communist government in the ussr

when was the bolshevik party established?

1903

who were the bolshevicks?

they were a revolutionary group that wanted to bring change to Russia and reform the outdated and repressive tsarist regime and replace it with socialism. their final goal was communism

what were the two revolutions in 1917?

the October revolution established the worlds first communist state. the government was authoritarian, highly centralised and based on terror

the november revolution was when Lenin came to power

how did Lenin and the bolshevicks belive a revolution could be carried out?

by a highly centralised party on behalf of the proletariat. then the power would be taken from the bourgeoisie and given to the bolshevik party who would act as a dictatorship of the proletariat to promote socialism

what does proletariat mean?

a term used to describe industrial workers - a new class that emerged as a result of the industriel revolution

what is the bourgeoisie?

owners of factories and industries and shops

what is the dictatorship of the proletariat?

a government that rules on behalf of the working class. it would take power and use it to crush the bourgeoisie

what happened in the October revolution?

the provisional government was forced from power

the revolution was presented as a mass uprising of workers as the Bolshevik party was still relatively small with 300,000 members so could not hold a popular revolution

propaganda displayed the storming of the winter palace as heroic and with mass support but in reality the only troops guarding the palace was the women’s death battalion who let them in the gates

why did the Bolsheviks face difficulty when attempting to hold onto their power?

they were still a small party that could not hold a revolution

they seized power by force

other left wing parties opposed them as they were denied a share of the power eg. socialist revolutionaries and the Mensheviks

right wing groups opposed them as they feared the Bolsheviks would take away their businesses and their political freedom as well as attack the social order

nationalist groups in the Russian empire eg. Ukrainians, poles and Finns threatened security as they saw the collapse of the tsarist regime as a chance to assert their independence.

how did the Bolsheviks deal with other left wing groups?

Lenin made it clear that power would not be shared and there would not be a socialist coalition government with the SRs and the Mensheviks

the results of the the election sin the constituent assembly were not in the Bolsheviks favor so Lenin dissolved the assembly after one meeting to remove opposition

what were the results of the elections in the constituent assembly

the Bolsheviks gained 175 seats and 9 million votes

however the SRs emerged as the largest party with 410 seats and 21 million votes

what is the constituent assembly

parliament elected by the people of Russia. It was the first step towards democracy

how did the Bolsheviks remove other opposition?

the bourgeois classes could no longer vote

newspapers were censored eg. the SRs and the Mensheviks struggled to publish their newspapers

left wing SRs who had a role in the government in 1917 and 1918 lost all influence when they walked out of the government in protest at the Bolsheviks decision of pulling out of WW1

March 1918 - the Bolshevik party is now the communist party and all other parties are banned

April 1921 - Lenin started to arrest Mensheviks and SRs. in the first 3 months 5000 Mensheviks were arrested

summarise the treaty of Brest-Litovsk

the treaty took Russia out of WW1

it was humiliating for those in the Tsars army and Russia lost control over the Baltic states

to restore Russia’s pride, opposition wanted to overthrow the Bolsheviks and reject the treaty. these opponents were known as the whites

the allied powers - Britain, France, USA and Japan wanted Russia to stay in the war and offered money, arms and troops

although the treaty increased the chance of civil war, Lenin signed this treaty to collapse the tsarist regime and to stop money and resources being sucked out of the government to concentrate on Russia’s internal enemies

who are the whites?

those who opposed the Bolsheviks during the civil war 1918-1920. they were conservative groups who did not want social order to change. the leaders were generals and military leaders from the Tsars army.

when way the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk signed?

1918

what was the Russian civil war?

it was a major conflict fought in Russia between the reds (bolsheviks) and the whites.

it began 1918 when white forces took control of large sections of Russia and it ended in 1921 with the Russo-Polish war

what did the white opresson include

those who wanted the Tsar to return

liberals including supporters of the provisional government

military leaders who were unhappy with Russia pulling out of WW1

national minorities seeking independence from Russia

members of the Menshevik and SR parties who were denied involvement in the government

the chamber

Czech legionwho were stranded in Russia as prisoners of war

why did the reds win the civil war

by the end of 1920 all of the white strongholds had been defeated and bolshevik rule was extended

their military strategy was more coherent than the whites due to Lenon Trotsky

the army was formed from the Red Guard units and pro bolshevik elements of the Tsarist armed forces

conscription was introduced and soldiers reach 5 million

the bolsheviks had been able to direct the economy to to ensure resources were organised and deployed effectively through policies called war communism

nationalisation of industry ensured they had adequate resources and

there was some active support for them by workers who wanted a revolution and peasants who were guaranteed land to be distributed in their favour

who was Leon Trotsky?

commissar for war

what was the land decree?

peasants were guaranteed land to be distributed in their favour

why where the whites unsuccessful?

the white armies were divided and lacked a common cause

they failed to use foreign aid well

what were the main results of the civil war

the Bolshevik state became highly centralised and power was firmly in the hands of the government and party leaders

it resulted in the Bolsheviks using extensive force and terror against political opponents

the supporters of the Bolsheviks had been through a profound experience that must have affected them deeply. this caused them to become a genration that did not buckle under pressure or think twice about using terror

what does Sovnarkom and politburo mean

government and party leaderhsip

summerise what happened in the kronstadt munity

sailors mutinied at a naval base to go against orders from the Bolshevik government. their slogan was soviet without the Bolshevik. The mutiny was crushed by the red army which affected the regime as the sailors were previously strong supporters of the revolution

summerise the Tambov rising

it was a peasant uprising sparked by the arrival of Bolshevik units to take grain for use in the cities. the peasants formed an army called the green army and it took 50,000 Bolsheviks to crush it

What problem within the party had arisen by 1921?

the party grew from 300,000 in 1917 to 730,000 in 1921 which meant more opinions so stability was threatened and conformity was important

What was the “On Unity” resolution and why was it significant?

it was a ban on factions . the penalty for breaking this rule was expulsion from the party.

it was significant as it discouraged debate between members

What were the Tambov revolt and the Kronstadt mutiny? Explain how they were a threat to the party and how they help to explain the On Party Unity resolution.

they were revolts against the bolsheviks.

they were a threat to the party as supporters turned against them and reduced overall support for them

this expalins the on party unity resolution as it shows that the supporters were breaking away with different views from the bolsheviks which caused divisions.

what were the two separate power structures in Russia by 1921?

The government/state/soviet structure

The party structure

Which power structures took the key decisions during the Civil war period?

the Sovnarkom

what was the sovnarkom?

the soviet gov

the council of the people’s commissars who were responsible for making key decisions and giving orders

it was elected by the central executive committee who sorted out gov admin but mostly just rubber stamped decisions

the central committee was elected by the all Russian congress of soviets who were the supreme law making body of the state but also just rubber stamped decisions

what was the politburo?

the main decision making group of the communist party made up of 7-9 leading members of the Bolsheviks. their decisions were passed onto the Sovnarkom.

the politburo was elected by the central committee who was in theory the key desicion making body but due to it’s size of 30-40 it became unwieldy

the central committee was elected by the party congress which was made up of representatives of local party branches.

Explain how the Politburo became the key decision making body in the Soviet Union.

they took over from the central committee

What is meant by the term democratic centralism and how was this used to legitimise the Communist system?

it is when the soviets were used to represnet workers at a local level. their wishes were sent through a structure of representative organisiations and eventually got to the higher levels of government.

it legitimised the communist system as enforced the fact that they acted for the workers and that they were demorcratic

Explain how, in reality, Lenin undermined the power of the Soviets?

although he dismissed the idea of a personal dictatorship, he still had considerable influence and was looked up to.

What were Lenin’s official roles?

leader of the communist part and a member of the politburo

was lenin a dictator?

yes

-he centralised power

-he got his way by threatening to resign

-he was looked up to as a strong leader so had lots of influence

no

-belived in collective leadership

-moscow couldn’t control the distant provinces where local officials still had power

-he was ill so could hardly speak by the end of his life.

the nomenklatura system - What is was and how it increased control over party members

it helped centralised power.

it involved drawing up lists of approved party members who were suitable for certain jobs. it was done to increase loyalty to party leaders. it was done to combat increasing bureaucracy (people would join to improve prospects in career but not all were loyal communists)

the use of terror - How external opponents were dealt with and how internal threats were purged

used to remove opponents and was carried out by the cheka. it was introduced to deal with counter revolutionaries but also to remove opponents in the party

in 1922 the cheka became the OGPU and there was a party purge called chistka where under lenin 1/3 of the party was purged

the 1924 Soviet Constitution - Mention how the Communist Party exercised control over the Republics within the USSR

by 1922 the bolsheviks wanted to extend control and by 1924 the union of soviet socialist republic (USSR) was formed

it included states like ukraine

the name enforced the fact it was a federal system and there was no russia in the name even though russia had 90% of the land, 72% of the population ans ¾ of the communist party

What were the limits to the degree of centralization under Lenin?

the gov was chaotic so mafia and black marketers could defy the party orders from moscow

debate was not stifled - kamenev and zinoviev opposed lenin’s decision to start the revolution in 1917, debate about where to sign the treaty of brest litovsk, new economic policy of 1921 meant that right and left wing factions were formed in the party

what happened after lenin’s death?

In January 1924 Lenin died, his health having been in serious decline since 1921. 

Lenin wanted a collective leadership after his death; therefore he did not name a successor and there was no mechanism for choosing a successor.

However, Lenin’s wishes were ignored and  a fierce power struggle broke out after his death. Stalin aimed to be the undisputed leader

What position did Stalin hold in the party?

general secretary in 1922

What powers and influence did being genreal sec give starlin this give him?

co-ordianted work across all party departments and had access for lots of infromation

he had access to over 20,000 personal files on party members - this could be used against rivals and the head of the secret police (dzerzhinsky) reported to him regularly

decided agenda for party meetings

supervised the lenin enrollment

had the right to appoint people to party positions and they had to be loyal to starlin to keep these powers

this all meant that when voting on party matters he could always out vote opponents as many owed their positions and loyalty to starlin

Explain how the Lenin Enrolment enhanced Stalin’s position

1923-25

recruited 500,000 industrial workers which gave them employment and privileges so they were grateful and loyal to starlin so he had lots of support

What powers of patronage did Stalin have and how did he use this to strengthen his position?

he appointed party positions and those who opposed him could be removed and replaced with people who were loyal to him like molotov, kalinin and voroshilov

What name was he given by other party members?

comrade card index and grey blur as his job and personality were boring. however, this allowed him to gain power without being noticed.

why wad there a leadership struggle after lenin died?

there was no successor possible as he wished for collective leadership as that was what Marxism said

some in the party felt lenins death was the right time to abandon the strong central leadership that was justified in the civil war but this was only though by those who feared Trotsky

how did starlin, kamenev, and zinoviev try to stop Trotsky from becoming leader

they formed the triumvirate or troika

how did starlin suggest he would succeed Lenin at his funeral

starlin took the lead at his funeral

he helped carry the coffin and gave the eulogy and set himself up as lenins disciple and the cult of lenin was created

why didn’t Trotsky attend lenins funeral?

he said starlin gave him the wrong date but this easn’t true

what happened to petrograde after lenins death in Jan 1924

it was renamed to leningrad

who were the contenders to succeed lenin

Trotsky

starlin

bukharin

kamenev

zinoviev

tomsky

rykov

strengths and weaknesses of starlin as successor

peasant background

joined scoail democratic party in about 1900

by 1912 he was one of 6 members of the central committee of bolsheviks

repeatedly arrested and exiled for revolutionary activities before 1917 eg bank robbery to fund the party

highly regarded by lenin

strengths and weaknesses of trotsky as successor

his contributions in Lenins reign were second if not equal to lenin

could rival lenin on intellect and his writings on marks ism

played a key role in revolution and civil war

considered as arrogant and aloof

only joined bolsheviks in 1917 as he was a former menshevik

strengths and weaknesses of bukharin as successor

close to lenin

took a leading role in party newspaper ie pravda

good intellectual and theoretical

criticised lenin for making peace with germany in 1918

lenin called him darling of the party

no power base in party

underestimated starlin and left in too late to make allies with zinoiev and kamenev

lacked political experience

strengths and weaknesses of kamanev as successor

capable and intelligent

major contributer to party doctrine

strong power bas3 in Moscow where he ran the party

opposed lenins April thesis at the time of uprising in October 1917 as he wanted a socialist coalition government

not ruthless enough to be a leader

strengths and weaknesses of zinoviev as successor

active in party since 1905

worked closely with lenin before revolution

opposed armed party uprising in 1917 and fell out with lenin over make up of new government

good orator

unpopular within party as he was vain

strengths and weaknesses of rykov as successor

outside contender

one of the old bolsheviks

moderate wing of the party

chairman of sovnarkom after lenins death

councillor not plotter

lacked power base

underestimated starlin

strengths and weaknesses of starlin as successor

working class background

on central commitment and sovnarkom

general secretary of red international trade unions so had a vase of support

hostile to trotsky so blind to starlins bid

outsider contender

why was the communist party divided in the 1920s?

they were divided in key issues

those on the left including trotsky, zinoviev and kamanev supported permenant revolution - the promotion of communist revolutions throughout the world. they also wanted a quick end to the rapid end to the NEP and it’s replacement by a policy of forced collectovisation

those on the right eg Bakharin, Rykov, and tomsky wanted to retain the NEP in the short term

starlin manipulated these decisions to get rid of his opponents

how did syarlin defeat the left?

in 1926 he criticised the left in 15th party Congress. he defeated the left in the voting as he had lots of influence as general secretary to fill the Congress with his supporters

the left was accused of being a faction and going against the ban. zinoviev and kamanev were readmitted into the party in 1928. trotsky was sent into exile as he refused to renounce his views

how did starlin defeat the right?

starlins policy for the future of ussr was called socialism in one country meaning that socialism should be made stable and strong with the ussr itself before serious attempts were made to export it abroad.

from 1925 to 28 starlin was an alliance with bulharin working against the left of the party. they favoured keeping the NEP for the time being

in 1928 however, starlin made the great turn. he launched the first 5 year plan advocating rapid industrialisation and tough policies against peasants including the forcibly seizure of grain

the right formed the right opposition to oppose this. they wanted the NEP and feared the seizure of grain as it could threaten food supplies. they had to be removed

1929 bulhrin was forced to admit the errors of political judgement

members of the right were removed from politburo except rykov who remained head of government until 1930

what was the gulag?

forced labour camps mostly in siberia

what was collectivisation?

the process of removing peasants from small private farms to large state run farms

what were the key instruments of terror?

the party secretariat who collected information on party members that could be used to condemn them as enemies of the people

the secret police who carried out surveillance arrests and executions. also labour camps. they ceka became the NKVD by 1934 and dominated the whole police force

why was the communist party purged 1932 to 5

called the chitska

as a response to party difficulties experienced during launching the first 5 year plan and collectivisation of agriculture. the spped that these were implemented worried local party officials so they ignored them. they then were removed

what were some accusations made against party members in the 1930s?

working with trotsky

spying for capitalist powers

plotting to assassinate starlin

why did starlin face criticism of his polices by 1932?

people eg. former party member Ryutin said starlinwas building a personal dictatorship

crisitcised for brutality that was used to enforce the policy of collectiveisation - even starlins wife committed sucide

crisicised for unrealistic targets in the 5 year plan

in 1934 there was a seventeenth party congress which caused these criticisms to gain strength

what was Kirov’s position

boss of the Leningrad party

what did Kirov do in the 17th Party Congress?

he criticised starlin’s 5 year plans and said the rate of change was too quick

Why was Kirov’s murder suspicious?

he didn’t have a bodyguard at the time of the murder

the NKVD trained Nikolayev (his murderer) to fire a pistol

What was Kirov’s murder used as pretext for?

the great purge

what was the great purge?

a wave of terror that starlin and his supporters used to remove enemies also known as enemies of the state

what is a show trial?

a public trial of enemies of the state

they were filmed for propaganda in cinemas

they were used to justify actions taken against leading party members

they were a warning to others

what happened in the trial of sixteen

1936

involved leaders of the left including Zinoviev and Kamenev

accused of working for trotsky

confessed under torture

what happened in the trial of seventeen

1937

purge of party officials including Karl Radek and Georgy Pyatakov

accused of working for trotsky and foreign powers to undermine the soviet economy

their real crime was probably criticising the 5 year plan

what happened in the trial of the twenty one?

purge of the right including Tomsky, Bukharin and Rykov

accused of forming a Trotskyit rightest bloc

Tomsky commited suicide before the trial

Explain why Stalin purged the Red Army between 1937-8

because they had been critical of the impact of collectivisation on the peasantry who made up the bulk of the army. from starlin, these criticisms concerned him because of the growth of the armies power and inportance and the increase in defence rescources in the 1930s

Who were the victims of the red army purge?

3 out of 5 mashalls

14 out of 16 army army commanders

35000 officers

all navy admirals

Why did Stalin purge the Secret Police?

because with the purges their role grew in importance and had more influence

they were purged so as not to pose a threat to starlin

What was the Yezhovschina?

the purge of around 3000 of Yezhov’s staff. yezhof was the head of the secret police called the NKVD

How were the purges carried out at a local party level?

by a uniform quota system where each party branch had its own targets to meet

When and how was Trotsky assassinated?

trotsky was assassinated in 1940 with an ice pick

How did Stalin’s use of terror differ from Lenin’s?

he used it for his own agenda rather than to secure the party. this is shown as the purges happened when the party was relatively secure

How did the composition of the politburo change between 1924 and 1930 and how did this benefit Stalin?

origional bolsheviks were replaced by starlin’s cronies who were hand picked by him eg. Molotov, Voroshilov, Kalinin and Lazar Kanganovich.

the politburo met less frequently. in 1920s they met weekly but during the 1930s thry only met around 9 times a year

power became focused on subgroups of the politburo so stalin could excersise firmer control

Why and in what ways did political institutions fail to check Stalin’s growing power in the 1930s?

they couldnt gain any power and their only role was to rubber stamp official policies given by starlin

In what ways did the 1936 constitution appear democratic?

everyone could vote unlike before when the bourgeoises couldn’t vote as classes were now eliminated

freedom of press and religion

guarenteed employment

Why, in practice, was the 1936 constitution not democratic?

the only party was the communist party and could not speak out against it

it was justified by saying that other parties were a result of class divides

What was the 1936 constitutions real purpose?

to convince countries like britain and france to ally with them against the nazis

How did the nomenkultura help Stalin control the party?

it encouraged loyalty

Was it possible for Stalin to control everything?

no - could not control every issue and although he read late into the night he could not keep on top of everything going on

What opposition did Stalin face from within the politburo?

when starlin wanted to execute Rytin, the politburo refused

his ambitions 5 year plans were criticised so he changed them slightly

Kirov secured more votes than him in the election of the central comittee and represented moderate views of the party. he may have represented growing opposition to starlin’s policies

Did Stalin fully control the Terror?

Yezov who ran it had alterior motives and would kill in excess to get stalin’s favour

In what ways was Stalin simply following the wishes of the party rank and file?

other party members were also concerned with enemies from home and abroad

What examples are there of lower ranking party members taking Stalin’s policies further than he had intended?

this is shown when starlin issued a letter saying that some members were dizzy with success as there was local purges carried out by local party members which resulted in conflict. this shows stalin could not control all of these areas of the party

what was the secret speech?

1956

given by khruschev at twelfth party congress that criticsed starlin

accused him of developing a cult of personality, using unnecessary terror andmakong economic mistakes

why was the secret speech made?

emphisise the soviet system needed to be rejuvanating by returning to leninism

what were key features of destarlinisation

regular meetings of presidium and central comittee resumed

decentralising descision making by giving more power to organisations at a regional level

secret police brought under party controland could no longer be used by an individual for their own interests

secret police lost control of labour camps economic rescources which had given then lots of power

2 million political prisoners released from camps 1953 to 1960 but by 1955 only 4percent who appealed for release were released