Notes for Hist Seq

Impact of Stalin’s Rule Aims of Stalin - Aim: Modernise and develop Soviet Union into a great country, more powerful than Britain and USA - Believed in ‘Socialism in one country’ - Hence, introduced two measures to transform Soviet Union’s industries and agriculture: rapid industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture - To consolidate his dictatorship, - Undertook two oppressive measures, which were the development of a terror state and tight control over culture Communist Russia became an industrialised country  Wanted to transform Soviet Union into a modern industrial state  Believed the country needed to develop rapidly to be prepared for an attack by the noncommunist countries such as Nazi Germany that he thought might invade the Soviet Union  Focused on development of heavy Industries such as steel, metallurgy, chemicals, oil, coal and electricity  To develop steel industry, new industrial cities such as Magnitogorsk were built from scratch mainly using forced labour  Steel produced by new factories were used for building industrial products such as tractors and railways  High output targets for oil and coal were also set to generate more electricity to keep new factories going and for the needs of the people  Foreign expertise who were sympathetic to the Communist cause were hired to teach Russians, esp in tech errors  Open more job opportunities for women  Farmers also encouraged to move to cities to work in the industries  Some targets were not met  Great increase in amt of coal, iron, steel and iron produced  More than 1500 factories and more than 100 new cities were built Through the three Five-Year Plans First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932)  Focused on heavy industries, esp iron and steel  Output to be doubled for iron and steel production and in electricity, chemicals and engineering  After some early successes, targets were increased.  This Five-Year Plan ordered to be completed in four years instead of five  In beginning, Stalin’s industrialisation programme encountered problems  Very few workers had skills required for factory work  Many could not read/write  Machines often damaged bcos of workers’ ignorance or lack of training  When equipment broke down, workers did not know how to repair it and it would lie unused on factory floor  Many new industrial workers were farmers who had lived in the countryside and they were unused to life it cities  Found it hard to adjust to their new living environment  Inability to settle hence affected their productivity

Second Five-Year Plan (1933-1937)  Set new targets for heavy industries  But also gave more attention to industries that produced goods such as clothing  From 1934 onwards, priority was given to industries related to military production as Soviet Union anticipated another war  Factories built to the East of the Ural Mountains, where they would be beyond the reach of Western invaders  Transport & communication networks improved greatly Third Five-Year Plan (1938-1942)  Emphasis on industries related to military production  Disrupted when Soviet Union was invaded by Germany in 1941  From then on, all resources were focused on military production and defeating the Germans Impact of Industrialisation 1. Poor working conditions  When first Five-Year Plan was announced, many Russians, esp young, idealistic Party members supported the idea and formed ‘Shock Brigades’ or groups of highly-motivated workers  Enthusiasm soon waned under appalling work conditions and unrealistic production targets  By 1929, there was labour unrest as workers protested against their conditions  In response, gov took displinary action against workers who were underperforming or who engaged in sabotage  Gov took complete control of economy; Soviet Union’s economy bcme a planned economy  New gov department was formed to set targets in each industry and plan the locations of new towns and industrial cities like Magnitogorsk 2. System of rewards and training for workers  To ensure their targets were met, Communist gov decided to offer salaries based on how much a worker produced  Hard work rewarded w medals and opportunity to go on a holiday at a discount  Many Russians were able to earn a higher salary  As labour force was uneducated, gov started a big campaign to teach Russian workers new skills  New colleges, schools and uni were built  Primary edu was made compulsory  Thousands of teachers, scientists and engineers were trained  By 1930s, Russian workers were able to obtain well-paid and high-skilled jobs 3. Changing living conditions  Initially, due to emphasis on heavy industries, industries that produced basic goods were neglected  Shortage of basic goods such as food, clothes and shoes. These were rationed  Shortages also led to high prices. Between 1928 and 1933, the actual purchasing power of the workers’ salaries fell by 50%  After 1935, the situation began to improve

 Production of basic goods increased and more goods became available. Rationing ended in 1936  Workers received cheap meals and free uniforms  Free education, subsidized health care and provision of extensive leisure actions such as cinemas, public parks, sports fields and gymnasiums  Living conditions of Russians improved considerably Farms in Russia were collectivised  Aimed to increase amount of crops produced by farms  Through improvising farming methods & collectivisation  Most farms in Soviet Union were strips of land owned by individual farmers. They used primitive equipment like ploughs to work the fields and harvest the crops  Used reasons and persuasion to try to garner farmers’ support in joining collective farms (a policy of voluntary collectivization)  Reasons: 1. Improving in farming methods = less people needed to work on the land, and these people would be able to move to the cities to work in new factories 2. Farmers being able to grow more crops. Soviet Union would then be able to sell the extra crops to other countries. The profit earned could be used to pay for the building of new factories Forced Collectivisation  Many farmers did not want to abandon their traditional way of life  Hence, Stalin adopted a policy of collectivization by force  Began by ordering Communist officials to force farmers to hand over their crops  Young Communist Party members went around looking for food. They confiscated any crops that were found  Farmers reacted by assassinating Communist Party members  In 1928 alone, 1400 of such assasinations were reported  Fewer crops were harvested after collectivisation than in previous years  Stalin also blamed the richer, land-owning farmers, the kulaks for the failure of collectivsation and ordered their elimination  Did not want to give up their land to the gov  Stalin secret police, NKVD ordered to shoot farmers who resisted or send them to labour camps  Thousands of kulaks were persecuted in these ways since they preferred destroying their crops to handing them over the gov  Backed by NKVD, Party officials and volunteers were sent to the countryside to form collective farms  They forced farmers to sign documents agreeing to this formation  They’d then take over the fields, livestock, faming tools and buildings of the farmers. Impact of collectivisation 1. Riots and resistance  Farmers rioted and engaged in armed resistance to try to stop forced collectivization  Stalin responded by ordering 17 million horses used in farming to be killed so farmers would be forced to use tractors  However, there were not enough tractors to replace the horses that had been killed

2. Getting rid of people who opposed collectivisation  Villagers who did not co-operate were forced to move from their villages  They were sent to gulags (labour camps) to the north of the Soviet Union where they were made to work on Stalin’s ambitious construction projects 3. Famine  Farmers burnt their crops and grew less food rather than send them to Communist officials  Decline in crop production worsened by natural disastors such as droughts and floods  Severe food shortages caused famine in Soviet Union  USA offered to send food but Stalin rejected the offer and even suppressed information about the famine  Furthermore, he ordered officials and NKVD to take whatever crops remaining  Sold some of this to other countries to raise money to buy machines from other countries  It is estimated that more than 10 million peasants and their families died in the famine Achievement of Stalin’s aims  Stalin managed to stave off initial probs faced in the industrialization programme  With his Five-Year Plans, Soviet Union’s heavy industries expanded rapidly and production of consumer goods increased  Soviet Union’s industrial capacity was also protected from an attack from the West due to the building of factories in the Eastern Part of the Soviet Union, beyond the Ural Mountains  Thus, Five-Year Plans helped USSR to face threat from Germany when it came under attack in 1941  By late 1930s, Stalin had helped Communist Russia to catch up w non-Communist countries in terms of development  Stalin also had a cheap and regular supply of crops  Freed workers from the countryside by mechanizing farms, allowing more workers to be available to work in the factories  Altogether, an estimated 25 million farmers were forced to join huge collective farms Development of a terror state 1. Purges  Before 1934, Stalin dealt with his opponents by expelling them from the Communist Party or sending them into exile  After Kirov’s murder on 1 Dec 1934 was the launch of the purges  Stalin used Kirov’s death as an excuse to eliminate his opponents in the Communist Party  Accused them of murdering Kirov and of plotting to assassinate Stalin himself  First to be arrested were the followers of Zinoviev  Altogether, thousands of people were arrested by NKVD in weeks after Kirov’s murder  NKVD given a quota, which meant they had to arrest a min no. of ‘enemies of the people’  These were usually intellectuals as they were seen as a threat to Stalin’s rule  Might have organized other Russians to resist Stalin’s rule  Thus, usually forced to sign confessions and implicate others who were also arrested  Between 1934 and 1945, no of those sent to prison and gulags more than tripled  Purges continued from 1948 to 1938  In 1936, old Bolshevik ldrs, such as Kamenev and Zinoviev were put on show trials

 This happened aft they’d been worn down by treacherous conditions, continuous questioning and threats to the lives of their loved ones  Confessed to all charges against them and were executed  Altogether, 1 million lower-ranking Party officials were expelled and were either shot or sent to labour camps  Half of the officer corps were shot  Even the Commander-in-Chief and a hero of the Civil War, Marshall Mikhail Tukachevsky, was not spared  Later, purges included even ordinary Russians  Millions of Russians were arrested and either shot or sent to dreaded labour camps  NKVD arrested politicans, scientists, military men, teachers, writers and workers Impact of Stalin’s rule of terror 1. Fear and suspicion  During the period of the purges, people were encouraged to inform on their fellow workers and family members if they made any comments against Stalin/Soviet Union  As no evid was needed for an arrest, anyone who had a grudge against another person could get rid of him by denouncing him to NKVD  NKVD would often take ppl away from their homes in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning  Hence, many Russians were afraid of answering the door at night for they assumed that the NKVD had come to take someone away 2.    

Mass executions As a result of the purges, there were mass executions An estimated 20 million Russians were victims of the purges Mass graves were discovered throughout Russia after Stalin died Those who had been purged were removed from any photographs and paintings they had appeared in  Old heroes of the Revolution, having been purged, were forgotten. From 1930s until his death in 1953, Stalin was the only leader that mattered. 3. Religious persecution  Religion banned for Russians, most of whom were devout members of the Orthodox Christian Church  Young Communist Party members spread anti-religious propaganda by distributing pamphlets and journals or organizing lectures that criticized religion for promoting ‘harmful superstition’  Churches, mosques and synagogues were vandalized  Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious ldrs were persecuted Tight Control over Culture 1. Education  Control what ppl were taught  Teaching of history changed to focus on the impt of Lenin and Stalin  Stalin shown as having played a key and heroic role during the Oct 1917 Revolution  Other ldrs such as Trotsky were either unfairly presented or ignored  Very strong discipline in schs for teachers and pupils  Teachers were closely watched and they were purged if they taught pupils to be antiStalin

2. The Arts  Only writers, artists and musicians who made art presenting Stalin and his programmes could remain in their jobs  Many others who arrested and sent to labour camps  Hence, Stalin also controlled the arts Impact of Stalin’s control over culture  Writers, paintings and music were expected to act as propaganda for him and his programmes, such as industrialization and farm.  These restrictions caused a lack of variety in the aarts in Communist Russia 1.    

Cult personality Tried to make ppl in Communist Russia worship him as ldr Portrayed himself as a fatherly, cheerful and popular man Had his pictures and statues placed almost everywhere All offices, classrooms and factory floors had pictures of Stalin and the successes of the country were attributed to him

How successful was the Five-Year Plans? EYA. Positive 1. Russia from a backward country became modernised + industrialised -> industrialised towns sprang up -> farming became more easier and efficient 2. Hence, Develop as a world power in later years 3. State provided healthcare, edu and basic necessities for workers -> Higher Standard of living -> better wages and working conditions 4. Hard work rewarded with pay, housing and medals (meritocracy) 5. Decrease in unemployment as a result of jobs created 6. Focus of Stalin’s Russia (Socialism in a country) was more effective than Trotsky 7. Creation of strong communist state under 1 strong leader Negative 1. Suffering of ppl -> Low wages, poor working and living conditions for ppl + famine 2. Oppression rule under a terror state -> e.g. Forced collectivisation, need hand over their crops -> Widespread fear and suspicion, confined thoughts, dissatisfication 3. Purges – common ppl, and even intellectuals -> long term impact due to lack of intellectuals > fear and suspicion 4. Many killed or sent to labour camps -> fear and suspicion