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Book 3 Chapter 2: Stalin's Soviet Union (Stalin's Social Impact…
Book 3 Chapter 2: Stalin's Soviet Union
Reasons for the Rise of Stalin
Non-disclosure of Lenin's Testament
In his testament, Lenin criticised all his leading successors however he
specifically stated to remove Stalin from his position as Secretary-General
.
When Lenin died in
1924
, the Central Executive Committee decided to
keep Lenin's testament private
.
They ignored Lenin's advise as they felt that Trotsky would be chosen as his successor.
Stalin remained Secretary-General
.
Stalin
removed his political opponents
and
kept his reputation as Lenin's trusted aide
.
Stalin's Manipulations
Pretending to be close to Lenin
In
1922
, Stalin
often visited
the ailing Lenin.
This convinced people that they both had
an enduring relationship
and that Stalin was
favoured and trusted by Lenin
.
Stalin's political standing was
boosted
.
When Lenin died,
Stalin organised Lenin's funeral
where he made himself
the chief mourner
.
This made him appear
extremely distraught
.
Strengthened support
for Stalin.
He
relayed false information
about the funeral to Trotsky thus Trotsky was absent during the event.
This made Trotsky
seem disrespectful
.
Contrasted with Stalin who
renamed Petrograd to Leningrad
in Lenin's honour.
Control over the party's organisation
Stalin had the authority
to appoint and re-assign
party members.
He
appointed his supporters to important posts
.
He
replaced his opponent's allies
with his own.
Strengthened his power
over the party as well as
undermined his opponents
.
In
1925
, Trotsky was
removed from his post
and
forced to resign as head of the Red Army
.
Exploitation of ideological division
Moderates: Followed Lenin's leadership and ideology.
Radicals: Formed new ideas and challenged the system.
Stalin
allied himself on both sides
at different times.
First, he aligned himself with the moderates who were
against Trotsky
as they thought he was a radical.
After Trotsky was eliminated, he
convinced the moderates
that Kamenev and Zinoviev were conspiring with Trotsky.
Kamenev and Zinoviev became discredited and isolated.
Then he allied himself with the radicals to
target Bukharin and Rykov
.
The radicals sided with Stalin and
fired Bukharin
in
1929
and Rykov
in
1930
.
Trotsky's unpopularity in the Politburo
Politically naive
and
disinterested in gathering support
.
Trotsky
was not interested in building his support base
and
did not participated actively in party politics
.
This put him at a disadvantage against Stalin.
Failed to counter
Stalin's cunning political moves, allowing him to
remain in power
.
Non-disclosure of Lenin's testament
Believed Stalin about Lenin's funeral
Outspoken, arrogant and
unpopular in the Politburo
.
Argued with Lenin and the Party
several times.
Criticised Lenin's New Economic Policy.
Criticised the increasing control over the Party.
Seen as acts of
disloyalty and arrogance
.
His position as head of the Red Army made his contenders see him as
a bigger threat than Stalin
.
Trotsky advocated Permanent Revolution.
Many members were wary of more fighting.
Found him to be
less nationalistic and practical
than Stalin.
Conclusion
Stalin rose to power by
eliminating his opponents
.
Introduction
Stalin
ruthlessly imposed
economic, political and social policies
to consolidate his power
.
Stalin wanted to
modernise the Soviet Union
so that it could compete with the West.
Achieved this through the 5-Year Plans which involved
ambitious targets
.
1st 5-Year Plan
1928-1932
: Expand industry, transport and power supply.
2nd 5-Year Plan
1933-1938
: Produce more manufactured goods.
3rd 5-Year Plan
1939-WW2
: Produced luxuries.
Stalin's Economic Policies
Collectivisation
Reasons
Promote equality
Merged small individual farms into
large collective farms
.
Everything
belonged to the state
and
the state made decisions
on what to grow.
Ended the
inequality
between the
rich peasants and ordinary peasants
.
Increase efficiency
Until
1928
, agriculture yield in the USSR was
low
.
Mechanisation on collective farms would make work
easier and more convenient
.
Less labour
would be required, allowing
more people to work in the factories
.
Impact
Positive
Modernised farming
Farms were
given machines
, such as tractors.
Peasants were taught
modern farming techniques
.
Using fertiliser.
Greater
work efficiency.
Freed more peasants
for the factories.
Supported Stalin's industralisation programmes.
Made it
easier
to implement state initiatives and control the peasants.
Ensured food supply
to feed factory workers.
Negative
Destroyed Soviet farming in the short term and resulted in Great Famines
Grain harvest dropped drastically
between
1931-1934
and did not recover to their
pre-1928
level.
Led to sever famine between
1932-1934
Instead of feeding the people,
Stalin exported the grain to raise funds
for industrialisation.
7 million peasants died.
Only in the
1950s
did the Soviets regain the grain harvest it had achieved in
1928
.
Persecution of Kulaks
Many kulaks
opposed collectivisation
by killing their livestock and burning their grain.
100 million sheep and goats
16 million horses
These people were
either shot or sent to forced labour camps
.
7 million rich peasants.
Industrialisation
Reasons
Strengthen the USSR
Emphasis was placed on
industries such as electricity, iron and steel
.
Enabled the USSR to
develop its own arms and military
.
Modernise the USSR economy
Enabled the
production of farming equipment
.
More food.
Free up more labour
Impact
Positive
Strengthened Russia's economy (Long-term)
Mechanised farming
More
food
More
factories
Larger
industrial workforce.
1500 factories
150 cities
Increase in
coal, iron, steel and oil production
.
Production of consumer goods
increased.
Strengthened Russia's military
USSR had
the necessary economic resources
to fight a modern industrial war.
Industrial cities were
built in the East
, further from the West
Prevented sabotage.
Workers' conditions improved (Long-term)
A system of rewards.
Salaries were based on
a worker's productivity
.
Holidays and medals were
offered to hard workers
.
Educated labour force.
Primary education became
compulsory
.
New schools
were built.
Thousandss of teachers, scientists and engineers were trained.
By
1930s
, Russians were able to do
high-skilled jobs
.
Improved living conditions
Production of basic goods
increased
.
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 gynasiums, were provided.
Negative
Worsened the plight of the workers (Short-term)
Workers lived and worked under
harsh and appalling conditions
.
By
1929
, workers who were under-performing or engaged in sabotage were
severely punished
.
All workers had to work
7 days a week
.
Workers were
not allowed to move around the factories
during working hours.
Workers were
sent to prison
if they broke any rules.
Workers would be
sentenced to death
if they stole from the factory.
Workers were
fired
if they missed a single day of work.
Living conditions were
horrible
.
Production of basic goods, such as food, clothes and shoes were
neglected and had to be rationed
.
This lead to
escalating prices
and
workers' salaries fell by 50%
between
1928-1933
.
Stalin's Political Impact
The Great Terror
1934-1938
Kirov Affair
Soviet agriculture was
in ruins
.
Politburo was
divided
between Stalin's supporters and haters.
In
1934
, Stalin was
stripped of his title
.
Kirov, who favoured a relaxation of the 5-Year Plan, was
elected as Stalin's replacement
.
Kirov was
assassinated
on
1 December 1934
.
The NKVD (Secret Police) 'investigated' Kirov's murder.
1 more item...
Purges and show trials.
Those who were arrested were put on show trials where they
readily confessed their involvement in plotting Stalin's murder and working with enemies of the state
.
These confessions were made after
physical and psychological torture in prison as well as the threatening of family members
.
The purges also encouraged citizens to
denounce one another
.
By
1938
,
nobody knew who to trust
.
Elimination of intellectuals, skilled workers and officers
Many scientists, teachers and writers were
arrested to prevent opposition
.
Either
killed on the spot or sent to labour camps
.
Weakened the quality of Soviet civil service
and the
workforce shrank
.
High-ranking commanders and tens of thousands of officers were
accused of treason
in
1939
due to
their connection to Trotsky
.
Stalin replaced them with
younger, inexperienced Party members
.
This ensured that the army was loyal to him.
30-60 million people lost their lives under Stalin's Great Terror.
Use of Propoganda
Strict censorship made it that
Stalin could only be praised in media
.
Criticism meant being
sentenced to death
or
sent to a labour camp
.
Unwanted people were
edited out
.
Trotsky
Yezhov
Stalin often wore ordinary clothes to
appear modest
.
All offices, factories and classrooms were
required to have a picture of Stalin
.
All achievements and successes were
credited to Stalin
.
Large portions of Soviet history were rewritten
to boost Stalin's status.
Stalin's Social Impact
State control of society
All private enterprise was banned
. The state became the only legal distributor of everyday goods.
Housing
Education
Health services
Individuals' vacation destinations.
Led to
shortages of essential consumer goods
.
Fall in standard of living
There were often
shortages in food and quality consumer goods
.
Increasing city populations caused
housing shortages
.
Many were forced by the government to live in
cramped conditions with no running water or sanitation
.
Workers were forced to work
long hours in poor conditons
.
Famine
Farmers were
not allowed to keep produce
for themselves.
During the Great Famine in
1932
, the state
sold its stockpiled grain
instead of distribute it.
By
1934
, 7 million people died.
Lack of consumer goods
Production of consumer goods was
neglected
.
Only in
1939
were the people finally promised luxuries such as bicycles and radios.
However, these promises were not kept.
Living in fear
The
slightest anti-Stalin sentiments
could warrant an arrest.
The secret police had
informants everywhere
.
Arrest could lead to death or deportation to labour camps.
People were
often being judged
by officials.
If the people were judged poorly, it would become difficult for them to apply for housing, jobs or holidays.
Impact of policies on various social groups
Minority nationalities
The republics of the former Russian Empire
lost their autonomy
with the creation of the Soviet Union.
Their governments were
all controlled by Moscow
.
Stalin felt that modernisation and industrialisation were
more important
than cultural traditions.
They lived the same miserable and fearful lives of Russians.
Between
1932-1933
, millions of Ukrainians died. This was speculated to be a deliberate attempt to attack Ukrainian nationalism.
New Soviet Man
Ordinary people were
promoted by the state as celebrities
due to their work achievements or personal connections with the Party.
The pressure to meet such standards and the oppression faced by those who failed to do so had
a negative psychological impact
on Soviet society.
Many became pessimistic and lacked self-confidence.
Changing role of Soviet women.
Equal rights
were guaranteed to women
Abortion and divorce became legal
to women.
In
1936
, abortion became illegal once again.
Women were then expected to be
both workers and housewives
.
However, women welcomed the change as
it gave them the opportunity to be just as capable as the men
.
Women were
encouraged to work
.
State-run childcare centres were built to enable women to do so.
However the
facilities were poorly maintained
.
Youth and education
Before the revolution: 40% of males between ages 9 and 40 literate.
By
1939
: 96% of males between ages 9 to 40 were literate. Women who were literate increased from 13% to 65%
Improved people's chances of getting a job
.
School attendance was
compulsory
with every child being entitled to
at least 9 years of free education
.
Education was
full of propaganda
and emphasised communism and atheism
The growing literacy rate only served
to further the influence
of the Communist Party.
Universities taught technical
subjects which would help meet national industrialisation targets
.
The growing literacy rate only served
to further the interests
of the Communist Party.
Teenagers were encouraged to join the Komsomol (Communist Union of Youth).
They did outdoor activities and were
indoctrinated to be loyal to Stalin and the Communist Party
.
Many were later promoted to prominent Party posts.
Similarly, children aged 10 to 15 were encouraged to join Young Pioneers.
These children
helped to work on political campaigns or on collective farms and industries
.
Conclusion
Stalin crushed his opponents through careful, calculated decisions, actions and manipulation.
Stalin's rule was more of a failure than a success.
Stalin's rule and control over the Soviet society was carried out at a high human cost.
The fact that millions of people died or suffered while others lived in fear makes Stalin's rule inhumane and unjustifiable.