soc 30-1 readings: chapter 5 – parts on russia soc 30-2 readings: chapter 7, pg. 161-172
TRANSCRIPT
SOC 30-1 Readings: Chapter 5 – parts on Russia
SOC 30-2 Readings: Chapter 7, pg. 161-172
Nature of Totalitarian (Dictatorship) Regimes:Totalitarian regimes are responding to what they
see as dangerous and destabilizing changesExisting society is in need of a complete
transformation
In the case of the Soviet Union, it became RadicalThe change desired is a move toward the far left of
the economic spectrum (a classless society with state [public] ownership of property) and a COMPLETE REJECTION of the political and economic traditions of the past
Nature of Totalitarian (Dictatorship) Regimes:Just like liberalism, dictatorships are simply
ideologiesThe focus is about control over your citizens
Control is maintained through:Extensive local, regional, and national organizationsYouth, professional, cultural and athletic groups
(forced participation)A secret police, using terrorIndoctrination through educationCensorship of the mediaRedirecting popular discontent (scapegoating)
Nature of Totalitarian (Dictatorship) Regimes:If Liberalism embraces…
LawIndividual Rights and FreedomsPrivate PropertySelf InterestEconomic FreedomCompetition
Then dictatorships reject some of these principlesBut which ones…?
•Weakness of Tsar Nicholas II•Failure of the Duma•Discontent of the workers•Failures during WWI•Rasputin and Scandal•Opposition of the Communists•February Revolution, 1917
Weakness of Tsar Nicholas IIWas the absolute monarch of
Russia. He had total powerNicholas II was a weak man
His secret police, the Okrana, were used to persecute opponents
Books and newspapers censoredThe Church supported the Tsar
Nicholas II ruled a vast country that was almost medieval compared to other countriesHis undemocratic government
also caused tension
Failure of the DumaIn 1905, Russia lost a war with Japan
The defeat caused strikes throughout RussiaNicholas II offered to call the Duma, or parliament,
with free electionsWhen the Duma met, it began to criticize the Tsar
and demanded the changes. Nicholas II didn’t like thisThe Duma was dismissed and new elections,
controlled by the Tsar were calledIt became clear that the Duma would be shut
down if it criticized the Tsar – as long as the Tsar had control of the army, his power could not be broken.
Workers’ DiscontentIndustrialization began much later in Russia than in
Western EuropeHuge iron foundries, textile factories, and engineering
firms were set upMost were owned by the government or foreignersBy 1900, 20% of Russians were workers living in cities
Working conditions in towns was very hard, pay was lowIllegal strikes often took place, with strikers being shot
by the Tsar’s soldiers or even secret police
‘The whole day we pour out our blood and sweat.
Every minute we are exposed to danger.’-Union leaflet 1898
Workers’ DiscontentTraditionally, Russia was a rural society with
over 90% of the people being poor peasantsUntil 1861, peasants had belonged to their
masters, who could buy and sell them like animalsWhen the peasants were freed in 1861, they were
given small amounts of land for which they had to pay back the government
Most peasants were in a state of poverty. Agriculture was in desperate need of modernization
In contrast, a small number of upper-class people held most of the wealth and power. This aristocracy had large town houses and country estates
Russian Failures in WWIRussia fought very well early on in the
war In 1915, Tsar Nicholas II assumed
personal command of the Russian forces Risky- any defeats would be blamed
on him It turned out that he was a poor
commanderThe Russian army lost confidence in
him after a string of defeatsThe Russian soldiers were poorly
equipped and trained; thousands deserted Lacked basic items such as rifles and
ammunitionWithout the support of the army, the
Tsar’s position became precarious
Rasputin and ScandalWhile Nicholas II was commanding
the Russian forces, he left the day-to-day running of Russia to his wife: Tsarina Alexandra
Alexandra came under the influence of Gregory Rasputin Seen as a ‘holy man’ Was apparently able to heal the
hemophilia of Prince Alexis, the heir to the throne
Rasputin used his power to win effective control of the Russian government This aroused envy and he was
murdered in 1916 Rasputin’s influence undermined
the prestige of the royal family
Opposition of the CommunistsMany middle-class Liberals and social
revolutionaries who supported the peasants opposed the TsarBut the social democrats/communists were the
most revolutionaryRussian Communists are divided into two groups
Bolsheviks – led by Lenin Believed that a small party of Bolsheviks should seize
power and control Russia on behalf of the peopleMensheviks – led by Trotsky
Before 1917, Lenin and many other communist leaders were in exile abroad, plotting revolution
February & October Revolutions, 1917Russia did so poorly in WWI that a
spontaneous uprising occurred in FebruarySparked by food riots, poor working
conditions, and failure to win the warThe Russian army refused to shoot at the
demonstrators and joined forces with them
Lenin, in exile in Switzerland, raced to Petrograd so that he could attempt to seize control of the revolution
In March 1917, the Tsar was forced to abdicate and a provisional government was set up Lenin believed that this new government was weak and would not
impose communism on the Russian people In October 1917, Lenin led an armed uprising against the
Provisional Government
•Abandoning the Constituent Assembly•The Cheka•Success of the New Economic Policy•The Kronstadt Revolt, 1921•War Communism•Execution of Tsar Nicholas II, 1918•Civil War: 1918-1921•Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918
Abandonment of the Constituent Assembly, 1917Immediately after the October Revolution, Lenin
promised to hold elections for a parliament to be known as the Constituent Assembly
Lenin renamed the Bolshevik Party as the Communist Part in order to win wider support. However, the Communists only won 175/700 seats –
not enough for a majorityTherefore Lenin shut down the Constituent Assembly
after only one day!Lenin was not prepared to share power with
anyone. This was the first step in setting up a Communist dictatorship
The Cheka (secret police)In December 1917, Lenin created
the ChekaCheka agents spied on the Russian
people in factories and villagesAnyone suspected of being anti-
Communist could be arrested, tortured, and executed without a trial
When opponents tried to assassinate Lenin in 1918, he launched the Red Terror campaign against his enemiesEstimated 50,000 people were
arrested and executed in this period
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, 1918To impose Communist control, Lenin needed to
bring Russia out of WWIThe Russian army was weakened by poor morale,
desertions, and a lack of discipline. It could not resist the Germans
In March 1918, Russia signed a humiliating peace treaty with GermanyRussia lost a huge amount of Western lands,
including 1/6 of its population (60 million people!)Also lost ¾ of its iron & coal mines, and over ¼ of
its best farmland!The Treaty came at a high price, but Lenin knew
he could not defeat Germany and his opponents in Russia at the same time
Treaty ofBrest-Litovsk
1918
Germany
Russia
.Brest-Litovsk
Ukraine
Estonia
Latvia
Lithuania
Russian territory ceded to Germany
Civil War: 1918-1921Two groups
“Reds” – Lenin & the Communists“Whites” – aristocrats, royalists, churchmen,
army officers, many others Also supported by Britain, France, Japan, and the USA;
countries alarmed at the possible spread of Communism
The Reds managed to win the civil war. How?The Whites were divided, while the Reds
controlled the key cities, industrial centers, and communication links
Leon Trotsky’s tough leadership of the new Red Army also proved to be a decisive advantage
Allied armies
White Russian armies
Polish armies
Japanese armies Finns
Communist Russia Communist Russia besieged during the besieged during the Civil War 1918-1921Civil War 1918-1921
• Moscow
• Petrograd
Czechs (ex-prisoners of war)
Civil War: 1918-1921Leon Trotsky – founder
and commander of the Red Army
“Every scoundrel who incites anyone to retreat or to desert will be shot!”
“Every soldier who throws away his rifle will be shot!”
Execution of Tsar Nicholas IIAfter abdicating the throne, Nicholas II and
his family were arrested and sent to SiberiaIn July 1918, the Romanovs were in
Ekaterinburg, with a White army closing in on the townLocal communists were worried that the Tsar
might be a rallying point for the WhitesThus the Tsar, his wife, their five children, and
four attendants were shot and bayoneted
Lenin replaced War Communism with his NEP in 1921
He never saw it as a permanent policy, but as a temporary retreat from socialism that would give Russia a chance to recover economically and socially
New Economic PolicyProvisions
State retained ownership in large industryPrivate enterprise allowed in small industries and retail tradePeasants freed from forced requisitions
Had to pay tax in kind to the government, but were otherwise free to sell the rest of their produce on the free market
Farmers given a strong incentive to produce moreThe NEP was a tremendous success and it
quickly revived the Russian economy
New Economic Policies“Dangers”75% of all retail trade fell into
private hands during the NEPCaused the rise of “Nepmen”
It was feared that they would become the new “bourgeoisie”
Caused the rise of “kulaks”Peasants had grown wealthy
because of private enterprise provisions of the NEP
Debate over the NEP would become linked to the power struggle after Lenin’s death
Ban on “Factions”In response to criticisms of the
NEP, Lenin and Politburo ban all “factions” in 1922Any party member who joined
others to oppose or criticize any party policy would be expelled
Stalin would later use this policy to eliminate rivals
Leaders who would later suffer because of this policy all voted for it in 1922
Lenin suffered a series of increasingly serious strokes between 1921 and 1924.
These left him speechless and paralyzed.
He also made two mistakes 1) Supported the ban on factions 2) Appointed Josef Stalin as General Secretary of the Communist Party
Lenin Moves to get rid of StalinLenin discovered that Stalin had
used terror and murder to stifle peaceful opposition of local communist leaders in GeorgiaLenin criticized Stalin’s “Moscow
chauvinism” and began to meet with Trotsky to kick Stalin out of the party
Stalin learned of the meeting and berated Lenin’s wife, Krupskaya, when she would not let him meet with Lenin
Lenin’s Last TestamentBegan in 1922 – Lenin did not name a successor, but
offered his personal evaluation of all possible candidatesStalin: should be replaced with someone “more patient,
more loyal, more courteous, and less capricious”Trotsky: most pre-eminent member of the party but
suffered from excessive self-confidence and highhandedness
Highly praised Nicholas Bukharin and Felix PyatokovNo one was fit to succeed him
He wanted Trotsky and several other party members to form a caretaker government until Bukharin and Pyatokov were ready to take over
Death of LeninLenin took final steps
to eliminate StalinBut a final stroke on
March 10, 1924 completely paralyzes Lenin before he could get rid of StalinLenin died in early
1924 at the age of 54
Death of LeninWhen Lenin died, he had been
very successful in imposing a communist dictatorship in Russia
He had defeated all of his opponents and established a strong communist government As each of the areas formerly
belonging to the Tsar came under communist control, they were turned into socialist republics
In 1923, these became the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR)
But, Lenin failed to provide a clear successor on his death. This led to four years of bitter struggle
Stalin VS TrotskyAfter Lenin’s death, a four-year power struggle
emerged as to who would lead the Communist partyTrotsky believed that under his leadership, Russia
would become a catalyst for the spread of Communism across the worldHe had also been very successful as the commander of
the Red Army and appeared to have Lenin’s supportStalin had not played a significant part in the
Revolution of 1917, but had since gained a number of key posts in the Communist partyStalin had no interest in international communism; he
wanted to make Russia strong, with himself at its head
Reason’s for Stalin’s SuccessStalin’s strong position
As General Secretary of the Communist party, Stalin had the job of appointing posts in the party He could remove opponents and replace them with
supportersHe was also popular since he wanted to concentrate
on turning Russia into a modern, powerful stateTrotsky was much less popular
He had been a Menshevik and had only joined the Bolsheviks in 1917
He gradually lost positions during the struggle and was forced into exile in 1929 Stalin had him assassinated in Mexico in 1940
Other leading figures of 1917: Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin were also removed by Stalin
Stalin’s Dictatorship:Purges & Propaganda
Even with his opponents removed, Stalin felt insecure
He conducted a policy of purges between 1934-1938Millions arrested, executed, or sent
to labour campsStalin used the NKVD, secret
police, to undertake the “Great Terror”. Stalin purged: 90% of the army’s top officers Every navy admiral 1 million Communist Party
members 20 million+ ordinary Russians
He also encouraged a cult of personality – propaganda was used to make people constantly aware of Stalin
A foreigner describes the glorification of Stalin in the USSR“Stalin’s face is everywhere. His name is spoken by everyone. His praises are sung in every speech. Every room I entered had a portrait of Stalin hanging on the wall. Is it love or fear? I do not know.
Socialism in One CountryStalin’s victory also had an ideological
componentOf three possible views, only his had the most
attraction for rank-and-file party membersCommunist Right: told people to bide their time to
become powerful (Bukharin)Communist Left: made Russia and its revolution
seem ineffective and unimportant (Trotsky)Only Stalin offered a program and goal that could
be achieved by SovietsTo underline this point, the 15th Party Congress
also adopted measures that ended the NEP and began a new era of Five-Year Plans
Overview:•Made Russia a great industrial nation
• Russia was 5th in industrial production in 1928• It became neck-and-neck with the USA in 1980!
•New system of collective farming introduced•A vast social transformation aaccompanied the economic changes
Reasons for giving up the NEPNEP viewed as a temporary retreat from socialism
Unacceptable to most CommunistsIndustry had gained prewar levels, but future growth
depended on massive investmentPeasants felt state prices were too low and refused to sell,
and felt prices were manufactured products were too high and refused to buy
Five-Year Plans would fix the situation by ensuring a steady supply of food at low prices and squeezing necessary capital for industrial growth out of peasants
Stalin knew that war with Germany and Japan was inevitableVictory depended on absolute control of population and
industrial strengthFive-Year Plans would collectivize agriculture and put
peasants in centralized areas where they could be watched and would increase industrial production
First Five Year Plan (1928-1932)Projected that industrial production
would increase by 200%Emphasis on heavy industry
Investment capital would come from collective farms20% of agricultural production
would be performed on collective farms Large consolidated blocs of land made
up of formerly independent peasant smallholdings
Peasants would live and work together on these farms and equally share income from them
Collective Farms: AdvantagesWould halt growth of “petty capitalist
mentalities” among peasants Would make the peasants easier to
watch and educate them Increased productivity through
mechanizationCreation of large industrial
workforce – increased mechanization has fewer peasants farming
Provide Capital for industrial development State would pay farms 1/8 market
value for products Difference diverted into industry Farmer would also pay sales tax and
this would be invested into industry
Collectivization Gets RoughCollectivization was supposed to be voluntary
But it was clear that peasants would not voluntarily give up their small parcels of land
Stalin then abruptly announced the abandonment of his 20% collectivization goal and states that ALL peasants would be collectivized – by force if needed Also announced his intention to liquidate all kulaks
Thousands of kulaks had their property and possession confiscated Many sent to labour camps or deported to Siberia All this was done with a great deal of armed force
Very High Price of Collectivization98% of all farmland collectivized
by 1941Peasants slaughtered livestock –
huge drop in # of sheep, cattle, and hogs
Urban communist party members sent to manage farmsIgnorant of agricultureHuge drop in agricultural famine
Famine hits again in 1932-33Crime of “pilfering” imposed on
starving peasants who stole their own grain
At least 5 million people died during collectivization
IndustryThe Industrial labour force doubled during the first Five Year Plan
Peasants were moving to citiesUncooperative factory managers who argued
that goals were too high were imprisoned and replaced with more enthusiastic men and women
Stalin declared the Plan fulfilled in 1932All targets were under fulfilled, but production
had drastically increased Coal & iron by 200% (target of 300% though)
First Five Year PlanThe most glaring shortfall occurred in consumer
goodsTargets had been low to begin with, but they were
still not met Textile production actually declined Urban housing went from bad to abysmal
Waste, chaos, and mismanagement accompanied rapid industrializationExpensive equipment was ruined by trying to
produce too much too fast, or by using untrained workers
Blame was put on “saboteurs” Often technically educated men of pre-1917 generation
Second Five Year Plan (1933-1937)Had to be scaled down after one year
Realization that a limit had been reached as to what the economy could do and what people could take
Emphasis placed on improvement of efficiency and improving living standards
Things got better for three years and then leveled offDue to increased emphasis on military
production and chaos of the Great Purges
Third Five Year Plan (1938-1942)Projected 200% increase in production and
increase in consumer productsNeither goal is fulfilledThe outbreak of WWII causes an oil shortage
and severe labour shortageMain goal had been achieved by 1941:
Although demoralized and exhausted, the Soviet Union had become one of the world’s great industrial superpowers
Problems Of CentralizationHuge planning bureaucracy
Tons of paperworkStalin interfered with planning
& caused problemsHired flunkies who gave him
the numbers he wanted No one would point out the
mistakes, thereby guaranteeing that when a mistake was made, it would be a giant one
Centralized planning failed to make the Soviet Union competitive in the world marketplace
Effects of Stalin’s Rule on men and womenPro’s Con’sSchools builtSocial insurance
schemes introducedRussia became a modern
industrial country
Millions suffered in Stalin’s purges
Brutality, persecution, executions, forced labour
Millions died of starvation and over-work
Shops empty, clothes dull and badly made
Household items difficult to find
The Great Patriotic War (1941-1945)
When Germany attacked the USSR in 1941, Stalin used the same ruthlessness to defend his countryThis defense was the bloodiest
war in history and cost millions of lives and the destruction of thousands of villages, towns and cities
The final victory was, like everything else, attributed to Stalin by the Soviet propaganda machine
After the war, Stalin built up the USSR as a superpower, in opposition to the USAThis conflict is known as the Cold
WarStalin died in 1953