history russia

What percentage of the Russian population were peasants in 1917?

80%

What were the differences in average wages and general price level in 1914 and 1917?

200%, 400%

How much did Russia spend on the war?

17,000 million roubles

When did the Russian railway system collapse?

1916

What was the daily bread Ration in petrograd?

1.2kg in january 1916, 0.8kg in early 1917

How many waggons of grain arrived in moscow before 1914 and in february 1917?

2200, 700

How many peasent men fought in the Russian army?

Over 15 million

When did the tsar take personal command over the army?

September 1915

When was bloody sunday?

9 January 1917

How many marched on the anniversary of bloody sunday?

150,000

When did the tsar leave to go to mogilev?

22 February

When did the tsar issue an order to the petrograd garrison?

25th February

When did soldiers open fire and kill 40 protestors?

26 february

When did the military garrison report to the tsar that Petrograd had been taken over?

28 february

Who was the chairman of the Duma comitte?

Mikhail Rodzianko

When were the Duma comitte and Petrograd soviet both meeting in the Tauride palace?

27 february

When was the provisional government established under prince lvov?

2 march

When was the central executive comitte set up?

march 1917

When was order number 1?

1 march

How many casualites were there in the june offensive?

200,000

When was the kornilov revolt?

Late august 1917

How many members did the bolsheviks have in early 1917?

23,000 out of 145 million

When did Lenin return?

3 april

What was the membership of the bolsheviks in april?

75,000

What was the makeup of the all russian congress in june?

285 SRs
248 mensheviks
105 bolsheviks

How many red guards were there in petrograd by july?

10,000

When was the kronstadt rebellion?

3 July

When did the bolsheviks gain a majority in the petrograd soviet?

31 august

When did lenin return to petrograd?

10 october

When was the winter palace taken over?

25th october

Provisional government

Duma committee chairman mikhail rodzianko - duma members defied order to stop meeting

cross the city factory workers and mutinous unites elected rreperesedntatives to new petrograd soviety, duma committee holding meetings in tauride palace
Rodzianok gave 2 menshevik members of duma committee permission to hold petrograd soviet meetings there too
By evening of 2#7 feabruary, both duma committee and provisional executive committee fo petrograd soviet meeting at palace, united by fear of being crushed from tsar

First acts of the provisional government

2 march following abdication - pg formally established, under leadership of prince lvov and other liberal poltiicians:

>release political and religous prisoners
>promise full democratci freedom
>end death penalty
<take over land belonging to tsar
>take local government across russia out of hands of tsarist officials and transfer power to local councils(zemstvos)

Also determined to carry on with war becaues they needed support of western alloies, army generals - also feeling it was right thing to do

Problems faced by the pg

Petrograd soviet controlled railway system, postal and telegraph service since these were industries in which workers supported the soviet - caused problems for pg

Ordinary members of army units and naval ships took control of units and ships, murdered officers

Soviet set up groups to organise food supplies - another responsibilty the government had lsot to the svoiet - even had own newspaper to spread ideas(izvestya) - news

March - central executive committee, claimed to represent all worker and soldier soviets in russia
In the middle of war

Role of kerensky

Lawyer and moderate socialist, member of pg and soviety
First minister of justice - may 1917 became minister of war

AFter failure june offensive became minister chairman(leader) of pg in place of lvov - held post until october

Skillfull speaker but made crucial mistakes - continued with war agnering many ordinary soldeiers while losing support of army offficers while reducing authroity, actions to weaken old ruling groups lost him support of conservatives - and faield to take tough atctions against bolsheviks

Weaknesses and failures of pg

Lack of control over military

1 march - order number one , army and navy would only obey orders from provisional government if approved by petrograd soviet - soviet adopted order even though they didnt make it

Hugely undermined authority of pg, soviet havd final say on military matters

oder num,ber 1 also said regiments now take respoinsibilty for discipline in military, done by coucnils of ordinary soldiers not foficers under pg authority

Failure to hold general election:

Pg lacked legitimacy people in gnereal did not feel it had authority and should eb obeyed - since duma from which it formed origin\lly elected in 1912 under tsarist systems, only gave vote to small percentage of people - when pg formed in 1917 it was group fo well meaning people

COmpared to direct elections of woerks dsoldiers and peasants, pg did not look representive - pg genuiunely intended to hodl election but so many problems, would be enormous task - but allowed people to say government lacked popular suport

Failure to meet peasant demands:

More land and get on with their lives, but SRs supported by many peasantts - relationship between SRs and peaseants described as one sided love affair

One way of appeasing peastants was let them seize land of great landowners and kulaks, but:

>wait until general election before allowing new changes
>feared that if land redistributed among peasants huge numbers of soldiers fighitng at fornt would desert and return home to not miss out - most were conscripts

Pg afraid of russia falling apart in disorder
reluctance to act also mistake, many peasants seized land anyway and resneted soldiers sent by pg to stop them

June offensive

continuing war unpopular - soviet only supported it defending territory, thought there shoukd be no advances

pg orderende new awar attack under brusilov, attacked austrian and german in galicia - disaster, rsoldiers refused to advance nad 200,000 casuatlies
Army driven backwards as germans advanced into ukraine

Kornilov revot

August 1917 - soldiers angry, in favor of petrograd soviet - russia falling appart

kornilove recently made commander in chief of army - laim was to creat e strong government and defeat rgroups in petrograd,

Late augst - failed because soldiers no longer following orders and petrograd workers acted to defend the revolution

weakened government:

Kerensky accused of symp[athising with kornilove
Distrust between soldiers and officers increased
Surge of support for bolsheviks- seen as only group prepared to defend petrograd from kornilov, only party that never supported pg and iwlling to use force

workes formed themselevs into red guards to protect petrograd frmo kornilovess troops, most bwere bolsheviks - huge military advantage since they obeyed orders

Bolsheviks and lenin

just one group
small supporters, 23,000 out of 145 million
mensheviks outnumbered htem early 1917
leader in switzerland
no part in february revolution

Lenins return - germans arranged on finaland station 3 april

Not pleased with state of party, kamenev and stalin supporting pg and consedering reuniting with rival mensheviks
as soon as lenin arrived rejected any co-operation with pg, instead argued bolsheviks should prepare to seize power and create woerksr revolution

April 1917 - many leaders shocked and felt lenin was out of touch, by april membership rose to 75,000 - many workers jioned

april theses:

rejection of pg
all pwoer to pass to soviets
workers to enjoy wealth of russia
end of war
taking over of land

bread, peace, land

Gwowing support for bolsheviks - june, all russian congress of soviets met in petrograd - attempt to set up group to represent many sovietrs

800 at meeting - 285 srs, 248 mensheviks only 105 bolsheviks - lenin considered absurd

active work by bolsheviks and kornstadt convinced many that they should back lenin, many ordinwary workers even more radical than leaders - suffering of war changed many in russia

bolsheviks also helped by german money - with this, set up 41 newspapers across russia by june - same month, all russian ocngress of soviets organised demonstrations - bolshevik slogans, red guards became even more sympathetic for bolsheviks - by july, 10,000 red guards in petrograd

The july days

In protest of june offensive army units refused to go to the front - also supported by kronstadt naval base 30km from finland and petrograd factory workers

3 july - marched on tauride paalce in petrograd and demanded soviet take pwower - workers, soldiers and sialors more revolutionary than actual soviet themselves

Lenin not in petrograd at tijme, bolshevik central committee divided over what to do - demonstration should continue only becuase htey feared disappointing crwowds if they said anything else

Bolsheviks blamed for organising july days, pg brought soldiers in from front to defend itself and denoucned bolsheviks ias german spies - lenin wient into hiding in finalnd, kamenev and trotsky arrested

Bolsheviks nto compeltely crushed and held congress soon after july days

The buildup to revolution

September 1917, pg in deep trouble - kornilov severely weakned, bolshevik support rising - factory committees of woerkrs controlled factories, they wer ebolsheviks
rumours spread kerensky woudl abandon petrograd to the germans
31 august - bolsheviks gained majority in petrograd soviet, 5 september acheived same position in moscow

Lenin in finland wrote state nd revolution, communism

appealed to many ordinary russians who were tired of beign controlled

Appealed to many russians, promised freedom but said very little about the party
10 october lenin secretely returned to petrograd

The role of trotsky

Lenin wanted red guards to seize power immediately - troktsky thought it would be better to seize power just before th second congress met in october

Trotsky chairman of petrograd soviet- this gave him oppurtunity to use military revilutionary comittee by 23 october MRC had control over all soldiers in petrograd including those in powerful peter paul fortress

24-25 october red guards occupied key positions in city - fighting going on, evening of 25th - red guards from kronstadt advanced on old tsarist winter palace w where pg had headquarters -

palace defended by officer cadets and women’s battalion, fell with hardly a fight - kerensky escaped
by 26th it was all over

Bolshevik decree on peace

November 1917 - first decree
Called for all countries involved in war to immediately begin peace negoationtoins “without annexations and indemnities” - increaseds upport, encourage german soldiers to beign their own bolshevio revolution

November - decree on land, 8 november
Distributed land of wealthy landowners to peasants - many taken already, but gave this force of alw, new government approved of land seizures - december, church land nationalised

Decrees on workers rights and nationaloities

November and december 1917
work - 8h working day, 40h working week, less demanding hours
Unemployment - insurance
Worker's’ contrlol - allowed worker committee to run factories

Decree on nationalities - promiesd different people they could have own governments attemt to stop nations becoming independent
IN reality - more tightly controlled under bolshevik rule than ever before

Soviet response - increased support, new russia emerged - november titled abolished, everyone was comrade
Encouraged soviets not run by bolsheviks to accept new government

Dealing with political opponents

Election of constituent eassembly - bolsheviks reluctant to set up parliamentary democracy, however there was great expectiont

november 1917 - 41.7 million people voted
results dissapoitnment to bolsheviks, only won 168 setas - SRs gained 370 seats - nless than 25% of vote, srs over 40% of votes

Bolsheviks abolsih constituent assembly in january 1918 when they met - so assembly broken down by red guards and kronstadt sailors

end of dempcracy in russia, bolsheviks consolidated on eparty control, used railway network to spread control to main cities - railway war

Lenins government represented by sovnarkom(council of peoples commissars) included left SRs and boplsheviks, lasted until march 1917 - broke down when left SRs refeused to sign brest litovsk

The execution of the romanovs

Taken to ipatiev house in yekaterinburg, urals
french and rbitish were embarrassed by tsar
local urals soviet responsible for guarding him
17 july 1918 - nicholas and family murdered

The treaty of brest litovsk

“no peace, no war” - trotsky wanted russia not to contineu fighting but avoid surrendering

Capital moved to moscow - left communists wanted to continue, government entirely bolshevik
march 1918 - russia lsot all western oalnds and georgia
62 million, 26% of population
27% of farmland, 26% of railways and 74% of iron ore and coal
300 million gold roubles
reasons:

neded breathing space to get rule organised without war which undermined tsar and pg

many groups in russia opposed to them, preparing to defend threat from within
bolsheviks hoped revolution would soon break out across europe so the treaty would be torn up

Reactions:

saved bolsheviks as they couldnt have fiought war, but also crushing blow, and encourgaged bolsheviks’ enemeis to try to overthrow government and restore russian greatness - left SRs even assassinated german ambassador to russia
natonalists were horrified and formed themselves into whit earmies

Why was there a civil war in russia

Opposed plans for social change, woerkers influence in industry, peasant seizure of land

Left wing groups resented bolsheviks for abolishing constutent assemblies
Czech legion - 40,000 from austria hungary, hoped to travel and sail around the world

Bolsheviks didnt trust czechs and fought for trans siberian railway


Urals and siberia —> kolhack in omsk,
Southern —> DENIKIN AND BARON WRANGEL
nORTHWEST —→ Yudenich

Red strenghths

Controlled central russia, shorter distances, majority of population
Formed own red army, consscription - over 5 million strong by 1920
Noted for disciplein and unity
Controlled most of industry and railways
Worked hard to win supporters using propaganda - agitprop spread msesage with plays, films
Making and breaking alliances

Trotsky organised mass mobilisation - war train, employed ex-tsaritst officers - deserters shot, units that retreated had one in ten men shot - made all soldiers swerar socialist military oath

White weaknesses

Geographically spread out so longer supply distances
Few areas with industry or natural resources
Far fewer whites, at msot 250,000
Many white armies linked to particular area would nto fight beyond it
No single white leader, in competition, factionalism
No common plan for russia - monaarchists, liberals, leftists
Unpopular since they treated peasants and non russians badly - turn back the clock, workers would lose advantages

Foreign intervention - british, french, US, japanese - encourage whites to fight reds and prevent spread of bolshevik ideas
Meant bolsheviks could appeal to russian national pride - many patriotic russians were forced to support the reds

Victory made bolsheviks certain their veiw was right, confidence boost
Made bolsheviks more reliant on force and terror - by end of 1918, cheka units in every area
Fighting also made bolsheviks more organised - tight central control strengthened, accelerated duesctruction of rival political groups
Civil awr exhausted russia, brutal behavior led to protests

Bolshevism and dictatorship

Shut down any opposition
December 1917 - all non bolshevik newspapers banned, kadet party and leaders banned - on path of one party state
Law courts and lawyers abolsihed and replaced by revolutionary tribunals - brutal, judged people more according to class

June 1918, SRs and mensheviks arrested - anarchsits arrested after 1919, 1921 - all other parties officially banned
1922 - show trial of leading SRs, deported

The role of the cheka

Extraordinary commission to combat counter revolution, sabotage and speculation - set up december 1917 - used to arrest opposition and prevent demonstrations against government
methods included executing people regarded as enemies of revolution - usually with single bullet to the back of head - also responsible for running gulag

Areas controlled by red army, terror used to crush all oppositon because of social status

1922 - cheka renamed GPU(state political directorate) and 1923 GPU became OGPU - all state

The socialist fatherland is in danger decree

february 1918 - bolsheviks passed decree, allowed them to force anyone they chose to do forced labour - allowed them to execute anyone who resisted - soon spread to include arrest and execution of anyone regarded as enemy of revolution

Red terror

Time of arrests and executions between september 1918 and february 1919
Concentration camps set up in northern russia on solevetsky islands, and between 50,000 and 140,000 executed

Started since opposition growing to new government and civil war starting

Also reacting to aassasination attempt in august 1918 - Sr named fanya kaplan tried to kill him, executed

officially ended in 1919, arrests and executions continued

Kronstadt mutiny

March 1921 - sailors mutinied in response to war communsim
Considered themselves revolutionaries andd emanded:

New elections to soviets by secret balllot
Freedom of speech and freedom of press for all left wing socialist parties
Free trade unions a nd peasant organisations
end to commissars in army and navy
end to grain requisition
Government restrictions on trade to be lifted

Lenin reacted by calling sailors counter revolutionaries, just felt they ewer ebeing betrayed - many had families in village - revolted while battleships were still trapped in winter ice, if they wanted to overtrhwo they could wait

Mutiny crushed -hundreds killed while others escaped to finland, hundreds executed by cheka nad in gulags

Centrlising bolshevik power

March 1918 - officially cheanged name of party to russian communist party
Believed polociies building socialist state and russia would be soon first fully communist country in world

Everyone willingly co-operated without repression, instead brutal dictatorship

Lenin united party and government, cetnralised dictarorship grew

Power held by communist party and not by soviets in reality - soviets became as rubber stamp, automaticalkly agreed with diecisions made by party

Unelected communist party decided everything, criticism not allowed
at each party congress members of whole aprty elected central committee to make decisions until next congress, central committee elected politburo, made up of lenin, zinoviev, kamenev trotstky and stalin

Politburo most powerful

1924 USSR constitution

USSR name made - red army carried communist powr to other repuiblics and forced them to join, parliament was all union congress of soviets - only met for a few days a yaer
December 1925 - “all union communist party” - claimed to be ruling party across union

Nationalisation and state capitalism, 1917-18

Ultimate aim was planned economy but very hard to begin with an inexperienced government - compromises had to be made

Biggest - workers taking control of factories, “decree of workers control” allowed it
however many factory owners shut them down rather than let them be take over - by august 1918 about 30% shut - economy at a halt

Communists nationalist biggest industries, banks, railaways - gave them targets - middle class managers and technicians allowed to stay in their old jobs to make sure it was run efficitently - state capitalism

Middle of 1918 - war communism

War communsim, 1918-21

Reasons:

Civil war, industry and food supply control needed
Strong desire to end capitalism - abolishing money and markets
Russia lost important grain producing areas in ukraine - other agricultural areas ocnotrlle d by white armies
Population in cities collapsed
War communism was what they were all about, when it failed lenin suggested it was forced “by war and ruin” - but not true

Effects and consequences of war communism

Fixed price paid for grain to keep costs down —> peasants didnt want to seell at low price, held onto grain, waited for price to improve
Cheka sent to requistion grain and hoarding peasants sho9t


Food rationing introduced - how much depdend on job —> workers received food, middle class people did not

From jjuly 1918, all large industries nationalisted, targets decided- worksops employing over 10 people nationalisted in 1919 —> increased ocntorl, workers cactory committes abolished,specialists employed as managers

Money abolished - —→ govenrment paid people in kind, continued to be used in areas communists did not fully control

Labour conscription - > people forced to work, strict discipline, rights reduced, strikes became illegal and trade unions taken over

Houses belong ing to rich people redistributed —> living space became more equal, party officials decided who would get a home

Public transport in cities made free of charge, workers could work more easily

private markets and traidng banned → black market emerged, people could still buy sought after goods

1921, from war communism to NEP

Changed direction, huge change - called “the peasant brest litovsk”

Forced to do to stay in power

But not that simple

Faiure of war communism:

EConomic disaster and deeply unpopular, by 1921 russia facing economic collapse

peasants destroying crops, rather than see them seized by communists - widespread food and consumer good shortages, famine - even cannibalism

Political rcisis:
Huge peasant uprising in tambov
Lenin and party also shocked by kronstadt

Within party - workers’ opposition unhappy at way praty ordered workers around, gave them little involvement in decision making

Factory workers unhappy and falling standards, organised protests and get the support sailors - communist party arrested protestors - also increased food rations

Clear something would have to change - if it didnt, party might find it had wonscivil war, only to lose control of country - war communism
NEP

The new econimic policy

free market and money re-introduced:

All over russia, traders hurried to make the most - nepmen and nep women
Brought greater fredom for peasatns, welcomed it and made the motst of oppurtunities - imrpove standard of living, seizure of grain replaced by taxation - at first frrm produce but paid in cash after 1924

Once peasants paid taxes, free to sell off any leftover grain

PEasants and traders welcomed the NEP - even those who did not grow ewalthy enjoyed the greater freedom - government rpetend there was support for rpevious polciies but they lvoed the NEP

cOMMUNISTs disappointed - suicide rates went up among party members during time of NEP - leading communists such as trotsky opposed re eemergence of capitalists

Some workers also disappoitned, looked as if peasnats were gaining more

Effects of the NEP on the economy:

Finally growth in agricultural output, peasants producing more since they could now sell it but agriculture still very backward with little equipment

Industry began to grow but very slow rate, many leading communists thought NEP would take too long to fully industrialise


Scissors crisis - by middle of 1923 fewer food shortages and prices of agricultural products were falling, since peasants were producing more grain however prices ofr factory made goods going up because industry grwoing slowly - manufacturing goods scarce


Prices for manufactured goods up 290% in 1923 compared with 1913, in 1923 just 89% of 1913 food prices

Sociewty became more unequal, kulaks became party targets

Trade with foreign countries remained below leve - USSR slipping behind economic growht of neighbours

How different was the NEP to war communism.

IN many ways very different but in other ways not chaneed much - kept control of “commanding heights”: banks and major industries eg steel and coal
govt had no intention of losing control of whole economy

And no political relaxation, russia remained one party state - trade unions remained under party controlk

Dealing with the crisis of 1921: the 10th party congress

Lenin able to deal with many aspects of crises threatiening party power, he knew that without action opposition to policy would undermine communist rule

Following changes helped consolidate communist hold on power - reduce opposition to his leadership:

Move from war communism to NEp was agreed
Factionalism banned - emmbers not allowed to criticse central party

Many expelled, regarded as not committed enough or freom wrong class, 44$ of party members from peasant backgrounds expelled

The communists and social change@

Foids:

1917 - delcared equal with men, 3 ruble postcard divorces introduced, non religious marriage introduced

1919 - zhenotdel set up to increase freedom, leader alexandra kollontai - lenin disapporvoed of beliefs in sexual freedom and does not like her support for workers’ opposition

1920 - abortion made legal, civil war literacy campaigns

1923 - kollontai worlds first female ambassador to norway

1926 - women can legally own property in relationship


Nep cutdown in government spending led to decline of creches in factories, limitied female job oppurtunities - few moemen promoted, progress slowed in 2nd half of 1920s

Impact of communist policies on education

Free compulsory education to 17 established in 1919, pre school education provided in many facotires - also major literacy drive within red army - peasants encouarged to read and write

1926 - 58% literate, much greater than before revolution - anatoly lunacharsky first people’s commissar of education

However as late as 1927 - despite efforts fo party - only 5% of teachers partym members, not until 1930s that education completely reorganised along communsit lines - untilt hen still possible to find tsar era textbooks
teachers not trusted so authority limited by banning homewoerk and corporal punishment, pay rate set below that of factory worker

Impact of communist policies on culture

Agitprop - agitation and propaganda section of central committee secratariat of communist party

Art:
During 1920s party encouraged proletarian culture, meant art which supported revolution and put workers centre-stage - at this time there was no clear official idea of what this would look like


For some avant garde artists revolution brought new freedom for abstract designs - futurists broke the past but lenin liked more traditional and realistic style

1920s - proletkult movement brought under party control

religion:
wanted to get rid of all religion, but promised more freedom for jews and muslims
wanted to reduce infleunce of orthodox church - closely supported tsar

1917 - church land seized, church also lsot control over education - 1922, increased persecutaion, many priests shot - church property confiscated by force

1923 - patriarch tikhon resigned, weakende leadership

1925 - mleage of militant godles set up to spread propaganda - communists hoped religioun would die out

Literature, film and music

Literature:

Censorship by glavit department ensured books carried approved messages, many writiers welcomed revolution as bringer of freedom - but from mid 1920s borought under tighter control -f rom 1925 carried out by russian association of proletarian writes - socialist realism

Film - seen by section of educaton ministry, all film companies nationalised in 1919 - in 1920s propaganda films shown for free in factories eg october directed by eisenstein

Classical music and ballet went out of fashion, compowers who stayed support new ideas - russian association of proletarian music brought poltiical control - new styels of music tried to imitate work or military, with machinery sounds

Replacing lenin: complications

Lenin fell ill in 1922 and 1923, died in january 1932 - through much of 1923 so ill he played no real prat in government, struggle started among senior communists -b y 28, won by stalin but not always the case


Lenin had key roles eg chairman of sovnarkom and politburo chair, no single role - not a matter of vacant position
Stalin general secrateary of party(responsible for organisation) but in 1924 it seemed very dull and boring, lenin broken off with relations with stalin - lenin criticised all of htem

Stalin strengths and weaknesses:

general secretary, tremendous power through appointing supporters key jobs, organisign congresses and getting new members after lenins death - “lenin enrolment” - poorly educated members loyal to stalin
apperared to be moderate, careful not to get angry - seemeed to be centre and not too extreme
patriotic, socialism in one country

weaknessses - seriously criticised in lenins testament, reputation for being “the grey blur”, “comrade card index”

Trotsky strengths and weaknesses:

Brilliant speaker, worked closely with lenin, helped party win the civil war


considered arrogant - ordering people about worked well in war but not peacetime
did not join until 1917, so no strong netwwrok of friends and supporters

belief in permanent revolution looked unpatriotic
Did not offer russia chance to pause and organise itself, watned rapid industrialisation to replace NEP

Zinoviev and kamenev:

Strengths:

worked closely together
party bosses in petrograd and moscow
Zinoviev had reputation as insightful communist thinker and rosuing speaker

Weaknesses:

Opposed lenins plan for october revolution which hung over them as terribler criticism

Bukharin strenghts and weaknesses

Brilliant thinker and political writer, personally very popular in party

Lacked experience - after initially opposing NEp he began to support it, not popular in the party

The aftermath of lenin’s death

Stalin supressed lenins testament and organised funeral - few learned about lenins fears regarding stalin
Stalin appeared very close to lenin - cult of lenin, always careful to present him - 1924 petrograd changed to leningrad

Trotsky ill and did not attend, later claimed stalin giave him the wrong date - hard to believe - looks more like trotstky didnt know how to comp[ette with rivals

Stalin eleminiates oposition —> the power struggle

Step 1: defeating trotsky and the left communists:

After lenins death trotsky seen as real danger by zinoviev kamenev and bukharin - ready to work with stalin to isolate him, succesful on stalins part - trotsyk criticised lack of democracy in party, felt like attack on lenin and unpopular - poor tactic

Trotsky and left communists wanted permanent revolution, rapid industrialisation and an end to NEP - right communists prepared to put up with NEP for longer to build foundation for industralisation

party congress 1925 - stalins control of organisation, and zionviev and kaemenevs control in leningra2d and moscow meant all votes went their way, trotsky lost job as commissar for war and tried to expel him - blocked by “moderate” stalin

Step 2: defeating united opposition

zinoviev and kamenev actually agreed with trostky just disagreed with tactics on hhow party would run, but also agreed with bukarhin who supoprted the NEP

they then formed united opposition with trotsky and criticised way party was running the economy, looked bizarre they were now allies with former enemy - also allowed stalin to accues them of being factionalists, zinoviev and kamenev sacked form all their jobs - in 1927 them and trotsky expeleld from party, zinoviev and kamenev admitted they were wrong and allowed back in

Step 3: defeating bukharin and the right communists

In ideology and strategy, sstalin identiical to trotsky zionivev and kamenev - but sided with bukharin to isolate his opponents
Not difficult, bukharin lacked support, could not control ovtes at congresses like stalin, and in favor of NEP

Stalin made move of iwnter of 1927-28 - poor relations between soviets and west made soviets fearful of war and poor harvest in 1927 - soviets would have to build up industrial strength quickly, food supplies need to be controlled - stalin visited suberia - urals siberia method, ordered police to seize grain and broke NEP rules
Then during 1929 - stalin called for collectivisation
Bukharin unable to stop them, condemned as “right deviation” - in desperation bukharin discussed with kamenev on howw to stop stalin but this leaked, bukahrin expelled from politburo in 1929

Purges and the use of terror in the soviet union

1933 - 18% of party memebrs expelled as unsuitable or disloyal

in 1934 secret police(OGPU) reorganised and changed initials to NKVD - wrok same though, intimidating people, arresting people, forced confessions through repeated interrogation(conveyor siystem), running prisons, excutions

after 1935 troikas decided peoples guilt and punishment - under article 58 of criminal code - many arrested for betraying vovernment as enemies of people for:
stamp collecting, speaking to foreigners, failing to cut photos of trotsky from textbooks, scribbling on photos of stalin, failing to meet targets - NKVD set quioats for arrests

Reasons behind the purges

To cover up problems in the economy - accidents in poorly run mines(Kemerovo explosions 1936) - government made it seem enemies were causing these, experts deliberately blamed and shot - to show how important it was to meet targets, managers often resented stakhanovites - managers found themselves shot

To control peasants and workers better, many not used to factory discipline and drifted from job to job - used false papers to survive soviet union eg kulaks release-d from prison and peasants escai=ping famine fled to cities to start a new life - executions used to remove peopel


To remove old rivals within the party - zinoviev khamenev bukharin and allies still in party, other leading communsts became critical of stalin, “old bolsheviks”, resented one man rule of stalin - in 1932 stalin wanted ryutin shot but could not persuade politburo, weakness angered stalin so wanted rivals dead -


To control local party bosses- many friendly with local nkvd commanders and covered up own mistakes, ther was much corruption

To protect government if war broke out with nazi germany
To blame others forr assasination of kirov in december 1934 - party boss in leningrad, opposed shooting of ryutin and in central committee elections at 1934 congress may have gained more votes than stilin - killed, zinoviev and kamenev arrested but stalin behind it


Weakness of communisgt government - strong well run popular governments do not need purges but soviets tried to rush transformation of country they couldnt control, rutheless party - stalins personality - supported by many key people

Main events of the purges

Faltering start - after murder of kirov, many arrests made - those arrested refuse to implicate zinoviev and kamenev but were shot anyway, arrest of people accues of involvement in murder stopped but flared up again in 1936

Head of NKVD yagoda rrrested, later shot for being slow to track down enemies - his replacement yezhov told by stalin that NKVD was 4 years behind in unmasking enemies


Attackin g the party and “wereckers” - arrests first targeted local bosses and party members - accompanied first show trials in moscow, arrests of factory managers accuesd of recking(deliberate damage) followed

Mass arrests - NKVD given targets hf how many enemies they should discovere,r, led to large numbers being arrested - as people interrogated confessed and named others involved in crimes, too arrested confessd and named tohers - things starting to spiral out of control

Yezhovschina - mass arrests, arrested in november 1938 and later shot - russian tradition fo blaming person rather than stalin - strong sense what people in power did was not concern of ordinary people

Consequences of purges

Destruction of old bolsheviks:

independent minded members of party known and argued with lenin and confident of own opinons dead, along with a million party members - repalced with stalin loyal members

weakening of armed forces - accuesd of spying for germany, olnly group who had power to threaten stalin - tukhachevsky chief opf staff was a supporter a, red mary had become better equipped because of five year plans but 35,000 officers arrested in 1937 and 1938 - confessions beaten out of them
once arrests started many foficers denoucned by own men because of personal disagreements or desire to appear loyal and avoid arrest - many experinced offivers shot inclusing tukhachevksy, half its generals, 8 admirals and 15,000 offficers
Weakened soviet defences when germany invaded in 1941


Chaos in economy and government - experienced memebrs, factory managers and scientists swepta away - loss would hold back further development, in culture of fear people afraid to ask difficult questions

Huge loss of life - 7-8 million arrested, one million shot and 2 million died in camps - in 1939 about 7 million people still in camps, many died but hard to be sure about exact figures - msut be added to huge numkbers who died
Altogther numbers were colossal and vast majority innocent

The labour camp system in the soviet union

GULAG - main administration of corective labour camps - by 1941 there were 8 million prisoners

different kinds:
peasants arrested during collectvistaion
workers convicted of wrecking
party officials suspected of sabotage
foreign comunists
Leaders of minority ethnic groups
members of ethnic groups with links to bordering countries
huge numbers of people arrested for quiotes

slave labourers referred to as white coal, provided neergy that ran maines

Prisoners called zeks used to open up undeveloped areas of north and east of siberiia - occupied area as large as france in kolyma
hundreds of camps of complete isolation located in inhospitable areas

prisoners faced long hard hours on little food, thin unifmrs, sleeping in scarcely heated huts - sub zero temperatures and terible working conditions

Show trials 1936-38

Fictional crimes, ordinary peole either had no trial or a quick appearance before a troika - show trials affected small number of people only
Poltiical theatre - cahrges fictional, speecehs pre-scripted - to convince people they were really traitors - films of them relerased to world’s press
Zinoviev and kamenev confessed to terrorism organised by trotsky in 1936 - shot, 1938 bukharin shot

Used to destroy old opponents and justify mass arrests, confessed for a mixture of reasons - to protect their families, still wished ot serve it - or some may have been tortured

Show trials - persuaded many that there was really a threat, gave someone to blame - using the time of yezhvo there was a way by whcich government tried to convince mas arrests were necessary

Show trials encouraged ordinary workers to denoucne managers for things that frustrated them instead of stalin - popular support for purges from workers

The link between terror and control of information

ORdinary asssumed when others were arrested, they were guilty but if they wer arrested there must have been a mistake
Not just fear, peoples till believed in thec ommunists system - encouraged by official culture

Official culture in the soviet union

Control eharst and minds of people - views of country and world, kept firm grasp on information and ideas made available - aim for all expressions of ideas and available information to be brougth into line with stalin

Totalitarian dictatorship - ntalin not able, USSR too large and complicated
Groups competing for influence - party, NKVD, economic officials, peasants, woerkers, members of middle class, minorities
Socialist realism - style of philosophy

kuzma petrov-vodkin, isaak brodsky, alexander samokhvalov, alexander deineka, yuri pimenov

1932 - reconstruction of literary and art organisation - put socialist realism at centre of stlins attempt to control culture, moscow and leningrad union of artists

Had to be simple easy to understand - show people in ordinary situations but vital to modernising and develoiping soviet union
Should look like heroes, work to be important - those who produced it were engineers of souls, new people would be enthusiastic abotu building communist soviet union

Government control of education

Cultural revolution - great upheaval in early 1930s, school students encouraged to denoucne teachers if they apeared to lack enthusiasm to communism
end to school disciplkine, uniforms and exams - workers given more ecnoruagedment in education than people from midddle cass backgrounds, often threw out of schoool - caused chaos

Restoring order - by mid 1930s, old fashioned teachers and middlec lass students driven out and new generation of educated workers rpoduced who owd everything to the communists - cshool unfiroms reintroduced, fees charged for top senior school
new textbooks produced, stalin had been lenin’s right hand man - core curriculum in maths, science, language history and geography that every student had to follow, designed to convey stalins’ view of life nad the world

Government attacks on religion

Orthodoxy - faced pressure, attacked, churches shout down, priests shot or imprisoned and persecution increased - colleges for training priests closed, religious education and publications baned - by 1941 only 500 churches reamined open, had been 54,000 in 1914 - churches closed down included ancient ones like alexander nevsky cathedral in baku, kazan acthedral in moscow demolsihed to give tanks access to red square, cathedral of christ the savior demolished 1931
Communists not able to destory church since too many scitizens remained membors
Muslims -s ufis in sotuehrn republics, had loyalty to religion that existed outside of soviet union -s topped using arabic script, non-russian speakers foirced to speak russian, accused of being nationalists, campaignsz against wokmen wearing the veil - hajj banned, other nomadic tribes forced to join collective farms in kazakhstan


Jews - anti semitism illggal but official opposition towards jews who ewanted to emigrate to middle east, jewish atuonomous oblast not a success

Buddhism - japanese spies, monasteries shut, buddihsti monks and lviestock herders sent ot sibera and texts destroyed

Media censorship

Everything read had to be positve about stalin - atltenratives to any other kind of beliefs and faith
All problems blamed on deliberate wrecking by enemies of people, made people hthink pruges necessary
All of trotsky’s work banned, anyone caught was arrested as oppositionist
Airbrushed out of photographs along with others
glavlit controlled all publication fo economic data - no independent way of checking if it was true


Consequences:

People simply believed or trusted nothing
Many had a limited education and did not have confidence to question it
Not everynoe believed what they told
- rumours spread
soviet union where it was safest to accept what you were told

Very bad for development, farmers dared not talk about crop sideases, factory managers could not discuss problems in raw material supply, military could not criticse poor equipment

New soviet constitution of 1936

Promised key rights - few of these existed in communist dictatorship, raises question of why stalin did this when basic rights and freedom actually being crushed
Promised direct elections, job, leaisure, healthcare, mhousing, education, freedom of religion, etc

reasons:

Sent message soviet union had been transfomred since 1924 constitution, increased support

Made the soviet union seem democratic
Helped persuade people whose parents had been middle class or kulaks to support the soviet union

made it attractive to people abroad - stalin feared rise of nazi germany

Attempting to appeal to ordinary soviet citizens, sweeping away local managers and bosses -cared about ordinary people
Encouraged people to buy into the official idea, rpomoted idea that they were losers and winners

The cult of the wise and kind leader in Russia… and the blame game

Russia had tradition of separating leaders from unpopular decisions
In place of religion was communist party
Those blamed were class enemies, and opposition politicians
Stalin was brutal, personally insecure, bore dgrudges - cult of stlain
Reasons:

Put stalin beyond criticism, focus on one man offered sense of stability - one man who could make sense of it all

Presented stalin as new lennin who cuold be centre point of loyalty, onece lenin died a cult of lenin had developed and someboyd else needed to continue it - stalin
Strengthened ruling position as he was presented as leader, teacher and friend of all people of the soviet union
Also increased regime support - local party memebrs might make a mess of things but the laeder could fix everything

The official stalin

Political genius - fully understood the communist way and careful not to make this claim himself - never used stalinism, but leninism - made hum seem humble

Praised for economic advances - psoters with background of factories, trains and happy farmers - it was as if everything was due to his actions

Posters of him srurounedd by children, all knowing and loving father fixgure - but hardly mixed with ordinary people

Graphic art, written and spokenw ord

Postsers put up in factories, at collective farms adn streets
Specially commissioned paintaings and prints claimed to show the kind of leader stalin was - often not based on reality, planning october revolution

Written and spoken word - some of spoke as if hwe was superhuman, two histories hailed stalion’s role as the lenin of today and rewrote history, trotsky totally ignored

Stalin’s reasons for changing agriculture

POlitical - wanted more control over countryisde, defeat bukharin who supported the NEP
economic - money gained by saelling grain abroad could pay for rapid industrialisation
ideological - feared that peasants were ltitle capitalists and needed to be brought under control

Communist ideology and attitudes to agriculture

According to marxist beliefs:
Highest stage of human development occured when countries industralised adn factories produced goods
Traditional rural society would be rpelaced by an urabn society
prviate property would be replaced by shared ownership, wealth would be redistributed so there was no longer a great gap between rich and poor

The problem with agriculture

October revolution left the communists with a rpoblem, instead of bening industrial it was rural and agricutlural and farming was very backward - peasants lived traditional lives with littel education and were very religious

Farming roun by independent peasatns who behaved like capitalists, under NEP gained significant freedom - kulaks
Some co-oepration but msot worked independelty

Communsts wanted to get rid of last surviavl of dinepnedence and capitaliosm, especially kulaks

Other reasons for reforming agriculture

Problem of NEP:
NEP homed farming would improve and modernise gradually, generate wealth that could be invested in industrialised the soviet union

By late 1920s NEP wasnt working, grain production was falling - NEP never been popular

Successes - more grain provided, no more food shortages
Small business sector growing
Less peasant unres

Failures:

Appeared kulaks won and peasants were deciding policy, peasants making rpofit, agriculture still private, not modernised, indurstialisation too slow

The war scare of 1927

Tension with poland in west, japan and china to the east - little danger but fear caused many to worry about how they would feed the red army and peole in towns and cities - ahd to force more grain out of peasants

PPower struggle - lst rival was bukharin who supported NEP and co-oepration with peasants

Stalin’s solution: collectivistaion:

eager to transform into modern industrial urban factories and cities

place where communist revolution SHOULD have happened - would changr ereality
Small foarms combined into larger run state farms, equipped with modern machinery so agriculture could support wider aims of state

Given time the NEP might have succeeded in buuilding up economy, but stalint oo impatient and unhappy at freewdom it was giving peasants

Organisation of collective farms

All peasants should join what were called kolkhoz - on kolkhozes peasants woudl work together, share land and equipment, produce grain and other farm produce according to government targets - profits deistibutred among members ofkolkhoz but only after demands of state met

Also state farm(sovkhoz) - much more land than kolkhoz, paid wage which gave them better incomes than kolkhozes

The drive to collectivise

Govenrment needed to sell grain abroad however unwilling to pay peasants more to persuade them - in 1926 price paid to peasants for grainw ent down

Created proiblem, in winter of 1927-28 shortages so bad stalin led a campgain of force, urals-siberian methbod

Liquidation of the kulaks

winter 1928-29, peasants forced to join kolkhozes
December 1929 - liquidation of kulaks, 2% of peasants wealthy enough but kulajk meant anyone who refused to join a kolkhoz in winter 1929-30

30,000 killed in 1930-31, most shot on the spot - others taken away from homes, 2 million transported to arctic north - worked to death, some serviuived and shot later to remove enmies of the peope

was about stamping control of communist party onto peasant population, power and politics