USSR 1924-53

the politburo

who was the bolshevik party run collectively by?

trotsky

kamenev

zinoviev

bukharin

stalin

who were the 5 main bolsheviks?

• Charismatic,  brilliant speaker and thinker.

• Commissar for War

• As leader of the Red Army, played a key role in the Civil War

• Critical of NEP (Scissors Crisis); created a group calling for rapid industrialisation.

• Believed in World Revolution i.e. that the USSR must encourage revolutions in more advanced countries as the USSR would need outside help to build a communist state.

who was trotsky?

* Good thinker 
* Head of the Moscow Communist Party 
* Acting head of Soviet government
* Played little part in Civil War
* Close friend of Lenin 
* Friend of Stalin (spent time in exile together)
* In favour of rapid industrialisation

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who was kamenev?

helped Lenin set up the Bolshevik Party in 1903; viewed by Lenin as a close friend

• good speaker

• Head of the Petrograd Communist Party

• Leader of the Comintern- the organisation set up to co-ordinate revolutions in other countries

• In favour of rapid industrialisation

• They disliked Trotsky for his arrogance and did not want him to became leader.

who was zinoviev?

• brilliant economist and political writer

• currently editor of Pravda

• close friend of Lenin, Trotsky & Stalin.

• Lenin considered his ideas not strictly “Marxist”

• helped October Revolution in Moscow

• very popular young politician “Golden boy”

• Firm supporter of NEP

who was bukharin?

Stalin “Man of Steel”

He wasn’t as brilliant at speaking or as intellectual as the others

He did not play a big role in the October Revolution.

in1922, he was appointed General Secretary of the Party.  This was considered a boring job by the others as it involved administration.

Stalin was seen as a political moderate who generally kept a low profile at meetings.  He was seen as a bit dull.

who was stalin?

appointed commissar for nationalities, responsible for overseeing affairs of non-Russians in the USSR.

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what was a role that Stalin was appointed?

socialism in one country

what did stalin believe in?

This was like a will to be read after his death in which he summed up his opinions of the main contenders;

Lenin also mentioned Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin.  He mentioned their good points but also their negative points e.g. that Bukharin was not always Marxist, that K&Z had opposed seizing power in October 1917.

Stalin’s brutal treatment of Georgia and his rudeness to Lenin’s wife (see p 6) caused Lenin to have graver doubts about Stalin.

what was Lenin’s testament?

to build up a support base in the Party. Between 1923-5, 500.000 new members were admitted to the Party (the “Lenin Enrolment”). Stalin admitted those who would be loyal to Stalin.

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what did stalin used his positions as general secretary for?

because stalin told him the wrong date so he could get close with lenin

he turned the funeral into a huge propaganda event with lenin elevated into a good and stalin as the chief mourner and closest loyal follower

why was trotsky not there on lenin’s funeral?

, the Lenin and Stalin cults were not created to give the leaders power, they were created to give power and validation to the Communist Party. Stalin initially spoke out against the cult and other outrageous and false claims centered around him.

what happened in the creation of the lenin cult?

stalin wrote a simplified book on Lenin’s ideas which he called the foundations of Leninism

This meant that most people only read the bits of Lenin’s ideas that Stalin wanted them to. 

what book did stalin write?

In May 1924, Lenin’s wife gave his Testament to the Central Committee. It was read out.

 

It was vital that Stalin prevented Lenin’s Testament being published to the rest of the party 

what happened in the supression of Lenin’s testament?

Fortunately for Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev didn’t want the Testament published either.  So they persuaded the Central Committee not to publish the Testament.

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They also persuaded the Central Committee that Stalin had learnt his lesson

who else didn’t want the testament to be published?

worked with kamenev & zinoviev against trotsky

Kamenev and Zinoviev saw Trotsky as the main contender

Kamenev and Zinoviev were better thinkers/speakers than Stalin and demolished Trotsky’s reputation through their speeches and articles.

They accused Trotsky of __forming a faction__ (remember that this had been forbidden in 1921)  when he and his supporters criticised NEP (“Scissors Crisis”)

Moreover they claimed that Trotsky was taking advantage of Lenin’s illness to criticise his policy of NEP.

who did stalin work with to get rid of trotsky?

socialism in one country-that the USSR was strong enough to survive as a socialist state without help from other countries.  

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what policy did stalin promote?

Trotsky was removed from his post of Commissar for War which meant that he no longer controlled the Red Army.

what happened to trotsky in 1925?

1926  Trotsky was expelled from the Politburo.

what happened to trotsky in 1926?

1926-7

Kamenev and Zinoviev wanted to abandon NEP and focus on industrialisation.

Now that Trotsky was no longer a threat, they grouped themselves with him as the United Opposition against NEP.

Meanwhile Stalin united with the right wing of the Party- Bukharin, Rykov, who believed in keeping NEP.

Kamenev Zinoviev and Trotsky were accused of forming a faction.

after trotsky who did stalin need to get rid of and when?

bukharin 1928-1929

Stalin turned against Bukharin.

In 1927-8, there was a shortage of grain reaching the cities and many people blamed NEP.

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Stalin switched to the policy of rapid industrialisation.

after Trotsky, kamenev, and zinoviev who did stalin need to get rid of last?

1929

when was Trotsky expelled from the USSR?

In 1940, he was murdered by a hit man hired by Stalin.

who killed Trotsky and when?

Stalin made huge changes to the economy.  

 

He ended NEP and modernised industry through a series of __*Five Year Plans*__.  

 

Agriculture was __*collectivised*__.

from 1928 what changed did stalin make?

1928-41

to produce more food.

why did stalin collectivise agriculture? and when

in 1927-8.

The peasants were only growing enough for themselves as the price the state paid them for their surplus grain was so low. Some withheld grain to push the price up. This led to food shortages in the towns and rationing. 

Stalin blamed this partly on the backwardness of farming on small plots. 

 

when was the grain procurement crisis and what happened?

the plan was the combine the 25 million small peasant holdings into much larger units.

These collectivised farms would be the 

equivalent of 50 –100 peasant holdings. 

what was collectivisation?

kolkhozy

be run by a party official from the town

what were the collective farms called?

The peasants would no longer own land privately. They had to work set hours and were fined if they broke rules.

· The state would provide the seed and tell the peasants what to grow e.g flax which was needed for industry.

Motor Tractor Stations (MTS) were set up which hired out machinery to the collectives in their area.

how did collectivisation work?

1928 Stalin enforced collectivisation

so many resisted collectivisation so they had to use force.

Brigades of communist party activists from the towns were sent out into the countryside to enforce collectivisation. They accused peasants of hoarding grain to push up the prices; they seized grain from the peasants who retaliated with violence.  100’s of party officials were assassinated.

Peasants also resisted by killing their livestock and refusing to plant crops.

when did stalin enforce collectivisation and what happenned?

1929-

resistance to collectivisation & food shortages led stalin to launch “all out war on peasants”. blamed the food shortages on kulaks (richer peasants)

policy- dekulakisation.

sent in armed squads to arrest kulaks

hopped poorer peasants would join against richer peasants.

what was dekulakisation and when did it happen?

richer peasants

* everything you owned was confiscated
* kulak families loaded onto trains and sent to remote places like Siberia or used a slave labour
* those who resisted were shot
* whole village rounded up and sent by train to labour camps
* many died on route
* taken to inhospitable places without provision
* many died of starvation

who were kulaks?

10 millions

how many people were branded kulaks?

food production fell causing a famine by 1932-3

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when did food production fall and what did it cause?

• Crops were not sown in time and not harvested properly.

• Peasants couldn’t operate the machinery

• There weren’t enough tractors and they were poor quality- many broke down.

• Peasants were reluctant to ask MTS officials for advice as the MTS were used as OGPU (secret police) centres.

• The little grain the collectives had was seized by the Brigades to feed town workers and export

• The hardest working peasants were removed under de-Kulakisation.

what causes the famine in 1932?

• Food was procured for the workers in town

• Eventually mechanisation enabled more food to be produced.

• 19 million peasants were moved to cites to work in factories

what was the success of collectivisation?

• The Kulaks (class enemy/opponents of collectivisation) had been destroyed

He had control over the peasants. They had to obey the chairman of the collective (Party member) & internal passports controlled their movement.

The MTS became a secret base for Stalin’s Secret Police so they could watch the peasants.

Collectivisation gave him the opportunity to eliminate opponents

·      in the Party  (Bukharin)

·      Nationalists in the Ukraine

how did collectivisation bring stalin greater control?

Socialism could survive in USSR without World Revolution but the USSR needed to industrialise in order to defend herself against her capitalist enemies.  

what could socialism only survive in the USSR without?

Stalin created a command economy.

All industry was Nationalised (taken over by the State)

The State planning agency, Gosplan set targets for

all factories and mines in a series of Five Year Plans.  It was based in Moscow and soon employed about 500,000 people.

what were 3 features of industrial change?

1928-32

• The first plan emphasised heavy industry, aiming to double or even treble output

• Coal & oil

• Iron &  steel

• electrical power

• engineering, especially tractors

• Targets were set for each sector.  Stalin was so encouraged by the apparent success that he revised the targets twice.

• New mass production methods were introduced into factories copied from Henry Ford’s car factories in the US.

what happened in the 1st 5 year plan? and when

• Private trade and working for someone else were declared illegal. Shopkeepers, barbers, café owners and tradesmen were forced out of business.  They were criticised in the press, harassed by the authorities and many were arrested.

• Existing industrial sites such as Moscow and Leningrad (new name of Petrograd) were expanded.

what happened to private trade and industrial sites in the first five year plan?

• peasants lacked the skills necessary couldn’t read or write

  • No criticism was allowed

• Failure to meet targets was seen as sabotage

• Engineers and experts were accused of being wreckers – blamed for breaking machinery

• Anyone who criticised the plans was put on trial and /or executed or sent to a Gulag.

• They were replaced by inexperienced people

• As a result of lack of criticism, mistakes worsened e.g. duplication, waste & inefficiency

• terrible working and living conditions

• Managers resorted to lying or other methods;  heavy materials might be added to bulk up the weight to meet targets.

what were the problems during the first plan?

• The targets were unrealistic

• Gosplan made no allowances for local circumstances

• Party Officials in Gosplan had little knowledge of industry

• They produced targets to please Stalin

• He brought forward the end of the plan by one year.

• Gosplan was slow – factories might wait months for the right man to repair a machine.

• factories struggled to get right resource

what were other problems of the first 5 year plan?

1933-7

* Heavy industry was still the main emphasis but targets were more realistic so that quality improved e.g. tractors. 
* New chemical industries would be developed. e.g. fertiliser.
* Transport links by rail and canal would be constructed e.g. the Moscow metro, the Moscow Volga Canal & the White Sea Canal. *see p 29*
* Some consumer goods would be made (however this sector didn’t receive enough investment)

what happened in the second five year plan? and when

Aim = heavy industry and armaments production.

By 1940, 33% government investment was spent on defence and 9 new aircraft factories were established.

The plan was undermined by the purges due to the arrest of experienced managers and Gosplan officials.

The plan was cut short by the German invasion 1941.

when was the 3rd 5 year plan and what happened?

rose by 400%

 The USSR overtook Britain and France as Industrial countries and became 2nd only to USA

what percent did industrial production rise by?

The state encouraged more women to work by providing creches, childcare, canteens and laundries. Unfortunately there were not enough crèche places, so they were over-crowded. 80% of the new workers were women;  by 1940 women made up 41% of the workforce in heavy industry. They were encouraged to work in all areas; many women went to university to be doctors and engineers etc.

used propaganda

1935  Stakhanov  “hero of Socialist Labour

Stakhanov mined 102 tonnes of coal in 6 hours = 14 time the normal output.He was rewarded with a month’s pay,a new apartment and a holiday.

how did stalin encourage greater production?

• Incentives were offered to encourage workers to produce more:

  ·      Subsidised holidays and better homes for productive workers

  ·      Medals e.g Order of Lenin

  ·      Skilled workers were paid more

  ·      Pay was linked to productivity (piece rates) so people had to work harder.

what were incentives?

These were often harsh, especially to begin with.

• 7 day weeks and long hours were common (in the early years) and Sunday was not a day off.

• Basic safety standards were ignored. Read source B p 71.

• Pay was low;  the value of wages fell by 50%.  Wages were further reduced by fines.

• Factory life was rigidly disciplined (see above)

what were working conditions like in 1931 and beyond?

Magnitogorsk was a new industrial centre built from scratch in a remote uninhabited region.

In 1929, there were 50,000 workers (mostly political prisoners like kulaks) grouped in teams, who worked around the clock in shifts, sharing bunks in tents with no heating in freezing conditions.

what was Magnitogorsk?

Shortages of Housing

From 1929-41, 19 million Soviet peasants moved to the cities. The population of Moscow increased from 2.2 million to 4.1 million in 7 years.

The state did not prioritise building new housing so housing was over-crowded.  Often there was one family per room, sharing the kitchen and bathroom with other families. The average apartment size fell from 5.5 square metres in 1930 to 4 square metres in 1940. Those waiting for a flat might live in a coal shed or under-stair cupboard.

Shortages of Consumer goods

There were shortages of consumer goods such as clothes, shoes and furniture.  This not only meant prices rising but also long queues outside shops.  Standing for hours in queues became a feature of everyday life.

what was the social impact of the five year plan?

• Free schools and colleges to educate the workers and produce experts

• work places provided work clothes, canteens and some provided childcare and laundries.

• free health care; more hospitals and doctors

• paid holidays

• insurance in case of accident

• sport and leisure facilities

• unemployment fell

• higher wages for more work

• rewards for those in favour

• eventually, many had higher living standards

• new housing was built  (even though not fast enough)

• electricity/drainage were brought to areas that previously had none

• libraries.

what were the benefits for the soviet people from the 5 year plan?

Lenin had declared that women were equal.

Gangs of un-parented children roamed the streets, begging & stealing

Stalin blamed this (and the declining birth rate) on family breakup and in 1936 brought in a new __Family Code__ (part of “the Great Retreat”) which emphasised parental roles:-

how was family life in the 1930’s?

• divorce was made more difficult;  married couples received family allowance

• divorced fathers had to help maintain their children

• the police were given more powers to deal with youth crime including the death sentence

• parents were fined if their children caused trouble

 to increase the birth rate:-

• Abortion was no longer allowed

• Contraception was harder to obtain

• Being gay was illegal

• Stalin encouraged women to have more children by offering medals and taxing unmarried people more

what changes were made in the family code?

Women and work

Under NEP the reforms promised to women e.g. of equal pay and childcare, were slow to develop. Consequently the number of women working did not rise and they still tended to be in unskilled jobs like textiles and domestic service.

• Pay was not equal- women received 60-65% of men’s wages for the same job

• Top jobs usually went to men.

• Working women were still expectd to look after the children and home

what happened to women and work?

The purges were the expulsion of opponents and potential opponents from all areas of society; government, army, industry, agriculture & the Arts.  Millions of people were arrested, sent to gulags or killed.

what were the purges?

New economic policy

lenin enforced a truce with the peasants. this was opposite of war communism

• forced requisitioning of farm produce was replaced by small tax that had to be paid. allowed peasants to sell their surplus on the free marker.

• small scale business denationalised. allowed a large sector of market to go back to normal

• creation of law codes allowed a return to normal life

people in communist party hated these measure, thought they were compromises.

during NEP communist organisation was greatly strengthened. made the later move to real dictatorship and centralised control.

what was the NEP?

• many believed needed to attack peasants to create extra gtain

• complained over reemergence of middle class NEPmen and kulaks

• disliked concession to capitalism

• lenin had to take steps to deter opposition to NEP after bolsheviks split

what were the division in party over NEP?

returned economy to pre1914 levels and gave communist part the space it needed to survive

• production figures shows the NEP sucess

• by Lenin death marked recovery in all major industry

• grain increased

• factory output tripled

• average monthly wage increased

• showed mixture of capitalist agriculture and state controlled industry could create economic growth

what were the successes of NEP?

• growth slackened after 1926. NEP did not maximise industrial development, no communist future without industrialisation

• communist part could not rely on free enterprise for very long. through it was wrong and the economic disease of capitalism would infect proletariat

• soviet government was worried about external security. Soviet Union worried that capitalist powers would reinvade Russia.

• problems within economy scissor crisis, agriculture output increased faster than industrial output. good famine meants that peasantry made large amount of money but could not spend. difficult to move money into development of industry as gov wished.

• high unemployment in urban area and insdustry failed to expand as quickly as independently owned agriculture.

what were the failures of NEP?

Phase 1 Economic purges & trials:-

1928               The Shakhty Trial

55 engineers were put on trial, accused of sabotage.  They were made scapegoats for economic failures.

1929     Dekulakisation purged opponents of kulaks

1930     More specialists were accused of

sabotage.

30% of the Secretariat were removed.

1932    Ryutin Trial- Ryutin criticised Stalin’s economic policy of rapid industrialisation & collectivisation, calling Stalin an “evil genius.”  

what happened in phase 1 of the purges?

Ryutin & thousands of others were ejected from the Party and Stalin demanded his execution.  However, the Politburo (including Kirov) had refused to sanction the execution of Ryutin.  Stalin had been over-ruled. He was not absolute leader after all.

He needed an excuse to rid himself of all opponents.

what happened to ryutin and thousand of others?

1932

when did stalin wife commit suicide?

2 The Purge of “Old Bolsheviks”

The Murder of Kirov 1934

Kirov was a popular member of the Politburo

who had disagreed with Stalin and urged that

industrialisation be slowed down.  He was

leader of the Party in Leningrad.  In 1934 at

the 17th Party Congress- Kirov’s speech

received an ovation; the delegates appeared

to prefer Kirov to Stalin!

In December 1934, Kirov was shot dead by Nikolayev.

what happened in phase 2 of the purges?

Stalin used this as the pretext for arresting 1,000s of party members, accusing them of conspiring with Trotsky to murder Kirov and Stalin’s government.  

what did stalin do when kirov was murdered in 1934?

NKVD  and given extra powers to arrest and execute.

what was the OGPU renamed?

1935-

Zinoviev & Kamenev were tried for plotting Kirov’s murder and to bein *Trotskyites.*  They confessed and were sent to Labour Camps.  This was the first stage of the purge of the Old Bolsheviks.

 

Thousands of others were shot or sent to Labour Camps

what happened in 1935 to zinoviev and kamenev?

“Yezhovschina” or “The Terror” 1936–8

This was the most intense phase when millions were arrested. It is also the period of the main Moscow Show Trials

• Yezhov was the new Head of the NKVD

• Millions were forced to confess to ludicrous charges.

• The prominent leaders, especially Old Bolsheviks, were subjected to Show Trials then shot  e.g. Kamenev and Zinoviev (1936) and Bukharin (1938).  No one was immune from arrest.

• Terror extended to everyone- teachers, managers, workers,  writers…

• Nationalist & religious leaders were imprisoned and killed; whole ethnic groups were deported.

what happened in phase 3 of the purges?

1937-8

when was the purge of the army?

1937 Stalin called a halt to the purges;  he blamed the NKVD  which was then purged.  Yezhov was replaced by Beria. Yezhov was shot in 1940.

in 1938 what did stalin do to the purges?

* to get rid of political opposition
* to secure total control
* to create a climate of fear
* to make everyone to obey him
* to control over influential people e.g artists, writers, religious and nationalist leaders
* to have control over the army.

what were the reasons for the purges?

1936-8

when were the Moscow trials?

1936 The Trial of the Sixteen

when was the trial for kamenev and zionoviev?

1937 The Trial of the Seventeen

when was the trial for Trotsky’s former allies?

__1938 The Trial of the Twenty One__   

when was the trial for bukharin?

were arrested and charged with plotting with Germany and Japan

what happened in 1937 to many army officers?

* 1-1.5 million executed
* 7-8 million sent to labour camps
* 2 million died in the labour camps
* 1 million members of the party were purged
* by 1939, only 4 out of 163 bishops remained free
* 25% of citizens of Leningrad ended up in labour camps
* 1,108 out of 1,996 delegates of 17th party congress were arrest
* 98 out of 139 members of the central committee were arrested

what were the impact of the purges?

Propaganda is a set of messages aimed at influencing the opinions or behaviors of large numbers of people. 

what is propaganda?

used propaganda and terror to inspire craven loyalty in russian citizens and maintain absolute power within the communist party and the politburo.

Stalin saw the role of propaganda as strengthening his own totalitarian regime.

He believed all mediums of communication: radio, television, newspapers, art, theatre and posters could be used to further his aims.

Education in the USSR also taught commuist principles and glorified Stain’s leadership. He honed a cult of personality with the USSR.

why did Stalin use propoganda?

to teach (someone) to fully accept the ideas, opinions, and beliefs of a particular group and to not consider other ideas, opinions, and beliefs.

what is indoctrination?

Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information.

what is censorship?

created a cult of personality

renaming Petrograd leningrad

• statues and pictures of him everywhere

• He was depicted as smiling and loving, meeting ordinary people, opening dams and factories.  He was portrayed as a caring leader who saved his people from its enemies.

• Streets, squares etc. were named after him.  A city (Tsaritsyn) was renamed “Stalingrad”

• Huge rallies were held in his honour so that everyone knew of his successes.  People were expected to love and worship him.

what cult did stalin create in the 1935’s and beyond?

• Films, paintings, newspaper articles, music and poetry were produced praising him or his achievements. Poets, journalists and workers tried to outdo each other in describing his incredible qualities.

what happened to films, paintings

they were carefully monitored by the NKVD.

anything or one who did not give the right message was censored and was not allowed to be published.

what happened to all art, literature and music?

‘ socialist realism’

• The duty of the writer/artist was to promote the USSR and communism, not to question what was happening.

• Art had to be realistic  (not abstract or distorted) and intelligible to ordinary people

what style did artists and writers have to follow?

had to be simple and optimistic

• stalin

• soviet achievments

• heroic workers

• happy peasants

what did themes of books, films and paintings had to be?

The New Constitution 1936.

In 1936 (at the height of the purges) Stalin created a new constitution. It was written by Bukharin.

• This created a system with two houses of Parliament (The Supreme Soviet)

• The Soviet of the Union  -elected by all citizens in secret ballots– one deputy for 300,000 voters every 4 years.

• The Soviet of the Nationalities (representatives from each Republic)

what was the new constitution and when was it?

guaranteed many freedoms and rights:

* freedom of the press
* freedom of religion
* freedom from arrest without trial

what did the constitution also guarantee?

* The Supreme Soviet met for only a few days a year; real power lay with the party which was controlled by its Politburo.


* Only Communists approved by the Party could stand for election 
* All Communists had to do what the leader of the Party told them, so Stalin controlled them.
* Only approved newspapers could be published. 

what happened in reality of the new constitution?

* he needed schools and universities to produce disciplined hard working and technically skilled students
* wanted to use schools to indoctrinate young people

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what happened to the indoctrination of young people?

• built many more schools and universities were built

• put an end to the educational experiments of the earlier Bolshevik years and restored rigid discipline, corporal punishment, exams, homework and uniforms in schools.

• Pupils had to sit arms folded, facing the teacher.

• Rote learning was re-introduced.

• Pupils had to attend school until the age of 15.

• Stalin used schools to produce a new Soviet citizen totally loyal to him. Pupils were indoctrinated.

• A national curriculum was introduced and government-written textbooks.

in order to indoctrinate young people what did stalin need to do?

* to obey


* that Stalin was the Great Leader, 
* the Stalinist version of History (below) 
* There was a strong focus on maths, science, technology and engineering to help produce soviet experts and reduce the USSR’s dependence on foreign experts.  
* communist ideology

what were pupils taught in schools?

It is the duty of each school child to acquire knowledge persistently so as to become an educated and cultured citizen and to be of the greatest possible service to his country.

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what did pupils have to learn by heart?

they were arrested

History was rewritten.  

 History textbooks and encyclopaedias were destroyed or altered to reflect the Soviet Interpretation of History.

what happened with teachers who were not obedient?

* Stalin continued and extended the attack on religion.  It was ridiculed and its leaders persecuted.
* Religious propaganda was banned. 
* Anti-religious propaganda was encouraged e.g. The Godless League. They also smashed churches and burned religious pictures.
* Many Bishops were arrested; by 1939 only 4 out of 163 Bishops were not in prison.
* -Many churches, synagogues & mosques were closed; only 4,000 churches out of 54,000 were still open.
* Pilgrimages to Mecca were banned; women were encouraged to unveil


* Jewish and Muslim schools were closed

what happened to religion in 1939?

renewed Russification

• People were discouraged from speaking their own languages and practising their own traditions. It would be seen as disloyalty to the USSR.

• Russian was made a compulsory 2nd language in schools

• Top jobs were given to Russians

• Army recruits were sent away from their homelands

• During the purges, Nationalist leaders, teachers, writers and artists were arrested

• Whole ethnic groups e.g. Poles and Estonians were deported to Kazakhstan and Siberia.

• 171,000 Koreans were deported.

from 1932, what did stalin renew?

1939

• Despite the fact that Nazism and Communism were ideological enemies, in 1939, Germany and USSR signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact (aka Ribbentrop-Molotov Pact), which promised that neither country would attack the other (Non-Aggression Pact).  This was a “marriage of convenience” only.

what was the nazi soviet pact and when was it?

1941

By 1941, Hitler had defeated France, Denmark, Norway, and Benelux…but not Britain.  But as Britain was across the channel and all alone Hitler risked opening a second front. He decided it was time to break the Nazi Soviet Pact.

He planned his invasion of USSR, codenamed “Operation Barbarossa” for April 1941. However he had to delay his invasion by two crucial months in order to rescue his ally Mussolini, who had tried to invade Greece and countries in North Africa.  Mussolini’s armies were being badly beaten by the Greeks and the British so Hitler diverted his best commander, Rommel to fight the British back.

what was operation Barbarossa and when was it?

German troops invaded USSR

• There were 160 divisions (over 3 million troops) advancing along a 3,000-mile front.

• There were 3 main prongs of the attack:-

• Army Group North advanced north & laid siege to Leningrad in September

• Army Group Centre advanced due East towards Moscow

• Army Group South advanced through Ukraine taking Kiev in September, ultimately aiming for the Caucasus

on June 22nd 1941 what happened?