Emergence of Josef Stalin – Part II

1. Emergence of Josef Stalin – Part II By Mr. Baker

2. Stalin’s New Constitution • In 1936, Stalin decided that it was time to draft a new constitution which would: • Preserve his autocratic power • Give the appearance of democracy to Russia • It was adopted by popular vote and went into effect in 1938

3. Stalin’s New Constitution • Included a Bill of Rights: • Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and religion • Right to employment and holidays with pay • Universal suffrage was ensured for every man and woman aged 18 or over (and secret ballot) • The Communist Party was the only legal party in Russia

4. Criticism of the Constitution • Although elections were held, only communist names appeared on the ballot • Russia remained a police state. Many thousands of people suspected of disloyalty to communism were sent to labor camps, exiled, imprisoned or put to death without trial • The Constitution consolidated the Communist Party’s hold over the country

5. Social Control • Stalin’s goal of “Socialism in One Country” put productivity before any social programs • Religion, education, youth programs, and culture were all geared to increasing industrial and agricultural production

6. Social Control • The secret police were renamed from the Cheka to the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD) • The purpose of the organization was to purge counter-revolutionaries • The Gulag, or forced labor camps contained several million inmates of both criminal and political dissenters

7. Life of Workers • Unemployment in Soviet Russia was unknown and crime was scarce • Workers received free education, day cares, free medical services, and old-age pensions

8. Life of Workers • However, the pay was poor and consumer goods were simply not produced • There were few individual freedoms for workers • Working conditions were dangerous and if targets were not met, severe punishments would be inflicted • Overcrowding and poor sanitation were common • Food prices were high in the early years of collectivization • Most houses only had one room

9. Life of Workers • Workers worked hard anyhow because: • Stalin was known as “Uncle Joe” – they believed in his propaganda and thought they were working for a better society • Groups of workers were encouraged to compete against one another for rewards • Those who did not work hard were sent to Gulags (missing work carried a prison sentence)

10. The Purges • Involved “the removal of unwanted or potentially threatening elements from the country”: • Intelligentsia • Religious groups • Non-Russian nationalities • Fabricated charges were laid to intimidate suspects into naming other potential threats to the Soviet regime

11. The Purges – Show Trials • Show Trials of prominent communists were often staged based on forced confessions and ending in hangings or shootings • Kamenev and Zinoviev were arrested and given a Show Trial for the murder of one of Stalin’s officials • They were shot

12. The Purges – Show Trials • Bukharin was arrested and forced to confess to several murders, treason, and espionage • He was executed • Trotsky fled to Mexico, where he was killed by an NKVD agent in 1940

13. The Purges • Other officials, church members, army officers, kulaks, and counter-revolutionaries were purged

14. Reasons for the Terror • The reasons for the purges were: • To remove rivals and those who weren’t for Stalin’s ideology • To replace people with officials who were devoted to Stalin • To create a source of slave labor to reach industrial goals • Terrorize the population by arresting the innocent as well as the guilty, so that no one could feel safe • To rid of opposition who would’ve opposed an alliance with Hitler • Stalin had a brutal personality • Stalin believed that traditionally people valued a strong Tsar • Overzealousness to settle personal scores

15. Effects of the Purges • Approximately 20 million died • Opposition to Stalin was removed • The Cult of Personality around Stalin grew • Many of the most talented and proficient members of Soviet society were eliminated • Initiative became dangerous • The purge of Soviet army officers weakened the army and may have encouraged Hitler’s attack • Millions of innocent people were executed or imprisoned

16. Easing Restrictions on Freedom • Army – • Many people served who were indifferent to or hostile to communism • Some people were promoted from labor camps • Party – • There were no meetings of the Politburo, Central Committee, or National Congress • The USSR was governed by the State Defense Committee (GKO)

17. Easing Restrictions on Freedom • Industry – • Needed war materials and had to reintroduce some elements of a market system • Local initiative was allowed • Agriculture – • Peasants could work the land in a collective and take the rest for their own profit • Could use public facilities and tools for private work • Ideology – • Stalin appealed to traditional patriotism and nationalism to defend “Mother Russia” rather than Marxist-Leninism

18. Stalin as a War Leader • The bad: • Was unprepared since Stalin had been banking on time to prepare and launch an attack • Stalin interfered with operational decisions and no one dared to contradict him • People hastened to propose what he would wish to hear, so he didn’t get good advice • He blamed failures on scapegoats • Stalin would sacrifice men and materials without a second thought

19. Stalin as a War Leader • The good: • The Five Year Plans provided a good base for transition to a wartime economy • The movement of huge industries east, out of the path of the invaders, was one of the greatest achievements • Stalin learned to leave military tactics to local commanders • The victory preserved and legitimized Stalinism

20. Restoration of Controls • Army – • Marshall Zhukov, the victorious war leader, was transferred to the distant military district of Odessa • Officers taken from the Gulags were put back there • Party – • The Politburo and Central Committee began to meet again; the National Congress didn’t meet until 1952

21. Restoration of Controls • Industry – • Wartime labor regulations were not lifted, preserving military discipline in the factories • Agriculture – • The wartime drift to privatization was reversed • Could no longer use public facilities and tools for private work • Ideology – • Was tightened – close supervision of media, literature, and arts was reimposed

22. Opposition • There was a purge and massacre of those who had supported Hitler • POWs returning from the West were: • Put into labor camps (if Russian) • Shot (if non-Russian)

23. Assessment of Stalin’s Rule • He made the Soviet Union a superpower in both land and political status • Played a major part in defeating Hitler • Workers who did not offend the state were better off than under the tsar • Russia’s military forces benefited from industry • Stalin provided a stable government structure • Millions died in fame and purges

24. Assessment of Stalin’s Rule • Agriculture remained at the same level in 1930 as in 1928, but had 40 million more people • Russia became a “telling” society – the secret police actively encouraged people to inform on neighbors, workmates, and family members • Many of Russia’s most talented people were murdered or exiled • Russia imposed Communism on many countries