SGQ 9 Russia 361-378

MWH 361-378

1. How did Stalin get to supreme power?

a. Why might Trotsky have become leader? Why did he not?

Because he was like Lenin's right hand man, who had plans of the future to help take over if Lenin should die. He didn't become leader because Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharian made sure Trotsky had no support.

b. Who were the other Politburo members? Why did none of them take power?

Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharian, and eventually Trotsky. They didn't take power because they had poor leadership qualities adn were so focused on removing Trotsky that Stalin took over.

c. How did Stalin use his position?

He filled crucially roles in the party with his own supporters.

d. What was the major Politburo disagreement? What were the three options?

Where to do go from next on ruling a communist country since Marx and Lenin were to vague on how it should be done, there was Trotsky's plan on getting permanent revolution in Europe so that once Europe was communist they could help industrialize Russia or continue with NEP.

2. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's economic problems?

a. What were Russia's economic problems?

Industry was really low and food shortages they needed more food to export and for the people of Russia.

b. What were the Five Year Plans? To industrialize Russia like other European countries.

i. How were they carried out?

Russian's used their money without foreign aid to have foreigners come and educate them on industry so that the first Five Year Plan could help Russia essential become more industrialized

ii. How successful were they? (Provide hard facts as evidence!)

The products were of poor quality and the workers/peasants felt exploited.

c. What does collectivization mean? To collect by force or law grain from peasants would join their little farms to make a huge farm.

i. How was it carried out?

Peasants would join farms to make a large collective farm.

ii. How successful was it? (Provide hard facts as evidence!)

Stalin claimed it was a success because it allowed greater mechanization which it did in 1937

3. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's political problems?

a. What were Russia's political problems?

i. The government's popularity was found to be harsh because of collectivization and the hardships of the Five Year Plan.

ii. A new Constitution was needed to consolidate the hold of Stalin and the Communist Party over the whole country.

iii. Non-Russian parts of the country wanted to become independent.

b. The Purges and Great Terror

i. What were the "purges"?

Purges with people who were expelled.

ii. How were the purges justified?

1. Planning on killing the government.

2. Planning against the government if you worked for it.

iii. What was the Great Terror? How was it carried out?

Where Stalin had anyone killed, arrested, or tortured who he felt were against him. He had them in a "Show trials" where you were never found innocent and sent to be executed or put in a labor camp.

c. What was the purpose of the 1936 constitution? How did it work in practice?

TO have fair elections for everyone in Russian not just the peasants. It worked so that everyone who wanted to vote could, even if they had been ex-nobles, kulaks, priests, and White Army Officers it was to appeal to the people as being more democratic.

d. What was Stalin's two part approach for holding the union together?

i. Everyone had a certain amount of independence, so it would be more liberal then under the tsarist regime.

ii. Moscow had the final say in all important decisions, if necessary they would use force.

4. What was everyday life and culture like under Stalin?

a. Why was life hard?

i. food- was in short supply due to rapid gowning population of people and bad famine and bad harvest.

ii. housing-31million people in urban population led to housing shortages.

iii. the nomenklatura- they were wealthier people with skills who had a better life.

b. What signs of improvement were there?

i. Food improved.

ii. Work Conditions, free health care.

iii.Cleaning up the people.

iv. Tons of new shops opened.

c. The state, women, and the family

i. Why was life hard for women?

1. More work for the woman since so many men had "disappeared"

2. There was a need for woman to be care providers.

ii. What two goals did the government have for women?

1. Educated woman

2. Fighting wars.

iii. What policies did the government adopt towards women?

1. Drive Lorries

2. Shoot

3. Fly planes

iv. What was life like for upper-class or well-educated women?

Easier because they had money and education, and had professional jobs.

d. Education

i. What improvements were made to education?

1. School for children from 8 to 11 must be enrolled in school.

2. 86 percent of people where literate after 1939/

ii. What were some of the goals of education?

1. Cut literacy

2. Open higher educational schools so Russian people could expand their education which would benefit the government.

e. Religion

i. Was was the Communist view of religion?

That religion was set up by the ruling classes to keep people docile and under control.

ii. What actions did the government take towards religious organizations?

Their seemed to be a connection of church and state, but relations became bad once the Stalin regime so he had churches and priests secretly attacked.

iii. What was the people's reaction to those policies/actions?

It caused outrage in people, which many people began to loose faith in the Communist Regime rather than in religion.

f. Literature and theater

It became split into two groups f writes RAPP who wanted to write about socialism realism, and the non-communists who wanted to write about regular literature and keep politics out.

g. Art, architecture, and music

Artists, sculptors and musicians were all excepted to play their part in 'socialist realism' which was separated again in communists and non-communists.

h. The cinema
Stalin wanted scripts about him so people could see how happy he was and how great Soviet life was, he sent Shumyatsky to Hollywood to get great ideas.