Russia Key Topic 4

Stalin's Character and Abilities:

• Stalin was born in Gori, Georgia in 1878, from a peasant background.

• Stalin the name is derived from the Russia word steel known as ‘stal’ man of steel.

• In 1905, Stalin represented local branches of the Bolshevik Party, Georgia and South Russia, at conferences.

• In 1912, Stalin was elected to the Central Committee of the Bolsheviks, where he excelled as an administrator and debater.

• He orchestrated and supervised a 1907 bank robbery in Tiflis that killed 40 people and netted the Bolsheviks more than 340,000 roubles. Up to this time, Stalin had been arrested on eight occasions and sentenced to time in prison and exile.

• From 1917 to 1922, Stalin was the Bolshevik specialist manager of national minorities' issues, having been appointed commissar for nationalities in the first Soviet government. This gave him a position in the Sovnarkom (Soviet government) and he was able to manipulate this position to gain the loyalty of those he was overseeing.

• He filled the Orgburo and key leadership positions with friends and acolytes, while working behind the scenes to forge alliances within the Politburo itself.

• Stalin was appointed General secretary of the Central Committee, which was the most senior of all management posts. He also served as chairman of the government and the Council of people's commissars (Sovnarkom).

• During 1922 alone more than 10,000 provincial officials were appointed to the Orgburo and Secretariat by Stalin, showing his ability to advance the careers of those who were loyal to him.

• In his testament, Lenin concedes that Stalin is one of ‘the two outstanding leaders’ in the Central Committee. Though he criticises him at length, claiming that he is ‘too rude’ and recommending that the Party finds a way to remove him from his post as Secretary-General.

• Stalin was often referred to as ‘Comrade Card-Index’ or the ‘Grey Blur’, highlighting his lack of the charisma and distinction you would usually expect from a leadership candidate.

• By 1927, Stalin controlled Party Congress, which allowed him to expel his main rivals from the party.

Trotsky's Strengths and Weaknesses:

• Born, Leon Bronstein, in 1879, Trotsky was disliked by many members of the party for his Ukrainian/Jewish roots.

• Ambitious and flamboyant, Trotsky made no effort to build a power base within the party and relied on people to appreciate his talent and charisma.

• It wasn’t until 1917 that Trotsky was officially known as a Bolshevik, therefore he was not seen as one of the ‘Old Bolsheviks’.

• Trotsky founded the Red Army in 1918 and made it into a highly successful fighting force capable of winning the Russian Civil War. He travelled 65,000 miles during the course of the war on his personal armoured train, giving excellent speeches and motivating the soldiers.

• As Head of the Red Army, Trotsky had a powerful position on the Sovnarkom, which gained him great prestige as a hero.

• In 1922, Lenin offered the position as his deputy (Deputy Chair of the Sovnarkom) to Trotsky, however he refused, saying that he wanted to concentrate on his writing.

• In his testament, Lenin described Trotsky as a man of ‘outstanding ability’ and ‘personally perhaps the most capable man in the present Central Committee’. Though he did also note that Trotsky had shown ‘excessive self-assurance’ and ‘excessive preoccupation with the purely administrative side the work’.

• Trotsky became isolated by the formation of the Troika, but he did nothing to prevent it. When the Troika voted to suppress Lenin’s testament, Trotsky did not oppose them.

• Trotsky was on the far left of the party. This meant that he could not ally himself with those on the right. Furthermore, it meant that he supported the idea of a permanent revolution, which was unpopular in the party as a whole.

• Removed from ministerial office in January 1925, Trotsky was expelled from the party on 12 November 1927.

• Trotsky’s failure in the propaganda war of the 1930s meant that he was in no position to persuade the politburo of the central committee to vote for his proposals.

Zinoviev's Role in the Power Struggle:

• Zinoviev had been a close colleague of Lenin since 1903 and was one of the founding members of the Bolshevik party.

• Zinoviev was seen as disloyal to Lenin, because he had opposed Lenin’s plans for the timing of the October Revolution in 1917.

• Him and Kamenev were the only two central committee members who voted against the armed revolt.

• Zinoviev then betrayed Lenin again, as he thought it was important to share power with other socialist parties like the SRs.

• When Lenin refused, Zinoviev resigned from the Central Committee and Lenin wrote a proclamation labelling him and Kamenev ‘deserters’.

• He rose to prominence as chairman of the Petrograd Soviet in 1917 and chairman of the Comintern between 1919 and 1926.

• Zinoviev lacked revolutionary heroism and he spent the Russian Civil War residing in the most luxurious hotel in Petrograd.

• Zinoviev joined Kamenev and Stalin in the Troika group to oppose Trotsky, failing to recognise that Stalin was his most dangerous adversary until it was too late.

• Zinoviev was head of the St Petersburg branch of the Communist Party, though he did not succeed in building up an effective powerbase in the city.

• Zinoviev was also head of the Comintern, which had been set up by Lenin to encourage and coordinate Marxist revolutionaries in other countries. This was a prestigious post, which boosted his status and authority within the Communist Party.

• Zinoviev is barely mentioned in Lenin’s testament and Lenin seems to dismiss him as a leadership candidate, pointing to the ‘October episode’. Though he does say that Zinoviev should not carry personal ‘blame’ for this.

• After finally realising how dangerous Stalin was, Zinoviev switched sides to form the United Opposition Group along with Kamenev and Trotsky.

Kamenev's Position in the Power Struggle:

• Kamenev had been a close colleague of Lenin since 1902 and was one of the founding members of the Bolshevik party.

• He was arrested in November and sentenced to exile in Siberia, where he spent two years, before he was finally freed following the successful February Revolution of 1917.

• Kamenev was seen as disloyal to Lenin, because he had opposed Lenin’s plans for the timing of the October Revolution in 1917. Him and Zinoviev were the only two central committee members who voted against the armed revolt.

• Kamenev then betrayed Lenin again, as he thought it was important to share power with other socialist parties like the SRs. When Lenin refused, Kamenev resigned from the Central Committee and Lenin wrote a proclamation labelling him and Zinoviev ‘deserters’.

• Kamenev joined Zinoviev and Stalin in the Troika group to oppose Trotsky, failing to recognise that Stalin was his most dangerous adversary until it was too late.

• Kamenev was head of the Moscow branch of the Communist Party, which should have allowed him to build up a power base there, but he was such a poor local administrator that he failed to earn the respect of the Moscow Party.

• Throughout Lenin’s illness, Kamenev was Lenin’s deputy and acting Chair of the Sovnarkom (acting head of the Soviet government). He did not use this position to effectively advance his own power.

• On Lenin’s death, Kamenev also became the Chairman of the Central Committee, which was potentially a highly influential role as the Central Committee elected members to the Politburo. But once again, he failed to take advantage of it to further his own position.

• Kamenev is barely mentioned in Lenin’s testament and Lenin seems to dismiss him as a leadership candidate, pointing to the ‘October episode’, where he opposed Lenin twice regarding the revolution. Though he does say that Kamenev should not carry personal ‘blame’ for this.

• After finally realising how dangerous Stalin was, Kamenev switched sides to form the United Opposition Group along with Zinoviev and Trotsky.

Bukharin's Influence and Downfall:

• Bukharin joined the Bolshevik Party in 1906. He organised a strike in a boot factory in the same year. He escaped in 1910 and met Lenin in exile two years later. 

• By 1917 he was instrumental in the Moscow Bolshevik Party and following the October Revolution he inspired them to take control of Moscow.

• From 1917, Bukharin was the editor of the Communists’ two most important newspapers, Pravda and Communist. He was also responsible for all city newspapers, enabling him to influence Party opinion and deny his opponents access to the press.

• In addition, he was responsible for Communist educational academies, which were designed to give an ideological education to future Communist Party workers.

• Bukharin had been critical of the Treaty of Brest Litovsk and opposed Lenin on it. Though he ardently supported the switch to Lenin’s New Economic Policy.

• Lenin was complementary about Bukharin in his testament, calling him ‘the favourite of the whole Party’. Though, speculating on whether his ‘views can be classified as fully Marxist’.

Stalin's Strategy

Stalin stayed in the background, pretending to be a moderate peacemaker, outmanoeuvring opponents by playing them off against each other.

General Secretary Position

Stalin became the General Secretary in 1922, gaining substantial power by controlling information, administrative support, and party appointments.

Ideological Differences

Rivals like Stalin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Bukharin engaged in ideological debates to prove themselves as Lenin's heir, gaining support and forming alliances based on their ideological positions.

Industrialisation Ideologies

Left-wing favored 'Dictatorship of Industry', right-wing supported 'Industrialisation at a Snail’s Pace', while the center initially supported NEP but shifted away when economic improvements stagnated.

World Policy Ideologies

Left-wing supported 'Permanent Revolution', right-wing believed in 'Socialism in One Country', and the center, led by Stalin, also supported 'Socialism in One Country' to appeal to Russian patriotism.

Future of the Revolution

Left-wing feared bureaucratic degeneration, while right and center warned against 'Bonapartism', with Stalin likening Trotsky to Napoleon Bonaparte as a potential military dictator.

Triumvirate vs

The Triumvirate (Stalin, Zinoviev, Kamenev) formed to keep Trotsky out of power, using influence to question his loyalty and ideology, ultimately defeating Trotsky at the Thirteenth Party Congress in 1924.

Duumvirate vs

After defeating Trotsky, the Triumvirate split, leading to the Duumvirate (Stalin and Bukharin) forming against the New Opposition (Zinoviev and Kamenev).

Duumvirate

A powerful alliance between Stalin and Bukharin controlling key aspects of Soviet political life.

United Opposition Group

Formed by Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Trotsky to challenge Stalin and Bukharin's leadership, but were expelled from the Party.

Great Turn

Stalin's shift towards rapid industrialization and collectivization, leading to a split with Bukharin and the end of the NEP.

Propaganda

Extensively used by Stalin to promote himself and his policies, including censorship, control of media, and youth indoctrination.

Cult of Personality

A propaganda strategy glorifying Stalin as a wise leader with prophetic powers, aiming to strengthen his position.

Stakhanovite Movement

Propaganda campaign encouraging workers to exceed production quotas, named after Aleksei Stakhanov's exceptional coal mining feat.

Stakhanovite Movement

A movement in the Soviet Union that aimed to increase labor productivity by showcasing and rewarding the most efficient workers, named after Aleksei Stakhanov who set a record in coal mining.

Socialist Realism

A style of art and literature endorsed by the Soviet Union, requiring works to depict the struggle of ordinary people in a positive light and promote Communist Party ideals.

Glavlit

The censorship office in the Soviet Union controlled by the secret police, responsible for approving literature and media for publication.

Great Terror

A period of political repression in the Soviet Union initiated by Stalin in the 1930s, resulting in mass arrests, executions, and forced labor camps.

OGPU

The United State Political Administration, a Soviet secret police organization that succeeded the Cheka, known for its power to arrest individuals without clear reasons and conduct trials without proper procedures.

OGPU

When Stalin became leader, he empowered the OGPU to identify and target 'hostile elements', leading to the Shakhty Trial in 1928 and subsequent large show trials.

NKVD

After the dissolution of the OGPU in 1934, the NKVD, led by Yagoda, took over with expanded powers, conducting mass executions, show trials, administering the Gulag system, and overseeing espionage activities.

Purges

The purges of the 1930s involved eliminating perceived threats to Stalin's power, starting with Party members and escalating to high-ranking officials through show trials like the Trial of the Sixteen and the Trial of the Seventeen.

Gulags

The Gulag system, expanded during the Great Terror, forced prisoners into harsh labor conditions, unsanitary living arrangements, and malnourishment, with a high death rate, especially affecting women and families of dissidents.

Consequences of the Great Terror - Political

The Great Terror eliminated Stalin's political rivals, portrayed dissenters as traitors, and shifted blame away from Stalin, increasing his power and centralizing control within the Party.

Consequences of the Great Terror - Economic

Intended to boost economic production, the Great Terror instead caused economic chaos as industrialists falsified reports to avoid persecution, leading to confusion and hindering economic progress.

Great Terror

A period of political repression in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s, resulting in the purging of managers, technicians, statisticians, and planners, leading to a shortage of trained workers.

Donbas Region Case Study

Demonstrates the impact of the Great Terror on the economy, where a quarter of coal mine management was purged, leading to a dramatic fall in coal production.

Collectivisation

The process initiated by Stalin to merge small farms into larger collective farms, aiming to modernize agriculture, increase efficiency, and provide more resources for industrialization.

Dekulakisation

The policy that marked the end of capitalism and independent farming in the Soviet countryside, leading to the immediate collectivisation of all farming and the exile of kulaks.

Machine Tractor Stations (MTSs)

A national network established in the Soviet Union to provide technical assistance to peasants with new machinery, aiming to enforce collectivisation and increase agricultural productivity.

Kulak Exile

In the 1930s, thousands of kulak families were sent to Siberia as part of Stalin's collectivization policy, leading to mass displacement and suffering.

Famine in Soviet Russia

The government-induced famine in the early 1930s resulted from unrealistic grain production targets, leading to mass confiscation of food, starvation, and death.

Urbanization in USSR

The First Five-Year Plan led to a significant increase in urban population as peasants moved to cities for industrial jobs, shifting the demographic landscape of the Soviet Union.

Gosplan Targets

The First Five-Year Plan involved centrally set targets by Gosplan, which were often unrealistic and lacked input from those directly involved, causing challenges in implementation.

Industrialization under Stalin

Stalin's focus on heavy industry in the First Five-Year Plan aimed to rapidly industrialize Russia, leading to significant growth in sectors like oil, coal, and steel production.

Living Conditions at Magnitogorsk

Workers were promised a socialist utopia but lived in mud huts and tents without heating or sanitation, leading to high turnover rates.

Black Market in Magnitogorsk

Crime increased due to the lack of consumer goods, leading to a thriving black market for products like vodka, cigarettes, footwear, and food.

Second Five-Year Plan

Introduced in 1933 to address the failings of the First Five-Year Plan, focusing on realistic production targets, holistic economic development, and improving workers' living standards.

Propaganda in the Second Five-Year Plan

Stalin used economic successes and the Stakhanovite movement to maintain public support, enhancing his personal legacy and promoting a positive image through propaganda.

Economic Achievements of the Second Five-Year Plan

Notable increases in heavy industry production by 1937, including crude oil, coal, pig-iron, rolled steel, sulphuric acid, and machine tools, as well as improvements in transport and consumer goods production.

Social Impact of the Second Five-Year Plan

The period from 1934 to 1936 saw improvements in living standards, with the opening of the Moscow metro, the end of bread rationing, wage increases for industrial workers, and limited private farming for peasants, but social inequalities also emerged, with senior Communists enjoying privileges over the average citizen.