chapter eighteen Flashcards
(21 cards)
one party centralisation under stalin
reduced use of politburo or the party congress
reduction of ‘mass meetings’ in general
threat of purges + result of purges
gave lots of roles to young, dependant stalinists
attacks on opposition by 1941 under stalin
cheka
prison camp system
purges (violent and non violent)
ban on factions
show trials
class warfare as a distraction
how many people had stalin purged (non violently) in 1921
150,000
how many party members were executed in stalinist purges
600,000
economic position under stalin by 1941
5 year plans had succeeded in making russia very industrialised + urbanised
economic develpment was massive and undeniable
however it was very uneven, mainly in heavy industry and things like consumer goods were neglected
quality of products were often very poor
farming equipment stayed outdated and grain was scarce
what country did russia overtake in steel and iron production by 1940
britain
grain production in 1941 versus nep
less in 1941 than under the nep
stalinist society (pre war)
communist control in the countryside had grown stronger
watched heavily by the nkvd
living standards not really improving
internal passports
hierarchal, instead of nobility it was party members
when were internal passports reintroduced
1932
how were peasants ‘watched’ in stalinist society (pre war)
many peasants lived on kolkhoz’s (had to supply quotas) forced to live communally (under supervision of each other + party officials)
nkvd units stationed at the motor tractor stations
kolkhoz
a collective farm operated by peasants on state owned land
wouldnt pay rent ut had to fulfill state quotas
families would live off whatever surplus was left
working class under stalin (pre war)
growing in strength and size due to urbanisation and proletariat identity
quality of life under stalin (pre war)
did not increase
but better than lenin in some aspects (no civil nor intenational war)
but also did not have the excuse of war to make the poor living conditions justifiable
examples of poor quality of life under stalin (pre war)
low rations
poor housing
lack of consumer goods
internal passports
strict censorship
was russian society classless by 1930s
no the social elite still existed, but had become party members
still controlled the urban and rural working classes
when was the nazi german invasion on russia
22 june 1941
reaction of the nazi german invasion on russia
not surprised, had been expected at some point
but not expected at that second, thought to have more time
evidence of the pre-awareness of nazi invasion/threat
defence spending had almost doubled from 1937 to 1940
(16.5% to 32.6%)
reasons for soviet union military not being ready for war by 1941
red army purges of 1936-38 (removed senior officers + strong soldiers)
inadequate training + lack of innovation
stalin increased party control of the military, which had been removed in the 1920s, which hindered actual combat capabilities
(re establishment of ‘dual command’ of the military)
russian soldiers had been spread soviet german alliance propoganda (to replace the anti-facist propoganda) since 1939, very confusing for them to fight their former ally + the ideological war after years of promoted alliance
economic reasons why soviet union was not ready for war by 1941
despite move towards rearmament by 3rd 5yp, there were deficiencies in quantity and quality of equipment
most soviet military equipment were old design and there was a lot of misallocation of what to produce for a modern war
due to the massive investment in the industry and military sides of the economy, there wasn’t enough investment in agriculture, which meant they couldn’t feed everybody :(
