HSC Modern History

2020-2021
National Study
Russia and the Soviet Union 1917-1941

Compiled by B. Claggett
National Study

Russia and the Soviet Union 1917-1941

Survey

1. Bolshevik consolidation of power

O An overview of Bolshevik ideology, the October coup 1917, and early Soviet government
O The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, the Civil War, and the introduction of the New Economic Policy

Focus of study

2. The Bolsheviks and the power struggle following the death of Lenin

O The impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of power, including the creation of the USSR
O Power struggles between Stalin, Trotsky, and other Bolshevik figures in the 1920s
O Reasons for the emergence of Stalin as leader of the USSR by the late 1920s

3. The Soviet State under Stalin

O Economic transformation under Stalin and its impact on Soviet society, including
collectivisation and the five-year plans
O Political transformation under Stalin: growth of the party, use of terror, show trials,
gulags, propaganda and censorship
O Social and cultural change in the USSR under Stalin
O The nature of the USSR under Stalin, including dictatorship and totalitarianism

4. Soviet Foreign Policy

O The nature of Soviet foreign policy 1917-1941

O The role of ideology in Soviet foreign policy 1917-1941

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12 Course Structure and Requirements
The Year 12 course is structured to provide students with opportunities to apply their
understanding of sources and relevant historiographical issues in the investigation of the
modern world.
The course comprises four sections. Students are required to study all four sections of the
course.
Year 12 course
(120 hours)

Modern History
Indicative hours
Core Study: Power and Authority in the Modern World 1919–1946 30
National Studies 30
Russia 1917-1941
Peace and Conflict 30

Europe in Conflict 1935-1945

Change in the Modern World 30
China: The Cultural Revolution to Tiananmen Square 1966–1989

Historical concepts and skills

The Historical concepts and skills content is to be integrated throughout the course. The
topics provide the contexts through which concepts and skills are to be developed. These
provide the means by which students are able to engage in historical analysis and
argument.

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Assessing the Russia & the Soviet Union topic
This topic will be assessed through essays. Responses to essay questions for this topic are
expected to be approximately 1000 words in length.

It will make up 25% of your HSC examination

It will be assessed in Term 1 via an essay, again in the Trial HSC, and finally in the HSC
Examination.
It has four sections.
1. The Survey, which is a brief look at the Bolshevik consolidation of power up to the
1920s.

2. The Bolsheviks and the power struggle following the death of Lenin, which will
look at the external issues and internal struggles concerning the party, and
examine the reasons for Stalin’s emergence as leader.

3. The Soviet State under Stalin, which will look at the social, cultural, political and
economic impact of Stalin’s leadership on the USSR.

4. Soviet foreign policy, which will look at Russia’s relationships with other countries
and the ideology that informed their foreign policy decisions.

How to use this booklet

Information is in black text, read all of it

Questions are in​ blue text

Extension work is in​ red text

Podcasts and videos are labelled with the podcat

The star tells you it’s time to do some of the Complete Course Summary (C.C.S.)

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Glossary:
Bolshevik

Bourgeoisie
Collectivisation
Communism

Coup

Dictatorship
Kolhoz
Kulak

Marxism
Menshevik
Orgburo

Permanent Revolution

Politburo
Proletariat
Socialism

Soviet
Sovkoz

SOVNARKOM
Totalitarianism

USSR

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Historiography
Adding historiography is a useful way of giving support to your arguments, particularly in
extended writing. It is not always necessary, and you can get high marks without it, but if
you can remember some historian and include their views in your work it can only help.

How to introduce Historical Sources in our writing

Names in ​bold​ are names of historians/creators of the source and can be swapped out.

● Woods​ supports this point by stating…

● In a source written by ​Johnston​ in 1990, we get a stronger idea of…

● As is obvious from the photograph taken in 1890…

● Finnegan​ states that…

● Clarke​, writing in 1942, explains the impact of…

● Malenkov​ writes about the…

● The illustration, created by ​Dallen​, depicts…

● However, as is evident in ​Evans​ article…

● This is also supported by ​Lyndon​ as she explains…

Below is an example of a paragraph about Stalin as a totalitarian dictator that

incorporates historiography as evidence:

Despite Stalin’s totalitarian control over society, culture, the economy and administration,
his power was not absolute. It remained difficult to enforce total compliance amongst the
people. ​Historian Robert Service states that the people opposed the state through “slack
work habits, pilfering, or deliberate falsification of information and records”.​ Furthermore,
the Soviet Union was a vast state, and transport links were still unreliable in the 1930s. It
was difficult to ensure that decisions made by Stalin were carried out across the country in
more remote areas. Furthermore, the full extent of Stalin’s administrative control is
debatable. Stalin himself blamed the excessiveness of collectivisation on over-eagerness of
secret police officials, and the extent of Stalin’s control over the purges is still debated by
historians. Overall, Stalin’s control of the Soviet Union was not total.

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Some context…
The 304-year-old Romanov Dynasty fell after Tsar Nicholas II abdicated the throne due to the
February Revolution of 1917. From February onwards, Russia was ruled by two powers;
● Provisional Government (the democratic parliamentary body which governed the Russian
Empire from 2 March 1917 in the absence of the Tsar)
● Petrograd Soviet of Workers’ and Soldiers’ Deputies (a council established in March 1917
after the February Revolution, as a representative body of the city’s workers and soldiers).
This uncertain environment allowed the radical Bolshevik party to gain in popularity with the Russian
people, and ultimately seize power from the Provisional Government in October 1917. Lenin and the
Bolsheviks went on to establish a one-party government which still exists today.
Further reading: The Modern World: Conflict and Change p.288-292, Russia and the Soviet Union:
Autocracy to Dictatorship p.2-32

It may be useful to refer back to the timeline below as we make our way through the syllabus:

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SURVEY
1. The Bolshevik consolidation of power, including:
● 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

1.1 An overview of Bolshevik ideology

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels conceived the
classic theory of Communism, that all previous
history involved class struggle between the
ruling class and the working class. Marx outlined
that the working class was being exploited and
were becoming progressively poorer. Marx
thought that the end result would be would be a
violent struggle in which the proletariat would
overthrow the owners of capital. The workers
would then own the means of production and it
would eventually be shared equally. There
would be no more class, no need for a state,
and society would be based on the principle of
“from each according to his ability, to each
according to his need.” However, Marx did not
believe such a revolution could occur in Russia
due to the lack of a large working class – 80% of Russia’s population were peasants. He believed that
capitalism and industry had to fully develop in any country before there could be communist
revolution, which was not currently the case in Russia.

Bolshevik ideology shared many similarities, but also many differences to Marxism. Lenin was a
practical revolutionary who was concerned with achieving power in Russia. To do this, he made two
significant changes to Marx’s theories:
● In his ‘April Theses’ of 1917, he asserted that nations in the early stages of capitalism were
also ripe for socialist revolution, and the industrialisation process could be completed once
socialism had been achieved. He justified this change by asserting that once Russia had
experienced its revolution, developed nations would have
revolutions of their own. The nations would then help Russia
develop. The Bolsheviks could speed up the process by sponsoring
revolution in Germany and other European nations. (This theory
was developed by Trotsky, and was known as ‘​permanent
revolution​’.)
● Lenin also argued that revolutions could be staged not by the
working class, but by a professional band of revolutionaries (due
to the lack of a large working class in Russia). This meant that the
Communist Party would have to rule Russia as a dictatorship until
a large working class support base could be created.

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 Key slogans from Lenin’s ‘April Theses’ of 1917:
● “​All power to the soviets!”​ – soviets led by revolutionaries would pass power to the workers
● “​Peace, bread and land​” – called for an end to WW1, and for land to be taken from landlords
and given to peasants.

1. Outline Bolshevik ideology, noting how it is similar and different to Marxism.

The October Coup 1917

The Russian Provisional Government was established immediately following the abdication of Tsar
Nicholas II of the Russian Empire on 2 March. By October 1917 the government was in clear decline,
and would be overthrown by the Bolsheviks by the end of the month. Parts of the countryside were
facing near anarchy as peasants seized land for themselves, and law and order were breaking down
in the cities in the face of worsening social and economic distress. Furthermore, Russia still faced the
threat of German attacks as WWI raged on. The Bolsheviks were not the only political group looking
to overthrow the government.
Lenin returned to Russia in April and began encouraging a revolution (he had previously been exiled
to Finland for engaging in Marxist activities). The Bolsheviks began gaining support by urging their
followers not to co-operate with the provisional government, and advocating for land to be turned
over to peasants and an immediate an exit from WWI. Bolshevik numbers increased rapidly in 1917,
from 24 000 to 350 000. By September, the Bolsheviks began to win majorities in elections to soviets
and city councils. Despite their growing support, overthrowing the government could be an
extremely risky move for the Bolsheviks. However, the party agreed that this was an opportune time
to stage an armed uprising.
The decision to seize power was taken by the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party under
Lenin’s leadership (even though he was still based in Finland at the time). On 23 October 1917, they
voted in favour of a revolution. The detailed organisation of the revolution was carried out by Lenin’s
deputy, Leon Trotsky, and the Military Revolutionary Committee of the Petrograd Soviet. While
Lenin was still in hiding, it was Trotsky who successfully gained control over Petrograd’s arms and
manpower. He co-ordinated Red Guard units to seize key infrastructure in Petrograd, and sent units
into the winter palace to arrest members of the Provisional Government. On the 26​th​ of October
1917, Lenin announced the creation of a new Bolshevik government, the coup was a success.

2. List reasons for the success of the 1917 October Coup under the following headings:
● Social and economic factors
● Growing support for the party
● Actions of party leaders

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Early Soviet Government
The coup had been planned to coincide with the opening of the
All-Russian Congress of Soviets (a conference of elected
representatives from Soviets throughout Russia) so that Lenin could
announce the Bolshevik takeover and gain support. Despite his
assertions that power had been seized “in the name of the Soviets”,
many non-Bolshevik deputies walked out in protest. The new
government was called “The Council of People’s Commissars”, or
‘Sovnarkom’ (its Russian acronym), and was left with 16 loyal
members. Despite successfully seizing power, Lenin’s government
was in a precarious position at the end of 1917 and faced a
multitude of problems.
After seizure of power in 1917, the Bolshevik government was
initially fragile. Gaining support from the peasant majority was
necessary to the survival of the new regime. The Bolsheviks gave
control of land to the peasants in the form of state collective farms
through the ​land decree,​ stating that there could be no private ownership of land - previously Tsar or
noble owned land was to be confiscated by the government and placed under peasant control. The
Worker’s Decree​ declared an 8 hour working day limit, and gave ownership of factories to worker
committees. These measures helped legitimize the new government in the eyes of the peasant
majority at a time when the government was fragile and required support.

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Within the first few months, the Bolsheviks passed many more decrees intended to win the publics’
favour and strengthen their power, including:

● Decrees for the proletariat

● Peace decree – urging for an immediate ceasefire treaty
● Changes in the armed forces
● Granting of self determination
● Measures for female equality
● Attacks on the Church
As well as pushing a popular reforms program, the Sovnarkom introduced a number of coercive
measures to mute opposition and ensure the survival of the party, including:

● Dissolution of the Constituent Assembly (democratically elected parliament that would draw
up a new constitution) within one day of operation, due to lack of Bolshevik majority
● Closure of opposition newspapers (even those of other socialist parties)
● Banning of other political parties, including the Kadets, Mensheviks, and right-wing Socialist
Revolutionaries
● Purge of all civil servants who did not support the regime
● Replacing the traditional legal system with one of arbitrary ‘revolutionary justice’
● Establishment of the Extraordinary Commission Against Counter Revolution, Sabotage and
Speculation (known by its Russian acronym, the ‘Cheka’).

The Cheka
The Cheka were formed in December 1917 and were meant to be a temporary organisation to deal
with immediate threats to the regime. It soon grew to a massive state secret police force of over 100
000, eliminating many of the Bolshevik’s political opponents and helping to consolidate Bolshevik
power. The Cheka enforced compliance and acceptance of the regime through fear, intimidation,
and unmatched brutality on those perceived as ‘enemies of the revolution’. During the Red Terror,
350 social revolutionaries were executed following an assassination attempt on Lenin. By the early
1922, at least 50,000 people who had been accused of counter-revolutionary activity were executed.
The Cheka activities created a climate of fear which made uprisings and further attempts on the lives
of leading Bolsheviks seem far too costly.
During the civil war period, the Cheka was responsible for enforcing war communism (see p.13) and
seizing grain from the peasants to keep the Red Army fed: this was crucial in ensuring Red victory in
the Civil War (see p.12) and the ruin of their White opponents.

The Cheka also served to solidify Lenin’s political leadership. The Bolshevik government,
bureaucratic, and military institutions overlapped and often conflicted. This made implementing new
government policy increasingly difficult. Many of these conflicting institutions were brought under
the control of the Cheka and ultimately Lenin. The Cheka had proved crucial in establishing
legitimacy for the Bolshevik government and maintaining domestic control, while also solidifying
Lenin’s own power.
3. What measures did Lenin and the Bolsheviks use in the early days of the Sovnarkom to
ensure their success? (Include both measures to ​gain popularity​ and ​remove opposition​)
4. Describe the Cheka and their role in the consolidation of the early soviet government.
Using the information provided complete section 1.1 of the Complete Course Summary Booklet for
Russia

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 Further Reading:​ Key Features of Modern History 2 (5th ed.) p.116 – 122, & Modern History
Transformed. Year 12. (Cambridge). p.122 – 128, and Russia and the Soviet Union:
Autocracy to Dictatorship p.31 – 52

1.2 The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk

Representatives of the Bolshevik government
and the Central Powers met at Brest-Litovsk in
December 1917 with the aim of drafting a peace
agreement to end Russia’s involvement in WWI.
Throughout 1917 – 1918, German troops
remained on Russian territory, threatening to
move towards Petrograd. This would be
disastrous for the Bolshevik regime, and thus
Lenin demanded peace with Germany “whatever
the cost.” After some back and forth, Soviet
delegates signed the treaty in March 1918,
securing peace with Germany. The terms were
harsh, but did not inflict real long-term damage
as the treaty was cancelled under the terms of
the armistice which officially ended WWI in November.

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 5. Using the map, outline the terms of the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
While the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in March 1918 went against Bolshevik ideology by creating a treaty
with imperialist Germany, it gave the new government the much needed economic breathing space
it needed to consolidate their power. Lenin understood that the war with Germany was the
fundamental reason for the failure of the Provisional Government, and a main contributor to the
collapse of the Romanov Dynasty. Russia was in a desperate situation. With the economy in ruins
and millions starving, allowing the war to continue further would have made this situation even
worse. This could have also threatened the Soviet government. With this in mind, Lenin wanted
peace at any cost, stating that “a disgraceful peace is proper, because it is in the interests of the
proletarian revolution and the regeneration of Russia”.

6. Why was Lenin determined to achieve peace with Germany at any cost?

The Russian Civil War

The harsh losses suffered by Russia under the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, however short-lived they may
have been, contributed to social unrest and isolated pockets of fierce opposition to Bolshevik rule.
From mid 1918 – early 1921, Russia endured a savage and violent civil war between pro- and
anti-revolutionary forces. It ultimately cost Russia nearly one million lives, and displaced half a
million civilians. Fighting ranged from small-scale guerrilla warfare, to full scale battles. The conflict is
characterised as being between the ‘Reds’ (Bolshevik forces) and ‘Whites’ (anti-communist forces).
Though the Red Army was ultimately victorious, the Russian Civil War greatly impacted Bolshevik
consolidation.

7. Describe the reasons for the Russian Civil War of 1918.

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It preoccupied Lenin and the Bolsheviks at a time when they wanted to establish a new socialist
state, but the war also meant that by 1920 the major counter-revolutionary groups in Russia had
been brought into the open and defeated. The war also went against Bolshevik ideology. Originally
opposed to the idea of an ‘armed working class’, the Red Army became more or less a traditional
standing army of working-class, peasant recruits. The democratic principles they had fought for were
increasingly being set aside in order to ensure Red victory.
8. How did the Russian Civil War affect the Bolshevik consolidation of power?
9. Use the diagram on p.13 to briefly outline why the Red Army was victorious in the Russian
Civil War.

The introduction of the New Economic Policy

Under Lenin’s leadership, the Soviet Union went through three phases of economic development:

● STATE CAPITALISM from October 1917 - June 1918 (a system which allowed the capitalist
system to continue operating under the supervision of the state)
● WAR COMMUNISM from 1918 - 1921 (Bolshevik government control over all aspects of the
economy, with a focus on supplying the Red Army during the civil war)
● the NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP) 1921 – 1928 (a mixed economy under state supervision)

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. All agriculture and industry was placed under strict government control, and all
private production and trade were abolished. A number of extreme features to deal with the military
and economic situation of the war were introduced. Military discipline was applied to factories,
including the death penalty for workers who went on strike or for persistent absenteeism. The
ruthless treatment of peasants as the Red Army seized resources for soldiers and urban workers.
Those who refused were shot. The result was an acute food shortage in 1920 and a terrible famine in
1921. The abandonment of the old inflation-ridden currency with wages being paid in food and fuel,
and trade being conducted on a barter system.

10. Describe why War Communism introduced, and how it operated.

The close of the Civil War and the effects of War Communism represented a period of crisis for the
Bolsheviks. The economy was collapsing, there was widespread famine, and trade and industries had
stalled. Peasants and workers started to voice their anger over these economic conditions, as well as
their resentment of Bolshevik authoritarianism. Widespread peasant rebellions erupted across
Soviet Russia in the form of protest meetings, public demonstrations and strikes. There were
increasing calls among workers’ groups for a change in economic policy and for a freeing up of
political debate and discussion. One significant and threatening anti-Bolshevik rebellion was the
uprising of soldiers and sailors at the Kronstadt military base. The men garrisoned there were
thought to be loyal supporters of the Bolshevik revolution, but the conditions caused by war
communism lead them to revolt. All opposition was crushed with the use of violence, terror, and
repression. However, Lenin could not deny that economic reforms were necessary, and thus the
New Economic Policy was introduced in March 1921.

EXT: Research more information about the significance of the Kronstadt rebellion.
Lenin responded by winding back war communism and relaxing Soviet economic policy. He unveiled
the NEP at the Tenth Party Congress in March 1921. The system introduced by the NEP can best be
described as a mixed or blended economy. It contained elements of both socialism and capitalism.

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The NEP reverted some agricultural and retail businesses that had previously been taken over by the
state under War Communism back to private ownership. The state, however, maintained control
over banking, transportation, foreign trade, and most industries. In 1922, money (which had been
abolished during War Communism) was also reintroduced into the Russian economy. Under the NEP,
the peasant class was permitted to own and farm their land while paying state taxes. Described by
Lenin as state capitalism, the NEP would help to ultimately stabilize the Russian economy.

The main aim of NEP was to raise agricultural production, so peasants were given incentives to
produce. Under war communism and grain requisitioning, the amount of grain seized was decided
on-the-spot by unit commanders. Under the NEP, the amount of tax would instead be fixed by the
state, allowing peasants to retain whatever surplus they had produced. They had to give 10 percent
of their produce to the government, but were allowed to sell the rest on the free market. This led to
the emergence of merchants, retailers and profiteers dubbed “Nepmen”. Lenin’s new slogan for
Communist Party members was “Learn to trade”. Rich peasants (kulaks) were even allowed to hire
labourers. During the Civil War, these activities would have been punishable by death.

The NEP had two main consequences. Firstly, the economy began to recover, especially in the areas
of agriculture and light industry. By 1925, agricultural production had returned to 1913 levels, and by
1928, GDP had reached its pre-Civil War level. Industrial production rose less rapidly than
agricultural production because most Russian industries were not subject to the NEP reforms, they
remained government controlled. Secondly, popular unrest declined, resulting in a reduction in
political repression.

11. Outline the economic reforms under the NEP and their results.
The NEP consolidated Bolshevik power by restoring the shattered economy by implementing a
degree of capitalism, and rebuilding the proletariat after a time of major dissatisfaction over War
Communism. The NEP was seen as a temporary retreat from socialism - a compromise necessary to
repair the damage done to the economy by World War I, the two revolutions, and the Civil War.

However, one of the most serious problems was the feeling that the NEP represented a betrayal of
the revolution and communist ideals. The NEP shocked many communists because it appeared the
Bolsheviks were moving back towards capitalism. In response, Lenin communicated to the people
that Russia badly needed ‘breathing space’ to recover from the Civil War and did not have enough
troops or officials to run the whole country themselves. While the NEP created splits in the party
leadership, with other leading figures arguing that it was a retreat from socialist principles, it had
been an important economic decision on Lenin’s part. Despite later problems, the NEP was crucial in

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consolidating Bolshevik power as it restored the devastated Russian economy and regained
proletariat support.

12. How did the NEP impact the Bolshevik consolidation of power? (include positive and
negative effects)

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FOCUS
2. The Bolsheviks and the power struggle following the death of Lenin
● The impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of power, including the creation of the USSR
● 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

​2.1 The impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of power, including the

creation of the USSR

The Bolshevik consolidation of power impacted many aspects of Russian life. Its most significant
achievements include:

✔ Introducing a socialist society in place of autocracy

✔ World War I peace treaty, March 1918
✔ Decree on Land, November 1917
✔ Social transformation (education, judicial equality and relative freedoms for women)
✔ Defeating counter-revolution in Civil War
✔ Defeating foreign intervention in Civil War
✔ Creating unity by dismissing Constituent Assembly (1918), crushed the Kronstadt rebellion
(1921) and abolished all political parties (1922)
✔ Stabilising the economy by replacing failed War Communism with the NEP (1921).

Women’s Rights
Karl Marx wrote that gender equality was a major goal
of any socialist system, but Russian society was
traditionally patriarchal. The role of women had been
limited to child bearing and domestic duties. The
official Bolshevik view under Lenin was that Russian
women suffered under an oppression imposed by
class and family. The Bolsheviks recognised the need
for women’s liberation in order to achieve their goal

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of a nationalised workforce that was indoctrinated with socialist ideals. Women enjoyed increased
freedoms under the new revolutionary government.

Revolutionary theorists called for the establishment of communal dining halls, laundries and
nurseries to liberate women from the drudgery of housework and family life. In 1919, Lenin
established the ​Zhenotdel​ as a Women’s Section of the Central Committee of the Communist Party,
lead by Bolshevik feminists Inessa Armand and Aleksandra Kollontai. A key function of the Zhenotdel
was to organise and inform women, as a hard-to-reach group, about Party goals and ideas. It was not
intended to provide a vehicle for women’s opinions to influence the party.

The Zhenotdel achieved reforms such as:

● A new marriage law was passed in December 1917 making it legal for men over 18 and
women over 16 to marry.
● Divorce became available simply by one partner in the marriage asking for it.
● In 1920 abortion on demand was made legal in state hospitals.

However, faced with the task of governing a country devastated by the Civil War, the revolutionary
aim of abolishing the traditional family structure was postponed as the family seemed essential to
the social order. After Kollontai’s dismissal as head of Zhenotdel in 1922, the organisation lost
influence. While fewer controversial goals such as full employment for women and childcare were
still on the agenda, more radical demands such as the abolition of the family and female equality
throughout society failed.
13. Write 1-2 paragraphs outlining Bolshevik ideology concerning the role of women in
society, and how this was carried out in practice.

EXT: Read Key Features of Modern History p.130-131 for primary sources and more information on
Alexandra Kollontai. Complete 5.3 Profile Tasks and 5.3a source questions.

Education and Youth

Bolshevik education policy changed between the period of War
Communism and that of NEP. The Communist Party altered the
policy to be stricter in an attempt to limit possible negative
effects from this new economic system by promoting party ideals
through education. A massive literacy programme was launched
to help people understand the ideas of the party, new schools
were built, and the ‘Komsomol’ (All-Union Leninist Young
Communist League) was set up to encourage the growth of
communist ideas among the youth.

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The Komsomol had two branches. Children began in the ‘Young Pioneers’ until the age of 14, when
they would graduate to the Komsomol. Both branches included both boys and girls, and their
activities focused on political issues, the virtues of communism, physical fitness and adoration of
‘Comrade Lenin’. The Komsomol was highly propagandised, and it gathered valuable intelligence
information as many of its members worked for the Cheka. The Red Army was also linked to the
Komsomol, and recruited teenagers into the ​kursants​ (military
cadets) before enlisting them in the army as full time soldiers.
The Komsomol had also provided an additional labour force for
the economic redevelopment during the civil war.
14. Assess the impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of
power on education and youth.

Culture and the Arts

The post-revolutionary Soviet regime was not confident that the
population would independently discover and hold ‘correct’ beliefs,
propaganda was needed to instil true revolutionary understanding
among the mainly illiterate masses. The authorities used methods
such as theatrical performances, movies and music as ways of
spreading propaganda, and emphasising the people as a decisive
factor in the Bolshevik seizure of power. Many visual artists,
architects, authors and music composers wanted to mirror the
revolutionary political and social changes, and in the early Soviet
years there was much creative innovation in these fields.
In literature, the state approved themes focused on ‘constructive
modernism’ (an appreciation of revolutionary struggles) and
communist and socialist values. All authors were scrutinised by the
Gosizdat​ (the State Publishing House). Censorship was very strict.
Unapproved books were never published and their authors faced
arrest for attempting to release ‘subversive literature’. Lenin
himself was not usually involved with cultural policy, and he mainly
left such matters to Anatoly Lunacharsky who headed the People’s
Commissariat of Enlightenment.

15. Assess the impact of the Bolshevik consolidation of power on the arts and culture.

EXT: Read the sources from Key Features of Modern History p.132-133, complete activities 5.3b.

Religion

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Religious practices may also form an important part of a people’s cultural life and beliefs. The
Bolshevik Revolution had a dramatic (and mainly destructive) impact on institutional Christian and
Jewish religious practice, but less on that of Muslims. Since the 15​th​ century the Russian Orthodox
Church had been the most prominent and independent of all other Christian Churches. The people
of Russia regarded their country as Holy Russia. When the Bolsheviks came to power, the influence
of Church was a problem. While the new government was atheist, the vast majority of Russians were
deeply religious. To prevent the church from becoming the centre of organised resistance to
communism, Lenin focused on destroying the power and wealth of the Church, while allowing the
people the freedom of belief and worship
All church property was seized by the state, and the clergy were made to pay taxes. Some Christian
and Jewish clergy were tried, imprisoned and executed.​ ​Dmitri Volkogonov states that “​on 23
February 1922, the public learned from their newspapers that a government decree had been
issued on the forcible confiscation of all valuables from Russian churches. It was not stated that
this decree had first been personally approved by Lenin.”​ ​Secular values replaced the teaching of
religion in schools, and any religious teaching was made illegal. Lenin hoped that with time religion
would die out. Secular anniversaries such as the revolutions of March and November replaced old
religious holidays. However, despite the Bolshevik drive against most organised religion in the 1920s,
popular religious practices such as celebrating Easter and Christmas were not completely eradicated,
and informal religious services simply went underground to escape persecution by Cheka agents.

16. Outline the methods the Bolsheviks used to bring religions under its control and assess
whether they were successful.

Economy
Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy (NEP) in March 1921, which aimed to encourage peasants
to grow more food by, allowing them to sell any surplus food which they produced. While
agricultural production recovered rapidly, industry did not recover at the same speed. Factories
could not produce enough and so there were shortages of many goods leading to the price of
industrial goods going up. Trotsky referred to this as the ‘scissor crisis’ as the price of the industrial
were going up at the same time as the agricultural prices were going down. It was a serious crisis
because there would soon be no reason for the peasants to grow surplus food, since they would not
be able to afford any industrial goods. However, after October 1923, the gap began to close at the
industrial production continued to grow and prices fell as a result.
17. Explain the ‘scissor crisis’

Government
The Communist Party and the government had become one since the Bolsheviks seized power in
1917, and the Bolshevik’s were deeply paranoid about counter revolutionary forces positioned
against them. Thus, Lenin began a purge of members of opposing political parties who were critical
of the Bolshevik leadership. This process was known as eliminating ‘radishes’ (those who were red
on the outside but really white on the inside). The CHEKA was given unquestioned authority and, by
1922, about 25% of the Party membership had been expelled. Bureaucrats now controlled the Party.
This was the type of revolutionary party that Lenin had been advocating for: stern, disciplined,
devoted and organised. A new system of ‘bureaucratic centralism’ developed as the main form of

20
government. Under this system, policy is determined more or less autonomously by the Great
Leader, and everyone else down the hierarchy falls into line.

Secondly, due to enormous growth in Party membership and consolidation of Bolshevik power, the
structure of the Party was altered and three new Party bodies were created:
● the Politburo – this group made key decisions
● the Orgburo – the Organisation Bureau overseeing Party efficiency
● the Secretariat – responsible for record keeping, allocating party jobs and membership

The Secretariat was to become the most important body. It appointed local party officials who in
turn held authority over local members. The Central Committee of the Party and local provincial
committees drew up lists of key positions in government administration that had to be filled. These
committees soon had the right to determine who was appointed to these positions.

This political shift allowed Party members like Joseph Stalin to become entrenched in the functioning
of the Party when he became General Secretary in April 1922.
18. How did the communist party change following the Bolshevik consolidation of power?
19. Describe the significance of the Secretariat.

1922: Formation of the USSR

The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), generally known as the Soviet Union, came into
existence with the ‘Treaty on the Creation of the USSR’ in December 1922. At this time, the USSR
was made up of four republics, The Russian SFSR (Soviet Federation Socialist Republic), the
Transcaucasian SFSR Federation (divided in 1936 into the Georgian, Azerbaijan, and Armenian
republics), The Ukrainian SSR and the Byelorussian SSR. The treaty included the means to admit new
republics, and by 1940 the Soviet Union Comprised of 15 republics. It existed until December 1991.

21
Since 1917, non-Russian regions had been showing signs of nationalism that represented a potential
threat to Bolshevik power. With the end of the civil war and the introduction of the NEP, Stalin had
argued that the Bolshevik state should be organised into one nation. This would mean the end of
some ‘splinter’ Soviet governments and centralise control in Moscow. Lenin desired a looser
arrangement that would allow republics to secede, but believed that they would not want to. Some
elements of the Party did not agree, and some national groups (eg. Ukrainians) were also opposed to
the idea. The 1922 treaty represented a compromise that aimed to satisfy various competing
interests and allow for future expansion.

In practice, the wishes of the nationalities were ignored as the Communists were not willing to let
economically valuable parts of the Empire choose independence.

The Russian, Transcaucasian, Ukrainian and Belorussian Soviet Socialist Republics (which were all
established after the revolution) provided the basis for forming the Union of Soviet Socialist
Republics (USSR, or Soviet Union) in 1922, and additional republics were added in subsequent years.
At the beginning of 1924, a new constitution replaced the one that the Bolsheviks had introduced in
1918. Russia became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR). Each republic had its own
government and could decide policy without interference from Moscow in matters such as
education, health and justice. In areas such as economic affairs and the activities of the CHEKA, the
republics had local Commissars who acted under the instructions of a Union Commissar in Moscow.
Foreign and Defence policy were entirely in the hands of All-Union Commissars in Moscow.
20. How was the USSR created, and how did it operate?
21. Why does Richard Pipes describe the soviet system as “pseudo-federalism”?

22. Describe the key features of the USSR using the diagram.

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Following the threat posed by counter-revolutionary forces in the Civil War, and the enormous
human suffering imposed by famine, the Bolshevik leaders directed economic rebuilding by
ruthlessly driving change ‘from above’. The Communist Party took upon itself the task of
industrialising and modernising the Soviet Union and allowing less and less room for opposition or
indiscipline in the process. However, as part of lessening control under the NEP, the Cheka was later
reduced in size, lost some of its arbitrary powers, and was ultimately replaced by the GPU (State
Political Organisation) in 1922. The Communist Party idea of the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ did
not ultimately mean workers collectively ruling society – it meant promoting former workers, where
possible, within the party.

23. How was the Communist Party driving change ‘from above’ in the 1920s?

Using the information provided complete section 2.1 of the Complete Course Summary Booklet for Russia

23
2.2 Power struggle between Stalin, Trotsky, and other leading Bolshevik
figures in the 1920s

Lenin was the undisputed Bolshevik leader until his death in January 1924 at the age of 53. However,
his political role declined along with his failing health from mid-1921.
This highlighted the power of the Communist Party’s Politburo and its members:

Vladimir Lenin: Party Leon Trotsky: Joseph Stalin: Lev Kamenev: Head
Leader Commissar for War Communist Party of the Moscow
General Secretary Communist Party

Grigory Zinoviev: Head Alexei Rykov: Mikhail Tomsky: Nikolai Bukharin:

of the Petrograd Member Member Member
Communist Party and
the Comintern

Despite their continued deference to Lenin, from 1923 a power struggle emerged between Stalin,
Kamenev, and Zinoviev as a group against Trotsky. In 1925, when Stalin announced that
industrialisation was a key priority, he was attempting to show himself as Lenin’s worthy successor.

24
 Prior to his death, Lenin commented privately on key party
leaders and who would be appropriate to succeed him. His
reflections were recorded in his ​Political Will​, and were not openly
published.
Although Lenin originally valued Stalin’s practical nature, he began
to have doubts about him during the course of 1922. Stalin’s lust
for power, which was evident during the Civil War, and the
abrasive way in which he dealt with Party colleagues alarmed
Lenin.

24. Outline Lenin’s views of Stalin and Trotsky.

Apart from the question of who would succeed Lenin, there were a number of other issues facing
the USSR at in the 1920s.
While the NEP had many positive effects on the economy and minimisation of discontent among the
public, it also had a number of problems that would need to be addressed:
● The rate of growth of agricultural production was slowing, and the rapid industrialisation the
Bolsheviks required to expand the economy beyond pre-war levels was not achieved.
● It was not creating the large working class the Bolsheviks needed for support.
● It was seen as a betrayal of revolutionary ideals, and as reinforcing capitalism.
● Much of the old bourgeois culture had returned, with expensive restaurants, cafés, casinos
and nightclubs, however, living conditions in the cities were terrible.
● Social problems, poverty, and ‘backwardness’ persisted, workers were still a subordinate
class and crime was rampant.

Further to the problems of the NEP, a fierce debate began on how Russia should achieve
industrialisation. Everyone agreed that Russia needed funds to finance investment. International
banks would not issue foreign loans to communists, and the only viable way to make money would
be generating an agricultural surplus. However, this presented a serious dilemma. Such a surplus
could be achieved by encouraging rural capitalism (via NEP), but this would weaken the Bolsheviks’
ideological support. It could also be achieved by taxing the peasants heavily, but this would require
the socialist system to exploit the people – the very thing the Bolsheviks opposed.

25
 25. Explain the problems with the NEP and industrialisation facing the USSR in the 1920s.

Power Struggle in the 1920s

The debate over how to address the problems with the NEP and the industrialisation debate became
caught up with the leadership struggle between those Bolshevik leaders who sought to take power
after Lenin’s death. However, even prior to Lenin’s death, the Party began to split into alliances on
the ‘Left’ and ‘Right’, holding differing views on how to address the USSR’s economic policy. Two
influential individuals defined the outlines of this debate and competed to decide which group
would be in power: Leon Trotsky on the ‘Left’ and Nikolai Bukharin on the ‘Right’.

Leon Trotsky
Trotsky was a very important figure and member of the Politburo, the leading body of the Party
itself, and a member of the government as Commissar of War, Member of the People’s Commissary
and the Council of People’s Commissars. During the 1920s, Trotsky’s arguments were shaped by two
key beliefs:
● Russia’s fundamental and deep cultural ‘backwardness’ was its greatest problem and the
greatest obstacle to building socialism. The lack of good working habits among workers, the
excessive drinking, swearing and too much ignorance of the world of ideas, including a
superstitious belief in religion, were all signs of how backward the Russian nation still was.
● The central importance of a ​vanguard, o ​ r leadership structure (the state, party and its
leaders) to take charge and emancipate the ignorant and ‘backward’ masses.
These ideas about backwardness, leadership and coercion shaped his criticisms of the mainstream
party policies during the NEP – and others who held these views became known collectively as the
‘Left’ within the Party.

In order to overcome Russia’s economic backwardness, Trotsky proposed that industrialisation had
to be a priority. This required long-term economic planning and investment by the state in order to
build up the economy. To get the money to invest and build up industry, the private sector would
have to be squeezed through high taxes, high industrial prices and low wages controlled by the state,
and low investment in consumer goods. Trotsky’s belief was that the only way to overcome Russia’s
backwardness and create a foundation for building a perfect socialist society was through a forceful
and intrusive economic policy.

In addition Trotsky felt, as many others did, that the Party’s increasingly authoritarian and
bureaucratic nature was harmful to socialism. He complained about the tendency developed during
the Civil War to appoint Party leaders at the local level, where Party secretaries became local
dictators. He called for Party members to change their style and culture and develop a better habit
of being free to express their views of independent thought. He reminded Party members that the
Bolshevik was not just a disciplined person, but a person​ ​“​who forges a firm opinion of his own and
defends it courageously and independently”.​ ​ His ideal was for a forceful state leading the way in
transforming Russia and he believed the way to do that was by developing the leadership to be free
and vital within itself. In particular, he worried a great deal about Stalin’s role in limiting this vital
free life within the Party.
Trotsky’s political theory of ‘Permanent Revolution’ would also bring him into direct conflict with
Stalin after the death of Lenin in 1924. Permanent Revolution, in the eyes of Trotsky, was a world
where somewhere a communist revolution was taking place and the old order was being

26
overthrown, bringing in government by the people. To achieve this, he wanted Russia to actively
export revolution abroad, using the expertise that the Communists had gained since November 1917
and Russian finance to achieve this. Trotsky believed that permanent revolution could only
strengthen the hold of the working class and weaken capitalism on a global scale.
26. Write a 1-2 paragraphs to explain the views of Trotsky and the Left about how to address
the problems facing the USSR.

Nikolai Bukharin
Trotsky’s major opponent in these debates was Nikolai Bukharin, who was (initially) a major ally of
Stalin. Above all, Bukharin opposed the economic arguments of Trotsky and the ‘Left’. While he
agreed that Russia’s backwardness was a serious obstacle to everything the communists wanted to
achieve, he proposed a different method of addressing it. He also agreed that industrialisation was
necessary and that resources would have to come from the largest part of the free economy – the
peasant economy. However, he was very sceptical about the economic ideals of the Left, and feared
that their coercive strategies would be inefficient and impractical.

He believed that the peasants would react to low prices or high taxes by reducing their output,
meaning there would be no surplus for industrialisation. He argued that NEP would encourage the
peasants to produce by letting them keep the surplus. If Russia could produce more, then people
would buy more. As people bought more, more money would go back into industry and this natural
cycle would develop the economy more effectively .This would involve a slower rate of
industrialisation, but it would keep the peasants happy. There would be no need for mass
exploitation.

During the 1920’s, Bukharin and the right were driven by the fundamental political need to maintain
peasant acceptance of Bolshevism. Bukharin argued, as Lenin did, that one must teach the peasants
why socialism is a good thing. Effective persuasion rather than coercion was critical in the success of
achieving industrialisation. As he stated, ​“one should approach the peasant with love, not hate”​. ​He
feared Trotsky’s program would alienate peasants and lead to peasant rebellions similar to those
experienced in 1920–21.
His vision was of a gradual evolutionary road to socialism, not the road to a violent class struggle or a
road of coercion by the state. Instead, as he said in 1925, he believed in “a road to socialism that
would be peaceful and bloodless, without the clanging of metal weapons”. Added to the economic
and political considerations, Bukharin also argued there was a moral and ethical consideration.
Bukharin believed that socialism – this emancipatory ideal – could not be built with the same tools
as capitalism. Socialism was to be transformative and uplifting; different ends, therefore, requiring
different means.
27. Write a 1-2 paragraphs to explain the views of Bukharin and the ‘Right’ about how to
address the problems facing the USSR.

Josef Stalin
During this conflict, Stalin did not need to follow some grand plan. All he had to do was stand back
and watch his rivals destroy each other, joining forces with whichever side posed the smallest threat
to his own ambitions (​see timeline on the next page)​ .

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28
Evolution of Evil : Stalin

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6m6q7I_1zY

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2.3 Reasons for the emergence of Stalin as leader of the USSR by the late
1920s

In examining how Stalin was able to acquire so much influence and

power in the 1920s, it is important to understand the changing
nature of the Party as well as Stalin’s individual place in this new
structure. Until the Civil War, the Communist Party was governed by
a rather small Central Committee led by Lenin. Other members
included Trotsky, Bukharin, Stalin and 11 others. In 1919, Lenin
realised that he needed to have a greater apparatus to advance the
revolution and run the Civil War. The whole structure changed.
Stalin chaired the Orgburo (Organisational Bureau), which recruited
members, made appointments, handled assignments of Party
members around the country and took care of purges when Party
members were seen to not be doing their jobs properly. He was also
a member of the government as the Commissar of Nationalities.
A very powerful Secretariat was created to handle all paperwork for both the Politburo and Orgburo.
Very quickly, the Secretariat grew in power and became increasingly important. By 1921, the
Secretariat had assumed most of the everyday work of the Orgburo, handled membership and
appointments to various positions, reassignments and purges. At this stage, Stalin was viewed as a
good organisational man, loyal to Lenin.

As he wasn’t an intellectual, the Party didn’t want to give him a major policy-making position,
instead making him the General Secretary of the Communist Party, the head of the Secretariat in
1922. He also remained on the Politburo and the Orgburo. In the hands of Stalin, these powers
proved to be very impressive tools for strengthening his own influence within the Party. It provided
him with the means to fill various positions with his supporters and he developed considerable
control over the local secretaries.

29. Explain how Stalin achieved his position of General Secretary of the Communist Party

30
The death of Lenin
The death of Lenin in 1924 allowed Stalin to exploit the ‘Lenin Enrolment’, the Bolshevik Party effort
to enrol more of the Proletariat into the Communist Party to be active members from 1923 - 1925.
Half a million workers were brought into the Party, virtually doubling membership. This was
described as the worker democracy many people had been asking for, when in fact most of these
members joined the Party for personal gain. Party membership gave you influence and opportunity
for better jobs in society, and the result was a vast number of very grateful and submissive
members. Trotsky criticised both the ‘bureaucratisation’ of the party and Stalin’s ability to dispense
favours in his role as General Secretary. The Lenin Enrolment undermined democracy in the Party
and weakened the criticism and debate that had been the Party’s tradition. Stalin could make use of
this obedience, for he controlled the Party apparatus as the General Secretary. As a result, he built
networks of loyal supporters, and reassigned critics. This administrative power played a critical role
in Stalin’s ability to defeat various opponents in the 1920s.
The critical moment in the emergence of Stalin in the 1920s came when Lenin’s political will and
testament was read out in May 1924. As Lenin was particularly critical of Stalin, this was the moment
that could have destroyed Stalin’s rise to power. Zinoviev addressed the Central Committee and
spoke in defence of Stalin, arguing that he had proven that Lenin’s fears were unfounded and that
Stalin could work amicably with Party members. There was enough support in the Party room to
agree that the will would not be distributed. At this particular stage, Zinoviev regarded Trotsky as the
real threat to power, and this incident was an excellent example of how Stalin was grossly
underestimated by his peers.
30. How did Stalin use the ‘Lenin enrolment’ to gain power.
31. Explain why the reading of Lenin’s political will did not destroy Stalin’s rise to power.

Abuse of the ‘cult of Lenin’

Stalin raised Lenin to almost divine status in consolidating his position
within the Party. There were a number of traits that Stalin admired in
Lenin and that he used to manipulate the memory of Lenin for political
advantage. Stalin was impressed by Lenin’s fundamental idea of the
‘vanguard’ party of professional revolutionaries. This was a heroic ideal
that appealed to Stalin for its focus on the best individuals heroically
leading the way. He was also attracted to the Bolshevik reputation for
toughness and greater militancy. Stalin capitalised on the death of Lenin
by being a pallbearer at the funeral and having Lenin’s body embalmed
and placed in a tomb in Red Square, Moscow.

He also used Lenin as a means of criticising Trotsky, accusing him of

lacking the heroism, optimism and faith that Lenin had. In particular, he
claimed that one of Trotsky’s leading theories, the idea of ‘permanent
revolution’ depending on worldwide socialism, was a theory of
permanent hopelessness and showed a lack of faith in what the
Russian people could achieve.
Stalin even convinced Trotsky to miss Lenin’s funeral. The failure of Trotsky to attend the funeral led
to criticism and highlighted his ‘arrogance’ and lack of respect towards Lenin.

31
 32. Explain how Stalin exploited the cult of
Lenin to gain power (refer to the information in
the text and the photographs).

Political
skills:

Manipulation & opportunism

Stalin used the ideological and political debates of the 1920s to
attack Trotsky and establish his primacy within the Politburo. He
was aided by the fact that Trotsky could not match his ruthless
determination and his skill as a politician. In particular, Trotsky
failed to recognise the nature and extent of the threat he faced.
Joseph Stalin was no genius, but he was willing to do much of the
tedious work the other Bolshevik leaders detested – in particular,
the appointment of officials to key positions in the bureaucracy. This allowed him to gain significant
support during the debates that followed Lenin’s death. In addition, Stalin demonstrated a
willingness to listen to all opinions, cultivating an image of moderation – something which made him
popular with many Party members.
Trotsky, on the other hand, was something of an outsider, not having joined the Bolshevik Party until
August 1917. This meant he
was never fully trusted by
many members. This

mistrust was fuelled by his

own behaviour. He was often rude and arrogant, treating his colleagues with contempt. The officials
disliked him because he opposed any increase in their power. Others distrusted him because of his
control of the Red Army, fearing that he might turn it against the Bolsheviks. The less educated
workers disliked Trotsky because they saw him as an arrogant intellectual.

Stalin was able to single-handedly eliminate his political opposition throughout the 1920s. He
stacked the Politburo with his own supporters, and could easily have anyone who opposed him

32
removed. First, he used his control of the Politburo to get rid of Trotsky and his allies, then Zinoviev
and Kamenev who took Trotsky’s position in 1925. Later, when Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and their
followers united into what was called the Left Opposition, Stalin threw their members out of the
Party and defeated them. In 1928, Trotsky organised a peaceful protest in Leningrad, criticising the
Party leadership. Stalin now accused him of breaching Lenin’s ban on factions, and had him
kidnapped and deported to Soviet Central Asia. With his principal rival out of the way, Stalin turned
against Bukharin and the so-called Right Opposition. He again used his power within the Party to
remove their members, to defeated them in debates, and have them voted out of the leadership.

Stalin emerged as victor in the power struggle of the 1920s because he was able to build a
bureaucratic and ideological base from which to attack Trotsky and all other opposition. He also
succeeded because Trotsky and the other leading Bolsheviks failed to recognise the threat they
faced, and therefore did not unite to destroy their rival. In many ways, this failure can be attributed
to Trotsky’s weaknesses as a leader. His brilliance and arrogance made Kamenev and Zinoviev more
afraid of him than of Stalin, and his loyalty to the Party made him unwilling to destroy one of its
trusted functionaries. By the time he realised the extent of the threat, it was too late to save his
political career.

Stalin understood the mood of the people and touched a nerve with Communists, as well as many
workers and others in society regarding the NEP. He acknowledged the dissatisfactions of many
Soviet Russians in the 1920s. There were many things about the NEP that concerned Russians and
young Communist workers, including inequality and the rise of the new rich in the cities, such as the
NEP men (wealthy traders) or the richer peasants in the countryside (kulaks). As a result, Stalin
developed the concept of ‘Socialism in One Country’ in order to build the industrial base and military
might of the Soviet Union before exporting revolution abroad.

This was intended to develop patriotism within Russian society and see Russia develop into an
industrial force on its own. It directly opposed Trotsky’s unpopular theory of Permanent Revolution,
which Stalin argued would only cause international conflict without fostering development within
Russia. Stalin justified this ideology through quoting Lenin’s own words​ ​“we have everything
necessary to construct complete socialism”​. Russia was isolated and surrounded by enemies, so it
had no real alternative but to pursue a policy of ‘socialism in one country’. Many Party members saw
his vision as the only one that offered any real prospect of success, and it was adopted at the
Fourteenth Party Congress in 1925. For Stalin, advocating this policy meant almost certain victory.

33. Explain the aspects of Stalin’s personality that allowed him to gain support (use
historiography).

33
34. Explain the reasons for Stalin’s political defeat of Trotsky, and both the Left and Right
Opposition (include historiography)
35. How and Why was Stalin’s concept of ‘Socialism in one country’ successful?

34
3. The Soviet State under Stalin
● The nature of the USSR under Stalin, including dictatorship & totalitarianism
● Economic transformation under Stalin and its impact on Soviet society, including
collectivisation & the five-year plans
● Political transformation under Stalin: growth of the Party, use of terror, show
trials, gulags, propaganda & censorship
● Social & cultural changes in the USSR under Stalin

3.2 Economic transformation under Stalin and its impact on Soviet society,
including collectivisation & the five-year plans

Collectivisation
Under Lenin, the NEP had encouraged agricultural production
by reducing the amount of grain taken by the state and
allowing peasants to sell the surplus for personal profit.
Although by 1925 agricultural production had exceeded
pre-war levels, it could not keep up with the demands of
population growth in cities due to rapid industrialisation. By
1928, Stalin recognised that Russia was not producing enough
food to feed the growing population of urban workers, and so rationing was introduced. At the
Sixteenth Party Congress in 1929, Stalin announced a longer-term solution to the problem of the
food supply: collectivising all farms.
Collectivisation meant replacing small, privately owned farms with ​kolkhozes​ (collective farms) and
the ​sovkhoz​ (the state farm). This would increase state control over agriculture and ensure that
urban workers were provided with enough food to continue working towards Stalins massive
industrialisation goals. The original plan was to collectivise 20% of agriculture, which would be
achieved during what was known as the First Five Year Plan. However, between December 1929 and
March 1930, nearly 60% of peasant farms in the Soviet Union were collectivised. Collectivisation also
involved ‘forced grain requisitioning’ (forcibly taking produce from peasant farms). The immediate
result of this was positive, as a large amount of additional grain was found to be in the hands of
peasants and was collected by the state. The poorer peasants tolerated collectivisation, because
they had little land and few animals to lose, but the wealthier ones (the kulaks) bitterly opposed it.
Kulaks responded to the resumption of forced grain requisitioning by sowing less land, and many
killed their animals and burned their homes in defiance. Between 1928 and 1933, numbers of
livestock fell dramatically; the number of horses fell from 33 million to 15 million, pigs from 26
million to 9 million, cattle from 70 million to 34 million, and sheep and goats from 146 million to 42

35
million. Peasants wanted to make sure there was nothing extra beyond what they needed to eat that
would be collected, resulting in less grain and livestock to collect. The threat of starvation once again
returned to the cities and famine plagued rural areas.
In response the campaign was intensified. Stalin claimed that a new class of wealthy landowners, or
kulaks, had arisen under the NEP and were now undermining the state by withholding grain from the
market in an attempt to increase prices. According to Stalin it was therefore necessary to eliminate
the whole kulak class. Many in the party supported Stalin’s attack on the wealthier landowners. The
Bolsheviks were aware of the important role the poorer peasants (who made up about 80 per cent
of the population) had been playing in the revolution, and saw the elimination of kulak resistance to
party policy as necessary. The treatment of the kulaks was brutal: in addition to losing land and
possessions, many thousands were transported to remote regions where countless numbers died in
labour camps.

Increasingly, the word ‘kulak’ came to mean anyone in rural areas who opposed collectivisation. This
campaign, combined with poor harvests, peasant destruction of livestock, and the government
obtaining a greater percentage of the grain, caused a terrible famine in 1932– 33 which resulted in
even more deaths. However, party leaders blamed the poor performance of collectivised agriculture
on sabotage and ‘wreckers’. By the start of 1933, an estimated 25-30 million people in the USSR
were subject to famine and another 50,000 were executed for trying to steal food from government
stores.

The extent of collectivisation was extreme, and before long all peasants had been forced into
collective farms. Virtually everything was declared property of the ​kolkhoz​. Land, houses, tools,
animals, even private possessions like furniture and clothing were now said to belong to the
collective farm.

36
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’. 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
220000 who tried to do so. As starvation
increased, stories of cannibalism emerged,
and approximately 10 million Ukrainians died
of starvation due to the deliberate policy
decisions of Stalin. This period of Ukrainian
history is known as ‘Holodomor’ (meaning
‘hunger and plague’), and is recognised ​as a
genocide of the Ukrainian people carried out
by the Soviet government.

Despite its negative impact on the lives of citizens and on gross agricultural production, it was
considered a success from the state’s point of view:
● Their main goals were achieved. Grain procurements were now much higher, they could
force peasants to work and all grain could be delivered to the state except the minimal
needed for them to eat.
● It was pleasing to many Communists that peasants were now firmly under the political
control of the state as collective farms were branches of the state. Their will had been
broken by famine and the harsh policies of the state, eliminating the risk future uprisings.
● The traditional peasant commune was abolished in 1930 with the kolkhoz, staffed by
appointed officials, often from the state.

36. What is collectivisation and why was it implemented?

37. Using the information and sources, write 1-2 paragraphs assessing the impact of
collectivisation citizens of the USSR.
38. Summarise historians views on Stalin’s treatment of the kulak class
39. Why do you think that the state would have considered collectivisation a success?

Five-year plans & Industrialisation

Along with agricultural reform, there was a push to rapidly modernise Soviet Union industry. Stalin
argued that the Soviet Union urgently needed to change from an agrarian country to a modern, self-
sufficient industrial one. The method to achieve this would be a series of Five-Year Plans under
Stalin’s direction.
In 1928, Stalin decided to distance himself from his ally, Bukharin, and the moderate, natural-market
ideas of the NEP. There was strong political pressure to be more ambitious, and thus Stalin’s
Five-Year Plan’s set near impossible targets for industrial production. In fact, most economic
historians looking at these written plans agree that the targets of the first Five-Year Plan were
completely impractical. To Stalin and other like-minded enthusiasts at the time, this plan was not
ambitious enough.

37
The first five-year plan, 1928–32
Stalin’s first five-year plan set targets for Russian industry for the period 1928–32. Based on Western
models, the plan involved funding large-scale government projects in order to develop Soviet
industry in line with Western economies. He also wished to reduce the threat of Western invasion by
building up Soviet armaments. Essentially, the plan was a series of demands to increase production
by almost impossible margins. When output in some industries looked to be on target after a few
months, Stalin increased the targets further. In response to protests about this pace, Stalin claimed
that the Soviet Union was 50 – 100 years behind the advanced capitalist countries and faced
destruction if the gap was not closed within 10 years. The whole atmosphere of the first five-year
plan reflected this politicisation (which meant militarisation) of economics. It was a call to heroic
struggle, designed to inspire people to greater accomplishments. The press characterised industry as
a battlefield. Stalin actively linked rapid industrialisation to national security, which meant that any
protest against the plan could be interpreted as treason, resulting in execution or imprisonment.
To meet, or over-accomplish goals, ‘shock troops’ of workers were mobilised into action and sent to
production sites. These were groups of young workers who wanted to set a good example by
competing to raise output of production, they competed to see who could work the hardest. As a
result, they earned privileges, such as opera tickets, paid holidays and access to special shops. Whole
industrial cities, such as Magnitogorsk in the Ural mountains, rose from nothing, and young people
put up their hands to volunteer to work on enormous projects. Those who proposed that the Soviet
Union adopt more rational, practical policies, along with those who had failed in meeting their tasks,
were identified as ‘traitors in wartime’ and dealt with harshly.
These approaches produced a series of unbalanced economic results, such as:
● heavy industry was strengthened, but at the cost to consumer goods
● heavy industry was then weakened by an imbalance of growth
● overall production did increase considerably.
These efforts led to the creation of more feasible, and sustained growth in the five-year plans to
come.
40. What was the intention of the first Five Year Plan, and how would this be achieved?
41. How did Stalin minimise opposition and keep up rapid production?

The second five-year plan, 1933–37

During the second five-year plan, Stalin made national heroes of those who produced more than
their share of goods. This push became known as the Stakhanovite movement, that celebrated a
worker’s willingness to produce more than was required (named after Alexei Stakhanov, who
allegedly extracted more than 14 times the amount of coal during one shift in 1935).
‘Stakhanovites’ were heavily rewarded by the Party, but they were often resented by fellow workers
as their achievements invariably resulted in higher quotas being imposed on all workers. In
December 1935, output targets were raised to Stakhanovite levels across the country. Furthermore,
during this period heavy industry was preferred and transportation was given a higher priority. The
Soviet Union experienced an expansion in the chemical industry and there were major increases in
metals and machines. This proved to be a period of consolidation as the targets were far more
reasonable than the previous plan and the excessive excitement of the first five-year plan had been
overcome.

38
The third five-year plan, 1938–41
Due to the June 1941 German invasion of
the Soviet Union, the third five-year plan
did not go to its full term. The fear of
European powers led to building
armaments becoming a strong
consideration, as did the emphasis on
heavy industry. Significantly, the third
five-year plan coincided with the terror and
the purges. A number of managers and
specialists were caught up in the purges
and this severely affected the leadership in
the factories in meeting the targets, and
consumer industries also suffered as a
result.
42. Write a paragraph to explain why the second Five-Year Plan was more successful than the
first.
43. What factors lead to the failure of the third Five-Year Plan?

The results of the three Five-Year Plans between 1928 and 1941 are controversial. Industrial
production exploded, but was not matched by agriculture. Although Stalin claimed in 1933 that the
material conditions of workers and peasants were improving, there were heavy costs of
industrialisation. As Soviet cities and towns grew rapidly, adequate amenities and infrastructure
were not provided for workers. This resulted in slum like conditions in cities. Conditions for urban
workers also became more demanding and restrictive. Working hours increased, workers
movements were strictly limited, and supervision by managers with increased powers as well as the
NKVD meant that discipline was swift and severe for any minor infraction. This coupled with food
rationing and high prices meant that living standards were actually lower in 1937 than they had been
in 1928. Industrialisation is also inextricably linked to the process of collectivisation, and the ensuing
famine that affected tens of millions throughout the USSR (including the Ukranian genocide
‘Holodomor’).
There is also some contention by historians as to how accurate the figures are that represent
industrial growth in the USSR as a result of the Five-Year Plans. Managers were under intense
scrutiny to meet the ever increasing targets, and would often falsify their production figures and
bribe state officials.

44. Using the information provided and the table, assess the overall economic, social, and
political successes and failures of the Five Year Plans (PEEL).

39
40
3.3 Political transformation under Stalin: growth of the Party, use of terror, show
trials, gulags, propaganda & censorship

Growth of the Party

Stalin led the Communist Party through a period of exponential growth in his first years in power,
from 350 000 members in 1923 to over one million by 1927. Stalin personally nominated new
members, many of whom were young,
inexperienced and poorly educated. While the
‘Old Bolsheviks’ still dominated the upper ranks
of the party, over 60% of all local secretaries
had joined after 1921. Soon, more members
worked for the Communist Party than the
industry sector.

The system of government under Stalin was

manipulated so that he could achieve power for
himself. By the 1920s, Stalin controlled
membership to 3 important political organs of
the Soviet Union:

● the Orgburo or ‘organisational bureau’ of

the Central Committee, which made important
decisions about organisational work in the Soviet Union and oversaw the work of local Party
committees. It had the power to place Communist Party members into positions as it saw fit.
● Politburo or ‘political bureau’, which was the highest policy-making government authority under
the Communist Party, and eventually overshadowed the power of the Central Committee.
● Secretariat of the Central Committee, which had responsibility for the central administration of
the party (as opposed to drafting government policy).
While the party lacked complete coercive power throughout Soviet society, Stalin held absolute
control at the centre. He would work systematically to eliminate all opposition through a series of
party purges while at the same time filling open positions with his supporters.

In 1936, Stalin unveiled his new constitution, which promised democratic rights for all citizens,
including universal suffrage. This document was intended to persuade the Western nations that

41
Russia was moving in the direction of democracy, and therefore could be trusted as an ally against
Hitler. As part of this strategy, Russia had also joined the League of Nations in 1934. However, the
constitution was simply a facade, and it did not stop Stalin from leading as a dictator and wilfully
compromising citizens rights in order to achieve is political goals.
45. Explain the changes that Stalin introduced to the Communist Party in his first years as
party leader, and how these changes help to consolidate his power. (1-2 paragraphs)

The use of terror, show trials, and gulags.

​The use of terror to eliminate political opposition was widespread throughout the history of Russia
and the USSR. The violent tactics used by secret police and the purging of political enemies was
evident under Lenin’s rule (The Cheka and the Red Terror), and was quite common under the Tsars
of the old autocracy. In 1928, Stalin inherited a system with strong punitive structures already in
place, and made full use of them to consolidate his control over Soviet Russia. Stalin believed he
needed a political purge – to eliminate all members of the party who remembered Lenin and the
way that Lenin ran the party. They would be replaced by people who not only owned their loyalty to
Stalin, but who saw him as equal or even superior to Lenin. Stalin oversaw the elimination of
suspected, or even potential, resistance in a massive campaign of terror against the Soviets.

46. Briefly outline the use of terror by rulers before Stalin. Can this be used to explain Stalin’s
use of terror?

Early Purges and Show trials

The first Five-Year Plan had intensified the use of terror in order to get Russian society to conform to
the harsh new economic changes of collectivisation and industrialisation. ‘Dekulakisation’ lead to
show trials, deportation to Siberia, internal exile, imprisonment, and outright murders as pressure
mounted on agriculture to feed urban workers.
In 1928, 53 technicians and engineers from Shakhty (the commercial hub of the coal industry)
became the victims of the first show trial of the period. The men were accused of organising a vast
sabotage network in the city and were labelled “wreckers”, and were held responsible for the failure
to meet near impossible production targets characteristic of the first Five-Year Plan. The show trials
that took place in Stalin’s USSR had a very specific purpose. The show trials were held in the open
with foreign journalists invited to publicise the proceedings, as propaganda designed to legitimise

42
the purging of Stalin’s opponents or rivals as ‘enemies of the state’. During the Shakhty show trial,
there was no evidence presented against the accused men, no witnesses to their crimes, and the
accused were not allowed to defend themselves during proceedings. A few of the men did offer
likely false confessions under harsh duress. As a result of the Shakhty show trial, 11 of the accused
were sentenced to death and the rest imprisoned. A method had been found by which anyone could
be accused of a crime, the secret police could investigate by whatever means they wished, and Stalin
could prevent anyone from speaking up against this process by accusing them of being sympathisers
of the accused. Stalin would continue to use this method to eliminate his opponents throughout the
rest of his reign.

47. Outline the Shakhty show trial and why it was significant.

There was also opposition to Stalin’s new collectivisation and industrialisation policies by the ‘Old
Bolsheviks’ such as Rykov and Riutin. Stalin reacted to this by pushing a series of show trials in 1929
to expose those who were conspiring to ruin his plans, and ordered his opponents be arrested and
executed. Those who did not support Stalin were labelled ‘wreckers’, ‘Trotskyites’, ‘Bukharinites’ and
tsarist sympathisers. This early round of purges resulted in almost 12% of the Party membership and
approximately 5% of the military communists being removed from their posts. All remaining
non-party specialists who held connections to the old regime were also removed from industry and
replaced by newly trained ‘Red’ engineers and technicians who supported Stalinist ideals. Few were
killed or even put on trial, and most were rehabilitated in the following months. The fact that early
purges involved exclusion from the party rather than death limited opposition.

48. Outline the reasons for and outcomes of the early purges within the Party.

The Great Purge, show trials and “the Terror” 1934 - 1939
The purges began with the mysterious murder of Stalin’s potential rival, Sergei Kirov, in December
1934. Kirov had opposed Stalin in the Politburo on the use of the death penalty on political elites
who were calling for Stalin’s removal (notably Riutin, who was supported by Zinoviev and Kamenev).
Kirov persuaded the Politburo to pursue a more moderate course of action against the dissidents,
resulting in 30 party members being exiled or incarcerated, and the expulsion of over 1 million
members between 1933 - 1934. Kirov also began to threaten Stalin’s position as General Secretary in
1934, polling significantly better than Stalin in Party elections (the unfavourable results of these
elections were suppressed by Stalin in order for him to hold on to his position). Kirov was
assassinated on the 1st of December 1934. His death was probably not accidental, and many
historians believe Stalin ordered himself, despite the assassination being officially blamed on
Trotsky, Zinonev, and Kamenev.

43
Stalin immediately capitalised on the assassination,
pushing through the new “1st of December Law” or
“Charter of Terror” before the end of the day. This
would allow swift and harsh responses to such
‘terrorist acts’. The new law stated that
investigations into terrorist acts had to be resolved
within 10 days, and that cases would be heard by
military tribunals and without defence or
prosecution lawyers. No appeals were allowed, and
the death penalty was the mandatory sentence.
The 1st of December Law marked the beginning of
‘The Great Purge’ and ‘The Terror’, as it effectively
allowed Stalin to legally eliminate anyone he
accused of acting against him. Massive arrests
followed, including the arrests of Party officials, Old
Bolsheviks (who had been with the Party from the
beginning) and ordinary citizens.
The secret police (the Cheka) had already been created by Lenin, but Stalin oversaw its expansion. In
1922, the Cheka was absorbed into the main Soviet police force: the​ People's Commissariat for
Internal Affairs​ (NKVD). The NKVD had conducted regular police work and overseen Russian labour
camps and prisons, but in 1934 after the introduction of the 1st of December Law, they were sent
into more energetic action. They were tasked with identifying and eliminating anyone conspiring
against Stalin and the Communist Party, and could obtain confessions through beatings, torture,

threats against the prisoner’s family or sleep deprivation under continuous interrogation.
49. Write 1-2 paragraphs to explain how and why Stalin used Kirov’s murder to intensify his
use of purges and terror in the USSR.

Purges of the Party

In 1935 the NKVD were also tasked with checking all Party memberships. In 1936 Party membership
was reduced from 2,341,728 to 1,951,894 as almost 200,000 members were purged from the party.
Approximately 30% of those purged were found to be former White Guards or kulaks, Trotkyites and
Zinovievites, swindlers, scoundrels, or spies. The other 70% had simply not attended meetings, not
paid their dues, or had committed other social crimes such as drunkeness. The exposure of such a
high number of Party members with ‘terrorist tendencies’ was appalling for the Party, but it was just
what Stalin needed to propagate the fear of a real internal threat within the Party. A second
membership check occurred in 1936, whereby another 3.5% of the Party was purged. A third purge
began in 1937, which would result in the destruction of the vast majority of political and industrial
leadership.

These purges decimated the Party, with 90 percent of the members of regional and city committees
being shot or deported to the camps between 1937 and ’38. Each district was required to arrest a
fixed number of Trotskyites, spies and saboteurs, and then to shoot them or deport them to the
camps. Party secretaries knew they could be liquidated themselves if they failed to meet their

44
quotas, so they were very keen to comply. If a sufficient number of Party members could not be
found, then ordinary workers were arrested.
Prominent communist figures who were purged from the party included Lev Kamenev, Grigory
Zinoviev, Karl Radek, Yury Pyatakov, Mikhail Tomsky, Alexei Rykov, Nikolai Bukharin and Mikhail
Tukhachevsky; of these, all except Radek and Tomsky were executed.
The worst hit region was the Ukraine, where Stalin eliminated virtually all Party members and
destroyed it as a functioning entity.

The use of show trials legitimised the purges of Party high ranking members. Stain planned and
scripted the trials, manufactured the evidence, and publically destroyed his targets. The Moscow
show trials were a dramatic propaganda event. Prominent Communists were accused of plotting
against Stalin in three public trials:
● 1936 - Zinoviev and Kamenev, together with other opposition forces within the ‘Old
Bolsheviks’ in the Central Committee
● 1937 - against many second rank communists who had been implicated by Zinoviev and
Kamenev
● 1938 - the trial of the rightists and ‘Trotskyites’, notably Bukharin, Rykov, and Yagoda (the
former NKVD chief) among others.
The accused gave improbable and coerced confessions, which resulted in conviction and usually
execution. Stalin told the NKVD interrogators to “​mount your prisoners and do not dismount until
they have confessed”​ . The media covered these show trials both within the USSR and externally, and
they sent a strong message about the consequences of opposing Stalinism.

​ ttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25JpnWlEfvE
EXT: See some footage from the 1938 trial here: h
The purges created a climate of fear, mistrust and submissiveness amongst Party members and the
public, sapping them of their willingness to question Stalin’s rule from 1937 onwards. This period in
Soviet history is known as the ‘Yezhovshchina’. The Party now operated according to purely
centralist principles, instead of ‘democratic centralist’ ones (as had occurred during the Leninist
period). As a result, the Party lost its dominant position in Russian society, and was reduced to
merely a rubber stamp for Stalin’s decisions. Its role was usurped by Stalin’s Secretariat, the NKVD
and the bureaucracy.
By 1939, the Party was a mere shadow of what it had been in 1934. Less than 2% of the delegates of
the 17th Party Congress in 1934 retained their positions in the 18th Party Congress in 1939. The
tradition of the ‘Old Bolsheviks’ filling all the most important posts in the Party had been replaced by
the promotion on ‘talent’, or rather, loyalty to Stalin. Many people in Russian society benefited from
the purges in this way, as there were huge gaps left in government, industry, and in all other areas of

45
society that could be filled by Stalin’s supporters. A new class of Soviets emerged, the
‘Nomenklatura’.​ Some 1.5 million proletarians moved into office and professional positions in the
period 1929–32, during the First Five-Year Plan. The Communist Party increasingly controlled the
appointment process for a wide range of positions through the ‘nomenklatura’ system, where lists
were made of those politically eligible for promotion. Those favoured via the nomenklatura received
benefits such as better standards of housing, healthcare, holidays and consumer goods.
50. Assess the impact of the Great Purge on the Communist Party from 1935 - 1938.
51. How were show trials used during the purge of the Party? (include historiography)
Purges of the Army
In 1936, Stalin also began to move against the army, navy, and airforce. The NKVD began an in-depth
enquiry into the activities of the armed forces, and a system of ‘dual command’ was introduced. This
involved a political commissar being placed alongside every high ranking official in the army, navy,
and air force, in order to monitor their activities and report back to the NKVD. From 1937 massive
purges of military leadership began. Stalin was increasingly paranoid about a military coup, and after
intercepting forged documents by the German Counter Intelligence Service that implied that the
army was poised to move against Stalin, he took direct action. Nine of the highest ranking officers in
the Red Army were charged with crimes against the state and executed in June 1937. By the end of
July nine more officers were purged, and replaced with officers from Stalin’s civil war group to create
a new high command.
Historian Robert Conquest estimates that by 1940 four out of five marshalls, two of the three full
generals, and two of the new colonel generals were from Stalin’s group. This gave Stalin direct
control over another element of society; the armed forces.
The most recent figures estimate that the following were purged from the armed forces:
● 3 of the 5 marshalls
● 13 of the 15 army commanders
● 8 of the 9 admirals
● 204 of 243 corps & divisional commanders
● 99 of the 108 commissars
● 98 out of 108 members of the Supreme Military Soviet
● 36 761 army officers and more than 3000 naval officers
The impact of the purges on the armed forces was enormous, and it weakened Russia considerably.
At the outbreak of WWII, the Soviet Union’s armed forces had lost most of its top leadership and its
strategic and tactical planners. Though the standing army’s numbers recovered, the purges had left
army leadership in total disarray and significantly under-staffed.
52. Assess the impact of the Great Purge on the USSR’s armed forces.

Purges of the People - The ‘Great Terror’

Peasants:
In response to the fear generated by the rise of Japan to Russia’s far eastern border and the threat of
rising anti-soviet elements in the area, Stalin issued Order No. 00447 in July 1937. This allowed the
NKVD to immediately arrest, remove, and/or execute all enemies of the state across all USSR
republics. Practically, the aim of this order was to finally bring all peasants under Soviet control and
to crush the last remnants of the kulak class. Some kulaks had hidden and escaped the previous
purges during the introduction of collectivisation, some had legally returned to their villages during
the 1930s, and some had escaped from labour camps leaving them under-manned and in turmoil.

46
Those targeted under Order No. 0047 fell under two categories, each mandating a quota to be met
for each region:
● Category 1: The ‘most hostile enemies’, subject to immediate arrest and execution - 72 950
● Category 2: The hostile but less active enemies, given 8-10 years in the gulag - 239 450
These numbers spun out of control, as regions were encouraged to meet and exceed their quotas,
the Politburo set increasingly higher targets. Historian Montefiore estimates figures as high as 767
397 arrests and 386 798 executions under Order No. 0047.
According to Montefiore, the aim was to finish off, once and for all, ​“all enemies and those
impossible to educate in socialism, so as to accelerate the erasing of class barriers and therefore the
bringing of paradise for the masses.”
The new law achieved its aim. It prevented the kulaks from ever leaving their place of exile, and it
gave the government total control over the peasant population. Stalin had always believed that the
peasants could not be educated politically, now he had finally broken them.
Urban population:
Another new law, Order No. 00485 was issued in August 1937, targeted ‘specific national and social
categories of the population’, urban workers, and anyone believed to be a German or Japanese spy.
The order set targets for arrests and executions, and categorised the various groups deemed to be
involved in active anti-soviet activity. These included:
● Anyone who had contact with foreigners inside or outside the Soviet Union - sportspeople,
stamp collectors, people with foreign pen-pals, academics, opera singers and ballet dancers,
as well as doctors and tradespeople that had worked for consulates.
● Polish, German, Korean, Greek, Chinese, Armenian, Latvian, Ukranian, Kurdish, Mongolian,
and Finnish people.
● Members of the Jewish Social Democratic Bund, all former Social Revolutionaries,
ex-Mensheviks
● Jehovas witnesses, Baptists, Orthodox priests, Buddhists, Muslims
● Relatives of anyone implicated in the purges of the Party, government, and armed forces
● Engineers (who could always be blamed for factories not meeting targets)
● Railway workers and transport officials (blamed for the failing transport system)
● Police, prison staff, and NKVD officers who failed to meet quotas
● Professors and their students
Moscow was also singled out for special attention by Stalin. He purged every institution in the city,
signing the death warrants of 40,000 people personally. When a department or factory head was
purged (as most were), most of his subordinates would be purged too. Even foreign communists
who had come to live and work in the Soviet Union were purged.
At the height of the Great Terror in 1937-38, according to NKVD statistics:
● 1 575 259 people had been arrested for various crimes against the state
● 681 962 of these people were executed
53. How did Stalin purge ‘enemies of the state’ from the peasantry and the urban population?
54. What was the impact of these purges? (use historiography)
----------
Purges against the party’s Central Committee, the army and the security police itself showed that
Stalin wanted to destroy all possible opposition and to brand dissident views as

47
counter-revolutionary. The Terror also had devastating effects on Soviet society. Managers, doctors,
scientists, artists, workers – all were subjected to the wrath Stalin’s secret police.
In human terms, the cost was staggering. Historians estimate that for the entire Stalinist era, from
1929 to 1953, the number of those killed was up to 20 million. Stalin is said to have once remarked
that​ ​“​one death is a tragedy, but a million deaths is a statistic”​ ​.
Stalin’s aim was to intimidate the population into total submission – to enforce an​ ​“​unquestioning
obedience to his will​”​, as ​Bullock ​has described it – and he was successful.
55. Did Stalin achieve an “​unquestioning obedience to his will”​ in all aspects of Soviet society?
Explain your answer.

The Gulag
There was one institution in particular that represented Stalinist terror: the gulag. This was the
extensive prison and labour camp system established within the Soviet Union. ‘Gulag’ is an acronym
of ​G​lavnoe U
​ p​ ravlenie ispravitel’no-trudovykh L​ AG​erei​ (‘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’. Many more existed, but are
not as widely known in the West. The use of gulags showed the importance that was placed on
prisoner labour within the planned economy.

48
One of the Gulag’s first major projects was the completion of the 500 kilometer Belomor Canal
connecting the White and Red Seas in 1933. In just 20 months, 300 000 prisoners without machinery
finished digging the canal before the scheduled time, a feat that made Stalin use the project as an
example of the success of the Five-Year Plan.
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% of the entire economy in
the 1930s, and the extractive industries (coal, iron ore, and oil) were almost completely reliant on
gulag labour. Furthermore, the giant construction projects of the first Five-Year Plan allowed for the
development of infrastructure and industry, this in turn bolstered the continued expansion of urban
factories and the Soviet economy.
It is important to keep in mind that the gulags were only part of a much larger spectrum of forms of
forced labour within the Soviet Union. According to propaganda, the camps were intended to
rehabilitate prisoners through ‘re-educational’ corrective labour, but the reality was a far harsher
one. Conditions were crowded, primitive, and unsanitary, and prisoners worked a minimum of 10
hours per day. Mortality and mistreatment were endemic, causing significant numbers of inmates
died every year.
Historian Robert Conquest justifies Stalin’s use of forced labour in the gulag, ​“a man killed by
squeezing a year or two’s effort out of him is of more use than a man kept in prison.”
56. How was the gulag system used by Stalin in the 1920s and 30s?

Propaganda & Censorship

Propaganda such as the show trials were essential to the justification of the use of terror against
enemies of communism. Propaganda and censorship under Stalin were also essential for cultivating
a positive public image of the Soviet dictator, and for removing anything conflicting or damaging to
Stalin’s carefully crafted narrative. Stalin’s image 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.

Cult of personality

49
The manipulation of popular culture

was most evident in the development of the ‘cult of Stalin’. The image of Stalin as the ultimate
leader emphasised his control over the nation. Using the party's control over the media, the Stalin
was presented as the ‘Shining Sun of Humanity’, ‘Universal Genius’, ‘Granite Bolshevik’, ‘Man of
Steel’, and the true successor to Lenin. His face now began to appear everywhere; in photographs
and paintings, on the sides of houses and buildings. Cities and towns were named in his honour. All
of his actions and words were honoured through plays, novels and poems. Children were taught to
give thanks to him for their happy lives. Stalin also arranged for history to be rewritten, to emphasise
his own role the Revolution and the Civil War. According to this new version, it was he who
organised the Bolshevik takeover in 1917 and who devised the strategy to defeat the White armies.
It came to define what new party members knew about Russian history. Unfortunately, the reality
was that the whole Stalinist revolution was based on repression and terror.

Stalin’s falsification of photographs

Stalin sought to rewrite history by falsifying and distorting photographs between 1929 and 1953.
During the 1930s, the process reached frightening heights. 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. This
tactic ensured that Stalin was presented as a key figure in the history of the Bolshevik, when in fact
he had limited influence prior to 1922. David King researched the falsification of Soviet photos, and
in 1997 he published his renowned book ​The Commissar Vanishes: The Falsification of Photographs
and Art in Stalinist Russia.

​ ttps://rarehistoricalphotos.com/stalin-photo-manipulation-1922-1953/
EXT: Read more here h

Censorship

50
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.
Creative media such as films and theatrical drama were also controlled.

Stalin concentrated on furthering to solidify his image and the image of the state he wanted to be
presented and this incredibly limited the arts. Writers, artists, filmmakers and composers now had to
work within the framework of ​‘Socialist Realism’​ and devote their talents to the promotion of the
socialist ideal. With this, honest expression and individuality were lost in the arts as they were
confined to assisting the socialist construction of the time and be accord with the views of the party.
With this censorship, culture was on the decline during the 1940s​. T​ here was strict supervision under
Stalin and those who refused to comply were either banned from working or were purged. This strict
and highly censored society created by Stalin greatly limited its intellectuals and stunted the
evolution of culture.

57. How and why was censorship used by Stalin in the USSR?

51
52
3.4 Social & cultural changes in the USSR under Stalin

We have already covered changes to Soviet

society caused by the use of terror, the purges
and show trials, gulags, propaganda and
censorship in the previous dot point. This
section will focus on a range of other social
and cultural changes under Stalin, but you
should also consider the social and cultural
changes explored in the previous dot point.
58. Refer back to dot point 3.3 and list
the changes to society and culture in the
USSR under Stalin as a result of:
a. The use of terror, show trials,
and purges
b. The gulag system
c. Propaganda and censorship

Social and cultural changes were part of a wider revolution instituted by Stalin in the late 1920s.
Some of these changes built upon the early work of Lenin and the Bolsheviks during the initial
consolidation of power, and some completely reversed them. Stalinism touched every aspect of life
in the Soviet Union. Russian culture was made more uniform and disciplined than ever before in
Russian history. Stalin’s vision was to prioritise service to the state, individual free will and personal
expression were replaced by collective action for the common good. Stalin also worked to spread a
sense of public ‘joy’, to portray himself in a positive light and to give the people an idea of prosperity
and happiness.

Urbanisation
At the end of the 1920s, fewer than 20% of the population of the Soviet Union was urban. In less
than a decade, this figure rose to 33% as a result of Stalin’s massive modernisation drive, and the
workforce tripled. Such rapid and enormous growth brought with it massive hardship and suffering,
as old and new cities were unable to keep up with population growth. Public transport, roads,
electricity and water supplies were severely lacking and poorly organised. Food shortages were
common, and crime was rampant. The result of this were cities that were filthy, dilapidated, and
unsafe. For example, the booming industrial city of Dnepropetrovsk had a population of over

53
400,000, with no sewerage system. Workers settlements had no electricity or running water, and
there were 26,000 reported cases of malaria in 1933. Many towns fared even worse.
The only exception to this was Moscow. As the heart of Soviet Russia, it had a modern and efficient
public transport system, and by 1939 75% of the city had connected sewerage.

59. Using historiography, evaluate the impact that Stalin’s leadership had on the urban
population.

Culture
During the 1920s, literature and the arts had flourished in Russia. The Bolsheviks had tolerated
artistic expression, as long as it was not overtly anti-socialist. However, this changed drastically
under Stalin. Professors and lecturers in all fields were purged, along with many scientists,
historians, economists, writers, painters, musicians, filmmakers and actors. All those remaining were
expected to devote their talents to the promotion of Stalin’s socialist ideal. Culture and
entertainment had to be happy, productive and utilitarian. This new style was known as ‘Socialist
Realism’. It left no place for individual expression and effectively turned art into soviet propaganda.
Visual artworks were dominated by images of workers, planners and the benevolent image of Stalin.
Composers, such as Shostakovich and Prokofiev, were instructed to write music that would be
accessible to the masses.
Below are some examples of Soviet artwork of the time:

54
Life in the Soviet Union under Stalin was characterised by light, or romantic popular music, and the
1930s were accompanied by great jazz revivals and widespread public concerts. Cinema was equally
shaped to emphasise not only the ideology of the state, but the thrill of adventure, romance and fun.
In Moscow, the area of Gorky Park was transformed into a fantasy escape park, and most cities held
night-time dances over the summer months. All of these forms of entertainment contributed to the
sense of ‘joyfulness’ that Stalin wanted to cultivate among the public.

Architecture was also intended to reinforce the notion that life had become more joyful. The 1930s
were a time of constant construction, especially in Moscow, for the benefit of the government and
the elites. Public spaces were designed across the Soviet Union to foster an idea that the state cared
for its people.

60. Explain and account for the changes to art, music, and architecture under Stalin in the
USSR.
61. Why do you think Stalin put such an emphasis on ‘joy’ in Soviet society, whilst still using
terror to achieve control?

Education
Early Bolshevik changes to education included a massive literacy program and a newly standardised
national education system. Education had been used to spread party ideology under Lenin, but had
been less formal. Stalin’s 1935 Education Law made classrooms and the curriculum more disciplined.
There was an emphasis on subjects which served the needs of the state, such as chemistry, physics
and mathematics, and technical training schemes complimented industrial development. The
conservative approach to education extended to the universities. During the 1920s, the government
also insisted that two thirds of university places be reserved for the children of the working class.
This meant that large numbers of people were able to get access to better jobs, and thereby move
up the social scale. However, during the 1930s, many of the features of the old Tsarist education
system returned – in particular, strict discipline and assessment by examinations. The two thirds

55
quota for university admission was also dropped (in 1932), meaning that the children of white collar
workers had better opportunities. Nevertheless, this did raise educational standards, and by 1939,
literacy had reached 94 percent in the towns and 86 percent in the villages. There was a rewriting of
revolutionary history by banning all of Trotsky’s historical work and the introduction of textbooks
which presented Stalin as a genius and revolutionary leader.
62. What changes did Stalin make to the education system instituted by the Bolsheviks?
63. What impact did these changes have on society in the USSR?

Religion
Under Stalin, there was an intensification of the campaign to eliminate religious belief which began
with Lenin. An increasing number of churches were closed, destroyed or converted into museums,
and organised religions were condemned. By a decree in 1929, Stalin forbade the churches to
engage in any other activity than worship. Stalin believed that education would eradicate religious
belief. However, compulsory lessons of atheism in Russian schools, the arrest of many clergymen
and the persecution of those who persisted in attending church did not produce the rapid results he
was hoping for. The Godless League, which was responsible for the campaign against organised
religion, organised activities to demonstrate the non-existence of god (such as flying people above
the clouds to show there was no god there). At its peak in 1932, the League had five million
members. Even so, religious practice was still tolerated, and an uneasy coexistence was reached
between church and state. The few hundred remaining churches in the USSR were allowed to
operate so that the government could claim that the ‘freedom of conscience’ was being honoured.
64. What measures did Stalin take to try to eliminate organised religion in the USSR, and how
successful were they?

Women and families

When the Bolsheviks came to power, they had grand ideas for the liberation of women – abolishing
the traditional family structure and granting women complete equality with men. While the reality
fell short of these high ideals, many significant reforms were introduced in the 1920s. These included
equal pay for equal work, the right to education and divorce, legal recognition of common law
marriages, the payment of child maintenance, the provision of maternity benefits and child care
facilities, and the right to abortion on demand. Women also began entering the workforce in huge
numbers. The party had accomplished more for women in the period 1917–29 than any other
European political movement at the time.

However, in the 1930s some of these reforms were reversed, as Stalin imposed a new conservatism
upon society. Party writings now reacted against promiscuity by promoting monogamy and virginity
until marriage. 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. Under Stalin, divorce again became more
difficult and expensive, and in 1936 abortion was banned.
Being a successful wife and mother was presented as a
woman’s greatest achievement. The government even
increased child support benefits, which encouraged families to
have more children. Although women were still encouraged to
work, they were now expected to devote themselves primarily
to the family. As a result, married women often found

56
themselves with two jobs – one in the workforce and one at home.

65. How did attitudes and policies relating to women and families change under Stalin’s
leadership?

The nationalities of the Republics

When the Bolsheviks came to power, they had tried to give independence to the various republics
which made up the empire. Even when it became clear that this would not be possible, they still
tolerated national and cultural diversity. However, for Stalin such tolerance was out of the question.
In 1936, he introduced a policy if ‘russification’, to force the various nationalities to learn the Russian
language and adopt Russian customs. This was part of his general strategy of centralising power in
his own hands.

66. Explain Stalin’s policy of ‘Russification’.

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 3.1 The nature of the USSR under Stalin,
including dictatorship & totalitarianism

The term ‘totalitarianism’ emerged in the 1920s

and ‘30s, to describe the dictatorial regimes
which appeared at that time in Germany and the
USSR. The Soviet Union was undoubtedly
totalitarian by the late 1930s. According to
political scientist Carl Friedrich, a totalitarian
regime has the following qualities: a single
ideological party led by a charismatic dictator,

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state control over the economy, state use of terror, and party control over the media.

The Soviet Union under Stalin clearly had these characteristics:

Ideology and a single dictator

As far as ideology is concerned, Marxism-Leninism offered a powerful and appealing vision for the
nation: a society that was without exploitation, where all its citizens were equal, with no poverty, no
crime, no money and no government (all four being products of earlier modes of production). Hence,
the situation would become “from each according to his ability, to each according to his need.”
Of course, the reality in Stalin’s Russia in no way mirrored Marx’s vision, but this was rationalised on
the grounds that state control was necessary until capitalism had been crushed elsewhere in the
world. Marxism also stated that all societies were moving towards socialism. Hence, those who
opposed the Stalinist vision could be silenced on the grounds that they were standing in the way of
history.

Stalin could not be said to be a

“charismatic leader” in the
same way as other totalitarian
dictators like Hitler or
Mussolini. He lacked the
persuasive oratory skills, and
was said to be a rather
reserved individual. However,
calculated efforts were made
to create a cult worship of
Stalin as the Soviet leader.
There were large pictures of

59
Stalin and Lenin throughout the Soviet Union, and their words were repetitively quoted in the
media. It became commonplace to stage huge ceremonies where the citizens could express their
devotion to Stalin – the ‘Supreme Genius of Humanity’ and true successor to Lenin. By the late
1930s, his face appeared everywhere – in photographs and paintings, on the sides of houses and
buildings. Cities and towns were named in his honour. Children were taught to give thanks to him for
their happy lives. The party carefully cultivated a “cult of personality”, whereby Stalin was the
idealised and unquestioned saviour of Soviet Russia.

State use of terror

Politically, the Soviet system had many characteristics of totalitarianism even before Stalin had
consolidated his rule. Russia had become a one party state within a year of the Bolsheviks seizing
power, and that party soon grew to have millions of members. With the outbreak of the Civil War,
the Cheka had been given the power to deal with enemies of the Revolution without the
inconvenience of a trial.
However, the 1930s saw violent suppression practised on a national scale under Stalin. Terror was

used to remove any real or imagined enemy of the regime, or any individual or group that Stalin
viewed as a threat to his leadership. During the period from August 1936 to March 1938, a series of
publicised show trials were carried out on prominent Communists (the ‘Old Bolsheviks’). They were
accused of implausible political crimes and forced to confess,
which could result in them being thrown out of the Party,
imprisoned, exiled to labour camps, or shot. Officials, Red Army
officers, scientists, engineers and others identified for trial were
also arrested and then sent to the camps (known as gulags). Stalin
imposed his control over the Red Army by purging 90 percent of
its officers and by replacing them with men who owed their loyalty to him personally ​(further
reading on pg.45).​ A great many other groups were intentionally targeted for this practice, groups
ranging from wealthy Russian peasants (kulaks), to non-Russian nationalities and ethnicities, and
foreign communists who had retreated from Hitler and Mussolini. Even the children of the victims
were forced to denounce their parents publicly if
they had criticised the regime. The total numbers
of those who suffered these punishments are
ultimately unknown, but are said to have included
several million arrested and a million killed (see
more information on the use of terror in 3.3).
With his enemies dead, deported or terrorised
into silence, Stalin assumed the powers of a
totalitarian despot.

State control over the economy and

media
Soviet totalitarianism was also characterised by
the state's monopoly over economy and mass media. As far as the economy was concerned, Stalin

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replaced NEP with a system of command socialism. Under this system, the state owned virtually all
productive assets and ran the economy via central planning. Agricultural land was collectivised, and
a series of Five Year Plans were introduced to facilitate industrialisation (see more information on
collectivisation and five-year plans in 3.2).
Another area where the state enjoyed a monopoly was the media. There were over 10,000
newspapers in the country, and all were government owned or controlled. The regime also
controlled the nation's cinemas and film production houses. All news was expected to follow the
party line. In addition, all writers and painters were expected to devote their talents to the
promotion of the socialist ideal. Stalin also arranged for history to be rewritten, to emphasise his
own role the Revolution and the Civil War. According to this version, it was he who organised the
Bolshevik takeover in 1917, he who devised the strategy to defeat the White armies during the Civil
War (see more information on propaganda and censorship in 3.3).

Of course, no dictator can exercise total control over society, and this was certainly true of Stalin.

67. Using the notes for this dot point as well as those for 3.2 and 3.4, outline how the
following aspects of Stalin’s rule reflect totalitarianism:
a. Ideology and the “cult of personality”
b. State use of terror
c. State control of the economy
d. State control of the media
68. What is historian Robert Service’s view of the Soviet regime?

Further reading:​ Key Features of Modern History 2 (5th ed.) p. 137 – 138, Modern History
Transformed. Year 12. (Cambridge). p.148 – 150, & Russia & the Soviet Union – Autocracy to
Dictatorship. p.100 – 101, 105 – 106

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62
 4. Soviet foreign policy
4.1 The nature of Soviet foreign 4.2 The role of ideology in Soviet
policy 1917-1941 foreign policy 1917-1941

Essay questions for this dot point may include:
● How successful was Soviet foreign
policy in achieving its aims from 1917 to
1941?
● Assess the impact of Stalinism on Soviet
foreign policy in the period 1929-1941.
Essay questions for this dot point may include:
● To what extent was Soviet foreign policy
influenced by Communist (Bolshevik) ideology
throughout the period 1917-41.
● Evaluate the view that Soviet foreign policy
was dominated by practical rather than
ideological concerns in the period 1928-1941.

At the heart of Soviet foreign policy from 1917 was the

desire to spread communism worldwide, and the Soviet
Union was ever conscious of outside threats to its
development as the first successful socialist revolution
worldwide. However, when the Soviet Union needed the
support of the Western democratic powers, they would
move away from their ideological beliefs in an attempt
to ally with the West and ensure national security

against threats such as Nazi Germany.

The following table outlines major

developments in Soviet Foreign Policy
between 1917 - 1941 in chronological order (4.1), and outlines associated ideology (4.2):​
FOREIGN POLICY (4.1) IDEOLOGY (4.2)

1917 – 1918: Following the Bolshevik revolution of

Many countries viewed Lenin and the Communist Party as a threat to 1917, Lenin’s foreign policies were
international peace and security due to his conflicting priorities. based on two conflicting ideas:
● Urging world revolution
Lenin had further damaged relations with other countries by refusing to pay ● Attempting to create peaceful
back Russia’s war loans, given to Tsar Nicholas by Britain and France prior to alliances with other nations
the revolution. The murder of the Tsar and the royal family further
discredited Lenin and the Communist Party on the world stage. Most of Global socialist revolutions would
Europe did not trust Russia, and viewed the Communist Party as inevitably lead to violence and political
revolutionary extremists. In 1918 Russia had no allies, and was excluded conflict, and could not co-exist with
from the Versailles Peace Conference to formally end WWI. Lenin’s quest for peaceful alliances.

Russia also signed the Treaty of Brest Litovsk with the Central Powers in
1918, officially ending their involvement in WWI. ​(Refer to pg. 11)

63
 69. Explain the reasons why Russia had no allies in 1918.
70. Why did the two ideas that dominated foreign policy in 1917 conflict?

1919 - 1920:
The Russian Communists’ success in staging a revolution gave them
considerable authority over Communist parties in other countries. In order The creation of the Comintern allowed
to pursue his goal of international revolution, Lenin established a worldwide Lenin and the Bolsheviks to pursue
organisation of Communist parties called the ​Third International​ or Trotsky’s idea of permanent revolution
Comintern.​
Key principles of Comintern included:
● Russians insisted Communist parties in other countries follow their The Comintern also allowed Lenin to
instructions put into practice his idea that
● They would work for worldwide revolution by organising and revolution would be brought about by
financing strikes and protest movements a professional band of revolutionaries
● If Russia wished to establish friendly relations with a country, they who had been trained by the
would order the Communists to abandon their anti-government Bolsheviks in Moscow, rather than the
behaviour in that country. working class masses.

In 1920, the Comintern became directly involved in

Chinese political affairs after almost a decade of The Comintern ultimately worked
political instability in the country. The Comintern against Lenin’s desire to pursue
offered advice and financial support to both peaceful relations with other
communist and nationalist parties in China with the countries. The actions of the
hope of establishing Communist leadership in the Comintern would come to strain
country. relations between Russia and her allies
during the 1920s.
By 1920, the Comintern had assisted in the creation
of more than 100 communist parties worldwide -
including one in Australia. Comintern recruits from
other countries were sent to Moscow to train, and
agents were active all over the world in strikes,
demonstrations, and in spreading revolutionary
themes and propaganda.

71. How significant was the Comintern to Soviet foreign policy aims?

1920:
Russia also desperately needed money, machinery and skills with which to Friendship and trade treaties were
rebuild its shattered industries. The foreign ministry established friendship purely practical, and not ideologically
treaties with neighbours such as Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania and Finland. motivated.

1921: These treaties benefitted the economy

Further treaties were signed with neighbours such as Afghanistan, Persia and of the USSR, and fostered positive
Turkey. The Foreign Ministry’s first significant success was a Trade relations with a number of European
Agreement with Britain, and also France, and Italy. countries.

72. Which do you think would have been more beneficial to the USSR in 1920-21: the friendship treaties with
neighbouring countries or the trade agreements with Britain, France, and Italy. Why?

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1922: The​ Rapallo Pact​ established normal
Russia and Germany signed the ​Rapallo Pact,​ an agreement where both diplomatic relations between Russia
renounced all territorial and financial claims against each other resulting and Germany, and opened up trading
from previous treaties (eg. Brest Litovsk, Treaty of Versailles, etc). and investment links between them.
The countries were ideological
Both countries had been excluded from the Versailles Peace Conference in opposites, but could bond over their
1919 and had been denied membership to the League of Nations, and both bitterness over exclusion from the
were willing to go against the terms of the Treaty of Versailles in secret. Versailles Peace Conference and the
Russia agreed to allow Germany to secretly manufacture armaments in the League of Nations by the major
USSR and to train airmen and tank crews, which were all forbidden under democratic western powers.
the Treaty.
It also allowed Russia to reclaim the
territory it lost to Germany under the
contentious Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in
1918, and both countries benefitted
from trade and security.
73. Outline the reasons why the USSR entered into the ​Rapallo Pact​ with its former enemy, Germany.

1924:
The British Government officially recognised the Communist Government of Increasingly positive and traditional
the USSR, though the US Government withheld recognition until 1933. international relations with other
countries, one of Lenin’s early
Russia increased its Comintern investment in China. Generous financial priorities.
support and soviet military and political advisers were sent from Moscow to
support the newly established ‘United Front’ (a political party made up of Increasing Comintern investment in
both communist and nationalist members) China continued to work towards a
global communist revolution
74. Why do you think the US refused to officially recognise the Communist Government of the USSR for such a
long time after Britain?

1925: This signalled the Comintern’s failure

Russia’s Comintern experiment in China was compromised when China’s to establish communism in China. It
president, Sun Yat Sen, died. His successor, Chiang Kai-Shek, was fiercely discredited Lenin’s attempt to spread
anti-communist, and launched a number of bloody and violent worldwide revolution and maintain
confrontations against communist party members. international peace, and justified
Stalin’s opposition to Trotsky’s theory
Soviet support for communist movements in China and around the world of ‘permanent revolution’.
was officially withdrawn by Stalin, and the policy of ‘Socialism in one
country’ was adopted. Stalin’s policy of ‘Socialism in one
Country’ instead focused on
developing the USSR as a strong and
successful communist state.
75. Was the Comintern’s involvement in China a success? Explain your answer.

Russia’s foreign ministry was

1926: conscious of its own security and
diplomatic isolation.

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Russia and Germany signed the ​Treaty of Berlin.​ The ​Treaty of Berlin​ sought The ​Treaty of Berlin​ was a practical
to solidify the terms of the ​Rapallo Pact,​ and created a five-year neutrality foreign policy decision rather than an
pact between Germany and the Soviet Union. This would be renewed in ideological one, taking advantage of
1939. Germany’s growing international
profile and entry into the League of
Nations.

1928: Russia signing the Kelogg-Briand Pact,

The ​Kelogg-Briand Pact​, an international agreement that ‘banned’ the Non-Aggression Treaties, and Treaty
concept of war, was signed by diplomats from 62 countries including the of Friendship did not represent any
USSR. The pact represented optimistic philosophy rather than realistic anti-war ideology on the part of the
diplomacy. USSR. It was in Russia’s own
self-interest to keep the peace due to
1929: their own ill preparedness to deal with
Russia signs a non-aggression pact with Poland, Romania, Latvia, and an outbreak of war in Europe in the
Estonia. 1920’s.

The Kelogg-Briand Pact also allowed

Russia to participate on the
1932: international stage alongside the
Treaty of Friendship​ with Italy signed; however, the agreement survived for democratic nations that had been
only four years. excluding them from international
affairs in recent years, and to present
a non-threatening image of
communism.

76. Explain what the treaties of 1926 - 1932 can tell us about Soviet foreign policy aims (PEEL).

1933:
The Soviet Union’s valued relationship with Germany was turning sour. The Ideological differences between Russia
rise of the Nazi Party and the aggressively anti-Communist and anti-Russian and Germany caused escalating
views of Adolf Hitler alarmed Stalin, especially Hitler’s treatment of the tensions. However, Stalin cutting ties
German Communist Party. The likelihood of a military confrontation with Germany was not ideologically
between Stalin and Hitler was increasing. In May 1933, Stalin broke off all motivated, but instead was an
diplomatic ties with Germany, and soviet foreign policy would now be attempt to avoid military conflict.
dominated by a search for security. The pursuit of security lead Stalin to
The Soviet Union and the United States formally establish diplomatic seek diplomatic relations with another
relations, despite their political differences. This was a defensive ideological opposite, the USA.
mechanism, as neither country were sure of Germany or Japan’s future
intentions.

This event directly impacted Stalin’s

foreign policies. With a focus on
1934: collective security​ and in an attempt
On France's initiative 30 member countries proposed the USSR to join the to appease his new non-communist
League of Nations. The Soviet Union accepted the offer and joined as a allies, Stalin ordered the Comintern to
permanent member of the Council. The ​Soviet Union joining the League of cease their attempts to bring about a
Nations officially made it a part of the world’s diplomatic community. global revolution. This was also in line
with the official policy of ‘Socialism in
one country’, adopted in 1925.

66
 77. Explain how and why Russia’s foreign policies changed from when Hitler came to power in 1933 (PEEL).

1935:
Germany was becoming an increasingly powerful threat to international The agreement with France to protect
security. The Soviet Union signs an agreement with France and with Czechoslovakia against German
Czechoslovakia under which the Soviet Union and France promised to aggression was based in both the
support the Czechs against German aggression. This was also an attempt by interest of Russian security and also in
Russia to solidify its relationship with France. fostering a diplomatic relationship
Russia and other members of the League of Nations also condemned with France.
Mussolini’s acts of aggression in Abyssinia, but no peaceful solution was
found.

1936: Stalin’s fiercely anti-fascist stance in

Through the Comintern, Stalin instructed the Communist parties in Europe Europe, creation of the ‘popular front’,
to co-operate with other socialist parties and form ‘Popular Front’ and support of the republicans in the
governments to combat the spread of fascism. Russia had to balance its Spanish Civil War was ideologically
ideological support for the socialist government with its desire not to based, but was more practically
alienate western nations. steeped in the desire to avoid the
The Spanish Civil War erupted in 1936 between the nations nationalist and outbreak of war caused by fascist
republican political factions. It became a major international incident, aggression.
involving Italy and Germany supporting the radical nationalist party, and
Russia, Britain, France, and the USA The providing military aid and advice to Russia also had to balance its
Republicans. This was at once a domestic conflict between rival Spanish ideological support for the socialist
political parties, and also an ideological confrontation between fascism, government with its desire not to
communism, and the concept of democracy. General Franco and the Spanish alienate western nations.
fascists were ultimately victorious.

1938: Stalin was anxious to persuade the

In 1938, a crisis developed over Hitler’s demands for ethnic Germans in nations of Western Europe that the
western Czechoslovakia to be reunited with Germany. The Soviet Union said USSR was not a sinister power bent on
that it would honour its 1935 treaty of support for Czechoslovakia if France world revolution and would be a
did the same, but the French did not agree. valuable ally against Germany.
However, Britain and France were
In September 1938, Britain, France, Germany and Italy met, without the incredibly suspicious of communism.
Soviet Union, to sign the​ Munich Agreement,​ where the Western powers
permitted Germany’s annexing of parts of Czechoslovakia. The Munich Stalin was not invited to the
Conference demonstrated the lengths to which Britain and France would go conference and the betrayal of
to avoid a war with Germany. Neither country was prepared to support Czechoslovakia by Britain and France
Czechoslovakia when Hitler demanded Czech territory. confirmed Stalin’s belief that the
British and French wanted to
encourage Hitler to move east and
eventually attack the USSR.
78. How did Russia attempt to stop the spread of fascism in Europe?
79. How did other European countries respond to the threat of fascism?
80. Describe the state of Russia’s relationship with Britain, France, and the USA in 1938.

1939: The Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact

abandoned the USSR’s previously held

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It was clear Poland would be Hitler’s next target and Stalin did not believe anti-fascist stance in favour of
that Britain and France would try to stop him. In August 1939, Russian and practical self-preservation.
German foreign ministers met in Moscow. The result of these talks was the
Nazi–Soviet Non-Aggression Pact​. The published part of the Pact said that Historian Richard Overy argues that
Germany and Russia would remain neutral towards each other, but there there was nothing inevitable or
were secret clauses in which Russia and Germany agreed to divide Poland pre-ordained about the victory of the
between them. The Germans also gave the Russians a free hand to conquer Allies in WWII.​ ​ ​Stalin knew that the
Bessarabia, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia and part of Finland – all the territoriesSoviet Union was not ready for war
that the Russians had lost at Brest-Litovsk. with Germany, and saw the Pact as a
Both the Soviet Union and Germany benefited from the Pact. The Germans necessary means of self-preservation
invaded Poland in September without any worry of Russian resistance, and for the USSR.
thus WWII began. With this treaty Stalin had abandoned
After the division of Poland was hopes of an alliance with Britain and
complete, Stalin ordered his Red France in search of security, and had
Army to invade Finland. This invasion forfeited the USSR’s place in the
was seen by the League of Nations as an unjustified and premeditated act of League of Nations. The pact gave him
aggression, and thus Russia was expelled from the League. valuable time in which to continue to
build up the Red Army without the
threat of German aggression, and
restored some of the territory Russia
lost in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk.
81. Outline the significance of the ​Nazi–Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.

The ​Treaty of Moscow​ gained Russia

1940: some significant territory, but was
At first Finnish resistance was very effective, but the Russian offensive in detrimental to its relationships with
February 1940 forced the Finns to ask for peace. The ​Treaty of Moscow​ was Britain, France, and the USA. The Red
signed in March. Army’s less than satisfactory
performance was an embarrassment
for Stalin, and encouraged Hitler to
invade Russia in 1941.
1941:
In the early hours of the morning of Sunday, 22 June, German forces After betrayal by Germany, Russia
launched a large-scale offensive against the Soviet Union, breaking the formed an alliance with Britain, France
Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact.​ The Russians were taken by surprise. The and the USA. This alliance was purely
morale of the Red Army was low and many of its best officers had been in the interest of security and
murdered in the purges. By late 1941, the Germans had advanced to within a addressing German aggression in
few miles Moscow. Europe.

Historian AJP Taylor reflects on the Nazi-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact as follows:

“...it is difficult to see what other course Stalin could take. Stalin wanted recognition and Hitler gave this distinction
to him. Russia’s foreign policy was right according to the rules of diplomacy. It also contained a grave blunder.
When Stalin and Molotov concluded a written agreement with Hitler they, like other Western statesmen before
them, slipped into the delusion that Hitler would keep his word. When Hitler broke the Nazi-Soviet Pact in 1941,
Stalin felt cheated. This is curious, but not unusual. Men like Stalin, themselves without scruples often complain
when they are cheated by those better at cheating than they are.”
82. How did Russia’s attitude to collective security change after 1939?
83. Summarise historian AJP Taylor’s views on the ​Nazi–Soviet Non-Aggression Pact​.

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 84. “​Soviet foreign policy was mostly practical, and was not driven by ideology​.”
Do you agree with this statement? Use the information above to give reasons for your answer.

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70