Studied by 18 people
Why did Germany fail with Operation Barbarossa?
Stalin ordered a âscorched earthâ policy - factories were deconstructed and reconstructed East of the Ural mountains, animals and crops were moved or destroyed
Russian weather, incessant rain in October and in November the temperature fell to below freezing. Soldiers froze and machines ceased to work.
How did WW2 benefit Stalin?
He refused to accept defeat- this patriotism appealed to the Russian people
The Cult of Personality helped him, encouraging Russians that the sacrifices of the 1930âs were vital to the industrial revolution which was enabling the country to win.
What were the effects of the Great Patriotic War?
20 million Soviet people were killed
large areas of farmland were destroyed
2000 towns and cities and 70000 villages suffered major destruction
many non Russian nationalities suffered, xenophobia meant that some were suspected of being pro Nazi sympathisers - secret police transported whole national groups to remote parts of USSR
What was the First Five Year plan focused on?
major industries
targets werenât met but achievements were astounding
whole cities were built in remote parts of USSR for natural resources
What did the Second Five Year Plan focus on?
heavy industry
mining for lead, tin, zinc, + other minerals
transport and communications were improved
railways and canals were built
Moscow underground railway
What did the Third Five Year Plan focus on?
consumer goods
plan was disrupted by WW2
What was the effect of modernisation (Five Year Plans)?
used for propaganda - beacon of socialism
kulaks were victims of collectivisation
workers were bombarded with propaganda
factory discipline was harsh - lateness and absences led to sacking
workers tried to move to other jobs, so secret police introduced internal passports to prevent free movement
those working on great engineering projects were often prisoners
new daycares were created from 1930 so that women could work
unemployment was almost non existent
low quality living standards
new class was introduced made up of foremen, supervisors, technicians and managers; this went against Leninâs ideas of communism
Why did Stalin modernise the USSR?
to increase the USSRâs military strength
to rival the economies of capitalist countries
to increase food supplies
to create a communist society
to establish his reputation
What was collectivisation?
before collectivisation, farms were too small to make efficient use of tractors, fertilisers or other modern methods. peasants had enough to eat and could see little use in making more for the towns
the government tried to sell the idea to peasants with perks like free seed
the peasants didnât trust the government
kulaks refused to hand over their farms, so propaganda tried to turn the people against them. eventually, kulaks were arrested and sent to gulags
What were the effects of collectivisation?
peasants didnât know how to use new methods
peasants felt a lot of bitterness watching food being sent away
food production fell
there was a famine in 1932-33
millions died in Kazakhstan and Ukraine
What was propaganda and censorship like in the USSR?
portraits, photographs and statues of Stalin everywhere
religious worship was banned
70,000 libraries and many sports centres were built
all music and art was monitored by NKVD
school children were expected to join the Young Pioneers
How did the purges start?
Kirov was murdered in 1934, so Stalin used the murder to âpurgeâ his opponents in the party
It is suspected Stalin arranged Kirovâs murder
âShow Trialsâ - loyal Bolsheviks like Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin confessed to being traitors to the state
What was the Great Terror?
1936-1938
army officers killed
educated people, professors, teachers, miners, engineers, managers killed
arrests happened in the middle of the night
NKVD used torture
18 million in gulags and 10 million dead
Stalin destroyed independent thinking
How did Stalin win?
Trotsky was ill in 1923
Stalin tricked Trotsky into missing Leninâs funeral
Stalin put his supporters in important posts in his role as General Secretary
He picked off rivals one by one
Stalinâs policies like âSocialism in One countryâ were more popular
Stalin appeared to be a man of the people, as a Georgian peasant
What was War Communism?
harsh economic measures taken by Bolshevik party in Civil War
all factories were taken over by government
production was planned by government
discipline for workers was strict
peasants would be shot if they didnât hand over surplus food to government
food was rationed
free enterprise became illegal
What is Kronstadt rising?
Bolshevik policies sparked a mutiny at naval base
Kronstadt was important naval base on an island in Gulf of Finland
sailors on battleships drew up a list of 15 demands for the Bolsheviks
Trotsky sent 60,000 troops to put down the uprising, killing 1000+ sailors
made Lenin abandon war communism
What was the New Economic Policy?
Bolsheviks were angry as it brought back elements of capitalism
peasants could sell surplus grain for profit and would pay tax on what they produced instead of giving it up to the government
Lenin said it was temporary
went into operation in 1921
by 1925 there was strong evidence was working
What were the causes of the Civil War?
Bolsheviks had a strong hold in Western Russia, but much of the rest of the country was more supportive of the Socialist Revolutionary party
March 1918 - the Czech Legion seized control of the Trans Siberian railway
Lead by Yudenich and Denikin (towards Petrograd and Moscow) and Kolchack (Moscow from central southern Russia)
What were the 'whites' made up of?
socialist revolutionaries
mensheviks
supporters of the Tsar
landlords + capitalists
the Czech Legion (former prisoners of war)
also supported by USA, Japan, France and Britain- to force Russia back into war against Germany
What was the nature of the Civil War like?
Trotsky created a new Red army of 300,000+ men
Reds were led by former Tsarist officers - to ensure that they were loyal, their families were held hostage
The Cheka ensure nobody in Bolshevik territories cooperated with the Whites
In July 1918, White forces were approached Ekaterinberg where the Tsar was being held, so the Bolshevik commander ordered the execution of the Tsar and his family. They could not risk the tsar being rescued and returned as leader of the Whites
Both sides were very cruel
Those who suffered most were workers and peasant
How did the Reds use propaganda in the Civil War?
Their message was essentially 'fight to protect the rights of the workers and fight to get rid of foreign invaders who want to re-establish aristocratic rule'
Trotsky used trains to send out travelling cinemas that showed propaganda films
Trotsky toured around making speeches to boost morale
What were the advantages of the Reds that led them to win the Civil War?
united and disciplined
towns and armies were fed, by forcing peasants to hand over food
they took over factories in Moscow and Petrograd, to supply armies with equipment and ammunition
they raised fears about foreign armies in the Whites
effective propaganda made good use of atrocities committed by Whites and raised fear around return of the Tsar
What were the disadvantages of the Whites that led them to lose the Civil War?
they were not united - they were made up of many groups with different aims
they were widely spread and so could not coordinate campaigns - Trotsky was able to defeat them one by one
limited support from Russian population - they didn't like Bolsheviks but preferred them to the Whites (peasants knew that landlords could return)
What was the Constituent assembly?
Lenin promised free elections
elections were held in late 1917
Bolsheviks did not gain majority
Socialist Revolutionaries won
Lenin sent Red Guards to shut it down
Instead Lenin used Congress of Soviets to pass laws as it did have a Bolshevik majority
How did Russia's part in World War 1 end?
Lenin promised peace
He told Trotsky to prolong peace negotiations as long as possible
He hoped a Socialist revolution would break out in Germany
By February 1918, there was no revolution and Germany began to advance again
Lenin accepted terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918
Russia lost 34% of population, 32% of agricultural land, 54% of industry, 26% of railways, 89% of coal mines as well as an imposition of 300 million roubles
What was the Cheka?
Lenin's secret police
they were supposed to follow a code of conduct, but by 1917 this was ignored
By 1921, there were 200,000 members
What was the October/November revolution like?
some Bolsheviks thought Russia wasn't ready but Lenin could beat them all in an argument
6th November - the Red Guards took over post offices, bridges and the State Bank
7th November - Kerensky awoke to see that the Bolsheviks were in control of most of Petrograd
evening of 7th - Red Guards stormed winter palace without much opposition, and arrested the ministers of Provisional Government
Kerensky managed to escape and tried to rally loyal troops, but failed and so went into exile
What decisions did the provisional government face when they came into power?
to continue the war or make peace
to distribute land to the peasants or ask them to wait until elections had been held
how best to get food to starving workers in the cities
Who was Alexander Kerensky?
Justice Minister in the provisional government
respected member of the Petrograd Soviet
a lawyer
What did Lenin do when he arrived back in Petrograd?
set out Bolshevik programme in his April Theses
his slogans 'Peace, Land, Bread' and 'All Power to the Soviets' contrasted with the messages of the Provisional Government so support grew quickly
What were the Provisional Government's failures to deal with Russia's problems?
war effort was failing, soldiers were deserting in thousands. Kerensky rallied the army for an offensive in June, it failed drastically.
peasants ignored the government's order to wait. They started taking over the countryside. The soldiers, who were mostly peasants, did not want to miss out, so desertion became worse
What were the July Days?
Bolshevik led protests against the war - had become a rebellion
Kerensky found evidence that Lenin had been helped by the Germans, so support quickly fell
What was the Kornilov revolt?
Kornilov was an army leader
marched troops into Petrograd, intending to get rid of the Bolsheviks and the Provisonal Government to restore order
Kerensky did not have as many troops as Kornilov
Kerensky used the Petrograd Soviet (eventually became Red Guards)
What were the events of the February/March revolution?
7th March - Putilov steelworkers went on strike, joined by women (International Women's Day) and other workers on the streets demanding bread
From 7th to 10th, number of striking workers rose to 250,000
The Duma set up a Provisional Committee to take over the government. Tsar ordered them to disband, but they refused.
12th March Tsar ordered Government to put down revolt by force - soldiers refused
12th March - Petrograd Soviet set up
15th March - Tsar abdicated
Who was Rasputin?
healed Tsar's son Alexei of haemophilia "allegedly"
Tsarina saw him as a miracle worker
gave Tsar advice on how to run the country
drinker and womaniser
meant Tsar was seen as weak
aristocrat (after many attempts) murdered him in December 1916
What was the effect of WW1 on Russia?
9.15 million of 13 million soldiers died
soldiers were badly led and treated appallingly by aristocrat officers
poorly supported by industry - short of rifles, ammunition, artillery, shells, boots
Tsar took command in September 1915 - not very capable, many defeats; he was now responsibly undeniably for failures
Many widows and orphans needed state pensions which they didn't always receive
3.5 million new industrial jobs between 1914-1916
workers received no extra wages, major overcrowding
fuel and food shortages - there was enough supplies but it couldn't be transported to the cities
What were Stolypin's policies?
The stick: came down hard on strikers, protesters and revolutionaries. 20,000 exiled and 1000 hanged (Stolypin's necktie)
The carrot: allowed kulaks to opt out of mir communes and buy land. This made bigger, more efficient farms. Production increased significantly, but 90% of fertile land in west Russia was still run by inefficient communes.
Stolypin was assassinated in 1911, but the Tsar was about to sack him anyway
What was the nature of the 1905 revolution?
22nd January 1905- Bloody Sunday. 200,000 peaceful protesters led by Father Gapon marched to hand a petition to the Winter Palace. Troops panicked and opened fire. At least 100 were killed, hundreds more injured.
Tsar survived by issuing the October manifesto. It offered concessions to the middle classes in the form of a Duma, the right to free speech, and the right to political parties. -These concessions divided his opponents which meant he could crush rebellions in the countryside and cities.
What happened to the Dumas?
1st - 1906 - Tsar took no notice
first and second were very critical of the Tsar (both lasted less than a year)
1907 - Tsar changed voting rules so his opponents could not be voted into the Duma
3rd - lasted until 1912 because there was less criticism of the Tsar (though it was becoming more critical over time). It had no power to change the Tsar's policies.
What forms of opposition was there to the Tsar in 1905?
Liberal/'Cadets' - middle class reformers in the Duma. Still wanted Tsar but wanted greater democracy, similar to Britain
Socialist Revolutionaries - main aim was to give land to the peasants from the nobility. They believed in violent struggle, they killed 2 government officials and a large number of the Okhrana. Main support was in countryside.
Social Democratic Party - smaller but more disciplined. Followed Marxist theories. In 1903 the party split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Bolsheviks (led by Lenin) believed it was the job of the party to create revolution, Mensheviks believed Russia was not ready.
What was Russia like in 1905?
many different nationalities - only 40% spoke Russian as their mother tongue
industry had grown
population was growing in cities as peasants moved to work
workers lived in overcrowded, filthy conditions, with terrible food, disease and alcoholism
unlike European power, there was no government regulation on child labour, hours, safety or education
trade unions were illegal
new class of capitalists emerged
80% of population lived on communes
peasants were using outdated farming techniques
aristocracy formed 1.5% of society but owned 25% of land
What was the Tsar's autocracy like?
believed God had put him in that position
he avoided making important decisions, instead focusing on insignificant, day to day tasks
managed officials poorly
he had a secret police, Okhrana
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Flashcard (44)