Origins of Cold War Cascade

Origins of Cold War [Revision Cascade]

This Cascade will give you points and ideas for writing an answer about any of the topics in the list. And, when it comes to revision, you can use it to test your memory of the points and ideas you might want to raise in the exam.

Click on the yellow arrows to reveal the paragraph points, and again to reveal ideas for developing the point.

I have given you five points for every topic but, in practical terms for the exam, you will probably get away with remembering three or four.

1. Problems facing Russia in 1914
- a. Russia was huge
  - Russia encompassed 125 million people, 21 nationalities spread across 2500 miles. The Trans-Siberian Railway did not solve Russia’s communication problems; instead poor migrants flocked to the towns
- b. Economy
  - The economy was backward, especially agriculture, which was unable to feed the growing population, leading to famine (the harvest failure of 1891-2 claimed 400,000 lives) and poverty.
- c. Government
  - The Tsar was an autocrat. There was a Council of Ministers – but these were nobles that he chose. Opposition was illegal, and the Tsar used the Okhrana (secret police) to arrest and exile thousands of opponents. Nicholas was overwhelmed by the volume of work
- d. Gregorian calendar
  - A sign of Russia’s backwardness was that it still used the Gregorian calendar, which ran 13 days late – so February in Russia was March in the rest of the world .
- e. Violence
  - Riots, uprising and assassinations were endemic, particularly in rural areas

2. Russian society in 1914
- a. Peasants
  - Three quarters of the people were impoverished peasants. The abolition from erfdom had worsened their position.
- b. Workers
  - No rights, long hours and low pay; appalling living conditions. As a result, socialism, communism, and anarchism progressively gained popularity in Russia
- c. Aristocracy
  - Just 700 nobles owned a quarter of the land and lived a life of luxury, waited on by lots of servants – but a sense of decline
- d. Bourgeois
  - A small but growing number of the middle class, including the intelligentsia – they were impatient for a say in the government. .
- e. Church
  - Most people were members of the Russian Orthodox Church. Its priests told people it was a sin to oppose the Tsar. The Church owned a lot of land, and the head of the Church was one of the Tsar’s ministers.

3. Nicholas II's government
- a. Coronation catastrophe
  - Nicholas’s reign began with an accidental catastrophe on the Khodynka army training field
- b. Autocratic
  - The Tsar was an autocrat; unable to cope with the huge detail of government
- c. Weak, indecisive and stubborn
  - Nicholas II was weak, indecisive and stubborn; he regarded any change as a threat
- d. Okhrana, cossacks and censorship
  - The Okhrana (secret police), a system of informers, censorship and regular torture/imprisonment/execution. Increasingly, the government used the army, notably the Cossacks, to put down rebellions .
- e. Alexei’s haemophilia
  - The haemophilia of the heir to the throne fatally weakened the monarchy

4. The 1905 revolution
- a. Defeat by Japan, 1904–1905
  - In 1905 – after Russia lost a war with Japan – there was a revolution
- b. Bloody Sunday, 9 Jan 1905
  - A peaceful march of workers (led by Father Gapon to ask the Tsar to improve their conditions) was attacked by the Cossacks
- c. Battleship Potemkin, Jun 1905
  - Sailors on the battleship Potemkin mutinied; workers and soldiers set up ‘Soviets’
- d. October Manifesto, Oct 1905
  - The Tsar published the October Manifesto promising a Duma (parliament) .
- e. Stolypin appointed Prime Minister, 1906
  - Stolypin introduced reforms which helped the peasants and health insurance for workers, but also imposed a strict repression

5. How did the Tsar survive the 1905 Revolution?
- a. The army stayed loyal
  - The army remained loyal; it bloodily repressed the Moscow Soviet, using artillery to shell strikers' houses; other groups – the nobles, the Church, the peasants – also stayed loyal
- b. The Tsar borrowed 900million roubles
  - This strengthened the government's finances after the 1904-5 war with Japan
- c. October Manifesto, Oct 1905
  - The Tsar published the October Manifesto promising a Duma (parliament)
- d. Stolypin appointed Prime Minister, 1906
  - Introduced reforms which helped the peasants and health insurance for workers, but also imposed a strict repression .
- e. Stolypin's repression
  - By April 1906, more than 14,000 people had been executed and 75,000 imprisoned

6. Stolypin’s repression after 1905
- a. Moscow Soviet suppressed
  - The army suppressed the Moscow Soviet
- b. ‘Stolypin’s necktie'
  - Revolutionaries were tortured and executed; the noose was nicknamed ‘Stolypin’s necktie’
- c. Dumas dissolved
  - The Tsar dissolved the first two Dumas when they questioned his authority
- d. Fundamental Laws
  - The Fundamental Laws (1906) restored many of the Tsar’s powers .
- e. Stolypin’s reforms blocked
  - Further Stolypin reforms (especially to taxes) were blocked by the Tsar

7. Traditional loyalties to the Tsar
- a. The nobility
  - The nobility supported the Tsar – some even wanted to go back to autocracy
- b. The Octobrists
  - The ‘Octobrists’ were happy with the Tsar’s reforms in his 1905 October Manifesto
- c. The Church
  - The Church told the peasants that the Tsar had been appointed by God
- d. The peasants
  - Many peasants loved and worshipped the Tsar .
- e. Romanov tercentenary
  - The 300th anniversary of the Romanov dynasty saw a wave of popular support

8. Why did the Tsar's rule collapse?
- a. Personal weakness of Nicholas II
  - Nicholas II was weak, indecisive and stubborn, unable to cope with the huge detail of government
- b. Oppressive government
  - e.g. the Okhrana (secret police), informers, torture/imprisonment/execution, censorship, the Cossacks and Bloody Sunday (1905)
- c. World War One
  - The Tsar took personal control of the army; so people blamed him for the defeats
- d. Rasputin
  - Rumours about his behaviour and death discredited the royal family .
- e. The March Revolution
  - In March 1917 there were riots and strikes; the army refused to put them down, and the Duma set up a ‘provisional government’

2. Opposition groups
- a. The Kadets
  - Liberals (the ‘Kadets’) were middle class and wanted to reform the Tsar’s government to become like Britain’s
- b. Social Revolutionaries
  - Wanted to overthrow the Tsar and establish a peasant government
- c. Communists
  - Wanted to overthrow the Tsar and establish rule by the proletariat (industrial workers)
- d. Bolshevik Communists
  - The Communists were split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (Lenin and Stalin were Bolsheviks) .
- e. Menshevik communists
  - The Communists were split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks (one example of a Menshevik was Julius Martov)

2. Russia in the First World War
- a. Initial patriotism
  - The war was greeted with enthusiasm; St Petersburg was renamed Petrograd because it was more ‘Russian’
- b. Poorly equipped and led
  - A third of soldiers did not have rifles; the army used radio, but did not encode their messages – so the Germans knew their every move
- c. Tannenberg and the Masurian Lakes
  - The Russians suffered heavy defeats at Tannenberg (August 1914) and the Masurian Lakes (Sep 1914)
- d. Brusilov offensive
  - The Brusilov offensive in Galicia (June 1916) was quite successful, but costly in casualties .
- e. Death and desertion
  - By 1917, nine million Russian soldiers had been killed or captured, and soldiers were deserting, or refusing to follow orders

2. First World War: consequences
- a. Railways requisitioned
  - The railways were jammed with soldiers, which disrupted the supply of food to the towns
- b. Runaway inflation
  - The move to military production (from consumer goods) created runaway inflation
- c. Starvation in the towns
  - Conscripting peasants into the army led to failed harvests; people in the towns starved in the winter of 1916–1917
- d. Rasputin ruined the Tsar's reputation
  - Whilst he was away with the army, the Tsar left the Tsarina Alexandra in control of the government; her domination by Rasputin utterly discredited the government .
- e. Tsar blamed for defeat
  - In 1915, the Tsar took personal control of the army; so people blamed him for the defeats

2. The role of Rasputin
- a. Rasputin dominated the Tsarina Alexandra
  - While he was away with the army, Nicholas left the Tsarina and Rasputin in charge
- b. Alexei’s haemophilia
  - The Tsar could not let people know the truth that his heir had haemophilia
- c. Rasputin’s appointments
  - Rasputin (a drunkard) ruined the government by appointing his friends as ministers
- d. Rumours about Rasputin and Alexandra
  - Rumours that Rasputin was the Tsarina’s lover further discredited the royal family .
- e. Rasputin’s murder by Yusupov, 1916
  - Rasputin’s murder (1916) – by Prince Yusupov – also discredited the royal family

2. The Tsar’s fall and abdication
- a. Putilov strike, 4 Mar 1917
  - There were strikes (notably at the Putilov steelworks)
- b. Women’s bread march, 8 Mar 1917
  - A women’s hunger march led to riots
- c. Petrograd Soviet’s Order No.#1, 12 Mar 1917
  - The soldiers refused orders to put down the riots and formed soviets; the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No.1 – soldiers must obey only the Soviet
- d. Provisional Government, 14 Mar 1917
  - When the Tsar refused to make decisions or reforms, the Duma took control and set up a ‘provisional government’ .
- e. Tsar’s abdication, 15 Mar 1917
  - The Tsar had been trying to return to Petrograd, but soldiers hijacked his train; he abdicated and was arrested

2. Why was the March 1917 revolution successful?
- a. Winter, 1916–17
  - The harsh winter, food shortages and galloping inflation fuelled anger
- b. A popular uprising
  - There was a wave of strikes (notably at the Putilov steelworks); the revolution was started by the Women’s Day bread riot
- c. The government was in chaos
  - The government was so weakened by the war, the Tsar's absence, the Tsarina and Rasputin that it was unable to respond adequately
- d. The army deserted the Tsar
  - The soldiers refused orders to put down the riots and formed soviets; the Petrograd Soviet issued Order No.1 – soldiers must obey only the Soviet .
- e. The Duma deserted the Tsar
  - When the Tsar refused to make decisions or reforms, the Duma took control and set up a ‘provisional government’

2. Weaknesses of the Provisional Government
- a. Huge problems
  - The problems facing it – the war, economy, land, opposition – were immense
- b. Political freedom
  - Political freedoms (e.g. freedom of the press, release of political prisoners, right to strike) helped their opponents
- c. Splits between Kadets and Mensheviks
  - It was divided: there were splits between Kadets and Mensheviks; in July 1917, Lvov resigned and Kerensky took over
- d. Dual Government
  - It was forced to share power with the Soviets – the Petrograd Soviet acted as a parallel government (Petrograd Soviet issued Order No.1) .
- e. Lack of Army support
  - The Provisional Government never had full control of the armed forces (e.g. Kronstadt Mutiny of May 1917, Petrograd Mutiny of 3 Nov 1917)

2. Problems facing the Provisional Government
- a. Dual Government
  - It was forced to share power with the Petrograd Soviet (Order No.1)
- b. Poor harvests and inflation
  - It inherited a disastrous economic situation from the Tsar’s government – harvest failures, a weak industrial economy, inflation, food shortages in the towns
- c. Peasant demands for land
  - In the countryside the peasants were demanding to own their own land, but the government needed to keep the support of the landowners
- d. Communists and Social Revolutionaries
  - Political opposition from the Communists and the Social Revolutionaries .
- e. The June Offensive failed
  - The War was the biggest problem; in 1917 the ‘June Offensive’ failed disastrously

2. Failures of the Provisional Government
- a. Dual Government
  - Order No.1 meant the government was only obeyed if the Soviet agreed
- b. Poor harvests and inflation
  - Rationing failed to end the food shortages, made the government unpopular, and there was looting and crime
- c. Peasant demands for land
  - The government deferred the land question to the Constituent Assembly, and gave the land back to the nobles – causing riots in the countryside
- d. Growing opposition
  - Freedom of speech and the press allowed opposition groups such as the Bolsheviks and the Social Revolutionaries to grow stronger .
- e. The June Offensive failed
  - The government tried to continue the war, so the soldiers and people turned increasingly against the government

2. The Provisional Government’s failure: effects
- a. Dual Government
  - Order No.1 meant the government was only obeyed if the Soviet agreed
- b. Poor harvests caused looting
  - Rationing failed to end the food shortages, made the government unpopular, and there was looting and crime
- c. Anarchy in the countryside
  - Deferring the land question and giving the land back to the nobles caused riots; the peasants took the land and killed the nobles
- d. Growing opposition
  - Freedom of speech and the press allowed opposition groups such as the Bolsheviks and the Social Revolutionaries to grow stronger .
- e. Petrograd Mutiny, 3 Nov 1917
  - The government tried to continue the war, so the soldiers deserted and mutinied

2. Growing Bolshevik influence: events
- a. Red Guards, Mar 1917
  - An efficient party organisation was set up, including 2 million members, a propaganda newspaper (Pravda) and a private army (the Red Guards)
- b. Lenin’s April Theses, Apr 1917
  - The Germans smuggled Lenin back to Russia, and he published his April Theses promising ‘Peace, Bread, Land’ and ‘All power to the Soviets’
- c. July Days, Jul 1917
  - An attempted Bolshevik Revolution failed
- d. Kornilov rebellion, Aug 1917
  - A revolution by a right-wing general named Kornilov almost succeeded; Kerensky had to ask the Red Guards for help – this made them popular .
- e. Petrograd Soviet, Sep 1917
  - The Bolsheviks gained control of the Petrograd Soviet

2. The Kornilov Affair: events
- a. Kornilov's plan, July 1917
  - After the July Days riots, Kerensky discussed setting up a strong military government with Kornilov and the Army; Kornilov moved the an army division near to Petrograd
- b. Kornilov dismissed, 27 Aug 1917
  - On 26 Aug, Kerensky was told that Kornilov wanted to set up a military dictatorship led by himself; next day he dismissed Kornilov
- c. Kornilov advanced, 29 Aug 1917
  - Kornilov sent the Third Cavalry Corps, led by General Krymov, to advanced on Petrograd
- d. The Red Guards defended Petrograd, 30 Aug 1917
  - Kerensky called on the Red Guards and the Kronstadt sailors to defend Petrograd; in the face of 25,000 armed Bolsheviks, the 7,000 soldiers retreated – the coup had failed .
- e. Kornilov imprisoned, 1 Sep 1917
  - Some historians think that Kerensky tricked Kornilov into attacking so he could remove him, or that he encouraged him at first but changed his mind when he realised he would lose power

2. The Kornilov Affair: significance
- a. Kornilov imprisoned
  - Kornilov was imprisoned; when the Civil War broke out, he escaped and joined the White army
- b. Army discipline collapsed
  - The failure of the coup destroyed the soldiers' last respect for their officers; discipline in the army collapsed – soldiers deserted and mutinied (e.g. the Petrograd Mutiny, 21 Oct 1917)
- c. Kerensky abandoned
  - Kerensky lost his one chance to establish a strong government with the support of the Army
- d. Bolshevik popularity
  - The Bolsheviks became the people's heroes; in Sep 1917 they gained control of the Petrograd Soviet .
- e. October Revolution
  - Kerensky lost the support of the army; on 21 Oct the Petrograd garrison mutinied, and when the Bolsheviks attacked the Army did not support the Provisional Government

2. Bolshevik seizure of power: events
- a. Petrograd Mutiny, 3 Nov 1917
  - Kerensky ordered the Petrograd garrison to the front; they refused
- b. Red Guards took key positions, 6 Nov 1917
  - Red Guards took over key buildings (bridges, telephone exchange)
- c. Winter Palace, 7 Nov 1917
  - After a bombardment from the battleship Aurora, the Red Guards took the Winter Palace (the government HQ)
- d. Congress of Soviets, 7–8 Nov 1917
  - The Mensheviks and Socialist-Revolutionaries walked out in protest at the Bolshevik takeover .
- e. Lenin announced the new government, 8 Nov 1917
  - Lenin announced the Bolshevik regime and ‘the construction of the socialist order’

2. Why could the Bolsheviks seize power in November 1917?
- a. Lenin and Trotsky
  - Lenin provided a figure-head and ruthless, flexible leadership. Trotsky brilliantly organised the October coup, propaganda and formation of the CHEKA and Red Army
- b. Failure of the Provisional Government
  - It failed a solve a single one of its problems (Economic and land problems, splits, the Petrograd Soviet and lack of army support), leading to riots, mutinies and anarchy
- c. German support
  - The Germans smuggled Lenin into Russia and financed the Bolsheviks
- d. Bolshevik organisation
  - An efficient party organisation included 2 million members, Pravda, the Red Guards and a slogan (‘Peace Bread Land’) .
- e. The October Revolution
  - An almost bloodless coup d’etat

2. Lenin's new society
- a. Land Decree, 8 Nov 1917
  - Took land from the landlords and gave it to the peasants
- b. Peace Decree published, 9 Nov 1917
  - Proposed immediate withdrawal from the First World War
- c. Workers Decrees, 12 Nov 1917
  - Workers were given an 8-hour day, paid holiday and sick leave, old-age pensions were introduced; the Bolsheviks allowed free love, divorce and abortion
- d. Women’s equality, Jul 1918
  - Article 22 of the Russian Constitution gave women equal rights – they could be journalists, doctors, teachers and soldiers .
- e. Decree to Eradicate Illiteracy, Dec 1919
  - There was a campaign to teach everyone to read

2. Establishment of Bolshevik rule
- a. Constituent Assembly dismissed, 6 Jan 1918
  - Lenin dismissed the Constituent Assembly (6 January 1918) because 370 deputies were Social Revolutionaries (and only 175 Bolsheviks)
- b. Dictatorship of the Proletariat
  - He declared the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ and ruled by decree
- c. CHEKA
  - The CHEKA (secret police) pursued opponents; anti-Bolshevik publications were banned
- d. Red Terror, Sep 1918
  - After an attempt to assassinate him, Lenin launched the ‘Red Terror’ – 50,000 opponents were arrested, tortured or executed .
- e. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Set up the USSR; the government was run by a ‘Council of Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) controlled by the Communist Party’s cabinet (Politburo)

2. Russia quits the First World War
- a. Peace Decree published, 9 Nov 1917
  - Proposed immediate withdrawal from the First World War
- b. Armistice, Dec 1917
  - Armistice signed between Russia and the Central Powers
- c. German invasion, Feb 1918
  - Peace negotiations stalled because Russia refused to give up land, so the Germans invaded; Lenin agreed peace at any price
- d. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, Mar 1918
  - Russia lost Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia and the Ukraine – a third of its farmland, three-quarters of its coal and iron mines .
- e. Compensation, Aug 1918
  - Russia paid Germany compensation of 6 billion marks

2. Russian Civil War, 1918: causes
- a. White Russians
  - Supporters of the Tsar – nobles, generals, landowners – wanted to restore Nicholas
- b. Britain, France and the USA
  - Britain, France and the USA wanted to keep Russia in the First World War, and were motivated by fear of world communism
- c. Japan and Poland
  - Japan and Poland invaded to try to conquer Russian land
- d. Ukrainians and Georgians
  - The Ukrainians and Georgians wanted independence .
- e. Czech prisoners-of-war
  - Czech prisoners-of-war escaped, took over the Trans-Siberian Railway, and robbed and looted

2. The Civil War, 1918–1921
- a. Japan and Poland
  - Japan and Poland invaded to try to conquer Russian land
- b. Admiral Kolchak
  - Kolchak set up a ‘White’ government in Siberia and marched on Moscow; he was defeated in 1919
- c. General Denikin
  - Denikin (with French support) advanced from southern Russia; his army was defeated in 1920
- d. General Yudenich
  - Yudenich (with British money) attacked from Estonia and got to within 12 miles of Petrograd; he was defeated in 1920 .
- e. Czech prisoners-of-war
  - They advanced to Kazan, just 450 miles from Moscow, then bought safe passage home by handing over Admiral Kolchak and the White Army’s gold

2. Bolsheviks victory: causes
- a. Bolshevik zeal
  - The Bolshevik soldiers were motivated and fighting for a Communist state; the Whites were politically disunited and geographically split
- b. Agit trains
  - Propaganda – agit trains took mobile cinemas, speakers and leaflets round the country
- c. War Communism
  - War Communism provided the Red Army with the supplies it needed
- d. The Red Terror
  - The Red Terror murdered 750,000 Whites; Red generals’ families were kidnapped to keep them loyal; the royal family was executed in July 1918 .
- e. The Red Army
  - Red Army – Trotsky brilliantly organised an army of 300,000; it was well disciplined and well equipped

2. Bolshevik victory: consequences
- a. Bolshevik government
  - The Bolsheviks survived as the government of Russia
- b. Famine
  - Famine – 5 million died
- c. Inflation
  - Inflation – money became worthless; people reverted to barter
- d. Atrocities
  - Atrocities – massacres, tortures committed by both sides in the war .
- e. The Red Terror
  - Some historians think that the brutality of the Civil War made the Bolshevik government particularly ruthless in power

2. Creation of the USSR
- a. Creation of the USSR, 1922
  - Stalin announced the Declaration of the Creation of the USSR, which was agreed by the Soviet Socialist Republics of Russia, Transcaucasia, Ukraine and Byelorussia
- b. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Set up the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
- c. Sovnarkom
  - The government was run by a ‘Council of People’s Commissars’
- d. Politburo
  - The government was controlled by the Communist Party’s ruling cabinet .
- e. Russification
  - Russia dominated the USSR, and tried to destroy the language and customs of other nationalities

2. War Communism: causes
- a. Communist ideology, Jun 1918
  - The Decree on the Nationalisation of Industry abolished capitalism
- b. Economic crisis
  - During the Civil War, a quarter of all firms failed, production fell catastrophically, with large-scale unemployment and food shortages
- c. Bolshevik towns needed food
  - Supplies had been disrupted by the Civil War
- d. The Red Army needed supplies
  - Industry needed to be put on a war footing .
- e. Inflation
  - Money was losing value, people were reverting to barter

2. War Communism: features
- a. The Council of People’s Economy
  - The government directed production; the Council of National Economy (VSNKh) told each factory what and how much to produce
- b. Military discipline of workers
  - Military discipline was imposed in factories and strikers were shot
- c. Nationalisation of industry
  - Large factories and banks were taken over by the government
- d. Prodrazvyorstka
  - Peasants had to give all surplus food to the government; CHEKA units seized grain and killed any peasants trying to hide food .
- e. Ration cards replaced money
  - Food was rationed, with most food going first to manual workers, and professional people getting least

2. War Communism: consequences
- a. Economy ruined
  - Industrial output had fallen to 13% of the 1913 level, iron and steel production to 4%
- b. Food production declined
  - When all your surplus production was confiscated, there was no point in producing any more than subsistence
- c. Village riots
  - After 1920, there were riots in many villages when the CHEKA tried to confiscate grain
- d. Food procurements
  - Increased six-fold 1918–1921 .
- e. Red Terror
  - The CHEKA, strikers were shot, peasants hiding grain were executed

2. The Kronstadt rebellion, 1921: events
- a. Workers' Opposition, 1920
  - The Trade Unions united to oppose War Communism and the Bolshevik rules; in the countryside, peasants prevented the collection of the Prodrazvyorstka
- b. Petropavlovsk mutiny, 28 Feb 1921
  - The crew of the ship Petropavlovsk declared their support for Petrograd workers who were striking against War Communism, and called for elections and freedom
- c. Kronstadt Soviet, 1 Mar 1921
  - A demonstration of 15,000 soldiers elected a new Kronstadt Soviet and abolished Bolshevik rules
- d. Trotsky's attack, 7–17 Mar 1921
  - Trotsky attacked and defeated the Kronstadt fortress; 10,000 Red Guards were killed .
- e. Executions, 18 Mar 1921
  - 500 captured sailors were executed without trial; over the next few months 2000 more were put to death

2. The Kronstadt rebellion, 1921: results
- a. Arrest of opponents
  - In all, some 2,500 sailors were executed; Lenin used the Kronstadt rebellion as an excuse to crush the Workers' Opposition, and to arrest many other opponents (e.g. the Mensheviks)
- b. Solovki concentration camp
  - Solovki concentration camp, set up for the sailors and other opponents, was the first Soviet camp, and the start of the gulag
- c. 10th Party Congress: the Ban on Factions
  - The 10th Party Congress (Mar 1921) also banned all factions (disagreements within the Bolshevik Party); Stalin would later use this to eliminate his opponents
- d. 10% Prodnalog
  - At the 10th Party Congress (Mar 1921) Lenin replaced the Prodrazvyorstka with the Prodnalog (a tax in kind of 10% of produce) – much lighter, and the start of the New Economic Policy .
- e. NEP, 1923
  - Although Lenin intended the tax in kind to be temporary, he never managed to reinstate War Communism, and instead had to introduce the New Economic Policy in 1923

2. New Economic Policy: causes
- a. The Civil War was over
  - So the extreme measures of War Communism were no longer needed
- b. Economy ruined
  - Industrial output had fallen to 13% of the 1913 level, iron and steel production to 4%
- c. Food production declined
  - Grain confiscation had reduced agriculture to subsistence farming
- d. Village riots
  - There were riots in many villages; this showed how much War Communism was hated .
- e. Kronstadt rebellion, Mar 1921
  - The Kronstadt sailors rebelled; although Trotsky brutally crushed the rebellion, Lenin realised he had to change his policy

2. New Economic Policy: features
- a. Prodnalog
  - A food tax (Prodnalog) replaced Prodrazvyorstka (confiscation of surplus produce)
- b. Kulaks
  - Farmers were allowed to sell their surplus produce for profit; kulak farmers prospered
- c. Nepmen
  - Private businesses were allowed; small factories were given back to their owners and ‘Nepmen’ set up private enterprises
- d. Nationalities
  - Nationalities (e.g. Ukrainians) were allowed their own language and customs .
- e. Freedom of Religion
  - Freedom of religion was allowed to Christians and Muslims

2. New Economic Policy: consequences
- a. Production increased to 1914 levels
  - Grain production doubled; coal tripled; electricity increased five-fold
- b. Kulaks
  - Farmers were allowed to sell their surplus produce for profit; kulak farmers prospered
- c. Nepmen
  - ‘Nepmen’ set up private enterprises; some were resented for charging high prices
- d. Old Bolsheviks resigned
  - Many old Bolsheviks resigned, saying it was a return to capitalism .
- e. Russia remained economically backward
  - Russia remained economically backward compared to the West

2. Communist rule in the 1920s: facts
- a. Vozhd
  - Lenin was the undisputed vozhd (leader)
- b. Dictatorship of the proletariat, Jan 1918
  - Lenin dismissed the Constituent Assembly, declared the ‘dictatorship of the proletariat’ and ruled by decree
- c. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Lenin set up the USSR and ensured the ‘Council of People’s Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) – was controlled by the Communist Party’s ruling cabinet (the Politburo)
- d. OGPU and Gulag
  - Opponents – both outside and inside the Communist Party – were arrested by the OGPU (secret police) and sent to the ‘Gulag’ (the system of labour camps) .
- e. Agitprop, 1920
  - The Politburo set up an Agitprop Department to organise censorship and propaganda; ‘agit-trains’ took newsreels round the country

2. Roles and achievements of Lenin
- a. Vozhd
  - Lenin was the figurehead and accepted leader (vozhd) – important in a party of revolutionaries
- b. German support
  - Lenin persuaded the Germans to smuggle him back to Russia and to finance the Bolsheviks in 1917
- c. April Theses
  - The April Theses provided the ideas and attracted support in 1917; Lenin brought in the new communist society
- d. Dictatorship of the proletariat
  - Lenin ruthlessly seized power in January 1918 and established Bolshevik rule by announcing the Red Terror .
- e. War communism
  - Lenin introduced the system of War Communism which gave the Bolsheviks unity and victory in the Russian Civil War

2. Roles and achievements of Trotsky
- a. Pravda
  - As editor of Pravda, Trotsky was a great Communist thinker who defined the nature of the Communist state in Russia; he developed a form of Communism called 'Trotskyism'
- b. November Revolution
  - As leader of the Red Guards, Trotsky led the November Revolution
- c. Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
  - As Commissar for Foreign Affairs, it was Trotsky who made the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk with Germany
- d. Red Army and Red Terror
  - Trotsky brilliantly organised the Red Army (he personally led the defeat of Yudenich at Petrograd) and the Red Terror which won the Civil War .
- e. NEP
  - Although he ruthlessly defeated the Kronstadt Mutiny in 1921,Trotsky realised that things had to change, and it was Trotsky who devised the NEP

2. Trotsky: background facts
- a. Revolutionary Military Committee
  - As head of the Revolutionary Military Committee, he had organised the November coup
- b. Commissar for Foreign Affairs
  - As Commissar for Foreign Affairs, he had negotiated the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
- c. Commissar for War
  - As Commissar for War, he had formed the Red Army, organised the CHEKA, won the civil war and put down the Kronstadt rebellion
- d. World revolution
  - Trotsky believed in ‘world revolution’, encouraging Communists in other countries to rebel .
- e. 13th Party Conference
  - He was Jewish, had been a Menshevik (and at the 13th Party Conference in 1924, he and his 46 main supporters were marked for ‘political annihilation’)

2. Trotsky: weaknesses and mistakes
- a. Malaria
  - Trotsky had malaria, and had to go to the Black Sea to recover just as Lenin died in 1924; this gave Stalin an advantage
- b. Lenin's Funeral
  - Stalin organised Lenin’s funeral; he told Trotsky the wrong date, so Trotsky missed it – this made Trotsky look bad and Stalin, who was chief mourner, look loyal
- c. Trotsky's personal failings
  - Trotsky was arrogant and dictatorial; he was also Jewish, and had been a Menshevik
- d. 13th Party Conference
  - Trotsky supported Lenin’s Testament, but instead, at the 13th Party Conference in 1924, he and his 46 main supporters were marked for ‘political annihilation’ .
- e. World revolution
  - Trotsky believed in ‘world revolution’, encouraging Communists in other countries to rebel – many Communists believed it would bring disaster

2. Stalin: background facts
- a. Party activist
  - He had been a Bolshevik since 1905 – he had issued the very first edition of Pravda; he had twice been imprisoned in Siberia BUT may have been a tsarist informer
- b. Commissar for Nationalities, 1917
  - In 1917, he was made Commissar for Nationalities (with the task of destroying the national identity of the different races); he was ruthlessness and brutal
- c. ‘'Comrade Card-index’, 1922
  - As General Secretary of the Communist Party, he appointed the top Party officials (the 5000 nomenklatura) who appointed the 20,000 apparatchiki (party officials)
- d. Popularity
  - He was genial, pleasant and liked a laugh – this made him popular .
- e. Socialism in one country
  - Stalin argued for ‘Socialism in one country’ – establishing Russia first, and going for world revolution later

2. Stalin and Lenin's death, 1924
- a. Lenin's illness, 1924
  - Lenin died in 1924; during his final illness, he had been cared for by Stalin
- b. Lenin's Testament
  - Lenin wrote a Testament supporting Trotsky and warning against giving Stalin power
- c. Lenin's funeral
  - Stalin organised Lenin’s funeral; he told Trotsky the wrong date, so Trotsky missed it – this made Trotsky look bad and Stalin, who was chief mourner, look loyal
- d. Lenin's ideas
  - Stalin pretended to be a follower of Lenin’s ideas; he wrote a book on Lenin’s ideas which made him popular .
- e. Lenin Levy
  - Stalin organised the enrolment of hundreds of thousands of new members (the ‘Lenin Levy’); they accepted Stalin as the leader

2. The struggle for power: facts
- a. Trotsky supported Lenin’s Testament, 1924
  - Trotsky forced the Politburo to discuss Lenin’s Testament; he wanted Stalin expelled from the Politburo, but Stalin was saved by Kamenev and Zinoviev
- b. Trotsky was defeated, 1925
  - Stalin formed an alliance (the troika) with Kamenev and Zinoviev; they forced Trotsky to resign as Commissar for War and dismissed his 46 supporters
- c. Kamenev and Zinoviev were expelled, 1927
  - Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev formed the ‘United Opposition’, but Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky helped Stalin expelled them and 1500 supporters
- d. Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky denounced, 1929
  - At the 16th Party Conference, Stalin turned against the NEP; when Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky opposed him, he denounced them as ‘deviationists’ .
- e. Trotsky was murdered, 1940
  - Trotsky was exiled in 1929, sentenced to death in a Show Trial in 1936, and was finally murdered in Mexico by a NKVD agent in 1940

2. Why Stalin won: causes
- a. ‘Comrade Card-index’, 1922
  - As General Secretary of the Communist Party, he appointed the top Party officials (the 5000 nomenklatura) who appointed the 20,000 apparatchiki (party officials)
- b. Popularity
  - He was genial, pleasant and liked a laugh – this made him popular
- c. Socialism in one country
  - Stalin argued for ‘Socialism in one country’ – establishing Russia first, and going for world revolution later
- d. Political strategy
  - Stalin formed alliances first with Kamenev and Zinoviev (the troika) then with Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky – and then turned against them .
- e. Stalin was ruthless
  - e.g. as Commissar for Nationalities/telling Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral/exile and murder of Trotsky

2. Stalin's rise to power: milestones
- a. ‘Comrade Card-index’, 1922
  - As General Secretary of the Communist Party, he appointed the top Party officials (the 5000 nomenklatura) who appointed the 20,000 apparatchiki (party officials)
- b. Constitutional Law, 1923
  - Set up the USSR and ensured the ‘Council of People’s Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) – was controlled by the Communist Party’s ruling cabinet (the Politburo)
- c. Vozhd, 1929
  - By his 50th birthday, in December 1929, Stalin had defeated all his rivals and was celebrated as the new vozhd (leader)
- d. Ryutin’s Appeal to all Bolsheviks, 1932
  - Ryutin wrote An Appeal to all Bolsheviks calling for the return of the NEP, the end of collectivisation and ‘the elimination of Stalin’ .
- e. 17th Party Congress, 1934
  - Opposition to Stalin arose – he was sacked as General Secretary, and Kirov (the Leningrad Party leader) was more popular

2. The 1936 Constitution: facts
- a. The Communist Party
  - The Communist Party was 'the leading core of all organisations' – i.e. the Communist Politburo was more powerful than the Sovnarkom (Council of People’s Commissars’)
- b. Stalin the Vozhd
  - Stalin held all power – he was First Secretary of the Communist Party, Chairman of the Politburo and Chairman of the Sovnarkom (the ‘Council of People’s Commissars’)
- c. Freedoms and rights
  - The Constitution gave the vote to everyone over 18, freedom of speech, and the right to work, healthcare, housing and education; “the only fully democratic constitution in the world”
- d. Opposition was banned
  - Since all parties were banned except the Communist Party, none of the promises in the 1936 Constitution affected the Communist control over the government .
- e. Direct voting
  - The new constitution introduced ‘direct voting’ for government members; this reduced the power of the local Communist parties

2. How did Stalin reinforce his dictatorship: ways
- a. Constitution of 1936
  - It guaranteed freedom, but banned opposition parties, reinforced Stalin’s control of government, and reduced the powers of local parties by direct voting
- b. The Great Terror
  - Including the Gulag and NKVD; called the Yezhovshchina after Nikolai Yezhov (nicknamed ‘the Bloody Dwarf’) who organised it
- c. The Purges
  - Stalin’s opponents were purged from the Politburo, the Party and the Red Army
- d. Propaganda
  - Including the ‘cult of personality’ and constant praise for Stalin and Communism .
- e. Censorship
  - All writers were controlled by the government censorship department Glavlit; history was re-written

2. The Purges: causes
- a. Civil War atrocities
  - Some historians think that the brutality of the Civil War made the Bolsheviks particularly ruthless in power
- b. Kirov’s challenge to Stalin
  - Opposition to Stalin arose at the 17th Party Congress – he was sacked as General Secretary, and Kirov (the Leningrad Party leader) was more popular
- c. Kirov was shot
  - Although, historians suggest Kirov was shot on Stalin’s orders, Stalin used it as an excuse to order mass arrests
- d. Stalin’s bloodlust
  - Stalin had always been ruthless (e.g. as Commissar for Nationalities); some historians believe he was paranoid (he personally approved lists of executions) .
- e. The danger from Germany
  - Stalin argued that the USSR had ten years to prepare for an invasion by Nazi Germany, and that it had to make itself strong at all costs

2. The Purges: facts
- a. Leningrad Party, 1934
  - Kirov’s supporters in the Leningrad Party were arrested
- b. Politburo
  - 7 out of 8 of Stalin’s 1934 Politburo were eliminated
- c. Party Congress, 1935
  - Party activists was purged (including 1108 out of 1966 delegates to the Party Congress)
- d. Red Army, 1937
  - The Red Army commander and 81 out of 103 generals and admirals were purged .
- e. Communist Party
  - About a million Party members were expelled or arrested

2. The Great Terror: facts
- a. Nikolai Yezhov
  - The Terror was led by Nikolai Yezhov (nicknamed ‘the Bloody Dwarf’) and enforced by the secret police (OGPU/NKVD)
- b. Gulag
  - The Gulag was a system of labour camps in Siberia; in 1937, 1 million people were imprisoned in the Gulag; there were 790,000 executions
- c. Kulaks
  - 5 million kulaks were ‘eliminated’
- d. Russification
  - National dress and customs were forbidden, and both the Christian and Muslim religions were persecuted; 5 million Ukrainians starved, 1933–34 .
- e. Show trials
  - Public show trials of disgraced Bolsheviks (e.g. Zinoviev and Kamenev, 1936, and Bukharin, Rykov, 1938) for improbable crimes, which they admitted

2. The Great Terror: consequences
- a. Informers and apparatchiks
  - Informers denounced their neighbours to get a flat; loyal ‘apparatchiks’ (party officials) got the best jobs, flats, etc.
- b. Stalin was undisputed leader
  - Stalin was constantly praised and applauded (he wasn’t there, but the NKVD were)
- c. Everyone wore a ‘smiling mask’
  - An atmosphere of fear and intimidation – children informed on parents; Tomsky committed suicide rather than face a show trial
- d. Russification
  - Russification destroyed national identity and attacked religion .
- e. Weakened the Army
  - Some historians have suggested that Stalin’s Purges of the generals weakened the army – hence Hitler’s spectacular victories when he invaded in 1941

2. The cult of personality: features
- a. Statues, paintings and banners
  - Statues, paintings and banners everywhere bore his face; every home had a picture
- b. Places named after Stalin
  - Towns (e.g. Stalingrad), roads and buildings were named after him
- c. Literature in his honour
  - Poems and books were written in his honour
- d. Stalin was almost worshipped
  - He was regarded as almost divine; it was said (e.g.) that he caused spring to come .
- e. Constant praise and applause
  - He was afforded constant praise and applause

2. Censorship: features
- a. Glavlit
  - The Censorship Department, Glavlit, had 70,000 employees
- b. Union of Soviet Writers
  - All writers had to be members of the Union of Soviet Writers
- c. Attacking Capitalism
  - The media had to attack Western capitalism and religion
- d. ‘Bourgeois pseudo-science’
  - Subjects like genetics and sociology were forbidden as ‘bourgeois pseudo-science’ .
- e. Communist stories
  - Novelists had to write Communist stories with a happy ending

2. Propaganda: facts
- a. Cult of personality
  - The media had to glorify Stalin
- b. Supporting communism
  - The media had to celebrate communism, and encourage hard work (e.g. Stakhanov) and informing on traitors
- c. ‘Socialist realism’ in art
  - All art had to follow the rules of ‘Socialist realism’, celebrating the proletariat
- d. History was re-written
  - History was changed to make Stalin look more important; new pages were written and pasted into textbooks to ‘write out’ disgraced leaders from history .
- e. Children were indoctrinated
  - Children were taught that Stalin was the Great Leader; they were encouraged to love Stalin more than their parents, and to inform on them

2. Stalin's economic changes: causes
- a. The New Economic Policy was failing
  - By 1929, the New Economic Policy had only increased production to the 1913 level; the NEP was not improving things quickly enough
- b. ‘Scissor Crisis’
  - Prices of agricultural produce were falling, but the price of industrial goods was rising; this was impoverishing the countryside
- c. Agriculture was backward
  - Not enough food was being produced for the towns (there was a shortfall of 20 million tonnes of grain); Russia needed cash crops to export
- d. NEPmen and kulaks
  - The rich NEPmen and kulaks – capitalists selling at a profit – were hateful to Communists .
- e. The danger from Germany
  - Stalin argued that the USSR had ten years to prepare for an invasion by Nazi Germany, but was 50–100 years behind the West

2. Collectivisation: aims
- a. Kolkhoz
  - All the farms in the village were joined together into one collective (kolkhoz)
- b. Government targets
  - Farming was run by government officials to meet government targets
- c. Production for the towns
  - 90% of production was taken by the government
- d. Motor Tractor Stations
  - Every kolkhoz was supposed to have a Motor Tractor Station (= modernisation) .
- e. Eliminate the kulaks
  - Collectivisation gave Stalin an excuse to eliminate the hateful kulaks

2. Collectivisation: the process
- a. Failed first attempt, 1929
  - Stalin ordered that peasants’ farms had to be united into collectives (kolkhoz); there was opposition and he was forced to stop
- b. Kolkhoz restarted, 1931
  - Stalin restarted collectivisation and seized grain by force
- c. Peasant resistance, 1932
  - More resistance; the peasants killed their animals and burned their crops
- d. War on the Kulaks, 1933
  - Stalin blamed the kulaks and declared war on them; 5 million were sent to the Gulag .
- e. 250,000 kolkhoz, 1939
  - 90% of peasants lived on one of 250,000 kolkhoz or 4000 state farms

2. Collectivisation: the results
- a. 250,000 kolkhoz
  - By 1939, 90% of peasants lived on one of 250,000 kolkhoz or 4000 state farms
- b. Increased grain production
  - In 1937, 97 million tonnes of grain were produced (compared with 73 million in 1928) plus cash crops for export
- c. Peasants migrated to the towns
  - 17 million peasants left the countryside to work in the towns, 1928–1937
- d. Reduced livestock
  - The number of animals fell, 1928–1937 (cattle from 70 million to 50 million; sheep from 150 million to 66 million) .
- e. Famine in the Ukraine
  - Agricultural production fell; there was a famine in the Ukraine 1933–34 (5 million people died)

2. Industrialisation: the Five-Year Plans
- a. GOSPLAN
  - GOSPLAN (the state planning agency) drew up plans; targets were set for every industry, region, mine and factory, foreman and worker.
- b. Three 5-Year Plans, 1928–37
  - The First (1928) and Second (1933) Plans concentrated on heavy industry; the consumer goods promised by the Third (1937) never happened because of the war
- c. Young ‘pioneers’
  - Young ‘pioneers’ with Communist zeal started the projects
- d. Foreign experts
  - Foreign experts and engineers were called in .
- e. Slave labour
  - For projects such as dams or canals, slave labour from the Gulag was used

2. Industrialisation: results
- a. Heavy industry, 1928 & 1933
  - The First (1928) and Second (1933) 5-Year Plans concentrated on heavy industry
- b. Third 5-Year Plan, 1937
  - The Third 5-Year Plan (1937) promised consumer goods and better housing; it never happened – because of the war, later targets were changed to armaments
- c. Increased production, 1928–1937
  - Increased production 1928–1937 (e.g. coal production increased four-fold, electricity seven-fold); by 1940, the USSR was the world’s second-biggest economy
- d. Magnitogorsk
  - Towns grew, including new industrial centres such as Magnitogorsk .
- e. Dnieper Dam and Belomor Canal
  - Achievements such as the Moscow underground, Dnieper Dam and the Belomor Canal

2. Industrialisation: working conditions
- a. Terrible cost in human lives
  - Appalling conditions and a terrible cost in human lives (especially the kulaks) – e.g. some 100,000 people died building the Belomor Canal
- b. Atmosphere of terror
  - Atmosphere of terror – workers were bombarded with propaganda, posters, slogans and radio broadcasts lazy workers were punished, even shot
- c. Stakhanovites
  - Pressure to work harder; medals were awarded for ‘Stakhanovites’
- d. Wages and conditions worsened
  - Wages and conditions worsened .
- e. Increase of alcoholism and crime
  - There was an increase of alcoholism and crime as workers tried to escape the pressure

2. Industrialisation: social consequences
- a. Education and 87% literacy
  - Free universities and training schemes – all children received free state education; literacy had increased to 87% by 1939
- b. Free health care
  - Free health care – by 1940, the USSR had more doctors per person than Britain
- c. Poor industrial housing
  - Industrial housing was overcrowded and rundown
- d. Famine
  - There were food shortages as agricultural production fell; there was a famine in the Ukraine 1933–34 (5 million people died) .
- e. Shortages of consumer goods
  - There were great shortages of consumer goods, especially in the mid-1930s

2. Industrialisation: political consequences
- a. Cult of Stalin
  - The successes were celebrated in Soviet propaganda to reinforce the cult of Stalin
- b. International prestige
  - By 1940, the USSR was the world’s second-biggest economy and there was NO unemployment – this compared favourably to the Depression in the West
- c. Inequality and privilege
  - Higher wages for teachers, engineers, skilled workers, managers and apparatchiks; all pretence of Communist equality was abandoned
- d. The Great Terror
  - Slave labour from the Gulag was used for projects such as dams or canals; it was part of the Great Terror .
- e. War on the Kulaks
  - Stalin declared war on the kulaks; 5 million were sent to the Gulag and used on the construction project

2. Life in Stalin's Russia: working conditions
- a. Terrible cost in human lives
  - Appalling conditions and a terrible cost in human lives (especially the kulaks) – e.g. some 100,000 people died building the Belomor Canal
- b. Atmosphere of terror
  - Atmosphere of terror – workers were bombarded with propaganda, posters, slogans and radio broadcasts lazy workers were punished, even shot
- c. Stakhanovites
  - Pressure to work harder; medals were awarded for ‘Stakhanovites’
- d. Wages and conditions worsened
  - Wages and conditions worsened .
- e. Increase of alcoholism and crime
  - There was an increase of alcoholism and crime and workers tried to escape the pressure

2. Life in Stalin's Russia: living conditions
- a. Education and 87% literacy
  - Free universities and training schemes – all children received free state education; literacy had increased to 87% by 1939
- b. Free health care
  - Free health care – by 1940, the USSR had more doctors per person than Britain
- c. Poor industrial housing
  - Industrial housing was overcrowded and rundown
- d. Famine
  - There were food shortages as agricultural production fell; there was a famine in the Ukraine 1933-34 (5 million people died) .
- e. Shortages of consumer goods
  - There were great shortages of consumer goods, especially in the mid-1930s

2. Women in Stalin’s Russia
- a. Creches were provided
  - Creches were provided so that women could go to work
- b. Universities and doctors
  - Treated as equal to men – sent to universities/became doctors
- c. 40% of industrial workforce
  - By 1937, 40% of industrial workers and 72% of health workers were women
- d. Divorce and abortion prevented
  - Divorce was made more difficult and abortion abolished .
- e. Child-bearing encouraged
  - Medals were awarded to women who had more than ten children

2. Education
- a. Love of Stalin
  - Children were taught that Stalin was the Great Leader; they were encouraged to love Stalin more than their parents, and to inform on them
- b. History was changed
  - History was changed so that Stalin looked more important than he had been, and so that his opponents 'disappeared'
- c. Maths, Science and Technology
  - Discipline was strict, with an emphasis on Maths, Science and Technology
- d. ‘'Bourgeois pseudo-science’
  - Subjects like genetics and sociology were forbidden as ‘bourgeois pseudo-science’ .
- e. Communist youth organisations
  - Children had to join Communist youth organisations such as the Octobrists (8-10 year-olds), Pioneers (10-16) and Komsomol (19-23)

2. Different groups in Stalin's Russia
- a. The elite prospered
  - e.g. higher wages and perks such as better housing, holidays and special shops, for teachers, engineers, skilled workers and apparatchiks
- b. Peasants suffered
  - e.g. they had none of the benefits of the industrial workers (e.g. electricity), and collectivisation caused famines
- c. The kulaks were 'liquidated'
  - Stalin blamed the kulaks for the resistance to collectivisation and declared war on them; 5 million were sent to the Gulag
- d. Nationalities were destroyed
  - e.g. Russian became the language of government, national dress and customs were forbidden; 5 million Ukrainians were allowed to starve, 1933–1934 .
- e. Religion was persecuted
  - e.g. churches were destroyed and priests sent to the Gulag

2. Stalin's successes: facts
- a. Second-biggest economy
  - By 1940, the USSR was the world’s second-biggest economy and there was NO unemployment – this compared favourably to the Depression in the West
- b. Increased grain production
  - In 1937, 97 million tonnes of grain were produced (compared with 73 million in 1928) plus cash crops for export
- c. Magnitogorsk
  - Towns grew, including new industrial centres such as Magnitogorsk
- d. Dnieper Dam and Belomor Canal
  - Achievements such as the Moscow underground, Dnieper Dam and the Belomor Canal .
- e. Some social successes
  - e.g. the role of women, free education, improved literacy, free health care (by 1940, the USSR had more doctors per person than Britain)

2. How powerful was Stalin by 1941?
- a. Vozhd
  - Stalin was First Secretary of the Communist Party, Chairman of the Politburo and Chairman of the Sovnarkom.
- b. Constitutional Law (1923)
  - Ensured the ‘Council of People’s Commissars’ (Sovnarkom) – was controlled by the Communist Party’s ruling cabinet (the Politburo)
- c. Constitution of 1936
  - It guaranteed freedom, but banned opposition parties, reinforced Stalin’s control of government, and reduced the powers of local parties by direct voting
- d. The Great Terror
  - Including the Gulag and NKVD; called the Yezhovshchina after Nikolai Yezhov who organised it; Stalin’s opponents were purged from the Politburo, the Party and the Red Army .
- e. The cult of Stalin
  - Including the cult of personality, manipulation of education, censorship and propaganda

2. Soviet foreign policy before 1941
- a. World Revolution
  - Initially, the Bolsheviks tried to provoke world revolution; there were communist uprisings in Germany, Italy, Hungary and the Baltic States 1919-24
- b. Socialism in One Country
  - Defeat of the 1919-24 uprisings, and defeat in the war with Poland, convinced Stalin that the USSR was not strong enough
- c. Maxim Litvinov
  - From 1930, Maxim Litvinov, Soviet Commissar for Foreign Affairs, negotiated non-aggression pacts with Poland, the Baltic States, France and China.
- d. The USSR joined the League of Nations, 1934
  - Stalin hoped it would restrain Hitler’s aggressive foreign policy; he believed that war with the Nazis was inevitable .
- e. Nazi-Soviet Pact, 1939
  - When it was clear that the League was powerless, and that Britain and France were just going to appease Hitler, Stalin made the Nazi-Soviet Pact

2. Events of the Great Patriotic War
- a. Operation Barbarossa, 1941
  - The Nazis launch Operation Barbarossa – the invasion of the USSR – taking Stalin by surprise. By December the Nazis had conquered huge areas of Russia, but had failed to take Leningrad and Moscow..
- b. Battle Stalingrad, 1942-43
  - The Nazi Sixth Army was stopped at the battle Stalingrad and eliminated
- c. Battle of Kursk, July-Aug 1943
  - Nazis defeated at the Battle of Kursk – the largest tank battle in history
- d. Nazis driven out of Russia, 1944
  - The Nazis were driven out of Russia .
- e. Capture of Berlin, 2 May 1945
  - The Soviets captured Berlin

2. Why the USSR won
- a. Propaganda
  - The Sovinformburo appealed to the nationalism, communism AND religion of the Soviet peoples
- b. Economy
  - The entire economy: was devoted to supplying the army. 1,500 factories were moved to the Urals and central Asia. Labour was mobilised: military discipline/ holidays abolished
- c. Natural factors
  - Russia’s huge size and ‘General Winter’, along with the Soviets’ ‘scorched earth’ tactics.
- d. Red Army
  - Draconian discipline, amazing heroism. 800,000 women recruited PLUS helped by huge amounts of foreign aid .
- e. Stalin’s leadership?
  - ALL decisions had to go through Stalin and he insisted on ‘Not A Step Back’ (Order No. 227), whatever the cost. Millions of Soviet soldiers died as a result, notably in the final attack on Berlin.

2. Results of the Great Patriotic War
- a. Death
  - 26 million Soviet citizens died from overwork and malnutrition, enemy action, or fighting in the Red Army.
- b. Destruction
  - Industry and agriculture ruined. 70,000 villages, 100,000 kolkhozy and 40,000 miles of railway track destroyed. Nearly 5 million houses destroyed; 25 million home
- c. Cold War
  - After 1945, Soviet forces stayed in the countries of eastern Europe as a ‘cordon sanitaire’ protecting the Soviet Union … this was the cause of the Cold War.
- d. Orthodox Church
  - Its support for the war effort led to its being given greater toleration .
- e. Remembrance
  - Victory Day is still one of the most important public holidays for Russian citizens.