February 15th Life in Stalins Russia

Economic Transition of the USSR o Economics The study of how societies produce scarce goods and services to meet their needs All economics must answer 3 questions What to produce How to produce methods to produce goods and services Who will receive the scarce goods and services o How is this answered in Capitalism? Consumers determine what gets made Producers produce to maximize profit Goods divided according to who can pay for them Success as a producer = profits = more private property o The Communist economic policy is to install a command economic system All production and distribution of all goods and services are run by the Communists Planners decided what to produce, how to produce and who gets it Decisions are authoritarian imposed by force (no choice) Set of decisions is called a five year plan which outlines the output of the entire USSR How is behavior of managers different in the USSR than USA o Managers in the USSR are rewarded for pleasing their government superiors o Results may be inefficient, or of low quality o Production does not match what consumers want We have no choice in school: o What we wear o Lunch o Teachers o Administration o Homework o Classes (Limited) o Phones o iPods/mp3 o Talking o Soda (In Class) o Food (In Class) o Language o Internet CENSORSHIP SUCKS o The way you learn o Hours (When school ends, begins, etc.) o Learning pace o PDA (Public Displays of Affection) o Who is in our classes

February 28th
Problems of the command system o System has no concept of quality just quantity o Overproduction discouraged since planners will increase quotas in future years o Managers not rewarded to produce new or improved products o Failure to meet quotas could result in demotion, criminal charges or exile creates a heavy incentive to cheat Industrialization: Quantity has a quality in itself o Five Year Plans The party (Stalin) sets goals for production for the next five years Often very unrealistic/unobtainable o Goals To pass the West in production For Stalin to gain control of the party and country Increase military power for protection VS Germany and Japan Positive Results: 1928-38 o Steel and Iron production 4 times greater o Coal 3.5 times greater o By 1938 the USSR is the worlds leading producer of locomotives and tractors o 80% of all production made in factories built since 1928 o Inner Asia gets industrialized o USSR looks good international because it is not suffering from the Great Depression Factories in the USSR o Build on gigantic scales to produce in mass quantity o Entire new industrial towns constructed o Mass movement of people to work in new areas

March 5th
The next step of Stalins plan o Eliminate the opposition and potential opposition to Stalin the GREAT TERROR 1st Purge trials eliminate all of the original Bolshevik revolutionaries who could oppose them 2nd Purges the NKVD secret police inserting officers loyal to Stalin (3000-5000 killed) 3rd Purges the army of officers who could rise against him (30,000-50,000 killed) 4th Purges foreign socialists who sought asylum in the USSR and worked FOR communist revolutions abroad 5th the terror is used against civilians in opposition to the regime o What does the following suggest about the USSR under Stalin Ideas are more powerful than guns. We would not let our enemies have guns, why should we let them have ideas? The state will use its monopoly on the media and legal system to deny any opposition any stage for protest Will also use this system to serve Stalins goals Stage 3 develop a cult of personality around Stalin to ensure that loyalty of the people o All media is controlled by the Party Messages Stalin is portrayed as great, wise, powerful and the rightful heir of Lenin as leader Socialism is advancing well but that it is opposed by Trotskyites, wreckers, etc. o This justifies the harsh control by the Party The Party also tries to REPLACE religion/Russian orthodox church with communism and God/Jesus with Stalin o Church leaders are jailed/exiled and Churches/Cathedrals torn down

March 7th
The Gulag system o System of prison labor camps in the most remote/harsh parts of the USSR o An Extension/expansion of the Czars system of exile o Prisoners are mostly there for political reasons resisting the communists o Not extermination camps, like the Nazis, though a death sentence if there long enough 3 Major Waves o 1929-32 During agricultural collectivization o 1936-38 Height of Stalinist purges o 1945-53 After WW2 until Stalins death Conditions in the Gulag o 80% fatality rate for first five months for some camps o Approximately 10% of the Gulag population died yearly o Logging, mining, large scale production were most common activities o High quotas for production 29,000 lbs. of ore per day per person If quotas werent met, rations were lost Administrators stole from stockpiles forcing laborers to work even harder o Its cold o Lack of clothing o Lack of food o Little or no medical treatment o Culling Last one to show up for work is shot as an example to others Human cost o Over 2 million people are estimated to have died in the Gulags between 29-53 o As estimated, 28.7 million people were imprisoned/exiled and used as slave labor between 29-53 o Innocent people were convicted and families were torn apart

March 12th
What political, economic and social problems do the Allies face after winning their unconditional victory in 1945? o Politically Must replace the totalitarian regimes in Germany, Italy and Japan with some form of democracy o War crimes trials for atrocities o Must manage the rivalries between the Allies over the spoils of the war o Economic depression lack of jobs, shortages of food, medicine, etc. o Challenge of converting the axis economies from war-based to peacetime production o Destruction of capital, human resources and infrastructure o Social must ensure social order, courts, laws Perception problems: o USSR SEEN AS: Totalitarian Communist Anti-individual rights and civil liberties Purges Collectivization Potential HEGEMON! Runnnnnnnnn o USA SEEN AS: Ruled by the rich evil capitalists Oppress the poor workers Many suffer so few may thrive Actual HEGEMON!! Ahhhhhhhhhhh

March 13th
What should the allies do differently to settle World War 2 than they did at the Treaty of Versailles o No Diktat attempt to build a just and lasting peace o Include Germany in the community of nations o De-nazify and have war crimes trials o Attempt a just and equitable settlement of borders and national self-determination o Work at economic stabilization THE US WANTED: o Encourage democracy to prevent new totalitarian regimes o Access to raw materials and markets o Rebuild European governments to ensure stability and provide markets o Reunite Germany, focusing on productivity THE SOVIETS WANTED: o Encourage Communism and class revolution o Transfer industrial equipment to the Soviet Union to rebuild its economy o Control Eastern Europe to balance US influence in the region o Keep Germany divided and weak since Germany had waged war twice against Russia in the past 30 years Yalta Conference February 1945 o Churchill wanted a guarantee of free elections in Poland o Germany will be divided into occupation zones o Russia will enter the war against Japan in return for Manchuria o United Nations created Only allies against the Axis could join FDR replaced by Truman o A weak Vice President inactive under FDR o No foreign policy experience Midwest farmer o Seen as a skilled politician

March 15th
Origins of the Cold War o Results in Asia The United States military occupies Japan and South Korea USSR occupies North Korea and installs a communist government there China reverts to civil war between nationalists and communists, Vietnam sees a rebellion against French colonial rule USA oversees a new western style constitution in Japan Country is run by the US military under MacArthur for several years Sends food and economic aid to rebuild the nation Leaves the emperor in office o Russians stay in Eastern Europe Soviets lost 20 million dead in World War 2 and had 1/3 of the country wrecked Agreements at Potsdam said Allies could take reparations from those parts of Germany they each occupied Russia does Stalin installs communist governments in Czechoslovakia East Germany Hungary Rumania Poland o These become known as satellite nations o The US Answer: The long telegram (By George Kennan) Attempts to explain soviet conduct and how to deal with it 4000 words (short to save telegraph costs) and written in one night Kennan had witnessed the purge trials and paranoia of Stalins terror o The End Result The policy of containment The idea is to keep communism from spreading and wait for it to collapse from its own internal contradictions Prevent the expansion of communism by presenting a strong and united front and using allies