chapter twenty Flashcards
(33 cards)
when was high stalinism
1945-53
characteristics of high stalinism
stalins growing authority of the state and party
growth of stalins cult of personality
stalins leadership becoming undisputed
russia becoming a world superpower
world superpower
World superpowers are the strongest nations in the world. They are known for their preeminent global influence and ability to project their power on the world stage
ussr entered because of increased territory (from nazi soviet pact + yalta conference) and sattelite states and possesion of an atomic bomb
when did ussr get an atom bomb
1949
what were stalins concerns about the party post war
increased membership under the most lax war rules made the party potentially unreliable
and reputation of the soviet military too high for stalins liking (too much power with the public)
stalins changes of military / government post war
wartime institutions dissolved (including GKO) end of 1945
military hierarchies also downgraded
stalin personally took role of minister of defence and demoted high ranking officers
(notably zhukov, who also lost position in central committee)
stalins role in govenment post war
stalin grew personal dominance through dissagreements between zhdanov and malenkov (both fighting for position of party secretariat)
stalins power very secure in power despite regular meetings of a new, elected (by central committee) politburo, secretariat and orgburo
his authority could bypass both government and party
regular institutions also began to be undermined (e.g. party congresses which should have met every 3 years, did not meet between 1939 and 1952)
recruitment of the party during high stalinism
fell back
but by 1952, it had nearly 7million members
new members were recruited from industry, government and education
rather than peasants and manual workers (like in wartime)
disagreement within the party over foreign policy under high stalinism
zhdanov and his supporters favoured the berlin blockade of 1948
whereas malenkov argued for a more moderate path
malenkov was reappointed party secretary over/after this dispute, whereas zhdanovs supporters were demoted
change in pattern of who was recruited into the party
less of the ‘old guard’ who had been driven to join the party over their commitment to communism were replaced with
‘new men’ who joined the party as a way of life, and were not free thinkers, followed authority loyally and closely
reduction in party autonomy- stalin made it into a mere chain of command
zhdanovschina
launched by zhdanov
cultural purge
1946
(started due to fears of increased westernisation / ideological contamination from the war)
everything western was condemned as bougeois and decadent
who did the zhdanovschina target
average people
+ artists/creatives
e.g. began with the purge of two literary journal publishers from leningrad
loved ones would be sent to gulags (such as the poet pasternaks mistress)
one method of preventing the spread of westernised literature
expelling authors from the union of soviet writers
meant they couldnt monetise their writings, and would have to get another job
antisemitism in high stalinism
despite the heavy criticisms of the nazis, anti semitism was still strong and encouraged
would not mention the treatment of the jewish when discussing nazis
the last jewish newspaper was shut down
and jewish drama and literary critics disappeared
how did high stalinism prevent western influence
non communist foreign papers unobtainable
foreign radio transmission jammed
only a few ‘approved’ books would be translated into Russian (sometimes edited/shortened)
only pro-soviet writers and artists were allowed to visit the ussr (e.g. j.b. priestly)
and even fewer soviet citizens were allowed to visit west
procuracy
was a government office responsible for ensuring all ministries and institutions, as well as individuals, obeyed the law
‘watchdog of legality’
largely enforced communist order
revival of terror post war
increased isolation of the ussr from the rest of the world
(due to threat if national security from emerging cold war and because of ideological contamination)
stalins harsh treatment of returning to prisoners of war (gulags and correction programmes)
snitching society formed to prove loyalty
head of this terror was beria
nkvd strenthened in this period (reorganised into 2 ministries)
law outlawing hotels and marriages to foreigners
february 1947
beria roles
head of nkvd
responsible for the expansion of the gulag system
member of politburo
deputy prime minister
nkvd split
into mvd (ministry of internal affairs)- domestic security + gulags
mgb (ministry of state security) took charge of counter-intelligence
high stalinsim terror vs. 1930s
not as great
but tens of thousands were arrested annually
for ‘counter revolutionary activities’
how many total wartime survivors were sent to labour camps
12 million
example of stalin changing history due to his paranoia regarding ‘opposition’
airbrushing and other photography techniques to manipulate photos to remove old, disgraced bolsheviks
these edited photographs were put in the great soviet encyclopedia
leningrad case 1949
stalin decided to take a stand against the ‘leningrad party’
leningrad party had always shown some independence in views and action
some members had been promoted to senior positions in moscow (under zhdanov’s seniority)
they were arrested and excecuted on false evidence
including the head of gosplan
