Stalin

The USSR in 1924 Communism A Communist State A Communist Economy A Communist Society

The Power Struggle 1 The Split in the Politburo Personality Clashes Lenin’s Testament Stalin’s Power

The Power Struggle 2 Stalin The reading of Lenin’s Testament Arguments Attacking the Left and the Right The Assassination of Trotsky

Collective and Kulaks Peasants and Collectivisation Liquidation of Kulaks and the Famine Key Words

The 5-Year Plans 1st 5-year plan Motives The plan in action The results

Workers and their Work New work practices The Stakhanov Movement Problems

Slave Labour and the Labour Camps Slave labour Labour camps The Kolyma camps

Purges, Show Trials and Terror Murder of Kirov The Great Purge Show trials The Great Terror

Life Under Stalin’s Rule The Cult of Stalin Religion Culture and censorship Family Life

Communism, A Communist State, A Communist Economy and A Communist Society

The ideas were based on Karl Marx’s writings Everything was to be equal – those who had

things should share with those who do not Socialism would eventually take over the

capitalist countries because workers would get fed up of being exploited

The idea was that people would work together for the good of everyone

The government would share the profits and everyone would receive the benefits e.g. Better housing, medical care and education

The government would eventually fade away once everyone learns to work for each other – this is then known as Communism

Lenin took over Russia in the revolution in November 1917

Russia became the USSR and it became a one-party state

After 1921, groups within the party were banned – 750,000 people were purged

There are now 6 republics in the USSR Each have their own

government Main government for

national matters Much like in the USA with

the state and federal laws

Local councils called Soviets

Soviet had Congress of Soviets which acted as the country’s parliament

There was then a Central Committee chosen by the Congress

This then had a small Council of People’s Commissars – the Sovnarkom

There was a parallel Communist Party – the officials were members of the Soviet so the Party controlled national and local governments

Right vs. Left and Stalin vs. Trotsky

•The Left Opposition was:•Against the NEP•Need to protect USSR from West•Force people to work

•The Rightists were:•Continue NEP•Less industrial•Peasants and townspeople made prosperous

•Stalin had many jobs including:

•The Party’s Orgburo•General Secretary•Member of the Politburo•Head of the Control Commission

•Trotsky was seen to be arrogant, rude, vain and full of himself – making him unpopular although Lenin thought he’d be a good successor•Stalin on the other hand was liked but the members of the Politburo but not my Lenin•Lenin’s testament told them of his fears of Stalin but Zinoviev came to his rescue

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Katie’s Better

What it said: Of Stalin had unlimited

authority as Secretary but found him too rude and is intolerable as Secretary General, not as loyal as expected, less polite, less considerate and less capricious. He suggested removing him of his post

Of Trotsky it said he was distinguished has an outstanding ability, but shows excessive self-assurance, excessive preoccupation with purely administrative work

What happened after it was read: In May 1924 the testament

was read out to great embarrassment of Stalin

However, Zinoviev told the Central Committee of the Communist Party that Stalin had worked in harmony with himself and Kamenev (both of whom were plotting against Trotsky) since Lenin’s death

After the speech, the Committee decided to keep Stalin at his post and also never publish the testament to save him from further embarrassment

TROTSKY

Trotsky wanted Permanent Revolution

He didn’t think that Communism would survive in the USSR alone so he wanted to spread it

He was scared that the West would try to destroy the Communism in the USSR

Trotsky resigned in 1925 from his post of Commissar for War

STALIN

Stalin on the other hand wanted Socialism in One Country

He thought that the USSR came first and everyone else second

He argued the Comintern, short for Communist International, which helped revolutions in other countries had all failed in 1919

•1924•Trotsky made unpopular and voted down at every meeting•Trotsky is booed at meetings

•1925•Kamenev is dismissed•Trotsky resigns•Zinoviev is dismissed

•1927•Trotsky is expelled•Zinoviev is expelled

•1928•Trotsky is deported

•1929•Bukharin resigns•Tomsky resigns•Rykov resigns

•1940•Trotsky is assassinated

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1. Joins

2. Attacks

3. Leaves

4. Attacks

Problems of the peasants, Collectivisation, liquidation of the Kulaks, and famine

About 100million Soviets were peasants

9/10 owned one horse 8/10 had farms of less

than 5hectares Used old fashioned

tools and methods About half reaped

grain by hand, using sickles or scythes

About 1/3 ploughed with wooden ploughs

The only way to get money for industry was to tax peasants

NEP led to increase in food but not all the extra went to the workers in the towns

This was because the government was buying the grain for too little and peasants kept a little more for themselves

Stalin said in 1928 the USSR was 2million tonnes short on food

Stalin took emergency actions but it was not enough so he introduced collectivisation

People were to work together and put their land, animals and equipment together in kolkhoz (a collective farm)

There would be no profits, the government would buy the grain at a fixed price and the peasants would get wages

A kolkhoz consisted of 50-100 families working on an average of 450hectares of land

They were more efficient than before and had Machine Tractor Stations to help with ploughing and harvesting

There was one to every 40 farms

In 1929 there was 5million people living in kulak families

One family owned two or three horses, several cows, and had a large-median farm

They employed peasants at busiest times of the years

They were most likely to oppose the new plan as they had the most to lose

In December 1929 Stalin wanted to liquidate them

There was 3 categories: Actively hostile who the

OGPU, political police, deported

Wealthiest kulaks were also deported

Least harmful kulaks were allowed to stay but given the worst land

They land was given to the local kolkhoz

1.5million people were deported

There was no arrangements and they were left to die

¼ of them died of starvation, disease, ill-treatment or/and the cold

By February 1930 the government said that half the peasants joined collective farms

Many peasants hated collectivisation These peasants would kill their animals,

destroy their crops, equipment and buildings

This lead to the fall in food production and then led to famine

Over the next 3 years 5-6million people died of starvation

The Plan, The Motives, The Results

In December 1917 the Vesenkha was set up which then set up the Gosplan in 1921 to help increase industrial output