russia

Crisis and Conflict

Chapter 3: Authoritarian Regimes — Case Study:

Communist Russia

An Enquiry Approach to Modern World History

Secondary 3

Was the rise of Communism in Russia inevitable?

What led to the rise of Communism in

Russia?

What led to the rise of Stalin?

What was the impact of Stalin’s regime on

the people of Communist Russia?

1. Why and how the Communists took power in Russia.

2. The inevitability of the rise of Communism.

1. How Stalin rose to become dictator of Communist Russia.

1. Stalin’s actions.2. How they affected the

lives of his people.

In a Nutshell• Communism is a political belief that had its beginnings in the

ideas of the German thinker, Karl Marx. It advocated the creation of a society with an equal distribution of wealth.

• Vladimir Lenin was the man who started Communism in Russia. He united all the states that were part of the Russian Empire to form the Soviet Union or USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) in 1922. He wanted to modernise the Soviet Union but died in 1924 before he could fulfill his dream.

• After Lenin’s death, Josef Stalin emerged as the new leader of the Soviet Union. He set in motion rapid industrialisation and collectivisation of agriculture to modernise the Soviet Union and ensured their implementation by ruling with an iron fist.

• The people of Communist Russia both feared and admired Stalin. By the 1930s, Stalin’s authoritarian regime had transformed Communist Russia into a modern industrial power but also left millions of Russian people dead.

What led to the rise of Communism in Russia?

• Many opponents of the Tsar were inspired by the Communism ideology.

• Some of them established political parties.• The Social Democratic Party was established in

1898.• In 1903, it split into two groups:

– Bolsheviks (led by Vladimir Lenin) – To seize power by force, through strikes and violent

demonstrations.

– Mensheviks – Gradual reform of society.

Impact of Impact of World War I World War I and the fall and the fall of the Tsarof the Tsar

Failure of the Failure of the Provisional Provisional GovernmentGovernment

October October 1917 1917

RevolutionRevolution

Bolshevik Bolshevik victory in the victory in the Russian Civil Russian Civil

WarWar

What led to the rise of

Communism in Russia?

Impact of World War I and the fall of the Tsar

Most Russians wanted the Tsar to end the war

• Living conditions of Russians deteriorated as a result of World War I — severe food and coal shortages.

• Repeated defeats at the hands of the German Army — the Tsar was blamed for this, especially after he decided to take direct command in 1915.

• Russian soldiers, who were poorly equipped and fed, were demoralised and deserted in large numbers.

• By 1917, there was little respect for the Tsar and many soldiers found it pointless to continue fighting.

The farmers wanted land

• Land was mostly in the hands of rich landlords.

• The peasants demanded a fairer distribution of land.

The Russians wanted food

• Russia’s involvement in World War I necessitated the transportation of food to the frontlines to feed the soldiers.

• The railway system could not cope with the double burden of sending crops from the countryside to both the cities and the frontlines.

• Food shortages and skyrocketing prices in the cities led to riots in the country as workers demanded more food — ’bread riots’.

Impact of World War I and the fall of the Tsar

February Revolution

February 1917: Series of strikes in the capital city, Petrograd.

26 February 1917: The Tsar ordered soldiers to put down the revolt, but the soldiers joined the striking workers instead and took over public buildings and police stations, released prisoners and looted food shops.

2 March 1917: Knowing that he had lost the support of the army and his people, the Tsar abdicated. A Provisional Government was established to run the country in place of the Tsar. The Provisional Government was to bring about a peaceful change of government in Russia, from the Tsar’s autocracy to an eventual democracy with an elected parliament.

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Failure of the Provisional Government

• The Provisional Government had several important tasks:– To hold elections for the Russian people to choose

their own government by the end of 1917.– To grant a full and immediate amnesty to all political

and religious prisoners and exiles.– To cooperate with the committees of workers,

peasants and soldiers, called soviets, which had taken over the major Russian cities, like Petrograd.

Failure of the Provisional Government

• However, the Provisional Government failed because it basically did not address the very issues that brought about the downfall of the Tsar:

Chose to keep Russia in Chose to keep Russia in World War I:World War I:• To maintain the integrity of ties To maintain the integrity of ties

with her allies.with her allies.• To defend her national To defend her national

honour.honour.

German army continued to defeat the Russians.

Resources absorbed into war effort.

Living conditions of the people remained poor.

Support for the Bolsheviks grew at the expense of the Provisional Government.

Did not carry out land Did not carry out land reforms:reforms:• Rich landowners in the Rich landowners in the

Provisional Government Provisional Government delayed the redistribution of delayed the redistribution of land to the peasantsland to the peasants..

Peasants, who made up the masses, were dissatisfied.

They murdered or chased away the landowners and seized the land for themselves.

Had to struggle for Had to struggle for power with the soviets:power with the soviets:• Soviets — groups of Soviets — groups of

Russian workers, Russian workers, peasants and soldiers who peasants and soldiers who

had organised themselves had organised themselves into councils that would into councils that would govern an area — wielded govern an area — wielded great influence with the great influence with the Russian people.Russian people.

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October 1917 Revolution

• Lenin won support for the Bolsheviks with his promises of land, bread and an end to the war.

• The Provisional Government ordered the arrest of Lenin when the Bolsheviks continued to incite riots in July 1917 in Petrograd. Lenin fled to Finland.

• However, unrest continued when the commander of the Russian army, General Kornilov, tried to overthrow the Provisional Government by force.

• The Provisional Government had no choice but to turn to the Petrograd Soviet and the Bolsheviks who dominated it, for help to deal with this menace.

• They armed the Bolsheviks, who formed their own army, the Red Guards.


• Although the Provisional Government managed to put down General Kornilov’s troops with the help of the Red Guards, the confrontation had exposed the fact that the Provisional Government was weak and true power in Petrograd was actually held by the Bolsheviks.

• In October 1917, Lenin returned to Russia and overthrew the Provisional Government. The Red Guards took over key buildings in Petrograd and arrested the members of the Provisional Government.

• The Provisional Government was swept from power after eight months.

• Lenin established the world’s first Communist regime.

• He fulfilled his promise of ending the war by signing the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany in March 1918. BackBack

Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War

The The Bolshevik’Bolshevik’s s opponentsopponents

Social Revolutionaries(set up in 1901 with

the aim of leading the peasants in a violent

revolution against landlords and

government officials)

Wealthy landowners

(lost their land due to the Bolsheviks)

Army and navy officers

(against the unfavourable terms of the Treaty of Brest-

Litovsk)

Monarchists

Other conservatives

A bitter three-year civil war A bitter three-year civil war was fought in Russia between was fought in Russia between the Bolsheviks and their the Bolsheviks and their opponents.opponents.

Bolshevik victory in the Russian Civil War

• The Red Army was a much more disciplined and united force under the leadership of Leon Trotsky.

• In comparison, its enemies fought as fragmented and isolated forces.

• The Red Guards eventually won the war in 1921.

In 1924, the former territories of the In 1924, the former territories of the Russian Empire were combined to Russian Empire were combined to form theform the

Moscow Moscow became the became the new capital new capital of the of the USSR.USSR.

Soviet UnionSoviet Union or or USSRUSSR..(Union of Soviet Socialist Republics)

The Bolshevik Party adopted a new name, the Communist Party.

Communist Russia was born.

The Bolshevik Party adopted a new name, the Communist Party.

Communist Russia was born.

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Soviet (Russian sovet "council")

• A revolutionary council of workers or peasants in Russia before the Russian Revolution.

• An elected local, district, or national council in the former Soviet Union.

• (Soviet) A citizen in the former Soviet Union.

• (adjective) of or concerning the former Soviet Union.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soviet_(council)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_Revolution_(1917)

Impact of Impact of World War I World War I and the fall and the fall of the Tsarof the Tsar

Failure of the Failure of the Provisional Provisional GovernmentGovernment

October October 1917 1917

RevolutionRevolution

Bolshevik Bolshevik victory in the victory in the Russian Civil Russian Civil

WarWar

What led to the rise of

Communism in Russia?

Was the rise of Communism in Russia inevitable?Was the rise of Communism in Russia inevitable?

Critical Thinking

Given the depths of the suffering and the disillusionment of the Russians caused by Russia’s setbacks in World War I, do you think the Russian people cared more about the political system and ideology or changes that would quickly make living conditions better for them?

What if democracy had been successfully established in Russia? Could it all What if democracy had been successfully established in Russia? Could it all have turned out differently? Did democracy have a chance of succeeding?have turned out differently? Did democracy have a chance of succeeding?

Critical Thinking

What were Russia’s problems? What promises did Communism hold for the Russian people?

End of involvement in World War I:Most Russians wanted their country to be out of World War I. This was due to the deteriorating living conditions and devastating losses on the battlefields.

Lenin, the leader of the Bolsheviks, promised to end the war.

An illustration of Russians listening to An illustration of Russians listening to a Bolshevik leader in the mid 1910s. a Bolshevik leader in the mid 1910s.

What were Russia’s problems during that time? What promises did Communism hold for the Russian people?

Redistribution of land:The peasants wanted a fairer system of land redistribution.

Communism advocated the equal distribution of wealth among the people in the society.

End to food shortages:The severe shortages of food supplies in the cities and skyrocketing prices caused great hardship to the Russian people.

The Communists promised them more food.

Critical Thinking

What was ‘the democratic leaders’ referring to? Why did it fall from power after a mere eight months? What were its failures?

Do you think that the Communists capiltalised on the Provisional Government’s failures by promising to solve that very problems that the Provisional Government failed to address?

Would the Provisional Government have succeeded if they had more time?

Outwitted Outwitted his rivalshis rivals

Trotsky’s Trotsky’s weaknessesweaknesses


EstablishmenEstablishment of t of

dictatorshipdictatorship

Position as Position as Secretary Secretary GeneralGeneral

Made Made alliancesalliances

Outwitted his rivals

• When Lenin died in January 1924, there was a struggle to replace him as leader of the Soviet Union.

• Among the candidates were:

1. Leon Trotsky

2. Lev Kamenev

3. Grigory Zinoviev

4. Josef Stalin

Leon Trotsky

• Played a leading role in the October 1917 Revolution and the Civil War.

• Brilliant man with great public speaking and writing skills and was respected as a political thinker.

• Regarded by Lenin as ‘the most able man in the Party’.

• Lenin’s choice as successor.• Did not try to win over the

support of the key members of the Bolshevik Party, as he believed that he would definitely succeed Lenin.

Lev Kamenev

• Member of the Bolshevik Party since its formation in 1903.

• Trusted by Lenin.• Had good leadership and

organisational skills.• Acted as Lenin’s deputy

before.• Opposed Lenin on the

timing of the October Revolution.

Grigory Zinoviev

• Member of the Bolshevik Party since its formation in 1903.

• Trusted by Lenin.• Had good leadership

and organisational skills.

• Also opposed Lenin on the timing of the October Revolution.

Josef Stalin• Did not play any significant role in

the October Revolution or the Civil War.

• Seen as a quiet man, neither liked nor disliked by Party members.

• Was seen by Trotsky and many others as a ‘dim-witted’ person.

• Lenin was sceptical about whether he would make a good leader.

• He was doubtful about Stalin’s ability to use power with sufficient caution.

• He also felt that Stalin was rude, impatient and not attentive to his comrades. He wanted to remove Stalin as Secretary-General


• Trotsky was considered the front-runner. • In 1924, no one expected Stalin to become Lenin’s successor. • Yet by 1929, he had managed to outwit all his rivals to become the

leader of the Soviet Union. How did he do that?

Pretended to have been close to Lenin

• Lenin’s negative opinions towards Stalin in his will were not made public.

• When Lenin died, Stalin organised the funeral and gave himself the role of chief mourner, making it seem as if he had always been close to Lenin.

• He also tricked his biggest rival, Trotsky, into missing Lenin’s funeral by giving him the wrong date.

• As a result, many party members were angry with Trotsky’s apparent lack of respect for Lenin when he failed to appear at the funeral.

Made alliances

• Stalin formed alliances with other members to get rid of his opponents.

• For instance, he formed an alliance with Kamenev and Zinoviev because he knew that they wanted his support in their struggle against Trotsky for the leadership of the Communist Party.

Made alliances

• However, once Kamenev and Zinoviev had served their purpose by helping Stalin to eliminate Trotsky as a rival candidate, Stalin found new allies to remove them as well.

Zinoviev, one of Lenin’s closest associates, defended Stalin against Lenin’s call, in his will, for Stalin’s removal

“Comrades, every word of Lenin’s is law to us … But we are happy to say that in one point Lenin’s fears have proved baseless. I have in mind the point about Stalin. You have all witnessed our harmonious cooperation in the last few months; and like myself, you will be happy to say that Lenin’s fears have proved baseless.”

Used his position as Secretary-General

• Stalin used his power as Secretary-General to appoint his supporters to important posts.

• Thus, many key Party officials were loyal to him and he controlled the central Party machine.

• He also controlled the local Party committees, spreading his influence even more broadly among the rank and file members.

• As a result, Stalin was able to pack a 1925 Party meeting with his supporters, who voted to remove Trotsky from his posts.

Trotsky’s weaknesses

Over-confident

• Believed he would succeed Lenin and was complacent about building support within the ranks of the Party.

• Drew his support from a narrow base: the youths, students and the Red Army.

• Came across as arrogant to most Party members.

Over-confident

• Believed he would succeed Lenin and was complacent about building support within the ranks of the Party.

• Drew his support from a narrow base: the youths, students and the Red Army.

• Came across as arrogant to most Party members.

Lack of support for his idea

• His idea of world revolution did not find broad acceptance among Party members because they were weary at the prospect of more fighting.

• In contrast, most Party members felt that Stalin’s idea of ‘Socialism in one country’ was more practical.

Lack of support for his idea

• His idea of world revolution did not find broad acceptance among Party members because they were weary at the prospect of more fighting.

• In contrast, most Party members felt that Stalin’s idea of ‘Socialism in one country’ was more practical.

Establishment of dictatorship• Stalin established an authoritarian regime and he

was the dictator who ruled over it with absolute political powers.

Absolute powerAbsolute power

Complete control over his government.

Could make laws without seeking agreement from the people or other

members of the government.

Banned other political parties from the Soviet Union. Any person who opposed him was beaten, jailed or

even killed.

Establishment of dictatorship• Used propaganda to persuade people to accept and

obey him as the rightful leader of the country.– For example, he exaggerated his achievements.– He also made writers and journalists write about him as a

hero of the people.

• Exercised control through the education system.– Centralised education system under strict government

control.– Schools had to teach Marxist and Leninist ideas and instil

complete loyalty to the state among the students.

Outwitted Outwitted his rivalshis rivals

Trotsky’s Trotsky’s weaknessesweaknesses


EstablishmenEstablishment of t of

dictatorshipdictatorship

Position as Position as Secretary Secretary GeneralGeneral

Made Made alliancesalliances

What was the impact of Stalin’s regime on Communist Russia?

• Stalin aimed to modernise and develop the Soviet Union into a great country, more powerful than Britain and the USA.

• Two measures he implemented to achieve these were:– Rapid industrialisation.– Collectivisation of culture.

What was the impact of Stalin’s regime on Communist Russia?

• To consolidate his dictatorship and absolute power, Stalin also undertook two oppressive measures:– Development of a terror state.– Tight control over culture.

• All these measures left a huge impact on the people of Communist Russia and would endure as the legacies to Stalin’s regime.

Communist Communist Russia Russia

became an became an industrialised industrialised

countrycountry

Farms in Farms in Russia were Russia were collectivisedcollectivised

Development Development of a of a

terror stateterror state

Tight control Tight control over cultureover culture

What was the impact of

Stalin’s regime on Communist

Russia?

Communist Russia became an industrialised country.

• Stalin talked about putting ‘the Soviet Union on an automobile and the farmer on a tractor’.– he wanted to transform the Soviet Union into a modern

industrial state, one which was strong enough to stand up and defend its independence against other countries, instead of suffering humiliating defeats.

Stalin in a 1931 speech to factory managers explaining the need for industrialisation

“Tsarist Russia suffered many defeats because of her backwardness. All those countries defeated her because she was weak. This is why we must no longer lag behind. Do we want our Motherland to be defeated and lose her independence?”

Communist Russia became an industrialised country


“If you do not want this, you must put an end to backwardness in the shortest possible time. We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries. We must catch up in 10 years or they will crush us.”


• Not just industrialisation, but rapid industrialisation!

• Stalin believed the country needed to be developed rapidly to be prepared for an attack by the non-Communist countries whom he thought might invade the Soviet Union.


“If you do not want this, you must put an end to backwardness in the shortest possible time. We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries. We must catch up in 10 years or they will crush us.”


• As a result, his economic plans focused on developing heavy industries such as steel, metallurgy, chemicals, oil, coal and electricity.

• To develop the steel industry, new industrial cities such as Magnitogorsk were built from scratch mainly using forced labour (i.e. people arrested for various reasons).


• Steel produced by the new factories was used for building industrial products such as tractors and railways.

• High output targets for oil and coal were also set so as to generate more electricity to keep the new factories going and for the needs of the people.


Labour and expertise that helped fuel the development of the new industries.

Foreign experts who were sympathetic to the Communist cause were hired to teach the Russians, especially in technical areas.

As many more job opportunities were created, more women were employed.

Farmers were also encouraged to move to the cities to work in the industries.

How did Stalin implement industrialisation?

• Stalin implemented three Five-Year Plans:

First Five-Year Plan (1928–1932)First Five-Year Plan (1928–1932)

•Focused on heavy industries, especially iron and steel.Focused on heavy industries, especially iron and steel.

•Output was to be doubled for iron and steel production Output was to be doubled for iron and steel production and in electricity, chemicals and engineering.and in electricity, chemicals and engineering.

•After some early success, targets were increased and this After some early success, targets were increased and this Five-Year Plan was ordered to be completed in four years Five-Year Plan was ordered to be completed in four years instead of five.instead of five.



Second Five-Year Plan (1933–1937)Second Five-Year Plan (1933–1937)

•Set new targets for heavy industries.•But gave more attention to light industries that produced goods such as clothing.•From 1934, priority was given to industries related to military production as USSR anticipated another war.•Factories were built to the East of the Ural Mountains, where they would be beyond the reach of Western invaders. •Transport and communication networks were greatly improved.

Where are the Ural Mountains?



Third Five-Year Plan (1938–1942)Third Five-Year Plan (1938–1942)

•Emphasis on industries related to military production.

•Disrupted when the USSR was invaded by Germany in 1941.

•From then on, all resources were focused on military production and defeating the Germans.

Critical Thinking

1. In 1932, Stalin announced that the First Five-Year Plan was a great success. Was this completely true (referring to the chart on the previous slide)?How true was it?

2. Comparing the actual production achieved in 1932 and the planned production for the Second Five-Year Plan, do you think that the targets set were realistic?


• Despite the early successes of the First Five-Year Plan, some of the targets were not met.

• However, there was a great increase in the amount of coal, iron, steel and oil produced.

• More than 1 500 factories and more than 100 new cities were built.


• In the beginning, progress of Stalin’s industrialisation programme was inhibited because of these problems:

Many of the new industrial workers were farmers who had lived in the countryside and were not used to life in the cities.

•They often found it hard to adjust to their new living environment.

•Their inability to settle in affected their productivity.

•Very few workers had the skills required for factory work.

•Many workers were illiterate.

• Machines were often damaged because of workers’ ignorance or lack of training.

• When their equipment broke down, the workers did not know how to repair it and it would lie unused on the factory floor.

Impact of industrialisation

• When the First Five-Year Plan was announced, many Russians, especially young, idealistic Party members formed ‘Shock Brigades’ or groups of highly-motivated workers.

• However, their enthusiastic support for the industrialisation programmes waned under appalling work conditions and unrealistic production targets.

• By 1929, there was labour unrest as workers protested against their conditions.

• In response, the government took disciplinary action against workers who were underperforming or who engaged in sabotage.

Poor work conditions


1929 All factory workers had to work seven days a week.

October 1930 Workers were not allowed to move around the factories during working hours.

December 1930 Factories were not allowed to hire people who had left their previous jobs without permission.

January 1931 Workers would be sent to prison if they broke any rules in the factories.

February 1931 All factories were to keep notes on a worker’s job record.

Restrictions placed on workers in the Soviet UnionRestrictions placed on workers in the Soviet Union


March 1931 Workers were responsible for any damage to tools.

July 1932 Workers could be transferred from one place of work to another without their agreement.

August 1932 Workers would be sentenced to death for stealing things from the factories, as these belonged to the government.

November 1932 Workers could be dismissed if they missed a single day of work.

December 1932 Workers had to make a passport for any travel within the Soviet Union.


• The Soviet Union’s economy became a planned economy — the government had complete control. A new government department was formed to:

– set targets in each industry.

– plan the locations of new towns and industrial cities like Magnitogorsk.

Many of the new towns and industrial cities were to be built in the East, beyond the Ural Mountains.

This was very different from Tsarist Russia, where all the major cities were located in West Russia.

The strategic location of these industrial cities would place them beyond the reach of Western invaders, thus ensuring that production critical to any war efforts could not be easily sabotaged by the enemies.


• To ensure that their targets were met, the Communist government implemented a system of rewards and incentives:– Salaries were pegged to the productivity of a worker — the more

he produced, the more he earned.

– Hard work was rewarded with medals and the opportunity to go on a holiday at a discount.

• The government started a big campaign to teach the Russian workers new skills so as to tackle the problems posed by an uneducated labour force.– New colleges, schools and universities were built.

– Primary education was made compulsory.

– Thousands of teachers, scientists and engineers were trained.

• By the 1930s, Russian workers were able to obtain well-paid, high-skilled jobs.

System of rewards and training for workers


• Initially, due to the focus on heavy industries, industries that produced basic goods were neglected.– There was a shortage of basic goods such as food, clothes and shoes.

These items were rationed.

– The shortages led to escalating 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 supplies became

available to the people. Rationing ended in 1936.

– Workers received cheap meals and free uniforms.

– Free education, subsidised health care and the provision of extensive leisure facilities, such as cinemas, public parks, sports fields and gymnasiums, were provided.

• Thus, the living conditions of the Russians improved considerably.

Changed living conditions


Which do these viewpoints tell you about the Which do these viewpoints tell you about the Russians’ general feeling about Stalin’s Russians’ general feeling about Stalin’s industrialisation programme?industrialisation programme?


• Stalin managed to stave off the initial problems faced in his industrialisation programme.

• With his Five-Year Plans, the Soviet Union’s heavy industries expanded rapidly and production of consumer goods increased.

• The Soviet Union’s industrial capacity was also protected from an attack from the West due to the location of industrial cities in the Eastern part of the Soviet Union, beyond the Ural Mountains.

• As a result, the Soviet Union was more ready to face the threat from Germany when it came under attack in June 1941. BackBack

Stalin’s impact: Farm collectivisation

Farms in Russia were collectivized

• Most of the farms in the Soviet Union were small strips of land owned by individual farmers. They used primitive equipment like ploughs to work the fields and harvest the crops.

• Stalin’s reasons for collectivization:

If farming methods were improved, If farming methods were improved, fewer people would be needed to fewer people would be needed to

work the land. This meant that work the land. This meant that some of the people in the some of the people in the

countryside would be able to move countryside would be able to move to the cities to work in the new to the cities to work in the new

factories.factories.

The farmers would be able to grow The farmers would be able to grow more crops. The Soviet Union more crops. The Soviet Union

would be able to sell the extra crops would be able to sell the extra crops to other countries. The profit it to other countries. The profit it

earned could be used to pay for the earned could be used to pay for the building of new factories.building of new factories.

Bigger plots of land

Modern farming machinery

= Greater productivity!

Farms in Russia were collectivised

What did collectivisation entail?• Farmers in a particular area would combine all their land together

to form a single large unit, known as a collective farm (kolkhoz).

• All their tools and animals were shared.

• Each collective farm would have a common pool of tractors. These tractors were then rented out to the farmers.

• The farmers would work together and share what the farm produced. They would be paid labourers on the state-owned farm.

• They would sell a percentage of their crops to the government at a very low price. This made it easier for officials to get food supplies to the cities.

• In return, the government would provide them with machines such as tractors and harvesters.

• Government officials managed the farms. The collective farms would also have schools, hospitals and libraries.

What did collectivisation entail?• Farmers in a particular area would combine all their land together

to form a single large unit, known as a collective farm (kolkhoz).

• All their tools and animals were shared.

• Each collective farm would have a common pool of tractors. These tractors were then rented out to the farmers.

• The farmers would work together and share what the farm produced. They would be paid labourers on the state-owned farm.

• They would sell a percentage of their crops to the government at a very low price. This made it easier for officials to get food supplies to the cities.

• In return, the government would provide them with machines such as tractors and harvesters.

• Government officials managed the farms. The collective farms would also have schools, hospitals and libraries.

Voluntary collectivisation

• Initially, Stalin used reasons and persuasion to try to garner the farmers’ support in joining collective farms.

• It was a policy of voluntary collectivisation.

Stalin speaking to Communist Party members in 1927

“What is the way out? The way out is to turn the small and scattered farms into large united farms ... The way out is to unite the small and dwarf farms slowly but surely, not by pressure but by example and persuasion into large farms… There is no other way out.”


The response was mixed.



Supportive!


The response was mixed.• Voluntary Voluntary

collectivisation collectivisation did not work did not work because many because many farmers did not farmers did not want to abandon want to abandon their traditional their traditional way of life.way of life.

• The The kulakskulaks (richer, land-(richer, land-owning farmers) owning farmers) especially, did especially, did not want to give not want to give up their land to up their land to the government.the government.



Not

Supportive!



•Voluntary collectivisation did not work because many Voluntary collectivisation did not work because many farmers did not want to abandon their traditional way of life.farmers did not want to abandon their traditional way of life.

•The The kulakskulaks (richer, land-owning farmers) especially, did not (richer, land-owning farmers) especially, did not want to give up their land to the government.want to give up their land to the government.

Forced collectivisation

• Thus, Stalin adopted a policy of collectivization by force.– He 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.

• The farmers reacted by assassinating Communist Party members. In 1928 alone, 1 400 of such assassinations were reported.

• Fewer crops were harvested after collectivisation than in previous years.

Forced collectivisation

• Stalin put the blame squarely on the shoulders of the kulaks.

Stalin addressing the Communist Party in 1929

“The kulaks are the sworn enemies of the collective farm movement. We are to eliminate them as a class … We must break down the resistance of the kulaks and deprive them of their existence. We must smash them … We must strike at the kulaks so hard as to prevent them from rising to their feet again.”

• He decided to eliminate them.– Stalin’s secret police, the NKVD were 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 to the government.

Forced collectivisation• Backed by the NKVD, Party officials and volunteers were sent

to the countryside to forcibly form collective farms.– They forced the farmers to sign documents agreeing to the

formation of collective farms.– They would then take over the fields, livestock, farming tools and

buildings of the farmers. The Communist officials also forced farmers to hand over their crops.

– Young Communist Party members went around looking for food. They confiscated any crops that were found.

• Stalin succeeded in his forced collectivisation. – He had a cheap and regular supply of crops.– He freed workers from the countryside by mechanising the

farms. Thus, more workers were available to work in the factories.

– Altogether, an estimated 25 million farmers were forced to join huge collective farms.

Impact of collectivisation

• The farmers rioted and engaged in armed resistance to try to stop forced collectivisation.

• Stalin responded by ordering 17 million horses used in farming to be killed so that the farmers would be forced to use tractors instead.

• However, there were not enough tractors to replace the horses that had been killed.

Riots and resistance


• Villagers who did not co-operate were forced to move from their villages.

• They were deported to gulags (labour camps) to the north of the Soviet Union (Urals & Siberia) where they were made to work on Stalin’s ambitious construction projects.

• 3 million died in these forced labour camps.

Persecution of Kulaks


• Farmers burnt their crops and grew less food rather than send them to the Communist officials.

• The decline in crop production was made worse by natural disasters such as droughts and floods.

• Severe food shortages caused famine in the Soviet Union.

• The problem was compounded when Stalin rejected offers of food aid from the USA. Instead, he suppressed information about the famine.

Famine


• Despite the severe food shortages, Stalin ordered officials and the NKVD to take whatever crops were left.

• Some of the crops were sold 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.

Famine

Development of a terror state

Before 1934Before 1934

Ways Stalin dealt with his Ways Stalin dealt with his opponents:opponents:

•Expelled them from the Communist Party.• Sent them into exile.

Launch of the purges: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.

After Kirov’s After Kirov’s murder on murder on

1 1 December December

19341934

What does this picture tell you about Kirov & Stalin’s relationship?

• Kirov and Stalin were

What happened to Sergei Kirov?

• Kirov loyally supported Joseph Stalin and was Stalin’s protégé.

• In 1932 Stalin became aware that opposition to his policies were growing. He wanted to execute his critics.

• Kirov, argued against this policy, and many of the Politburo supported Kirov and voted against Stalin.

• Sergei Kirov was assassinated, with Stalin pushing the blame to Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, and other critics.


• The first to be arrested were Zinoviev, Kamenev and Zinoviev’s followers.

• Altogether, thousands of people were arrested by the NKVD* in the weeks after Kirov’s murder.

• The NKVD was given a quota, which meant that they had to arrest a minimum number of ‘enemies of the people’.

• NKVD -- People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs

First, the Show Trials


• The people who were arrested were usually intellectuals because they were seen as a threat to Stalin’s rule.– They might have instigated other Russians to resist

Stalin’s rule. • Thus, they were usually forced to sign

confessions and implicate others, who were also arrested.

• Between 1934 and 1935, the number of those sent to prison and gulags more than tripled.

• The purges continued from 1934 to 1938.

Then, the Purges


• In 1936, the old Bolshevik leaders, such as Kamenev and Zinoviev, were put on show trials.

• This took place after they had been worn down by treacherous conditions, continuous questioning and threats to the lives of their loved ones.

• They confessed to all the charges against them and were executed.

Purges


• Altogether, 1 million lower-ranking Party officials were expelled and were either shot or sent to labour camps.

• Half of the officer corps was shot.

• Even the Commander-in-Chief and a hero of the Civil War, Marshall Mikhail Tukachevsky, was not spared.

Purges


• Later, the purges included even ordinary Russians.

• Millions of Russians were arrested and either shot or sent to the dreaded labour camps.

• The NKVD arrested politicians, scientists, military men, teachers, writers and workers.

Purges

Impact of Stalin’s rule of terror

• During the period of the purges, people were encouraged to inform on their fellow workers, their neighbours and family members if they made any comments against Stalin or the Soviet Union.

• As no evidence was needed for an arrest, anyone who had a grudge against another person could get rid of him by simply denouncing him to the NKVD.

• The NKVD would often take people away from their homes in the middle of the night or in the early hours of the morning.

• Thus, many Russians were afraid of answering the door at night because they assumed that the NKVD had come to take someone away.

Fear and suspicion

Much fear and suspicion!Much fear and suspicion!


• 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 that they had appeared in.• The old heroes of the Revolution, having been purged,

were forgotten. From the 1930s until his death in 1953, Stalin was the only leader that mattered.

• Russians feared and obeyed him.

Mass executions


• Religion was banned for the 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 organising lectures that criticised religion for promoting ‘harmful superstition’.

• Churches, mosques and synagogues were vandalised.• Christian, Muslim and Jewish religious leaders were

persecuted.

Religious persecution

BackBack

Tight control over culture

• How did Stalin control culture?Education

• Controlled what people were taught.– Teaching of History was changed to

focus on the importance of Lenin and Stalin.

– Stalin was shown as having played a key and heroic role during the October 1917 Revolution (which was not true).

– The other leaders, such as Trotsky, were either unfairly presented or ignored.

• Very strict discipline in schools – for teachers and pupils.

– Teachers were closely watched and they were purged if it was felt that they had taught the pupils to be anti-Stalin.

The arts• Only writers, artists and musicians who

made art praising Stalin and his programmes could remain in their jobs.

• Many others were arrested and sent to labour camps.

• In this way, he also controlled the arts.


• Impact of Stalin’s control over culture

– Writings, paintings and music were expected to act as propaganda for him and his programmes, such as industrialisation and farm collectivisation.

– As a result of these restrictions, there was a lack of variety in the arts in Communist Russia.

– Young Russians also grew up learning a skewed version of history where Stalin took centrestage and was hugely important.


• Cult of personality

– Tried to make people in Communist Russia worship him as the leader.

– 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.

BackBack

Communist Communist Russia Russia

became an became an industrialised industrialised

countrycountry

Farms in Farms in Russia were Russia were collectivisedcollectivised

Development Development of a of a

terror stateterror state

Tight control Tight control over cultureover culture

What was the impact of

Stalin’s regime on Communist

Russia?

Did Stalin bring more harm than good to Did Stalin bring more harm than good to Communist Russia?Communist Russia?

Critical Thinking

Consider the viewpoints below. What were the ‘harms’ and what Consider the viewpoints below. What were the ‘harms’ and what were the ‘goods’?were the ‘goods’?

SummaryWas the rise of Communism in

Russia inevitable?

Reasons for the rise of

Communism in Russia How Stalin rose

to power

Impact of Stalin’s regime

Industrialisation

Collectivisation

Purges

World War I and the Tsar

Failure of Provisional Government


Bolshevik victory in

Russian Civil War

Control of culture



Establishment of dictatorship

Summary

Back to main summary

Reasons for the rise of

Communism in Russia

World War I and the Tsar

Failure of Provisional Government


Bolshevik victory in

Russian Civil War

• Humiliating defeats and devastating losses.

• Poor living conditions.

• Peasants’ desire for land.

• Food shortages.

• Chose to keep Russia in World War I.

• Did not carry out land reforms.

• Power struggles with the soviets.

• Provisional Government provided weapons which helped the Bolsheviks set up the Red Guards.

• Showed that it did not have real power when it needed the Red Guards to help it defeat General Kornilov.

• The Red Guards swept the Provisional Government from power.

• The Red Guards defeated its enemies as a united and disciplined force.

• The states of the Russian Empire were combined to form the Soviet Union.

Summary


How Stalin rose to power



Establishment of dictatorship

• Pretended to be close to Lenin.• Made alliances.• Used his position as Secretary-General.

• Over-confident and did not establish a broad enough support base.

• His idea of world revolution was much less accepted than Stalin’s idea of ‘Socialism in one country’.

• He had absolute political power and control in the authoritarian regime.

• Used propaganda to get people to accept and obey him.

• Exercised control through education system.

SummaryShort term• Low wages, poor working conditions.• Poor living conditions.

Long term• Modernisation and industrialisation of the

country.• Russia became a powerful country.• Higher wages, better living conditions.

• Widespread fear and suspicion.

• Mass executions.


Impact of Stalin’s regime

Industrialisation

Collectivisation

Purges

Control of culture

Short term• Many killed or sent to labour camps.• Famine.

Long term• Cheap and regular supply of crops.• More workers from the countryside to work

in the factories and support the rapid industrialisation.

• Skewed education.• Lack of variety in the arts.

russia

Education

rise of communism

people of communist

russia inevitable

dictator of communist

soviet union

rise of stalin

nutshell communism

communism ideology