Stalin Outlines
5. Assess the extent to which ideological appeal aided the rise and rule of Stalin
1. Following Lenin's death in 1924, a power struggle emerged. 2. Stalin used his ideology to beat his opponents. 3. Stalin took advantage of Marxism-Leninism, expelled "Old Guard" Bolsheviks, and spread his theory of "Socialism in one country". 4. Thesis- Body: 1. Marxism-Leninism was invented by Stalin to help his rise. 2. Referred to as "Orthodox Marxism," Stalin's views on political and economic issues became the official ideology for the Soviet Communist party. 3. Since he was the creator, all of Marxism-Leninism supported Stalin and therefore boosted his number of followers. 4. Allegedly Lenin believed in the same political and economic issues as presented in Orthodox Marxism. 5. Therefore some of Lenin's supporters switched over to Stalin after Lenin's death. 1. The "Old Guard" Bolsheviks were informed on original Marxism and Lenin's wish to dismiss Stalin from his post. 2. They had experienced the Revolution in ......... and the civil war in ......., therefore knew Stalin was lying about Marxism-Leninism. 3. During the 1930's, Stalin executed almost all of them and filled their positions with party members who were in the lline with his ideologies. 4. Majority of incoming party members were peasants, lacking knowledge on Marxism. 5. Stalin took advantage of their little education and influenced them to believe Marxism-Leninism. 1. Stalin's theory of socialism in one country, presented in November 1924, included the idea that peace and stability would allow the Soviet's to construct Socialism by itself. 2. Stalin's idealogy opposed Trotsky's of permanent revolution, which expressed Soviet Russia could not achieve socialism. 3. Stalin's accusations of Trotsky's lack of faith in the people improved his follower base. 4. While permanent revolution could start foreign intervention by capitalist states, socialism in one country promised peace. 5. For new uneducated members, Stalin's theory was preferred. He also removed supporters of Trotsky's from their party, to reduce their influence.
10. In 1924 Stalin said: "the state is an instrument in the hands of the ruling class, used to break the resistance of the enemies of that class." To what extent did Stalin act on this belief?
Definition of "the state": • Formal definition from online dictionary: "a nation or territory considered as an organized political community under one government." • Stalinist State: Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was a one-party state. It was supposed to be a dictatorship under one party which would be the ruling class but in Stalin's case, he identified many under the apparatus as enemies, got rid of them, and changed it to a one person dictatorship (more on pages 31-32). He did so by identifying all his enemies and set out to break them. Stalin was changing the ideologies of the State to fit what he wanted Who were his enemies? (Each paragraph mentions a different group of his enemies and the strategies he used under the power of the state to get rid of them) • Those who could challenge him in rule (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Bukharin) • These were people who remembered old ideals Marxist theories and saw that Stalin was changing things up to what he termed as Marxism-Leninism which was leaning towards a more authoritarian rule Strategies he used to get rid of them which used the power of the state: o Deporting: He deported many of his rivals to completely expel them out of the race (Trotsky in 1928) o Execution: He executed several of his rivals as well including Kirov in 1934 b/c Stalin saw him becoming a stronger rival when Stalin once got more negative votes than Kirov at the 17th Party Congress o Put them on trial: The Show Trials: public trials where leading communists accused of plotting against Stalin and Soviet Union Led to either execution, deportation, or placement in Gulags Those placed on trial who pleaded guilty: Zinovyev and Kamenev in 1936, Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov in 1938 • Those whom he suspected were siding with foreign enemies Strategies he used to get rid of them: o Execution About 50% of the entire officer corps were either executed or imprisoned Many Red Army members including the head of the Red Army's political commissars and chief of general staff and deputy commissar for defense o Moving people National groups living on Soviet borders moved if they shared ethnic origins with potential enemies
8. Evaluate the methods used by Stalin to maintain power.
Stalin managed to remain in power for a long time through various methods. • Complete control of the government o After WWII many people saw Stalin as a hero so he tried to maintain his control on the government o He maintained a tight control on the military, the party and society as a whole o Ptomoted himself to 'Generalissimo' in June 1945, Georgi Zhukav lost his position in the Central Committee and many other high ranking army officers lost their position and influence o From 1945-1953 there were basically no promotions to the higher ranks of the armed force o Stalin excluded leading party members from decion making processes, and the central committee and trh Politburo did not meet from 1947-1952 o Central Committee did not meet until the 19th Party Congress in 1952 o So it looked like Stalin had all the power not the communist party • Purges o By 1929 Stalin had defeated his main opponents, but ws not completely dominant—politburo did not always agree with the calls for stricter action against Stalin's defeated opponents o After Kirov was suspiciously killed in 1934 the NKVD were given sweeping powers of arrest, trial and execution o in the next few weeks, over 100 party members were shot and thousands of Trotskyists and Zinovievists were arrested including Zinoviev and Kamenev o New purge began in the summer of 1936—involved the first show trial Trial of the Sixteen—august 1936 Trial of the Seventeen—January 1937 Trial of the Twenty One—March 1938 o By mid-1937 the purges began to include large numbers of administrators and specialists o In 1937-38 almost the entire party structure in Ukraine from the Politburo downwards was purged o Ordinary people began to worry as well—tried to prove their loyalty by denouncing others • Cult mentality o As early as Dec 1929 the media began to build up Stalin as a hero and to equate his political ideas to those of Marx and Lenin o Stalin tried to brand himself as a true disciple of Lenin, and branded others as 'anti-Leninists' o It was claimed that Stalin was the Lenin of today o The photographs of Stalin's opponents who had been defeated in the 20s were airbrushed out o In the 30s Stalin was portrayed as the father of the nation who had saved the USSR from its enemies and who was an expert in science and culture o Posters, paintings, statues of him were everywhere, known as a "Universal genius" o Stalin was everywhere and most people in Russia loved him—enabled him to stay in power for a long time
7. Analyze the conditions that enabled Stalin to become the ruler of a single-party state.
Stalin's rise to power was unexpected—most people in the party had not realized how powerful he was becoming until it became too late, Stalin took advantage of the situation in the Soviet Union and manipulated them to help his rise to power. • Ideological: o When Stalin started his rise to power in 1922 the Russian state was based on Marxist ideology o Many of the communist leaders had political differences over policy, theory and action o Stalin was more centralist as many communists were divided into those who were right wing and left wing, Stalin offered a midway o Stalin did not contribute to Marxist ideology until after Lenin's death in 1924—but really started in 1929 o Stalin used this ideological power struggle to his advantage—especially against Trotsky o Permanent revolution vs socialism in one country o Permanent revolution—idea of Trotsky's, basically said that other countries had to become socialist first and then they would help Russia become socialist and Russia needed the financial and technical support o Socialism in one country—Stalin basically said that socialism could be achieved in Russia alone o This idea appealed to the public and to the working class—took advantage of them • Socio-cultural o During the civil war many of the careerists were sided with the anti-Bolsheviks flocked to the Bolsheviks when it seemed like they would win This changed the structure of the party—making it weaker and easier to manipulate, the new party members were misinformed and did not know enough about the party o It worsened in 1921 when all other opposition parties were banned o Many new party members were ex-peasants who did not know anything about Marxism or the Bolsheviks joined the party and were easily manipulated—did not know that socialism in one country was completely against everything Marxism stood for o He could convince these new members of the party that what Trotsky stood for was not true Marxism and often changed what Marxist ideology really was and convince these new members to support him • Stalin's position in the party o In 1922 Stalin became the general secretary of the party, this was a role that other party members didn't really want, so they gave it to him, but Stalin used it to his advantage o This position gave Stalin the power to appoint and dismiss members of the party, so Stalin mainly appointed people that supported him and went against Trotsky (his main opposition) o In 1923 Stalin was re-elected and the new enlarged Central Committee only had three strong Trotsky supporters—evidence of Stalin using his power as general secretary
9. Examine the role of education in the Soviet Union under Stalin Against religion
The emphasis in education mostly brought benefits for both the people of the Soviet Union and the country because it consolidated and advanced industrial expansion and gender equality, meanwhile, Stalin's self-interest in promoting education was also conspicuous. a. Increasing emphasis in education under Stalin i. In the five-year plans, the production in heavy industrial was not as high as claimed by Soviet Union 1. The lack of skill of many of the industrial workers in state enterprises 2. Many were ex-peasants, who had little basic training 3. Most were under 29 4. Less than 20% of the workers had five years' experience of factory work ii. Education was seen as the priority in providing skilled workers. Educated workforce was vital for further industrialization and technological expansion 1. Education was free 2. Mass provision of primary and secondary education a. 1927, 15th Party Congress greatly increased the expenditure ion education b. 7.9 million students 118,558 schools --increased to-->9.7 million students 166,275 schools by1933 c. By 1939, illiteracy had been almost eradicated, most people could read and write 3. Class-quota system a. Double of the working-class students received higher technical education after 1928--> more skilled workers available b. New education system stimulates gender equality, a step forward in the long run of achieving socialism i. Education was equal for women ii. Traditional jobs for women were in the areas of agriculture, textiles and services, but because they had received education, their social status increased-->play role in economic development in USSR iii. By 1939, a third of all engineers and 79% of doctors were women c. Education was not fully liberal, but was specifically geared for the needs of the state and Stalin i. One aim was to create a "new socialist citizen" who accepted collectivist rather than individualistic ideal 1. Collectivization of agriculture-->kulaks<--Stalin didn't want that 2. The ideology of communism is to have no private ownership, all properties are owned by the state and are distributed equally to each individual ii. As the fear of war increased, nationalism was stressed in history teaching 1. Tsars such as Ivan the Terrible and Peter the Great were referred to as national heroes iii. Teachers and university lecturers were arrested if they opposed Stalin's principles<--totalitarianism
1. In what ways, and with what success, did Stalin deal with domestic challenges after gaining power?
Thesis: Through the 5-year plans, mass collectivization, and new educational standards, Stalin attempted with some success to solve a variety of domestic challenges. 1. 5 year plans were economic stimulus, however mostly unsuccessful. They did cause economic growth, but they lead to some period problems as well. 2. Stalin began foced collectivisation as a way to deal with the grain shortage, a devastating domestic problem. However, they only damaged agriculture. Thre way a lot of upheaval, and a lot of rebellion among Kulaks, who stalin liquidated. Peasants suffered greatly trying to meet grain qoutas. 1930- grain procurement launched 1932-33- drought and upheaval caused famine, coll. continues 1933- agriculture revives slowly 3. Stalin improved literacry by a great deal, but he also used education as a means of forming more loyal communist citizens. by 1939 almost all literate. Bolsheviks had been more liberal, Stalin cracked down with uniforms, single-sex schools, and education focused around making production-based jobs. Teachers kept in check.
4. Analyze the methods used by one single-party ruler to establish totalitarian control.
Totalitarian means that "all aspects of the state, politics, cultural, and spiritual life should be 'fascistised'" (aka everything is within the state). Stalin was able to establish totalitarian control through his political, social and economic policies. • Economic - collectivizing all of the farms in 1930 o This would then give the state total control of all of the agriculture/economy in that area o Fits into definition of totalitarian control because the state now owned everything o Check page 46 for more info • Political - the Great Purge and Terror (starting in 1935) o Stalin was murdering people politically that did not agree with him, thus establishing control since there was no one to oppose him o People then became really fearful of Stalin, so they wanted to appear loyal - aka submitting further into his control o Fits into definition because the state wanted to control all politics, so they got rid of all political opposition • Social - outlawed religion (starting in 1928) and controlled press/art tightly (starting in the 1920s) o People couldn't have a religion because communism was supposed to be the "paradise" not something else o Religion also created differences among people, and since the state wanted to control all spiritual aspects of society, they wanted everyone to believe (or not believe) the same thing o Also artists/writers could only write about approved topics, which controls the cultural aspect of society too, which fits into the totalitarian definition More info on pages 58 and 52
6. "Successful economic and social policies were essential for the single-party leader's maintenance of power." With reference to Stalin, to what extent do you agree with this statement?
Yes: Thesis: Stalin used his economic and social policies to maintain power of the USSR. EX1: His 5 year plans, implemented in 1928 and ran until 1955 helped industrialize the previously agriculture-heavy country. (pg 43-45, 50-51(for stuff on fourth and fifth plans) First 5 year plan, started on October 1st 1928, concentrated on building heavy industry (coal, iron, steel, oil and the works). Wanted to increase production 300%. They actually did revolutionize their country's industry, by building hundreds of factories. (pg. 43) EX2: In 1943, during the Second World War, Stalin re-opened the Russian Orthodox churches to encourage Soviet patriotism. (pg. 53) In 1928 Stalin started an anti-religious campaign. By 1941 40,000 Christian Churches and 25,000 Muslim Mosques had been closed down. Despite restriction on religion in 1935 57% of the population were still believers. Ex3: Stalin's tolerance of kolkhoz farms as an intermediary step towards full communism kept his country alive during the 1932-33 famine. (pg. 46-47) Kolkhoz farms, operated by families, produced more food than the Sovkhoz farms, operated by state.
