased, food in the towns and cities remained high due to high quotas.

What was the most important effect of collectivisation?

Got more workers into the cities from the countryside and mechanisation made workers more efficient.

Why was industrialisation introduced?

IDEOLOGICAL

• Wanted to move towards "true socialism", especially in the countryside. This was based on developments in industry.

• It gave Stalin more control.

POLITICAL

• Stalin wanted to be more radical.

• The NEP was too capitalist and needed to go.

• It gave Stalin the ability to be able to defend his country.

• Stalin wanted to catch up to the western world.

• Allowed Stalin to crush the right wing communists such as Bukharin.

• It helped prove that communism was effective and could compete with the rest of the world

ECONOMIC

• Helped to modernise Russia.

• Self-sufficiency was needed to increase production.

• Increase grain procurement.

• NEP was failing - the grain procurement crisis

• There was a need to focus on heavy industry - coal etc.

What was the role of GOSPLAN?

• This organisation was the driver of the 5 year plans and was instrumental in the economy.

• It was their job to ensure that the overall economic objectives of the 5 year plans were met, by matching input against output - but targets were often ambitious and it was made a criminal offence not to meet them.

Advantages and disadvantages of a centrally planned economy

ADVANTAGES

• You control everything yourself

• Easier to make decisions

• Drive the pace

• Unified aims

• Ensure everywhere had what they needed

DISADVANTAGES

• Don't consider separate needs of different areas

• Have to resort to brutality to keep up with targets

• Targets weren't always based on what was achievable

• Quality of goods was poor

How successful were the 5 year plans?

• The most significant successes came from the second 5 year plan, where they built upon the successes of the first and limited the failures by making the targets that they set more realistic.

• The successes of the plan were great for the country, with the Moscow metro improving travel across the cities and the Dnieprostroi dam producing hydro-electric power which helped industry massively, with rises in steel and coal production.

What was the purpose of a showpiece?

It was designed to show the modernity and capabilities of the soviet state.

Dhieprostroi Dam

• The largest hydro-electric power station in the world at the time, on the Dhieprostroi river in the Ukraine generating some 550MW.

• It began generating electricity during the first five-year plan.

• It increased soviet electric power fivefold in 1932.

• It was built on deserted land in the countryside.

The Turksit Railway

• Also known as the Central Asiatic Railway.

• It connected central Asia with Siberia.

• It met with the West Siberian part of the west Siberian part of the trans-Siberian railway.

• It put 50,000 people into work and helped to transport cotton and cheap grain.

• It was, however, very costly.

Moscow Metro

• One Km line and 13 stations, it was the first underground railway in the USSR.

• Massive recruitment campaigns were launched and was created to signal the USSR's industrial achievements.

• It was extremely ambitious and drew in massive resources.

Moscow-Volga Canal

• It connected the Muskua and the Volga rivers, A statue of Lenin was built on the confluence of the river and the canal.

• 200,000 workers were employed

• It was the largest of its kind in 1934.

• Around 22,000 died in its production - it was built by prisoners.

The First Five Year Plan

1928 - It launched an enthusiastic response. Investment brought some impressive growth. Transport and communications grew rapidly. Electricity output trebled, coal and iron output doubled and steel production increased by a third.

• However, despite these achievements, It was not based on secure data and was extremely over-ambitious. The great depression had a severe impact on this.

• None of the production targets were met, and the actual production was less than half of the targets in some cases. For example, the coal output was 35 million, but the target was 75 million.

• Bribery and corruption was rife.

The Second Five Year Plan

1933 - Focused on the development of heavy industries such as coal and steel. They wanted to increase production by 300 percent, boost electricity production by 600 per cent, double the output from light industry such as chemicals.

• The Moscow Metro was opened in 1935, the Volga canal in 1937, the Dnieprostroi Dam producing hydro-electric power - it became the biggest dam in Europe. Steel output trebled, coal production doubled and by 1937, the soviet union was virtually self-sufficient.

• Oil production failed to meet its targets - they only made 28.5 million tonnes of crude oil, and despite some expansion in footwear and food processing, there was still no increase in consumer goods.

The Third Five Year Plan

1938 - It focused on the needs of the defence sector, in light of the growing threat Nazi Germany posed to the USSR. The needs for armaments became increasingly urgent.

• There was a strong growth in machinery and engineering, involving projects designed to show the modernity and capabilities of the soviet state. Defence and armourments grew rapidly.

• Steel production stagnated, oil failed to meet targets causing a fuel crisis and many industries found themselves short of raw materials and consumer goods were also relegated.

Komsomol

The young communist league - the youth division of the communist party.

Wrecking

Acts previews as economic or industrial sabotage e.g. Failure to meet economic targets

Proletarianisation

Turning the mass of the population into urban workers; ridding society of selfish capitalist attitudes and developing a cooperative mentality.

Alekski Stakhanov

A coal miner in the Don Basin, cut an extraordinary 102 tonnes of coal in 5 hours and 45 minutes in August 1935. This was the amount expected from a miner in 14 times that length of time. Stalin used it as a propaganda opportunity to motivate the population. It increased productivity, but it was a lie and was incredibly unrealistic.

What were the main challenges of being an Urban Manager?

There was a lot of pressure on the managers to meet targets, especially with strict punishments. They were treated harshly, especially when they didn't meet targets, as were the workers.

Zhehotel

The women's section of the secretariat of the central committee of the communist party. In 1930, it was closed down and there was no drive to increase female labour. This highlights how women were seen as less capable and discriminated against.

Opportunity for women

• Women consisted of 42% of all industrial workers.

• They found jobs in education, healthcare and administration.

• The party sent for more woman to be employed in heavy industry, and it became easier for women to enter into manager positions.

• A greater effort was made into getting women to enrol in technical training programmes and an increasing number of women found their way into paid skilled positions.

• Women were seen as important assets.

Inequality with Women

• Zhehotel being shut down was a big loss for women, as it was the only support system in place for women.

• Managers were reluctant to offer promotions to women or train them so they could take on skilled work.

• Women were harassed, both physically, verbally and sexually by male coworkers, and now there was no support group in place.

• Women still earned 40% less than men.

Vozha

A leader with unchecked power

Homo Sovietious

The soviet man - a new breed of citizen who was completely committed to the state.

Cult of Personality

A strong belief in society of the greatness of Stalin as leader.

What was the trigger for the cult of personality?

Stalin's fiftieth birthday celebrations.

What was the cult of personality's purpose?

It brought enlightenment to the Russian people and included paintings, poems, posters and sculptures being produced.

What title was Stalin given by the Russian people?

'The Red Tsar'

What was socialist realism?

The truthful historically concrete representational of reality in its revolutionary development - the ideal socialist Russia.

Art In Stalinist Russia

Most Soviet paintings were of tractors, threshing machines and combine harvesters, or peasants with lots of food. The contents of the paintings were strictly controlled.

Vera Mukhina's Industrial worker and Kolkoz Woman

It was sculpted as a massive image of the soviet people striving for a joyful future.

Music in Stalinist Russia

Music was to be joyous and positive, symphonies should all be in a major key. Folk songs and dances and songs in praise of the happy life of onward marching soviet man were the acceptable sounds of music.

Literature in Stalinist Russia

Some great writers, such as Isaac Babel and Boris Pasternak practised the genre of silence and gave up writing altogether. According to Robert Service, "no great work of literature was published in the 1930s and all the artistic figures went for fear of their lives."

Cinema in Stalinist Russia

Stalin ordered increased production of documentaries supporting the plan's industrial objectives, film making and film makers were heavily controlled.

How was Propaganda used in Stalinist Russia?

• Children's stories eg. Pavlik Morozov

• Glorifying "mother heroines"

• The stakhanov movement

• Sculptures

• Pravda

• Artic explorers

• Class enemies

• Propagandist films and radio

To what extent was Stalinist Russia dependent on propaganda?

HEAVILY DEPENDENT

• Strengthen communism

• Supports key ideas eg. industrialisation

• mantain/support popularity

• reduce opposition

• strengthen leadership

• motivates the workforce -helpful in a crisis situation

NOT DEPENDENT

• Cult of Personality

• Strong popularity foundations

• terror enforced control

• use of army

OVERALL - Stalin simply used propaganda to help consolidate his power.

The Economic Condition of the Soviet Union by 1941

By 1941, Stalin had transformed the Soviet Union into a communist nation, with a fully collectivised peasantry and no free market.

By 1940, the USSR had overtaken Britain and France in iron and steel production and were not far behind Germany.

Coal and oil production were vastly stepped up by the third year plan and the spending on rearmament rose from 27.5 billion roubles to 70.9 billion roubles.

The USSR was not in a weak economic position when they joined the war in 1941. They had become economically stronger than other strong powers, especially in terms of production of raw materials. They had come a long way from where they had been in 1928.

State Terror

A means to control the population and remove opposition through control and fear; Stalin made terror an instrument of government.

Purge

Literally a cleaning out of impurities - used to describe forced expulsions from the communist party but later it came to mean the removal of anyone deemed a political enemy.

The show trials got rid of opponents and removed the old bolshevik order. Open to foreign journalists to show international prestige. Acted as a detterrent and a propaganda tool.

Stalinism

Term used by Stalin's critics to describe his dictatorial rule which contradicted Marxist philosophy and placed the national interests of the USSR above the struggle for the world.

Show Trial

A propagandist trial held in public with the intention of influencing popular opinion more than securing justice for the accused

Lenin and Terror

Russia was already a police state when Lenin was in charge. Strict surveillance was also in place, as well as a network of labour camps. The Cheka was established, and other political parties were banned.

Ryutin

• In 1930, Stalin expelled some of his former supporters for their criticism of the process of collectivisation.

• Ryutin was expelled from the party in 1930.

• After 1930, Ryutin continued to challenge Stalin's leadership and circulated documents urging for Stalin's replacement. -After 1932, there was a purge of the party including Ryutin, Zinoviev and Kamenev.

• Stalin is outvoted and is not permitted to have Ryutin executed and he is sentenced to 14 years in prison.

This showed that Stalin's power is limited, as he is outvoted and is not permitted to do what he wanted. Ryutin was treated like criminal and seen as a traitor.

Kirov's Murder

BACKGROUND

• Kirov was born into a lower middle class family, he lost his parents when he was young. He joined the social democrats party in Siberia. He was involved in the 1905 and 1917 revolutions. Kirov became the party secetary in Leningrad which was Stalin's old position. He hadn't been keen on forced collectivisation. He had a great deal of support at the seventeenth party congress - more people voted for him than Stalin. He was an excellent orator, the best after Trotsky, and seemed to be popular in the party.

NIKOLAYEV ACTED ALONE - THE ASSASSIN

• Kirov may have been having an affair with Nikolayev's wife. He didn't have the best relationship with the party, and may have been jealous. He clearly lacked balance - he was a nervous man whose health was poor.

• He had a plan and used his own gun.

NIKOLAYEV ACTED WITH THE HELP OF THE NKVD BUT WITHOUT STALIN'S KNOWLEDGE

• Stalin himself interrogated Nikolayev, where he told Stalin to ask NKVD

• Yagoda was accused of involvement - pleaded guilty

• Kirov had plans to limit the NKVD's power - specifically in the countryside.

STALIN ORDERED THE MURDER AND NIKOLAYEV ACTED WITH THE HELP OF THE NKVD

• He had a strong motive to get rid of Kirov

• Key witnesses were murdered before the trail

• The NKVD men that were found guilty of aiding Nikolayev got pleasant treatment in prisons.

• Stalin got rid of Yagoda - did he know too much?

• Nikolayev was set up with the perfect alibi - despite being an awful assassin.

• Kirov had a great deal of party support.

• All of the evidence was destroyed.

How useful was Kirov's death to Stalin?

• Starting point for the purges

• Acting in the interest and protection of the people

• No longer opposed by party members

• Had more power than before to execute people

• Humanised Stalin - Kirov's funeral

• Demonstrated Stalin's power to the party members

What year did Stalin's wife commit suicide?

1932

The Stalin Constitution 1936

Drawn up in 1936, led by Bukharin, it was intended to celebrate the triumphs of previous years. It declared that socialism had been achieved. Stalin was pleased as it was the most "democratic" thing in the world. It proclaimed that the USSR was to be a federation of 11 soviet republics to replace the former 7.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Stalin Constitution

STRENGTHS

• Local autonomy to ethnic groups

• Support for national cultures & languages

• 4 yearly elections with the right to vote for all over 18

• Extensive statement of civil rights, freedom from arbitrary arrest.

WEAKNESSES

• Promises were largely ignored

• There was little regional independence

• Stalin didn't allow anyone to leave the unions.

The Yezhovschina

The period of leadership where Yezhov was in charge of the NKVD. He once said in a speech that "when you chop wood, chips fly" suggesting that innocent people will die - this highlighted a more brutal and intense terror attack

Timeline of Yezhovschina

January 1937 - Trial of the 17. This was a show trial of 17 prominent communists who were accused of plotting with Trotsky (who was in Mexico.) They were proclaimed 'vipers, liars, clowns and insignificant pygmies.' After delivering their confessions, 13 were sentenced to death.

May - June 1937 - Purge of the military. Some officers had been incriminated in the show trials of 36 and 37, so Stalin struck first and ordered the arrest for Marshal Miknail, Tukhachersky and Yan Gamarnik. They were executed in June 1937. The trial opened a way for the great purge of the red army.

July 1937 - Order 00447 orders the removal of Anti-Soviet elements. Drawn up by Yezhov and approved by the ePolitburo who ordered the establishment of small NKVD regional committees. Their focus to seek out former kulaks, criminals and other anti-soviet elements. Victims were classified into death by shooting or gulag work camps. All committees worked to a quota system by area and class. Arrest lists were used and agents were keen to exceed quotas for approval. Within the first month, 100,000 had been arrested and 14,000 sent to camps. Party officials were denounced and all were encouraged to check up on neighbours and colleagues.

March 1938 - Trial of 21. A group of 21 prominent communists, accused of belonging to a rightist and Trotskyite bloc were interrogated. Among these were Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda and Tomsky. Bukharin held out, but he and 17 others were executed.

March 1938 - Beria replaces Yezhov as security chief. Yezhov was subsequently arrested, tortured and shot in February 1940. He was replaced by Lavrentiy Beria, who played a key role in Stalin's purges.

How did those purged suffer under the Yezhovchina regime?

PARTY MEMBERS

• Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev were executed. In every nation republic within the USSR, party and state leaders were charged with treason or Bourgeois nationalism. Four out of Five of the regional party secretaries and thousands of lesser officials lost their posts.

PEASANTS

• Dekulakisation increased - anyone that deviated from Stalinist social norms was affected

INDUSTRIAL WORKERS

• Stakanov was killed - he had been an important symbol of industrialisation.

• A high proportion of managers at all levels were purged - the railways also suffered.

PEOPLE RELATED TO THOSE THAT HAD BEEN PURGED

• Colleagues, subordinates, relatives, wives, children, friends and associates also suffered.

MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES

• All of the heroes of the civil war. 35,000 officers were either imprisoned or shot, senior military officers were excecuted.

Mass Terror Reigns - Why were confessions so important?

• They legitimised arrests

• They proved that the state was right to arrest them

Who is Andrey Vyshinsky?

He was the state prosecutor

Use of Torture during the Great Terror

• Kept people standing for 5 days and 5 nights

• Ryutin was briught from prison and tortured, but he refused to take part in a show trial, and he and his family were executed.

• The "Conveyer Belt" - terrorising and degrading people constantly by OGPU agents.

• "The Sweat Room" - They would keep several hundred women and men in a small room with no ventilation in stink that asphyxiates.

• Physical torture - get them into a pliable state to get them to give in

National Minorities

In 1937, a large Korean military minority was deported from the far eastern region to central Asia when war with Japan was threatened.

Poles and Germans were also deported from near the western frontiers and extensive purges were carried out in the newly annexed parts of Poland and the Baltic states. Volga Germans were deported to Siberia and Central Asia.

Why were national minorities considered dangerous?

• Germans had Hitler who posed a threat.

• The minorities posed a threat as they had their own cultural ways - not necessarily socialism.

• They also had ties with other countries.

• Stalin made the people learn Russian before their own mother tongue.

Trotsky's Death

Trotsky was finally killed in Mexico in 1940. He was killed by someone who had infiltrated his inner circle. On 20 August 1940, in his study, Trotsky was attacked by Ramón Mercader who used an ice axe as a weapon.

The blow to his head was bungled and failed to kill Trotsky instantly, as Mercader had intended. Witnesses stated that Trotsky spat on Mercader and began struggling fiercely with him, which resulted in Mercader's hand being broken. Hearing the commotion, Trotsky's bodyguards burst into the room and nearly killed Mercader, but Trotsky stopped them, laboriously stating that the assassin should be made to answer questions.

Trotsky was taken to a hospital, operated on, and survived for more than a day, dying at the age of 60 on 21 August 1940 as a result of loss of blood and shock.

Why was Trotsky's death significant to Stalin?

Trotsky was Stalin's last threat - He was the last old bolshevik with influence. Trotsky had the legitimacy and history that Stalin didn't have.

How far was Stalin's personality responisble for the great terror?

TOTALITARIAN VIEW - Since WW2

• The 'top down' view of terror, instructions were given by those at the top and carried out by those below.

THE REVOLUTIONIST VIEW - Since the 1970s

• Sees terror as the result of decisions made by the communist leadership in reaction to a series of events in the mid-1930s, it considers other people and other groups.

OTHER FACTORS

• Economic problems

• Social problems

• External Threats

• The Great Purges

Responsibility for the Great Terror

SOCIAL

• The terror was self-escalating, it took on a life of its own as it was used by individuals to settle personal scores, get rid of rivals or open avenues of promotion.

• Fear fed on fear. For those in fear of being denounced, it was better to prove loyalty by denouncing someone else first.

STALIN'S PERSONALITY

• Stalin's personality made him suspicious, vindictive and even paranoid.

• Stalin was no stranger to violence. His ruthless persecution of the peasantry once collectivisation had begun.

• Stalin was obsessed with reinforcing his own position, eliminating possible rivals and wreaking revenge on fellow Bolsheviks who had been rivals before the 1930s.

• Many Soviet citizens believed that Stalin was a heroic leader. protecting his people from a nest of traitors.

NKVD

• Terror was the work of overzealous officials in the provinces, who acted ruthlessly and followed their own agenda.

• The drive for terror did not come from Stalin exclusively, local party activists promoted terror, confident that this is what their leader wanted.

ECONOMIC

• Terror was essential for the process of economic change taking place from the late 1920s. It was needed to remove the Kulaks and provide slave labour and provide scapegoats for mistakes and failures.

THREATS

• The 1917 revolution and the civil war saw the communist regime born into terror. Stalin simply applied more terror more ruthlessly and on a larger scale.

• Terror was a response to a real threat of military coup involving the Germans. The treaties of Rapallo and Berlin had made Stalin suspicious.

• Terror was an integral part of the communist system and earlier regimes.

Motives of the Great Terror

POLITICAL

• Gets rid of opponents such as the old bolsheviks

PERSONAL

• Wife's death was affecting him

• Fulfilled paranoia he had

• He wanted absolute power

IDEOLOGICAL

• Strengthen his own communist regime

• Allowed him to have total control

ECONOMIC

• Removal of the kulaks

• Provide slave labour

• Creates a scapegoat

MILITARY

• Enforces a strict regime, especially with external threats as it would remove the chance of war.

How successful was Stalin in his anti-religious efforts?

For all of its efforts, the regime found it impossible to kill off religious belief and observance. Over half a million soviet citizens described themselves as religious believers. In the 1937 census, proving that Stalin's efforts did not yield the results they wanted, eradicating religion. Physically, he eradicated religion, but the ideology still remained and was prominent.

Why did Stalin need to reject Lenin's social freedoms?

They were causing social problems, for example, the amount of orphans, juvenile crime rates went up and birth rates were down.

How successful was Stalin in his social policy?

Very mixed. Birth rates didn't increase immediately, woman were still working despite pressure to give up, the divorce rates in Moscow went up, as did prostitution.

Young people under Stalin

EDUCATION

• There was a significant spread of literacy, especially in the rural areas. By 1941, 94% of the 9-49-year-olds were literate in the towns and 36% in the countryside, which helped Stalin as it helped his population to absorb his propaganda.

• The USSR produced particularly strong science graduates, which helped with industrialisation. The main focus was on maths, science and technology.

YOUTH ORGANISATIONS

• The young people were taught communist values.

• The ages were from 10-28-year-olds.

• Smoking, drinking and Religion were discouraged, while volunteer social work, sports, political and drama clubs were organised to promote socialist values.

Narkompros

The people's commissariat for education, focusing on those aged 3-15.

Veshenka

The economic planning agency in charge of universities in particular.

Religion and Churches

Religious schools were shut down, religious creeds were forbidden, many religious buildings such as churches and mosques were destroyed, lands were confiscated and Soviet sharia courts were shut down, as well as the Muslim veil being forbidden. The holy day Sunday was removed from 1929-1940. Many religious teachers were victims of religious purges.

Women under Stalin

Under Lenin, women had sexual freedoms as well as political freedoms. Abortion was legalised and there was many more women entering professional roles.

Under Stalin, there was a severe regression. Abortion was made illegal, contraception was banned, divorce became very hard obtain. Marriage and family was reemphasised, and wedding rings and certificates were reintroduced.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in the Countryside under Stalin

Advantages:

• Enforced compulsory schooling for the first time.

• They benefitted from tractors and machinery.

• Villages had schools and clinics for the first time.

Disadvantages:

• Now under strong central control.

• Basic certainties such as religion, friendship and traditions were questioned and changed.

• Party members viewed them as inferior, many younger people dreamt of moving to the cities.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Living in the Towns/Cities

ADVANTAGES

• 1935 - Conditions had vastly improved.

• 1937 - was probably the best year for living standards.

• It became legal for small trades to operate privately, including shoe repair, hairdressing and plumbing.

DISADVANTAGES

• There was a shortage of housing and practically no privacy in the communal dwelling - Kommunalka.

• The great famine of 1932 - caused many deaths in the towns and cities.

• Many cities had no sewage, water was rationed.

• Urban violence was rife, food consumption was lower than in 1900.

The Socialist Man

A person who was publicly engaged and committed to the community; "The Soviet Man" gave his service to the state - in the factory, on the fields or in battle and had a profound sense social responsibility.

They included characteristics such as being well educated, intelligent, not independent thinkers and being able to accept state direction.

They were seen as an urban dweller, not a backwards peasant.

Stalin created an enviroment where the socialist man would flourish.

Trofim Lysenko

He was widely discredited.

He was a soviet biologist and agronomist who was very influential. He believed that if humans acquired the right characteristics they could be passed on to the next generation.

Maxim Gorky

He was an author and declared under Stalin that Russian writers had "lost nothing ut the right to be bad writers." He helped develop socialist realism.

Cinema

Hollywood movies were enjoyed more than soviet propagandist films. It was a popular cultural activity.

Amount of Russian workers that wholeheartedly supported the Stalinist Regime

One fifth of the Russian population, according to historian John Barber. This left out four fifths where the attempts at indoctrination had failed.

The what extent did the protetariat benefit from Stalinist rule in 1930s?

IMPROVEMENT

Terror

• Class warfare - they weren't targeted.

Social Policies

• Tackled social problems eg. orphans and got rid of Lenin's free love ideology.

Education

• Compulsory schooling was enforced, along with classes being more focused with homework being set.

• Villages had schools and clinics for the first time

• Higher literacy levels.

DETERIORATION

Lack of cultural freedom

• Writers, poets and artists were heavily restricted. They often ended up in industrial or agricultural sites to ensure loyalty to the Stalinist regime.

Lack of religious freedom

• Churches were shut down, religious schools were shut down and most freedoms were taken away.

Women

• Faced massive inequality - forced to return to traditional roles.

Economic pressure

• Strict discipline in the workplace - priority was industrialisation.

Evidence for continuity between Lenin and Stalin

One Party state - Lenin created the one party state. He dealt ruthlessly w/ other socialist parties such as the Mensheviks and the SRs. He was intolerant of opposing views. Stalin's control of the one-party state allowed him to crush those that opposed him.

Economy - Lenin wanted collectivisation, but was forced to introduce the NEP for the purpose of the time. Stalin did manage to implement collectivisation which was a socialist policy.

Use of Terror - Both Stalin and Lenin used terror to try and enforce their ideology.

Evidence of a clear break between Lenin and Stalin

Leninism - Lenin always objected to the term Leninism. He regarded himself as a Marxist. He saw Marxist theory as progressive, leading the way to Socialism. Stalin developed the cult of Leninism and used it as ideological orthodoxy to justify his actions.

Cult of Personality - Lenin was not happy with the state idea, he was more about the collective, but Stalin took on the dictatorship role and was worshipped by the people.

Use of Terror - Stalin heavily intensified Lenin's policy.

How did Lenin attempt to spread the Revolution in 1920?

The Russo-Polish War - Lenin wanted to make Poland into a communist state, to take it over.

Why is there a conflict of foreign policy for a communist country (i.e Russia) in a capitalist world?

• Fear of communism

• Lack of allies

• Ideologically opposed

European context in the 1930s

• Post-Wall Street Crash - The Great Depression - Britain and Germany were heavily affected.

• Hitler had taken power leading to the rise of fascism - he was building up the German military.

• Soviet economic expansion continues.

• Hitler breaking the Treaty of Versailles - the European powers allowed it in the "Period of Appeasement" as they decide on how to deal with Hitler.

Factors determining Soviet Foreign Policy

• Ideology

• Security - fear of invasion

• Economic backwardness

• Background/views of those making soviet policy

• The internal situation

• Attitudes of other countries

Why were the USSR admitted into the League of Nations?

• "Collective Security"

• Improves foreign relations

• Gains allies

• Minimises the German threat - surrounded on both fronts

Stalin's Foreign Policy

IDEOLOGICAL Comintern:

• March 1919 - Comintern is set up

• 1928 - More radical line

• Aug 1935 - Reversal of policy - now supported popular fronts.

PRAGMATIC

• March 1918 - Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

• 1921 - Anglo-Soviet agreement

• 1922 - Rapallo agreement w/ Germany

• 1934 - Entrance into League of Nations

SECURITY

• 5 Year Plans - focused on building up the economy to support a military.

• Treaty of Berlin & Rapallo agreement - ensured stable relations with Germany.

Stalin's foreign policy was dominated by his desire to make the USSR strong in terms of its security, both internally and externally.

When was the Spanish Civil War?

1936

How did Russia intervene in the Spanish Civil War?

• Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany sent military support to Franco, the right-wing group trying to take over in Spain. France didn't want others to intervene.

• Stalin did not intervene at first, but then he intervened on a big scale in September 1936. The Soviet intervention prevented Franco fro, taking Madrid.

• Soviet communism was perceived as a militarily successful force and was supportive of worldwide revolution.

• The Franco-Soviet relationship was severely weakened as France felt a lack of loyalty from Russia.