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Communism in Russia - Coggle Diagram

- - - - Stalin played a minor role in the October Revolution and in the Russian Civil War. His real gift was for administration, and due to his peasant upbrinin he understood the way that many ordinary Russians thought and acted.
      - He had a reputation of loyalty to Lenin, however, when Lenin became ill, this loyalty faded. Lenin's testament criticised him for this but the testament was kept a secret. Lenin even ordered that Stalin should be sacked, but Stalin never let this become published.
    - - Trotsky was the most heroic of the contenders. Together with Lenin, he had planned and led the October Revolution and had commanded the Red Army during the Civil War.
      - He was a very gifted theorist and orator, who inspired the loyalty of his troops. He was praised in Lenin's testament as the most outstanding member of the Party. However, he was viewed as too arrogant and too western by many more cautious communists who were reluctant to trust him.
    - - Bukharin was similar to Trotsky, a good thinker and orator, however he lacked Trotsky's arrogance, and for this reason Lenin described him as the favourite of the whole party. Following the Civil war he became the leader of the NEP (New Economic Policy), a compromise between communism and capitalism.
    - - They were some of Lenin's closest friends, they were some of the first members of the Bolshevik party, however they had a history of disloyalty and cowardice.
  - - - General Secretary- controlled the Politburo agenda, selected delegates for the party Congress, controlled promotions and appointments within the party
      - This mean that he could influence what was discussed at Politburo meetings, he could fill the party Congress with his supporters, and he had the power to reward those that were loyal to him
      - Head of Rabkin
        
        This controlled the Party Discipline, this meant he could investigate and sack from the Party those who opposed him.
    - - Head of the Red Army
        
        He was seen as a threat becuase party members though he might use the army to seize power.
        
        Many of his supporters were in the army, they were not members of the party and so they could not attend the party congress.
    - - Head of the Media
        
        Editor of Pravda
        
        This meant that he could publish his own views and criticise the views of others
    - - Head of Petrograd Party- this meant he had the loyalty of a large section of the party
    - - Head of the Moscow Party- this meant he had the loyalty of a large section of the party.
  - - - Left-wing view: permanent revolution
        
        Communist Russia will only be secure when revolutions in other countries have taken place
        
        No socialist country and survive on its own
        
        Aggressive foreign policy
        
        Trotsky argued for permanent revolution, and after their break with the party in 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev also backed the idea of permanent revolution.
      - Right-wing view: Socialism in One Country
        
        Socialism can be built in Russia alone
        
        Russia will lead the rest of the world to communism in time
        
        There is no immediate need to incite revolutions in other countries
        
        Advocated by Stalin and Bukharin
    - - Left-wing view: the dictatorship of industry
        
        Encourage the peasants to join collective farms to increase agricultural productivity
        
        High taxes for the peasants to fund industrialisation
        
        Rapid state-funded industrialisation
        
        Trotsky argued passionately for the left-wing solution.
      - Right-wing view: the NEP
        
        Low taxes for the peasants in order to fund gradual industrialisation
        
        Allow peasants to own their own farms and trade on the free market to ensure the popularity of the regime
        
        Slow state-funded initialisation
        
        Bukharin was the leading advocate of the right-wing solution, initially with Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev supporting.
  - - - His funeral in1924 was hugely significant because it gave the contenders for power a platform from which to show their loyalty to Lenin. Trotsky was on the shores of the Balck Sea at the time that Lenin died and therefore was cut off from events in Moscow. Stalin told Trotsky the wrong date for his funeral, as a result Trotsky missed the funeral and was regarded as disloyal to Lenin.
    - - Lenin's Testament had instructed that Stalin should be removed from him position. However, he persuaded Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were also criticised, to argue that Stalin should remain in post and that the Testament should not be published. Their arguments convinced the Central Committe and therefore the vast majority of the Communist Party never learnt of Lenin's judgement.
    - - Bukharin was travelling by air to reach a meeting of the Central Committee. Stalin arranged to have Bukharin's plane ground twice, insisting that Bukharin undergo a series of medical checks. As a result, Bukharin missed an opportunity to extend his influence within the committee.
    - - Stalin moved from the right wing to the left wing in 1928, this was extremely significant. by adopting rapid industrialisation as his economic policy and maintain Socialism in one country as his foreign policy, Stalin united the most popular policies in the party at the time. This meant that Stalin gained support from both sides of the party.
- - - - State capitalism
        
        In 1918 Lenin also introduced state capitalism. He argued that it was an economic phase between capitalism and socialism. State-capitalism was based on the nationalisation of heavy industry. Nationalisation ended the capitalist era and transferred heavy industry from the hands of private enterprises into the hands of the state.
        
        Lenin hoped that nationalisation would lead to greater efficiency as he could rely on experts to run the economy.
        
        Nationalised industries would be controlled by the Vesenkha, which would:
        
        Re-establish worker discipline by offering higher pay to those who were productive.
        
        Ensure factories were properly managed by placing under the control of well payed specialists.
      - War Communism
        
        State communism was always going to be a temporary measure. The start of the Civil war that started in 1918 led to the introduction of some serious economic measures creating what was known as War Communism. The goal of this was to ensure that Communism gain victory in the war. War communism entailed the following measures.
        
        The nationalisation of all industry
        
        Food dictatorship: the free market in food was abolished. Grain was forcibly requisitioned from the peasants and food was rationed by the Supply Commissariat. Workers and soldiers got the largest rations.
        
        Labour discipline: Lenin introduced an 11-hour working day and compulsory work for all able-bodied men aged 16-50.
      - The consequences of War communism
        
        War Communism led to military victory but economic ruin. Incentives to work were ruined as peasants and workers were not rewarded for their labour. This led to an economic catastrophe.
        
        By 1920 there was a famine in the countryside, the 1921 harvest was only 46% of the harvest of 1913, this led to deaths of around 6 million people.
        
        Workers fled the cities in search of food. In total the industrial workforce fell from 2.6 million in 1917 to 1.2 million in early 1921.
        
        The economic crisis of 1921 led to a major economic reform: the New Economic Policy.
  - - - The NEP ended War Communism and created a mixed economy
      - Farming was left to the free market. Peasants could buy and sell produce freely, grain requisitioning was ended and was replaced by a tax in kind.
      - Small factories and workshops were denationalised and were allowed to trade freely. Many were returned to their previous capitalist owners.
      - Large factories and industry stayed nationalised
      - Money was reintroduced after previously being removed due to hyperinflation
    - - The NEP led to political and economic stability. However rapid industrial growth was not achieved. Neither was it very popular within the party as it was a compromise with capitalism.
      - Farming- Ending Grain requisitioning was extremely popular among peasants. Free trade also encouraged them to grow more food, therefore famine ended and farming revived.
      - Industry - The NEP also led to industrial growth. Lenin authorised a huge scale electrification campaign, which revived an industry that had effectively been wiped out by the Civil War. However industrial growth was very slow.
      - Inequality- Inequality was something that communists detested. Large scale farms prospered whereas small farms didn't do so well. Traders known as 'NEPmen' who travelled the country selling highly desirable goods grew rich. They were viewed as parasites by the communists because they grew rich without producing anything.
    - - To retain political power: Lenin described it as being an economic retreat, which was designed to prevent economic defeat. So Lenin compromised with the economy to retain political power.
      - To revive the economy: Lenin needed a system whereby the economy could grow and famine would cease with grain production being stimulated.
      - To build socialism: Lenin hoped that the NEP would generate wealth that could be used to industrialise and modernise the Soviet economy.