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Unit 2: Soviet Totalitarian Regime - Coggle Diagram
Unit 2: Soviet Totalitarian Regime
tools of control
propaganda
+ve
socialist realism:
a style of idealised realistic art that was developed in the USSR and was the official style for most part of the 1930s-1980s
it is characterised by the glorified depiction of communist values and society
stakhanovite movement:
In aug 1935, a miner, Stakhonovite was rewarded beacuse he mined 14 times the output of a normal miner
He became the centre of the Stakhanovite movement, where he toured the country to encourage other workers to do the same
workers were promised rewards if they could exceed targets like Stakhanovite
-ve
class warfare ( eg to encourage dekulakisation )
kulaks were identified as class enemies and blamed for hoarding grains
he believed that identifying the kulaks wld frighten the middle and poor peasants into joining the collective farms
villagers were unwilling to identify kulaks as they had strong ties with them. these kulaks also helped out poorer peasants in times of difficulties (eg by lending $ )
kulaks were also good farmers who were valuable to the community
hence, stalin used force to make peasants cooperate since potrayal of kulaks as class enemies was not successful
this propaganda campaign was useful in some places whr poorer peasants denounced their neighbours as kulaks for revenge or to get their hands on the neighbours' animals and equipment for the new collective farm
rewriting history
in his favour so that he will get Russians' support
present Stalin as having played key roles in events like the Oct 1917 revolution and conveniently airbrushing his opponents off (eg Nicholas yezhov- Stalin understood how important mass media was to influencing people's perception, therefore he remove Nicholas from photos)
Stalin was added to photographs of Lenin to show that he had been his closest friend and disciple
Stalin's cult of personality
he was seen as a God-like leader, on equal status as Lenin, Marx and Engels
also portrayed as a fatherly-like figure that looks after the welfare of his people
admired for bringing astounding changes to the soviet union through his industrialisation- seen as true defender of the people
reactions
Rs were convinced that show trials were real and hence believed that Stalin truly cared for them and were their guide and leader.
many young soldiers, workers and intelligentsia were grateful towards stalin for giving them the power and status they had despite their humble origins
evi
:
mils of petitions and letters were sent to him for help affirming their loyalty to him.
use of terror
Great Terror
Assassination of Sergei Kirov: in response to increased unpopularity of Stalin's excessive economic policy
Stalin argued that Kirov was evidence of a widespread conspiracy against Bolsheviks
series of show trials held to eliminate political opponent such as Bukharin > Stalin could secure total control over Communist party and USSR
purges were carried out in the party and general population
purges within the Red Guards to promote younger, inexperienced members who owed their allegiance and advancement to Stalin alone
dekulalkisation
stalin enlisted 25,000 urban party activists to revolutionise the countryside
backed by local police, secret police (OGPU) and military
they were to root out the kulaks and ensure that middle class poor peasants sign a register demanding to be collectivised
a decree was passed to give local party organisations the power to use "necessary measures" against the kulaks
after being identified, the kulaks cld be shot or sent to forced-labour settlements (gulags), exiled to siberia or expelled from their own farms to be resettled on poorer land
ard 10 mil sent to gulags
gulags were impt part of rapid industralisation bc they serve as slave labours
rapid industrialisation
what is it?
industrialise and modernise rapidly
rationale
ensure that soviet union became entirely self sufficient so that it will not be in a position where it needs to be reliant on potentially hostile countries
Increase military strength of USSR esp in view of the war scares in 1920s and the seeming hostile western powers
To est stalin’s credentials as the successor and equals of Lenin
process of implementation
state wld decide what was produced, whr it was produced and when it was produced
production and output targets backed by the laws were set, and factories/industries were expected to fulfil them. failure to meet these targets meant punishment and exceeding the targets was rewarded w bonuses
positive propaganda and rewards to praise the workers who exceeded targets and worked efficiently were used (stakhanovite movement)
impact of intense competition
bribery and corruption were rife as managers made illegal deals to get the raw materials they needed to fulfil their targets. some even resorted to hijacking lorries and ambushing trains to get supplies intended for other plants
underproduction
some parts of the economy suffered from underproduction due to the shortage of materials
overproduction
parts of the economy were able to secure more than enough materials they needed so that they cld exceed targets
i) wastage: overproduction created thousands of parts no one needed
ii) low quality goods: output of goods were of low quality as factories aimed to exceed/fulfil targets
responses and impact
+ve
tripled electricity production and doubling coal and iron output
steel production increased by 1/3
engineering industry developed and increased output of machine- tools and turbines
huge new industrial complexes were built with new tractor works being built in various industrial centers to meet needs of mechanised agriculture
-ve
lack of proper coordination that led to poor allocation of resources. some industries overproduced while others underproduced, leading to wastage
obsession with numbers meant that some goods produced were of poor quality
increased stress in factories and tougher working conditions
emphasis on heavy industry meant lack of development in light industry (consumer goods)
very little growth and in some aspects even a decline (eg. food processing)
small workshops developed under the NEP were squeezed out due to shortage of materials.
chemical targets not met
lack of skilled workers: instability
collectivisation
what is it?
merging of small individual farms into large state-controlled collective farms (kolkhozes)
what's the rationale?
Communist party to control and procure grains (produced by the peasants)
sell and feed the russians
support rapid industralisation
soviet union needed money for capital investment to industrialise.
existing exports from the soviet union was insufficient to pay for heavy industrial equipment
producing grains allow USSR to sell them to other countries for profit, which can fund further industralisation
modernizing farms and using machinery allow for increased production to feed workers and free up labour for more workers in factories
Process
voluntary collectivisation from 1928 to forced collectivisation from 1930 through use of force and terror (low production rates in voluntary collectivisation was not enough for the party to feed Russia)
"Dekulakization" to inflame class hatred : Kulaks were identified as class enemies and blamed by the Bolsheviks > shot or expelled from their own farms
pass laws to ensure R registered for collectivisation
first year plan: unfeasible target led to bottlenecks and wastage
second year plan: focused on machine making
third year plan: focused on armaments to prepare for WW2
consumer industry was neglected through the 3 five years plan, steel and oil industry also did poorly due to shortage of manpower
Responses and impacts
-ve
strong resistance from peasants
riots, burning crops, slaughtering animals and eat or sell the meat rather than handing them over to the state
armed resistance> unwilling to turn kulaks in as they were valuable members of the community
Famine of 1932-34: continued to export high amounts of grain to other countries although there wasnt enough
kulaks who used to contribute the most grains were expelled > millions of peasants died -> govt implemented strict laws to ensure grains were handed over
in total, famine and the govt's policy during that period resulted in death of millions of peasants across the soviet union
grain production did not exceed pre-collectivisation level
+ve
grains collected were sufficient to feed the cities and fund
industralisation at the end of 1934, 70% of peasant households were in collective farms, rising to 90% in 1936
why collectivisation was benefitial
larger units of land cld be farmed more efficiently through the use of mechanisation as tractors and harvesters cld be shared across larger parcels of farmland
state experts cld help peasants farm in more modern ways eg using fertilisers. this wld result in higher food production for the country
collectivisation wld make it easier for the state to procure the grain it needed
social policies
education
impt building block to create a socialist state > compulsory education
taught technical subjects that helped with industralisation
virtues of the communist party were taught
prof and students who questioned communists ideologies might lose their jobs or faced imprisonment
youth org set up to inculcate communist values and promote loyalty to the working class
youths were encouraged to join
eg Pioneers and Komosomol
komosol members were used to conduct campaigns to shame the laggards and dsicourage slacking on the job
women
wanted to free woman from their domestic role but there were insufficient support for childcare and unequal jobs/ role
Gender inequality: women were paid less than men and employers regarded them as more expensive since they took time off work due to their home responsibilities
Skilled women were forced to work unskilled jobs
Workers
Soviet Man as embodying the morality,values and characteristics with the right attitude
Great mass of workers simply accepted it because of the social welfare benefits