1. Communist government in the USSR, 1917–85

What was the purpose of the Red Terror?

To eliminate political opposition (namely the SR's and Menshevik's)

When did the Red Terror begin and end?

1918-1922

Who were the Cheka replaced by in 1922?

The OGPU

What was the name of the Purge that took place in 1918 and in the early 1920s?

Chistka

What was Chistka?

The cleansing of party members periodically, resulting in them withdrawing their party memberships

How were the red army able to be aided by the implementation of war communism?

War communism allowed the majority fo resources to be directed towards the red army in order to aid them in winning against the white army

How was soviet mass media characterised?

It was characterised by state control through nationalism, restriction of information and censorship

How did lenin view newspapers?

He described them as mouthpieces of the bourgeoisie

What decree was passed on newspaper’s in 1917?

It banned all non-socialist newspapers, eventually resulting in by the 1920s all non-bolshevik papers being banned

What was approved that each article needed to go through before publication?

Approval of Glavit, the censorship office

What were the two daily newspapers produced?

Pravda (Truth)- the newspaper of the communist party and Izvestiya- the party of the government, showing its successes

How much circulation did Pravda have by 1983?

10.7 million

What were prohibited topics in newspapers?

Natural disasters, pornography and crime

What was the Tambov Uprising?

Peasants in the countryside (where resentment for forced requistioning was greates) violently attacked requisitioning teams who attempted to sieze their grain

What was the result of The Tambov Rising?

50,000 Red Army troops were sent into the area to stop the violence

What was the Kronstadt Mutiny?

A revolt by sailors at the Petrograd naval base. It began due to an increase in the power of the Party and its officials over the workers as a result of war communism

When was the Tambov uprising?

1919

When was Kronstadt Mutiny?

1921

What was the result of Kronstadt Mutiny?

The mutiny was suppressed by Red Army troops, leading to 10,000 Red Army deaths, captured sailors were sent to the first Soviet concentration camp inside the Arctic Circle. It acted as a shock to Lenin and was a major catalyst in the economic reform that was soon to come

What are the Helsinki Accords of 1975?

An agreement to respect basic human rights, freedom of movement and speech that the USSR signed

When did Andropov become General Secretary of the Communist Party?

1982

What did Andropov do in party leadership to address economic concerns?

Promoted younger, more reformists whose experience was more intertwined with common people. A notable name he promoted was Mikhail Gorbachev

"When did Khrushchev begin his policy of ""de-stalinisation""?"

1957

What organisations were brought under Bolshevik control?

Representatvies of the proletariet, soviets, trade unions and factory committees

What was the Sovnarkom?

The Council of People's Commissars, that took the role of a cabinet of top government ministers who would make key decisions

How many members of Sovnarkom were there?

20

What was the Central Executive Committee?

A large group elected by the Congress of Soviets. They were tasked with overseeing the work of the government

What was the All-Russian Congress of Soviets?

Supreme law-making body of the state. Laws issued by Sovnarkom had to be approved by this congress

what was the Politburo?

Group of 7-9 leading members of Bolshevik party, who were chosen to make key decisions affecting policy (eventually taking the place of The Central Committee)

What was The Central Committee?

Group of 30-40 members chosen to represent the congress, they were meant to make key decisions but their influence was lost and they were replaced by The Politburo

What was The Party Congress?

A body of representatives from local Party branches

What was democratic centralism?

"A system where Soviets were used as bodies that represented workers at local level. It was a structure within Soviets would take concerns of the workers to decision making bodies higher in government. Decisions would then be made in the interest of ""the people"" and passed down to local level."

What was the reality of democratic centralism?

Soviets became undermined as soon as Bolsheviks took power, they instead became tools for the local government, merely carrying out orders from bosses of local branches

What was the hierarchy of The Soviet Government?

1) Sovnarkom 2) Central Executive Committee 3) All-Russian Congress of Soviets

What was the hierarchy of The Communist Party?

1) Politburo 2) Central Committee 3) Party Congress

What were Lenin's opinions on personal power/ the cult of personality?

He preferred a collective leadership, dismissing all suggestions of a personal dictatorship

What type of personal power did Lenin possess?

Many Bolsheviks looked up to Lenin, seeing him as a source of inspiration

How did Lenin utilize his personal power?

Threatened to resign from parrty position, during the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 and the NEP in 1921

What was the nomenklatura system?

A system of appointing jobs to individuals on a list approved by party leadership. Assigning certain people certain jobs

How was the nomenkaltura system able to control the public?

It was a system that promoted loyalty, to not be loyal to the party was risking having your name removed from the list and result in no occupation

When was the soviet constitution established?

1924

What did the soviet constitution do?

set up the centralised power of the soviet states, the USSR

What divisions were there within the party in Lenins close circle?

Zinoviev and Kamenev both opposed the 1917 revolution

Why were there wider divisions within the party?

• Disagreements over treaty of Brest-litovsk - The NEP led to formation of right and left factions

when was the decree on party unity passed?

March 1921

what did the decree on party unity do?

it banned the formation of subgroups/factions within the Communist Party

what caused the passing of the decree on party unity?

discontent around peasants and workers saw formation of 2 pressure groups within the party. Shliapnikov and Kollontai were the majors, who called for more worker involvement in running factories

What other left-wing parties did the Bolsheviks face opposition from?

Socialist Revolutionaries (SRs) and the Menshaviks

What rightist groups did the Bolsheviks face opposition from?

Tsarist supporters

what nationalist groups did the Bolsheviks face opposition from?

Ukranians, Poles and Finns who wished for independence

what was the constituent assembly?

a parliament elected by the people of Russia. Following the October revolution, Lenin agreed to hold elections for the Assembly in 1917

what was the result of the January 1918 election in the constituent assembly?

-175 seats and over 9 million votes for Bolsheviks -410 seats and 11 millinon votes for the Socialist Revolutionaries

what did Lenin do as result of the election in the constituent assembly?

he dissolved it, claiming to be a weapon of the bourgeoisie

how did menshaviks and sr's fail in the media?

Bolshevik imposed restrictions made it impossible for their newspapers to be published

when were all other parties banned besides the Bolsheviks?

March 1918

how many Menshaviks were arrested in the first 3 months of 1921?

5,000

when was the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk?

1918

When did Stalin become General Secratary?

1922

What did Stalin gain being General Secretary under Lenin?

• 26,000 personal files on party members - Decided agenda of party meetings - Could appoint people to party positions

Who was Leon Trotsky?

Obvious successor of Lenin, was arrogant and not co-operative, doing little to endear other Bolsheviks

who was Gregory Zinoviev?

Party Secretary in Leningrad and worked closely with Lenin

who was Lev Kamenev?

Party secretary in Moscow

who was Nikolia Bukharin?

"Lenin's ""golden boy"". Seen as young and highly intelligent but lacking experience"

who was Mikhail Tomsky?

Leading figure in trade union movement, held little influence after Lenin reduced power of unions

Who was Alexi Rykov?

Succeeded Lenin as the Chair of Sovnarkom, but upset many Bolsheviks and had a serious drinking problem

Who were Stalins political opponents on the Left?

"Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev who called for ""permanent revolution"""

Who were Stalins political opponents on the right?

Bukahrin, Tomsk and Rykov who preffere to stick to Lenin's policy

Who were Stalins opposition on the Left dealt with in 1926?

They were accused of forming factions and were expelled from the Politburo

When was Trotsky expelled from the Soviet Union?

1929

When/why did the emergence of Right Opposition begin?

Following the declaration of the First 5 Year Plan in 1928-29, individuals who wanted the NEP to continue

When/how were opposition from the Right defeated by Stalin?

April 1929, Bukharin was forced to admit errors in political view. All members of the Right Opposition were removed from position except Rykov

What were purges like within the Red Army between 1937-38?

3/5 Marshalls were purged, 14/16 Commanders and 35,000 Officers were shot or imprisoned

When was the politburo renamed?

1952

What was the politburo renamed to?

The presidium

When did Khrushchev become leader of the Communist Party?

September 1953

How did Khrushchev outmanoeuvre almost all political opponents by 1956?

Replacing half those elected into the Central Committee in 1952 with his own supporters

"When was the ""Secret Speech""?"

The Twentieth Party Congress in 1956

"What did Khrushchev say at his ""Secret Speech""?"

"The announced his policy of ""de-Stalinisation"", accusing Stalin of being a tyrant, using unnecessary terror, condemning his both his economic policy and cult of personality"

"What were the key features of ""de-Stalinisation""?"

• Regular meetings of the presidium - Decentralise decision making, giving more power to organisations - Secret police were firmly under party control - Secret police lost control over labour camps - 2 million political prisoners released between 1953-60

What aspects of de-Stalinisation negatively affected Khrushchev? How?

"Decentralisation of decision making. Threatened to reduce powers of Party leaders, resulting in an attempt to remove Khrushchev from power in 1957 from an ""Anti-Party Group"", headed by Malenkob and Molotov."

"How was Khrushchev able to defeat the ""Anti-Party Group"" in 1957"

He put the topic of resignation to the decision of the Central Committee, (who were full of his supporters) who rejected it immediately

How did Khrushchev enhance his own power? when?

He became prime minister as well as First Secretary in March 1958

When did Khrushchev attempt to reform the party?

Twenty-Second Party Congress in 1961

How did Khrushchev reform the party following 1961?

• Removed Stalin's body from Lenin's mauseleum in Red Square - 1962, divided party in Agricultural and Industrial departments - Introduce limit to length Party official could serve in post to three years

What caused growing unpopularity of Khrushchev?

• Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 - Numerous economic mistakes mainly leading to a disastrous harvest

When was Khrushchev removed from power?

1964

How was Khrushchevs removal significant of his impact?

"As he himself remarked ""Stalin woudl have had them shot."" Indicative of his removal of terror and tyranny from the Communist Party"

Who was Khrushchevs successor?

Leonid Brezhnev

When was the Presidium changed back to the Politburo?

1966

How did Brezhnev feel with regards to de-Stalinisation?

He was quick to revert many of its aspects as it had upset the Party

What did Brezhnev revert from de-Stalinisation?

• Divisions between agricultural and industry sections within Party was dropped - Limits on tenure of office were removed

How did Brezhenv promote collective leadership?

"""Trust in cadres"", the Party became main instrument of upward mobility"

How much did party membership increase between 1953 - 1980?

6.9 million - 17 million

"How did Brezhnev emerge as the ""first among equals""?"

"Removal of ""subjectivism"". Leaders could no longer make decisions without consulting the Party."

What did the Soviet Constitution of 1977 do?

Enshrined the right of the citizens to criticise incompetant and ineffective party secretaries

What did Brezhnev find appealling about his position?

His power trappings. He would award himself with numerous medals

What made Brezhnev so popular?

He excersised less power than Stalin or Khrushchev, but this also led to stagnation

What did stagnation under Brezhenv result in in terms of party leadership

"It had developed into an oligarchy, ruled by small elites (""Brezhnevs cronies"" noted many)"

How did stagnation under Brezhnev result in corruption?

"""The cotton affair"" resulted in million of roubles being claimed for non-existant cotton as official fiddled figures. Nepotism was also rifle as party officials ensured jobs for family members"

How did Membeship of the Central Committee indicated Brezhnevs government was becoming a gerontocracy?

"At Stalins last Part congress on 56% of central committee retained office, in 1976 it was 79% and those not ""retained"" had died from old age. in 1984 11 members of politburo were over age 70"