Lesson 1 – Opposition
Essential Question
What opposition developed
towards Stalin before 1934?
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
◦ Learn about early resistance to Stalin
Success Criteria
I can write an extended paragraph
explaining the opposition Stalin
faced before 1934
Vocab
Success Criteria
I can write an extended paragraph
explaining the opposition Stalin
faced before 1934
Purge
Chistka
17th Party Congress
Purges

‘cleaning out’ or ‘cleansing’ an
organism of impurities
◦ Chistka (cleansing) – nonviolent where
when membership came up for
renewal, they would be refused new
cards
 Expelled for drunkenness, corruption and
not being an active member

3 phases of the purges in the 1930s
1.
2.
3.
Chistka of 1932~5 – 20% of party
members are expelled non-violently
Show Trials – old Bolsheviks publically
tried and executed
The Great Terror of 1937~8 – 1000s
of party members, officials, armed
forces and professionals were
denounced, arrested and executed
Party
Popularity

1933 – Communist Party was extremely
unpopular
◦ Rapid industrialization had created tension and
stress in society
◦ Violence of forced collectivization and the famine
of 1932-33 had alienated the peasantry, making the
murder of rural Communist a regular event
◦ Urban workers were angered by low wages, strict
controls and harsh punishments

Party members are angry
◦ Cities were overcrowded, insanitary and violent
◦ Horrified by the terror methods used to
collectivize agriculture and waging of war on the
peasants
◦ Some even committed suicide (ex. Stalin’s wife
Nadezda Allilueva)
◦ Local leaders in the regions were unwilling to
implement central policies and orders
 Argued about high grain prices, unwilling to identify kulaks or
get rid of specialists who might help them reach production
targets
1. Chistka (1932~35)

Dec 1932 - Party leaders became
angry with this lack of party
discipline resulting in the
launching of the Chistka of party
members
◦ Target: ‘do not carry out
decisions…and who are turncoats
who have allied themselves with
bourgeois elements’
◦ By 1935 – 22% of party members had
lost their membership
 Also used to expel those who
disagreed with Stalin’s party line
Ryutin Affair

1932 – Former Moscow Party
Secretary, Ryutin, circulated a
200 pg. document highly critical
of Stalin
◦ Called Stalin ‘the evil genius of the
Russian revolution’ referring to his
‘personal dictatorship,’ urged Stalin’s
removal and to end collectivization
◦ Stalin wanted the death penalty but
other members of the Politburo
opposed Stalin and Ryutin wasn’t
executed
17th Party
Congress 1934


Jan 1934 – Pravada announced ‘Socialism
in One Country has Won’
26 February 1934 – 17th Congress is
called ‘Congress of Victors’
◦ Belief economic change had been accomplished
and it was now possible to slow down, stabilize
and reduce the tensions caused by
collectivization and rapid industrialization
◦ Stalin made it clear he would not slacken the
pace of industrialization
◦ Sergei Kirov (Leningrad Party Boss) said ‘the
fundamental difficulties are behind us’ and
talked about stopping grain seizures and
increasing workers rations
◦ Stalin did badly in Central Committee elections
 Kirov – 3 voted against him
 Stalin – 292 voted against him (Stalin changed this
to 3)
 Kirov was asked by party members to replace
Stalin as General Secretary (He refused)
Success Criteria
I can write an extended paragraph explaining the
opposition Stalin faced before 1934
What sort of opposition to Stalin
had developed before 1934?

Using today’s notes and pages 34-35, write a
paragraph explaining what opposition Stalin
faced before 1934 and why. Consider:
◦ Why the Communist Party was unpopular with
the people
◦ Why many Communist were distressed by Stalin’s
policies
◦ What opposition Stalin faced in the regions
◦ The Chistka of 1932-35
◦ Opposition within the Party leadership
◦ Stalin’s difficulties at the 17th Party Congress
Wrap Up

Can we answer our question?
What opposition developed
towards Stalin before 1934?

•
With your partner, discuss possible answers
What