Ballin with Stalin
Third Five Year plan
- 1938-42 -Proposals to develop high industry and increase consumer good production were undermined by emphasis on heavy industry and defense -Molotov (supporter of Stalin) claimed first 2 plans laid foundation for socialist economy and third plan would complete process to communist transition -Third plan disrupted in June 1941 when Germany launched invasion
The Trial of the Twenty-One, March 1938
- Bukharin and 20 others were accused of membership of a Trotsky Rightist Bloc - most of the accused confessed, but not Bukharin - the court returned the desired verdict - Bukharin and the others were shot
Lenin (ideology)
- Democratic centralism (adapted from Marx) -Argued that all members of the party have the right for form factions to argue their POV -Lack of democracy/freedom in tsarist Russia (police state) --> party could only operate effectively in a centralized way -The decision made by the party should be fully supported by all members (even if they argued.=/ voted against it) -Trotsky argued that democratic centralism could allow an evil leader to become dictator over the party -Became more possible when Lenin argued a ban on other political parties/ organized factions within Bolsheviks - Lenin argued that the stages of human society could be shortened -End of feudalism---> first attempts to begin construction of socialism -Based on Marx's idea 'permanent revolution'- once one revolutionary stage was achieved, the struggle for next began immediately - Trotsky and Lenin believed Russia (early 20-century) could NOT succeed in any 'uninterrupted revolution' to socialism
Permanent Revolution
- Developed by Trotsky - Argued Russia could not achieve socialism without assistance of other states - Classes stick together Argument against: - anger surrounding capitalist states and risk foreign intervention
Totalitarian dictatorship
- Dictator is able to impose their will on party, state, and society - Total political power - First developed systematically Giovanni Amendola in 1923
Marx (ideology)
- Internationalist movement -Believed capitalism greatly increased productive capacities of developed European countries--> process establishing global economy -Led to frequent violent class conflicts within societies and wars b/w capitalist states --> Marx advocated international working-class movement to establish world socialism, then communism - He said societies could decline and remain stuck in an inefficient system if lower classes were unable to overthrow ruling class -Can also revert to a less advanced system if the political rulers made serious mistakes -Did not believe that tsarist Russia could move to socialism on its own
Marxism
- Karl Marx - Theory that human history was largely determined by the history of class struggles between ruling and oppressed classes - Class- based society, ruling class would be majority of population (working class) - International movement (world socialism then communism)
The Kirov Affair, 1934
- Kirov was known to have doubts about the pace of industrialization and Stalin's methods of disciplining the party - in December 1934, Kirov was assassinated - Stalin claimed it was part of a [plot to overthrow him and the rule of the Communist Party - plot was supposedly organized by a Leningrad Opposition Center with had links with Trotsky's Left Opposition and the United Opposition -recently reorganized NKVD, which absorbed OGPU in July 1934 □ NKVD- People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs set up in 1917 □ OGPU- United State Political Administration- secret police □ headed by Yagoda - in the next few weeks, over 100 party members were shot and thousands were arrested including Kamenev and Zinoviev - in January 1935, Zinoviev, Kamenev and 17 others were tried and imprisoned for 5-10 years - a few days later,12 important NKVD members in Leningrad were tried and imprisoned
Crisis Year
- The Crisis Year 1932-33 -Success of first plan created problems when second plan was drafted -(3)Implementation costs too much for Gosplan, increase in industrial goods proved too much for railway system, increase in urban populations led to shortage of houses, forced collectivization led to food shortage and famine -Many workers changed jobs frequently so managers had to increase wage in order to retain skilled workers in order to meet target
Totalitarian group
- Tight political controls over cultural/ artistic life - Personal dictatorship with use of secret police/repression
Leninism
- Vladmir Lenin - "democratic centralism" and the need for a small leading group of fully committed revolutionaries (vanguards)
The Great Purge
- by mid 1935, the purge had begun to come to a halt - a new purge began in the summer of 1936, involving the first show trial -signaling the start of the Great Purge
Stalin and Lenin
- cane be traced to the Marxist roots of early Bolshevism and Leninism - point to the way Lenin and Bolsheviks portrayed those who had different ideas - Bolsheviks resorted to purges in 1920s under Lenin - purges took place during the civil war and as the NEP was introduced - in 1919 and 1921, about 15% and 25% of members respectively lost their party cards - Trotsky rejected the argument that Stalin and Stalinism were a logical outcome of Lenin's ideas and methods of rule - other historians portrayed Stalinism as different from Leninism - Lenin never tried to force defeated political opponents to recant their views - unlike earlier purges, Stalin was attempting to create an ideologically pure and monolithic party
Totalitarian theories
- centered on role of Stalin- his position as dictator - many historians accept Stalin's responsibility for and planning of the Great Terror - in part be seen as a rational response to the circumstances of the 1930s - Trotsky saw the Great Terror as a way of providing scapegoats to explain away the economic problems - Roy Medvedev connected Stalin's lust for power and his measureless ambition to the huge support given to Kirov at the 1934 Party Congress
The Ryutin Affair, 1932
- more serious opposition to Stalin's policies came in 1932 when Martemyan Ryutin, a rightest, wrote a document calling for the end of forced collectivization, the rehabilitation of oppositionists (Trotsky), and the dismissal of Stalin - the document was signed by several prominent communists - members of the group were put on trial in September- Ryutin, Zinoviev, Kamenev and 17 others were expelled from the Central Committee - Stalin had wanted Ryutin executed but the Politburo refused to go that far
The 17th Party Congress, 1934
- opposition to Stalin continued after the Ryutin Affair - in January 1933, Smirnov was expelled for forming an 'anti-party group' in order to remove Stalin - a major turning point seems to have been the 17th Party Congress which took place in February 1934 - evidence suggests that some leading local officials asked Kirov to replace Stalin but he refused - is possible that Stalin wanted this in order to share responsibility for the economic crisis - Central Committee elected by the Congress gave an indication that not everyone in the Communist Party approved of Stalin's leadership
Revisionist theories
- several historians have focused attention on the existence of genuine opposition that posed a potential threat to Stalin's position - evidence that Stalin's references to a Trotskyist-Zinovievist plot were based in part on fact - between 1930 and 1932, officials contacted Trotsky about a new opposition bloc - some historians have argued that the NKVD and local party bosses were out of control in 1930s and frequently took matters well beyond Stalin's intentions
impact on women
-(1935) Stalin decided on policies to promote 'traditional' family values in order to increase USSR population -USSR population growth was in decline following Hitler's rise to power -To encourage big families, Stalin gave tax exemptions to families with a lot of children -Awarded mothers with large families (WW2) and unmarried people taxed heavily -1936: a new family law introduced -Many of the values that women gained was lost in 1936 because of the emphasis on traditional roles made divorce more difficult (rose the fee) -Restricted abortion to only those with medical reasons -Women traditionally worked in agriculture, textiles, and services -Position improved under Stalin -Encouraged to play part in economic development of USSR -By 1939: 1/3 of engineers and 79% of doctors were women -Women worked despite the emphasis of family life -By 1936: 1/4 of all female trade unionists were classified as workers who exceeded their production targets BUT access to higher administrative posts were unequal --> patriarchal tradition all over society -Women with majority household chores still
Mass collectivization
-1929 Stalin launch program of forced collectivization and called for kulaks to be "liquidated as a class" -150,000 people forced to migrate to poorer lands in both and east - 58% of peasant households collectivize, but process provoked resistance -Short halt, but soon resumed and resulted in millions of deaths - Intended to solve shortfall in grain - Destructive resistance by kulak and deportation led to drop in food production and famine
Second Five Year Plan
-1933-37 -First intended to create fully socialist economy, however final draft simply called for increase in production of first plan -Machine production and iron and steel output grew rapidly, making USSR nearly self- sufficient in these areas
Fourth Five year Plan
-1946-50 -Rebuilding heavy industry and reviving agriculture, civilian need given priority -Within 9 months of end of war in Europe, over 2.5 million homeless people had been rehoused -Agriculture revival was less successful -First year was not successful however once surviving mines and factories reopened and war industries switched back to industrial production, industrial revival occurred.
Fifth five year plan
-1951-55 -Relatively lower targets than previous plan -Tremendous improvements made by Stalin's death in 1953: -Rationing ended in 1947, real wages began to increase
Stakhanovite Movement
-Aleksei Stakhanov, miner, dug out massive amount of coal in one shift -Production targets increase as workers were urged to follow his example -Model workers received higher bonuses and other material advantages -Worst of collectivization was over = abandon rationing in 1935
'permanent revolution'
-Argued Russia was too economically/ culturally backward to achieve socialism w/o assistance by more advanced states -Developed by Trotsky -Arguments against permanent Rev.: - It would anger surrounding capitalist states --> risk foreign intervention
Collectivization 2.0
-By 1928, industry allowed millions of workers to migrate from rural areas into the city to work in the newly established factories -influx of workers meant that there was a shortage of food. -In the rural areas of the Soviet Union, the rich peasants (kulaks) controlled the grain prices and hoarded their surplus to ensure high prices - Stalin wanted to destroy the power of the Kulaks in order to control the grain prices. -collectivization as a way to use his authority to rid the countryside of Kulaks. -This was done through the NKVD, who rounded up the Kulaks who opposed Stalin's ideas and sent them to labor camps or shot them. -successful in the regards that it rid an entire class opposed to communism
New Economic Policy (NEP)
-Economic policy proposed by Lenin - progression towards state capitalism -Revised economic policy -Allowed for private ownership -Gave the peasants more incentive to work as if they reached their quota, they could sell the surplus -Gave Russia "breathing room" -Some officials thought it was bad because it strayed close to capitalism, however the NEP had specific rules to keep it from going that far
Fascism
-Extremely strong belief in superiority of one's own country and desire of advance that country at expense of others - Committed to destruction of all independent working class organizations- especially socialist and communist parties and trade unions - Does not appear to have existed before end of WW1
Lenin's Testament
-In January 1923, concerned about Stalin's power, he added a Postscript recommending Stalin's removal -from then until his death, Lenin urged Trotsky on several occasions to launch a campaign against bureaucracy and for the restoration of party and soviet democracy
Five year plan Impact on workers
-In order to meet high targets, uninterrupted week introduced (4 days of work and 1 day off) -Absenteeism and late arrivals published in loss of job and factory housing -After 1931, such offences punished by imprisonment or sentence at labor camps -Strict discipline led many to change jobs frequently -Rushed pace of industrialization led to reduction of living standards (food shortage and rising prices and house shortage) -End high unemployment -Workers benefit from expansion of education from 1929 designed to increase skill and productivity of workforce
Gulag
-In order to overcome labor shortage, establish timber camps -1930 OGPU set up special departments to run them- Chief -Administration for Corrective Labor Camps (GULAG) -Many were deported ex- kulaks or workers who committed offence, people from purge in 30s
Marxism- Leninism
-Invented by Stalin -Code for Stalinism - Socialism in one country -leadership of the vanguard
Lev Kamenev (1883-1936)
-Kamenev joined the Bolsheviks and was elected to their Politburo in 1917 -opposed Lenin's call for a second revolution in November following the revolution in March 1917 -became the leader of the Moscow party organization -as one of the triumvirs, had supported Stalin immediately after Lenin's death but later joined with Zinoviev in forming a United Opposition with Trotsky -made peace with Stalin but was executed in 1936
The Trial of the Sixteen, August 1936
-NKVD claimed to have uncovered a Trotskyist-Zinovievist counter-revolutionary conspiracy -Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others were accused of organizing the conspiracy and plotting to kill Stalin and other Politburo members -all 16 were found guilty and executed -Stalin had Yagoda replaced by Ezhov on the grounds that Yagoda had not been active enough in exposing the full scope of the 'conspiracy'
June 1945: promoted himself Generalissimo (supreme commander)
-No more high rankings granted from 1945-1953 -Stalin excluded leading party members from decision-making process --> full political control in armed forces and suspicious of the members in party -INSTEAD Stalin met with small sub-committees of people he trusted
First Five Year Plan
-Oct 1 1928-32 -Concentrated on heavy industry- coal, iron, steel, oil, and machinery -Production planned to increase by 300%, light industry double output, electricity production increase by 600% -Workers enthusiastic by vision, reports (mostly unreliable) claimed that targets were being exceeded -Hundreds of factories and mines were set up, new rail links were built -Rapid industrialization was Stalin's fear of international situation -Dec 1932 Stalin announced First Five Year Plan was fulfilled, but this was an exaggeration -Despite tremendous growth, no major targets actually met
The End of the Great Terror
-October 1937, Stalin raised doubts about the purging of industrial workers -December 1938, Beria replaced Ezhov as general commissar for state security -at the 18th Party Congress in March 1939, Stalin and Zhdanov announced that mass cleansings were no longer needed - later in 1939, Ezhov was accused of being a British agent and was executed -potential opponents of Stalin continued to be arrested and imprisoned or executed but on a smaller scale
Stalin (ideology)
-Old Guard' Bolsheviks= Bolsheviks who were members of party for long time -Old Guard Bolsheviks presence meant they fully aware of early Marxist theory and remembered true facts of various political arguments (during/before 1917)---> Stalin had almost all of them executed in 1930s - Used policy of 'socialism in one country' in the campaign against Trotsky/ Trotskyism -Stalin and supporters portrayed Trotskyism as a 'petit-bourgeois' ideology at odds w/ Marxism and Leninism --> cannot be member of Soviet Communist Party -Petit-bourgeois: lower middle class who wants to be upper class (merchants, shop owners) -Stalin and Bukharin that middle-class Trotsky had no faith in ability of Russian workers/peasants to construct socialism in the USSR - Belief that Stalin ideas/practices were almost total distortion of what Marx and Lenin said and done -->Stalinism - Marxists determined to show that Stalinism was not adaptation from Marxism, instead it's a qualitative and fundamental aberration from both Lenin and Marx even from communism in general -Stress how Stalin and supporters rejected socialist democracy in favor of one-party state and how he placed national interest of USSR above achieving world revolution
Stalin's insecurities in 1930
-Purges had taken place in the Communist Party before Stalin's rise to power -purges- checking the personal qualities and behavior of party member - before had only been used to expel those judged to be unsuitable - during the power struggle of the 1920s, many of Stalin's opponents lost positions or were even expelled - even those purges were not as violent as those of the 1930s - Stalin defeated his main opponents by 1929, but was not totally dominant - in the late 1920s, the Politburo did not always support his calls - furthermore, Bukharin still had sympathizers and supporters in the party - at the 16th Party Congress in June 1930, Bukharin was re-elected to the Central Committee - the early problems arising from mass collectivization and rapid industrialization created political division even within the Politburo - in December 1930, Sergey Syrtsov and others were expelled from the Central Committee for criticizing the excesses committed under collectivization - had previously supported Stalin in the struggle against Bukharin and the right
Stage 2: The defeat of the Left Opposition, 1924-1927
-Stalin dismissed many oppositionists from posts of responsibility -his position seemed threatened when Lenin's widow revealed his Testament to the Central Committee and senior -Stalin was saved by Zinoviev and Kamenev -persuaded the Central Committee not to act on or publish the Testament -in November 1924, following a campaign against 'Trotskyism', Trotsky's Lessons of October was published -showed how close his views were to those of Lenin -as Stalin was not mentioned, Trotsky inadvertently strengthened Stalin's position -In January 1925, the triumvirs removed Trotsky from his position as commissar of war
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of the Soviet Union (Structuralist explanations)
-Stalin was a product of Russian history and administrative system set up after 1917 -some historians see Stalin as a ruler in the long tsarist tradition of absolutist rule -others point to the impact of the civil war (appointment rather than election) -as the administrative apparatus grew, so did Stalin's power to appoint -as a result, bureaucracy increased enabling Stalin to control party congresses, the Central Committee, and the Politburo itself -in addition the Revolution and civil war had led to the displacement or death of the militant industrial workers who had been the Bolsheviks' main supporters between 1917 and 1921 -survivors were later given administrative posts in the government, army or party -replaced in the factories by workers from peasant traditions which had tended to support the Social Revolutionaries -as a result, elected soviets seemed less likely to support Bolshevik policies and were increasingly ignored by the government -as administrative bureaucracy grew, the communist leaders were forced to recruit former tsarist bureaucrats -bureaucrats had administrative experience but lacked initiative and often had contempt for the people and a supine attitude to authority
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of the Soviet Union (Power politics)
-Stalin's rise can be seen as resulting from his deliberate and skillful manipulation of genuine political and ideological difference amongst the Bolshevik leaders -Zinoviev and Kamenev have been portrayed as, respectively, careerist and weak willed -Bukharin's commitment to the NEP is seen as having blinded him to the dangers posed by Stalin until it was too late -Lenin himself did not realize the threat from Stalin until 1922 -by then Lenin was too ill to be politically active -Stalin's main opponent Trotsky, can be seen as having made several serious errors and miscalculations
The Impact of the Great Purge
-The numbers debate -before Gorbachev and his policy of glasnot (policy of openness), about 5-18 million were victims of the Great Purge -in 1990, KGB archives were made public -much lower figures of just under 2 million victims
Grigori Zinoviev (1883-1936)
-Zinoviev joined the Bolsheviks and worked closely with Lenin from 1908 to 1917 -became the powerful leader of the Leningrad party and president of Comintern -after Lenin's death in 1924, he worked with Kamenev and Stalin to prevent Trotsky taking over -later opposed Stalin and was executed in 1936
Political and economic problems 1921-24
-after Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917, Russia went through a civil war -Bolsheviks won in 1921, but there were sharp policy differences between the leading Bolsheviks especially on economic policy -War Communism had been adopted as an emergency measure -Kronstadt Rising led Lenin to persuade the party to adopt a New Economic Policy at the 10th Party Congress in March -NEP not only ended War Communism, it also introduced a partial step back towards capitalism
The cult of personality
-as early as December 1929, the party and media began to build up Stalin as a hero and equate his thinking with that of Marx and Lenin -during the 1930s, a cult of personality developed -Stalin was portrayed as the father of the nation -credited with having made the Soviet Union the envy of the world through the 5-year plans -after WWII, Stalin portrayed himself as the man who saved the Soviet motherland -June 1945, promoted himself to Generlissimo
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of the Soviet Union (Socio-cultural explanations)
-closely linked to structural explanations -emphasize the impact of the social structure on the politics and development of the Communist Party and the Soviet state -all groups were easily manipulated by the party leadership
Lavrenti Beria (1899-1953)
-early supporter of Stalin -in 1938, replaced Ezhov as head of NKCD and was responsible for the elimination of Ezhov and several other NKVD officials -when Zhdanov died in 1948, it was though Beria would succeed Stalin -when Stalin died in 1953, Beria was arrested and executed
Stage 3: The defeat of the right, 1927-1929
-final stage began almost immediately after the United Opposition had been defeated -by Autumn of 1927, bread shortages and food prices led Stalin to adopt a new left course for the industry and agriculture -produced a rift between the Bukharinists and the Stalinists over continuation of the NEP -Trotsky had seen Bukharin's faction more dangerous to the gains of the November Revolution than Stalin's -by May 1928, with Stalin clearly planning a second revolution, some of Trotsky's supporters thought they should join Stalin -during July, the food crisis became worse - seemed the Bukharin's faction was gaining the upper hand when he won a vote in the Central Committee to slow Stalin's left turn -by August, Stalin had renewed his leftward course and the breach with Bukharin was confirmed -both factions then turned to the defeated Left oppositionists for support although Stalin made no direct contacts -Bukharin persuaded Kamenev to contact Trotsky saying he feared Stalin would strangle them -Stalin was prepared to create a police state and take total power -in September 1928, Trotsky and Bukharin considered an alliance to restore party and soviet democracy -the right, who felt the New Economic Policy should be continued were opposed to the left who wished to end the NEP -the left objected to an alliance with the right -preferred alliance with Stalin -Trotsky's willingness to consider such an alliance lost him some supporters -Bukharin and the right surrendered to Stalin -Stalin managed to defeat both factions by relying solely on his own supporters -Stalin decided to make the Politburo Trotsky -Stalin feared a left-right alliance -in February 1929, Trotsky was deported from Alma-Ata in Turkestan to Constantinople -during the same period, Stalin moved against the right -in January 1929, Bukharin made a speech entitled Lenin's Political Testament -Bukharin's speech and his meeting with Kamenev led Stalin to accuse Bukharin of factionalism -in April 1929, Bukharin was removed as editor of Pravda and in November 1929, he was removed from the Politburo
Andrei Vynshinski (1883-1954)
-first supported the Mensheviks but joined the Bolsheviks during the civil war -acted as deputy state prosecutor during the show trials
Divisions within the triumvirate
-in 1925, disagreements about the New Economic Policy caused a split between the triumvirs and left, center, and right factions emerged -Zinoviev and Kamenev le the left -in summer of 1925, Zinoviev attacked Bukharin's rightist views -Stalin then began to remove Kamenev's supporters from their positions in the Moscow party -at the 14th Congress in December 1925, Stalin ensured that the majority supported him and Bukharin and a new Central Committee and Politburo were elected both with a Stalinist- Bukharinist majority -Stalin then accused Zinoviev of Trotskyism and in early 1926, Zinoviev lost the leadership of the Leningrad party to Sergei Kirov, one of Stalin's supporters
The Trial of the Seventeen, January 1937
-in January 1937, the second show trial, 17 communist leaders were accused of plotting with Trotsky to carry out assassinations, sabotage of industry and spying -NKVD interrogations produced confessions that were the main evidence of Andrei Vynshinski -13 were sentenced to death -Central Committee met during February and March 1937 -consider the destruction of the Trotsky Conspiracy as revealed by Stalin and Molotov -Ezhov took his cue from Stalin and accused Bukharin of knowledge of Trotsky's plan -Bukharin refused to confess and was expelled and arrested
The United Opposition- formation and defeat
-in July 1926, Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev formed the United (Joint Left) Opposition with some support from Nadya Krupskaya (Lenin's widow) and a few other prominent party members -Stalin's control of the party enabled him to ban the meetings and dismiss their supporters -accused them of breaking the 1921 ban on factions and persuaded the Central Committee to remove Zinoviev from the Politburo -only Trotsky remained -when one of Trotsky's supporters published Lenin's Testament in the New York Times the Central Committee expelled Trotsky from the Politburo -isolation of the three Opposition leaders led Krupskaya to make her peace with Stalin -in June 1927, Stalin tried to have Trotsky and Zinoviev expelled -failed at first, but on November 14, Stalin succeeded -one of their fears was that continued opposition to Stalin would result in the splitting of the Communist Party and the formation of an opposition party -believed the Communist Party was the only party capable of securing the conquests of October -attracted by signs that Stalin would abandon the NEP -By December 10, 1927, the United -in January 1928, Trotsky was forcibly deported to Alma-Ata near the Chinese border -other oppositionists were deported elsewhere to prevent them from communicating with each other
Lenin's illness and the succession
-in May 1922, Lenin had the first in a series of strokes -other important people were members of the Politburo -Politburo- political bureau, body responsible for making political decisions -Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin and Stalin -in April 1922, Stalin was appointed general secretary of the Communist Party officials -this position gave him the power to appoint and dismiss Communist Party officials -many leading communists resented -Trotsky had only joined the Bolsheviks in August 1917, while other had supported Lenin in 1903 over the Bolshevik-Menshevik split -in December 1922, Zinoviev, Kamenev, and Stalin formed an alliance- the triumvirate- to prevent Trotsky obtaining majority support -triumvirate- group of three rulers acting together
The formation of the Left Opposition
-in October 1923, Trotsky formed the Left Opposition with others opposed to the policies of the triumvirs -Stalin used his power to isolate them and in January 1924, the 13th Party Conference condemned Trotsky's views -when Lenin died, Stalin gave Trotsky the wrong date for Lenin's funeral and then raised suspicions about Trotsky's absence
Nikolai Bukharin (1888-1938)
-joined Bolsheviks in 1906 -first on the left, moved to the right in 1924 -main defender of NEP until 1928 when he -allowed back into the party in 1930s but then executed in 1938
Sergei Kirov (1888-1934)
-joined the Bolsheviks in 1904 and was elected to the Politburo in 1930 -head of the Leningrad Communist Party -a moderate and opposed some of Stalin's more extreme measures • assassinated in 1934
Genrihk Yagoda (1891-1938)
-joined the Bolsheviks in 1907 and the Cheka in 1917 -was put in charge of forced labor camps in 1930 -in 1934, the NKVD -suspected of being involved in Kirov's murder -in 1936, he supervised the first show trial -replaced by Ezhov after failing to get Bukharin convicted -arrested in 1937, found guilty of plotting with Trotsky and others -executed in 1938
Nikolai Ezhov (1895-1940)
-joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 and played an active part in the November Revolution -helped to organize the collectivization of agriculture -head of NKVD from 1937 to 1938 -organized the show trials against the Old Bolshevik and the purge of the armed forces -removed from his pot in 1938 and executed in 1940
Vladimir Lenin (1870-1924)
-joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1898 -provoked a split in the RSDLP in 1903 and formed the Bolshevik faction -in exile from Russia until April 1917, he returned and pushed for the Bolsheviks to overthrow the Provisional Government in November 1917 -acted as prime minister from 1917-1924
Joseph Stalin (1880-1953)
-joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party, a Marxist Party and sided with Lenin when the party split in 1903 -was not an intellectual -in 1917, he became Commissar for nationalities and in 1922, took on the role of general secretary of the Communist Party -after Lenin's death in 1924, he made himself supreme ruler -remained head of the Soviet Union until his death in 1953, having executed many of his rivals in the purges of the 1930s
1921 Ban
-limited revival of capitalism and he shock of the Kronstadt Rising also led the 10th Party Congress to introduce a ban on factions within the Communist Part and a ban on opposition parties in the soviets -soviets- workers' councils spread throughout Russia in 1917 with each town or rural soviet sending delegates to an All-Russian Congress of Soviets -after 1917, the soviets became the main political authority (controlling the government) -several communists opposed the ban -to play a crucial role in Stalin's rise to power
The Ryutin Affair, 1932 (The Great Purge)
-more serious opposition to Stalin's policies came in 1932 when Martemyan Ryutin, a rightest, wrote a document calling for the end of forced collectivization, the rehabilitation of oppositionists (Trotsky), and the dismissal of Stalin -the document was signed by several prominent communists -members of the group were put on trial in September- Ryutin, Zinoviev, Kamenev and 17 others were expelled from the Central Committee - Stalin had wanted Ryutin executed but the Politburo refused to go that far
The 17th Party Congress, 1934
-opposition to Stalin continued after the Ryutin Affair -in January 1933, Smirnov was expelled for forming an 'anti-party group' in order to remove Stalin -a major turning point seems to have been the 17th Party Congress which took place in February 1934 -evidence suggests that some leading local officials asked Kirov to replace Stalin but he refused -is possible that Stalin wanted this in order to share responsibility for the economic crisis -Central Committee elected by the Congress gave an indication that not everyone in the Communist Party approved of Stalin's leadership
Authoritarian
-regimes that are essentially conservative and traditional. -Try to defend existing institutions and keep all sections of society politically and organizationally passive. -Not being able to vote -Take away personal freedom -One or a small group of ultimate rulers -No freedom of speech, religion, press -No majority rule
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of the Soviet Union (Ideological explanations
-several historians stress the genuine political differences among the communist leaders of the 1920s, especially over the NEP -left feared the NEP might eventually lead to the restoration of capitalism -right argued that Soviet Union was overwhelmingly agricultural and backward, while industry was in crisis the NEP was essential if the economy was to revive -the right tended to overlook the conflicts that might arise between the kulaks and the nepmen and the workers state -kulaks- rich peasant -nepman- traders and middlemen who began to grow wealthy under the NEP -Stalin's rise can be seen as a genuine political response by the center to steer a midway policy course -later, it was seen that a change was needed -Stalin's policies can be seen as consistent and in tune with the bulk of party membership -one interpretation of Stalin's rise was that it was developed by Trotsky himself -pointing to the failure of international revolution and the consequent isolation of the new Soviet state, Trotsky argued that early soviet democracy was undermined by Russian backwardness and the growing political apathy of the working class -allowed conservative and reactionary elements to come to the fore and resulted in what he called "bureaucratic degeneration" -Stalin's victory was the result of unforeseen historical and cultural developments after 1917 rather than the mistakes of his opponents
Leon Trotsky (1879-1940)
-sided with the Mensheviks against Lenin when the RSDLP split in 1903 -joined the Bolsheviks in 1917 and was the main organizer of the November Revolution -led the Red Army during the civil war -expelled from the Soviet Union in 1929, he set up the Fourth International, an international communist organization, in 1938 while in Mexico -assassinated in Mexico by one of Stalin's agents in 1940 -strong Lenin supporter -most likely successor to Lenin -founder of Left Opposition -co-founder of United Opposition
The Great Terror
-the Great Purge had begun to transform into the Great Terror -initially urges affected party members, but by mid-1937, were widened to include large numbers of administrators, specialists, engineers and railway workers -in years 1937-1938, almost the entire party structure in Ukraine was purged -many ended up in the Gulag or simply executed -also spread to the Red Army -Stalin began to worry about military coup as threat of war with Nazi Germany increased -in May 1937, Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky and Yan Gamarnik were arrested and accused of plotting with Trotsky and others to assassinate Soviet leaders - on June 12 1937, they were executed -Great Terror spread down to the lower ranks of Red Army -by the end of 1938, the list of those executed included a lot of the army -35000 of the entire officer corps were either executed or imprisoned -Great Terror began to affect large numbers of ordinary people -many people tried to prove their loyalty to Stalin by denouncing others -by the end of 1938, most Russians were terrified
Stage 1: The early moves against Trotsky, 1923-1924
-triumvir's campaign against Trotsky began in April 1923 at the 12th Congress -Congress- the Communist Party's supreme decision-making body made up of delegates elected by local party organs -traditional greetings from local parties all mentioned Lenin and Trotsky but hardly mentioned Stalin -with Lenin absent, the triumvirs isolated Trotsky -Congress re-elected Stalin as general secretary and elected a new enlarged Central Committee -Central Committee- Communist Party's ruling body between Congresses -as general secretary, Stalin began to replace Trotsky's supporters with those of the triumvirs -by the end of 1923, Stalin had enough control of the party machine at local level to ensure that most of his nominees were elected to future congresses
Some historian believe Stalinist state has features of Russia's tsarist past and peasant past:
-tsarist-style autocracy and belief in need for all-power leader -Official orthodox ideology (replace religion with communism) -Belief in 'national community' that was transformed into nationalist belief--> Russians could achieve 'socialism in one country' (w/o help)
Joseph Stalin
1880-1953 -Joined Russian Social Democratic Labor Party (a Marxist party) and sided with Lenin when party split in 1903 -1922 took role as general secretary of Communist Party -Made himself supreme ruler after Lenin's death in 1924 -Remained head of USSR until death
The 1921 Ban
A ban on factions within the Communist Part and a ban on opposition parties in the soviets -Crucial role in Stalin's rise to power
'socialism in one country'
After Lenin death (1924): Stalin played key role in power struggle b/w 'socialism in one country and 'permanent revolution' -Stalin came up with the ideological concept of 'socialism in one country' to use as weapon against Trotsky -Stressed need for peace and stability -Stated that despite isolation, the new USSR could construct socialism on its own--> compromising -Stalin accused Trotsky of his lack of faith in the people of Russia -->reverse of Marxist/ Bolshevik ideology
March 1953:
Stalin dies of stroke
Ural- Siberian Method
Stalin instructed local officials in Siberia to increase state grain procurements- seized more grain and closed markets Implemented in most of USSR, destroying NEP in all but name
Dictatorship of the proletariat
dominance of industrial working class; describes rule under workers' state
Marxist theory of stages
series of revolutionary stages in which, after one stage is achieved, the next class struggle would begin immediately - Poor agricultural society would not move to socialism on its own - Socialism requires advanced industrial base
Pluralist (social) group
• Argue that Stailinst state acted as a referee for different competing interest groups (Military, managers, tech experts..) • See it as more dynamic w/ different hierarchies and opposing interests (Historian Fitzpatrick view)
