The Soviet Union Under Stalin

Soviet Union

The Bolsheviks came to power and created Soviet Union.

Vladimir Lenin was in charge.

He dies in 1924.

his death sets off a power struggle—a competition of who is going to take Lenin place (new leader).

Initially, it was between a whole bunch of guys but it becomes two figures: Leon Trotsky and Jospeh Stalin.

Leon Trotsky

was in charge of the red army.

he was a brilliant marxist thinker.

Skilled orator—orator = public speaking.

he was one of the guys who helped plan the whole Bolshevik revolution.

sounds like a natural guy to follow Lenin.

Joseph Stalin

not a orator.

not a scholar.

he was shrewd political operator

behind the scenes organizer.

knows how to manipulate everything to get what he wants.

this takes a couple years, but Stalin eventually isolates Trotsky within the party.

he turns everyone against him.

In 1929, Trotsky fled the country.

he continues to criticize Stalin.

Trotsky's biggest mistake is to give up control of the army.

he eventually settles in Mexico and is murdered in 1940 with an ice pick.

everyone assumed at the time, Stalin ordered this and it was true.

Stalin's Five Year Plans (enconomy)

First major goal is to make Soviet Union a modern, industrial power.

Russia was behind.

they do pretty well, pretty quickly--at the cost of consumer goods

He does this through the Five-Year Plans.

The First Five-Year Plan

the first plan is in 1928, he proposes the first of several Five-Year Plans. It was designed to build up heavy industry, Improve transportation, and increase farm output.

any country trying to modernize is doing those things. The way that the Soviet Union is doing it by taking all 3 economic activities under government control.

The Five-Year Plan set high production goals.

Ended up making consumer goods/standard of living suffer.

What does the government take control of in the first Five-Year Plan?

the government owned all businesses and distributed all resources.

they develop what is called a command economy.

command economy = is an economy where the government makes all economic decisions.

when prices go up or producing more or less.

Supply and demand usually works itself out naturally.

High Production Goals

The Five-Year Plan set high production goals.

must have a certain number of things done.

they pushed workers and managers to meet these goals by rewarding people with bonuses who succeeded and punishing those who didn't.

In about a ten year period, there was a lot going on.

huge factories, hydroelectric power stations (run by water), oil coal, and steel production are way up, new railroads are built.

What is going on at the same time as the five-year plans?

The Great Depression hit the rest of the world.

Why does the Soviet Union not get affected by the Great Depression?

They are not hit by GD because they aren't doing much international trade.

this is why some people who leave United States of America to work in factories in the Soviet Union.

people will look at soviet union and say they are doing successful during GD but it comes at a great cost.

What is the cost of not being effected by the Great Depression?

the standard of living remained not high, wages were not high, workers were forbidden to strike, consumer goods were scarce.

When all of the decisions were coming out of government, central planning was inefficient.

The factory mangers were so concerned with meeting quotas that they are producing large amounts of low quality products.

Forced Collectivization in Agriculture

In replace of war communism was new economic policy.

Stalin didn't like the NEP and thought it was inefficient and shady (small businesses were in there).

Stalin wanted all peasants to farm on collectives (large farms owned and operatives by peasants as a group).

How did peasants farm on collectives?

The government provided tractors, fertilizer, better seeds.

Giving new farming techniques.

peasants were allowed to keep house and personal belongings but all farm animals and tools had to be turned over to the collective.

The state set all prices and controlled access to supplies.

If things break down you're dependent on government, you have to share land, they control prices, give away animals.

Did collectivization work?

Collectivization did increase Stalin's control but did not improve farm output.

Little meat, fruit, vegetables.

Peasants resisted collectivization

Many peasants resisted collectivization:

They would destroy tools.

Stop growing or destroying/burning down crops.

Kill animals.

Stalin reacts to peasants

• He starts by targeting the kulaks.

• he begins a process in 1929, called "de-kulakization."

Kulaks

◦ Kulaks are wealthier farmers.

◦ They were probably doing well in the old policy—selling extra crops.

De-kulakization

• he begins a process in 1929, called "de-kulakization."

◦ His goal was to eliminate the kulaks as a class (wipe them out).

‣ There is anti-kulak propaganda (showing them as fat people because they can feed themselves while other poor people can't).

‣ By eliminating them, he confiscates the kulak land.

‣ He sends them to slave-labor camps.

• In these camps, thousands will die from over-work or are just executed.

◦ you would think that seeing an entire class of people would be enough to scare people to obey but, its not.

‣ Peasant resistance is going to continue.

How Peasants Fought Against Collectivization

‣ Peasant resistance is going to continue.

• They try a different strategy.

◦ They just grow enough crops to feed themselves and family.

◦ The government can't take extra and give it to everyone else because there isn't extra.

◦ The government takes all of the grain to feed the people of the cities knowing that the peasants will starve.

◦ Russia has a lot of people so they don't care if they kill people.

‣ In 1932, all of this resulted in the "Terror Famine."

Terror famine

• In Ukraine alone (one part of Soviet Union), somewhere between five and eight million people died of starvation. This is where a lot of grain grew.

◦ Other people died throughout the Soviet Union-- up to eleven million total.

◦ This is just one segment of population.

Control through terror

◦ Terror as a Weapon:

‣ Communists use terror for complete control.

‣ Stalin' totalitarian state used secret police, torture, and violent purges to ensure obedience.

Stalin's totalitarian state

‣ Stalin' totalitarian state used secret police, torture, and violent purges to ensure obedience.

• Based on fear.

• Any idea though have of human rights is thrown out the window; they are violating any rights they could have had.

What happened in Stalin's totalitarian state?

◦ Spies go through mail, bugging houses and hearing conversations, telling kids to report parents and they talk bad of Stalin. They report people throughout countries.

• There is no free press—nothing can be printed without government approving it.

• there is no safe method of protest.

◦ If you are even suspected of saying something against government, the best thing that can happen is begging sent to jail.

• If you were caught criticizing the government sent to the Gulag.

Gulag

• If you were caught criticizing the government sent to the Gulag.

◦ Gulag is a system of brutal labor camps.

◦ They put some in Siberia because if someone tried to escape they would freeze.

Stalin's Paranoia

‣ Stalin had absolute power; no one challenged; he was really paranoid and was obsessed with the idea that everyone plotted against him.

• In 1934, Stalin launches the Great Purge.

Great Purge

• In 1934, Stalin launches the Great Purge.

◦ He eliminates anyone who is a possible threat (everyone).

‣ He started with the Old Bolsheviks (helped in revolution).

‣ He also purges army heroes.

‣ Industrial managers.

‣ Writers.

‣ Ordinary citizens.

‣ The secret police purged everyone.

‣ The high people of government was forced to exile.

◦ They had these show trials

‣ When he purges people, he sends them to Gulag, kills, or erases them from history.

How is someone erased from history?

‣ When he purges people, he sends them to Gulag, kills, or erases them from history.

• They go and rewrite all of the books in the Revolution and take out their name.

• This includes photoshop.

• The people being purged were charged with crimes (mostly made up).

Show Trials

‣ They staged public "show trials" in Moscow.

• The result is predetermined—pretending they are having a fair trial.

• The people put on trial (former communist leaders) confessed to these crimes because they were either tortured or their threatened in some way.

• After they serve their purpose in trail they go to the gulag or are dead.

• People thought that because they were on trial they were bad people.

• A lot of people aren't tried, they are sent straight to the Gulag.

◦ Years later, these files became public.

◦ At least four million people were purged during Stalin's rule (not necessarily dead).

Impact of Purge

‣ It increase Stalin's power.

‣ there was unintended consequences: brain/skill drain on society

‣ there was unintended consequences:

• All of the educated people were being purged.

◦ Many of the country's mots talented writers and thinkers and half of the nations military officers.

‣ WWII is coming on and no one is there to run the army.

‣ Now they needs these people.

‣ He does pull some that are alive out of the gulag.

‣ It increase Stalin's power.

• He got rid of the entire generation of communists and replaced them with younger people that owe him everything.

◦ He brought them to power.

◦ This younger generation is completely loyal.

• He is now showing the whole country the consequences of not being loyal.

Stalin's totalitarian state

◦ Propaganda and the "Cult of Personality"

◦ Censoring the Arts

◦ Russification to the Republics

◦ Communists Wage war on Religion.

Religion in Russia

‣ Karl Marx created communism and he is against religion.

‣ The Soviet Union becomes Atheist; official Soviet state policy.

• Atheism is the beliefs there is no God.

• A lot of people in Russia were Orthodox.

◦ Communists Wage war on Religion

• Soviet's seize church property.

◦ They turn them into offices, etc.

• many priests and religious leaders were killed or sent to religious camps in purges.

‣ very anti-religion; seen as an emergency of the country.

‣ They try to replace religion with something else.

◦ Russification to the Republics

‣ Russification = make everything more Russian.

‣ The Soviet Union is not just Russia, there are little pieces that speak different languages and have different cultures.

• Under Stalin, there is Russification:

◦ Forcing language on empire.

‣ He would put Russians in charge in other places.

‣ He required the Russian language to be used in all schools and businesses.

‣ Many Russians were forced to live in other places to spread Russian culture.

• There are fifteen other pieces besides Russia in Soviet Union.

◦ Propaganda

‣ Terror goes a long way but you can't just have terror.

‣ Stalin uses propaganda to build a "cult of personally" around himself.

• Stalin tried to boost faith in communism by making himself a godlike figure.

• There is a lot of propaganda of Stalin with kids.

◦ Loving father of country.

◦ They use modern technology as well as posters.

‣ They use the radio and movie theaters (starting silent).

Cult of Personality

• When a movement is tied to a charismatic leader

◦ Censoring the Arts

‣ The government controlled the arts.

• What books to publish.

• What music was heard.

• Which works of art were displayed.

‣ Stalin's required artists and writers to work in a style called Socialists Realism.

◦ if you're an artist or writer you're faced with a difficult choice: do this or don't make art (gulag, execution, exile).

‣ Some went along with it.

• One guy ends up writing a novel that details the revolution. He translated other things to Russian at that moment because he didn't want to upset Stalin while he was in rule.

Socialist Realism

• The goal of socialist realism was to show Soviet life in a positive light.

◦ You can only make art that portrays soviet life as positive.

◦ The themes they would focus on is peasants, workers, Stalin, and Lenin.

◦ Lenin was a beloved figure.

‣ Ex. Of paintings:

• Factory scene.

◦ young hardworking strong boys in a factory—not showing super dangerous conditions, misery; it just shows positive party.

◦ Lenin is meeting with peasants during revolutionary and listening to needs of peasants.

What is the replacement for religion?

• They try to replace it with their own communist ideology.

Ideology

◦ Ideology is a system of though and belief.

◦ They would communism instead of religion.

◦ They would get rid of bible and have sacred texts of communion like written works of Karl Marx or Lenin.

◦ Instead of going to a shrine, they go to Lenin's tomb.

◦ Instead having religious icons or crucifix's, you have a portrait of Stalin.

◦ Everyone isn't going to give up religion but people do go along

Soviet elite takes control

‣ It is supposed to be a classless society. They did destroy the old class system (land owing nobles, peasants, etc.) but its not really a classless society—not everyone is equal.

‣ Instead, there are a few elite groups that emerged as a ruling class.

Elite classes

• At the top of the top (most elite), are members of the communist party.

◦ Only a very small fraction of people could join the communist party.

◦ They are the top but there are other elite people:

‣ Industrial mangers.

‣ Military leaders.

‣ Some of the top artists and writers.

◦ these elite people got certain benefits/privileges that other people didn't get.

◦ there were downsides.

Benefits and privileges of elite class

‣ They got to live in the best apartments in the cities.

‣ They got the best vacation homes in the country.

‣ They got to shop at exclusive stores that had consumer goods that weren't available to the general people.

Downsides of elite class

‣ These people were being purged.

‣ The purges mostly targeted the elite.

‣ Higher chance you get killed and sent to a gulag.

‣ Bigger "threat" to Stalin.

New benefits of general people

• even if you're not elite or in the communist party there were new benefits:

◦ There were free schools for all children and the communist built some universities.

‣ The schools served several purposes:

• SU is trying to industrialize and you need educated people to do that. To educate and have more experts to modernize.

• Also, it is to indoctrinate them with communist values like atheism and love and devotion to the emperor.

• They do these things form a young age so they don't rebel.

◦ there is free medical care for everybody.

◦ There is free daycare for your children so both parents can go to work.

◦ The government builds inexpensive housing for people:

• this sounds great, but people were lacking vital necessities.

What were people still lacking after the new benefits were put in?

◦ Bread is now plentiful.

◦ You can't get meat, fresh fruit, vegetables.

◦ There are so many people that your family can be cramped in a little room.

Women win greater equality

‣ Women and men have an equal status under the law.

• They get access to education en jobs:

◦ Women in medicine, engineering/sciences, factories/construction/collectives.

◦ They get equal pay.

‣ Equally cheap pay.

‣ Your family could not survive with one person working, you need both men and women.

When does the Soviet foreign policy start?

◦ Pre WWII.

‣ Stalin's in power for a long time (WII and beyond).

◦ Start of SU (Lenin and Stalin).

Foreign Policy goals

◦ When it comes to the Foreign Policy, the SU is pursuing two goals:

‣ As communist, they want to spread communism internationally (worldwide revolution).

• They do have to care about their own country and its safety.

‣ As soviets, they want to guarantee their country's safety.

• They do this by winning support of other nations.

‣ These two goals contradict each other and lead to a policy that does not work. You can't have both of these things.

Communist International (Comintern)

◦ in 1919, Lenin formed the Communist International (Comintern).

‣ This was formed to encourage worldwide revolution.

‣ They would give aid to revolutionary groups around the world.

‣ They would also urge colonial people to rise up and support groups that tried to have a revolution.

• Ex. China.