Stalin's Russia Flashcards
(50 cards)
1
Q
- What happened in 1931?
A
- Ex Mensheviks shot as wreckers
2
Q
- What happened in 1932?
A
- Stalin fails to persuade Politburo to have Ryutin shot
3
Q
- What happened in 1934?
A
- Murder of Kirov
4
Q
- What happened in 1936?
A
- Explosion at Kemerovo coal mines
5
Q
- When did the first show trials happen and who was shot?
A
- 1934, Zinoviev and Kamenev were shot
6
Q
- When was the start of Yezhovschina?
A
- 1937
7
Q
- What happened in 1937?
A
- Operational Order 00447 issued to NKVD and the purge of military and mass arrests started.
8
Q
- When was the last great show trial?
A
- 1938 and Bukharin was shot
9
Q
- What happened in 1938?
A
- Yezhov arrested end of him and his time
10
Q
- What happened in 1939?
A
- About 7 million people were imprisoned in labour camps.
11
Q
- What happened to OGPU in 1934?
A
- They were reorganised and changed their initials to NKVD
12
Q
- What happened in 1935 Under Article 58 of the Criminal Code?
A
- People were arrested for betraying Soviet Union as ‘enemies of the people’.
13
Q
- What were the reasons behind the purges?
A
- To cover up problems in the economy, to control peasants and workers better, to remove old rivals within the Communist Party, to control local Communist Party bosses, to protect the government if a war broke out, to blame others for the assassination of Kirov in December, the weakness of the communist government.
14
Q
- Use of Gulags?
A
- The Gulags was the state system of labour camps. By 1941 there were 8 million in the camps, with perhaps a further million in prisons.
15
Q
- Why were the ‘old Leninists’ destroyed?
A
- The Bolsheviks who had built the Communist Party with Lenin were dead. No one now could challenge Stalin. New party members all owed their position to Stalin
16
Q
- Why was there chaos in the government and economy after the purges?
A
- The loss of so many experienced managers, administrators and specialists left the government and industry with a serious shortage of skills.
17
Q
- How were the armed forces weakened?
A
- There was no evidence of any military plot against Stalin, but the purge of the military killed off most of Stalin’s experienced officers. Soldiers arrested by the NKVD often accused their officers in turn. This loss of military leadership and experience seriously weakened the armed forces and was to prove a significant setback when Germany invaded Russia in 1941.
18
Q
- Why were show trials significant?
A
- They were important because they justified all mass arrests. Ordinary people were convinced that the enemies were everywhere. They also gave ordinary workers the power to denounce their managers and the people they did not like to the NKVD.
19
Q
- What was the purpose of show trials?
A
- The public declarations of guilt were meant to make the Soviet people believe the country really was under attack by enemies of the people. These enemies could then be blamed for all the Soviet Union’s problems.
20
Q
- What was a Stakhanovite?
A
- A super keen enthusiastic worker who gained rewards by producing more than other workers.
21
Q
- Why were executions used to control people better?
A
- So they could remove any people who were not trusted by the state. For example new people to the country using false papers in order to reinvent themselves had started to come to the cities.
22
Q
- Why did Stalin want to remove people within the Communist Party?
A
- Although Stalin had won the power struggle other leading communists became critical of Stalin due to problems in the country so Stalin did not feel secure
23
Q
- Why did Stalin need to control Communist Party bosses?
A
- Because there were many corrupt people within the Party as they were friendly with the NKVD commanders and would be able to cover their mistakes and punish others.
24
Q
- Why was Stalin desperate to blame people for Kirov’s assassination?
A
- Kirov resisted any attempts by Stalin to move him from Leningrad to Moscow thus highlighting that Kirov was a barrier to Stalin getting what he wanted so it is highly likely that Stalin had him assassinated.
25
25. How did the purges have a faltering start?
25. Whoever refused to implicate Zinoviev and Kamenev were arrested and shot. The head of the NKVD Yagoda was arrested then later on shot for being too slow to track down enemies of the Soviet Union.
26
26. When did the 'Time of Yezhov end'?
26. November 1938 when he was shot.
27
27. How was the development of the Soviet Union brought back?
27. Experienced members of the government, factory managers and skilled scientists had been swept away along with huge numbers of other. Causing a loss of skills and experience.
28
28. How many people died during 'The great terror of the 1930s'?
28. One million people were shot, two million died in camps and also about seven million people died during the 1930s due to collectivisation.
29
29. What did Stalin create in an attempt to bring the Soviet Union under his total control?
29. Official culture' was created as a weapon to control people and make them obedient to the will of Stalin
30
30. What was the 1932 decree 'On the Reconstruction of Literary and Art Organisation'?
30. The Moscow and Leningrad Union of Artists was established to ensure all art was in line with Stalin's rules to control artists in the socialist realism movement
31
31. How did Stalin describe those who produced socialist realism?
31. He described them as 'engineers of souls' who would be enthusiastic about building a communist Soviet Union and would believe in its values
32
32. What was the cultural revolution?
32. It was Stalin's attempt to drive the Soviet Union forward to get rid of the old ways of doing things by tightening his grip on the next generation.
33
33. What were the main aspects of the cultural revolution?
33. Students were encouraged to denounce teachers if they appeared to lack enthusiasm for communism. School uniforms and exams came to an end. Workers were given more encouragement to go to school
34
34. Was the cultural revolution successful?
34. Yes, old fashioned teachers and middle-class children had been driven out, and the new set of workers owed everything to the communist party, which is what Stalin had aimed for.
35
35. What were the Governments attack on religion?
35. Communists were atheists, and since Orthodox churches had helped the whites in the civil war, Stalin attempted to wipe out religion in the Soviet Union. Mosques and Islamic schools were also shut
36
36. What other cultures were affected by Stalin's opposition to religion?
36. Judaism and Buddhism
37
37. What were the consequences of media censorship?
37. People believed everything they read. people did not have the confidence to question the 'official truth'. It became difficult to verify ay information in the Soviet Union
38
38. What was the new Soviet Constitution of 1936?
38. A document was released after a wave of mass arrests started. The documents promised key rights but only a few of these were followed through with. In reality, the 1936 Constitution was an attempt by Stalin to make Britain and France know he would be a good ally against Hitler when war started.
39
39. What were two political reasons why the 'Cult of Stalin' was created?
39. 1) It put Stalin beyond criticism, however chaotic things were, there was one man who could make sense of it all 2) presented Stalin as 'the new Lenin'- 'Leader, Teacher and Friend'
40
40. How did the 'cult of Stalin' increase support for the communist regime?
40. It offered a way of working round problems without needing to question one-party rule
41
41. What was the one-party rule?
41. Local party members might make a mess of things, but the leader of the party could fix everything
42
42. How was Stalin presented as a political 'genius'?
42. He was presented as the one person who fully understood the communist way
43
43. How did Stalin make himself seem humble while putting himself above criticism?
43. Never used the word 'Stalinism' to describe his ideas. Instead, he presented himself as the person who understood Lenin's ideas ('Leninism')
44
44. How did the posters look like?
44. Stalin was pictured against a background of factories, trains and happy collective farmers bringing in the harvest using tractors. In reality, he rarely visited factories or farms
45
45. Why was Stalin presented as fatherly, kind and loved by all?
45. Posters pictured Stalin surrounded by children, applauded by workers, and gazed at adoringly. However, he rarely mixed with ordinary people outside his close circle within the government
46
46. How was the message that built the cult of Stalin communicated?
46. Through graphic design, art, literature, music and history books
47
47. How was the graphic art effective?
47. As they were artworks they did not have to be based on reality.
48
48. What are examples of the graphic art?
48. They often showed Stalin as a close friend of Lenin - he was not, or planning the October Revolution - which was actually Trotsky
49
49. How was written and spoken words effective?
49. Some books, poems and poets spoke of his as if he was superhuman- some even used religious terms
50
50. What is an example of written and spoken word?
50. Two histories of the Communist Party, published in 1938 rewrote history and placed Stalin in the centre of events. Stalin's role in the October Revolution and winning the Civil War was exaggerated and Trotsky was ignored
