Notes on Stalin's rise and purges
Notes on Stalin’s Five-Year Plans and the Purges (Continued)
Expansion of Industrial Areas:
Significant industrial development occurred in inner Asia and the Urals.
The newly built Turksib Railway connected agriculture, copper mining, and electrical industries in the south to the northern regions.
Kuznetsk Basin was discovered to have high-grade coal, complementary to the Ural iron ores, though separated by 1,000 miles.
These developments demanded a transportation revolution; by 1938, railroads carried five times as much freight as in 1913.
Impact of Modernization:
The industrialization of inner Asia significantly increased the economic strength of the U.S.S.R.
Though the U.S.S.R. conducted less foreign trade than the Russian Empire, it built stronger connections with Asian neighbors.
By 1941, Russia had become a different, more industrialized antagonist in its conflict with Germany compared to 1914.
Industrial development in Asia and the Urals allowed the U.S.S.R. to survive the German occupation during WWII, with Allied assistance.
Industrial and Military Growth:
Increased industrial output supported the modernization of the Red Army, which became a significant factor in Russia’s ability to fight back during WWII.
Despite rapid growth, qualitative standards were lower compared to the West.
Many of the new factories were shoddily built and suffered from rapid depreciation.
In terms of efficiency and output per worker, the U.S.S.R. continued to lag the West.
Production Comparison (1937):
Per capita production of essential goods like coal, electricity, textiles, and iron was lower in the U.S.S.R. compared to the U.S., Britain, Germany, France, and Japan.
A notable indicator of lagging modernization was paper production, which was critical for many "civilized" activities. The U.S.S.R. produced only eleven pounds of paper per person, compared to 103 pounds in the U.S. and ninety-two pounds in Germany and Britain.
Social Costs and Effects:
The industrialization program demanded immense sacrifices from the people.
Millions, including kulaks, were killed, or sent to labor camps.
Citizens were required to endure austerity and self-denial, forgoing better food, housing, and consumer goods to focus on building capital wealth and heavy industry.
One-third of the national income was reinvested in industry each year, which was twice as much as in England in 1914, though likely comparable to England in the early Industrial Revolution.
The plan enforced hard work and low wages, with promises of better living conditions once the industrial foundation was complete.
Propaganda played a key role in maintaining morale, with party members explaining the reasons for the sacrifices.
Notes on Stalin’s Five-Year Plans and the Purges (continued)
Life Eases in the Late 1930s:
Food rationing was abolished in 1935.
Light industrial products, such as dishes and fountain pens, appeared in retail stores.
Living standards by the late 1930s were similar to those of 1927, with a brighter outlook for improvement.
However, war preparations hindered further progress.
Socialism vs. Capitalism:
Unemployment was officially eliminated, and there were no cycles of boom and depression like in free-enterprise economies.
Misuse of women and children in labor was minimized compared to the early days of Western industrialism.
There was a minimum standard of living, below which no one was supposed to fall.
Despite improvements, there was no economic equality:
Income inequality persisted with higher wages for government officials, managers, engineers, artists, and intellectuals.
Large incomes could be saved and passed on, but ownership of industrial capital (e.g., stocks) was forbidden.
No stock exchange existed under socialism.
Competition in a Socialist System:
In 1935, a miner named Stakhanov increased his coal output by improving work methods, boosting his wages under the piece-rate system.
This led to the creation of the Stakhanovite movement, celebrating workers who broke records and increased productivity.
The government promoted "socialist competition", likening it to labor heroes striving for greater achievements.
Factory managers were under pressure to meet production quotas, and failure could result in loss of job, social status, or even life.
Poor management was equated to sabotage and seen as a betrayal of Soviet society.
Culture of Competition:
Newspapers published statistics on economic achievements instead of sports, and people followed the fulfillment of quotas as a national pastime.
Workers believed the new industrial wonders were part of their own efforts in building the socialist fatherland.
Totalitarianism and Solidarity:
Totalitarianism was the price for national solidarity; the government supervised everything.
There was no room for skepticism, independence of thought, or criticism that could hinder progress.
Restrictions on movement: People could not leave the country without special permission, granted far less frequently than before 1914.
Lack of political freedoms:
Only one political party existed.
No free labor unions, press, or freedom of association.
Religion was tolerated only minimally, with widespread harassment of Soviet Jews.
Cultural and Intellectual Conformity:
Art, literature, and science became tools of political propaganda.
Creative and experimental works were suppressed, and individuals promoting them were removed from Soviet cultural life.
Dialectical materialism became the official philosophy, promoting conformity as the ideal.
This drive for conformity fostered fear and suspicion of anyone perceived as a potential dissenter or threat to the regime.
Notes on Stalin's Five-Year Plans and Purges (continued)
Economic Focus:
Heavy industry was prioritized over food supplies during the 20 years following the revolution.
Pig iron production saw a significant increase, particularly under the Second Five-Year Plan.
By 1940, Soviet pig iron production surpassed that of Germany, Britain, and France.
Cattle numbers, in contrast, declined sharply during the collectivization of agriculture, barely surpassing the 1920 level by 1940.
Human Cost of Stalin's Regime:
Many millions of people were affected, though precise figures are difficult to determine. Those impacted included:
Liquidated bourgeoisie and peasants.
Purged party members.
Disaffected individuals sentenced to labor camps.
These suspicions were later confirmed by Soviet leaders of a future generation.
The Purge Trials of the 1930s:
In 1936, socialism was deemed successful enough to warrant a new constitution for the U.S.S.R.
This constitution enumerated the rights of Soviet citizens, though it was against a backdrop of purges and repression.
Notes on Stalin's Five-Year Plans and Purges (continued)
Constitution of 1936:
Promised civil liberties including steady employment, rest, leisure, economic security, and a comfortable old age.
Condemned all forms of racism.
Reorganized Soviet republics and granted universal suffrage.
Received favorable attention in the West, though Stalin's dictatorship was tightening.
Internal Party Conflicts:
Diverging opinions within the Communist Party emerged, but disagreement with Stalin was not possible.
Bukharin's faction advocated more gradual collectivization and allowance for small private businesses.
Trotsky, in exile, led the far left opposition.
Early Purges (1933):
Stalin initiated a drastic party purge in 1933, expelling a third of its members.
Even loyalists were alarmed by Stalin’s growing ruthlessness.
Serge Kirov, an old revolutionary companion of Stalin, was assassinated in 1934, likely by a Stalin-ordered plot, sparking further purges.
The Great Purges (1936-1938):
Sensational public trials began, targeting Old Bolsheviks.
In 1936, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and 14 others were executed after confessing to the murder of Kirov and plotting against Stalin.
In 1937, more Old Bolsheviks faced execution or long prison sentences after trials.
In 1938, Bukharin and others were accused of plotting to restore capitalism and were executed.
Psycho-Terror Tactics:
Confessions during trials puzzled the world, as accused revolutionaries seemed in full possession of their faculties.
Psychological torture and threats against families were later revealed to be the methods of extracting confessions.
Widespread Purges:
In 1937, a secret court martial saw the execution of Marshal Tukhachevski and seven generals, accused of Trotskyism and conspiring with foreign enemies.
The purges extended across the party, government, military, intellectuals, and scientific communities, affecting high and lower ranks alike.
From 1930 to 1953, over 3.7 million people were tried for counterrevolutionary activities, with most during the Great Terror (1934-1938).
Notes on Stalin's Dictatorship and Final Purges
Soviet Propaganda:
Stalin was depicted as a benevolent national leader and worthy successor to Lenin.
A typical poster, by artist Konstantin Ivanov, portrayed Stalin as a visionary with the slogan “To communism—along the path laid by Lenin,” featuring a hydroelectric plant in the background, symbolizing industrialization.
Scale of Purges:
Between 1930 and 1953, 786,098 people were executed, with many more dying in labor camps.
Innocent victims of Stalin's purges were later officially confirmed, and their reputations were posthumously restored.
Reinforcement of Stalin’s Dictatorship:
The purges strengthened Stalin’s control by eliminating all potential rivals.
Stalin purged those who remembered Lenin and the ideals of the 1917 Revolution, erasing any challenge to his interpretation of Soviet governance.
Aftermath of the Purges:
By 1938, almost no Old Bolsheviks remained; Stalin had rid himself of those who could recall the early days of the revolution.
A younger generation of leaders, shaped by the new Stalinist system, took control, practical and accepting of Stalin’s dictatorship.
This group was focused on managing the established system rather than revolutionary agitation, marking a shift in Soviet leadership.