Modern History
National Study: Russia
1. Bolshevik Consolidation of Power
• An overview of Bolshevik ideology, the October coup 1917,
and early Soviet Government
• The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Civil War, and the
introduction of the New Economic Policy
An Overview of Bolshevik Ideology
• In the 1940s, Karl Marx outlined that the working class was being exploited by the owners of
the capital, and they were becoming progressively poorer
“The modern bourgeois society that has sprouted from the ruins has not done away with class
antagonisms” (Communist Manifesto)
• Marx sees history as being cyclical
o Masters control capital (money or resources) “the means of production” – people in
charge control the capital and the means of production
o Classes (masters to workers = class struggle)
o Industrialisation was very prominent – more workers and industrial centres
• Resulted in a violent struggle in which the proletariat were victorious over the capital owners
o The workers then owned means of production and it would be shared equally
“Let the ruling classes tremble at a Communist revolution. The proletariat have nothing to lose but
their chains” (Communist Manifesto)
This model shows that all aspects of society are connected to the base
Base refers to the forces and relations of production—to all the people,
relationships between them, the roles that they play, and the materials and
resources involved in producing the things needed by society
Marx argued that the superstructure grows out of the base, and reflects
the interests of the ruling class that controls it
As such, the superstructure justifies how the base operates, and in doing
so, justifies the power of the ruling class
Marx theorized that the superstructure effectively grows out of the base
and that it reflects the interests of the ruling class that controls the base
• Marx did not believe such revolution could occur in a peasant society, but in industrialised
nations such as Britain and Germany, while Lenin strongly believed so
• In 1917, Lenin produced the treatise state and revolution which outlined the Bolshevik tactics
for the coming struggle
o Elimination of bureaucracy, the continuation of repression through the state, and the
destruction of state machinery and institutions
o Lenin promised “peace, bread, and land” to gain support
Chelsea Lowell
1
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• Once a revolutionary party had been formed to lead the masses, then the need for parliamentary
democracy would disappear, replaced by the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ àbut state
leadership would be required for the transitionary stage
• Thought that through aggressive revolution, society could skip past these stages of history
• Lenin was generally, known for his pragmatic approach and successful execution of the Marxist
theory
Primary aim of the Bolshevik
consolidation of power, 1917
The inernationalism of
communism as a means
of protecting the new
government
All businesses were put
into the hands of
industrial owners - the state
alone was to have
the knowledge to
direct labour and its use
A coercive apparatus was
needed in dealing with
internal enemies
and external powers
who would seek to
destroy the revolution
“In order to ‘serve’ the mass movement we must have people who will devote themselves
exclusively to Social Democratic activities, and ... such people must train themselves patiently
and steadfastly to be professional revolutionaries” (Lenin)
Russian Social Democrats – split into two factions (Bolsheviks and Mensheviks)
Bolsheviks
• Majority
• More revolutionary
• Russia’s proletariat was small but concentrated, politically
educated and powerful
• Proletariat could not build socialism but its actions could
spark revolutions in more advanced western Europe
• Russia would not immediately become classless but it would
be far more democratic than the previous tsarist regime
because it would represent the people
• A coercive apparatus would be still needed to defend against
internal and external enemies
• Mixture of democracy and coercion à “the dictatorship of
the proletariat”
Chelsea Lowell
Mensheviks
• Moderate
• Sought the eventual
introduction of
socialism, but thought
that the overthrow of
the autocracy would be
followed by a long
period of cooperation
between the
bourgeoisie and
proletariat
• Believed party should
have broad
membership
2
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The October Coup 1917
1917 Julian Date
(Gregorion Date)
24 October
(6 November)
25 October
(7 November)
26 October
(8 November)
27 October
(9 November)
3 November
(16 November)
Events
• During the night, the Red Guards began to take over all important
locations in Petrograd, such as the telephone exchange, railway
stations and government buildings
• Kerensky left the city, intending to raise a force of loyal troops
with whose support he hoped to regain control of Petrograd
• By the evening, when the All-Russian Congress of Soviets were
meeting, the Red Guards had control of most of the city
• In the early hours of the morning, the Provisional Government
were meeting in the Winter Palace when a contingent of Red
Guards made their way into the Palace and arrested them
• Eighteen hours after seizing power, Lenin issues the Decree on
Peace, urging an immediate ceasefire and treaty, and the Decree
on Land, calling for the abolition of private ownership
• The Second All-Russian Congress of Soviets debated the validity
of the Bolshevik Revolution and whether they had acted without
first gaining approval
• The Mensheviks and the Social Revolutionaries condemned the
Bolsheviks’ actions but were outnumbered
• Lenin was greeted with wild enthusiasm from the Congress
• The Bolsheviks had successfully seized control of Petrograd
• Bolsheviks have taken control of Moscow
o “the triumph of the party seemed almost exclusively due to
his success in stamping his personal will [on the Bolshevik
Party]” – Carr
• The July Days
o Seemed as if the provisional government was no longer in control as: soviets spread,
workers had control of the factories, there was widespread seizure of land by the peasants
o At this point the revolution was disunited, PG still had some strength and Bolsheviks
were far from being dominant
o Kerensky arrested Trotsky, Lenin fled to Finland and branded the Bolsheviks as traitors
• Russian historians refer to the Bolshevik seizure of power as the October Revolution
• Although Marxism generally does not support peasants, Lenin aptly adapted the ideology to
account for 4/5ths of the population were peasants were the main revolutionary force, thus
adding them to the proletarian cause
o To support this, he stole the Socialist Revolutionaries’ ‘land to the peasants’ slogan
which became the new Bolshevik catchphrase
o This produced a swing to the Bols in the countryside
o Also split the SRs, some began to align themselves with the Bols
Chelsea Lowell
3
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• The decision to take power was taken by the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party under
Lenin’s leadership
• 23 October 1917 – they voted in favour of a revolution, which was then carried out by Lenin’s
deputy, Leon Trotsky, and the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet
• Trotsky played a leading role as President of the Petrograd Soviet as he laid plans for the seizure
of important government buildings
• The provisional government knew that a Bolshevik uprising was inevitable, but could do little to
stop them
“The Socialist-Revolutionaries of the Right and the Mensheviks were on one side of the barricades
with all the counter- revolutionary swine; the Bolsheviks were on the other side with the workers and
the soldiers. Blood has created a gulf between us. This is not and never will be forgotten.” (Lenin)
Chelsea Lowell
4
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Early Soviet Government
• Few people believed that the Bolsheviks to remain in power for very long
• At the end of 1917, the Bolsheviks controlled only a small part of Russia, including Moscow
• Vladimir Lenin was appointed leader of the Bolshevik party, with Trotsky as Commissar
(Minister) of Foreign Affairs
• Lenin shared power with some of the Socialist Revolutionaries in the Sovnarkom (Council of
People’s Commissars) but only to gain support against the Constituent Assembly
o Bolsheviks, supported by left- wing Socialist Revolutionaries, were in the majority and
had had a large increase in numbers since the first such congress in June
o Although Lenin would not work with the Mensheviks, an agreement with the left- wing
Socialist Revolutionaries would enable the government to claim it represented the
peasants
• A member of the Right Mensheviks spoke against the Bolsheviks’ ‘military conspiracy’ and
called for negotiation with the Provisional Government
o There were cries of opposition and some of the right- wingers left the meeting
o Trotsky described those opposing the Bolsheviks as being at that time consigned to the
‘rubbish-can of history’
• With the Winter Palace taken and most of the government ministers arrested, Trotsky declared
that ‘there is no other power now in Russia but the power of the Soviets’
• While the Military Revolutionary Committee played a key role in what was a relatively
bloodless takeover, it is also necessary to acknowledge the wider support for this by soviets,
workers and soldiers
• The Bolsheviks’ most urgent task was to establish themselves as the legitimate government of
Russia while holding together a country that seemed to be breaking apart
o For the govt. to survive, it had to do what it promised – restore economy and establish
effective political rule
• The likelihood of the Bolshevik Government’s failure was widely predicted
o In their first week of power there were arrests and newspaper closures as the Bolsheviks
attempted to stifle criticism and opposition
o Staff in banks, shops and schools went on strike
o The railway union, bitter about the Bolshevik takeover refused orders to drive troop trains
o Many believed that only a broad conglomerate of all revolutionary groups would be able
to defend Soviet power from its opposition
o Many also believed that Bolshevik power would be only a short respite in Russia’s
ongoing suffering
• The Bolsheviks had two responses:
o The Socialists should view their actions as inspiring a global Socialist revolution which
would bring assistance from the west
o An idealised faith in the heroic power of the individual to effect change
• The Bolsheviks were also unsure of how to rule the country
o They favoured the libertarian ideal of creativity and power but also the use of discipline,
dictatorship and coercive violence
Chelsea Lowell
5
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• By Christmas 1917, some government departments were still refusing to work with their new
masters
• Many awaited the opening of a new Constituent Assembly, a democratically elected body that
would draw up a new constitution
• The Provisional Government had already scheduled the elections before it was overthrown, and
the Bolsheviks allowed them to proceed, as they were confident of victory
o In December 1917 all men and women over 20 years of age were entitled to take part in
Russia’s first- ever democratic election
• The results did not favour the Bolsheviks. Instead it was the Socialist Revolutionaries, thanks to
their peasant support, who were the most successful party, with 40 per cent of the vote
• The Bolsheviks gained 25 per cent and when the trend became clear, they postponed the opening
of the assembly, claiming electoral abuse
• A protest movement led by the Socialist Revolutionaries and other socialists quickly arose, and
a demonstration was planned to coincide with the delayed opening of the assembly on 18
January 1918
• Squads of armed Bolsheviks arrested leading Cadets (Constitutional Democrats), and the Cadet
Party itself was banned
• When the assembly finally met, the attempts by the Bolsheviks to control its proceedings were
resisted
• The first freely elected Russian parliament had lasted a little over 12 hours
Chelsea Lowell
6
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The First Acts of the Government’s Libertarian Ideals
• Many people saw these laws as disingenuous and deceptive
• They were seen as attempts to undermine the previous order before instigating another
dictatorship
1. The Decree on Peace, proclaimed a new method in international affairs, free of private
diplomacy and founded on an ideal of peace without annexations
2. The Decree on Land, removed all land help by the gentry and transferred these lands to the
peasant land committee and the Soviet state
3. The Decree on Worker’s Control
4. National Ministers were given rights to complete self-determination
5. All existing legal courts were dismissed for new judges to be elected
6. Administrative system was effectively democratised
The Early Policies of the New Government
1. The Press Law, which asserted the closure of most ‘bourgeois’ papers, and even some socialist
papers
2. CHEKA established to fight counter-revolution and sabotage, supressed any opposition to
Soviet power
3. Opponents of Bolsheviks were imprisoned
4. Dramatic moves were being made to centralise economic and industrial control of a nation that
was in decline due to the backwardness of the Tsar
5. Unwilling to relinquish power of the Soviet state, the Bolsheviks disbanded the Constituent
Assembly
Chelsea Lowell
7
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Civil War, and the introduction of the New Economic Policy
The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• Began with the ‘Decree of Peace’ to avoid annexations and without indemnity which for Lenin
was indispensable considering that the country was in a desperate situation (economic chaos and
starvation), fear of oppositional groups
• Negotiations between the Bolshevik Government and the
representatives of the Central Powers (mainly Germany,
Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire)
• Most of the early Bolshevik propaganda was based on the
need to end the war with Germany
o Lenin supported this treaty ‘Yield Space, Gain Time’
meaning that it could keep one of their promises, also
they could not economically afford the resources
• Lenin was determined to have peace for his revolution
• The treaty imposed upon the Russians a number of
conditions which were universally rejected and denounced
o Russia had to give up Poland, Finland, Lithuania,
Estonia Latvia, and Bessarbia
• The Soviet government agreed to honour its economic debts
to the Central Powers, plus interest
• Russia lost 62 million of its people, 32% of its arable land,
25% of its industry, and 90% of its coal mines
• At Versailles, they used this treaty to point out that
Germany would have done so to France if they had the
chance
“The communists would soothe their hurt pride with the hope that, come the socialist revolution in
Germany, the treaty would be torn up” – McCauley
The Significance of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
• Stimulus to Civil War (SR conflict), anger at Constituent Assembly
• On an immediate political level, it removed one major concern for the Bolshevik government –
the German threat
• Following Lenin’s entreaties, the party soon succumbed to reality and agreed to the treaty terms
• This may have been a wise strategy to end the war with Germany, but it was disastrous to
Russia’s former Western allies who were fighting Germany on the Western Front
o Brest-Litovsk led to the Allied Intervention against the Bolshevik regime
Chelsea Lowell
8
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Russian Civil War
• The Russian civil war began in the spring of 1918 and lasted until the end of 1920
• Inevitable, as the Bolsheviks were not prepared to share power (Constituent Assembly), constant
fear of military oppression from their opponents and Lenin in favour of a short, brutal struggle
as opposed to constant harassment by the anti-Bolsheviks who held majority
• During its final stages, a war broke out between Russia and the newly independent state of
Poland
• The Bolsheviks were opposed by the White Armies, organised and led by former Tsarist
military officers, as white was the colour of the Tsarist family
o They were made up of Allies, ex-tsarist officers, counter-revolutionaries, embittered
socialists, and rational separatists
o They lacked leadership and command
• The Civil War caused by discontent
o Some resented the closure of the constituent assembly and the growing severity of the
Bolshevik empire
o Kadets and Socialist revolutions were angry having lost their livelihood (intelligentsia
and middle class)
o Deputies from the Constituent Assembly felt their dismissal was unfair, sought redress
o Many nationalities had held the Bolsheviks to their promise of land, bread, and peace
o Discontent with treaty of Brest-Litovsk, as anti-German and anti-Bolshevik feelings ran
high
“This was a deliberate and necessary part of the Bolshevik programme” – Richard Pip
• The crisis of the civil war allowed the Bolshevik regime to centralise its power and helped rally
support
Bolshevik Victory
•
•
•
•
•
•
The Red Army won despite their challenges
Trotsky’s leadership of the Red Army as an arm of the government
Compulsory military service (conscription) reintroduced in July 1918
Discipline, control, ranks, hierarchy introduced
Utilised the human and natural resources of Russia
Control of major industrial areas: food, clothing, ammunition, transport
Chelsea Lowell
9
Modern History
National Study: Russia
War Communism
“War Communism, as it was called, came to rely more and more upon repression and outright
violence as the main methods of securing meat and grain from the peasants. With few rewards for their
labour, the peasants showed little interest in growing more than what their immediate needs required…
and the entire nation lay exhausted, in a state of virtual collapse.” – Sally J. Taylor
• Production and distribution of food was low and
this had to be increased to allow food supplies to
go to the urban workers, to shore up their power
base
o “Their first and overwhelming problem
was to keep the economy going” –
Deutscher
• To ensure that the factories produced sufficient
war material, Lenin adopted a tough practical
policy known as ‘War Communism’
• War communism paved the way for the
bureaucratisation of the nation and the Party
• Military discipline was applied to factories,
including the death penalty for workers who went
on strike
• The ruthless treatment of peasants as the Red
Army seized resources for soldiers and urban
workers – those who refused were shot
o Resulted in acute food shortage and a
terrible famine
• The abandonment of the old inflation-ridden
currency with wages being paid in food and fuel, and trade being conducted on a barter system
• The Bolsheviks were victorious as their opponents were unable to uphold a united and
coordinated opposition
o They were politically divided and militarily divided, lacking a central command structure
to match Trotsky’s
• The White forces were located around the peripheries while the Soviet Government controlled
the Russian Heartlands, which allowed for control of the railways throughout the war
• The Soviet govt. was more efficient than the Whites in organising the resources needed to wage
war
o Not long after the Civil War started, the government nationalised all of its industries, and
forced labour and strict disciplined labour were instituted
• Grain was requisitioned, which established adequate food supplies for the industrial labour
forces and the army
o Resulted in a famine in 1921: ‘Peasants ate dirt, bark and human corpses, cannibalism
was rife and well documented’
Chelsea Lowell
10
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• Strikes and open rebellion broke out, Workers Opposition faction emerged (banned in 10th party
congress)
• Many major industries such as sugar and steel ceased to operate efficiently, traditional members
of party replaced by self-serving bureaucrats and intelligentsia
• The Soviet state used unrelenting tactics of controlling dissent, introducing the Red Terror
campaign (political repression)
• The Bolsheviks vision – that a White victory would result in the restoration of Capitalism – was
very effective and resonated with the population
Chelsea Lowell
11
Modern History
National Study: Russia
New Economic Policy
• The close of the Civil War was a period of crisis for the Bolsheviks
• The economy was collapsing, widespread famine was occurring, and trade and industries had
come to an impasse
• Peasants and workers started to voice their anger against the conditions, and the Bolshevik’s
authoritarianism
• In 1920-21, political activism, protest meetings, public demonstrations and strikes were
prevalent
• There were increasing calls among workers’ groups in Petrograd for a change in economic
policy
“The workers and peasants need freedom. They don’t want to live by the decrees of Bolsheviks; they
want to control their own destinies” (Lynch)
• Thousands of workers of Petrograd joined armed soldiers and dockyard workers in their
demonstrations against the Bolshevik regime
o Lenin brutally crushed these workers by the Red Army and CHEKA forces
o Known as the Kronstadt rebellion which ‘lit up reality like a lightning flash’
o Lenin admitted that drastic policy changes needed to be made to save the reputation of
the Bolsheviks
• In March 1921, the Party embarked on a major program of concessions to popular discontent, a
policy known as the New Economic Policy
• Forced grain requisitioning came to an end, and there was a free market in grain instead
o Peasants grew what they wanted, sold what they wanted
• The Party also agreed to denationalise a part of industry
o Everything which was local and small was allowed control
o The govt. kept
control of
‘commanding
heights of the
economy’
• By the mid 1920s, famine
ended, and a major
restoration of prerevolutionary life took
place as cafes and shops
filled with various
consumer goods
• By mid 1926, the
recovery reached pre-war
levels
Chelsea Lowell
12
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• However, many saw the NEP as a return to Capitalism
• The Scissors Crisis
o Widening the gap between industrial and agricultural prices
o Under war communism, thousands of peasants abandoned the land in order to escape
famine, grain requisitioning and the much-feared CHEKA
o Under the NEP – ended requisitioning and allowed Russians to buy and sell surplus
produce, peasants returned to work the land
“Most Bolshevik leaders had never liked the NEP, regarding it as an excrescent boil on the body
politic and at worst a malignant cancer”
Chelsea Lowell
13
Modern History
National Study: Russia
2. The Bolsheviks and the Power Struggle Following Lenin’s Death
• The impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of power, including the creation
of the USSR
• The power struggle between Stalin, Trotsky and other leading Bolshevik
figures in the 1920s
• Reasons for the emergence of Stalin as leader of the USSR by the late 1920s
The Impact of the Bolshevik Consolidation of Power
• When Tsarism collapsed following the revolution of March 1917, non-Russian regions – such as
the Ukraine and Georgia – showed growing signs of their own nationalism
• Lenin and Stalin both guaranteed that the ethic nationalities would be given rights of selfdetermination and even separation
o Lenin amended this based on a system of democratic Soviets
• The idea of the proletariat as a ruling force did not happen
The Formation of the USSR
• Lenin had promised that the various nationalities of the Tsar’s former empire would be allowed
to choose whether they wished to be part of Communist Russia or to be independent
• Stalin and Lenin both hoped that the nationalities would throw in their support with the
Communists, where local self-government would be allowed
• Economic planning and foreign affairs would be handled by a central government in Moscow
• In practice, the wishes of the nationalities were ignored as the Communists were not willing to
let economically valuable parts of the Empire opt for independence
• As they captured land during the Civil War, they imposed Communist governments and turned
them into Soviet Socialist Republics
• In 1922, a new constitution came in and replaced the one that the Bolsheviks introduced; Russia
became the Union
of Soviet
Socialists
Republics (USSR)
• Each republic had
its own
governments and
in matters such as
education, health,
and justice which
did not run into
interference from
Moscow
Chelsea Lowell
14
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• Foreign and Defence policy were entirely in the hands of All Union Commissars in Moscow
• The CHEKA expelled one quarter of the Party and bureaucrats took control of the Party
• This was the type of revolutionary party that Lenin had been advocating for: stern, disciplined,
devoted, and organised
• Communist Party Organisation – politburo (highest decision making body), Sovnarkom
(Council of People’s Commissars)
o CHEKA replaced by GPU à OGPU
o No other political parties
Chelsea Lowell
15
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Bolshevik Policies on Women’s Rights, Education, and Culture
Women’s Rights
“The emancipation of women and the emancipation of all people would proceed from the creation of a
harmonious society, built by the working class and by a party of revolutionaries who refused to
compromise their principles. It was a fine vision, unsullied by realism.” – Clements
• In the areas of social and gender policies, the official Bolshevik view – as seen in the writings of
leading women such as Nadezhda Krupskaya – was that Russian women suffered under an
oppression imposed by class and family
• Revolutionary theorists called for the establishment of communal dining halls, laundries and
nurseries to liberate women from the drudgery of housework
• Dissolution of the ‘bourgeois’ family through reform of marriage, divorce and abortion laws was
supposed to liberate women from the tyranny of their husbands
• In 1919, Armand and Kollontai established the Zhenotdel as a Women’s Section of the Central
Committee of the Communist Party
• Equality was explained in terms of political rights, the right to divorce from a cruel husband, and
equal pay for equal work
Education
• Bolshevik education policy altered between the period of War Communism and that of NEP
• Changed from an open education policy to a more liberal, stricter approach to limit negative
effects in the new pro-capitalist system
“The public free-of-charge education of children should begin the day they are born. Development by
the school of attitudes to work and society laid down in preschool age will turn out a physically and
spiritually fully developed member of society, willing and able to work.” – Richard Pipes
Culture
• The Commissariat also looked favourably on the Proletarian Culture movement
• Sought to reject the bourgeois and create new culture for the proletariat
• The Bolshevik Revolution had a dramatic (and mainly destructive) impact on institutional
Christian and Jewish religious practice, but less on that of Muslims
• Communists saw religion as a superstitious barrier to creating a modern society
• The new regime was of the view that religious beliefs would progressively decline in the face of
economic development and education
o Christian monasteries and churches were stripped of valuable and religious items
Chelsea Lowell
16
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Power Struggle Between Stalin, Trotsky and Other Leading Bolshevik Figures in the 1920s
“In the years following Lenin’s death, Stalin played a waiting game, leaving it to the other side
to move first, and then exploiting its mistakes.” - Bullock
The Death of Lenin
• Lenin suffered an “assassination” in 1918 which he survived from
• From 1922 onwards, he suffered strokes which left him paralysed and unable to rule the USSR
• He died on Jan 21st 1924, embalmed in Moscow’s Red Square, becoming a place of pilgrimage
for Communists
• Lenin’s death paved the way for the power struggle between Russia’s leading figures
• Lenin had a testament about what was going on in the party, giving opinions about leadership –
he thought Stalin was rude, intolerable, and that power would go to his head
• He was favoured to Trotsky, but believed that he had excessive self-assurance
The Power Struggle
• The NEP, while having a dramatic impact on the economy, could not adequately expand the
economy beyond pre-war levels, thus, it was not possible to overcome backwardness and
poverty
• Much of the old bourgeois culture had returned – expensive cafes, casinos, living conditions in
the cities was terrible
• Workers were still a subordinate class and crime was rampant
• The NEP became a symbol of betrayal for the revolution, many people lost support for Lenin as
it had capitalist elements
• Two questions posed in the 1920s
o How to overcome the backwardness and who would be Russia’s new leader?
Leon Trotsky
• Trotsky was a leading figure and member of the Politburo, the leading body of the party
• He was a public convert to Bolshevism and became its most ardent figure
• During the civil war, Trotsky was the head of the Red Army, calling for coercion, force, and
terror to supress opposition
o He had a utilitarian logic in defence, suggesting that in times of unrest, whatever means
are expedient are just
• During the 1920s, Trotsky’s arguments were shaped by two beliefs
o Russia’s abysmal backwardness was its greatest problem and the greatest obstacle to
building socialism
o Central importance of a vanguard (the state, the party, and leaders) to take the lead
• Industrialisation had to be put at the top of the agenda
o Required long term economic planning and capital investment by the State to build up the
economy
Chelsea Lowell
17
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• Trotsky’s belief was that the only way to overcome Russia’s backwardness, an activist, intrusive
economic policy by the state was needed
• Also believed that the Party’s authoritarianism and bureaucratisation was harmful to society
Nikolai Bukharin
• Bukharin was Trotsky’s main opponent and a major ally of Stalin
• He was one of the best-liked leaders of the Party, as he was gentle and unlike most Bolsheviks
• Bukharin opposed the economic arguments of Trotsky and the left, as he felt that they were
economically flawed
• He agreed that a planning apparatus would simply impede economic growth as it was inefficient
• He agreed industrialisation was necessary, but argued that investment capital would grow
naturally out of the market if the focus was on consumer goods rather than big machine plans
• Bukharin agreed that the peasants must be taught why socialism was good, rather than by
coercion
• He feared Trotsky’s program would alienate peasants and lead to rebellions
• He did not believe Socialism could be built up with the same means as Capitalism
• ‘a road to socialism that would be peaceful and boldless, without the clanging of metal
weapons’ – Bukharin
Stalin’s Steps to Power
Stalin attacks the Left
•The Left opposition:
Trotsky
•Disagreed with the
continuation of the
NEP
•Left urged rapid
industrialisation
•Money to be
obtained by taxing
peasants
Chelsea Lowell
Stalin moves Left and
attacks the Right
•Stalin abandoned
Bukharin's economic
policy. arguing that
industrialisation
should take
precedence over
agriculture
•The Right oppositin:
Bukharin, Rykov,
Tomsky
•Urged the
continuation of the
NEP as a means to
encourage peasants
to produce more
Stalin eliminated all
sides
•After Stalin defeated
the left opposition,
he himself moved left
and abandoned the
Rightists
•Then he eliminated
the Rightists
•Achieved supreme
power by eleminating
all opposition
18
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Reasons for the Emergence of Stalin as Leader of the USSR by the Late 1920s
Why Was Stalin Able to Achieve Supreme Power?
1. Stalin’s Control of the Party Machine
• There was political uncertainty throughout Russia, as Russia was quickly evolving into a
one-party dictatorship and no other political parties were allowed to exist
• No opposing views were permitted, and the major decisions affecting the country were
made in the party Politburo
• Stalin knew that decisions in the Politburo had to be implemented by the party machine –
the party bureaucracy
• By the 1920s, the party was becoming more centralised, bureaucratic, hierarchical, and
more disciplined
o At the 1921 10th congress, factions were banned
• In 1919, Stalin was appointed as Commissar of Nationalities as the Soviet Union
contained many nationalities
• Stalin was able to use his position to build up contacts in the border areas and in the farflung party organisations
o He would be able to count on these people in any future party conflicts
o He understood the complexities and intrigues of the distant regions
“His attitude was just that mixture of patience, patriarchal firmness, and slyness that was needed. The
Politburo refrained from interfering” (Deutscher)
• In 1919, Stalin also became the Commissar of the Workers’ and Peasants’ Inspectorate
o Their purpose was to remove inefficiency and corruption from the party
• Connected to the Politburo was the organisation bureau, whose purpose was to direct
party workers wherever they were needed following Politburo decisions
o Stalin was the only permanent link between the Politburo and the Orgbureau
• In 1922, Stalin took on the post of General Secretary whose role was to coordinate the
overlapping branches of the party
o He was responsible for promotions and appointments
2. The Death of Lenin
• Lenin recognized Stalin’s talents and assisted his rise, however, their personal
relationship had “broken down completely” (Webb)
• Lenin accused Stalin of rudeness and also emphasised on removing Stalin from the post
of General Secretary in his last will testament
• Lenin’s death was timely, as Stalin would not have triumphed if Lenin had opposed him
• In his will, it contained negative comments about several leading party figures
“Stalin is too coarse and this fault is insupportable in the office of the General Secretary. Therefore, I
propose to the comrades to find a way to remove Stalin” (Webb)
Chelsea Lowell
19
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• However, Zinoiev argued that Lenin’s fears were unfounded as party members were able to
work harmoniously with Stalin
• Zinoviev was working with Kamenev and Stalin in an informal “triumvirate” directed against
Trotsky
3. The Development and Abuse of the Cult of Lenin
• Stalin did not “need” Lenin in the way that other party figures did, but this did not stop him
from manipulating the legend of Lenin for his own good
• Stalin set out to develop a “cult of Lenin”, raising Lenin up to an almost divine status
• Stalin would find quotations from Lenin’s work to justify a party policy or decision
• If Lenin had made a point about something, opposition was now impossible
• Stalin was able to present himself as totally loyal to Lenin and his memory
o He tricked Trotsky into missing Lenin’s funeral which was seen as arrogant
• Stalin supported anything Lenin said, displaying himself in the role of the loyal disciple –
Trotsky on the other hand presented himself as Lenin’s equal
4. Stalin Understood the Mood of the Country
• Stalin’s policy positions in the 1920s suggest he was a man devoid of principle and
concerned only with power
• Stalin, however, was more perceptive than his rivals, and understood that the people of
Russia wanted a rest from the strains of war and revolution from 1914 to 1921
• Stalin knew that there was a strong nationalist feeling within the country that he could tap
into
• He knew that the Russian people had enough of campaigning and crusading
o They wanted peace after the Great War, Civil War, and War Comm, NEP
• He introduced his theory of “Socialism in One Country” and struck a chord with the party
and the country at large
o Contrasts to Trotsky’s plans for “permanent revolution” and rapid industrialisation
Chelsea Lowell
20
Modern History
National Study: Russia
3. The Soviet State under Stalin
• The nature of the USSR under Stalin, including dictatorship and totalitarianism
• Economic transformation under Stalin and its impact on Soviet society,
including collectivisation and the five-year plans
• Political transformation under Stalin: growth of the Party, use of terror, show
trials, gulags, propaganda and censorship
• Social and cultural change in the USSR under Stalin
The Nature of the USSR Under Stalin, Including Dictatorship and Totalitarianism
Stalin (1878-1953)
Dictator of Russia
• Born into poverty in the small town of Gori, Georgia, part of the Russian Empire
• He became involved in revolutionary politics and criminal activities when young
• When in his 30s, he took the name Stalin (Russian for “man of steel”)
• Rose to power late 1920s and got really good in 1930
• Dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953
• After Bolshevik leader Vladimir Lenin died, Stalin outmanoeuvred his rivals for control of the
party
o Once in power, he collectivised farming and had enemies executed or sent to forced
labour camps
§ Gulag – a system of forced labour camps established during Joseph Stalin's long
reign as dictator
o The Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military
superpower
• Ruled by terror – millions of citizens died during his brutal reign
o Stalin had a secret police (NKVD)
• Propagada and control of the media
• Cult of personality
• After his death, the Soviets initiated a de-Stalinization process
Chelsea Lowell
21
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Arguments for Stalinism as Totalitarianism
1. The party has control of all institutions in the state, be they economic, social or cultural – no
independent organisations are allowed
• By the 1920s, the party dominated institutions in all areas of life ranging from the arts to
sport and the armed forces
• Participation in activities throughout the country was vetted by party officials and all
organisations had party officials present
2. Political power is in the hands of one ruling party
• There was only one legal political party allowed in the Soviet Union
• Following victory in the Civil War, all effective opposition had come to an end
• Stalin destroyed remaining party opposition by 1929
3. The party has an ideology that acts as a type of religion holding the nation together
• The party wanted ideology to supplant traditional religion
• Ideology justified Stalin’s actions and motivated individuals
4. The party is led by a single charismatic dictator who is presented as the personification of the
nation
• Through the development of the personality cult, Stalin was successfully presented as the
nation’s strong, reliable leader
5. The party controls public opinion and all means of media communication, the arts, education
• The party controlled all media, press, cinema, arts
• Education was controlled to present the party line and inculcate the correct thinking
• Socialist realism was the only acceptable style for the arts
• The media promoted the cult of personality around Stalin
6. The state will use the full apparatus of state terror to maintain control
• Collectivisation had largely been achieved through state terror
7. The party intrudes on all aspects of personal life
• The party had enormous influence over people’s personal lives
• Where one worked, lived, and studied was determined by the state
Chelsea Lowell
22
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Arguments Against Stalinism as Totalitarianism
1. Totalitarianism assumes a “top-down” approach to interpreting history
• Leaders, politics, policies
• Assumes what the USSR puts out as propaganda is correct
2. Assumes Stalin was in total control
• The USSR put out the idea that Stalin was in total control of everything but because the
Soviet Union was so vast, there were ‘networks of power’
• More chaotic due to levels of leadership and bureaucracy (not as clear cut)
3. Assumes there was great support for Stalinism
• It was not a “smooth running machine”
• 14,000 peasant rebellions
• Over 1000 party officials assassinated in 1930
• “Jochen Hellbeck has suggested that ordinary people were not simple automatons…
individuals did not simply accept the ideology and propaganda, but engaged with it”
4. How can a ‘model’ accommodate the specifics of different societies?
• The model created in the 1950s glossed over the fundamental differences between Soviet
Communism and German Nazism
• Nazi Germ and Stalinist USSR were NOT the same
“James Harris suggests a paradox between the enormity of the power that Stalin had and his ability to
exercise that power – the more Stalin became the center of everything, the more difficult it was for him
to administer the party’s institution”
Sheila Fitzpatrick’s Approach
• Individuals may have conformed on the outside, but they did not give up their beliefs
• “Stalin’s regime also offered many ordinary people great opportunities and many young
Russians became supporters”
• There was opposition to the regime, even though it was not on the surface
o The extreme use of terror was not indicative of the regime’s strength but rather, its
weaknesses in attempt to control the opposition
Chelsea Lowell
23
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Economic Transformation under Stalin and its Impact on Soviet Society, Including
Collectivisation and the Five-Year Plans
First Five-Year Plan (1928-32)
• By 1928 the Soviet economy had almost recovered to its pre-1914 position
• However, it was still so far behind the other major powers so it was not really an achievement
o 12.5% steel output compared to USA and 20% compared to the UK
o 33% oil output compared to USA
• Stalin’s economic aim: “second revolution” through modernisation
• The first plan was known as a “revolution from above” and was based on Western models and
aimed to fund large-scale government projects
• Aim was to make the nation militarily and industrially self-sufficient with impossible demands
o 250% increase in industrial output
o 150% increase in agricultural output
• When targets were initially reached in the first few months, they were increased further
• The press characterised industry as a battlefield
• To over-accomplish goals, ‘stock troops’ were sent to production sites
• Young people volunteered to work on enormous projects such as the Magnitogorsk
metallurgical factories in the Ural region
• However, the approaches produced a series of unbalanced economic results
o Heavy industry strengthened, at the cost of consumer goods
o Heavy industry then weakened by imbalance of growth
• These efforts led to the creation of more feasible, sustained growth in the following 5 year plans
• 9 million peasants were displaced by collectivisation and entered the urban workplace
o Led to urbanisation rapidly which resulted in housing shortages, high crime rates etc.
• Stalin actively linked rapid industrialisation to national security
Second Five-Year Plan (1933-37)
• Consolidated the gains of the First by emphasising the importance of efficiency and industrial
techniques, while also promoting the rise of living standards
• Stalin sought to make national heroes of those who produced more than their share of goods
• Known as the Stakhanovite movement, named after Alexei Stakhanov, who allegedly extracted
more than 14 times the amount of coal during one shift in 1935
o They were heavily rewarded by the party, but they were often resented by fellow workers
as their achievements resulted in higher quotas
o Output targets were raised to Stakhanovite levels across the country
Chelsea Lowell
24
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Third Five-Year Plan (1938-41)
• Due to the June 1941 German invasion of the Soviet Union, the third plan did not go to its full
term
• Fear of European powers à building armaments to emphasise heavy industry
Chelsea Lowell
25
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Collectivisation was part of Stalin’s approach to modernisation and ‘industrialisation’ of agriculture –
it involved abolishment of all private farms
• The ‘procurement crisis’ (aka as the ‘NEP crisis’) of 1928 was pivotal in changing the USSR’s
history
• Argarian development was created as a political and military campaign – this was ‘class war against
exploiters’
o Proletarian state against the entire peasantry as a class
o Began in the winter of 1927-28 with the resumption of forced grain requisitioning
• Stalin announced that the Soviet Union lacked the minimum amount of grain needed for urban
workers, so forced grain requisitioning took place and rationing was introduced
• Peasants responded to the resumption of forced grain requisition by sowing less land
o They wanted to make sure there was nothing extra beyond what they needed to eat that
would be collected, resulting in less grain to collect, and as a result, the threat of starvation
once again returned to the city
• Farmers reacted by slaughtering animals, destroying or hiding grain and neglecting the fields
• In response, the campaign was intensified – Kulaks were to be ‘liquidated’ as a class and
collectivisation of agriculture was announced by Stalin at the Sixteenth Party Congress in 1929 –
NEP was terminated
o This was when Stalin turned against Bukharin and the ‘right wing’ who championed the
continuation of the NEP
“Kulaks were subjected to the kind of dehumanization and stereotyping that was common for victims of
genocide throughout the twentieth century. They were ‘enemies of the people’ to be sure, but also
‘swine’, ‘dogs’ and ‘cockroaches’; they were ‘scum’, ‘vermin’, ‘filth’; to be cleansed, crushed and
eliminated.” (Norman N. Naimark)
The Kulaks and Famine (in detail)
• ‘Kulak’ had traditionally been a derogatory term in Russia and was associated with ideas of
exploitation and misery
• Kulaks were either deprived of their land, sent to Siberia, or shot
• The war against the kulaks was to serve as a warning to all other peasants of the consequences of
dissent, and was ‘the driving force of collectivisation’ (O. Figes, Revolutionary Russia)
• Stalin claimed that his actions were necessary if everyone was to be equal
• This campaign, combined with poor harvests and the government obtaining more of the grain,
caused a terrible famine in 1932– 33
• Though collectivisation led to widespread food shortages, the Ukraine was the area worst hit
• Stalin insisted that grain targets be collected from its peasants ‘at all costs’
o He wanted to quell Ukrainian nationalism and thought that ‘idlers’ should starve
• The Russia–Ukraine border was closed, peasants were not allowed to leave by train, and security
police arrested some 220,000 who tried to do so
• A staggering six to eight million people died in the famine, including three to five million in the
Ukraine and the Kuban area
Chelsea Lowell
26
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Process of Collectivisation
• The original plan was to collectivize 20% of the sown area, which would be achieved during the
First Five Year Plan
• This target, however, was both increased and brought forward
o Between December 1929 and March 1930, nearly 60 per cent of peasant farms in the Soviet
Union were collectivised
• Collectivisation techniques were compulsory, forced and brutal
• Private farms were replaced with larger agricultural units, where peasants would farm collectively
and have access to advanced farming machinery
o Done to reform agricultural production and therefore increase output
• Collective farms were known as “kolkhoz” in the transition period
o Land, houses, tools, animals and even private possessions were now said to belong to the
collective farm
• “Sovkhoz” was the name given to farming units after the State gained control of individual farming
plots
• Stalin argued that such a measure was necessary in order to make use of more modern agricultural
methods, and that the collectivisation of large scale-farms would create a surplus of labour who
would then be employed in the factories, also believed that the peasants would be easier to control
in the collective
• By 1940, over 96% of farms were collectivised
"Success" from the state's POV
- Their main goals were achieved as
grain procurements were now much
higher and they could force
peasants to work and all grain could
be delivered to the state
- Pleasing to many Communists that
peasants were now firmly under the
political control of the state
Largest number of peasants
in the 1932-33 famine were
in the Ukraine - many
believed this was
engineered by the state and
available grain was
deliberately withheld from
peasants in areas where
harvests were bad to force
them to submit through
starvation
Agriculture suffered enormously:
- Peasants worked under the system as
weakly and poorly as possible and
began to refer to it as serfdom returning
- Productivity suffered enormously from
the massive slaughter of livestock
The Result of
Collectivisation
- The traditional peasant commune
was abolished with the kolkhoz in
1930
- There was very little grain
manufactured
- The amount of draught power was
reduced to the slaughter of animals and
there were very few tractors which
limited assistance to pull the
ploughs/toil the fields
- Animal and dairy products were less
available for the cities
The most serious
consequence was the toil
on human life; for all
peasants, a traditional
way of life was suddenly
destroyed
- Millions died in the
process
Chelsea Lowell
27
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Political Transformation Under Stalin: Growth of the Party, Use of Terror, Show Trials, Gulags,
Propaganda and Censorship
Growth of the Party
• The system of government under Stalin was manipulated so that he could achieve power for
himself
• By the 1920s, as a member of the Orgburo, Politburo and Secretariat, he had established an
unassailable power base from which to institute his revolution à his control at the centre was
absolute
• The revolution of the late 1920s and 1930s sought to achieve socialism in a backward country
à emerged in a series of phases including revolutionary economic, cultural and social changes
in the late 1920s and early 1930s
• For Lenin, the idea of ‘party’ had never been important but instead on governing Russia and
securing power
• Stalin instead took on an increasing role in the Soviet State and stressed the Party’s primacy
The 1936 Constitution
• One aim of the Stalinist revolution was to portray the outside world of the victory of socialism
• This found its expression in the 1936 Constitution, based on the assumption that defeat of the
kulaks meant the internal struggle was over and the true socialist order could now be constructed
• Features of the Constitution included:
o Expansion of the power of the central federal government
o Moscow took on administration of defence, foreign affairs and the budget
o The old representative body, the All-Union of Congress of Soviets, was replaced as the
chief legislative body by the Supreme Soviet
o Guaranteed personal freedoms but it also increased the powers of central government,
leaving the republics with only minor responsibilities
o Pointed out that the party was the key institution and that the party’s interests came
before any personal or group interests
• It also noted that the struggle with the exploitative classes (e.g. the kulaks) had now ended and
that the foundations of Socialism had therefore been achieved
• As political parties were the expression of class interest and classes no longer existed, the
constitution recognised only one legal party, meaning that the Communist Party’s monopoly of
power was constitutionally ensured
• It would remain the instrument through which Stalin would exercise his total control of the
USSR, however, the power of the Supreme Soviet was very limited
• It was elected every four years, and the people standing had to be Communist Party members,
and had to be approved by the Party
“Stalin becomes the father of the nation, he is above the party, indeed he is above everyone. In this new
guise, he is acclaimed as the fount of all wisdom… he is the most learned of men” (McCauley)
Chelsea Lowell
28
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Use of Terror
• Terror was used to drive the political transformation, in
particular the purges of the Great Terror
• Stalin oversaw the elimination of suspected or potential
resistance in his massive campaign of terror against the
Soviets
• In 1934, the secret police were named the NKVD and
were sent into more energetic action
• Historians estimate that for the entire Stalinist era, from
1929-53, the number of those killed is around 20 million
Purges
• The purges began with the murder of Stalin’s potential
rival Sergei Kirov in 1934
• His death was used as a pretext to launch the purges and
find those responsible for Kirov’s assassination
(however, many historians believe Stalin ordered his
death)
• Massive arrests began with Party officials, Old
Bolsheviks and ordinary citizens, including family
members of those arrested, as they were seen as
‘enemies of the people’
• Quotas were introduced
• Denunciations would lead to the ‘knock on the door in
the middle of the night’
• The secret police turned terror into a finely tuned
scientific system, even maintaining a social science
research unit to study the population’s state of mind
• Around 1 million of the 3 million party members were
now expelled
• Prominent among those arrested during the post-Kirov
Purge were Kamenev and Zinoviev
o Their arrest sent out a clear message: no Party
members, whatever their status, were safe
• Arbitrary arrest and summary execution became the
norm, as the fate of the representatives at the Party
Congress of 1934 suggests:
o Of the 1,996 delegates who attended, 1,108 were
executed during the next three years
o Of the 139 Central Committee members elected
at that gathering, all but 41 of them were executed
during the purges
Chelsea Lowell
29
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Shakhty Trial (1928)
• 55 engineers and managers in the town of Shakhty were arrested and accused of conspiring with
former owners of coal miners to sabotage the Soviet economy
• According to James Crowl, these arrests had been ordered by Joseph Stalin in an effort to
undermine the power of Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky
• Stalin saw an opportunity to convert such acts into a political weapon by charging the men with
sabotage and conspiracy with foreign governments
• Stalin used the trial as leverage against his opponents
• The charges enabled him to denounce the reliance on pre-revolutionary specialists, a policy that
Bukharin had defended
• Also allowed him to make allegations that Rykov's state apparatus and Tomsky's labor unions
had failed to uncover or had concealed widespread economic sabotage
The Industrial Trial (1930)
• First post-NEP trial
• Several Soviet scientists and economists were accused and convinced of plotting a coup against
the government of the Soviet Union
• Allegedly involved the governments of France, England and some smaller countries like Latvia
and Estonia
• The trial was also notable in that it was the first Soviet show trial at which the defendants
"confessed" their supposed crimes
• The prosecution stated that "the Industrial Party consisted of the top old engineering-technical
intelligentsia, of major specialists and professors, who held privileged positions during the
capitalist regime"
• According to the prosecution, all of the organization's members had been raised in the bourgeois
environment and hence were alien to the Soviet system, which served to reinforce an important
point of contemporary Soviet propaganda
• Five defendants were given the death sentence while others were sentenced to prison
The Effect of the Purges
• 1988 the KGB allowed certain of its archives recording the work of its forerunner, the NKVD,
to be opened
• An examination by Soviet historians of the relevant files produced the following calculations in
regard to the Stalinist period:
o In 1934, 1 million people were arrested and executed in the first major purge, mainly in
Moscow and Leningrad
o By 1937, 17–18 million people had been transported to labour camps; 10 million of these
people died
o By 1939, another 5–7 million people had been ‘repressed’; 1 million of these people were
shot, another 1–2 million people died in the camps
Chelsea Lowell
30
Modern History
National Study: Russia
o In 1940, the occupation of the Baltic states (Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia), Bukovina and
Bessarabia resulted in 2 million people being deported, most of whom died
o Stalin pursued specific purposes with the terror, effecting massive social change within
the Party, bringing in his own cronies, as well as transforming the country as a whole
o The Party’s structure was transformed and by the time of the 1939 Party Congress, most
of the delegates who had attended the 1934 Congress five years earlier had been purged
and replaced
Show Trials
• The Moscow show trials were a dramatic propaganda event
• In three successive public trials in 1936, 1937 and 1938, and in wave after wave of terror,
prominent Communists were accused of plotting against Stalin
• Many of the individuals gave improbable confessions in which they admitted to being in places
where they supposedly plotted against Stalin, when they demonstrably could not have been
• After their confessions they were convicted and executed
• Among those convicted and executed was Yagoda, the former secret police chief
First Show Trial (August 1936)
• Earlier in the year, Zinoviev and Kamenev and other leading party figures were charged with
setting up an opposition group in Moscow and of having links to a terrorist centre in Leningrad
• Zinoviev was sentenced 10 years, Kamenev to 5 years
• In August, the trial of the Trotskyist-Zinovievist bloc occurred
• They were charged with Kirov’s murder, planning the murder of Stalin and creating a terrorist
centre
o Trotsky was accused of masterminding these events from afar
• All those accused confessed and were shot
At his trial Zinoviev said in public: “I would like to repeat that I am fully and utterly guilty. I am guilty
of having been the organiser, second only to Trotsky, of that block whose chosen task was the killing of
Stalin. I was the principal organiser of Kirov’s assassination. The party saw where we were
going, and warned us. Stalin warned us scores of times but we did not heed his warnings. We entered
into an alliance with Trotsky.”
Second Show Trial (January 1937)
• Known as the trial of the 17, the accused included Radek, Pikatov and other old Bolsheviks
• Charges included plotting with Nazi Germany and Japan to remove Stalin from power and
economic sabotage
• All confessed and 13 were shot
Chelsea Lowell
31
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Third Show Trial (1938)
•
•
•
•
Final great show trial
Accused were ‘anti-Soviet rightists’ and Trotskyists which included Bukharin and Rykov
The former NKVD chief Yagoda was also on trial
Charged with economic sabotage, plotting with Germany, Japan, Britain and Poland, as well as
working with Trotsky and planning to assassinate Stalin
• Also accused of planning to Assasinate Lenin
• All accused confessed and were shot
“Had they [older senior communists] been executed merely as men opposed to Stalin or even as
conspirators who had tried to remove him from power, many might still have regarded them as martyrs
for a good cause. They had to die as traitors, as perpetrators of crimes beyond the reach of reason, as
leaders of a monstrous fifth column [internal traitors]. Only then could Stalin be sure that their
execution would provoke no dangerous revulsion.” (Deutscher)
Chelsea Lowell
32
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Gulags
• There was one institution in particular that seemed to encapsulate the terror that Stalin enacted:
the gulag
o This was the extensive prison and labour camp system established within the Soviet
Union
o ‘Gulag’ is an acronym of Glavnoe Upravlenie ispravitel’no-trudovykh LAGerei (‘the
Main Administration of Corrective Labour Camps’
• Thousands of camps were located throughout the country and on remote islands throughout the
Soviet Union, later to be called ‘the Gulag Archipelago’
• Notorious gulags included Magadan, Vorkuta, Norilsk, Kolyma, Chelyabinsk, Karaganda.
Many more existed, but are not as widely known in the West
• Recent archival evidence suggests that by the end of the 1930s, there were 1.5 million prisoners
in gulags
• By the late 1940s and early 1950s, there were 2–2.5 million prisoners
• The gulag and its use of forced labour, according to some historians, had accounted for 12–15
per cent of the entire economy in the 1930s
• The gulags were only part of a much larger spectrum of forms of forced labour within the Soviet
Union
o According to propaganda, the camps were intended to rehabilitate prisoners through ‘reeducational’ corrective labour, but the reality was a far harsher one
• Mortality and mistreatment were endemic à significant numbers of inmates died every year
Chelsea Lowell
33
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Propaganda
• Stalin’s image (the Cult of Stalin) came
to dominate everyday life in the Soviet
Union where his image was widely
shown, often alongside that of Lenin
• The Short Course on the History of the
All- Union Communist Party
(Bolsheviks), first published in 1938,
rewrote history to show Stalin’s
correctness and central role in
transforming society
• Around 42 million copies were printed
in 67 languages
Censorship
• Censorship had been central to the Communist Party ever since the revolution of 1917
• By August 1918, all independent journals and newspapers had been shut down and, through the
creation of Glavlit (the Central Censorship Bureau) in 1922, the party could completely control
publishing
o Creative media such as films and theatrical drama were also controlled
• Stalin sought to rewrite history by falsifying and distorting photographs between 1929 and 1953
• During the 1930s, the role of falsifiers was to remove images, ideas and words that may be
negative of the government
• Photographs were retouched and cropped, with new backgrounds being inserted in some cases
• Soviet artists were instructed to insert images of Stalin in pictures of significant national events
• Painters and sculptors were asked to emphasise in their work the closeness between Lenin and
Stalin by showing them together
o This tactic ensured that Stalin was presented as a key figure in the history of the
Bolsheviks, when in fact he had limited influence prior to 1922.
Chelsea Lowell
34
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Social and Cultural Change in the USSR Under Stalin
Education
• Propaganda targeted at youth promising intellect and strength in communist ideology, with
equal opportunity for men and women
• This rule emphasises the purpose of education to be a tool for the country rather than for
personal gain
• Emphasises the notion of Soviet ideology of collective worth rather than personal acquisition of
knowledge
• The right of education was coupled with the right for agricultural
training, so there is still significant emphasis on the acquisition
of skills that are useful to the economy
• Education was free, a key pillar of socialist ideology
o Article 121 “Citizens of the U.S.S.R. have the right to
education. This right is ensured by the universal,
compulsory elementary education; by the fact that
education, including higher education, is free of charge;
by a system of State scholarships”
• The education propaganda poster on the right is titled, “We are
growing under the banner of Lenin and Stalin. Our park is to
educate a new generation of workers that should be healthy and
joyful and that could be able to raise the mightiness of the great
country”
• Effectively conveys the Soviet leaders’ understanding of the importance of early childhood
education to perpetuate their communist goals
o Manipulation of childhood education for political gain
Women
• The Marxist ideology and hence the Bolsheviks promoted equality
for women more so than many other societies of the time
• The aim was to create law reform in favour of women, as they
believed women were under an oppression imposed by class and
family
• Under Stalin, more conservative views of women and morality had
somewhat re-emerged
• Officially approved women’s rights again became closer to earlier
traditional views about women and the family
• By the 1930s, the revolutionary heroine was presented as an equal
citizen and loyal worker outside the home, and as a devoted wife
and mother to her family
• Combining idea of women in Marxism – political equality and contribution to workforce, and
conservative ideas – encouraging them to have children etc.
Chelsea Lowell
35
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• As opposed to the feminist policies of the revolution, party writings now reacted against
promiscuity by promoting monogamy and premarital chastity
o Abortion and divorce were highly discouraged
o The motherly role of women and commitment to children was reiterated
“In Soviet Russia the working woman should be surrounded by the same ease and light, hygiene and
beauty that previously only the very rich could afford. Instead of the working woman having to struggle
with the cooking and spend her last free hours in the kitchen preparing dinner
and supper, communist society [will] organize public restaurants and communal kitchens.” (Kollontai)
Youth (Komsomol)
• The youth movement was called Komsomol and it began
in Lenin’s rule but was formally created in 1926 under
Stalin’s rule
• It was open to those aged between 14 and 28
• For those under 14, there was a Young Pioneer movement
• Similar to Hitler youth movement as the Komsomol
pledged itself entirely to Stalin
• Membership was not compulsory but a major incentive
was that members had a chance to become full members
of the CPSU and there were many privileges that come
with it
• There were 2 million members in 1927 and this grew to
10 million by 1940
• Komsomol members were some of the most enthusiastic
and supportive about Stalin’s five year plans
• Thousands of members went off to work in industrial
factories and build industrial cities such as Magnitogorsk
• By creating groups such as the Komsomol, the
Communist Party isolated those children who did not join such groups and were able to create a
class enemy, before they even entered the workforce
• The force of this institutionalization was seen most strongly in the formative years of the Soviet
Union and was perfected under Stalin
• By creating these groups for children to join they were able to attach themselves to the
communists, more than they were attached to their families
• Through these groups, they were taught to prioritise communism and were provided with their
first encounters with socialism
Chelsea Lowell
36
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Cult of Personality
• Stalin’s picture began to appear everywhere –
newspaper, book and film, no matter what its theme,
carried a reference to Stalin’s greatness
• Every achievement of the USSR was credited to Stalin
• Such was his all-pervasive presence that Soviet
Communism became personalised around him
• Since he represented not simply the Party but the nation
itself, he became the personification of all that was best
in Russia
• This was an extraordinary achievement for a Georgian
and it produced a further remarkable development
• The manipulation of popular culture was most evident
in the development of the ‘cult of Stalin’
• The deification of Stalin as the ultimate leader, with
reference to the terms ‘Granite Bolshevik’, ‘Shining
Sun of Humanity’, ‘Universal Genius’ and ‘Man of
Steel’, emphasised his control over the nation
• He had gained his position through his control of the
Party and its membership and through his leadership of
industrialisation and collectivisation of Russia
• The Soviet people were left in no doubt as to whom they should thank for the emerging
greatness of the nation
• Stalin became the keystone of the entire social, economic and political revolution. Without him,
the changes would never have happened
“By lifting their hands against comrade Stalin they lifted them against all the best that humanity
possesses. For Stalin is hope, Stalin is expectation; he is the beacon that guides all progressive
mankind. Stalin is our banner! Stalin is our will! Stalin is our victory!” (Khrushchev)
• Stalin did not rely on terror alone, but also on the support of the majority of the people;
effectively deceived by cunning propaganda that gave Stalin credit for the successes of others
and for ‘achievements’ that were fictitious
“The people have to have someone to whom to express their gratitude, and for this
purpose they do not select an abstract concept, such as ‘communism’, but a real man, Stalin. Their
unbounded reverence is consequently not for Stalin, but for him as a symbol
of the patently successful economic reconstruction.” - Feuchtwanger
Chelsea Lowell
37
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Anti-Trotsky Propaganda
• Trotsky’s name became a slur, used to defame those
who were considered enemies of the regime
• Trotsky’s Jewish background was exploited, using
stereotypical caricatures of Jews and their features in
their posters
• Trotsky was cut out of photographs and his influence
in the formation of the Soviet Union, particularly his
victory in the civil war, was associated with Stalin
instead
• Trotsky’s opposition to Stalin was eventually
associated with an anti-proletariat, anti-revolution
ideology that was aiming to destroy the Soviet Union
• Trotskyites were dehumanised, equated with “rabid
dogs… abject animals… stinking corpses… mad dogs
of capitalism”
Chelsea Lowell
38
Modern History
National Study: Russia
4. Soviet Foreign Policy
• The nature of Soviet foreign policy 1917–1941
• The role of ideology in Soviet foreign policy 1917–1941
The Nature of Soviet Foreign Policy 1917–1941
• The Soviet foreign policy after the Revolution of 1918 differed very little from that or former
tsarist times
• Both the tsars and Bolsheviks sought to protect Russia from outside influences and both wanted
to extend Russian influences in the Middle and Far East
• Foreign Policy decisions simply reflected the fact that Russia was isolated and surrounded by
hostile capitalist countries, some of which were supportive of the Whites in the Civil War
• In 1920, Lenin seemed to indicate his willingness to resume normal methods of diplomacy with
other countries, “we have entered a new period in which we… have won the right to our
international existence in a network of capitalist states”
• The failure of attempted Communist coups in Germ and Hungary and general decline in
revolutionary zeal suggested to the Soviet leaders that the chance of other sympathetic
revolutions in Europe had gone
• The best interests of the new Bolshevik regime would be in reaching agreement and cooperating with the capitalist countries
• This was intended to be a short-term measure and would not prevent them from working to
infiltrate, subvert, and use Communist propaganda as a means of overthrowing capitalism
elsewhere
Comintern
• In 1927 Stalin announced that ‘peaceful coexistence’ between the Soviet Union and capitalist
countries was over
• Russia thus created Cominterm – an international agency set up by the Russians in 1919 to
coordinate the activities of Communist parties throughout the world and support and sponsor
world revolution
o Key principles of Cominterm included:
§ Russians insisted Communist parties in other countries follow their instructions
§ They would work for worldwide revolution by organising and financing strikes
and protest movements
§ If Russia wished to establish friendly relations with a country, they would order
the Communists to abandon their subversive behaviour
• Members had to accept all Cominterm policy decisions and when instructed, attempt to infiltrate
the political systems of other countries and take advantage of democratic institutions then use
them to overthrow governments
• Comintern now identified democratic leftist parties as the main enemies of communism, and
hence saw the Social Democrats as an even greater problem than the Nazi Party in Germany
Chelsea Lowell
39
Modern History
National Study: Russia
• The activities of the Comintern infuriated foreign powers since the Soviet Union did not control
them
• The policy seemed ambiguous as on one hand it sought to establish diplomatic relations with the
capitalist nations, but on the other hand seemed dedicated to the cause of revolution and to
overthrow democratically elected governments
• Lenin’s hopes had failed to materialise due to Spartacist uprising in Germany in 1919, as the
political situation in post-war Europe stabilised à Comintern’s influence lessened
• Weimar Germany had much in common with the Soviet Union, yet Lenin stated “Germany
wants revenge and we want revolution. For the moment, our aims are the same, but when our
ways part, they will be out ferocious enemies.”
The Treaty of Rapollo
• The treaty brought about restoration of diplomatic relations between Germany and Russia as
they agreed to drop any outstanding reparation claims that they had against each other and
pledged economic cooperation
• Links were established between the Red Army and the German Army
• Secret arrangements were made for German troops to take part in exercises on Soviet soil and
for German engineers to manufacture and test new weapons
• From a Russian point of view, this gave them the advantage of access to German military
technology
• This treaty led to five years of good Soviet-German relations but Russia’s relations with other
European powers did not run so smoothly
• Lenin attempted to rehabilitate the Soviet Union and restore her to the European family of
nations – he resumed trade with capitalist countries in order to buy essential modern machinery
and find markets for her exports that would allow for her to earn much needed foreign currency
• In 1922, Britain and France offered credit and loans to the Soviet government but only on the
condition that they settled outstanding debits dating back to tsarist times as well as to restore
their foreign property
• Even though a treaty was signed between Britain and Soviet Union in 1921, many issues
continued to hinder the restoration of good relations between the two countries
o The British govt. remained suspicious of Russian intentions, particularly since Soviet
propaganda was encouraging unrest in British India
o In October, a newspaper published a letter allegedly signed by Zinoviev encouraging acts
of mutiny in the British army à led to the ‘Red Scare’ and had the effect of rallying
support for the opposition parties
• In 1927, relations hit rock bottom when police raided the offices of a Russian trading
organisation based in London and found subversive material
Chelsea Lowell
40
Modern History
National Study: Russia
Soviet Opportunities in the Far East
• Beyond Europe, the country that appeared to offer the Soviet Union’s Communist regime with
the greatest opportunity to extend her influence was China
• In 1911, Chinese nationalist revolutionaries known as the KMT overthrew the Manchin dynasty
that had ruled China for nearly 300 years
• The leader, Sun Yat-sen turned China into a republic
• After his death, the leadership of the KMT was challenged by Chinese comunists led by Mao
Zedong who set up a communist republic in the province of Kiangsi
• The Soviet Union played a game of backing both sides – Stalin sent material aid to the
Communists but also sent Mikhail Borodin, a Cominform agent, as a military adviser to the
Nationalists
• At the Communist Party Congress in 1927, Stalin told the delegates that he regarded China as
‘the second home of world revolution’ and intended to use Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang to his
own advantage and ‘squeeze them like a lemon’ before abandoning them’
• Stalin had underrated Chiang and as such in 1927, the Chinese Nationalisrs captured Shanghai
and massacred all communists in the city and forced what remained of Mao’s forces to flee into
the hills
• The failure of Stalin’s policy for China led to much soul-searching in Moscow as members of
the Politburo sought to apportion blame
• The late 1920s witnessed attempts to ease international tension and improve chances of securing
lasting peace in Europe
• The Soviet Union and Germany signed the Treaty of Berlin and thus pledged to remain neutral
• Whilst Stalin wanted to be more involved in European politics, the activities of Comintern and
his own utterances meant that few trusted him and consequently, the Soviet Union was sidelined
Challenges to Soviet Diplomacy in the 1930s
• Germany posed as a threat to Stalin as Hitler’s ideology of Lebensraum threatened the Russian
land
• Thus, the Soviet Union entered into Non-Aggression pacts with France, Poland, Finland, and
Estonia
• Britain entered into an agreement with Germany (Anglo-German Naval Agreement) and this
made Stalin suspicious of their long-term goals
• The Soviet Union joined the League of Nations in 1934 and was elected to the all-important
Council which met when there was an emergency
• Stalin not only had concerns with Germ but also with developments in the far East
Chelsea Lowell
41
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The Anti-Comintern Pact 1936
• The Anti-Comintern Pact was first agreed between Germany and Japan, signed in Berlin in
November 1936
• The declared aim was ‘to confer upon the necessary masures of defence’
• Whilst the aim was targeted to counteract Communist activities, there is little doubt that it was
specifically aimed at the Soviet Union
• Hitler believed Russian Communism as a Bolshevik-Jewish plot to win world domination
• Japanese leaders were also angered with the Soviet-Chinese Non-Aggression Treaty
• Stalin abandoned his revolutionary aims and introduced a reasonably democratic constitution yet
he was not trusted by many leaders
The Involvement of the Soviet Union in the Spanish Civil War
• Spain spent much of the 20s under the dictatorship of Miguel Primo de Rivera, and the
economic hardships caused by the Great Depression intensified polarisation within the Spanish
public
• Labour unrest was widespread in the early 1930s, and the election of February 1936 brought
power to a leftist Popular front (coalition of working class and middle-class parties united for
the defense of democratic forms against a Fascist assault)
• Fascist forces (Falange; umbrella term for Nationalist forces during the war) responded in July
1936 with an armed coup attempt which ultimately expanded into a civil war
• Outside intervention occurred even though foreign powers did not appear to be directly involved
• Stalin sanctioned the involvement of Comintern and sent military advisers to assist the
Republican army
• Their agents also tried to influence the conduct of the war and urged the Communists to turn on
the Spanish socialists and organised their mass executions
• This contributed to the ultimate victory of Franco’s Nationalists early in 1939
The Soviet Union and the Czech Crisis
• In 1938, rumours of German troops’ movements along the Czech frontier led to panic and it
seemed that a European war was imminent
• Although France and the Soviet Union had entered into agreements to guarantee Czech
independence, it was the British prime minister, Neville Chamberlain, who tried to resolve the
situation
• During the crisis, the SU repeatedly proposed international action to deter Hitler’s aggression
but this went unheeded
The German-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact
• The German-Soviet pact consisted of two agreements; non-aggression and economic matters
• Russian food products and raw materials were exchanged with German goods and machinery
• Germany did not want a war on two fronts if it invaded Poland à Russia would stand aside
Chelsea Lowell
42
Modern History
National Study: Russia
The German-Soviet Invasion of Poland
• On the first of September 1939, Germ invaded Poland and Hitler chose to ignore an ultimatum
demanding the withdrawal of German forces
• Britain and France declared war and the WWII began
• In accordance with the German-Soviet Pact, Soviet troops entered eastern Poland and inflicted
Stalinist-Communism on the people
• A number of atrocities occurred including the murder of over 4,000 Polish officers and the
Russians accused the Germans until 1990 when Russia accepted responsibility
• Molotov and Ribbentrop met to formalise Poland’s partition and to agree on the new frontier
between the two countries
• Finland stood against Stalin’s demands and refused to hand over land, also demanded the
demilitarization of the Mannerheim Line
• Stalin took it upon himself to break off diplomatic relations with Finland and accused them of
firing on a village close to their common Frontier
• In November 1939, Russian forces invaded Finland
The Russo-Finnish War 1939-1940
• Finland did not allow for an easy victory for the Red Army, and proved themselves superior in
their defensive positions along the Mannerhein line
• Faced with overwhelming odds, their resistance collapsed and were forced to surrender
• 40,000 square kilometres of land were surrendered and gave the Soviet Union a common
frontier with Norway
• In August 1940, they were finally annexed by the Soviet Union
• Stalin was determined not to be outdone by Hitler’s successes and as such occupied Romanian
provinces
• Hitler ordered preparations for the invasion of Russia but Stalin was not oblivious to what was
going on and the Soviet industry worked to equip the country’s standing army of 4 million men
• Russia agreed to a treaty of neutrality with Japan to guarantee that the Soviet Union would not
have to fight on two fronts
• Many warnings of a German attack were given to Russia including from spies and a German
soldier, yet Stalin did not believe the rumours due to the Non-Aggression Pact
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