Unit 3: Stalin

Ryutin Affair

A Rightist who wrote a document calling for the end of the forced collectivisation, the rehabilitation of the defeated Oppositionists (including Trotsky) and the dismissal of Stalin. Ryutin's document also accused Stalin of destroying the communist revolution and was signed by several prominent communists. He was put on trial and was expelled from the Central Committee. Stalin wanted Ryutin to be executed, but the Politburo refused to do so. This is significant because it shows that Stalin does not have complete control yet.

Dekulakization

A Soviet campaign of political repressions, including arrests, deportations, and executions of millions of the better-off peasants and their families in 1929-1932. This helped create the Culture of Fear. The significance of Dekulakization is that it lead to the famine/genocide in the USSR so that Stalin could exacerbate class conflict through expanding the definition of a kulak. (Daddy Stalin was a Walrus)

Lenin's Testament

As Lenin was near his death, he proposed to Trotsky that they should form a joint bloc for democracy against growing signs of bureaucracy in the party and the state. He was prevented to do so because of his second stroke. In his last Testament in December 1922, he outlined the strengths and weaknesses of all the leading members of the Communist Party. His growing concern over Stalin's power led him t add a Postscript in January 1923, recommending Stalin's removal. The significance of Lenin's Testament and its cover-up demonstrates that by this point, Stalin's strength in government was so strong that even Lenin could not block it.

Bukarin

Bukarin was another member of the Communist Party whom Stalin used to gain support among the party. Then, he shifted his ideologies to get rid of Bukarin. Bukarin is significant because it demonstrates Stalin's willingness to be pragmatic with his politics and ideologies to be able to gain power.

Collectivization

Collectivization was the forced consolidation of peasants' traditional farms to try to improve the agricultural sector as part of the Five Year Plan. The significance of collectivization is that it reversed parts of the New Economic Plan in which Lenin allowed the peasants to sell part of their excess crop. Now, peasants were not able to keep as much of their crop, so, in turn, they kept the grain. This caused massive shortages, so the government seized grain and demonized peasants who resisted. The significance of collectivization is that it highlighted class and social conflicts, so that in distracting the peasants with famine and tension, Stalin could grab more power.

Historiography - Stalin's rise to power

Extracts from Lenin's Testament and Postscript: Lenin did not desire for Stalin to rule after him and he instead wanted Trotsky to follow in his footsteps. He characterizes Stalin as rule and incapable of managing the amount of power and responsibility that comes with ruling a nation. Unlike Stalin, Lenin describes Trotsky as self-confident and well prepared to guide the people of the Soviet Union to a better future and to create peace in the nation. The significance of Lenin's words express the manipulative nature that Stalin possesses due to his ability to be able to convince he Soviets that he was the best friend of Lenin and worthy to rule of the soviets. Also it can be seen as important because of ineffectiveness the Postscript had on the soviets due to Stalin's complete control of the Soviet Union, by the time the Soviets were able to see Lenin's post-script after his death.

Stalin's Funeral Speech

For years Stalin used his "friendship" with Lenin (which was totally fake) to boost his ratings with the public because of Lenin's popularity. He would stage pictures just to make them seem more buddy buddy than they actually were. In 1924 when Lenin passed away Stalin used this as an opportunity to secure his position as the new leader of the Soviet Union. By positioning himself as the only true successor to Lenin, he was able to discredit his opponents and garner support from the peasant majority.

Gulag

In the Soviet Union, a system of forced labor camps in which millions of criminals and political prisoners were held under Stalin. They were forced to do work (almost a slavery type of system). This was almost used as a fear tactic over the people, where people started to turn against each other to try to ensure their own survival which helped Stalin avoid opposition himself.

Kirov Affair

Kirov was a Politburo member and the party leader in Leningrad. He was known to have doubts about the pace of the industrialization and Stalin's methods of disciplining the party. When he was assassinated in December 1934, under suspicious circumstances, Stalin immediately claimed this was part of a plot to overthrow him and the rule of the Communist Party, by a "Leningrad Opposition Centre" which also has link to Trotsky's Left Oppositions and the United Opposition. The reorganized NKDV, was given sweeping powers of arrest, trial and execution under a special terrorist decree passed the day after Kirov's assassination. Hundreds of party members were shot and thousands of Trotskvists and Zinovievists were arrested.

"Left Opposition"

Lead by Trotsky: They were against Stalin and supported the idea of a permanent revolution. Because of their opposition to Stalin and the right side they were expelled from the Soviet Communist Party in 1927.

"Socialism in one country"

Stalin, unlike Lenin, reverts to the idea of communism only staying in the USSR. Instead of making it worldwide like Lenin, Stalin makes his ideas seem more defensive then expansionist against the West. This supports the revisionist interpretation of the Cold War. Instead of the East being aggressive, the West was the aggressor.

Pravada

The Bolshevik/Communist Party Newspapers. Its first name is Russian for truth. It was first edited by Stalin and later by Bukharin. The Pravada began publishing articles to attack the kulaks when there was a high food price crisis. Its significance is that it helped avoid dissent among the masses and create class conflict which distracted the peasants from their real enemy, Stalin.

Collectivization targets

The Collectivization Targets were the Kulaks and they were being blame for much of the nation's inability to grow and the dropping of growth in the agriculture of the Soviet Union and the economy. Stalin began to place extreme quotas on the Kulaks and impart a tax on them. convey the liquidation he desired of the whole Kulak class. Many were executed for being unable to meet Stalin's demands, leading to a huge increase in deaths and famine began to break out in the Soviet Union. The economy began to drop rapidly and the Soviet Union was only becoming worse due to its loss of workers in the agriculture field.

Right vs. Left

The Communist Party had an ideological debate of whether to be more right-winged or left-winged. Stalin exploits this division within the party through switching his affiliation to best serve his needs to get rid of his enemies and obtain more power.

Great Terror

The Great Terror was the transformation of the Great Purge - as the number of denunciations, expulsions trials, imprisonments and executions multiplied. The Great Terror not only affected party members, but by 1937, it had affected a large number of administrators, specialists, and important officials. Many ordinary people began to try to prove their loyalty to Stalin by denouncing others and others saw it as an opportunity to to secure a job for themselves. This was significant because it portrayed the social division in the Soviet Union, but also according to the Totalitarian perspective, it could indicate Stalin's mental illness and that it was the cause for the mass destruction. According to the revisionist perspective, the purpose of the Great Terror was to settle a score between officials as a way to convey the overarching power that Stalin had over the Soviet Union.

NEP

The NEP or New Economic Plan was a plan that introduced small facets of capitalism back into society to try to fix the wreck of the Soviet economy. Stalin reverses this policy to implement a series of reforms that increases the industrialization of the country, so that he can become more powerful through taking back more powers to the state, a vehicle for his own power to better himself instead of his people.

Politboro

The Politburo was the group of executive leaders in the Soviet Union. There were several. The significance of the Politburo is that through administering the Politburo's power to multiple people, it was a potential block to Stalin's power. Stalin changed how the Politburo was formed so that it required his approval, so he could control the power of the State. In this way, it became another example of a puppet structure to appease the people while he gained more power.

Show Trials

The Show Trials were trials that arose to signal the start of The Great Purge. They were unjust trials, accusing officials of their betrayal towards Stalin and instead their allegiance towards Trotsky. They were all forced to admitting their guilt and were all usually executed for a crime they did not commit. They were significant because they dictated the dictatorship that was taking place in the Soviet Union and the corruption in the Soviet Union's government. Also it asserted the growing fear in the Soviet Union and the possible advisary it could be for other world countries.

Kulaks

The actual term means a wealthy farms and farmers, but the term became known as peasants against Stalin. These people became the target in Stalin's fear tactic. Kulaks were significant because they demonstrate the human price of Collectivization for the State, and that the Five Year Plan was not entirely successful.

Culture of fear

The culture of fear is when Stalin created massive anxiety in the entire country through the Great Terror and other efforts. Stalin uses the Culture of Fear to prevent serious opposition since people will fall under the Culture of Fear to fight among themselves instead of Stalin. Thus, he maintains absolute power.

Denunciations

The denunciations were when local civilians told on local officials. This helped keep Stalin's image clean so that his cult of personality would endure even during the famine and purge.

First FYP (Five Year Plan)

The first Five Year Plan was a series of changes the government implemented to expand industrialization and improve agriculture. While the first Five Year Plan expanded industrialization, it did so at the cost of the peasants through the famines it created. Stalin uses the Five Year Plan to improve and make an intimidating image of his country in the West by impressing those countries with the USSR's improvement.

NKVD

The initials of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affair, set up in 1917. In July 1934, it took over the secret police (OGPU) and kept this responsibility until 1943.

Soviets

The soviets' were workers' councils. They had originally acted as strike committees and involved all other workers regardless of politics. These spread throughout Russia in 1917, with each town or rural soviet sending delegates to an All-Russian Congress of Soviets. They became the main political authority, in theory controlling the government. They were significant because they overruled any of the factions in the communist party, demonstrating the political division in the Soviet Union, which Stalin used to his advantage to gain the hearts of the people of the Soviet Union

Great Purge

The widespread arrests and executions of over a million people by Stalin between 1936 and 1938. Stalin was attempting to eliminate all opposition to his rule of the Soviet Union. People that he was originally allied with would mysteriously disappear, and this was used a fear tactic by Stalin to ensure his position.

Secretary of the Communist Party

This was the title given to the leader of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union but over the years it became synonymous with the leader of the Soviet Union. Stalin rose to this title and used it to take overall command of the Communist Party and the Soviet Union. This helped him further emulate Lenin to build up his own cult of personality.

Trotsky

Trotsky was supposed to be Lenin's replacement to stop Stalin from gaining power. He was a part of the Left Opposition and was afraid that an unchecked Stalin would lead to autocracy. His main rivals, Zinoviev and Kameneve formed an alliance with Stalin to campaign against "Trotskyism". Trotsky was then exiled from the Soviet Union, leaving Stalin the sole ruler of the Communist Party

Rapid Industrialization

Under all the 5 year plans implemented by Stalin, one of the main goals was to industrialise Russia and try to catch them up with the rest of the western world. This eventually leads up to Stalin putting the needs of himself and Russia before his people which in turn made the peasants angry.

Comintern

the Communist International (or Third International) set up in 1919, to which all communist parties belonged. It was set up to help revolution in other countries. The Communist International was manipulated by Zinovieve to support the criticisms of Trotsky. This helped Stalin control other countries in the East for security of the USSR.