IB History Stalin

Stalin

Rise to Power 1) Trotsky’s Weakness  Seen as potential dictator  Only joined Bolsheviks in Aug 1917 and was not a loyal member o Went hunting during meeting  Too high-minded and arrogant o Repected but no personal loyalty o Seen as person most likely to split party  Health poor o Skipped meetings  Lack of political sensitivity o Didn’t attend Lenin’s funeral o “political error of the 1st magnitude” 2) Luck  

Luck favoured Stalin over Trotsky Lenin died at the right time o January 1924 o USSR desperate for change o Time of upheaval o Managed to manipulate people o Central Committee did not publish Lenin’s political testament

3) Politically skilled  Cunning and ruthless  Underestimated by rivals o Ignored as ‘grey blue’ and rivals concentrated on eliminating Trotsky  Outmanoeuvred opponents o First  Created Triumvirate (Stalin, Kamenev, Zinoviev) VS Trotsky  Denounced him  Lost power of red army – lost a lot of support  Highlighted all his disagreements – made it seem like a crime o Second  Against left - Kamenev and Zinoviev  Triumvirate ended = realised Stalin was becoming too powerful  United Opposition (Kamenev, Zinoviev, Trotsky + Lenin’s wife) VS Stalin  They were then kicked out of Comm Party 1

Stalin o

Third    

Against Right – Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov Denunciations and lost of positions Stalin had many allies in Politburo Disagreed with their NEP  Say need to enforce a fully communist economy

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Appear at Lenin’s funeral as his true heir o Transfer Lenin’s prestige to himself

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Able to gauge the mood and act accordingly o Able to perceive what people wanted o By 1929, they didn’t want NEP

4) Control in Party  In 1922, he was appointed General Secretary of the party o Enabled him to ‘hire and fire’ influential Party members  Had key positions in the buros o Politburo o Orgburo  Had a lot of power o Able to appoint his own supporters o Expel Trotsky supporters o This made him a useful ally  Other contenders wanted him on their side – could deliver votes 5) Personal Qualities  Dull and mediocre  No one saw him as threat – until it was too late  Tough and ruthless  Determined to protect power base  Less high-minded, more down to earth and more pratical  Very loyal member o Would never cause disunity in party

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Stalin

Stalin Historiography 

Structuralist o Stalin = product of RU’s circumstances o Need strong ruler after war o Natural success of Lenin

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Continuity o Lenin created single party dictatorship and system of terror, which S continued

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Deviation o Stalin distorted Lenin’s legacy o Used terror as normal feature of govt when USSR at peace o Created monstrous personality cult

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Stalin

Collectivization Intro:   

1920s USSR remained a backward state 1930s tremendous change o Stalin wanted to build a Communist Utopia in USSR Methods used: o Collectivization o Industrialization o Kulaks o ‘enemies of people’ killed off

Reasons farms were collectivized 1. Achieve socialism in countryside  1/125 = communist in countryside 2. Control and transform ‘backward peasantry’  Peasants were seen as ‘primitive’ and ‘uneducated’ 3. Solve problems of food shortage  Serious problems in 1927-8: peasants and states at loggerheads 4. Industrialization  Provide surplus manpower, food and $$ for rapid industrialisation  ‘war scare’ highlight RU need to catch up with West 5. Prove communism = way fwd  Could eliminate kulak  Collectives were run by party – peasants firmly under party’s control  NEP o Economic growth slow o Capitalist way State Farms

Collective Farms

Owned by govt Both have pieces of land Individual farms don’t exist anymore Farmers coming together, profits go to states, Farmers worked and paid like factory workers keep 20% of production 4

Stalin Stages of Collectivization 1. Collectivization  Voluntary basis not effective  Confiscating grain by force 2. Urals-Siberian Method  Denounce kulaks  Revelation of kulaks – 25% reward 3. a.

forced collectivization i. All forced to join collective farms ii. If oppose, labelled as kulaks and face consequences b. Dekulakization i. Divided into 3 categories  Most dangerous – imprisoned/shot  Transported Siberia  Least dangerous – given poor land outside collective farms c. Peasant opposition i. Kulaks – difficult to identify ii. ‘we have no kulaks here’ = common reply to squads iii. Collectivization squad  Seen as anti-Christ  Took peasant possessions and properties  Exaggerated – killed more than target to impress iv. Churches turned into barns v. Religious holidays renamed vi. Women led opposition vii. Peasants destroyed own possessions 4. Halt to Collectivization  Article written by Stalin: “Dizzy with Success” o Accused party officials of excessive force o Brigade “too enthusiastic” 5. Collectivization resumed  Peasants had limited concessions o Small plot of land + some livestock  Allowed to retain any surplus if quota met

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Stalin 6. Famine  4 to 6.5 million died  Ukraine – most deaths  State took higher % of harvest, leaving peasants to starve  “Stalin’s revenge on the peasants.” –R. Conquest 7. Consolidation  Legalized private plots  Allowed to keep animals  State/collective farms produced less than private plots

Did Stalin achieve his aims in collectivizing agriculture? 

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YES o o o o

Party had greater control over peasants and countryside State had greater control over grain supply Increase grain supply, more food for industrial workforce Massive increase in urban population

o o o

Grain production increased only marginally Peasants lacked incentive to work hard Collectives ineffective in long-term

NO

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Stalin

Industrialization Reasons for industrialization:  

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Only 20% were the working class o Unskilled illiterate ex-peasants NEP wasn’t working o Insufficient food and jobs o Low wages Need to prepare for war

GOSPLAN -

Set targets for industries o Each region  each factory  each worker

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Main focus: HEAVY INDUSTRY o Steel o Iron o Coal o Oil

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Expectations exaggerated to meet Stalin’s high expectation o Usually unachievable o If quota not met – lie, bribe, trade

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10 million people recruited from countryside – including women o Problem? Uneducated, illiterate, no discipline

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Factories opened 24/7

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Stalin

Five-Year Plans 1. 1928-32: ‫ ٭‬Chaotically managed ‫ ٭‬Targets revised upwards ‫ ٭‬Stalin decided to complete it in 4 years 2. 1933-37: ‫ ٭‬Set lower targets ‫ ٭‬At first, great success ‫ ٭‬1936 – Stakhanovite movement and shock workers(honoured category) i. Led to broken machinery and exhausted workers  1937 – Purges, led to lost of many skilled workers, engineers and managers 3. 1938-41:  Focused on rearming  Cut short by Nazi invasion in June 1941

Were 5YPs successful? YES     

USSR’s GDP tripled Literacy rates increased USSR transformed into industrial society Transportation and communication improved New machinery

NO    

Poor quality Consumer production low No small businesses Overcrowding in cities o Bad hygiene, disease and high crime

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Stalin

The Great Terror 

Purge: Stalin’s way of getting rid of... o Undesirable, lazy and drunk members o All potential threats o ‘radishes’ – red outside, white inside

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Reasons to purge o o o o o o

Unpopular policies – as a distraction Stalin’s pathological distrust - paranoid Find scapegoats - kulaks Find slave labour – sent to remote regions Ensure continuous support for himself – loyal followers NKVD wanted to increase their own power

 Timeline: o o

o

o o o

o o

1932 – Ryutin Platform  Expelled from Party for circulating 200-page document, denouncing Stalin 1933 – Communist purges  20% of party expelled  Forced to confess to ‘impossible’ crimes  Put on show trials 1934 – Kirov’s murder  Killed as he gained more votes than Stalin in elections  Kirov also spoke out against him about Ryutin’s document 1936 – Trial of 16  16 ‘old Bolsheviks’ were put on trial for Kirov’s death and Trotskyite conspiracy 1937 – Trial of 17  17 tried for plotting with GE 1937 – torture, execution and purges  These were legalised  Scientists, priests, administrators, writers, musicians executed 1938 – Trial of 21  ‘Trotskyite Rightist’ put on trial – namely Bukharin and Rykov 1939 – NKVD purged  NKVD agents executed  Knew all Stalin’s secrets

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Stalin

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Effects? o o o o o o o

Creation of “Little Stalins”  Brutal hardcore ruthless communists 600 000 Party members lost lives Weak army – removed half of senior officers (worst idea bcoz of WW2) Millions of innocent people in Gulags Fear gripped Soviet people – obedient Damaged industrial force Stalin’s personality cult expanded  Seen as ‘father figure’

“One death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic.” – Stalin

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Stalin

Society & Culture in Stalin’s Russia 

Stalin Constitution (1936) o

o

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Cult of Personality o o

o

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Most democratic constitution at that time  Freedom of speech, religion  Privacy  Right to vote  Employment HOWEVER, this was just on paper, not in reality

Uplift and unite people Uses himself as a distraction  Make himself God-like  ‘father of nations’  Constantly craved adoration and attention  Streets, buildings, songs, poetry, statue, prizes, national anthems o ALL NAMED AFTER HIM “He is everywhere, he sees everything.”

Social Changes o

Religion  Bolsheviks believed that religion = intervention to distract poor from reality  Many churches closed  1/40 churches left (1939)  Worship could only take place in licensed place  Recorded if one goes to church  All other religions attacked: Islams, jews, etc.  Despite this, people continued to pray in private  Stalin wanted to replace religion with Stalin’s cult

o

Education  Primary education made compulsory = 7 years  Literacy rate increase  Girls and boys  School seemed ‘bourgeoisie’ o No more exams o No competition  BUT this was ineffective  returned to traditional system o Uniforms 11

Stalin

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o

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o o o

Radio = most important way to communicate with population Cinema  Films – very patriotic/based on historical figures Art = socialist art Literature – socialist realism Music suffered

Rebuilding Moscow o o

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Family Life  Women given more equal rights  Children-family bonds eliminated  Children spied on their own parents  No necessity to get married  Problem? No stability – men had too many gfs  Divorce was cheap and easy  Abortion legalized  Solution  1abortion illegal  Divorce more difficult  Homosexuality banned  6+ children from 1 mum – got $$

Soviet Culture o o

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o Exams and tests o Teachers = rigorous communists o Focused on Stalin’s history Young had to join Comm groups: o “Young Pioneers” U-14 o “Komosol” U-28

World’s first communist state Monuments built  “Stalinist baroque”

Conclusion o USSR became a ‘quicksand society’ bcz people disappeared all the time o Women gained many more opportunities o Suicides increase – poor standard of living o Sense of optimism  A shared sense of struggle to build world’s first Comm society

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Stalin

Stalin Cult 1924-1929:   

Stalin assumes modest image ‘Stalin is the Lenin of today’ A city renamed Stalingrad

1929-1933:   

Received 350 greeting for 50th birthday Length of applause increase after speeches Huge portraits of Stalin with 3 important men

1933-1939:   

Art style: socialist realism Stalin’s image everywhere – reassure people of strong leader History reinterpreted in Stalin’s favour

1940-1945: 

Stalin’s imagine everywhere o His success as war leader, increase in power o Portraits show him in god-like solitude o His 70th birthday crazily elaborate

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Stalin

What was the extent of Stalin’s power? 

Traditional view o o

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Stalin created one of the most efficient dictatorships of the 20th century Created a totalitarian system  Great personal control over govt and people

Revisionist view o Stalin = most ruthless dictator o Responsible for economic change and death of millions o Due to size of USSR, Stalin did not have total control  Purges NKVD did  Halt to collectivization

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Stalin

Foreign Policy Background:      

After WW1, a lot of economic hardship for FR, GE, etc BR – dominant & US = isolationism USSR hit very hard. Romanov kicked out and communist takeover 1920s, Lenin wanted Permanent Revolution o Have other countries to be communist Stalin’s main idea: Socialism in One Country Lenin set up o Comintern – intl comm org – aimed at spreading communism o Comecon – communist economic intl org

Stalin’s in power 

1934: USSR asked to be part of L.O.N. o Diplomatically accepted and acknowledged USSR as a country  Everyone willing to trade  Huge step forward o Collective security – avoid WWs  Stalin part of it  Some people distrust USSR (communism) but feared fascism (in GE) from spreading more

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1936-39: Spanish Civil War o Left-winged govt came to power in Spain  Not particularly popular  Military generals grouped together to overthrow them o Other countries got involved  IT & GE support military generals  USSR support left-winged o IN THE END, right-winged won – due to a lot of help from Hitler and Mussolini o This!!!  Led to tension between Hitler and Stalin

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Stalin 

1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact o Stalin not ready for war o Hitler knows BR & US will help USSR o Signed an agreement  Promised not to attack each other  H allowed S some territory  Divided Poland between them  Stalin – east  Hitler –west o THIS!!!!  Didn’t last forever. GE attacked USSR

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1941: Operation Barbarossa (WW2) o Invade western part of RU  Stalin caught off-guard  Sent military troops over  HOWEVER, GE took over easily  Lots of deaths  Dramatic loss o Stalin steps down temporarily o Then, took charge again

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1945: War won o Russia  Harsh military threat if retreated  More men  More resources  Favourable climate o This boosted Stalin’s popularity

Stalin’s death 

March 5, 1953 – died, enormous funeral, embalmed body and placed next to Lenin

...but Khrushchev de-stalinises USSR and burns Stalin’s body + place ashes at Kremlin Wall

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