The Purges + The Cult Of Personality

Question 1

Murder of Kirov
(6 points)

Answer 1

• kirov was a loyal supporter of stalin
• in 1930’s his influence + power began to rival stalin’s
• stalin was extremely paranoid
• nikolayev, a recently expelled party member, was waiting in kirov’s office
• he then shot kirov point blank in the back of the neck
• stalin claimed it was a plot by trotsky, zinoviev + kamenev

Question 2

What did kirov’s murder cause?

Answer 2

within weeks of kirov’s death the purges started

Question 3

Causes of the purges?
(5 points)

Answer 3

• total control, atmosphere of fear kept population loyal
• removing political opposition, used as an excuse
• stalin’s personality, he was paranoid espc. after the death of his wife
• terror economics, gulag pop. at 8 million to be used as slave labour + gave stalin a scapegoat, he blamed ‘wreckers’ for failures
• lenin’s legacy, lenin used violence so stalin did too

Question 4

Conditions in the gulags
(typical labour)

Answer 4

exhausting physical work e.g. mining, building transport links + new cities, cutting down trees, all with only basic tools provided

Question 5

Conditions in the gulags
(living)

Answer 5

overcrowded, badly heated barracks + random violence from guards common

Question 6

Conditions in the gulags
(food)

Answer 6

rations received according to amount of work, hard workers earned extra, full rations was just enough to survive, prisoners with cut rations slowly starved + known as ‘goners’ by other inmates

Question 7

Conditions in the gulags
(prisoners)

Answer 7

2 types of prisoner, professional criminals + political prisoners, political prisoners were treated worse by guards + bullied by criminals

Question 8

Key features of the purges
(role of yezhov)

Answer 8

• 1936-38 head of the NKVD
• he was in charge of the purges
• but later got purged himself

Question 9

Key features of the purges
(NKVD)

Answer 9

• stain’s secret police
• did the dirty work during the purges

Question 10

Key features of the purges
(the gulag)

Answer 10

• criminals, politicians, managers, leaders of ethnic minority groups, intellectuals, military leaders were all sent
• most were innocent but stalin didn’t care as fear creates obedience + loyalty

Question 11

Key features of the purges
(trial of the sixteen)

Answer 11

1936
- zinoviev + kamenev were the ‘stars’
- both pleaded guilty, then executed

Question 12

Key features of the purges
(trial of the seventeen)

Answer 12

1937
- focused on trotsky’s former allies
- charges of plotting to kill kirov, contact with trotsky, disrupting 5 year plans, attempting to overthrow the government
- 13 executed + 4 sent to the gulag

Question 13

Key features of the purges
(trial of the twenty-one)

Answer 13

1938
- bukharin took center stage
- charges of attempting to assasnitae lenin, murder of kirov, trying to overthrow the government
- chief prosecutor called B a ‘foul smelling heap of garbage’

Question 14

Groups purged
(communist party)

Answer 14

• 2000 attended 17th party congress + 1108 later purged
• 70% of 1934 central comittee executed or imprisoned
• 1 million party members purged

Question 15

Groups purged
(control of the people)

Answer 15

• each NKVD branch given a quota to purge
• came at night in ‘ravens’
• Butovo = mass grave of 20,000 people

Question 16

Groups purged
(armed forces)

Answer 16

• all admirals of the soviet navy were shot
• stalin paranoid of weapons, manpower + appointed by trotsky bc red army
• 14 out of 16 army commanders shot

Question 17

Impacts of the purges
(human cost)

Answer 17

• 7-8 million sent to gulag
• 1-1.5 mil executions
• 2 mil deaths in gulag
• climate of fear broke down normal human relationships

Question 18

Impacts of the purges
(weakening of soviet union)

Answer 18

• weakened economy as mangers removed so less efficient e.g. Donbass 1/4 managers purged
• weakened military bc winter war w finland + 200,000 red army casualties
• rate or income decreased dramatically

Question 19

Impacts of the purges
(political costs)

Answer 19

• no one could challenge stalin
• old bolsheviks = gone
• ordinary people = crushed
• wider communist party + military = crushed

Question 20

Reasons for the cult of personality
(increased his power)

Answer 20

reputation = near-god proportion

Question 21

Reasons for the cult of personality
(1930’s = tough)

Answer 21

comforting to trust Stalin

Question 22

Reasons for the cult of personality
(genius)

Answer 22

gave his rule legitimacy

Question 23

Reasons for the cult of personality
(unity)

Answer 23

was created in the USSR

Question 24

Reasons for the cult of personality
(others blamed)

Answer 24

stalin was never blamed

Question 25

Methods for CoP (generalissimo)

Answer 25

- striking white military uniform - created the idea he was responsible for winning ww2

Question 26

Methods for CoP (man of the people)

Answer 26

- plain clothes - smoked a pipe - pictures with workers + children - Georgia turned into a place of worship

Question 27

Methods for CoP (Stalin as a political genius)

Answer 27

- Lenin's right hand man - portrayed as the natural successor - 'Stalin is the Lenin of today'

Question 28

Methods for CoP (great economic planner)

Answer 28

- responsible for 5 year plans success - failures blamed on wreckers - S pictured overlooking factories + show-piece projects

Question 29

Propaganda in the form of the Soviet Anthem

Answer 29

- message that USSR will last forever - very communist - strong message of togetherness - inspiring, uplifting, patriotic - Lenin + Stalin on same level - proud, militaristic

Question 30

Change in art style

Answer 30

1920's art was abstract + creative under Lenin > Stalin changed it to socialist realism

Question 31

Socialist realism as a form of propaganda

Answer 31

- easy to understand - everyday situations - no family + home settings - ideal version of communism - ordinary people = heroes - everyday work = important + noble - inspire ppl abt communism

Question 32

Socialist realism examples (art)

Answer 32

- "the teenagers. the laugh" (1930) > shows ordinary people building communism

Question 33

Socialist realism examples (music + dance)

Answer 33

- happy folk songs - major key - no jazz - traditional ballet encouraged

Question 34

Socialist realism examples (literature)

Answer 34

- about com heroes - simple + direct - "cement" (1925) > dedicated workers rebuild cement factory after civil war

Question 35

Socialist realism examples (cinema)

Answer 35

- traditional + patriotic - "Alexander Nevsky" (1938) > prince alexander fighting german knights in the 13th century

Question 36

Constitution of the USSR (date + what)

Answer 36

- terms that the USSR will follow to better the people's lives - S launched in 1936 - ordinary people encouraged to meet + discuss it's terms

Question 37

Constitution of the USSR (terms)

Answer 37

- right to vote from 18 - secret ballot - a job - housing + education - paid holiday - healthcare - direct elections of gov - end of discrimination against class enemies

Question 38

Constitution of the USSR (the truth)

Answer 38

IT WAS ALL A LIE! just pure propaganda

Question 39

Constitution of the USSR (but why?)

Answer 39

- to make it look like S cared abt the ppl - to make the USSR look better on the world stage

Question 40

Censorship (what was it)

Answer 40

- information + publishing strictly monitored - anything that criticised the gov/ gave the wrong message was not allowed

Question 41

Censorship (example of media)

Answer 41

10 plays + 30 films were stopped for having the wrong political message

Question 42

Censorship (poem example)

Answer 42

- Osip Mandelstam wrote an offensive poem about Stalin called 'the Kremlin Mountaineer' and performed it to some friends - but one of them was an NKVD informer - Osip Mandelstam was arrested and later died in a labour camp

Question 43

Education in the USSR (textbooks fact)

Answer 43

only 2 history textbooks - history of all union communist party - a short biography of Stalin

Question 44

Education in the USSR (account of the rev + civ war)

Answer 44

- Stalin shown as the main hero of the revolution + civil war - Trotsky was ignored + removed from history

Question 45

Education in the USSR (youth org)

Answer 45

young people were expected to join the youth organisations - komsomol had 10 million members by 1940

Question 46

Education in the USSR (Paulik Morozov)

Answer 46

Paulik Morozov (14) - informed on his father - NKVD purged his dad - family murdered Paulik in revenge - communists used Paulik as a role model for all USSR children