Stalin 1929-1953
The Nature of Government
1. Type of rule
- Personal dictatorship
- High- Stalinism
2. Structure:
Power struggle 1924-1929
- Main issues:
- Leadership: collective VS single person
- NEP: left wing of the party (led by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev) wanted to end
NEP and go for rapid industrialisation VS right wing (led by Bukharin) wanted to
keep NEP going and to encourage peasants to be richer
- Party policy: permanent revolution, Trotsky believed in ‘permanent revolution’, felt
Russians should put energy and money into helping the working-class VS socialism in
one country, Stalin put forward in 1924, communist had to accept that the world
revolution had not happened, propose Russians build a socialist state in USSR
Stalin takes control:
- Stalin, Left: Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev; right: Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky
- 1922 Stalin was General Secretary in the party, gave him enormous power over policy
- Step 1: Stalin tricked Trotsky into not showing up to the funeral, damaging Trotsky’s
reputation. He set himself up as Lenin’s disciple at his funeral
- Step 2: Krupskaya gave Lenin’s secret testament to the Central Committee in May
1924, Zinoviev and Kamenev urged that it should not be given out to public as they
thought Stalin was no real threat to them
- Step 3: The thirteenth congress in 1924, Trotsky criticised the party for being less
democratic, however he was easily defeated in votes as the congress was packed with
‘well instructed Stalinist delegates’
- Step 4: 1924, Zinoviev and Kamenev mounted a vicious campaign against Trotsky,
questioning his loyalty, Stalin stayed back watching the left wing tear itself apart.
- Step 5: 1925, Stalin’s policy of ‘Socialism in one country’ proved popular with party
members. New alliance emerged, Stalin in centre of party, Bukharin on right. 14th
party congress 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev attacked Stalin but lost. 1926 two of
them joined Trotsky to form ‘united opposition’ trying to organise demonstrations in
Moscow. Accused of ‘factionalism’ and 1927 expelled from party
- Step 6: Stalin turned and attacked right wing. Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky removed
fro politburo. December 1929, Stalin is now the leader of USSR
- Party Congress Oct 1952, Politburo replaced by Presidium with members nominated
by Stalin
,Local government
- Politburo
Central government
Development of Stalinist Dictatorship
- The political structure of communist state:
- Stalin extended rule by one party and centralised control, Stalin used power to build
up party membership, most new members drawn from the younger and less well-
educated urban workers, supporters of the ‘Stalinist’ system
- The 1936 constitution:
- Drafted by Nikolai Bukharin, all Russian congress of Soviets replaced by ‘supreme
soviet’
- The Supreme Soviet of the USSR: Main law-making body
- The Soviet of the Union: contained representatives of the whole of USSR
- The Soviet of Nationalities: represented particular regional groups
- promised local autonomy to ethnic groups, 4 yearly elections; reality: impress
foreigners, promised rights were ignored, sense of participation instead of actual
policy making
- Stalinism, the cult of personality:
- Dec 1929, developed his own cult, portrayed as Lenin’s disciple ‘Stalin is the Lenin
of today’, book: The History of the All Union Communist Party, assumed Stalin a
major role in October Revolution, sold 34m copies, referred to ‘red tsar’, God like
figure
- By 1941 Stalinist dictatorship
- However, the supreme soviet was essentially a puppet of the Communist party, as
communist party remain as stated in Article 126 of Stalin’s Constitution ‘the nucleus
of all public and state organisations of the working people’
- WW2: more rely on military commanders , but the structure remained same
3. Repression
- Great terror
4. Opposition
- Struggle for power
, Opposition
1. Political opposition
- Power struggle, great terror
Crisis of 1932
- Two opposition groups,
- ‘old bolsheviks’ debated Stalin’s removal, but were quickly arrested by the OGPU
(state security) and Smirnov expelled from the party
- And the other group led by Ryutin, criticisms became known as ‘Ryutin platform’
disapproved of Stalin’s political direction and personality. Ryutin even sent an
‘appeal’ signed by number of communists. They were arrested and Stalin called for
execution but was over-ruled by the Politburo esp with Kirov
- Netherless, 24 expelled from party and exiled from Moscow, while ‘old Bolsheviks’
including Zinoviev and Kamenev were also expelled simply for knowing the group’s
existence
The Kirov Affair 1934
- 1934, 17th party congress, Stalin announced ‘anti-Leninist’ opposition has been
defeated (people who opposed his policies)
- In elections to Central Committee, Stalin received 150 negative votes. A split opened
between those who wanted to maintain the pace of industrialisation, and others within
the Politburo e.g. Kirov who spoke about stopping grain seizures and increase
workers’ rations
- 17th party congress: abolition of the title of ‘General Secretary’, Stalin, Kirov,
Zhdanov and Kaganovich were all given titles ‘Secretary of Equal Rank’, Stalin was
no longer important
- Kirov was murdered Dec 1934, shot in the neck by Nikolayev
- Strong suspicion that Stalin himself planned the murder to eliminate a popular rival
- A decree was published a day after the assassination, giving Yagoda, head of NKVD
powers to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of ‘terrorist plotting’, 65000 people
arrested
2. Peasant opposition
- De-kulakisation: peasants resisted collectivisation. 1930 there were 13,754 outbreaks
of mass unrest; 2.5m peasants involved in demonstrations, riots and uprising; acts of
kulak terrorism claimed 3,155 victims
The Nature of Government
1. Type of rule
- Personal dictatorship
- High- Stalinism
2. Structure:
Power struggle 1924-1929
- Main issues:
- Leadership: collective VS single person
- NEP: left wing of the party (led by Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev) wanted to end
NEP and go for rapid industrialisation VS right wing (led by Bukharin) wanted to
keep NEP going and to encourage peasants to be richer
- Party policy: permanent revolution, Trotsky believed in ‘permanent revolution’, felt
Russians should put energy and money into helping the working-class VS socialism in
one country, Stalin put forward in 1924, communist had to accept that the world
revolution had not happened, propose Russians build a socialist state in USSR
Stalin takes control:
- Stalin, Left: Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev; right: Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky
- 1922 Stalin was General Secretary in the party, gave him enormous power over policy
- Step 1: Stalin tricked Trotsky into not showing up to the funeral, damaging Trotsky’s
reputation. He set himself up as Lenin’s disciple at his funeral
- Step 2: Krupskaya gave Lenin’s secret testament to the Central Committee in May
1924, Zinoviev and Kamenev urged that it should not be given out to public as they
thought Stalin was no real threat to them
- Step 3: The thirteenth congress in 1924, Trotsky criticised the party for being less
democratic, however he was easily defeated in votes as the congress was packed with
‘well instructed Stalinist delegates’
- Step 4: 1924, Zinoviev and Kamenev mounted a vicious campaign against Trotsky,
questioning his loyalty, Stalin stayed back watching the left wing tear itself apart.
- Step 5: 1925, Stalin’s policy of ‘Socialism in one country’ proved popular with party
members. New alliance emerged, Stalin in centre of party, Bukharin on right. 14th
party congress 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev attacked Stalin but lost. 1926 two of
them joined Trotsky to form ‘united opposition’ trying to organise demonstrations in
Moscow. Accused of ‘factionalism’ and 1927 expelled from party
- Step 6: Stalin turned and attacked right wing. Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky removed
fro politburo. December 1929, Stalin is now the leader of USSR
- Party Congress Oct 1952, Politburo replaced by Presidium with members nominated
by Stalin
,Local government
- Politburo
Central government
Development of Stalinist Dictatorship
- The political structure of communist state:
- Stalin extended rule by one party and centralised control, Stalin used power to build
up party membership, most new members drawn from the younger and less well-
educated urban workers, supporters of the ‘Stalinist’ system
- The 1936 constitution:
- Drafted by Nikolai Bukharin, all Russian congress of Soviets replaced by ‘supreme
soviet’
- The Supreme Soviet of the USSR: Main law-making body
- The Soviet of the Union: contained representatives of the whole of USSR
- The Soviet of Nationalities: represented particular regional groups
- promised local autonomy to ethnic groups, 4 yearly elections; reality: impress
foreigners, promised rights were ignored, sense of participation instead of actual
policy making
- Stalinism, the cult of personality:
- Dec 1929, developed his own cult, portrayed as Lenin’s disciple ‘Stalin is the Lenin
of today’, book: The History of the All Union Communist Party, assumed Stalin a
major role in October Revolution, sold 34m copies, referred to ‘red tsar’, God like
figure
- By 1941 Stalinist dictatorship
- However, the supreme soviet was essentially a puppet of the Communist party, as
communist party remain as stated in Article 126 of Stalin’s Constitution ‘the nucleus
of all public and state organisations of the working people’
- WW2: more rely on military commanders , but the structure remained same
3. Repression
- Great terror
4. Opposition
- Struggle for power
, Opposition
1. Political opposition
- Power struggle, great terror
Crisis of 1932
- Two opposition groups,
- ‘old bolsheviks’ debated Stalin’s removal, but were quickly arrested by the OGPU
(state security) and Smirnov expelled from the party
- And the other group led by Ryutin, criticisms became known as ‘Ryutin platform’
disapproved of Stalin’s political direction and personality. Ryutin even sent an
‘appeal’ signed by number of communists. They were arrested and Stalin called for
execution but was over-ruled by the Politburo esp with Kirov
- Netherless, 24 expelled from party and exiled from Moscow, while ‘old Bolsheviks’
including Zinoviev and Kamenev were also expelled simply for knowing the group’s
existence
The Kirov Affair 1934
- 1934, 17th party congress, Stalin announced ‘anti-Leninist’ opposition has been
defeated (people who opposed his policies)
- In elections to Central Committee, Stalin received 150 negative votes. A split opened
between those who wanted to maintain the pace of industrialisation, and others within
the Politburo e.g. Kirov who spoke about stopping grain seizures and increase
workers’ rations
- 17th party congress: abolition of the title of ‘General Secretary’, Stalin, Kirov,
Zhdanov and Kaganovich were all given titles ‘Secretary of Equal Rank’, Stalin was
no longer important
- Kirov was murdered Dec 1934, shot in the neck by Nikolayev
- Strong suspicion that Stalin himself planned the murder to eliminate a popular rival
- A decree was published a day after the assassination, giving Yagoda, head of NKVD
powers to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of ‘terrorist plotting’, 65000 people
arrested
2. Peasant opposition
- De-kulakisation: peasants resisted collectivisation. 1930 there were 13,754 outbreaks
of mass unrest; 2.5m peasants involved in demonstrations, riots and uprising; acts of
kulak terrorism claimed 3,155 victims
