Zusammenfassung der Ressource
USSR (1924-1941)
- Struggle for power
- Lenin dies 1924, vacancy for the leader of the party
- Trotsky
- Popular in army and in party
- Led red army in civil war
- Had been a menshevik and made some enimies
- Lenin said he was arrogant, but very able to lead
- But Trotsky wanted revoloution to spread and make a ussr world revoloution
- Zinoviev
- Left wing
- Didnt want trotsky as leader
- Friend of lenin
- Stalin
- Unlikely to lead
- Did some behind the scenes work as "General secretary"
- Lenin said he should be removed from office as he was too rude and ambitous
- Stalin makes himself leader
- Stalin wanted a period of peace and rebuilding "communism in one country which most of the party agreed with
- He appointed people loyal to him to senior positions in the party
- Supressed lenins testament that stated he was too rude and should be kicked out
- By late 1920's Stalin had enough party support to vote his rivals out
- Stalin got rid of the left wing and right wings
- In 1925, He joins with Zinoviev (Left Wing) against Trotsky who was then dismissed as commissar for war, then in 1927 he was thrown out of the party
- New loyal members were elected
- Stalin supports gradual reform of the economy, and dismissed Zinoviev (The left wing) because they believed in fast economic modernisation
- Trotsky forced to leave the USSR in 1929
- In 1928 Stalin adopts fast modernisation (More left wing) and as a result can remove leading right wing members who still supported gradual reform
- 1929 Stalin in COMPLETE CONTROL
- The purges
- Kirov Murder
- Kirov, the popular head of party in Leningrad (Moscow) was murdered in 1934
- Many people think Stalin was responsible for the murder, but there is no definate proof
- Stalin said there was a conspiracy against Kirov and himself and used this as an excuse to get rid of his rivals
- What happened in the purges
- Many old communists and other leaders that posed a threat were arrested
- Those who were too popular to kill without reason were given show trails, where they were forced by torture or threats to confess betraying stalin
- Basically, the purges seemed an excuse to get rid of anyone Stalin saw as a threat to him
- The effects of the purges
- Any normal person suspected of disloyalty to stalin was taken away by the secret police
- Most of these were shot or sent to labour camps, to avoid arrest people had to provide info on others (which was often false)
- Trotsky condemed Stalin from his home in mexico and called for a new revoloution (He was killed in 1940 by one of stalins agents)
- As many as 10 million were thought to be killed in the purges (More than the holocaust)
- Stalins dictatorship
- Controlling information
- Artists and writers had to follow the party line (create art that was good for the party)
- Newspapers, cinema, radio etc spread propaganda and never criticised Stalin
- History was re-written to make Stalin look more important in the story of the october revoloution than he actually was
- Trotsky was removed from history books and rubbed out of any old photos, which were altered to make stalin look like a close friend of Lenin's
- The Purges Consequences
- Many of the most gifted people had been killed or sent to camps
- The army had lost its most senior officers
- Top scientists and engineers were lost, resulting in a lack of industrial progress
- Overall the purges really weakened the USSR
- Removing the church
- The church was a supporter of the Tsar
- Church land had started to be taken, and many priests etc were murdered
- 1929 the church was banned from any activity except leading worship
- MANY STILL RELIGOUS THOUGH!
- The 5 year plans
- Collectivisation
- Results of collectivisation