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Home , Foundations of Leninism

Simon Stalin Questions 1

THE RISE OF STALIN

EARLY LIFE – 1878-99 1. Briefly summarize the aspects of Stalin’s early life that you think molded his character. • Son of poor parents in rural Georgia; father beat him at an early age • Suffered from inferiority complex • While attending church school, he read Marx and was expelled for revolutionary activity

THE REVOLUTIONARY 1899-1924 2. Briefly describe Stalin’s revolutionary life 1899-1917 • In 1900 he joined the political underground (organizing demonstrations and strikes), and when the Russian Social Democratic split into two factions, Dzhugashvili joined the as a follower of Lenin • The mildness of his sentences and the frequency of his escapes after his 7 arrests suggested to some that he was an agent provocateur in the pay of the Okhrana. • Made slow progress in the party, but organised a bank robbery in Tbilisi to fund the party • Was appointed to the Bolshevik party central committee by Lenin in 1912 • Wrote articles, briefly edited and was exiled to Siberia from 1913-1917 3. Briefly describe Stalin’s role during the two revolutions and the Civil War • When he returned in late March 1917 (after revolution) he argued that the Bolsheviks should cooperate with the Provisional government, but changed his position to Lenin’s policy of an armed coup. • During November coup d’etat, Stalin played a less significant role than Trotsky • Was commissar of nationalities during Civil War, General secretary of Central Committee (CC) in 1922 and a member of Politburo. • Stalin acted independently 1921 onwards until 1923 when Lenin condemned him in the testament 4. How did Stalin contribute to the Bolshevik hold on power between 1917 and 1924???????

THE POWER STRUGGLE 1924-1929 5. Why was Lenin unhappy with the changes that had transformed Bolshevism from a conspirational elitist party (1917) into a mass party (1921)? • At the time of his death, Lenin was worried as the party membership was bloated with new members who had little knowledge of , and could not follow the subtleties in the debate among the elites • The party was weak and not fully in command of the country; its membership was mostly urban while 4/5 of the country’s population was rural. • He was appalled by the low level of culture in Soviet Russia. 6. What 2 incidents demonstrate Lenin’s fear about the ability of Stalin to hold party positions. • Stalin disregarded Lenin’s passionately held view that the foreign trade monopoly had to stay • Stalin wanted Georgia to become an autonomous republic (ASSR) in the new USS. Stalin was determined to dictate his compatriots but the Georgians did not want to be ruled by Moscow. Lenin intervened and sided with the ‘injured party’ (the Georgians). 7. How did Lenin articulate his fears in Letter to the Communist Congress (Testament) [Dec1922/Jan1923]? • Lenin saw the danger of a split between Stalin and Trotsky. • Stalin had concentrated ‘unlimited authority’ in his hands and Lenin was not sure he’d “always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution’ Simon Stalin Questions 2

• Lenin always say Trotsky as the most ablest man in the CC but feared his ‘excessive self-assurance’ and preoccupation with the ‘purely administrative side of the work’. • The Georgian affair caused Lenin to write that Secretary-General Stalin was ‘too rude’ and comrades should ‘think of a way of removing Stalin from that post’. • Believed that Stalin was a responsible as anyone for the problem of bureaucratism • Testament was not read at the XII Party Congress in 1923, but held back until the next Congress.. 8. Who comprised the unofficial triumvirate of 1922? What was its purpose? • Consisted of Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin • Purpose: blocking Trotsky (but its members do not seem to have trusted each other very much) o Trotsky played into the hands of the triumvirate by launching an attack on the way the party was being run. He wanted a return to ‘party democracy’. Trotsky was not at the CC meeting to defend himself (he was in Caucasus). Illness (may be of psychosomatic origin) was to overtake him at vital moments in his political career. He missed Lenin’s funeral (lame excuse: Stalin misinformed him about the date) 9. Explain Stalin’s slogan “Lenin is always with us” and his promotion of “the Foundations of ” • At Lenin’s funeral Stalin delivered a remarkable speech, assuring the somber party members who feared the future without Lenin that there was nothing higher than the calling of a party member whose founder and leader was comrade Lenin. • Set out members’ duties in a Lenin litany – members swore to be exemplary communists and to preserve the unity of the party. • Lenin was placed in a mausoleum where the people could see him. “Lenin is always with us”- essentially Stalin’s continuation of Lenin’s legacy • Foundations of Leninism à attempt to define Leninism in terms which were accessible to everyone. This meant stressing revolutionary will/political activism, rejecting view of Marxists who claimed dependence of political change on social/economic development, and displaying extreme relativism when assessing social forces and value (if they served revolution, they were good) • Zinoviev also tried to define Leninism. Trotsky and Lenin’s widow both rejected this cult of the deceased leader as it was contrary to Lenin’s wishes. 10. How did Stalin’s promotion of Leninism give him the upper hand in the power struggle? • He became closely associated with Lenin, appeared as his natural successor (rather than Trotsky) • He only had praise for Lenin and promised to continue his ways, while Trotsky was openly criticizing the party – this hurt Trotsky image among party members. • While Zinoviev placed himself on a par with Lenin, Stalin projected himself as the humble apostle and devoted follower of Lenin. • Stalin and Bukharin accused Trotsky of factionalism while Zinoviev called a definite tendency in the Russian workers movement. 11. Analyze the impact of Zinoviev’s ‘charge of factionalism’ at the XIII Party Congress, Trotsky’s Lessons of October , Kamenev’s Lenin or Trotsky, and Bukharin’s attack on Trotsky’s “theory of permanent revolution” on the leadership power struggle? • Zinoviev’s charge of factionalism left Trotsky isolated in the new Politburo and during the summer Trotsky lost his place on the Comintern central committee. • Trotsky raised the political temperature when he published his Lessons on October à attacks old Bolsheviks like Zinoviev and Kamenev for their criticism of Lenin in 1917. Trotsky was accused of being hypocritical since he only became a Bolshevik in June 1917 and had many disagreements with Lenin. • Kamenev fought back by writing Lenin or Trotsky à accused Trotsky of Menshevism, highlighted Trotsky’s past altercations with Lenin. A flood of abuse fell upon Trotsky as no communist wished his own Leninist integrity to be placed in doubt (that’s why they all criticized Trotsky). • Trotsky gave up his last government office (Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs) and went into political hiding. • Stalin seized on an article written by Bukharin attacking Trotsky’s theory of permanent revolution and argued that Trotsky’s beliefs contradicted Lenin’s doctrine of a proletarian revolution. Stalin overturned Simon Stalin Questions 3

the existing party assumption that in the USSR could only be built after revolution triumphed abroad, by claiming Lenin believed that the could build socialism by herself. (Now USSR could set pace by herself) 12. Describe the Russian economic situation in 1924 • Grain was not flowing into the cities and this led to price rises and terms of trade turned in favor of the peasants and official party was already in favor of the peasants. • However, Evgeny Preobrazhensky (a leading party economist) argued that squeezing the peasants was the only source of much needed capital for industrialization. • Buhkarin defended official policy, and encouraged the peasants to enrich themselves. • After the excellent 1925 harvest, prices still rose and producers kept back grain (they did not want to hold onto paper money which could depreciate). Agricultural tax was removed to relieve pressure. 13. How were Zinoviev and Kamenev removed from the leadership struggle? • Zinoviev and Kamenev came out against the peasant targeting Bukharin. Zinoviev (head of Leningrad organization) and Kamenev (Moscow) naturally favored industrial workers over peasants. • Zinoviev who claimed he was the chief member of the triumvirate was making his bid for the leadership. • Stalin used his command of the party machine to telling effect at the XIV Congress. Zinoviev’s Leningrad Delegation received 65 votes while the official party line got 559. Zinoviev was replaced in Leningrad by Kirov and this also led to the demise of Kamenev. 14. How was the Stalin-Trotsky breach finalized in 1926? • In July 1926 Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev (as well as 10 others) combined to pen the ‘declaration of 13’ condemning the rightist economic policy and the elimination of free debate. [united opposition] • CC removes Zinoviev from Politburo and Kamenev from his post, and at a Politburo meeting in late October 1926, Trotsky depicted Stalin as the gravedigger of the revolution. • This meant a parting of ways since everyone knew the breach was final. Bukharin replaced Zinoviev as chairman of Comintern, Kamenev interrupted in speeches and Trotsky was heard in silence. 15. How was the leadership struggle affected by Soviet foreign relations…particularly with China? • The Soviet alliance with Chiang Kai-shek’s Kuomintang was broken when he turned his forces against the Communists in Shanghai. • With rumors of an impending war, Trotsky published the Declaration of the 83 . Though it pulled no punches, the leadership turned the tables on Trotsky by accusing him of treason after he had been maneuvered into saying that unless changes were made, he would not be prepared to commit himself to the defense of the country • When the United Opposition presented the CC with a memorandum for the XVth Party Congress they were brushed aside. They printed it illegally (and those involved were expelled). • Trotsky and Zinoviev took to the streets of Moscow to proclaim their opposition; the CC expelled Trotsky and Zinoviev while Kamenev and others were deprived of their seats on the CC. 16. What was the United Opposition? What was its purpose? • Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev and their supporters combined in the summer of 1926 to form the United Opposition – to oppose and the policy of allowing the kulaks free reign. • Essentially the left faction, they favored a more rapid growth of industry and more support for the world socialist revolution; they opposition was directed mainly at Bukharin and Stalin. 17. Why was the United Opposition unsuccessful? • Many were expelled from the CC because of their opposition (see 15.) • The grain crisis that they had predicted came a year too late from their point of view. • When the forcible requisitioned grain between Jan and March 1928, Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky formed the core of a new opposition group à The Right Opposition. • The Right wanted an end to the use of force, deter deals for the peasants, and less of a rush into industrialization. 18. How did Stalin successfully alienate the “right”? • With the defeat of the United Opposition, any inhibition Stalin and his supporters faced about stepping up industrialization were removed. Simon Stalin Questions 4

• With Trotsky gone, the party could engage in a U-turn away from the peasants. This was a surprise to Trotsky who predicted a veering towards the Right. • Many former Leftists/United Opposionists were impressed with Stalin as he was pushing rapid industrialization and planned to deal with the kulaks once and for all. • Stalin deliberately exaggerated the danger from the right and claim that Bukharin and his supporters were betraying the working class and the revolution. • Stalin said anyone who refused to fight the right was a traitor. Bukharin expressed his views in Notes of an Economist (1928) but this just provided raw material for the Stalinist propaganda machine. • Stalin’s victory was confirmed in Jan 1929 when Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky resigned from the Politburo 19. Stalin introduced the first Five-Year Plan which became the ‘fulcrum of Soviet activity and all other aspects of life were linked to it”. Describe the first Five-Year Plan using terms such as kolkhozes and sovkhozes . • Out of two variants, the basic and the optimum, the latter was approved even though it was wildly optimistic and reflected the prevailing euphoria that the sky was the limit in regard to industry. • Planned to bring 20% of sown areas under the control of collective within 5 years. Entry to kolkhozes was to be voluntary. At the same time, sovkhozes (state farms) were to be expanded (especially in virgin land)

SUMMARY EXERCISE Why Stalin was successful in the leadership struggle

• [Moderate ] Stalin was not the ostensible leader of any faction. He always played the role of the moderate and this lulled many into misjudging him. He made the gulf between the left and right appear much wider than it really was. (criticism: no ideas of his own) • [Ability ] He was a very skillful politician who had a superb grasp of tactics, could predict behavior extremely well and had an unerring eye for personal weaknesses. • [Ruthless ] He floated in and out of alliances since he had no sense of personal loyalty to any of his colleagues and would turn on anyone if he judged it politically opportune. • [Timing ] He was instinctively was on the left but couldn’t adopt this position until Trotsky and the United Opposition had been removed. • [Utilitarian ] Stalin was open any ideas that made the Soviet Union stronger. The purpose of his incursion into ideology after Lenin’s death was to provide a simple, accessible definition of Marxist- Leninism and to outmaneuver his opponents. All the issues he took up served a practical purpose: Industrialization and collectivization amounted to revolution from above, even though Marxism required it to come from below. • [Luck ] Had Yakov Sverdlov not died in 1919 he would have been the natural candidate for Secretary- General. Lenin’s death saved Stalin from also certain demotion. Dzerzhinsky (head of secret police and on the left) died in July 1926, opening up a spot for Stalin to appoint a supporter. • [Opponents ] Stalin was greatly assisted by the inept tactics of his opponents (see below)

Trotsky Bukharin Zinoviev and Kamenev He was the most formidable Bukharin, the opponent intellectually but economist of the In 1925, Kamenev and Zinoviev fell out with Stalin; they his attacks on the party and right never attacked the NEP and Socialism in One Country, called state bureaucracy after produced a for restrictions to be imposed on the peasants and for Lenin’s death just caused convincing plan to enforced industrialisation (all were things that Stalin these groups to fall closer to counter the dreams disagreed with). Stalin in defense of their own of the super- Now, sharing similar philosophy to Trotsky, they joined position. Was constantly industrialisers. the United Opposition. Because of Stalin’s support in being condemned by Stalin Too afraid to show the party and with the help of the Right, the UO was for having anti-Lenin/Marxist isolated and its leaders were expelled from the party . views. that Stalin now had Trotskyite ideology. Simon Stalin Questions 5

STALIN AND THE THIRTIES

DOMESTIC POLICY

POLITICS AND THE ECONOMY

THE FIVE -YEAR PLANS AND COLLECTIVISATION 1. Define the following terms: • Collectivization: joining the individual farms of the peasants to create larger collective farms • Superfast Industrialization: Stalin’s effort to bring the USSR up to western nation’s industrial capacity within a decade’s time (by 1940) • Kulaks: wealthy peasants whose land was sufficiently profitable to allow them to employ others to do their work. • : liquidating the kulaks as a class • Kolkhozes: collective farms where members farmed the land as a cooperative but in reality had little say in what was to be produced (this was decided annually by the state). Payment was based on the number of labour days worked. If the farm recorded a loss no wages were paid. • Soukhozes: state farm; run like a factory with minimum wages higher the at the kolkhozes • “Twenty-five thousanders” : The 25,000 workers who descended on the countryside to aid the ‘voluntary’ process of collectivization’. They tolerated no opposition and they were all vying for praise from the party 2. How did Stalin create an atmosphere of tension and apprehension in Soviet Russia that allowed him to achieve specific targets such as collectivization and industrialization? • Stalin skillfully used perceived threats to Soviet power to create an atmosphere of tension/apprehension • War scare of 1927 led to fear of foreign economic intervention • Wrecking was taking place in several industries and crises occurred in other – he put the nation’s youth on the alert for class enemies. • Announced large-scale conspiracy involving engineers in the Shakhty areas of the Donbass had been uncovered. • The coiled up energy of the population could then be released and directed towards the achievement of specific targets. • The first FYP set these goals. A year after it begun, it was decided that it could be completed within 4 years. Plan goals continually increased irrespective of economic rationality. The mentality of Soviet economic planner: “there are no fortresses which we Bolsheviks cannot storm”. • The Great Depression in the advanced industrial states added fuel to the conviction that the Bolsheviks were on the highway to success. Collectivisation Details: • Officially force was only permissible against kulaks but the middle and poor peasants were soon sucked into the violence. • Kulaks were divided into 3 classes: o 63,000 counter-revolutionary families who were to be killed or exiled and their land confiscated o 150,000 households labeled ‘exploiters’ or active opponents of collectivization. They were to be deported to the remote regions of Siberia but could retain some possessions o 396,000-800,000 households who were to be allowed to remain in their home region but on land outside collective (non-arable land) Simon Stalin Questions 6

• Sporadic peasant violence against the twenty-five thousanders made the leadership. As a result, Stalin changed coursed and launched an attack on all those officials who had herded peasants into collective against their will. • Stalin criticized the wayward officials in an article published in Pravda . It became a best-seller in the countryside and there was a stampede to leave the kolkhozes and only 23% of the peasants remained in the collectives by 1 June 1930. • When the collectivization offensive was resumed, many peasants took to slaughtering their livestock and eating them and breaking their tools rather than see them collectivised. Peasant suffered from indigestions because of all the meat they ate. • Livestock numbers in 1932 were less than half of those in 1928. The tractor (to the government) was a symbol of modernization, and now without livestock to pull ploughs, scarce resources had to be diverted to the production of more tractors. Industrialization Details: • Thousands of engineers and other technical workers were arrested because of alleged ‘wrecking’. Wrecking à if a machine broke down (often happened since new workers were learning on the job) someone higher up was blamed. Paradoxical that at a time when skill were desperately needed, “bourgeoise’ and foreign engineers were being held being bars. By 1931, half of the industrial workers in the Donbass had been arrested. • By 23 June 1931, the Secretary General declared that the policy of considering every specialist and ‘undetected criminal and wrecker’ should be dropped. • The belief of some members of the leadership from 1928-1930 was that money would be phased out (with the NEP), workers would exchange products instead and they would by motivated by enthusiasm. • In 1931 Stalin changed his approach, and proposed wage differentials which reflected skill and responsibility. Authority was re-invested in specialists and engineers. 3. Using Document 7 and the reading, compare and contrast the first, second and third FYP. 1st FYP 2nd FYP 3rd FYP Years 1928-1932 1933-1937 1938-1941 Reasons for - To catch up to leading nations - improve agriculture and -reaffirmed emphasis of implementation - Focus on heavy industry consumer goods heavy industry and completion -Increase defense expenditure to 18% GDP Targets/Results Rise in output of machinery, machine tools, In 1934, Soviet officials revised ? turbines and tractors was very impressive. the plan, introducing more Ukraine, Volga and Urals saw more realistic targets. expansion. Engineering enterprises in Ind. production targets (% Moscow and Leningrad were modernized. achieved) Less developed republics like Kazakhstan Soviet est (overall). = 103% were penetrated by industry. Soviet (producer gds)=121% Power came from new dams like the huge Soviet (consumer gd)=85.4% Dnieper dam. Railway expansion was less Engineering industry rapidly than half achieved, but canals increased expanded again, steel output rapidly, often using forced labor (i.e. Volga- almost tripled (because the White Sea Canal). plants built in the first FYP now National income targets (% achieved) came into production). Soviet estimate= 91.5% The planned greater emphasis on Jasny Estimate = 70.2 % consumer goods never occurred Ind. production targets (% achieved) because of the greater share of Soviet est. (producer goods)= 127.6% industrial production devoted to Soviet est. (consumer goods) = 80.5% defence. Soviet est. (overall production)= 100.7% • Jasny est. = 69.9% Agriculture improved (but still Labor productivity was clearly very low not up to target): (since the labor plan was over-fufilled and Agri. production target (%) industrial production was only a fraction Soviet est. = 76.9% Simon Stalin Questions 7

over the plan). Jasny est. = 76.7% However, the agricultural performance was Livestock numbers also improved abysmal. The rush out of the countryside rapidly. Result of the state’s led to the over-fulfillment of labor plan. willingness to allow farmers to Agri. Production targets (% achieved) own their own animals. Soviet Est. = 57.8% Jasny est. = 49.6% Peasant • Adhere to labor discipline • Join collectives • Absenteeism (being late) responsibilities • Not to complain and put up with the now a crime low living standards Social and • Unemployment in cities had • Labor productivity rising faster • As a result of the political disappeared by 1932. than expected (due to the increased defence consequences • Industry took on many more workers ). spending living standards of superfast than planned. This meant money • Real wages increased (but not of workers stagnated/or fell by 1941 industrialization wages were far in excess of the plan as high as 1928 levels) and there was even more money • Rationing phased out • Forced labour supervised chasing the fewer consumer goods on • Without a ration card, free by NKVD made an offer. market prices were very high important contribution • Living standards were low (lower in (reflecting the shortage of to the fulfillment of the rural than urban) food) plan • Due to the low productivity of labor, • Certain people like managers • Number of prisoners in new legislation was introduced. Prison deemed of importance in 1941 range from 3.5-15 sentences for those who violate labor building socialism obtained million discipline and death penalty for theft of special norms. (9kg of meat • Government attitudes state/farm property. rather than 6kg and paid lower towards workers became • Internal passport issued in Dec 1932 prices for consumer goods). harsher. Previously (not to farm workers) to restrict • Regular Soviet citizens had to workers could choose movement and increase control. pay a lot to import products their place of work but while foreign specialists could by 1940 the state import duty free. decreed that the free • Academics like professors were labour market was to very looked after and received end. No worker could many perks and higher salaries change his job without than in the west. permission and skilled workers could be directed anywhere.

Social and • A peasant rush out of the • About 9 million peasants • Theft rules much political countryside- led to over-fulfillment outside collective in 1934à by stricter à one man who consequences of the labor plan. 1937 they had all been brought home a handful collectivized. of grain for his family has of • The mayhem of collectivization and • High taxes and compulsory imprisoned for 5 years. collectivisation the low yields of 1932 led to a deliveries were levied on the • Social benefits for most famine in 1933. Made worse by peasants, and when they could workers were cut and stockpiling grain for Red Army. not meet their obligations their fees were introduced in Deaths from starvation: 7.2-8.1 goods/belonging were sold to institutions of higher million. Not mentioned in Soviet make up the deficit. learning. Population was Press. • Peasants could own their own frightened. animals and were allowed a private plot. Surplus could be sold legally in towns though only be producers themselves (no middlemen) • Many peasants only worked hard on their own plots and not much on the collective.

Simon Stalin Questions 8

THE 1936 CONSTITUTION 4. b. Stalin called his 1936 constitution ‘the most democratic in the world”. How was it democratic? • Introduced a bicameral legislatures (the USSR Supreme Soviet) c. How did the 1936 constitution change the executive and legislative branches of government as well as the role of the soviets? (local soviets, supreme soviets, ‘parliaments’) • Previously, the local soviets were both legislative and executive organs (not just extensions of central power). They had been seen as peculiar to the stage of the dictatorship of the proletariat. • The constitution shattered the unity of the local soviets. Local soviets were reduced to the status of local authorities. Supreme Soviet became legislative organs. Government became executive organ. • Supreme Soviet began to call itself parliament (despite Lenin’s contempt for that institution) d. How did the 1936 constitution demonstrate: i. The foundation of socialism: It stated that the foundations of socialism had been laid and that the exploiting class ceased to exists. Now only two fraternal classes – working class and collective farm peasantry. Coexisted with the intelligentsia (not defined as a class, but as a stratum since it owned no property) ii. Freedom of speech, the press, of assembly and of religious observance: guaranteed by the 1936 constitution. However, the party still remained the key institution and its interest would override any personal or group interest. e. The USSR appeared to be moving in the right direction and made a refreshing contrast to the rest of Europe where fascism was on the rise.

DOCUMENTS 4,5,6 5. How do document 4a and 4b illustrate the harsh realities of collectivization? • In the letter written by Stalin, he expresses his desire to increase Soviet grain exports. This shows that grain harvested on the kolkhozes, even though in desperate need by the population is sold to foreign countries to raise funds for Soviet industrial projects/plants. This demonstrates the government’s focus on industrialization as a priority greater than agriculture and Russian citizens. The government’s need “furiously to force the export of grain” left millions of Russians near starvation in the coming years. Though collectivization was meant to improve agricultural production in the USSR, government actions like these left ordinary Soviet citizens without the food they were ordered to produce. • This letter from a worker to the party newspaper highlights the problems of communist planners’ objectives. The author mentions how it is workers who are behind the building of socialism and how unrealistic government targets (demonstrated in source 4A) have made workers push their means of production to the limits; “where no matter how much he uses the whip, it [the horse] won’t be able to move the cart”. Really this letter shows the results of Stalin’s attitude outlined in document 4a. The meager food rations mentioned in source 4b can be directly linked to the export of Soviet grain (in 4a) 6. List Stalin’s reasons for the necessity of the breakneck speed of industrialization. (Source 5) Stalin includes an obligation to the workers and peasants of the USSR as well as the worldwide working class as a reason to increase the tempo of industrialization. Stalin claimed that the tempo could not be slowed because Russia could not afford to fall further behind (the western nations). According to Stalin, Russia’s history of defeat and ‘continual beatings’ (which was a result of its backwardness) must not be repeated by lagging behind. The citizens of the USSR must end this backwardness to defend the ‘socialist fatherland’ and the only way to do so is to raise the tempo of developing the socialist economy. Developing at an even faster pace will be the only way the Soviet Union will avoid being crushed by the advanced countries (who were 50-100 years ahead). 7. A. How do documents 6a/b highlight the desperate food situation? • The first NKVD report tells of peasants illegally migrated from collective farms in Voronezh to regions with more productive farms. They are so desperate that they live in railway stations or field camps if they cannot find work and migrate with the risk of being arrested (since no internal passport). Living on rations of 200 grams of bread per day in regions where the collectives have suffered from a bad harvest, many peasants have resorted to begging. In source B, lists of families where nearly all members have died Simon Stalin Questions 9

of starvation or are bloated with hunger. In the single village of Donshino, 27 people have died from hunger in a two-month period. A consequence of these peasant deaths will be even smaller agricultural production. B. Who are the nouveau riche in 6c? How are they becoming millionaires? • The nouveau riche are the trade workers involved in theft and speculation? They make their money though reclassifying goods as high quality, falsifying records (claiming goods as broken or lost) and then selling the written-off goods privately. A black market emerged where employees who bough goods at state prices then sold them for profit. C. Document 6d describes the number of Ukrainian workers suffering from dystrophy. What is dystrophy? What is causing the illness? • Dystrophy is an illness where the muscles are greatly weakened. The cause of the illness is the reduced supply of grain and food products to the factories, which the Ministry of Trade planned systematically.

CULTURE : EDUCATION AND THE CULT OF LITERATURE 8. List Stain’s educational reforms. Were these reforms successful? • Schools were handed over to the collective farms or enterprises • Pupils and teachers abandoned formal learning and sought to learn through ‘productive labour’ • There were plans of abolishing schools altogether; the universities were transferred to Venshenka (VSNKh) – the major economic commissariats. Most were restructured and ‘specialised’ • Bourgeois academics and school teachers removed. The socialist substitute (rabfek) had produced high drop-out rates and little technical expertise. In 1936, higher edu was offered to non-proletariat again. • Russian nationalism promoted, tuition had to be paid for last 3 form of secondary education, uniforms introduced. • Reforms were successful since they developed a fine education system with a very good record in science 9. A) To what political figure were several key Russian writers linked? What was the consequence of this ‘association’? • They were linked to Bukharin who faced defeat being part of the right. B-C) What was the literary focus of the All-Russian Association of Proletarian Writers (RAPP), the All- Russian Union of Writers (AUW) and the All-Russian Union of Soviet Writers (AUSW)? • RAPP à propagated the hegemony of working-class values in fiction • AUW à tried to keep politics out of fiction (most leading writers were members of AUW) • The RAAP accused leaders of the AUW of publishing anti-Soviet works abroad. AUW replaced by AUSW. • AUSW à half of former AUW members were denied membership and since a writer could not legally publish in the SU unless he/she was a member, they had to decide of whether to give into RAPP and seek admission or give up hope of publishing in SU. RAAP was jubilant. • In 1930, Stalin wrote than nothing should be published if it was contrary to the official point of view. RAPP, which believed literature should tell the truth, realized that party goals might not always be the same as theirs. • In 1932 both RAPP and AUSW were disbanded and replaced by Union of Soviet Writers D) What Russian “literary hero” was glorified from 1928-1931? How did the hero change after 1931? • RAPP writing of 1928-31 glorified the small man (as everyone pulled together to build the new USSR). Plots showed an absence of hierarchy and manager/experts were unnoticed. • Believed in the machine/technology as a solution to man’s problems. The rest of Europe had overcome this myth during WWI. • After 1931, the managers, experts and party official (the decision makers) take over. • At the 1 st congress of the Union of Soviet Writers, the principle of was decided to be the ‘guiding light’. Literature was meant to uplift the reader so he would become a more efficient constructor of socialism. • All stories had happy ending, optimism, were didactic (educational) and hero must triumph against odds.

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E) How did Stalin create a ‘cult of literature’ after 1934? Be specific. • Stalin always made himself, or other great figures in Russian history (like Peter the Great, Ivan the Terrible) the main hero. Cult= a following – in this case a following of national heroes. • Had national heroes all nationalities in the USSR would follow. “National in form, Socialist in content” (Stalin said movies could be made for a different nationality like Uzbeks, but the message about Stalin and Russia must be the same as said in Russian) • National heroes who had fought against Tsarist control were banished (old Bolsheviks)- replaced by Russian luminaries. Purges helped by wiping out all non-Russian elites.

THE PURGES AND THE GREAT TERROR : SHOW TRIALS 10. What is a “show trial”? • A special public court hearing, meant as a propaganda exercise in which the accused, whose guilt is assumed, are paraded as enemies of the people. 11. A. Describe the show trials between 1928 and 1934 that linked the accused to the economy. • The Shakhty engineers and the ‘industrial party’ trial • The Menshevik trial of 1931 • The two secret trials of March 1933 which resulted in 70 state farm of Commissariat of Agriculture officials being shot. • The trial of the Metro-Vickers engineers • The trials had to be carefully prepared since they had to seem plausible both inside the SU outside. • Included written confessions (often to the most preposterous of crimes), the bullying, sarcastic behavior of the prosecutors, and the complete absence of any rules of evidence. B. Describe the political overtones of the Ryutin affair of 1932. • M.N. Ryutin and his followers had produced a 200-page indictment of Stalin and his regime from a Bukharinist point of view, claiming that Stalin was the ‘evil genius’ of the revolution and was motivated by personal desire for power and revenge, bringing the revolution to the brink of destruction. • Ryutin and his followers demanded the death penalty for Stalin (a measure that much of the Politburo refused), so they were expelled from the party. • Since many party members had seen the indictment and not reported, this gave a Stalin an opportunity to purge the whole organization- 800,000 member expelled in 1933 and 340,000 in 1934. 12. Why did Stalin’s second wife commit suicide? How might this affect his future decisions? • committed suicide in Nov 1932 as a protest against the brutalities of collectivization. • Stalin never remarried and began to isolate himself more and more from his family. Contributed to his paranoia and brutality. • He seems to have been surrounded by men for most of the rest of his life. 13. A. Who was ? Why was he murdered? What was the aftermath? • Kirov was the party secretary in Leningrad – the only credible political alternative to Stalin • After Stalin lost his post as secretary-general in 1934, Kirov had been asked by delegates to stand for the post of secretary-general but declined and reported this to Stalin. This is often considered as the event which sealed Kirov’s fate as Stalin now felt threatened by his subordinates. • It is believed that Stalin arranged his murder through Yagoda of the newly formed NKVD. However, historians like Christopher Read note Stalin behaved shocked and threatened after the murder and actually honored Kirov rather than ‘erase’ him from history. • Aftermath: After his death, repressive legislation was introduced, with the chief target being the Party itself. Zinoviev, Kamenev and their followers were sentenced to imprisonment for responsibility of the murder. Kirov was replaced by Stalin’s agent Zhdanov and from 1935-39 Kirov’s followers were extirpated B. Why might the XVII congress, described as the Congress of Victors be considered the Congress of the Condemned? • From the XVII Party Congress of 1934 (The Congress of Victors- occurred earlier in 1934 before the Kirov incident) 1,108 of the 1,966 delegates were executed following Kirov’s assassination. This is why it became known as the Congress of the Condemned. Simon Stalin Questions 11

14. A. How was Stalin’s punitive legislation consistent with his views of the class struggle, class ‘intensification’, ‘capitalist encirclement’ and ideological relativism? • Classes would disappear not as a result of the slackening of class conflict but because of its intensification • The State would ‘wither away’ not through a weakening of its power, but rather as a result of it becoming as strong as possible so it could defeat the leftovers of the dying classes and defend itself against capitalist encirclement. B. How would Karl Marx view Stalin’s Marxism • This was really a contradiction of Marxist theory, but exemplified Stalin’s ideological relativism (ideology adapts to the circumstances). Orthodox Marxist theory states that classes will disappear with the lessening of class conflict and government will wither away when it is not needed anymore. • Marx saw the state as an oppressive instrument used by the minority to oppress the majority. 15. Summarize the 3 great Show Trials between 1936 and 1938: 1st Show Trial- Aug 1936 2nd Show Trial - 1937 3rd Show Trial- Mar 1938 Target- Zinoviev and Kamenev, their Was planned to include Bukharin, Rykov and Bukharin, Rykov, Yagoda and Who? followers and other minor Tomsky in Sept 1936 but was cancelled. others. officials. The ‘real trial’ ended up involving Pyatakov Trotsky (in exile) was (mention by Lenin in his testament), Sokolnikov (Commissar for finance who introduced as the arch villain. st opposed wild targets of the 1 FYP) and other party members. à They were all lumped together as “Anti-Soviet Trotskyite Centre”. Target- Z and K were arrested for Accused of conspiracy with Nazi “Bloc of the right-wingers and Why? responsibility behind Kirov’s Germany Trotskyites” assassination and being part Accused of Kirov’s murder of a Trotskyite conspiracy Bukharin specifically charged against the Party and USSR. with attempted assassination of Lenin in 1918. How? Forced confessions. & Forced confession Confessions to treason, murder Andrei Vyshinsky became Torture by NKVD and espionage. notorious as a brutal prosecutor and demanded in Same techniques used by his closing that the ‘mad dogs prosecutor Andrei Vyshinsky. be shot’. He slavishly served Stalin, who was the real judge Aftermath Yagoda lost his position to Yezhov 1938- After these executions, because of his failure to deliver Bukharin the only survivors of Lenin’s last and Rykov to the executioner. Politburo were Stalin and Next in line: military officials. Trotsky (living in Mexico) 16. What was the NKVD? What role did it play in the ‘justice’ meted out to foreign Communists in exile? • NKVD: People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs “the state secret police”. • The NKVD was particularly harsh on these foreign Communists, especially the Poles and Germans. 17. How does McCauley answer his questions (p49): “was Stalin himself a victim of the frenzy of the period? Did he lose his sanity for a while?” • McCauley says (Stalin’s daughter) believes the officials like Beria (Yezhov’s successor) poisoned Stalin’s mind and convinced him that the mad accusations were ture. • McCauley himself personally does not believe this to be true based on the fact that Stalin edited the indictment against Pyatakov, Sokolnikov, Radek and others for the 2 nd Great Show Trial and signed hundred of lists for death warrants, executions, etc. • Many Politburo members were very enthusiastic about the torture, encouraging the NKVD against certain names to “beat again and again!”. Simon Stalin Questions 12

• Stalin was sane the entire time, as he was completely aware of the brutality of the purges and was most probably its greatest proponent (McCauley’s opinion). 18. Briefly describe the ‘purge perspective’ of Aleksandr Yakovlev and Osip and Nadezhda Mandelstam. • Yakovlev (Gorbachev’s “Comrade Glasnost” à he supported openness in the Soviet Union in the 1980s) worked to see that over 4 million innocent victims of the purges be rehabilitated in the half-century after Stalin’s death (only a fraction of the innocent who were unjustly sentenced). • Yakovlev was shocked with what you found in the archives: Terrorist gangs and groups operating in Kremlin offices, competitions being held to see which department could achieve the highest number of people shot and quotas of people proposed for shooting were also the subject of competitions. • Osip Mandelstam was a poet who never became a Bolshevik. His patron was Bukharin, and he was arrested in 1934 for publishing an unflattering poem about Stalin. A victim of the purges, and NKVD interrogation, Mandelstam explains the difference between the interrogators who forced confessions. Until 1937, the NKVD man was well-read in Russian literature, would have supported RAPP and was convinced his work was helping build the new Russia. Though in 1937 the new type took over, only being concerned with meeting their quotas of confessions. • Denunciation became a convenient way of acquiring things (if your superior was found guilty, a promotion would be in store for you). Parents could not speak openly at home, in fear of their children repeating their words at school. • Mandelstam, after moving to and from multiple cities in the country, died in a labour camp in 1938. 19. Summarize Tomkinson’s 7 reasons for the “Great Terror” • Stalin feared internal enemies à the purges was a process of removing rivals to himself • Stalin’s ideology à intensify Class conflict to destroy class enemies • Economically driven à to reach industrial goals, slave labor was needed. Purges “topped up” the camps. • Terrorize the population à Stalin wanted to keep the ‘strong Tsar’ image which Russians valued. He also wanted to make sure no one felt safe by arresting the innocent as well as the guilty. • Needed to keep Hitler at bay à before making a non-aggression pact, Stalin had to remove the old Bolsheviks and military anti-fascist groups who would have opposed it. • The purges got out of control à ever-rising quotas for arrests, demands to implicate others/find ‘collaborators’ and overzealousness of local officials (little Stalins) • Stalin’s personal psychology ààà Khrushchev though it was a result of Stalin’s paranoia and crude and brutal personality.

FOREIGN POLICY 1. How was fascism in Italy and Germany completely misunderstood in Soviet Russia? • In Moscow, fascism was believed to be the most extreme form of finance capitalism, but with only a limited capacity to endure if it came to power. • Comintern concluded that what Nazi Germany was attempting to do was impossible à promising to restore German industry but promised to protect small businessmen, shopkeepers and farmers against unfair competition (to do this Nazis would have to restrict industrial giants). • Italian fascists did not concern the Soviet Union, but the Social Democrats (SPD) in Germany were regarded as the main enemy and labeled ‘social fascists’. Moscow thought that to topple the republic, the SPDs would have to be destroyed, so Hitler’s swift rise to power rudely awakened the Russians. • Stalin restrained the German Communists from helping the SPD to keep Hitler out of power, believing that the rise of the Nazis would speed up the collapse of capitalist Germany. 2. What initiative did Stalin implement to “repair his fences with the rest of Europe”? • Threatened by a Nazi-Polish Non-aggression Pact, the Soviet Union joined the League of Nations in 1934 and signed a treaty with France in 1935 which was extended to include Czechoslovakia • The Constitution of 1936 made the Soviet Union look more attractive abroad. • Getting Communists over Europe to work with other anti-fascist groups in popular fronts. Simon Stalin Questions 13

3. Why was 1936 a bad year for Moscow? • Anti-Comintern pact by Germany, Italy and Japan • - Soviet Union sides as main ally of the Spanish Republic (which was defeated) • German remilitarization of the Rhineland and Hitler launched a 4-year plan preparing the country for war, with the main target being the Soviet Union (Stalin knew this) 4. A. According to Tomkinson, how did Stalin attempt to combat the Nazi threat? • He originally sought to cooperate with the West again expansionist Nazi Germany. During Sudetenland Crisis, Stalin offered to send troops to Czechoslovakia, but was not even invited to Munich Conference. Munich Agreement (1938) left Stalin to doubt whether France and GB would ever stand up to Germany B. According to McCauley, why did Soviet relations with Germany fail between 1935 and 1938? • Stalin knew he had to buy time to prepare for war so he attempted to forge a Soviet German pact to revive trade (1937), but failed when Hitler would not tolerate a political dimension. C. What two foreign policy alternatives did Stalin have with Germany? Which did he chose? • He could ally with GB and France, checkmating Germany which couldn’t face a war on 2 fronts -But Stalin was not sure they would remain committed if war broke out. • He could sign a pact with Hitler and let the war break out in the west (which he ended up choosing) • He came to the conclusion that war was inevitable so his main goal became keeping the USSR out of it. This was the most prudent course since the recently purged Red Army and Navy were not ready to fight. D. Why was the replacement of Litvinov with Molotov important in the negations with Germany? • Litvinov, a Jew was not successful in negotiating with Germany (partly because of his race) and was sent off to Washington as ambassador and was replaced as Commissar for Foreign Affair by Molotov. E. Why was the Molotov-Ribbentrop a tremendous achievement for Stalin? • It secured the recovery of most land lost to Russia by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk • It gave the USSR temporary security in Europe in case of a Soviet-Japanese war. • Gave the USSR time to prepare for war with Germany. • It left Stalin free to prepare a surprise attack on Germany when he was ready. F. According to McCauley, why did Stalin order his Red Army into Poland on September 17, 1939? • Moscow was alarmed by the rapid success of German Blitzkrieg in Poland and the fact that France and GB did not attack Germany in the West. • Stalin feared the Wehrmacht (German armed forces) would not stop at the agreed demarcation line in Poland, but would rather carry on into the SU. That’s why he sent in the Red Army to enter Poland on 17 September to secure the USSR’s slice of the bargain. G. Why did Stalin launch an assault in Finland? What happened? • Moscow pressed the Finns to accept a border away from Leningrad and they also wanted naval bases on Finnish soil, but Helsinki would not tolerate this. • So the Red Army invaded on 30 November 1939. This “” highlighted the Red Army’s deficiencies and led to the death of over 200,000 of its soldiers. • After sending in massive reinforcements, the Soviets ended up signing a lenient peace but was expelled from the League of Nations. H. How did Stalin ‘strengthen’ the Red Army? • Stalin sacked Voroshilov as Commissar for Defence and replaced him with Timoshenko. • Concentrated on building up huge tank and aircraft numbers and training many more officers. • 80% of the officers arrested in the purges were reinstated. The old uniforms were brought back by Timoshenko, junior officers could no longer criticize their superiors and political commissar slipped into the background. G. What countries constituted the Tripartite Pact? • Linked Germany, Italy and Japan with Berlin’s east European satellites. H. What concessions were offered to Stalin if he joined the Pact? • Soviets would receive gains in the Black Sea area and in Central Asia. Molotov then produced his own demands: Finland and southern Romania were to fall under Soviet control and Bulgaria and Sweden were Simon Stalin Questions 14

to form part of a Soviet security zone. The Soviets also wanted military bases in the Dardanelles and a soviet-Danish condominium over the Baltic. K. Why did Stalin’s demands for expansion through Iran to the Persian Gulf reveal the weakness of the Soviet Union? • After Stalin accepted the invitation to join the Pact, he demanded that the Soviet Union be permitted to expand through Iran to the Persian Gulf. His aim was to agree a new pact defining spheres of influence in Eastern-Europe. Any other territory would be a bonus. L. According the McCauley, why did Stalin provoke and not pacify Hitler? • Instead of pacifying Hitler, these Soviet demands provoked him. • Perhaps, Stalin thought that if he didn’t make any demands Hitler would have regarded the Soviet Union as weak and afraid to assert its interests. M. Support the following statement: “If the prime goal of Soviet foreign policy was to keep the country out of a European war, then it was a dismal failure” • The rise of fascism was looked on with calmness- the Soviets did not use the KPD (German Communist Party) to prevent the Nazi rise. • Stalin thought WWII would be a rerun of the first, with the European powers being bogged down. Then the Soviets would intervene and do as she pleased. • All the USSR succeeded in was making Germany even stronger. • A Machiavellian would argue that it all turned out alright for the Soviets in the end, since they won the war and ended up occupying East Germany, becoming a global superpower. • However, there is no justification for failing to prevent (when it was possible) a war which unleashed a holocaust and killed over 50 million people. • All the European powers must assume some responsibility for the outbreak of hostilities, but had France, Great Britain and the Soviet Union acted decisively together in 1939, Germany could have not launched a European, and eventually a world war.