High Stalinism Complete Flashcards
(46 cards)
In what years did High Stalinism culminate?
1945-1953
Definition of High Stalinism?
Stalin’s authority over people, state, party and cult of personality was the face of a dictatorship
What is totalitarianism?
A political system that demands absolute obedience- individual rights and freedom do not exist- controlled by the state
How did Stalin’s regime change during the war?
Aspects of the dictatorship were relaxed e.g. religious persecution slackened, Stalin appealed to patriotism the ‘great spirit’ of the people
Changes after the war?
GKO was dissolved September 1945
Military hierarchy was downgraded
Stalin cult intensified
How did Stalin himself change after the war?
He became more reclusive, capricious, unpredictable
What may have increased Stalin’s paranoia after the war?
His age (66) and the mild stroke he had in 1946
Was Lenin responsible for Stalinism?
He created the one party state- dealt ruthlessly with other political parties and was intolerant of opposing views, Stalin’s control of a one party state allowed him to crush all who opposed him- however was Lenin’s actions justified by the consequences of the revolution?
Was terror unique to High Stalinism?
Lenin= class warrior- he attacked the bourgeoise- created the Cheka Stalin only continued this- waged his class warfare against the Kulaks during collectivisation Stalin's terror arguably driven by his personality?
Were purges unique to high Stalinism?
Lenin in his rule did instigate purges within the party to eliminate elements he did not approve of, but these purges were non-violent e.g. the withdrawal of party cards. Stalin used terror within the party which Lenin was against
Did Lenin initiate High Stalinism?
If you see Lenin as a ruthless tyrant who seized power for his own political purposes= yes
If you see Lenin as being forced by circumstances e.g. the Civil War, terrible economic conditions and failure of the world revolution= no
After the war, what political factor helped Stalin assume his dominance?
Rivalries and petty jealousy between party members
Molotov - importance during war- fell out of favour in 1949
Zhadnov political downfall in 1948 instigated by Beria
Reason for Stalin’s enforcement of isolation from the non-Soviet world?
Secure national security after the Cold War
Obsessive fear of ideological contamination
What action of Stalin’s demonstrated his obsessive fear of ideological contamination?
Harsh treatment of returned prisoners of war and his purge of former army officers
Relatives who had spent time outside the USSR were also considered suspects
Punishment for interacting with foreigners/
Denounced, arrested and possibly sent to the Gulag
February 1947 law?
Banned marriage to a foreigner
Enforced to such a high extent that hotels and restaurants had cameras to monitor any illegal meetings between Soviet girls and foreign men
Role of Beria after the war?
NKVD Chief
Deputy Prime Minister
Full member of politburo
Responsible for developing the atomic bomb
Reformed NKVD?
Strengthened and reorganised into two separate ministries
MVD= controlled domestic security and the gulags
MGB= handled counter intelligence and espionage
Terror of 1940’s compared to 1930s?
Far less people were killed in the 1940’s but thousands of people were still arrested annually suspected of counter revolutionary activity
How many war time survivors were sent to labour camps?
12 million
Define Zhadanovchina?
Period in which Zhdanov was in charge of Stalin’s cultural purge launched in 1946- a cultural purge to promote the ‘right’ ideology and suppress dissent
Why did Stalin enforce a cultural purge?
Fear of the spread of ‘bourgeois and decadent western values
How did Zhdanov begin his purges?
He purged two literary works published in Leningrad- The Adventures of a Monkey and a collection of poems by Anna Akhamatova- authors were expelled from Soviet Union
What was Socialist realism?
Promoted as ‘true’ Soviet art- reasserted as the norm in literature, art and cinema
