stalin - policies (4/6/10)
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What were the aims for industry of the Five-Year Plans? [4]
rapid industrialisation - increase production in heavy industry
self sufficiency - no longer relying on goods from the West, catch up to the west
build up armaments
very high production targets
April 1929 - two versions of the first FYP were produced: the basic and much higher optimum
coal went up from 30 million to 75 million tonnes
New plants such as Magnitogorsk were built to industrialise Russia.
1st - heavy industry. 2nd - chemical + transport, 3rd - armaments
state planning agency
- determine what should be produced, how it should be produced, and when and where it should be produced
- Determined wages and the price of food
responsible for delivering the five year plans
set targets for factory managers and workers and ensured they were achieved.
set up 1921
• It was made up of experts in industry, business and finance.
5,000 new factories were created between 1928 and 1937 under the planning and supervision of the Gosplan.
What was the role of the NKVD under Stalin. [4]
secret police
use terror to control the people
From 1935, the NKVD had quotas for how many arrests it needed to make.
This meant that citizens were often arrested for no crime at all.
crime pursued - being an enemy of the people
especially during purges:
- JULY 1937 - NVKD Order 00447 against Anti-Soviet Elements - social cleansing
then after, - towards end of 1938, Stalin blamed NKVD for excess of terror
used extreme techniques, including mass arrests, forced confessions, and informants. Many political prisoners were executed.
They ran the gulag
Why did Stalin want to modernise Soviet industry? [4]
FEAR OF WAR
The First World War had shown that a country could only fight a modern war if it had the industries to produce weapons.
He feared an attack from surrounding capitalist countries at any time.
Stalin believed the USSR was 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries
BROADEN COMMUNISM APPEAL
Stalin thought that if he turned the peasants into industrial workers, he would be able to broaden the support for communism among the people of the Soviet Union.
He felt that the success of the Soviet economy would impress workers around the world and increase the appeal of communism in other countries.
liquidation of kulaks
famine and starvation
socialist living ideal
huge deportations
up to 10 million people had been deported to Siberia or labour camps
peasant resistance - loss of animals
by 1930, 25 - 30% of all cattle, pigs and sheep in the USSR had mostly been eaten by peasants
Millions of peasants died; Agricultural production initially fell; Many kulaks were executed or exiled; The state gained control of farming;
for older youth aged 14-28, serving as a political arm of the Communist Party, and preparing future members.
Pioneeri
changed textbooks
removed Trotsky from textbooks
85,000 Orthodox priests killed in 1937
Churches were closed; Religious leaders were arrested; Atheism was promoted; Religious teaching was banned in schools;
on the mir
backwards agriculture
in 1927 - over 5 million inefficient wooden ploughs were in use)
smaller plots of land due to post-revolution division of large estates. And on these small holdings, most of the produce was eaten by its people
Capitalist NEP. Peasants allowed to sell surplus grain for profit. Pay tax on what produced, rather than giving some to government
Peasants farmed small private plots of land.
Surpluses were sold on the free market.
There was no central state control over production.
Why did Stalin abandon the New Economic Policy? [4]
The workers were suffering high unemployment rates and low wages.
Lenin had always made it clear that the NEP was a temporary measure.
There was little industrial development considering the size of the country. - economy stagnant
NEP encouraged private enterprise and private markets, which were ideologically removed from the beliefs of the Party. They wanted to establish a truly socialist society and the NEP was too much like capitalism.
What was collectivisation. [4]
pool their land and their equipment, and to work in future under the orders of the collective farm committee
policy of uniting small, individual farms into larger collective farms
some ‘peasant-owned‘, some state-owned
forced to share resources and work towards government targets
growth of the Soviet population was in decline. In fact, by 1934, the divorce rate in Moscow was 37%
from 1935, Stalin began to push 'traditional' family values to increase the Soviet population.
Medals were awarded to mothers with large families during the Second World War, and unmarried people were taxed more heavily.
expansion of nursery availability for mothers in the workforce
state paid families a child allowance if they were a married couple.
rarely made it to senior positions. For example, By 1937, 72% of health service workers were women, there were only 4 female senior doctors in the whole of Leningrad.
encouraged to work in factories and farms.
in propaganda, shown as equal to men
By 1937, 40% of industrial workers were women
October 1928 to December 1932
emphasis on heavy industry (coal, oil, iron, steel, ELECTRICITY etc.) - 80% of total investment
Each factory, refinery, foundry and mine was set its own targets.
poorly planned: basically a propaganda device to create a sense of urgency in citizens and rapidly industrialise
Managers could be prosecuted if targets were not met.
Substantial growth was achieved although it failed to meet its targets.
electricity production tripled
pig iron doubled
huge new industrial complexes were built
including tractor works - good for agriculture
kulaks
- wealthier peasants that owned larger farms and hired laborers
- targeted during collectivisation because they resisted
Kolkhoz
- A kolkhoz was a collective farm. A large farm, made up by joining together smaller farms, under collectivisation. A large farm created to introduce more efficient farming methods.
- government wanted these farms to increase agricultural productivity
Peasants were allowed to sell surplus grain for profit.
pay tax on money of what they produced, rather than giving some of it to the government.
‘Production increased both in grain and animals.’ ‘It was appreciated by many of the peasants who found they were better off.’
A new class of peasant was formed called the kulaks, who owned their own land.’
the hope:
more land would be more efficiently worked (by tractors + machines), and more people trained by experts = higher food production
mechanised agriculture would require less manual labour = free up peasants to move into the cities and work in industry
easier to export goods (fewer collection points)
socialist living ideal, to live communally and share resources
Stalin enlisted 25 thousanders - 25,000 urban party activists
after 2 week course, sent out in brigades to revolutionise countryside, backed by secret police
persuade peasants to sign a register demanding to be collectivised
take land, tools, animals, etc. from kulaks as basis for collective farm
1st Feb 1930 - decree that local party organisations can use necessary measures against the kulaks
whole families rounded up + deported
huge propaganda campaign to inform neighbours e.g. 13 year old girl denounced her mother for stealing grain
Alexei Stakhanov - 102 tons of coal in 1935
received a bonus = to a month’s wages, an apartment, passes to the cinema, holiday resort places
rewarded for being an extraordinary worker = encourage people to break records at work
prevent people leaving jobs - quicksand society - coal industry 1930, average worker moved jobs 3x a year
reward those who stayed put and acquired skills
kulaks - wealthy peasants
own one or two horses, hire labour during the year, produce small surplus for marker
class enemies - believed to be land owners who don’t work their land
in reality - anyone the state decided was one
some god rid of animals/machines to be classed as poorer peasants
The government sent officials to force peasants to agree.
Large farms were created by putting the land of many peasants together. Shared equipment and tools.
The peasants had to work to government targets.
The kulaks were eliminated as a class.
A propaganda campaign was used to explain the advantages of collectivisation.
Portraits of Stalin in people’s homes.
after his death, could be shot if you didn’t have a picture of him framed.
Statues of Stalin in public places.
Towns and streets were named after him.
Films showed him as a great hero.
Large pictures of Stalin in public places
The gulags were prison camps.
They were often in Siberia so conditions were harsh.’
‘Prisoners were made to work on limited rations.’
‘Over 18 million people were sent to labour camps and 10 million of these are estimated to have died there.’
400 gulags in russia
2 million people to the Gulag in 1930 and 1931
emphasis on heavy industries - coal, oil, iron, steel, electricity
80% of total investment in heavy industries
electricity production tripled
coal and iron production doubled
huge new industrial complexes were built, including tractor works
better for the future, set up factories that would be helpful later
INSIDE PARTY - no-one was safe
Former Bolsheviks such as Kamenev and Bukharin were rounded up by the NKVD. They were imprisoned and tortured and stood trial on false charges. Even the NKVD was not safe from purges. In 1938 Yagoda, who had once been head of the NKVD, was arrested and executed.
arrested thousands of party members
SHEER VOLUME + brutality
up to 20 million (Conquest)
10% of male population were arrested by NKVD
From 1935, the NKVD had quotas for how many arrests it needed to make.
This meant that citizens were often arrested for no crime at all.
crime pursued - being an enemy of the people
especially during purges:
- JULY 1937 - NVKD Order 00447 against Anti-Soviet Elements - social cleansing
00 means super secret - no-one knows details
then after, - towards end of 1938, Stalin blamed NKVD for excess of terror
workers enthused by spirit of revolution
after great turn away from NEP
return to war imagery of Civil War/war communism
e.g. socialist offensive, class enemies, campaigns and breakthroughs
people who opposed/criticized the regime’s policies became guilty of treachery
wanted a part in moving forward to a better society/to make sacrifices to build a new socialist world for their children
high production basically propaganda
Stakhanovite movement + rewards for being a super worker
threat of death/imprisonment/exile if targets not reached
harsh labour laws introduced
1938 - labour books were issued along with internal passports
1940 - absenteeism became a crime, repeat offence = prison sentence
forced labour
300,000 prisoners worked on the Baltic-White Sea Canal - many of them kulaks arrested during collectivisation
After April 1930, all criminals sentenced to more than 3 years were sent to labour camps for cheap labour
these camps were self supporting
number of labourers increased during the great purge
Why was changing agriculture in the USSR important to Stalin [6]
Why did Stalin introduce collectivisation [6]
TO GET MONEY FOR INDUSTRIALISATION
since the gov. can't get funding from foreign investment or through Western direct trade
because of nationalization without compensation of foreign-owned assets in 1918
foreign companies and investors who had previously owned factories, mines, land, or other properties in Russia suddenly lost everything without receiving any payment.
industrialisation drive funded from domestic sources -> taxing the peasants and setting low prices for agricultural goods but high prices for manufactured goods for peasants to purchase
fear that peasants might refuse to sell grain at low prices and strike
collectivisation developed as a way to ensure the government had sufficient supplies of grain at the prices the government was prepared to pay -> to accumulate capital to fund industrialisation
CONTROL PEASANTS WITH COMMUNIST IDEALS
• He was determined to gain control of the richer peasants and the countryside by introducing Communist ideas of common ownership.
move away from capitalist freedom of NEP
RAPID INDUSTRIALISATION
catch up to west
feared attacked - need to build up weaponry (huge advances in military after WW1)’
Stalin believed Russia was 50-100 years behind West
ENCOURAGE COMMUNISM
Stalin thought that if he turned the peasants into industrial workers, he would be able to broaden the support for communism among the people of the Soviet Union.
success of the Soviet economy would impress workers around the world and increase the appeal of communism in other countries.
Why did Stalin want to modernise farming [6]
FEED MORE PEOPLE IN CITIES
Traditional peasant farming was inefficient and couldn’t support industrial growth.
MORE EXPORTS FOR MONEY TO FUND INDUSTRIALISATION
INSTILL FEAR
serve as a warning to those who might oppose the regime and as a demonstration of the Communist government's strength.
liquidated as a class
millions killed
UNITE PEASANTS WITH STALIN AGIANST CLASS ENEMY
return to war imagery
propaganda
encourage loyalty
Why did the introduction of collectivisation not go smoothly for Stalin [6]
peasant resistance
one riot lasted for 5 days and tanks had to be brought in to restore order
peasants burnt crops, tools and houses instead of giving them to the state
huge numbers of animals slaughtered (either to sell because meat prices were higher than grain, or to oppose the state)
25-30% of all cattle, pigs and sheep were slaughtered (mostly eaten by peasants)
less animals to pull ploughs, not enough tractors/machines to replace them
famine + grain harvests dropped
When, 1928 when the state procurement of grain was so low the government had to ration bread in cities, severe food shortages so Stalin wanted to pick up the pace.
25,000ers brought in to collectivise farms had little to no farming knowledge, and the kulaks (peasants with most experience) were exiled/killed so lost farming knowledge
drought in 1931
Why was religion seen as a threat by Stalin [6]
League of ??? did what
By 19__ the League had 5.5 million members (__ million more than the communist party itself)
Religious loyalty competed with loyalty to Stalin and the Communist Party.
Churches were independent of state control and influenced people’s beliefs.
Religious gatherings were suppressed and religious followers were targeted by the state in attempts to create an atheist society.
over 85,000 Orthodox were shot in 1937 alone
following teachings of Marx, Lenin
League of the Militant Godless
By 1932, the League had five and a half million members, two million more than the Communist Party itself.
primary role was to promote atheism through propaganda
trash churches
Why did Stalin abandon the New Economic Policy [6]
stagnant economy
high unemployment, low wages
slow growth - need to rapidly industrialise for war
NEP is stuck
ideological - too capitalist
private trade
peasants are too free
Why did Stalin want to collectivise Soviet agriculture [6]
increase grain production for cities + spread communist ideals in countryside
By the end of 1930s, 40% OF Soviet urban population were former peasants who had moved within the decade
urban population growing by 200,000 every month
MONEY FOR INDUSTRIALISATION
since the gov. can't get funding from foreign investment or through Western direct trade
because of nationalization without compensation of foreign-owned assets in 1918
foreign companies and investors who had previously owned factories, mines, land, or other properties in Russia suddenly lost everything without receiving any payment.
industrialisation drive funded from domestic sources -> taxing the peasants and setting low prices for agricultural goods but high prices for manufactured goods for peasants to purchase
fear that peasants might refuse to sell grain at low prices and strike
collectivisation developed as a way to ensure the government had sufficient supplies of grain at the prices the government was prepared to pay -> to accumulate capital to fund industrialisation
low cost of grain and exporting that grain to fund machinery/materials from the west
Why was collectivisation opposed by many peasants [6]
dekulakisation
low grain harvest - Stalin blamed kulaks for hoarding grain
ties to communities on the mir were stronger than ties to the state
people didn’t like being forced to give up names of kulaks - often friends/family members
forced to share + sell for cheaper prices
Why did Stalin think it was necessary to reform Soviet industry [6]
rapid industrialisation to prepare for war
war scare in 1928
fear after ww1 that they need modern weaponry to survive another war
need to catch up to the west/become self sufficient
prove communism works
Stalin believed USSR was 50-100 years behind west
Why did the role of women in Soviet society change in the 1930s [6]
birth rate slowed in Moscow
Medals given to women with over 6 children
over 6 children given 2000 roubles a year
due to famine, war scare, etc.
abortions banned in 1936
workers
Leningrad 1935 - women = 44% working population
by 1937 - 72% healthcare workers, but only 4 senior doctors
propaganda - equal to men
free nursery and breastfeeding rooms
needed women to join the workforce to meet industrial goals.
especially as men drafted to army/purged
Why was there a struggle over who should follow Lenin as leader [6]
Lenin’s political testament
didn’t name a clear successor
appeared to favour Trotsky, but some in party were jealous of favouritism
different opinions on how to lead future party
e.g. socialism in one country - Stalin, permanent (worldwide revolution) - trotsky
Why were women important to Stalin’s plans for the Soviet Union [6]
birth rate slowed in Moscow
Medals given to women with over 6 children
over 6 children given 2000 roubles a year
due to famine, war scare, etc.
abortions banned in 1936
workers
Leningrad 1935 - women = 44% working population
by 1937 - 72% healthcare workers, but only 4 senior doctors
propaganda - equal to men
free nursery and breastfeeding rooms
needed women to join the workforce to meet industrial goals.
especially as men drafted to army/purged
How far do you agree that Stalin’s main target in the purges was those who had supported Trotsky [10]
YES - show trials
August 1936 - first show trial
Zinoviev, Kamenev (who had sided with Trotsky in 1926)
Trotsky himself was expelled from the party in 1927, and murdered in 1940 by a hit man with an ice pick in Mexico.
NO - religion
over 85,000 Orthodox priests shot in 1937 alone
League of Militant Godless set up
NO - military
all admirals commanding fleets
all but one senior air force commander
thousands of officers
NO - inactive and illiterate members ‘undesirable elements‘
chistka of 1932 - 1935 (22% of party expelled non-violently)
purge the massive growth after Lenin Enrolment of 1924-5, where party size increased by 600,000, doubled to more than 1 million
‘Stalin introduced the Five-Year Plans for political rather than economic reasons.’ How far do you agree with this statement [10]
YES - rapid industrialisation (drop Bukharin support)
break from the NEP, which had been associated with Bukharin. Central planning meant control of resources and people. Any failures were blamed on "wreckers" or political enemies, allowing Stalin to consolidate power during the late 1920s and early 1930s.
NO - economic (fix slow growth of NEP)
high unemployment, low wages
NO - economic (military)
armaments for WW2
war scare in 1928
diplomatic relations with GB set up in 1924 were broken off by conservative Gov
surveyed army and realised it was crap
‘The policy of Russification was a success for Stalin.’ How far do you agree with this statement [10]
yes - russification
Children were taught Russian in schools.
nationalist uprising were crushed, using military
. In the non-Russian republics the top jobs, particularly party secretaries and police chiefs, went to Russians.
yes - famine/genocide
40% of ethnic Kazaks died in famine - became minority in their own homeland
deportion of hundreds of thousands of Koreans
no - still national identities
ukraine, finland, poland, etc.
rising nationalism in Europe - e.g. Serbia = WW1
How successfully did Stalin transform agriculture [10]
one paragraph on private plots
SUCCESSFUL
By 1931, 50% of Soviet households were part of collective farms.
By 1935, 75% of Soviet households were part of collectives
By 1937, the official figure had shot up to 90%
state owned farms, pooled resources
UNSUCCESSFUL - low harvest
low harvest in 1928 meant gov had to ration bread in cities
1913 - 80 million tons
1935 - 75 million tons
(after more than 20 years, worsening of agriculture (leaves Russia in the dust))
UNSUCCESSFUL - only useful bit came from private plots
on the kolkhoz, each household was allowed to keep its own private plot of up to one acre.
peasants’ private plots and was the main source of milk, butter, eggs, etc., for the urban population.
could sell surplus grain on free market - but never much surplus
these private plots provided over 50% per cent of vegetables and fruit, 70 per cent of meat
successfully transformed agriculture into collectivised, but it didn’t have the intended effect of increasing grain production
‘Living standards in Stalin’s USSR improved during the 1930s.’ How far do you agree [10]
YES - exceptional workers
NO - famine
NO - fear
YES - for good workers
Stakhanovite movement
102 tonnes in a shift in August 1935
cinema tickets, holiday resort sports, apartment, etc.
those who exceeded targets rewarded with higher pay, conditions, better housing, extra bonuses
NO - famine
upwards of 5 million died
especially in Ukraine
drought in 1931
famine 1932-34
Stalin passed decree for "Preventing the Mass Exodus of Peasants who are Starving” in January 1933
peasants were restricted from travelling and migrating.
some historians estimated this policy itself led to 150,000 deaths.
NO - fear
purges
300,000 prisoners worked on Baltic White Sea Canal
total 20 million deaths from Great Terror (1937-38)
‘Stalin’s Five-Year Plans affected the Soviet people more than they affected the economy’ How far do you agree with this statement [10]
PEOPLE - propaganda
enthused by spirit of revolution
return to war imagery
stakhanovite - rewards exceptional workers
PEOPLE - harsh working conditions + fear of saboteurs
new class enemy of bourgeois specialists
offensive dropped in 1931 due to lack of skilled managers
harsh labour laws
harsh quotas, strict discipline, and propaganda.
ECONOMY - rapid industrialisation
1928 to 1940, Soviet stats = increase of 852%, West stats = 260%
first FYP - electricity tripled, coal and iron doubled, huge new industrial complexes built
second FYP = much better transport and communication → almost 5x as many lorries as the start, double locomotives
How far did the Soviet people benefit from Stalin’s economic policies [10]
education, women, collectivisation/kulaks
BENEFIT - EDUCATION
in 1933 - 17% skilled
massive training program scheme
highest literacy levels ever
BENEFIT - WOMEN
72% healthcare jobs
propaganda = equal
NOT - COLLECTIVISATION + KULAKS
needed collectivisation to control peasants to fund FYPS (no foreign investment bc assets nationalised in 1918)
conquest - 7 million in Ukrain famine 1932-34
kulaks
Quota system was applied to geographical areas
in July 1937 - proportion to be shot set at a fixed 28%, with the rest going to forced labour camps
How successful was Stalin’s modernisation of Soviet industry by 1941 [10]
SUCCESSFUL - factories
massive new plants built like Magnitogorsk, Dnieper dam (for 2 years, largest building sit in the world)
1928 and 1937, 5000 new factories under GOSPLAN
industry to boost later
SUCCESSFUL - heavy industry
heavy industry increased massively
FYP1 - electricity x3, iron and coal x2, steel up by ½
80% of investment was for heavy industry
FYP2 - expansion of railway systems - almost 5x as many lorries as the start, double locomotives
NOT SUCCESSFUL -
poor quality goods
lorry tyres only lasted a few weeks
unskilled workers damaged machines/goods
Consumer industries like clothing, furniture, and food were neglected. Workers had little access to everyday goods, and living standards stagnated.
inflated numbers
1928 - 1940: Soviet = 852%, west = 260%
‘Soviet citizens accepted Stalin’s rule because of propaganda not fear.’ How far do you agree [10]
PROPAGANDA - CULT OF STALIN
FEAR
EDUCATION
Schools, youth groups like Komsomol and Pioneeri
encouraged kids to tell on parents
e.g. 13 year old renounced on mother for stealing grain
‘Religion was completely destroyed under Stalin.’ How far do you agree [10]
YES - League of Militant Godless - 1932, 5.5 million members, two more than communist party at that time
NO - continued underground
in census, many claimed no religion - but easily could have lied to be safe
especially in older generations, secret gatherings
NO - replaced by cult of Stalin - old religion gone, new religion was cult of stalin - godlike
people needed to believe in something
‘Education was Stalin’s most effective method of controlling Soviet citizens.’ How far do you agree [10]
YES
children: Pioneeri 9-14, Komsomol 14-28
13 year old denounced mother for stealing grain
YES
rewrote history + doctored photos to put himself closer to Lenin, take over mantle of ruler of people
textbook published - remove trotsky’s role + increase stalin’s
Was the introduction of collectivisation an error? Explain your answer. [10]