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1)  DISSENT  AND  REVOLUTION  1917  ***  
 

CAUSES  OF  THE  DOWNFALL  OF  THE  TSAR  NICHOLAS  II/  THE  FEBRUARY  
REVOLUTION  1917?    
   
POLITICAL  
1
...
 He  made  poor  decisions  that  led  to  worsening  
relations  with  the  government  and  increased  hardship  for  civilians  and  soldiers  alike
...
 
• He  was  detached  from  the  plight  of  the  Russian  people  and  his  policies  also  alienated  ethnic  
minorities
...
 This  group  wanted  to  have  more  control  over  the  war
...
 This  alienated  
many  liberals  and  arguably  the  Progressive  Bloc  could  have  saved  his  position
...
 
• However,  Nicholas  was  not  well  educated  in  the  tactics  of  war
...
 
• Graham  Darby  stated  that  Nicholas  II  was  removed  by  his  own  class
...
 
 
2
...
 Alexandra  
was  not  hugely  popular
...
 
• Alexandra  influenced  appointment  of  ministers  to  the  government
...
 She  appointed  less  threatening,  incompetent  ministers  to  replace  those  who  knew  
how  to  govern
...
 
• Rasputin  was  a  monk  from  Siberia,  who  was  rumoured  to  be  a  member  of  an  extreme  
underground  sect  that  had  split  from  the  Orthodox  Church
...
 
• To  the  Russian  people,  Rasputin  symbolised  everything  that  was  wrong  with  imperial  
government
...
 
Rasputin's  murder  by  royalists  at  the  end  of  1916,  came  too  late  to  undo  the  damage  he  had  
caused
...
 Revolutionary  groups  
• The  membership  and  influence  of  revolutionary  groups  had  been  severely  reduced  by  1914,  
mainly  through  the  repressive  tactics  of  Stolypin  and  the  Okhrana
...
 
• Revolutionaries  managed  to  assassinate  Stolypin  in  1911
...
 
Despite  the  Bolsheviks  holding  influence  over  many  workers,  Lenin  had  no  part  in  bringing  
about  the  February  Revolution
...
 

 
IMPACT  OF  WW1  
• ‘The  war  was  the  most  divisive  issue  for  the  Provisional  Government
...
 Military  defeats  
• World  War  One  was  a  total  disaster  for  Russia
...
 
• In  1915,  Germany  turned  the  full  weight  of  its  power  against  Russia  and  launched  a  series  of  
onslaughts,  including  the  Gorlice-­‐Tarnow  Offensive  and  the  2nd  Battle  of  the  Masurian  Lakes
...
 The  Russians  were  forced  into  retreat
...
 
• The  Russian  people  looked  for  someone  to  hold  to  account  for  their  suffering
...
 This  made  him  a  suitable  target  for  
discontent
...
 The  series  of  defeats  
and  humiliations  continued
...
 
• The  War  brought  terrible  suffering  for  soldiers  and  civilians  alike
...
 Morale  during  this  time  was  very  low  and  
the  myth  of  the  army  as  the  Russian  ‘steamroller’  was  no  longer
...
 The  supply  of  rifles  and  artillery  shells  to  the  Eastern  Front  
was  vastly  improved,  and  in  the  Brusilov  Offensive  of  June  1916,  Russia  achieved  significant  
victories  over  the  Austrians
...
 Economic  impact  
• Russian  industry  moved  into  crisis  during  the  war
...
 This  resulted  in  shortages  of  raw  materials  and  finished  goods
...
 
• Russia  had  an  underdeveloped  railway  system
...
 This  made  it  more  difficult  to  keep  
the  cities  supplied  with  food
...
 E
...
 They  used  wooden  ploughs
...
 This  led  to  a  major  shortage  of  
manpower  on  the  farms  and  a  corresponding  fall  in  production
...
 The  price  of  even  the  most  basic  foods  
was  rising  steeply
...
 This  made  life  increasingly  difficult,  particularly  for  poorer  
people
...
 
1
...
 By  1916  a  third  
had  been  injured
...
 Peasant  livelihoods  were  
obliterated
...
 
2
...
 City  administrations  
faced  added  pressure  to  provide  housing  and  services
...
 
• Living  conditions  deteriorated,  especially  as  a  result  of  shortages  in  the  shops
...
 
• There  was  a  severe  lack  of  food  in  Moscow
...
g
...
   
• In  January  1917,  in  commemoration  of  Bloody  Sunday,  140  000  workers  went  on  strike  in  
Petrograd
...
 
• In  the  following  days,  strikes  and  demonstrations  took  place
...
   
• As  the  number  of  people  on  the  streets  of  Petrograd  increased,  soldiers  refused  orders  to  fire  
on  the  crowds
...
 
• The  Petrograd  Soviet  was  established  and  issued  Order  #1,  announcing  that  soldiers  had  the  
right  to  elect  their  own  officers
...
 
 

REASONS  FOR  THE  FALL  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT/  WHY  DID  THE  
BOLSHEVIKS  SEIZE  POWER  IN  OCTOBER?    
 

FAILURES  OF  THE  PROVISIONAL  GOVERNMENT  
1)  The  establishment  of  Dual  Authority    
• They  never  really  ruled  Russia  from  the  start  as  they  shared  power  with  the  Petrograd  Soviet
...
 
• Shown  through  Order  No
...
 Its  members  should  only  obey  the  Provisional  Government  if  the  
Soviet  agreed  with  it
...
 
• There  were  divisions  within  the  Government,  particularly  between  socialists  and  liberals
...
 
 

2)  No  change  
• It  did  not  really  carry  out  any  major  reforms
...
 This  gave  opponents  like  the  Bolsheviks  the  freedom  to  attack  
the  government  for  the  problems  that  they  were  not  solving
...
 For  example,  the  delay  to  the  promised  land  reform  
and  the  delay  in  calling  a  constituent  assembly
...
 
• Did  not  deal  with  opponents  and  thus  they  allowed  Lenin  to  preach  “all  power  to  the  Soviets”
...
 
3)  Mismanagement  of  WW1  
• ‘The  war  was  the  most  divisive  issue  for  the  Provisional  Government
...
 Enough  troops  scraped  together  to  form  an  
offensive  but  inevitably  failed
...
 Morale  declined  and  
desertions  increased
...
   
• The  government  underestimated  the  Bolsheviks  as  the  Kerensky  Offensive  actually  pushed  
them  to  Revolution
...
’  (Service)  
• April  1917  Lenin  returns  from  exile  in  Switzerland
...
 
• April  Theses  distinguished  the  Bolsheviks  from  the  other  parties
...
   He  won  
masses  of  support  through  his  speeches  and  propaganda
...
 He  persuaded  
followers  not  to  cooperate  with  the  Provisional  Government  and  pursue  a  revolutionary  path
...
 ‘History  will  not  forgive  us  if  we  do  not  assume  power  now’
...
 He  took  careful  steps  and  was  hostile  to  uncontrolled  action  
such  as  the  premature  July  Days  and  his  fleeing  to  Finland  to  preserve  his  authority
...
 He  returned  at  a  personal  risk  to  force  the  Committee  into  action  in  October
...
 Lenin  had  a  programme  for  political  takeover,  which  was  essential  for  the  takeover  of  
power  (beyond  the  military  action  led  by  Trotsky  on  24/25th  October)    
2)  Trotsky  
• Trotsky  had  more  direct  experience  of  leadership  than  Lenin
...
 Became  
Chairman  of  Petrograd  Soviet  (September)  turning  it  into  the  instrument  of  the  Bolsheviks
...
 He  dominated  the  All-­‐Russian  Congress  
of  Soviets  (June  1917)  after  his  return  (May)
...
 
• He  was  an  expert  strategist  and  won  the  loyalty  of  the  capital’s  troops  and  created  the  ‘Military  
Revolutionary  Committee’,  which  he  personally  supervised
...
 He  also  supported  Lenin’s  side  against  
Kamenev  and  Zinoviev’s  Revolution
...
 Russian  General  made  an  attempt  to  seize  power  and  the  
Provisional  Government  was  powerless  under  Kerensky
...
 This  resulted  in  a  big  increase  in  support  for  the  
Bolsheviks  and  by  September  they  gained  control  of  the  Petrograd  Soviet
...
 

 
POPULAR  ASPIRATIONS  
“Peace,  bread  and  land”  
• Peasants  wanted  land,  workers  wanted  bread  and  soldiers  wanted  peace
...
 
• (Kenez)  ‘The  Bolsheviks  seized  power  because  the  country  was  in  the  throes  of  anarchy
...
 Relatively  few  people  were  actively  involved
...
 They  
went  from  75,000  (11%)  of  the  votes  in  July  to  198,000  (51%)  of  the  votes  in  October
...
 
• Reactions  to  the  dissolution  of  the  Constituent  Assembly
...
 
• The  response  of  foreign  powers  to  the  Revolution
...
 
• The  continued  shortages  in  the  economy
...
g
...
 
• The  Whites  are  supported  by  foreign  powers  and  the  Czech  Legion
...
 
Life  during  the  civil  war  
Life  during  the  Civil  War  was  described  as  a  ‘almost  in  ruins,  as  if  a  hurricane  had  swept  over  it’  
(Goldman)  and  a  ‘madhouse’  (Robien)
...
 They  moved  their  
capital  to  Moscow,  at  the  hub  of  the  railway  network
...
 
• This  area  also  contained  the  main  armament  factories  in  Russia,  so  the  Bolsheviks  could  carry  
on  producing  war  materials
...
 
• The  central  area  was  heavily  populated  (much  more  than  White-­‐held  areas)  so  the  Bolsheviks  
were  able  to  conscript  large  numbers  to  fight
...
   
• Whites  were  scattered  around  the  edges  of  this  central  area,  separated  by  large  distances
...
 They  had  no  telephone  links  so  they  had  to  use  officers  on  
horseback  to  convey  messages
...
   
• Trotsky  organised  the  Red  Army  into  an  effective  fighting  force
...
 
• The  Whites  were  made  up  of  different  groups  who  had  entirely  different  aims  and  beliefs
...
 This  made  it  hard  for  them  to  cooperate  and  impossible  to  develop  a  
political  strategy
...
   
There  was  little  chance  that  the  Whites  could  develop  a  military  strategy
...
 For  example,  
other  generals  were  suspicious  of  Kolchak’s  motives  and  intentions
...
 Personally  brave,  he  took  his  special  forces  to  the  
parts  of  the  Front  where  the  fighting  was  fiercest
...
 
• Discipline  was  very  tough  in  the  Red  Army;  the  death  penalty  was  used  frequently
...
 They  
would  be  machine-­‐gunned  by  their  own  side
...
 They  reminded  the  soldiers  of  
the  worst  aspects  of  the  Russian  army  and  tsarist  rule
...
 Many  soldiers  deserted
...
   
• Denikin:  ‘I  can  do  nothing  with  my  army
...
 
• In  Omsk  (Kolchak’s  base)  uniforms  and  munitions  supplied  by  foreign  interventionist  
governments  were  sold  on  the  black  market  and  officers  lived  in  brothels  in  a  haze  of  cocaine  
and  vodka
...
   
 
4)  SUPPORT  
Peasants  
• The  support  of  the  peasants  was  crucial  since  they  supplied  the  main  body  of  soldiers  for  both  
sides
...
   
• Lenin  had  legitimized  their  right  to  land  while  the  Whites  made  it  clear  that  land  would  be  
restored  to  its  formed  owners
...
 
• As  a  result,  peasants  were  inclined  to  support  the  Reds
...
 This  
antagonised  national  groups  (separists)  such  as  the  Ukrainians  and  Georgians  who  were  looking  
for  more  autonomy  in  their  affairs  or  complete  independence
...
 
Urban  Workers  
• The  Bolsheviks  had  a  core  support  group  of  some  workers  and  soldiers  but  did  not  have  
widespread  popular  support
...
 
• But  urban  workers  and  peasants  wanted  to  protect  the  gains  of  1917  and  the  Reds  seemed  to  
offer  them  their  best  chance  of  doing  this
...
 
 
5)  PROPAGANDA  

•

•

Foreign  intervention  should  have  worked  in  the  Whites’  favour  and  it  did  bring  them  supplies  
and  weapons,  but  it  was  half-­‐hearted  and  ineffective
...
 
The  Whites  did  not  see  how  valuable  it  was
...
 
 

HOW  DID  THE  BOLSHEVIKS  CONSILDATE  THEIR  POWER  BY  1921?  

 
POPULAR  POLICIES  (PRAGMATIC  DECISIONS  TO  ENSURE  SURVIVAL)  
1)  Ending  involvement  in  WW1  
• The  Treaty  of  Brest-­‐Litovsk  (March  1918)  was  eventually  signed  as  Germany  advanced  into  
Russia
...
 2  million  soldiers  and  a  
similar  number  of  civilians  died
...
”  
2)  Lenin’s  Decrees  
• Lenin’s  state  capitalism  was  a  pragmatic  response  to  problems  facing  Russia  in  1918
...
 
• Initial  profit  from  enthusiasm  for  a  better  society  from  ‘Peace,  Land,  Bread
...
 
The  period  is  known  as  the  ‘utopian  phase’  as  optimism  was  high  with  the  Bolshevik  rule
...
 (Both  October)  
• They  initially  gave  peasants  what  they  wanted,  to  get  their  support  in  the  first  months  after  the  
October  Revolution
...
 
3)  War  Communism  and  NEP  
• War  Communism  was  unpopular  as  it  brought  mass  unrest
...
 Tambov  Revolt  and  Kronstadt  Rising  (the  largest  peasant  rebellion  since  the  18th  century)
...
 
• The  NEP  introduced  because  of  the  Kronstadt  Uprising
...
 
• Bukharin:  ‘The  NEP  will  transform  the  Russian  economy  and  rebuild  a  broken  nation
...
 
• The  NEP  was  an  economic  concession  to  achieve  political  survival
...
   Lenin  wanted  a  peace  agreement,  as  he  
knew  that  the  Russian  army  could  not  defeat  the  Germans  and  he  ideologically  believed  that  
the  revolution  would  engulf  Germany  so  it  would  only  be  ‘temporary’
...
 His  approach  was  ‘neither  peace  nor  war’,  which  
angered  Germany
...
 Russia  lost  lots  of  that  amounted  to  1/6th  of  the  
Russian  population  (62  million  people)  and  2  million  square  km  of  land  that  produced  1/3  of  
Russia’s  agricultural  produce
...
 
• Lenin  agreed  that  it  was  a  ‘robber  peace’  but  Russia  had  to  accept  the  ‘naked  truth’
...
 The  left  SRs  argued  strongly  and  much  of  the  
population  was  against  the  acceptance  of  the  treaty  and  its  harsh  terms
...
 
• The  Left  SRs  resigned  from  the  Government  in  protest  at  the  treaty
...
 Seen  in  the  Bolsheviks  losing  the  elections  to  the  soviets  across  Russia  in  April  and  
May  1918
...
 
3)  War  Communism  and  NEP  
• The  tough  regime  of  War  Communism  helped  keep  the  regime  afloat  by  seizing  the  grain  from  
the  peasantry  and  applied  tough  measures  to  keep  workers  in  cities  to  run  industries  for  war  
effort
...
 
 
USE  OF  FORCE  
• Figes  stated  that  ‘terror  was  an  integral  element  of  the  Bolshevik  regime  from  the  start
...
 
• They  set  up  the  Cheka  (December  1917)  as  an  instrument  of  terror  to  deal  with  opposition  and  
enforce  Communist  ideals  into  their  local  Guberniya  (area)
...
 They  were  outlawed  as  political  
organisations
...
 
• The  Cheka  was  a  formidable  force  that  constantly  supported  the  Bolsheviks  and  helped  them  
win  the  war  against  ‘internal  enemies’
...
 This  played  well  
with  workers  and  soldiers  and  made  it  difficult  for  people  to  criticise  the  new  government
...
 This  included  systematic  
censorship,  attacks  on  political  rivals,  show  trials,  attacks  on  the  Church  and  crushing  of  peasant  
revolts
...
 GPU  periodically  harassed  Nepmen
...
’  (Service)  
• Lenin  supported  ‘democratic  centralism’
...
 
The  very  nature  of  the  Civil  War  meant  there  was  little  time  to  carry  out  consultation  with  the  
•

•

•
•
•

soviets  and  other  bodies
...
 The  Politburo  took  precedent  over  the  Sovnarkom  as  the  decision-­‐
making  body
...
 
The  collapse  of  industry  became  critical  by  1918
...
 Workers  begged  for  their  workplaces  to  be  nationalized  to  keep  
their  jobs
...
 
The  peasants  became  obstinate  and  unwilling  to  supply  cities  with  food
...
 
The  ban  of  factions  in  1921  passed  by  the  Tenth  Party  Congress  meant  once  party  policy  had  
been  agreed  then  it  had  to  be  accepted  and  not  challenged,  otherwise  they  would  be  expelled
...
 This  tightened  the  one-­‐state  party  
internally
...
 
• The  victory  in  the  Civil  War  was  a  key  factor
...
 
• The  weakness  of  the  Whites,  as  seen  through  the  abandonment  of  the  foreign  allies,  further  
strengthened  the  Bolshevik  consolidation
...
 They  reminded  the  soldiers  of  
the  worst  aspects  of  the  Russian  army  and  tsarist  rule
...
 Denikin  said:  ‘I  can  do  
nothing  with  my  army
...
   
• Whites  were  separated  by  large  distances
...
 They  had  no  
telephone  links  so  they  had  to  use  officers  on  horseback  to  convey  messages
...
 
 
WEAK  OPPOSITION  
• The  opposition  was  unable  to  co-­‐ordinate  action  against  the  government
...
 
• The  SRs  and  Mensheviks  did  not  take  action  because  they  thought  that  the  Bolshevik  
government  would  collapse  quickly  and  the  Constituent  Assembly  would  triumph
...
 
• The  army  collapsed
...
 
 
 

 
 

STALIN’S  RISE  TO  POWER  1924  -­‐  1929  
 
•

•

•

•

WHY  WAS  THERE  NO  CLEAR  SUCCESOR?    
Lenin’s  death  early  in  1924  should  not  have  been  unexpected
...
 Yet  his  death  still  came  as  a  great  shock  to  most  Russians
...
 He  had  led  Russia  through  revolution,  
the  chaos  of  civil  war  and  the  beginnings  of  recovery  from  1921  onwards,  leading  the  Party  
towards  the  promised  ‘socialist  utopia’
...
 The  Politburo  (mainly  Stalin  against  the  wishes  of  Lenin’s  wife)  decided  to  preserve  his  
body  and  place  it  in  a  mausoleum  on  Red  Square
...
 

 
THE  STRUCTURE  OF  THE  PARTY  
• Although  some  maneuvering  had  been  going  on  within  the  upper  ranks  of  the  Party  before  
1924,  it  was  also  difficult  for  anyone  to  present  themselves  as  an  obvious  successor  to  Lenin  
because  there  was  no  clear  mechanism  to  elect  a  new  leader
...
 
• The  party  had  a  ‘top-­‐down’  structure:  power  emanated  from  the  top  downwards
...
 However,  the  Politburo,  the  Orgburo  and  the  Secretariat  were  the  key  
organisations
...
 
• Strongly  influenced  by  the  ‘ban  on  factions’  (which  Lenin  had  introduced  during  NEP  in  1921)
...
 Once  
policy  was  agreed,  it  had  to  be  followed  by  everyone
...
 It  could  be  seen  as  going  
against  Lenin’s  ban  on  factions  if  a  Party  member  seemed  intent  on  leading  a  particular  group
...
 In  this  
way  it  was  more  difficult  for  his  opponents  to  challenge  him  directly  for  fear  of  appearing  to  go  
against  Lenin’s  will
...
 When  Lenin  died,  his  widow  
Krupskaya  handed  the  testament  to  the  Politburo  with  the  intention  that  it  would  be  made  
public  in  the  Party  Congress  in  May  1924
...
 If  it  were  to  be  published,  they  would  all  be  damaged  by  its  contents
...
 
• On  22  December  1922,  Lenin  began  writing  his  testament,  on  the  very  same  day  Stalin  had  
argued  with  Lenin’s  wife,  Krupskaya
...
 
He  also  questions  the  ‘stability’  of  Trotsky  and  expressed  doubts  about  his  ability  to  take  the  
Party  in  the  ‘right’  direction
...
 

•
 
DIVISIONS  WITHIN  THE  PARTY  
• Many  party  members  did  not  want  to  see  one  person  running  the  party  and  the  government
...
 This  was  seen  as  a  more  socialist  way  
of  running  the  state
...
   
• This  fear  affected  the  decisions  party  members  took  between  1924  and  1926
...
 His  
arrogant  manner  and  conviction  that  he  knew  the  direction  the  party  should  take  seemed  to  
confirm  such  fears
...
 The  
divisions  concerned  both  policy  and  personality
...
   
Divisions  over  NEP  and  industrialisation
...
 
• The  left  of  the  party,  led  by  Trotsky,  Zinoviev  and  Kamenev,  wanted  to  end  NEP  and  focus  on  
rapid  industrialisation
...
 
• By  1928,  Stalin,  who  had  previously  supported  the  NEP,  abandoned  his  alliance  with  Bukharin  
and  came  out  in  favour  of  rapid  industrialisation
...
 Russian  communism  could  
not  survive  alone  as  it  didn’t  have  the  economic  resources  and  the  proletariat  was  too  small  and  
underdeveloped
...
 They  
reasoned  that  a  world  revolution  was  unlikely,  as  revolutions  had  failed  in  Germany  and  
Hungary
...
 It  appealed  to  Russian  patriotism,  portraying  
Trotsky’s  ideas  as  out  of  touch
...
 He  was  described  as  a  ”grey  blur”  
(Sukhanov)  and  (Westwood)  ‘He  could  stand  back  and  watch  his  rivals  dig  their  own  graves,  
occasionally  offering  his  spade  to  one  or  other  of  them
...
 Trotsky  was  ill  and  on  rest  holiday
...
 In  contrast,  Stalin  was  a  pallbearer  and  made  a  speech,  where  he  promised  
to  continue  Lenin’s  legacy
...
 
• He  was  well  known  as  a  revolutionary  hero  due  to  the  role  he  played  in  the  October  Revolution  
and  the  civil  war
...
 
Zinoviev  and  Kamenev  
• Zinoviev  had  a  base  of  support  in  Leningrad  and  Kamenev  had  a  base  of  support  in  Moscow
...
 
Bukharin  
• A  popular  figure  that  was  renown  as  an  outstanding  theorist  and  known  as  Lenin’s  ‘golden  boy’
...
 Lenin  and  Bukharin  were  close,  and  Lenin  entrusted  
Bukharin  with  a  series  of  important  jobs,  including  the  editorship  of  the  Soviet  newspaper  
Pravda
...
 
• He  was  one  of  the  original  5  members  when  Lenin  set  up  the  Politburo  in  1918
...
 
• When  he  was  Party  Secretary  he  had  some  control  over  the  business  of  the  Politburo,  including  
drawing  up  agendas  and  papers  for  the  Politburo  meetings  giving  him  control  over  what  was  
discussed  and  what  information  other  members  received
...
 This  was  a  powerful  position  as  Stalin  could  appoint  or  
remove  5,500  party  officials
...
 This  was  seen  
during  the  Lenin  Enrolments  of  1924/5,  in  which  the  party  almost  doubled  its  membership  to  
one  million
...
 Stalin’s  
practical  polices  based  on  nationalism  appealed  to  them
...
 Bullock  states  that  the  new  members  were  “ready…to  accept  what  they  were  told”
...
 This  explains  why  Trotsky  received  a  hostile  reception  from  1924  onwards  and  the  
number  of  delegates  who  voted  the  way  Stalin  wanted
...
 
 
POPULAR  POLICIES  
• ‘Socialism  in  One  Country’  appealed  to  the  party  over  Trotsky’s  ‘Permanent  Revolution
...
   
• It  was  also  very  flexible  and  allowed  the  leaders  to  say  what  was  the  best  way  to  achieve  
socialism  at  any  time
...
 This  
became  the  majority  of  his  loyal  power  base
...
 He  firstly  favored  the  NEP  as  this  
appealed  to  many,  as  it  was  a  continuation  of  Lenin’s  policy  and  also  won  over  the  peasants
...
 
However,  when  the  NEP  became  unpopular  after  1927,  so  Stalin  changed  his  stance
...
 He  allied  with  the  Left  and  so  defeated  the  Right
...
 Lenin  describes  Stalin  as  ‘too  coarse’  and  suggests  he  
should  be  removed  from  his  position
...
 
• It  was  given  to  the  central  committee  in  1924  and  intended  to  be  read  to  the  Party  Congress,  
however,  the  Party  agree  to  not  make  it  public  as  it  would  damage  all  their  reputations  
(especially  Stalin)
...
 
• This  was  seen  in  Lenin’s  funeral  in  1924:  
• Trotsky  was  ill  and  on  rest  holiday
...
 In  contrast,  
Stalin  was  a  pallbearer  and  made  a  speech,  where  he  promised  to  continue  Lenin’s  legacy
...
 He  was  intelligent  in  his  approach  and  managed  to  trick  his  opponents  and  
weakening  their  position  whilst  strengthening  their  own
...
 
• (Deutscher)  “He  carefully  followed  the  course  of  debate  to  see  what  way  the  wind  was  
blowing  and  invariably  voted  with  the  majority…  he  was  therefore  always  agreeable  to  the  
majority
...
 He  was  described  as  a  ”grey  blur”  
(Sukhanov)
...
 Trotsky  who  
was  the  hero  of  1905,  October  and  the  Civil  War  –  a  courageous  man  of  action
...
’  
 
MISTAKES  AND  WEAKNESSES  OF  THE  OPPONENTS  
Trotsky  
• One  of  the  Bolsheviks’  greatest  orators  had  a  strong  power  base  built  from  the  Red  Army  and  
younger  members,  especially  students
...
 
• Bolsheviks  did  not  see  him  as  a  loyal  member  of  the  party,  with  him  only  joining  in  August  1917
...
 

He  did  not  take  advantage  of  Stalin’s  shortcomings
...
’  
Boris  Bazhanov,  Stalin’s  secretary  during  the  mid-­‐twenties,  said  that  ‘Trotsky  felt  it  beneath  his  
dignity  to  cross  swords  with  a  man  as  intellectually  undistinguished  and  personally  
contemptible  as  Stalin’
...
 
Both  cities  were  well  represented  at  the  Party  Congress
...
 
• They  feared  Trotsky  more  than  Stalin
...
 
• E
...
 
Bukharin  
• A  popular  figure  that  was  renown  as  an  outstanding  theorist  and  known  as  Lenin’s  ‘golden  boy’
...
 
•
•
•

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

ECONOMIC  CHANGE  ***  
 

(1918-­‐21)  WAR  COMMUNISM/  WHAT  LEAD  TO  THE  NEP?  
 
•

There  were  not  only  economic  problems  that  Lenin  faced  in  the  summer  of  1918
...
 The  whole  economy  of  the  Red-­‐held  part  of  
Russia  was  geared  towards  the  needs  of  the  army
...
 

 
ECONOMIC  PROBLEMS  
• Food  crisis  of  1921  and  shortages  of  foods  and  goods  e
...
 reduction  of  1/3  in  the  bread  ration  
saw  riots  and  strikes  in  cities  such  as  Moscow  and  Petrograd
...
 The  labour  force  was  given  priority  along  
with  Red  Army  soldiers
...
 
The  smallest  rations  (barely  enough  to  live  on)  were  given  to  the  middle  classes  who  were  
named  ‘the  former  people’
...
 However,  the  state-­‐trading  organisation  was  
chaotic  and  industry  was  not  producing  enough  consumer  goods
...
 
• Industrial  production  fell  well  below  1913  levels
...
 Moscow  declined  by  44
...
 
• The  abolition  of  money
...
 Money  
became  worthless,  leading  to  workers  being  paid  through  their  rations  and  public  services  being  
provided  freely
...
 5  million  died  from  starvation
...
 Wheat  harvests  
went  into  decline
...
 
• Robert  Service  states  that  evidence  from  the  Russian  archives  confirmed  that  the  situation  
between  1918  and  1920  was  ‘extremely  chaotic’  and  the  Bolshevik  control  was  limited
...
 (May  1918)  Food  Supplies  Dictatorship  was  set  up  to  establish  the  forcible  requisitioning  
of  grain
...
 They  made  sure  quotas  were  
filled  even  if  peasants  were  starving
...
 For  example,  one  Cheka  man  had  his  stomach  split  open  and  was  stuffed  with  grain
...
   
• 155  risings  across  Russia  in  Feb  1921
...
 100,000  Red  army  troops  deployed  in  response
...
 
It  was  the  largest  peasant  rebellion  since  18th  century
...
 They  were  angry  at  
their  economic  plight,  low  food  rations  and  state  violence
...
 There  were  fines  for  lateness  and  
absenteeism
...
 
Piece-­‐work  rates  were  bought  back  along  with  bonuses  and  a  work  book  that  was  needed  to  
get  rations
...
   
• Martial  Law  declared  in  Jan  1921  and  the  Cheka  had  to  be  used  as  the  soldiers  refused
...
 The  Kronstadt  sailors  sent  a  manifesto  to  Lenin  demanding  
an  end  to  one-­‐party  Communist  rule
...
 Kronstadt  
Naval  base  had  been  a  hub  of  political  opposition  to  the  Provisional  Government  and  loyal  
supporters  of  Lenin  during  the  October  Revolution,  however,  now  in  1921,  they  are  the  key  
opponents  of  the  Bolsheviks
...
 15,000  rebels  
imprisoned  and  leaders  shot
...
 This  
marked  a  crisis  for  the  Bolshevik  Party  and  made  Lenin  realise  that  it  was  time  for  radical  
change
...
 Petersburg
...
   
• The  Terror  was  supposed  to  terrify  all  hostile  groups
...
 This  was  because  no  one  was  really  
certain  who  the  counter-­‐revolutionaries  were
...
 
• Official  death  records  of  the  Cheka  (1918-­‐20)  were  13,000  but  the  real  figure  was  nearer  
300,000
...
 The  Bolsheviks  did  not  want  to  take  
responsibility  for  the  shooting  of  Tsar  Nicholas  and  his  family  and  servants
...
 
• Figes  stated  that  ‘terror  was  an  integral  element  of  the  Bolshevik  regime  from  the  start’    
• Also  ‘each  local  Cheka  had  its  speciality
...
’  
 
HOW  THE  NEP  DEALT  WITH  THIS:  
• Grain  requisitioning  was  abolished  and  was  replaced  by  a  ‘tax  in  kind’  so  only  a  fixed  proportion  
and  smaller  amount  of  their  grain  went  to  the  state
...
 
• Ban  on  private  removed  this  meant  food  and  goods  could  flow  more  easily  between  the  
countryside  and  towns
...
 
 
 
 

PARTY  DIVISIONS/  POLITICAL  
• The  workers’  opposition  group  set  up  by  Alexander  Shlyapknikov  and  Aleksandra  Kollontai  
argues  for  greater  worker  control,  removal  of  managers  and  military  discipline  in  factories
...
g
...
 They  wanted  an  alternative  to  war  communism
...
 
• Left-­‐wing  SRs  protested  the  Treaty  of  Brest-­‐Litovsk
...
 For  example,  
shooting  the  German  ambassador  (July  1918),  to  try  wreck  the  Russian  relationship  with  the  
Germans
...
 2  other  Bolshevik  Party  leaders  were  murdered
...
   
• From  June  onwards  the  SRs  were  arrested  in  large  numbers,  as  well  as  other  groups  of  
opposition
...
   
 
HOW  THE  NEP  DEALT  WITH  THIS:  
• It  caused  more  division  that  it  solved;  however,  these  were  papered  over  by  the  ‘Ban  on  
Factions’
...
 

 

HOW  SUCCESSFUL  WAS  THE  NEP  (1921-­‐27)?  
 
FEATURES  OF  THE  NEP  
• Grain  requisitioning  was  abolished  and  was  replaced  by  a  ‘tax  in  kind’  so  only  a  fixed  proportion  
and  smaller  amount  of  grain  went  to  the  state
...
 
• Ban  on  private  removed  this  meant  food  and  goods  could  flow  more  easily  between  the  
countryside  and  towns
...
 
• State  kept  control  of  heavy  industry
...
’  
• By  1922  the  results  of  the  NEP  were  better  than  anyone  expected
...
 
• Agricultural  production  recovered  from  37
...
8  million  tonnes  in  
1926
...
 
• Industrial  production  made  a  rapid  recovery
...
 Larger-­‐scale  industry  took  longer  to  recover  but  recovery  was  well  under  way  by  1924
...
 There  were  around  25,000  of  
these  private  traders  in  Moscow  alone  in  1925
...
 They  
were  hated  as  they  were  seen  as  representatives  of  capitalism,  openly  flaunting  their  wealth
...
 They  were  generally  tolerated  
as  long  as  taxes  were  paid
...
 
• Scissors  Crisis  in  1923,  there  was  an  imbalance  as  the  large  quantities  of  foods  that  entered  
cities  causing  food  prices  to  drop
...
 
This  gap  widened  rapidly
...
 Consequently,  the  government  capped  the  industrial  prices  
and  gave  peasants  money  taxes,  forcing  them  to  sell
...
’  
• NEP  did  not  solve  the  fundamental  problems  of  the  Soviet  economy,  which  still  had  many  
backward  features  compared  to  other  advanced  countries
...
 They  found  there  was  not  much  point  in  
having  surplus  money  because  there  was  little  they  could  buy  with  it
...
 As  a  
result,  the  grain  procured  by  the  state  at  the  end  on  1927  was  about  three-­‐quarters  of  what  it  
had  been  in  1926
...
 
Urban  workers  
• They  were  better  off  at  any  time  before  the  revolution
...
 
• Most  industrial  organisations  were  still  hierarchical  and  the  trade  unions  tended  to  support  
government-­‐appointed  managers  rather  than  their  own  members
...
 High-­‐unemployment  persisted  throughout  the  
NEP
...
 So  large  numbers  of  jobless,  
unsupported  women  ended  up  on  the  streets
...
 For  example,  in  Smolensk  in  1929,  the  factory  committee  of  a  cement  works  reported  
‘many  workers  have  families  of  six  and  seven  people,  and  live  in  one  room
...
   
• It  was  not  the  workers  paradise  and  ‘socialist  utopia’  that  the  revolution  had  promised
...
 The  secret  police  grew  in  importance  during  the  
NEP
...
 
• The  GPU  periodically  harassed  and  arrested  Nepmen  as  speculators  and  class  enemies  in  order  
to  assure  left  Communists  and  the  urban  workers  were  keeping  capitalist  tendencies  under  
control
...
 100,000  Red  army  troops  deployed  in  response
...
 
It  was  the  largest  peasant  rebellion  since  18th  century
...
 
• Villages  that  supported  the  Reds  were  supported  with  salt  (a  vital  commodity  in  food  
preservation)  and  manufactured  goods
...
 
Attacks  on  the  Church  
• The  Church  enjoyed  a  revival  at  the  beginning  of  the  NEP  and  was  seen  as  a  rival  to  Communist  
power
...
 
• The  Union  of  the  Militant  Godless  was  established  in  1921  to  challenge  the  Church  directly
...
 
When  clergy  and  local  people  tried  to  protect  their  churches  there  were  violent  clashes
...
 
Censorship  
• This  became  much  more  systematic
...
 In  the  same  year,  prepublication  censorship  was  introduced
...
 
 
POLITICAL    
Attacks  on  political  rivals  
• The  Mensheviks  and  SRs  had  become  much  more  popular  during  the  strikes  and  revolts
...
 
• The  Mensheviks  and  SRs  were  outlawed  as  political  organisations
...
 They  accused  old  
colleagues  of  heinous  crimes  including  a  claim  that  the  Central  Committee  of  the  SRs  authorized  
assassination  attempts  on  Lenin  or  collaborated  with  Denikin
...
 
Party  Divisions  
• To  many  Bolsheviks  the  NEP  was  regarded  as  a  retreat  back  into  capitalism
...
 
• Zinoviev  tried  to  appease  the  discontent  by  calling  only  ‘temporary’  and  ‘a  tactical  retreat’  
• The  ban  on  factions  1921  introduced  to  avoid  movements  like  the  Workers’  Opposition
...
 In  1921  the  Tenth  Party  Congress  passed  a  
‘ban  on  factions’
...
 
• In  1923  the  nomenklatura  system  was  introduced
...
 The  central  party  bodies  could  only  
appoint  the  holders  of  these  posts
...
 People  
who  wanted  promotion  did  what  they  were  told
...
 
Always  fear  over  security
...
’  
• Need  for  security  started  at  the  beginning  of  the  Russian  Civil  War  1918  when  the  French,  USA  
and  British  all  supported  the  Whites,  the  Bolsheviks  expected  the  possibility  of  invasion  at  any  
time
...
 Stalin  believed  this  was  supposed  to  unite  Europe  against  the  Communist  threat
...
 
• Further,  neighbours  China  continued  the  persecution  of  Communists  and  Poland  had  a  new  
anti-­‐Bolshevik  leader
...
 
• Sought  a  level  of  industrialisation  that  would  support  the  USSR  in  attempts  to  rapidly  construct  
a  modern  military  capable  of  defending  them  from  foreign  invasion
...
 
• To  fight  a  modern  war,  a  country  had  to  have  a  well-­‐developed  industrial  base  to  manufacture  
the  huge  quantities  of  weapons  and  munitions  that  would  be  required
...
 Economic  improvements  
additionally  helped  interests  of  national  security,  as  a  largely  self-­‐supporting  nation  then  it  
would  provide  stability  during  wartime
...
 
• The  USSR  economy  in  1928  had  shown  clear  recovery  since  its  near  collapse  in  1921,  but  it  was  
barely  exceeding  1916  levels  of  industrial  production
...
 Even  Japan  surpassed  
this
...
 
• The  grain  crisis  1927-­‐28  was  a  result  of  an  abundance  of  cheap  grain  to  be  sold  to  the  city,  but  
nothing  for  the  peasants  to  buy  as  Russia  was  producing  so  little
...
   
• He  did  not  want  the  new  socialist  state  to  be  at  the  mercy  of  the  peasantry
...
 This  would  make  it  self-­‐sufficient  and  more  independent  in  the  world
...
 
• Overall,  the  desire  to  industrialise  and  frustration  towards  the  NEP  was  born  out  of  fear  of  
immanent  invasion
...
   
 

IDEOLOGICAL  
• According  to  Marxist  theoreticians,  socialism  could  only  be  created  in  a  highly  industrialised  
state  where  the  overwhelming  majority  of  the  population  were  workers
...
 
• Ideological  issue  of  NEP  allowing  small  level  of  private  trade,  characterised  by  Bukharin  saying  
to  the  peasantry  “enrich  yourselves”
...
 
• The  NEP  failed  to  create  a  true  proletariat  class  that  was  needed  to  support  a  Socialist  Utopia,  
increasing  the  desire  for  industrialisation
...
 
• The  Communist  life  should  be  a  good  life  and  people  in  other  parts  of  the  world  should  
appreciate  what  it  had  to  offer  working  people
...
 
• The  ideological  beliefs  of  many  of  the  Bolsheviks,  such  as  Stalin,  were  influential  voices  in  
encouraging  rapid  industrialisation
...
     
• His  economic  policies  were  central  to  this
...
 The  ‘revolution  from  above’
...
 This  was  
intended  to  increase  his  powerbase,  so  he  could  outflank  Bukharin
...
   

 
WAS  COLLECTIVISATION  A  SUCCESS  (1929-­‐41)?    
ECONOMIC  SUCCESS  
Efficiency  
• Larger  units  of  lands  could  be  farmed  more  efficiently  though  the  use  of  mechanization
...
 
• Experts  helped  peasants  farm  in  modern  ways  i
...
 using  metal  ploughs  and  fertilisers
...
 
• Allowed  private  land  on  the  kolkhoz  thus  there  was  private  property  for  individuals
...
 
• Peasant  taught  skills  of  cooperation,  community  and  literacy
...
03  million  tonnes  in  1928  to  1
...
 
Urban  workers  
• Urban  population  increased  to  12  million
...
 
 
 

• 1934  –  70%  of  peasant  households  collectivised  
• 1941  –  100%  of  peasant  households  collectivised
...
 
• 1953  –  meat  production  reaches  pre-­‐collectivisation  levels
...
 
But  by  mid-­‐1929  only  5%  of  peasant  farms  had  been  collectivised
...
 The  activists  who  ran  collectives  knew  nothing  of  farming
...
 The  collection  of  grain  from  countryside  Jan  
1928/  first  introduced  in  Urals  and  Siberia  =  return  to  drastic  policies  that  characterised  War  
Communism
...
   
• Peasants  burned  crops,  tools  and  houses  rather  than  hand  them  over  to  the  state
...
 The  animal  
population  did  not  recover  until  after  WW2
...
 Their  protests  were  well  organised  with  goals
...
’  
Dizzy  with  success  
• Even  Stalin  believed  collectivisation  was  getting  out  of  hand
...
 He  says  officials  were  too  rigorous  and  ‘dizzy  with  success’
...
 The  Stalin  called  halt  was  only  
temporary
...
 It  would  socialise  the  peasantry  so  they  would  live  in  
‘socialist  agrotowns’
...
 
• Soviet  regime  extended  their  control  over  the  countryside  thus  peasants  would  never  be  able  to  
fully  resist  the  regime
...
 This  strengthened  his  
credibility  by  following  Marxism
...
Law  of  seventh-­‐eights  (Aug  1932)  disobedience  resulted  in  prison  time  or  forced  labour
...
 
2
...
 
 
HUMAN  COST  
• Industrialisation  not  a  great  enough  benefit  to  justify  such  a  great  human  cost
...
’  
• December  1929  Stalin  announces  ‘liquidisation  of  kulaks  as  a  class’  and  in  February  1930  ‘all  
necessary  measures’  could  be  used  against  the  kulaks  in  a  decree
...
   
• This  was  seen  as  the  start  Stalin  spoke  of  5-­‐6  million  kulaks  and  later  10  million
...
 
• By  the  mid  1930s  kulaks  had  disappeared  as  a  class
...
 
Famine  in  late  1932  
• Robert  Conquest  in  ‘Harvest  of  Sorrow’  said  7  million  died
...
 
• Holodomor  (the  terror  famine  in  Ukraine)  in  spring  1932
...
 It  was  remembered  as  a  genocide  by  some  in  Ukraine  as  it  was  a  man  made  famine
...
 
• (Ward)  ‘cannot  be  grasped  merely  by  reciting  statistics…the  whirlwind  which  swept  across  the  
countryside  destroyed  the  way  of  life  of  the  vast  majority  of  the  Soviet  people
...
 Industries  such  as  coal  mines  
and  steelworks  were  particularly  targeted  by  this  plan  in  order  to  kick  start  the  Soviet  economy
...
 
• Despite  this  apparent  success,  the  first  plan  contained  targets  for  industry  that  were  viewed  as  
'hopelessly  unachievable'  by  industrial  leaders
...
 
• Because  of  these  increments,  two  revisions  of  the  plan  were  made  in  1929:  the  basic  plan  and  
the  optimum  plan
...
 The  latter  was  chosen
...
   
• Additionally,  the  plan  itself  was  considered  much  better  prepared  than  the  first,  whilst  its  
organisation  was  less  chaotic  and  more  ambitious
...
 
• A  larger  share  of  investment  was  given  to  the  production  of  consumer  goods  and  led  to  a  boost  
in  worker  morale
...
 Workers  were  now  driven  by  financial  and  
material  incentives  rather  than  fear
...
   
Moreover,  the  targets  were  still  hopelessly  optimistic  and  were  not  met,  particularly  in  
consumer  goods  and  housing  development
...
 

The  Third  Five  Year  Plan:  1938  -­‐  1941  
• By  the  late  1930s  and  the  consequent  outbreak  of  the  WW2,  Stalin  turned  the  attention  of  his  
plans  to  focus  almost  entirely  on  defence;  they  were  now  preparing  for  war  with  Germany
...
 
• Stalin  himself  oversaw  the  defence  aspects  of  the  plan,  ending  Gosplan's  control  over  the  
military  economy  and  took  complete  control  for  himself
...
 
• With  no  moderates  to  solve  the  issues  of  productivity  and  worker  satisfaction,  the  third  plan  
was  not  challenged
...
 The  plan  itself  was  cut  short  on  June  22nd  1941  when  Hitler  announced  his  declaration  
of  war  on  Russia
...
 
• The  changes  would  be  administered  from  a  ‘command  economy’,  which  relied  on  centralised  
planning  and  control  by  government  commissariats  overseen  by  the  Party
...
 
Socio-­‐Political  
• Stalin  wanted  urbanization  and  thus  the  Soviet  Union  would  become  an  urban  economy,  with  
secure  and  loyal  control  of  the  proletariat
...
 Stalin  went  against  Bukharin  who  wanted  to  continue  the  NEP  and  stated  that  
Russia  should  be  industrialised
...
 
• But  the  improvements  in  production  between  1928  and  1937  were  phenomenal:  
             Coal  from  36  million  tonnes  to  130  million  tonnes  
             Iron  from  3  million  tonnes  to  15  million  tonnes  
             Oil  from  2  million  tonnes  to  29  million  tonnes  
             Electricity  from  5,000  million  to  36,000  million  kilowatts  
• Metallurgy  developed  so  minerals  such  as  copper,  zinc  and  tin  were  mined  for  the  first  time
...
 
• Stalin  emphasised  heavy  industry,  helping  lay  a  foundation  for  victory  in  WW2
...
4%  but  by  1940  it  increased  to  32
...
 

•
•

•

•

By  1940  the  USSR  had  overtaken  Britain  in  iron  and  steel  production
...
 
The  rapid  development  of  Magnitogorsk  was  at  the  forefront  of  Stalin’s  FYPs  in  the  1930s  as  it  
acted  as  a  showpiece  of  Soviet  achievement
...
   
Huge  new  industrial  complexes  were  built  or  were  in  the  process  of  being  built
...
 
C
...
 
(Ward)  ‘In  these  four  and  five  years,  the  Soviet  economy  was  fundamentally  transformed
...
 
• Consumer  production  scarcer  than  before  the  NEP
...
 The  2FYP  
targets  were  still  hopelessly  optimistic  and  were  not  met,  particularly  in  consumer  goods  and  
housing  development
...
 
• The  economy  was  not  geared  for  imminent  war  in  1941
...
 
• The  lack  of  skilled  workers  created  major  problems
...
 This  was  described  as  a  ‘Quicksand  society’  
(Lewin)
...
 
Statistics  were  fabricated  as  managers  manipulated  paperwork  to  cover  up  their  failures
...
 They  wanted  to  appear  
successful  to  Stalin
...
 John  Scott  records  that  there  were  different  
levels  of  housing  in  Magnitogorsk
...
 25%  lived  in  the  mud  huts  that  they  built  themselves
...
 However  living  standards  were  poor
...
 There  was  a  shortage  of  water,  shops  and  
catering  facilities
...
 By  the  3FYP  many  planners  had  been  purged  so  the  system  was  
thrown  into  confusion
...
 
• Eugene  Zaleski  in  ‘Planning  for  Economic  Growth  in  the  Soviet  Union’  later  described  them  as  
no  more  than  ‘visions  of  growth’
...
’  
 
SOCIO-­‐POLITICAL  SUCCESS  
• Stalin  had  carried  through  a  highly  successful  economic  programme  and  in  doing  so  had  
furthered  communist  ideology
...
 Communist  control  strengthened  in  the  
countryside
...
 In  the  cities,  workers  were  kept  in  strict  order  through  
labour  books  and  internal  passports  and  the  threat  of  denial  of  rail  cards,  eviction  from  lodgings  
and  even  sentences  for  misdemeanors
...
 10  million  women  entered  the  workforce,  although  they  
were  likely  to  be  paid  less  and  fount  it  more  difficult  to  gain  advancement
...
 They  were  still  expected  to  be  ‘ideal  
mothers’  and  were  encouraged  to  continue  with  their  duties  at  home
...
 For  example,  
the  Stakhanovite  movement
...
 He  received  money  and  goods  (like  furniture,  cinema,  holiday)
...
 
Propaganda  also  tried  to  teach  a  new  mentality
...
 Stalin  told  a  group  of  
Soviet  writers  that  they  should  regard  themselves  as  ‘directing  the  reconstruction  of  the  human  
soul’
...
 The  first  lines  of  the  Moscow  Metro  were  opened  
to  improve  transport  in  the  cities
...
 

 
SOCIO-­‐POLITICAL  FAILURES  
• Rations  provided  a  significantly  poor  diet  compared  to  that  under  the  NEP
...
 
• Labour  discipline  was  harsh
...
 Strikes  were  outlawed
...
 Absenteeism  and  
low  productivity  increased  under  the  plans
...
 Stalin  sacrificed  the  people  in  the  interest  of  his  economic  vision
...
 They  also  had  access  to  ‘secret  shops’  that  sold  goods  not  available  to  the  general  
public
...
   Peasants  who  had  only  recently  moved  to  the  cities  and  had  little  experience  of  
industry  periled  quickly  and  this  left  Stalin  at  a  loss  of  workers
...
 
• Stalin  also  introduced  a  seven-­‐day  working  week,  so  there  wasn’t  a  ‘day  of  rest’
...
 
 
 
 
 

 
 

WHAT  WAS  THE  SIGNIFICANCE  OF  LENIN?  
 
LENIN’S  FUNERAL  
• The  unexpected  news  of  Lenin’s  death  led  to  widespread  displays  of  public  grief
...
   
• However  much  they  hated  the  regime  the  people  seemed  to  have  a  genuine  affection  for  Lenin
...
 
• No  one  else  in  the  party  had  the  prestige  and  standing  to  see  them  through  these  difficult  
periods
...
 
• He  was  flexible  and  pragmatic  and  found  solutions  to  the  problems  that  arose  when  buildings  a  
government  from  scratch  in  1917-­‐18
...
 
Theorist  
• He  was  a  brilliant  theorist
...
 His  developments  of  Marxism  had  two  important  implications  for  the  Russian  
Revolution
...
 His  concept  of  a  small,  disciplined  revolutionary  party  that  could  seize  power,  as  a  vanguard  
on  behalf  of  the  working  class  was  crucial  in  1917
...
   His  development,  along  with  Trotsky,  of  the  notion  that  the  proletariat  could  carry  through  a  
socialist  revolution  without  going  through  the  ‘bourgeois-­‐democratic  state’  (because  the  
bourgeoisie  was  too  weak)  led  to  the  April  Theses,  Bolshevik  opposition  to  the  Provisional  
Government  and  the  October  uprising
...
 
• The  Lenin  cult  was  a  sort  of  quasi-­‐religion  in  which  Lenin’s  words  were  carried  out  just  like  the  
Bible  is  used  to  justify  actions
...
 
• Lenin’s  wife  Krupskaya  publicly  asked  that  there  should  be  no  ‘external  reverence  for  his  
person’  but  under  pressure  from  Stalin,  Lenin  was  embalmed  and  his  tomb  turned  into  a  shrine
...
 
• All  sorts  of  Lenin  memorabilia  from  posters  to  matchboxes  were  produced
...
 Petrograd  was  renamed  Leningrad  and  many  streets  and  
institutions  were  named  after  him
...
 
 
HE  CHANGED  THE  COURSE  OF  HISTORY  

NEP  
• He  persuaded  a  very  reluctant  party  to  accept  the  economic  compromises  of  the  NEP,  based  on  
his  record  and  standing  in  the  party
...
 
TREATY  OF  BREST-­‐LITOVSK  AND  THE  RED  ARMY  
• Lenin  pushed  through  the  signing  of  the  Treaty  of  Brest  Litovsk  despite  the  opposition  of  the  left  
Communists
...
 He  supported  Trotsky  in  
creating  a  traditional  hierarchical  Red  Army  using  ex-­‐tsarist  officers,  against  serious  opposition  
in  the  party  from  leading  Bolsheviks  such  as  Stalin
...
 
ISSUE  OF  SOCIALIST  COALTION  
• Lenin  insisted  that  the  Bolsheviks  rule  as  a  one-­‐party  state
...
 If  this  had  happened  a  very  
different  Russia  would  have  emerged  and  the  Civil  War  would  have  taken  a  very  different  form,  
if  it  had  taken  place  at  all
...
 
OCTOBER  UPRISING  
• Lenin  pressurised  the  unwilling  Bolshevik  Central  Committee  into  staging  the  October  uprising
...
 It  was  very  likely  that  the  Bolsheviks  would  not  have  got  into  power  if  they  had  not  
acted  when  they  did
...
 The  April  Thesis  became  the  basis  of  party  policy,  uncompromising  
opposition  to  war;  and  the  handling  over  of  power  to  soviets,  which  brought  the  Bolsheviks  
much  support  and  made  them  the  only  credible  opposition  party  to  the  Provisional  
Government
...
 
 

STALINISM IN THE 1930s ***
 

WHAT  EXPLAINS  THE  START  AND  GREAT  EXTENT  OF  THE  PURGES/GREAT  TERROR?    
 

•

•

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•
•
•
•

There  has  been  great  historiographical  debate  over  the  cause  of  the  purges
...
 However,  whether  Stalin  was  
involved  in  orchestrating  Kirov’s  death,  he  used  it  as  a  way  to  gain  control
...
     
Purges  were  not  unheard  of  in  Soviet  society,  as  regular  mass  expulsions  from  the  party  had  
happened  since  the  Revolution
...
 
This  reflects  Totalitarian/Intenionalist  argument  that  the  purges  were  deliberate  and  organised  
from  Stalin
...
 
They  grew  beyond  his  control  and  escalated  from  chaos  within  society,  with  the  purges  taking  
place  alongside  war  and  famine
...
 
Stalin  called  an  end  to  the  purges  at  the  end  of  1938  as  they  were  destabilizing  society
...
 
There  was  a  difference  between  the  earlier  purges  (chistki),  which  were  non-­‐violent  and  Stalin’s  
Great  Purges
...
   
• Prospect  of  war  seemed  likely  when  Hitler  became  Chancellor  of  Germany  in  1933,  his  anti-­‐
communist  stance  and  states  foreign  policy  aim  of  ‘lebensraum’  (living  space)  suggested  to  
Stalin  that  he  would  fight
...
   
• Marxist  thinking  anticipated  a  general  war  as  ‘the  last  phase  of  capitalism
...
 
• Stalin  feared  a  ‘fifth  column’,  which  was  confirmed  by  his  speech  to  the  plenum,  saying  only  ‘a  
few  spies’  would  ‘subvert’  war  victory
...
’  
• Stalin’s  fear  of  ethnic  minorities  caused  the  ‘national  sweeps’  of  1937-­‐38
...
   Further,  in  1930  he  expelled  some  of  
his  former  supporters  from  the  Party  for  criticizing  collectivisation
...
 
• The  growing  opposition  is  seen  with  the  hostility  that  followed  collectivisation  and  
industrialisation
...
’  Sympathisers  within  the  Politburo,  such  as  Kirov,  then  protected  Ryutin
...
 Stalin  
called  for  further  industrialisation  but  Kirov  argued  for  slowing  down  as  ‘the  fundamental  
difficulties  are  behind  us’
...
 
• He  got  rid  of  anyone  who  posed  a  threat  to  his  leadership,  such  as  the  Old  Bolsheviks  in  June  
1936,  as  they  knew  his  political  weakness
...
 He  
was  completely  unrivalled  and  surrounded  by  loyalists
...
 This  is  emphasised  in  the  nomenklatura,  where  
lieutenants  were  kept  guessing  about  who  he  would  adopt  as  ‘his  people’
...
 He  was  the  sole  
architect  of  the  purges,  using  them  as  a  mechanism  to  control  the  populace  and  the  Party
...
’    
• (Service)  ‘The  Great  Terror  would  not  have  taken  place  but  for  Stalin’s  personality  and  ideas
...
 He  could  use  this  money  
in  foreign  exports
...
 He  encouraged  criticism  from  below,  which  meant  the  terror  spiraled  out  
of  control
...
 
• Stalin  encouraged  lower-­‐ranking  party  members  to  denounce  those  above  them,  resulting  in  
impatient,  young  party  members  accusing  those  in  higher  positions,  so  they  could  replace  them
...
 
• Terror  was  the  work  of  over-­‐zealous  officials  in  the  provinces  which  acted  off  their  own  
agendas
...
 
• Terror  was  self-­‐escalating
...
 It  was  better  to  prove  loyalty  by  denouncing  
someone  before  you  yourself  were  denounced
...
 The  loss  of  control  due  to  the  ‘quicksand  society’  (Lewin)  meant  the  purges  began  
to  grow  out  of  control
...
 
 
NKVD  
• Some  units  used  the  terror  to  their  own  advantage  as  it  raised  their  profile  and  allowed  them  to  
become  the  leading  institution  in  the  Soviet  system
...
 
•

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•
•

•
•
•

 

The  forced  confessions  brought  about  by  the  NKVD  caused  the  terror  to  spread  as  
denunciations  became  habitual
...
 
However,  they  also  suffered  during  the  purges,  with  more  than  23,000  men  purged  by  end  of  
1930s
...
 Within  a  month,  they  had  arrested  over  100,000  and  
14,000  sent  to  gulags
...
 
(Fitzpatrick  –  Revisionist)  Purges/terror  snowballed  due  to  ‘popular  participation’  and  fear  led  
to  ‘scapegoating,  hysterical  accusations  and  bullying
...
 

IMPACT  OF  THE  GREAT  TERROR/  READY  FOR  WAR?    
 
ECONOMIC  FAILURE  
• Loss  of  experienced  workers  as  Stalin  encouraged  lower-­‐ranking  party  members  to  denounce  
those  above  them,  resulting  in  impatient,  young  party  members  accusing  those  in  higher  
positions,  so  they  could  replace  them
...
   
• Peasants  were  disillusioned,  as  seen  by  them  putting  more  effort  into  their  small  private  plots  
than  on  Collective  and  state  farms
...
 Nobody  really  knows  how  many  prisoners  died  in  the  process  of  breaking  into  
the  granite  under  the  grim  circumstances
...
 
However,  this  canal  proved  entirely  useless
...
   For  example,  the  White  Sea  
Canal  and  Moscow  Metro
...
 Around  23,000  were  shot  or  dismissed  
during  the  Terror,  so  many  new  officers  had  to  be  recruited  to  match  the  increasing  size  of  the  
Red  Army
...
   
• Military  weakness  shown  in  the  Winter  War  in  1939  to  1940,  when  he  tried  to  take  over  
Finland
...
 
 
SOCIAL  FAILURE  
• Fear  and  distrust  became  built  into  society
...
 This  was  seen  with  Pavlik  Morozov,  a  13-­‐year-­‐old  boy  who  denounced  his  father  to  the  
authorities  and  was  in  turn  killed  by  his  family
...
 
• A  population  of  over-­‐optimistic,  strident  propaganda  and  all  the  paraphernalia  of  a  totalitarian  
state  were  not  prepared  for  the  shock  invasion  of  1941
...
 A  knock  at  the  door  in  the  middle  
of  the  night  inspired  fear,  as  many  arrests  came  between  11pm  and  3am
...
   
Public  actions  and  private  actions  were  now  completely  separated
...
 
Purges  taking  place  alongside  a  war  and  a  famine  was  psychologically  traumatic  for  society
...
 

 
SOCIAL  SUCCESS  
• By  the  end  of  the  purges,  Stalin  was  in  a  position  of  supreme  power
...
 By  1939  less  than  10%  of  Party  
membership  had  joined  before  1920  and  less  than  ¼  of  recruits  since  1920  survived  the  
purges
...
 However,  it  must  be  remembered  that  these  high-­‐profile  victims  had  lost  
their  power  and  influence  already
...
 For  example,  the  Central  Committee  had  controlled  
membership  through  expulsions  before  1936,  but  they  lost  this  power
...
 
• The  terror  had  imposed  unity  and  thus  Stalin  could  determine  and  implement  policies  without  
the  dissenting  voices  or  obstructionism
...
 
• The  Terror  had  instilled  a  ‘siege  mentality’,  which  psychologically  prepared  them  for  the  harsh  
times  ahead
...
     
• By  1941  the  economy  was  growing  considerably  and  they  were  highly  industrialised

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