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Home , Georgy Malenkov, Great Purge, Gulag, Moscow Trials

International Court of Justice Accusations against Stalin regarding the Great and the establishment of the

Director: Alvaro Ricós Moderator: Carlos Colchero

INTRODUCTION

The International Court of Justice (ICJ) is the principal judicial organ of the United Nations (UN). It was founded in 1945 by the Charter of the United Nations and began work in 1946. The Court’s duty is to advise on legal questions referred to it by other UN organs or agencies (The Court ICG, n.d.). The Court is composed of 15 judges who are elected by the UN General Assembly and the Security Council. The Court is located in the Netherlands, and is therefore the only UN organ that is not located in New York. There are two types of cases involving the ICJ, either legal disputes called Contentious Cases, or advisory opinions on legal questions, which is the case in the upcoming trial. Other UN organs request trials to discuss and determine the legality of specific situations, so the most suitable states are chosen in order to provide the most informed verdict as possible. Furthermore, written and oral proceedings usually take place in order to inform the court of the case and then withdraw a public advisory decision. (The Court ICG, n.d.). First off, once the proceedings begin, the member States are required to file and exchange pleadings signaling their position and a detailed statement of laws or facts leading them to such position during what’s known as the written phase. After that, the State representatives are required to do oral proceedings addressing the court and thus looking forward to reaching a verdict. It is after the oral proceedings the Court deliberates on their advisory opinion before indicating their final decision at a public sitting. In advisory proceedings the decision or suggested sanctions are fully advisory, and it is the organization’s responsibility (that which presented the case to the court) to apply the corresponding sanctions. (How the Court, n.d.). The case has helped solve many serious manners in the little years it has been active since 1945, either as contentious or advisory proceedings. One of the most notable cases was the advisory opinion to determine the territorial status of South West Africa, where the newly formed General Assembly requested advice on how the dissolution of the League of Nations affected the status of the relatively “young” South West African territory, advicing no changes should be made. (International Status of, 1950). Furthermore, another notable advisory case was when the General Assembly asked the Court which states could be part of the Convention on the Prevention and of the of , as some states believed only some could take part in the latter; the final verdict was for all parties to participate in such convention no matter of their position on the topic. (Reservations to the, 1950).

1 As the ICJ is settled to determine injustices and assure the fulfillment of the SDGs imposed by the UN, it is now concerned on the events of Stalin's regime in the . The political leader of the Soviet Union since Lenin’s death, has been a controversial figure ever since his death. In general terms, Joseph Stalin led a strict political plan to bust Soviet ’s economy and industrialize an otherwise primitive country. In his efforts to achieve this goal, some accuse Stalin and believe he enforced radical measures, especially after installing camps and performing executions to ensure the continuity of his political plan. The opinions vary on whether the previously mentioned Gulags were inhumane or not, as they proved to be extremely effective in industrializing Soviet Russia, making it this court’s duty to determine Stalin’s innocence or guiltiness on the manner and take corresponding actions if required. The ICJ is concerned with the Sustainability of the UN and the world. For this reason, it is coupled with the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the UN, with the main purpose of achieving peace in the world and justice for the inhumane actions of institutions or individuals. The topic pursued is related to goal 10, reduced inequalities, as it is the responsibility of the ICJ to assure justice for those privated of their human rights inside the labor camps and to establish rules to avoid the repetition of such cruel actions. In addition to goal 17, it is of great importance to focus on goal 10, reduced inequalities, as there are claims Stalin’s regime performed discriminatory condemnations, and it is this court’s responsibility to avoid similar discriminatory actions as those of WWII and previous armed conflicts. (Sustainable Development Goals, n.d.). The relevance of the issue is clear, as the ICJ must assure the actions pursued by the Soviet Union are correctly condemned and rules and sanctions are established to avoid the violation of human rights. The main focus of the judges must be the human losses and violation of rights against the citizens of not only Soviet Russia, but all countries affected nearby. The topic is of great relevance, especially considering the time at which the issue is developing, as several armed conflicts and ideology wars are taking place and it is the UN’s and ICJ’s responsibility to avoid similar to that of WWII or another global scale armed conflict. In relation to racial segregation, the Court must not only determine if the casualties are justified, but if the of the Gulags are guilty of the they were accused of or if is taking place, similar to german concentration camps.

HISTORY OF THE PROBLEM

2 In order to understand what led Stalin to his outrageous decisions, it is necessary to understand the historical context of the situation. Before the in 1917, Russia was characterized by inequalities, and a complete lack of a socioeconomic middle class. As a result of this, many ideas started rising against the current monarchy, which was led by the Romanovs, a dynasty that lasted more than 300 years. These ideas, the most important being the Communist Manifesto by Karl Marx, became popular among the proletariat, finally deciding to take action against absolutism (: Karl Marx, n.d.). The working class began to form socialist parties, which were later known as the Petrograd Soviets. The newly formed Soviets started their campaign against Romanovs, which led to the . The result of the revolution was the end of the Romanov Dynasty, leading to the establishment of a dual power between a provisional government and the Soviets. However, the share of powers became obsolete, as the Soviets had a stronger acceptance and started to grow in popularity throughout Russia. Furthermore, the Soviets accused the Provisional government of seeking a capitalist approach, and, for this reason, the soviets continued fighting for the lower working class, which ultimately led to the creation of the , an anti-provisional government political party. (Hoffman, 2017). Once the Bolsheviks achieved success over the Provisional Government, new factions who accused the Bolsheviks of commiting crimes and political suppression began growing such as the Socialist Revolutionaries or the , which led to the Russian Revolution. During this ideology fueled conflict, the remaining factions fought to determine the political future of the country as being either socialist or capitalist, as well as extremist or balanced. The fighting factions were the , which was led by the Bolsheviks; and the , led by the remaining leaders of the first provisional government. After more than five years and approximately 7 million deaths the Red Army achieved success over their opponents, leaving Lenin in charge (Mullen, 2020) With as the leader of the Bolshevik party and the founder of the political, economical and social ideology known as , the Soviet Union finally finally became stable and found a reasonable resolution to post WWI conflicts. Still, Lenin was unable to bring his plans to a long lasting conclusion as he suffered a stroke in 1922, leading to a power vacuum and discussion over the future leader of the URSS. Joseph Stalin was a prime candidate for Vladimir Lenin’s position. He had been an

3 important part of the party ever since it took control in 1917 as a Provisional Government, gaining Lenin’s trust to the point of being selected Secretary General of the Central Committee of the Communist Party. Stalin used his authority to grow alliances and political support, until every member of the party was controlled by him. After Lenin’s death, Stalin used his political superiority to turn the party against his opposition, thus reaching the presidency through manipulation and political of all sorts. (Mullen, 2019). Once Stalin began his political campaign, he had the difficult task of ensuring equality and prosperity for all, which seemed impossible at the time. The main obstacle to implementing a communist political model in the URSS was the ongoing ideology war between and communism, trying to prove which ideology could prevail. The Bolsheviks supported Communism and populism, so it was Stalin’s duty to protect communist interests in Russia and expand his ideology to ensure its survival. In the effort to protect his political party’s ideology, at least 750,000 people were killed, primarily in the period known as The , which lasted from 1936 to 1938. The Great Purge receives its name due to the numerous executions that occured in the hands of Stalin’s regime, which justified its actions signaling any executed individual as a threat to Soviet Russia and its stability. Any suspected traitor was sent to labor camps, known as Gulags, instead of being executed. The previously mentioned Gulags were labour camps used as a tool of economic growth and political control in the Soviet Union and began during the by orders of Vladimir Lenin. A is not a concentration camp, as the members of the Gulags were prisoners, either because of political or criminal means. Instead, the Gulags were labor camps, designed to benefit Russia through the work of the enemies of the state, an economic and political plan that although utopical, very effective in industrializing Russia. (Mullen, 2018). It is notable to mention that Russia was lagging behind other world powers in terms of industrialization and social equity, primarily as a result of past monarchs and governments failing to ensure stable development. It was now Stalin’s chance to change the course of history, being his main goals to industrialize Russia and expand communism all throughout the world. The problem is that in order to do so, the economic system had to be modified to ensure additional flows of capital, and the implementation of Gulags was certainly proven beneficial in providing labor force and producing essential resources at a low cost. (Granger, 1930).

4 On the other hand, many claim Gulags, even if benefiting for Russia’s economy, failed to ensure the security of their prisoners. Once the Allies began their attacks against the in 1941, there was a worrying rise in mortality in working camps, especially because of the harsh climate conditions. A quarter of the camp’s prisoners died during this period, mainly because of hard working conditions during winter and starvation. To worsen the situation, The Soviet Union decided to invade parts of The , and sent hundreds of thousands of civilians to gulags. In his blind effort to defend his mandate and with an increasingly toxic paranoia, Stalin initiated an agricultural reform. Such reform was based upon the idea of crop recollection, where all the crops produced would be transported to a centralized point in the Soviet Union for exportation. Even if such reform allowed the development of modern agricultural technology, many crops were stolen from their original owners, sending them to Gulags if they refused to cooperate. (Gaur, 2020). Stalin began executing all suspects of conspiracy against the government to ensure the survival of his political plan. Not only did Stalin execute his political advisories, but his executions would later “expand [sic] to include peasants, ethnic minorities, artists, scientists, intellects, writers, foreigners and ordinary citizens”, (Gaur, 2020). Stalin began killing civilians who either suppossed a threat to his ideology or were part of minorities like homosexuals or jews. Other members who were arrested by Stalin had trials, known as the Trials. The were known to not only be biased, but to force false confessions from the accused via and extortion (Radin,1937). It shall be determined if Stalin actions are justified due to the political and historical context, or if Stalin, in a blind attempt to maintain his power, may have committed mistakes that cost human lives in vain.

CURRENT SITUATION As referred to before, an ideology fueled conflict was ongoing during Stalin´s presidency. Stalin began to break his alliance with The Allies after joint efforts to defeat , now attempting to obtain lost german territory. The Soviet Union expanded communism all throughout the previous german territory lost in the war. The Allies, in response, created the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which would be used to avoid the spread of communism. This marked the beginning of a non violent conflict

5 between (mainly) the and Soviet Russia, known as the (Mullen, 2020). The previously mentioned conflict is still ongoing. As previously noted, the conflict remains non-violent, but the presence of Gulags and unethical practices continues. Even if Stalin began such conflict, the latter prevails in an effort to demonstrate which of the two political models turns out successful. It is precisely at the starting point of the Cold War that Joseph Stalin died of atherosclerosis, being 74 years old. Although the official autopsy reports atherosclerosis and a stroke as the cause of death, the conditions of his death were particularly suspicious. The fact several internal hemorrhages occurred in a brief period of time, added to the vast list of enemies Stalin faced at the time, points to a possible death by poisoning. After Stalin’s death, it was who briefly covered his position. However, Malenkov was quickly forced to resign by his successor, (Faria, 2011). As of now, Khrushchev has initiated less repressive reforms, beginning to free the political prisoners and closing the Gulag labor camps. Unfortunately, even after Khrushchev ‘s measures against Gulags, many prisoner camps continue to exist. The biggest active camp is the Perm-36 camp, now used to house officials guilty of repression during Stalin’s regime. It is said that even after Stalin’s death, the current regimes continue to repress dissidents, either in the remaining camps, or in mental hospitals. The main difference between Stalin’s camps and Khrushchev’s camps was a complete change in the social structure. Instead of camps, Khrushchev seeked to join entire families in these complexes, separating volatile prisoners from political prisoners and thus forming what was later known as labor colonies (Elie, 2013). Even if labour camps were closing, The Soviet Union decided to set up new labour camps targeted for war prisoners and nazi germany survivors. Many of these working camps were former concentration camps or german prisons. The main purpose of setting these camps was to slowly take over german territory, as they were vulnerable after the events of WWII. The use of german concentration camps as Gulags resulted in approximately 65,000 casualties, all of which were from war prisoners and german officials (Khrushchev's Condemnation of, 2014).

6 fig.1. graph depicting the decrease in Gulag Population after the death of Joseph Stalin UN ACTIONS Realizing the abuses carried out by not only Stalin, but the Soviet Union, the UN decided to set in motion several actions against their attempts to spread communism. During WW1, the Soviet Union attempted to occupy Finland without any legal explanation, as there wasn't any armed conflict between both sides at the time, neither was there an agreement that allowed the Soviet Union to occupy Finland. The United States decided to condemn those actions, leading to the official removal of the Soviet Union from the League of Nations, and the beginning of the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union (Gardner, 1964). After the previously mentioned conflict, tensions between the UN and the Soviet Union increased. In 1947, the delegation of Iran protested in regards to Soviet intervention in their territory, getting to the point of presenting their demands to the Security Council. The conflict divided Iran into pro-allied occupation and pro-soviet occupation, resulting in the withdrawal of the Soviets after being pressured by the United States and intense conflicts with Iranian forces. This conflict was the first of many where the Soviets abused their favored position inside the UN to avoid actions against their country, getting to a total of 109 occasions where they used their veto power by 1973 (Soviets announce withdrawal, 2020). As tensions began to rise, the UN started to establish treaties and form organizations focused on regulating the USSR’s actions. The most relevant of these organizations is known as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which was

7 founded in 1949. NATO was founded after the events of WWII, and it consisted in collective security against the Soviet Union, avoiding the expansion of communism. NATO has not only been a mechanism to avoid the spread of communism around the world, but it has also ensured peace during armed conflicts in which the Soviet Union was directly or indirectly involved, such as the occupation and reconstruction of Japan, where NATO avoided the occupation of the Soviet Union and China. Their alliance and presence in the UN has led to restrictions against the Soviet Union in terms of weaponry and political power, therefore being the main opposition to the Soviet campaign. (Mullen, 2019). In addition to the formation of NATO, the UN assured the signature of several treaties. One of those treaties was the Treaty of Brussels, signed on March 17, 1948 by Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the . All members shared economic and military support to prepare for a possible Soviet Union attack. The endorsement of such a document led to the formation of NATO, showing the strength of the european opposition to the Soviets, and the union of such countries after the devastating events of WWII (Gardner, 1964).

ARGUMENTS AND COUNTERARGUMENTS Although a large part of Stalin’s actions were considered controversial, his decisions may be justified by his political ideology. With the implementation of Gulags and the agricultural reforms, Stalin seeked to achieve five year plans that would industrialize the Soviet Union once and for all, as previous monarchies had failed to modernize Russia. Furthermore, the implementation of Gulags was overall beneficial for Soviet Russia’s economy. The prisoners were assigned fundamental tasks, like the construction of industrial facilities or exploitation of natural resources, facilitating the industrialization of the country (Gulags, 2018). Additionally, the agricultural campaign led by Stalin was key for the progression of Soviet economy during the Cold War. It not only helped unite Soviet Russia for a single cause, but focused the Soviet population’s efforts on the development of agricultural technology. The campaign assured the centralization of the economy, strengthening the strategic, economically powerful territories of Soviet Russia (Revelations from the, 2016).

8 Although Gulags are incorrectly labeled as concentration camps, it’s crucial to understand that the Gulags were mainly inhabited by criminals, specially when analyzing prisoner population during WWII, where many Nazi officials were arrested for their crimes against humanity. Gulags should be considered as a financially-beneficial alternative for prisons. Even though Stalin may have been actively involved in the industrialization of the country, there are many condemnable actions to consider. Not only did his actions lead to numerous casualties, but they led to an uncontrolled dictatorship where civilians were imprisoned if they questioned Stalin’s decisions. For these reasons, many leaders started opposing Stalin even before his mandate. The first leader who spoke against Stalin’s regime after his death was Nikita Khrushchev. Khrushchev blamed Stalin for the famine, pursuing a barely legal recollection of crops, which were fundamental for the consumption of the families growing them in the first place. Furthermore, he accused Stalinof not assisting the lower classes, contradicting his communist ideology as the working class was heavily abused and imprisoned. Finally, he condemned the formation of Gulags and blamed Stalin for the great number of casualties suffered during WW2, where a quarter of the Gulag population died due to inhumane conditions found in the camps (Khrushchev's Condemnation of, 2014). In fact, Vladimir Lenin, who at first supported Stalin’s campaign, described Stalin as a threat to the Soviet Union in his testament. He points out; “Stalin is too rude and this defect, although quite tolerable in our midst and in dealing among us Communists, becomes intolerable in a Secretary-General”, showing his altering temperament and how riskful it was for his subordinates. Lenin even signaled his disapproval towards leaving Stalin in an important political position, bringing into attention the threats Stalin presented to the stability of the party due to his aggressive character, thus preferring to leave Trotsky in charge of Soviet Russia. Lenin made reference to Stalin’s unstable psychological profile, referring to him as impulsive, especially after he attacked an entire town against Lenin’s recommendation (Kreis, 2000). Throughout the debate delegates will argue in favor and against Stalin. His political decisions will be judged, determining the impact not only for the people of Russia, but for the country as a whole. Judges will determine whether the implementation of gulags could be justified due to the political context and economical benefits, or if

9 Stalin’s decision to create such gulags was inhumane and negatively impacted Russia’s population. Furthermore, judges will reach a verdict based on the evidence presented in the first sessions of the Court, analyzing the accusations regarding The Great Purge and the agricultural reform and understanding the context in which those actions were pursued.

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