PURGING:
Stalin spent the rest of his life consolidating his power; one method was the Stalinist purges. Stalin did begin to prosecute ‘enemies’ such as the Ryutin group, who claimed Stalin, brought the revolution to the edge of destruction. They were expelled from the party, with over 1 million excluded.
Purges at first were to make sure party members stood inline. They used their privilege cards for checking, in which suspect members would not receive there’s back after checking. Stalin used this system to stop any series challenge. After 1934, Purges turned into the terrorising of party members, as Stalin was a paranoid man and believed many were plotting against him. These were the Post Kirov purges, Kirov being a politburo member who disliked the quickness of the modernisation in Russia, who Nikolaev shot dead for sleeping with his wife but was also definitely influenced by Stalin.
Stalin exploited the shooting and signed a ‘decree against terrorist acts’ which gave his police force limitless powers. Stalin used this to blame the Trotskyites and Leftists, who must now be hunted down, imprisoned and executed. Serge ‘response was 114 people executed the arrest of the entire left’. As the enrolled members of which Stalin was accountable for, they all supported him fully as a means of showing their loyalty, and Stalin knew they would stay loyal. The Purge that followed the Kirov affair saw posts being filled by such members as Zhdanov, Vyshinsky and Poskrebyshev. Yagoda was the man behind the purge and the NKVD (ogpu/cheka)
This decree saw 1108 delegates from the 1996 congress members executed. What followed was the Great Purge
- the Party
- the Armed Services
- People
The LEFT- Trotskyite, Kamenevite, Zinovievite counter revolutionary bloc, message was sent out to begin finding suspects who took part in this bloc and soon Kamenev and Zinoviev had been put on public trial of which they pleaded guilty. They confessed due to mental and physical torture. Their confessions made it difficult for anyone else to resist as they were all lesser and weaker men.
THE RIGHT- Rykov, Tomsky and Bukharin all under formal investigation, but because it took so long, Yezhov replaced Yagoda as he was too lenient. The trial of the Anti-soviet Trotskyite centre saw the minister of finance for the FYP to incriminate his own friends of the right to save himself, and now Yezhov could prosecuted Bukharin, in which Bukharin gave a stirring speech in court.
ARMED FORCES: Stalin needed them under his complete supervision, and took steps to constantly transfer the high ranks to lessen the possibility of resistance. A ‘gigantic conspiracy’ saw the chief of general staff arrested with other generals, ‘heroes of civil war’, claiming of spying for the Germans and Japanese. In eighteen months
- Eleven War Commissars removed from office, with three marshals dismissed
- Half of the officers shot or arrested
- 14 out of 16 commanders executed.
The Soviet Navy and the Air also did not escape, these purges critically weakened the armed forces of the soviet union, something stalin wanted to maintain.
PEOPLE PURGE: As spoken before about the workers at the industrial plant, used to strike fear within the workers to meet deadlines. Many foreign communists within Russia were persecuted and the trials spread across the country. Mass repression, everyone lived in fear.
- 1 in 8 arrested during purges
- Every family saw the lose of a member
The Purges eventually consumed themselves. Interrogators themselves became victims, and so trust itself broke down into the fact that families would backstab each other to save themselves
THE NVKD
Yagoda was the first person in control. After all, they were be the people who inforced the purges. Stalin centralised the major law between enforcement agencies
- civilian police
- secret police
- labour camp and guards
- border security.
They became the NKVD (New cheka or OGPU). Legal proceedings also brought a new special military court to deal with ‘serious crimes’, which could be anything from terrorism to whatever Stalin thought was an act against him. This such system allowed the purges to work efficiently and effectively
They
– rounded up the LEFTISTS, Kamenev and Zinoviev were executed due to Kirov’s death
– The NKVD got confessions by methods of physical and mental torture, Kamenev and Zinoviev being evidence.
– The successor, Yezhov simply arrested anyone against Stalin.
– Rounded up the rights, Bukharin, Tomsky and Rykov
SOVIET LABOUR CAMPS
The labour camps are on equivalent to Hitler and Mao Zedong. They were used predominately for the middle to lower classes, and by 1941 and purges, there was an estimated 8 million within the labour camps. The camps had terrible conditions, often in the coldest part of the country; it is fair to say that a sentence there is equal to a death sentence, as the harsh labour conditions were beyond imagination.
- Limited food
- Cramped
- Struggle to simply survive
Sentences could also be extended at the will of Stalin.
WILLING SUBORDINATES?
Many did welcome the purges as a chance to settle old scores, and advancing themselves by getting into the posts of victims. These people, saw Stalin as a genuine saviour. As stalin’s industrial and agricultural policies were so damaging, it is as though they (along with purges) had re-created a Tsarist system, with central control and under the cover of ‘communism’. Stalin had no trouble in finding subordinates, as the loyalty shown to him removed any doubts. They became the Nomenklatura, privileged elite who ran the party machine, they were all Stalin men who had no dedication to the Bolsheviks, as they completely replaced the party of old. There privileges were endless, so the more people they eliminated, the more likely it was to keep their jobs. His comrades so, became as paranoid as he was.
Monday, 1 June 2009
Friday, 29 May 2009
Industrialisation
Stalin wanted ‘war’ against his capitalist enemies, outstripping them in the production of coal, oil, iron and steel, and would grant them the readiness to protect the USSR from the rest of the world. Stalin’s industrialisation coincided with depression in the west, and he claimed that the USSR could avoid such errors. Soviet expansion took the form of Five Year Plans. There was to be five separate plans.
The first FYP 1928-32 laid down what was to be achieved, targets, and their figures of production were falsified to satisfy Stalin, and show Stalin that they were on course. Stalin impressed then raised the quotas of production to a point that was completely impossible. These figures were altered many times of productions. The plan was mainly a propaganda campaign at convincing the soviet people that they were part of a huge expansion. There was so, an enthusiasm that many believed they were building a new and better world. Under Stalin, a cultural revolution happened, in that the people shown such enthusiasm, the soviet people genuinely thought that they were creating a new type of individual ‘homo sovieticus’
No matter how rigged the results of product were, it was still a striking achievement with coal, iron and generation of electricity increased massively. However, nothing was done to improve the quality of life, with no incentive to do good work. Stalin claimed the FYP was to defender the USSR against foreign intervention. Public trials followed to scare the workers into line. Canals, bridges and docks were all built.
The workers, were predominately unskilled peasants, so the first five year plan stressed quantity and not quality, often whole factories were ruined due to the lack of skills, but Stalin remained untroubled, because he just blamed ‘wreckers’, the managers, in which he spied on using the OGPU and ‘cadres’, with simply mistakes being harshly punished, aswell as managers who didn’t bring back good numbers could be put on trial for being a USSR enemy, and so the numbers were very unreliable.
Second and third five year plans were modelled around the first but with realistic targets. However, it still lacked planning properly, and there was overproduction and underproduction in some areas. Some machines also lay broken for long periods of time. The factories also failed to co-operate over supplies, each anxious to meet its targets to save their own neck. Successes did happen however, because of the large scale plants created at the time of the first plan. However the negativity was that real economic growth was stunted as everyone lied about the truth with bad planning from the top. Workers conditions also failed to rise, but they couldn’t complain from fear of persecution. All houses built for the workers were cheap and had mainly one toilet, with all other money spent on armaments.
The five year plan figures indicate a huge increase in production, in a little over twelve years, all output had more than doubled, it proved vital as in 1941, its ‘war economy’ managed to survive and win a war against Nazi Germany after four years of occupation, an aim of Stalin to survive an foreign danger. However, there were some weaknesses, as increased production and expansion only happened in heavy industry, with the building of canals, refineries and factories increasing hugely too, but the economy remained very unbalanced. One weakness was the fact that the workers were unskilled, and no efficient machinery was used, meaning the wasting of vital resources. Stalin also never concentrated on creating material goods that could be sold for capital; he instead built large projects (magnitogorsk, white sea canal). The schemes also failed in the fact that they did not increase agricultural production, and they were completely ignored, as was the well being of the workers. Because of ignoring agriculture and the failure of collectivisation, Russia faced constant famines. Stalin’s constant war atmosphere however, did prepare Russia for Nazi occupation.
SUMMARY
Stalin to modernise Russia using five, Five Year Plans. He did this by enforcing strict workers policies and rapid building of factories (Magnitogorsk). Stalin also put high industrial targets, only concentrating on heavy industry, so high that its impossible to get exact figures as workers would possibly be executed or charged by the infiltrated OGPU.
Stalin did this to ‘protect the USSR from its foreign enemies, a war economy’, and to catch up and overtake with the advanced west. Stalin did have successes
- massive expansion of industrial output
- War economy gave it enough power to maintain occupation and beat germany.
More limitations however
- Only concentrated on Heavy Industry
- Economy was unbalanced (over and underproduction)
- Workers rights and conditions were very poor
- Agriculture remained in tatters
- A lot of the work was wasteful and inefficient – not modernised properly
The first FYP 1928-32 laid down what was to be achieved, targets, and their figures of production were falsified to satisfy Stalin, and show Stalin that they were on course. Stalin impressed then raised the quotas of production to a point that was completely impossible. These figures were altered many times of productions. The plan was mainly a propaganda campaign at convincing the soviet people that they were part of a huge expansion. There was so, an enthusiasm that many believed they were building a new and better world. Under Stalin, a cultural revolution happened, in that the people shown such enthusiasm, the soviet people genuinely thought that they were creating a new type of individual ‘homo sovieticus’
No matter how rigged the results of product were, it was still a striking achievement with coal, iron and generation of electricity increased massively. However, nothing was done to improve the quality of life, with no incentive to do good work. Stalin claimed the FYP was to defender the USSR against foreign intervention. Public trials followed to scare the workers into line. Canals, bridges and docks were all built.
The workers, were predominately unskilled peasants, so the first five year plan stressed quantity and not quality, often whole factories were ruined due to the lack of skills, but Stalin remained untroubled, because he just blamed ‘wreckers’, the managers, in which he spied on using the OGPU and ‘cadres’, with simply mistakes being harshly punished, aswell as managers who didn’t bring back good numbers could be put on trial for being a USSR enemy, and so the numbers were very unreliable.
Second and third five year plans were modelled around the first but with realistic targets. However, it still lacked planning properly, and there was overproduction and underproduction in some areas. Some machines also lay broken for long periods of time. The factories also failed to co-operate over supplies, each anxious to meet its targets to save their own neck. Successes did happen however, because of the large scale plants created at the time of the first plan. However the negativity was that real economic growth was stunted as everyone lied about the truth with bad planning from the top. Workers conditions also failed to rise, but they couldn’t complain from fear of persecution. All houses built for the workers were cheap and had mainly one toilet, with all other money spent on armaments.
The five year plan figures indicate a huge increase in production, in a little over twelve years, all output had more than doubled, it proved vital as in 1941, its ‘war economy’ managed to survive and win a war against Nazi Germany after four years of occupation, an aim of Stalin to survive an foreign danger. However, there were some weaknesses, as increased production and expansion only happened in heavy industry, with the building of canals, refineries and factories increasing hugely too, but the economy remained very unbalanced. One weakness was the fact that the workers were unskilled, and no efficient machinery was used, meaning the wasting of vital resources. Stalin also never concentrated on creating material goods that could be sold for capital; he instead built large projects (magnitogorsk, white sea canal). The schemes also failed in the fact that they did not increase agricultural production, and they were completely ignored, as was the well being of the workers. Because of ignoring agriculture and the failure of collectivisation, Russia faced constant famines. Stalin’s constant war atmosphere however, did prepare Russia for Nazi occupation.
SUMMARY
Stalin to modernise Russia using five, Five Year Plans. He did this by enforcing strict workers policies and rapid building of factories (Magnitogorsk). Stalin also put high industrial targets, only concentrating on heavy industry, so high that its impossible to get exact figures as workers would possibly be executed or charged by the infiltrated OGPU.
Stalin did this to ‘protect the USSR from its foreign enemies, a war economy’, and to catch up and overtake with the advanced west. Stalin did have successes
- massive expansion of industrial output
- War economy gave it enough power to maintain occupation and beat germany.
More limitations however
- Only concentrated on Heavy Industry
- Economy was unbalanced (over and underproduction)
- Workers rights and conditions were very poor
- Agriculture remained in tatters
- A lot of the work was wasteful and inefficient – not modernised properly
Thursday, 28 May 2009
Stalin's Plans and Collectivisation
Stalin decided to impose the USSR on a huge programme of reform, agriculture and industry to be revolutionised, the cue for this was by the 1926 congress, which wished the change the agrarian Russia into an industrial one. Stalin’s essential aim was ‘modernise the soviet economy’ by Collectivisation and Industrialisation. This was to be the Second Revolution or ‘Stalin’s revolution’ or the revolution from above. Stalin’s state control was to be total, as he saw the hardliner policy to be the most secure.
Stalin genuinely believed Russia needed modernisation to survive, to catch up and overtake the USA and Western Europe. Simply, he wanted a second revolution to both assert his authority and so the Soviet Union could catch up with the rest of the world.
Firstly, was Collectivisation, as Stalin and the Bolshevik parties often refused to take in foreign loans from the capitalist countries. Collectivisation saw the Russian government take all land, and that peasants would not farm for individual profit, but would put efforts together and have a fixed wage. He wanted to use the surplus profits to fund the Industrialisation, as Stalin wanted the Soviet Union to become an industrial rather than an agrarian state. The Motorised tractor was introduced to make farming more efficient, hopefully creating surplus that could be sold to create capital for new factories. Collectivisation was forced upon the reluctant peasantry, and he also identified the Kulaks as the problem with agriculture ‘holding the best land and cheap peasant labour’. Kulaks were actually the hardest working peasants who simply did better work that their neighbours. Stalin had little sympathy for the peasants however. The land could be used for industrial investment funds and new workers. Surplus grain = funding, Surplus peasants = workers, as the countryside was overpopulated. Stalin argued that the food problems were because of Kulaks, and so de-kulakisation began. Land and property were seized off kulaks and were physically attacked. They were arrested by the OGPU (Cheka). Most thought it was the best way to speed up collectivisation.
There was some resistance to collectivisation, with half the peasant farms in the USSR being so. This amounted to civil war in the countryside, with thirty thousand arson attacks and rural mass disturbances. However, requisition squads pressed on, (after a temporary halt due to disturbances) The Peasants either would not or couldn’t co-operate with the destruction of their old ways, the peasants so ate their seed crop and slaughtered their animals. The Soviet government made matters worse, as imprisonment did not make the peasants restock. Grain and live stock fell hugely. The National famine occurred at its worst. Collectivisation ruined the peasantry, but it did cause huge migration, Stalin did the wrong thing for the right reason.
SUMMARY
Aims:
Farms were to be collectivised, Government owning and paying a wage
Surplus Foods were to be sold to fund Industrialisation
Surplus peasants would become industrial workers
Stalin also wanted to sort out food problem
Catch up with the rest of the world.
'Kulak's' were the problem, held grain and took the best land
'De-kulakisation' saw their land removed and them arrested.
Removing them would 'speed up collectivisation'
Consequences however:
-Land becomes disrupted - no incentive to work
-Peasants cant handle the change
- Big fall in food production
- Peasants begin to revolt
- Hunger and national famine
- Government deal with it the wrong way,
- DID HOWEVER, achieve unpopulisation of the countryside.
'
Stalin genuinely believed Russia needed modernisation to survive, to catch up and overtake the USA and Western Europe. Simply, he wanted a second revolution to both assert his authority and so the Soviet Union could catch up with the rest of the world.
Firstly, was Collectivisation, as Stalin and the Bolshevik parties often refused to take in foreign loans from the capitalist countries. Collectivisation saw the Russian government take all land, and that peasants would not farm for individual profit, but would put efforts together and have a fixed wage. He wanted to use the surplus profits to fund the Industrialisation, as Stalin wanted the Soviet Union to become an industrial rather than an agrarian state. The Motorised tractor was introduced to make farming more efficient, hopefully creating surplus that could be sold to create capital for new factories. Collectivisation was forced upon the reluctant peasantry, and he also identified the Kulaks as the problem with agriculture ‘holding the best land and cheap peasant labour’. Kulaks were actually the hardest working peasants who simply did better work that their neighbours. Stalin had little sympathy for the peasants however. The land could be used for industrial investment funds and new workers. Surplus grain = funding, Surplus peasants = workers, as the countryside was overpopulated. Stalin argued that the food problems were because of Kulaks, and so de-kulakisation began. Land and property were seized off kulaks and were physically attacked. They were arrested by the OGPU (Cheka). Most thought it was the best way to speed up collectivisation.
There was some resistance to collectivisation, with half the peasant farms in the USSR being so. This amounted to civil war in the countryside, with thirty thousand arson attacks and rural mass disturbances. However, requisition squads pressed on, (after a temporary halt due to disturbances) The Peasants either would not or couldn’t co-operate with the destruction of their old ways, the peasants so ate their seed crop and slaughtered their animals. The Soviet government made matters worse, as imprisonment did not make the peasants restock. Grain and live stock fell hugely. The National famine occurred at its worst. Collectivisation ruined the peasantry, but it did cause huge migration, Stalin did the wrong thing for the right reason.
SUMMARY
Aims:
Farms were to be collectivised, Government owning and paying a wage
Surplus Foods were to be sold to fund Industrialisation
Surplus peasants would become industrial workers
Stalin also wanted to sort out food problem
Catch up with the rest of the world.
'Kulak's' were the problem, held grain and took the best land
'De-kulakisation' saw their land removed and them arrested.
Removing them would 'speed up collectivisation'
Consequences however:
-Land becomes disrupted - no incentive to work
-Peasants cant handle the change
- Big fall in food production
- Peasants begin to revolt
- Hunger and national famine
- Government deal with it the wrong way,
- DID HOWEVER, achieve unpopulisation of the countryside.
'
Wednesday, 27 May 2009
The Defeat of the Left and the Right
Trotsky’s failure with his campaign soon meant he could not persuade the Politburo or the Central Committee to vote for his proposals. Stalin could use his massive influence to ‘deliver the votes’ in the crucial decisions. Trotsky soon lost his position as Commissar for War. Kamenev and Zinoviev the chairmen of Moscow and Leningrad (Petrograd), were key people behind this.
One Trotsky was ousted from his position, Stalin now realised that they were a threat to the leadership, and looked to get rid of them too. They actually trapped themselves, as worried by the USSR’s economic backwardness stated that it would need a world revolution for Russia to achieve socialism. They called for the NEP to be abandoned and to go back to War Communism, as they only saw the industrial side of the NEP as only slowly being successful. Their opposition or ‘New Opposition’ was very familiar to Trotsky’s previous complaints, and it was unsurprising when he joined them in a opposition bloc. Stalin, as quick as ever, used the right Bolsheviks who were for the NEP to outvote the bloc and their proposal. Kamenev and Zinoviev were replaced by Stalin’s two biggest supporters, Molotov and Kirov. Trotsky was soon expelled from the Politburo and Central Committee.
Trotsky tried to mount support to directly challenge Stalin, but even fewer stood next to him to support. He was then exiled. Stalin simply won because Trotsky lacked a powerbase.
The defeat of the Right soon followed, and it was the end of any serious limit upon his power, and from this point on he became increasingly dictatorial. The main Right Bolsheviks were Rykov, Bukharin and Tomsky, who had no means of challenging Stalin, and Stalin moved against them because they began to stand in the way of industrial and agricultural schemes in 1928.
Stalin answered the problems with his ideas of collectivisation and industrialisation, which was simply using the left’s policies. The right saw that it was unnecessary to force the pace of industrialisation (as the NEP had just been taking effect) and that the peasants should not be oppressed as they would produce less. Bukharin of the right argued that grain procurements (enforced collections) was simply counter productive, that Stalin was no different from Trotsky.
In response, Stalin exploited a number of weaknesses in their ideas, organisation and their support.
- Their ideas seemed timid and unrealistic due to the invasion fears, playing a soft line with the peasants did not go with the party’s needs and that the right underestimated the crisis facing the Soviet Union. Stalin understood that the majority would see the success of a hard line policy, similar to how they got through the civil war, and would not support the right’s timid approach.
- Organisation; the right had the difficultly that Stalin was the powerful organiser of the party, and Bukharin wanted to remain good party mean, fearful of factionalism they started to become outspoken, Stalin could easily of called them weak.
- The right’s only support lay in trade unions, and stalin acted quickly against them and purged suspected trade unions. The Right could do nothing.
Stalin was now in a position to take power.
SUMMARY
LEFT- Trotsky outlawed as War Commissar.
- Stalin turns on Kam/Zin who form united opposition.
- United opposition is joined by Trotsky who agrees with policies
- Stalin outvotes using the Right in 1926 congress.
- Left are defeated, trotsky attempts to fight on but is expelled.
RIGHT- Main members, Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky
- They supported the NEP
- Peasants not to be forced
- Industrialisation should go at its own pace
Faced Weakness
- Ideas seemed timid, needed the hardline for a majority
- Poorly organised, didnt want to be accused of factionalism
- Leaders often outspoken and trade unions purged
Stalin outmanouevres all three.
One Trotsky was ousted from his position, Stalin now realised that they were a threat to the leadership, and looked to get rid of them too. They actually trapped themselves, as worried by the USSR’s economic backwardness stated that it would need a world revolution for Russia to achieve socialism. They called for the NEP to be abandoned and to go back to War Communism, as they only saw the industrial side of the NEP as only slowly being successful. Their opposition or ‘New Opposition’ was very familiar to Trotsky’s previous complaints, and it was unsurprising when he joined them in a opposition bloc. Stalin, as quick as ever, used the right Bolsheviks who were for the NEP to outvote the bloc and their proposal. Kamenev and Zinoviev were replaced by Stalin’s two biggest supporters, Molotov and Kirov. Trotsky was soon expelled from the Politburo and Central Committee.
Trotsky tried to mount support to directly challenge Stalin, but even fewer stood next to him to support. He was then exiled. Stalin simply won because Trotsky lacked a powerbase.
The defeat of the Right soon followed, and it was the end of any serious limit upon his power, and from this point on he became increasingly dictatorial. The main Right Bolsheviks were Rykov, Bukharin and Tomsky, who had no means of challenging Stalin, and Stalin moved against them because they began to stand in the way of industrial and agricultural schemes in 1928.
Stalin answered the problems with his ideas of collectivisation and industrialisation, which was simply using the left’s policies. The right saw that it was unnecessary to force the pace of industrialisation (as the NEP had just been taking effect) and that the peasants should not be oppressed as they would produce less. Bukharin of the right argued that grain procurements (enforced collections) was simply counter productive, that Stalin was no different from Trotsky.
In response, Stalin exploited a number of weaknesses in their ideas, organisation and their support.
- Their ideas seemed timid and unrealistic due to the invasion fears, playing a soft line with the peasants did not go with the party’s needs and that the right underestimated the crisis facing the Soviet Union. Stalin understood that the majority would see the success of a hard line policy, similar to how they got through the civil war, and would not support the right’s timid approach.
- Organisation; the right had the difficultly that Stalin was the powerful organiser of the party, and Bukharin wanted to remain good party mean, fearful of factionalism they started to become outspoken, Stalin could easily of called them weak.
- The right’s only support lay in trade unions, and stalin acted quickly against them and purged suspected trade unions. The Right could do nothing.
Stalin was now in a position to take power.
SUMMARY
LEFT- Trotsky outlawed as War Commissar.
- Stalin turns on Kam/Zin who form united opposition.
- United opposition is joined by Trotsky who agrees with policies
- Stalin outvotes using the Right in 1926 congress.
- Left are defeated, trotsky attempts to fight on but is expelled.
RIGHT- Main members, Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky
- They supported the NEP
- Peasants not to be forced
- Industrialisation should go at its own pace
Faced Weakness
- Ideas seemed timid, needed the hardline for a majority
- Poorly organised, didnt want to be accused of factionalism
- Leaders often outspoken and trade unions purged
Stalin outmanouevres all three.
Power Struggle between Stalin and Trotsky
Lenin’s death saw the Politburo of Stalin, Trotsky, Tomsky, Rykov, Kamenev and Zinoviev proclaim their intentions to continue as a collective leadership. Secretly however, they took leads to become an individual leadership. Stalin was the quickest off the mark, gaining the advantage of being the chief mourner at the Funeral, in which he dedicated himself to follow the tradition of Lenin, another claim to be the Heir. It was expected that Trotsky, the other main competitor against Stalin, would counter it. However, he did not even attend the funeral claiming to have been given the wrong date, which was simply proven to be an excuse (although he had). Trotsky also unusually declared Stalin as the future ‘dictator of the USSR’.
Trotsky’s reluctance to act was part of his complex personality, often described as being his own worst enemy. Of intellectual brilliance, he suffered from lack of judgement. It was possible that his reluctance was brought on by his Jewish background. Lenin once offered him Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Government, but he rejected on the grounds that it would be in embarrassment to Lenin ‘give enemies grounds for claiming that the country was ruled by a Jew’.
Lenin’s testament was a dangerous thing to handle. Stalin’s reputation of being Lenin’s heir would be damaged beyond repair if it was released, however fortune favoured him and the Testament also criticised the Politburo members. The Central committee, viewing the document realised it was too damning to everyone rather than just one person and so it was out ruled, and Trotsky was seen as the main threat.
The Triumvirate, Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev was formed, aiming to isolate Trotsky further. Lenin’s enrolment helped, as the new members found Trotsky to be obscure, whilst Stalin was down to earth and methodical. Trotsky was only supported by the Red Army, but nobody political, and so he was an ‘outsider’. Some Bolsheviks saw him still as a Menshevik.
Trotsky attempts to fight back however through three points
- Bureaucratisation, in which the party ‘abandoned genuine discussion within the party and the secretariat was growing out of control’ Lenin had also noted this, but Trotsky was soon silenced by his ‘October deserters’ attack which was retaliated with his Menshevik past
- NEP was next, Trotsky firmly against it, he mentioned it was becoming permanent, and was a serious divide between the left and right. Stalin simply said that Trotsky was going against Lenin’s will, a disruptive force.
- Disputes over modernisation, Trotsky believed the peasants should be forced into working
Stalin and Trotsky had two different policies too.
PERMANENT REVOLUTION
Trotsky’s belief was in Permanent revolution.
- Revolution, was continuous event from country to country
- Russia was the first step
- International working class mattered the most
Trotsky believed that the USSR could not survive as the only socialist country in a hostile world, and that without an international revolution the Soviet Union would go under. He did not wish to sacrifice the Soviet Union at any point for the world revolution.
SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY
Stalin countered Trotsky; his plan was to consolidate Lenin’s revolution and turning the USSR into a modern state with good defence.
- overcome the agricultural and industrial problems
- build a modern state
- Survival of Soviet Union priority, suspending international revolution
Stalin portrayed Trotsky as an enemy to the Soviet Union. He was therefore an isolated outsider, whose international revolution ‘risked the soviet union’. Trotsky was further weakened by the fear that capitalist nations would invade, making him even more obscure.
SUMMARY
Stalin’s advantages
- Key governmental positions
- Patronage helped by Enrolment, he is popular.
- Takes the main speech at funeral
Trotsky disadvantages
- Lack of Judgement
- Too flamboyant, looks strange next to Stalin to newly Enrolled
- Lack support within party, except Red Army.
- Blatant embarrassment and shame over his religion
Testament is suppressed, benefiting all members except Trotsky (could of used against Stalin).
Triumvirate is formed to further isolate Trotsky. Trotsky fights back on three points, but is further undermined by Stalin and his powerbase, boils down to PERMANENT VS SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY as major policy.
Trotsky’s reluctance to act was part of his complex personality, often described as being his own worst enemy. Of intellectual brilliance, he suffered from lack of judgement. It was possible that his reluctance was brought on by his Jewish background. Lenin once offered him Deputy Chairman of the Soviet Government, but he rejected on the grounds that it would be in embarrassment to Lenin ‘give enemies grounds for claiming that the country was ruled by a Jew’.
Lenin’s testament was a dangerous thing to handle. Stalin’s reputation of being Lenin’s heir would be damaged beyond repair if it was released, however fortune favoured him and the Testament also criticised the Politburo members. The Central committee, viewing the document realised it was too damning to everyone rather than just one person and so it was out ruled, and Trotsky was seen as the main threat.
The Triumvirate, Stalin, Zinoviev and Kamenev was formed, aiming to isolate Trotsky further. Lenin’s enrolment helped, as the new members found Trotsky to be obscure, whilst Stalin was down to earth and methodical. Trotsky was only supported by the Red Army, but nobody political, and so he was an ‘outsider’. Some Bolsheviks saw him still as a Menshevik.
Trotsky attempts to fight back however through three points
- Bureaucratisation, in which the party ‘abandoned genuine discussion within the party and the secretariat was growing out of control’ Lenin had also noted this, but Trotsky was soon silenced by his ‘October deserters’ attack which was retaliated with his Menshevik past
- NEP was next, Trotsky firmly against it, he mentioned it was becoming permanent, and was a serious divide between the left and right. Stalin simply said that Trotsky was going against Lenin’s will, a disruptive force.
- Disputes over modernisation, Trotsky believed the peasants should be forced into working
Stalin and Trotsky had two different policies too.
PERMANENT REVOLUTION
Trotsky’s belief was in Permanent revolution.
- Revolution, was continuous event from country to country
- Russia was the first step
- International working class mattered the most
Trotsky believed that the USSR could not survive as the only socialist country in a hostile world, and that without an international revolution the Soviet Union would go under. He did not wish to sacrifice the Soviet Union at any point for the world revolution.
SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY
Stalin countered Trotsky; his plan was to consolidate Lenin’s revolution and turning the USSR into a modern state with good defence.
- overcome the agricultural and industrial problems
- build a modern state
- Survival of Soviet Union priority, suspending international revolution
Stalin portrayed Trotsky as an enemy to the Soviet Union. He was therefore an isolated outsider, whose international revolution ‘risked the soviet union’. Trotsky was further weakened by the fear that capitalist nations would invade, making him even more obscure.
SUMMARY
Stalin’s advantages
- Key governmental positions
- Patronage helped by Enrolment, he is popular.
- Takes the main speech at funeral
Trotsky disadvantages
- Lack of Judgement
- Too flamboyant, looks strange next to Stalin to newly Enrolled
- Lack support within party, except Red Army.
- Blatant embarrassment and shame over his religion
Testament is suppressed, benefiting all members except Trotsky (could of used against Stalin).
Triumvirate is formed to further isolate Trotsky. Trotsky fights back on three points, but is further undermined by Stalin and his powerbase, boils down to PERMANENT VS SOCIALISM IN ONE COUNTRY as major policy.
Lenin’s Death: The Roots of Stalin’s Power
Stalin was highly regarded by Lenin and played various roles, firstly as a violent organiser for campaigns that obtained funding for the Bolsheviks. Lenin was particularly impressed by his organisation skills, insensitivity and obedience, ‘That wonderful Georgian’. With Lenin as an admirer, he rose to becoming a member of the Central Committee in 1912.
During 1914-1916 he was in exile and returned in the march of 1917. He was loyal to Lenin after he returned to Petrograd and opposed the ‘October deserters’ who believed the party was still not strong enough (Kamenev and Zinoviev). During the Civil war, his Georgian background proved invaluable, his knowledge of the minorities promoted him to Commissar for Nationalities. Stalin then became a ruthless leader of the Caucasus region during the civil war, leading to a number of disputes with Trotsky, the start of their clashes.
Stalin may have been loyal, but he did anger Lenin on two occasions. The negotiations with Georgia saw Stalin as rude and off-hand, whilst Lenin was desperate for their support and had to intervene personally to stop them from leaving. Stalin also argued with Lenin’s wife, calling her a whore. This was when Lenin’s Testament was made, ‘concentrated enormous power in his hands, I am not sure he always know how to use caution with this power’ and then ‘think of ways of removing comrade Stalin from his position’ as Secretary of the Communist party. Luckily for Stalin, the Testament was never published due Lenin’s death.
As mentioned before, Stalin had a strong powerbase. He had great ability, in persistence and his willingness to take on the difficult administrative work of the time. The government of Russia had the Council of the People’s Commissars and the Secretariat, both staffed by the Bolshevik Party, and as the government grew in scope, these commissar positions gave the holder with levels of power, and so Stalin’s various positions proved vital.
- Peoples Commissar for Nationalities, in charge of the Caucasus region, plus many officials of all of the different regions
- Liaison officer between Politburo and Orgburo, a unique position to monitor both policy and decision making.
- General Secretary of the Communist Party, in which he recorded all policy and build up a personal file of each member of the party.
Stalin was the Link between the Communist party and the soviets, and what these posts gave him was the power of Patronage. He could put his key supporters, in key positions, and they would owe their place to him, and so could count on their vote in various committees’, and no other member came close after Lenin’s death, as he could always outvote and outmanoeuvre them.
Stalin gained massively from Lenin’s enrolment, as 1923-25, the party increased its numbers of ‘true proletarians’ which the CPSU almost doubled to 600,000 members. These members were poorly educated but recognised the privileges that come with membership and depended on being loyal to those who first invited them. This fell largely to Stalin as the Secretary, and this also added to his growing power of patronage. Stalin had a huge body of reliable voters. It is also true that Lenin’s Ban on Factionalism played a good part with Stalin’s patronage, as soon as he took the initiative within the party to become leader, it would be very difficult for anyone to mount a challenge against him.
The final factor was that Stalin became heir to the Lenin Legacy, in which Stalin followed a similar tradition of authority and leadership that Lenin had established. Lenin was worshipped like a god within the party. Following his lead would mean a formidable claim to power, as he would appear to be carrying on Lenin’s work.
SUMMARY
- Originally involved in money making plots for the Bolsheviks.
- Stalin admired by Lenin ‘that wonderful Georgian’
- Known for his organising ability.
He held key positions within the party, as well as being a clear ‘Leninist’
- Commissar for Nationalities
- Liaison between Politburo and Orgburo
- General Secretary
Lenin began to disfavour Stalin however fortunately his testament was not published due to death and he would have lost his position.
Stalin did gain some key benefits
- Power of patronage meant a considerable voting base already for him, he could outvote and outmanoeuvre many within the party
- Enrolment accented his patronage, even more loyal under him as their ‘Secretary’ who had enrolled them in the first place
- Attack upon factionalism, would be difficult for anyone to mount a challenge against Stalin and his large voting base
- Stalin claimed to be Lenin’s heir
During 1914-1916 he was in exile and returned in the march of 1917. He was loyal to Lenin after he returned to Petrograd and opposed the ‘October deserters’ who believed the party was still not strong enough (Kamenev and Zinoviev). During the Civil war, his Georgian background proved invaluable, his knowledge of the minorities promoted him to Commissar for Nationalities. Stalin then became a ruthless leader of the Caucasus region during the civil war, leading to a number of disputes with Trotsky, the start of their clashes.
Stalin may have been loyal, but he did anger Lenin on two occasions. The negotiations with Georgia saw Stalin as rude and off-hand, whilst Lenin was desperate for their support and had to intervene personally to stop them from leaving. Stalin also argued with Lenin’s wife, calling her a whore. This was when Lenin’s Testament was made, ‘concentrated enormous power in his hands, I am not sure he always know how to use caution with this power’ and then ‘think of ways of removing comrade Stalin from his position’ as Secretary of the Communist party. Luckily for Stalin, the Testament was never published due Lenin’s death.
As mentioned before, Stalin had a strong powerbase. He had great ability, in persistence and his willingness to take on the difficult administrative work of the time. The government of Russia had the Council of the People’s Commissars and the Secretariat, both staffed by the Bolshevik Party, and as the government grew in scope, these commissar positions gave the holder with levels of power, and so Stalin’s various positions proved vital.
- Peoples Commissar for Nationalities, in charge of the Caucasus region, plus many officials of all of the different regions
- Liaison officer between Politburo and Orgburo, a unique position to monitor both policy and decision making.
- General Secretary of the Communist Party, in which he recorded all policy and build up a personal file of each member of the party.
Stalin was the Link between the Communist party and the soviets, and what these posts gave him was the power of Patronage. He could put his key supporters, in key positions, and they would owe their place to him, and so could count on their vote in various committees’, and no other member came close after Lenin’s death, as he could always outvote and outmanoeuvre them.
Stalin gained massively from Lenin’s enrolment, as 1923-25, the party increased its numbers of ‘true proletarians’ which the CPSU almost doubled to 600,000 members. These members were poorly educated but recognised the privileges that come with membership and depended on being loyal to those who first invited them. This fell largely to Stalin as the Secretary, and this also added to his growing power of patronage. Stalin had a huge body of reliable voters. It is also true that Lenin’s Ban on Factionalism played a good part with Stalin’s patronage, as soon as he took the initiative within the party to become leader, it would be very difficult for anyone to mount a challenge against him.
The final factor was that Stalin became heir to the Lenin Legacy, in which Stalin followed a similar tradition of authority and leadership that Lenin had established. Lenin was worshipped like a god within the party. Following his lead would mean a formidable claim to power, as he would appear to be carrying on Lenin’s work.
SUMMARY
- Originally involved in money making plots for the Bolsheviks.
- Stalin admired by Lenin ‘that wonderful Georgian’
- Known for his organising ability.
He held key positions within the party, as well as being a clear ‘Leninist’
- Commissar for Nationalities
- Liaison between Politburo and Orgburo
- General Secretary
Lenin began to disfavour Stalin however fortunately his testament was not published due to death and he would have lost his position.
Stalin did gain some key benefits
- Power of patronage meant a considerable voting base already for him, he could outvote and outmanoeuvre many within the party
- Enrolment accented his patronage, even more loyal under him as their ‘Secretary’ who had enrolled them in the first place
- Attack upon factionalism, would be difficult for anyone to mount a challenge against Stalin and his large voting base
- Stalin claimed to be Lenin’s heir
Tuesday, 26 May 2009
The New Economic Policy
The NEP was intended to meet Russia’s need for food, as war communism had failed to deliver. State terror deterred the peasants, it was clear that they needed to be persuaded into producing food ‘Lenin – Must be a certain amount of freedom for the small private proprietor’. Although disagreement soon followed the NEP, the grim famine and conditions were bad enough to give Lenin full support for his new policy.
Its essential features were as followed:
- Centralisation relaxed (occupation of factories)
- Requisitioning replaced with Tax in Kind (only took a fixed amount of grain rather than all)
- Peasants keep surpluses and could sell for money
- Restoration of small markets.
Lenin knew this was going back on state control of the economy, restoring mixed economy with some forms of capitalism. This made many Bolsheviks uneasy, Lenin stressed that it was temporary and a necessity to stop a similar mutiny to that of Kronstadt, famine and to restore the economy, and he also mentioned how they still had control of banking, industry and foreign trade. NEP proved the Bolsheviks could not form a successful economy purely on their ideological ideas.
Lenin put his political theories aside in order to restore Russia’s economy. It troubled many members, such as Trotsky who had regarded war communism as fantastic and exactly the correct strategy to follow. It disturbed him that they were being ‘appeased’ and not ‘squeezed’ as the proletariat revolution suggested. A main complaint of the Bolshevik objectors was the ‘Nepmen’ who gained from the trade under the NEP and made themselves rich. Lenin took steps to remove disunity and a split in the party over the issue of the new ‘capitalism’, he introduced ‘On Party Unity’ which announced that any groups or ‘factions’ that formed within the party against NEP must part or face expulsion. A ban on factionalism greatly stifled any objectors. He also outlawed all other political parties in soviet Russia, suppressing all opposition, making it very difficult for anyone to voice negativity over the New Economic Policy, as it would be ‘Challenging the party itself’. Bukharin, the soviet economist, put aside any opposition to say that the NEP would stimulate the economy as the peasants would use any extra money to buy manufactured goods.
The NEP itself was a success and it was this reason why the party accepted it. The policies figures show that the economy made a recovery, with grain harvests increasing by 20M tons, Factory output doubling to just under 5000M roubles, average wage doubling to 20.8 roubles per month and most notably, a 3x increase in the kWh of electricity production (1562). Lenin was also right in saying they still controlled the ‘heights of the economy’.
However the NEP was not a complete a success, as its opponents criticised it that it industry failed to expand as quick as agriculture, as the Nepmen may have done well but around the factories and the urban areas, the workers were mainly unemployed. This was known as the SCISSORS CRISIS, as industrial prices were becoming high and agricultural lower. It was caused partly by the ending of famine, as greater harvests led to a fall in the price of food. Industrial good however did not fall in price, as factories took much long to recover from the Civil War (and war communism). The scarcity of products drove the prices up. This resulted that peasants were selling at too low of a price to afford the high manufactured goods. Over time, the Bolsheviks argued continually about Gosplan’s (vesenkha) failure to produce afirm economic plan. However as time went on, industry recovered as it was less interfered and the scissors gap decreased, although this was no guarantee that it was permanent.
SUMMARY
Reasons for NEP
- Disruption of Economy (Civil War and War Communism)
- Famine
- Kronstadt Rising
Main features included
- Markets being restored
- Peasants allowed to sell surplus
- Relaxing of centralisation
- Tax in Kind
Justifications
- Food Shortage
- Temporary and 'Still controlled heights of economy'
- Peasants had to be persuaded
Consequences
- Recovering economy and end of famine
- Ban on Factionalism
- Some Divisions
- Scissors crisis (which decreased)
Its essential features were as followed:
- Centralisation relaxed (occupation of factories)
- Requisitioning replaced with Tax in Kind (only took a fixed amount of grain rather than all)
- Peasants keep surpluses and could sell for money
- Restoration of small markets.
Lenin knew this was going back on state control of the economy, restoring mixed economy with some forms of capitalism. This made many Bolsheviks uneasy, Lenin stressed that it was temporary and a necessity to stop a similar mutiny to that of Kronstadt, famine and to restore the economy, and he also mentioned how they still had control of banking, industry and foreign trade. NEP proved the Bolsheviks could not form a successful economy purely on their ideological ideas.
Lenin put his political theories aside in order to restore Russia’s economy. It troubled many members, such as Trotsky who had regarded war communism as fantastic and exactly the correct strategy to follow. It disturbed him that they were being ‘appeased’ and not ‘squeezed’ as the proletariat revolution suggested. A main complaint of the Bolshevik objectors was the ‘Nepmen’ who gained from the trade under the NEP and made themselves rich. Lenin took steps to remove disunity and a split in the party over the issue of the new ‘capitalism’, he introduced ‘On Party Unity’ which announced that any groups or ‘factions’ that formed within the party against NEP must part or face expulsion. A ban on factionalism greatly stifled any objectors. He also outlawed all other political parties in soviet Russia, suppressing all opposition, making it very difficult for anyone to voice negativity over the New Economic Policy, as it would be ‘Challenging the party itself’. Bukharin, the soviet economist, put aside any opposition to say that the NEP would stimulate the economy as the peasants would use any extra money to buy manufactured goods.
The NEP itself was a success and it was this reason why the party accepted it. The policies figures show that the economy made a recovery, with grain harvests increasing by 20M tons, Factory output doubling to just under 5000M roubles, average wage doubling to 20.8 roubles per month and most notably, a 3x increase in the kWh of electricity production (1562). Lenin was also right in saying they still controlled the ‘heights of the economy’.
However the NEP was not a complete a success, as its opponents criticised it that it industry failed to expand as quick as agriculture, as the Nepmen may have done well but around the factories and the urban areas, the workers were mainly unemployed. This was known as the SCISSORS CRISIS, as industrial prices were becoming high and agricultural lower. It was caused partly by the ending of famine, as greater harvests led to a fall in the price of food. Industrial good however did not fall in price, as factories took much long to recover from the Civil War (and war communism). The scarcity of products drove the prices up. This resulted that peasants were selling at too low of a price to afford the high manufactured goods. Over time, the Bolsheviks argued continually about Gosplan’s (vesenkha) failure to produce afirm economic plan. However as time went on, industry recovered as it was less interfered and the scissors gap decreased, although this was no guarantee that it was permanent.
SUMMARY
Reasons for NEP
- Disruption of Economy (Civil War and War Communism)
- Famine
- Kronstadt Rising
Main features included
- Markets being restored
- Peasants allowed to sell surplus
- Relaxing of centralisation
- Tax in Kind
Justifications
- Food Shortage
- Temporary and 'Still controlled heights of economy'
- Peasants had to be persuaded
Consequences
- Recovering economy and end of famine
- Ban on Factionalism
- Some Divisions
- Scissors crisis (which decreased)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)