USSR Control of the People - Stalin

Question 1

What in relation to propaganda did Stalin tighten?

Answer 1

Censorship

Question 2

In what year did Glavlit control access to economic data?

Answer 2

1928

Question 3

What ‘bad news’ was the media forbidden to publish?

Answer 3

Natural disasters, suicide, industrial accidents

Question 4

What artwork did Stalin focus on?

Answer 4

Socialist realism

Question 5

What was the purpose for Stalin’s cult of personality?

Answer 5

To create a figure that citizens would trust, worship and respect

Question 6

What did Stalin re-write in history with the October revolution?

Answer 6

That he was close with Lenin and the October revolution occurred through a duimvurate of Lenin and Stalin

Question 7

What did photomontages present Stalin as?

Answer 7

The divine leader

Question 8

Why was Stalin so powerful?

Answer 8

He was the Vozhd (boss) and his powers had no limits as vozhd has no legal connections

Question 9

What was Stalin’s nickname after 1945 and why?

Answer 9

Generalissimo / because he was a war hero / increased Stalin’s position as a military hero as he defeated Hitler

Question 10

What were Stalin’s religious policies driven by?

Answer 10

Pragmatism

Question 11

During what period did Stalin close many churches?

Answer 11

Collectivisation

Question 12

Outside Russia, Stalin set targets on how many ____ _____ he wanted purged.

Answer 12

Ethnic groups

Question 13

What religion in particular was targeted?

Answer 13

Muslims

Question 14

What happened to Muslims?

Answer 14

In spite of propaganda campaigns, Islam survived and Sufi groups kept Islam alive

Question 15

Who was attached by the NKVD?

Answer 15

Priests and intellectuals

Question 16

During WW2 who did Stalin make a pragmatic alliance with?

Answer 16

The Church

Question 17

Why did Stalin create a pragmatic alliance with the Church?

Answer 17

To boost patriotism

Question 18

Why was it crucial for Stalin to have the side of the R.O.C?

Answer 18

The R.O.C was part of Russian identity, therefore in a time of war and identity crisis, the church provided comfort for people and soldiers

Question 19

After WW2 how did government policy change on churches?

Answer 19

Anti-religious propaganda ceased / Stalin promised to end censorship of religious magazines

Question 20

In 1945, how many churches did Stalin reopen?

Answer 20

414 churches

Question 21

What art form was Stalin conscious about?

Answer 21

Avant garde

Question 22

Why was Stalin conscious of avant garde?

Answer 22

It was too complex for the worker to understand, therefore it was bourgeoise

Question 23

What defined Socialist Realism?

Answer 23

Contained a true reflection of society / Pictures looked a lot like photographs (paintings of factory workers and heavy industry)

Question 24

WHat focus did literature have to have?

Answer 24

Building socialism focus

Question 25

What did ballet reflect?

Answer 25

Constructivism and futurism

Question 26

What ballet was designed to celebrate Soviet industrialisation?

Answer 26

The steel step

Question 27

What were artists set?

Answer 27

targets on the amount of sculptures/paintings they would have to produce

Question 28

What happened during the Great Terror?

Answer 28

Soviet artists were purged

Question 29

What did paintings focus on?

Answer 29

The 5 year plans and collectivisation

Question 30

What did sculptures focus on?

Answer 30

Building socialism

Question 31

What did Stalin like the use of in films?

Answer 31

Great rousing + heroic music

Question 32

What did Stalin praise the use of and why (music)?

Answer 32

Stalin praised the use of accordions as they were an instrument that the working class could relate to

Question 33

In what decade was Stalin's purges?

Answer 33

1930s

Question 34

In what year was Yagoda appointed to head of the NKVD?

Answer 34

1934

Question 35

Who did Yagoda organise the trial and arrest of?

Answer 35

Kamenev and Zinoviev

Question 36

What project did Yagoda oversee?

Answer 36

The Volga Canal construction

Question 37

How many prisoners died constructing the Volga canal?

Answer 37

200,000

Question 38

Why did Yagoda disappoint Stalin?

Answer 38

He was 'too soft'

Question 39

Who was appointed after Yagoda?

Answer 39

Yezhov

Question 40

How did Yezhov transform the NKVD?

Answer 40

He radicalised it / accelerated terror

Question 41

How was terror accelerated?

Answer 41

Stalin set targets on the amount of arrests, executions and deportations he wanted

Question 42

In what year was the NKVD purged and why?

Answer 42

1937 - because some of the NKVD were loyal to Stalin's opponents

Question 43

What didn't the new NKVD have?

Answer 43

loyalty to the party or ideological loyalty, they just enjoyed the violence

Question 44

What interrogation system was used and what was it?

Answer 44

'The conveyor belt system' - torture and interrogation continued relentlessly until the prisoner confessed

Question 45

What year was the trial of the 16 and who did it lead to the execution of?

Answer 45

1936 - Kamenev and Zinoviev

Question 46

When was the trial of the 17 and who did it lead to the execution of?

Answer 46

1937 - 17 of Trotsky's supporters + Yagoda

Question 47

When was the trial of the 21 and who did it lead to the execution of?

Answer 47

1937 - Bukharin

Question 48

What were these examples of (trials of the 16,17 and 21)?

Answer 48

Show trials

Question 49

1937-38 how many people were arrested/deported/executed by the NKVD?

Answer 49

1.5 million people arrested/ 635,000 deported/ 680,000 executed

Question 50

What percentage of targets were men?

Answer 50

95%

Question 51

What was the period of 1937-38 nicknamed?

Answer 51

Yezhovschina

Question 52

Who demanded higher targets?

Answer 52

NKVD agents

Question 53

What was the name of the group of communis officials that were trialled for the misuse of government funds?

Answer 53

Kazan

Question 54

What were the positive consequences of the terror for Stalin?

Answer 54

It removed the majority of his opposition

Question 55

What were the negative consequences of the terror?

Answer 55

It caused economic collapse as so many officials and factory owners were being purged - decreased the production as there were no 'experts' to run places

Question 56

In what year was Beria made head of the NKVD?

Answer 56

1938

Question 57

In what year did Beria arrest Yezhov?

Answer 57

1939

Question 58

In what year and where did Beria arrest Trotsky?

Answer 58

1940 in Mexico

Question 59

What did the NKVD do during WW2?

Answer 59

The NKVD policed ethnic minorities

Question 60

In 1944, who did the NKVD launch a massive spree against and what happened?

Answer 60

Chechens - deported 460,000 / caused 170,000 deaths and burned those unwilling to leave

Question 61

How many prisoners of war were interrogated in 1945?

Answer 61

1.5 million

Question 62

Why were prisoners of war interrogated?

Answer 62

Stalin thought they may have been made subservient to the facist regime

Question 63

What year was the Leningrad affair and what happened?

Answer 63

1949 - Purge against party officials of the Leningrad soviet as they acted independently

Question 64

In what year was the doctors plot and what occurred?

Answer 64

1952-53 - Stalin was paranoid that his doctors were out to kill him so had them arrested

Question 65

Was the doctors plot thought to be completely because Stalin thought his doctors were trying to kill him?

Answer 65

No, it may have also been an anti-Semitic move as Stalin was a known anti-Semite

Question 66

After the Death of Stalin, who was arrested and why?

Answer 66

Beria - executed for: treason, terrorism and child molestation

Question 67

How many kulaks were estimated to have been victim of dekulaklisation?

Answer 67

24 million

Question 68

How many kulaks died in labour camps?

Answer 68

13 million