communist russia - stalin
TRANSCRIPT
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
K
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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