Stalin RISE TO POWER

POLITICAL AND ECONOMIC PROBLEMS 1921-24

After the Bolshevik Revolution of 1917, Russia was in a civil war between the Communists (Bolsheviks-Red Army) and everyone else (people who supported the Tsar, the provisional government, anarchists, socialists - White Army). In order to win the war, the Bolsheviks enacted “War Communism” which put an economic strain on everyone to support the war effort. This led to an uprising of sailors at the Kronstadt naval base, which was crushed, but Lenin instituted the New Economic Policy (NEP) which allowed for small forms of capitalism to be allowed in 1921. It ended War Communism and was seen as a step back towards capitalism

The Kronstadt uprising showed Lenin he needed to have full control over the party, and at the 10 th Party Congress in 1921, he introduced Democratic Centralism, a ban on factions (thinking differently) within the party, and a ban on opposition parties in the soviets (Soviets were regional committees that sent delegations to the Congress of Soviets). Lenin stated it was a temporary ban on opposition, many communists were unhappy, but this would play a crucial role in Stalin’s rise to power, as he would use it to crush opposition and force conformity.

LENIN’S ILLNESS AND SUCCESSION

May 1922 Lenin had the first of a series of strokes that held him back from participating in politics. People continued to argue over economic policies and democracy.The arguments became tangled in personal rivalries in the politburo (the group responsible for making political decisions) that began to plot succession of power as Lenin’s health was fading fast.The following were important members of the Politburo:

Stalin

Trotsky

Kamenev Bukharin

Zinoviev

Any of these men could have take over for Lenin.Trotsky seemed the most likely to replace him, Zinoviev and Kamenev were strong leaders that had had strong ties to Lenin, and Bukharin was a very popular revolutionary leader among the other communists.Stalin on the other hand, was not well known and seemed unlikely to be a major leader. Despite this, in 1922, Lenin appointed him to be the General Secretary of the Communist Party. This gave him the power to appoint and dismiss communist officials to powerful positions. Stalin used patronage (giving people jobs to get favors from them later) to his advantage, and put people in positions of power that would benefit him. Likewise, he stowed people who could be rivals far away.

Many communists resented Trotsky’s quick rise to power, since he was originally a Menshevik (competing socialist group that the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin, broke away from in 1903) and only switched to the Bolshevik side in 1917. Trotsky was also seen as very arrogant. He had a major role in leading the Red Army to victory over the Whites, and was also politically intellectual. Zinoviev and Kamenev believed THEY should succeed Lenin, and teamed up with Stalin, asking him to block Trotsky with his position of being able to appoint and organize the party → the Triumvirate (group of three rulers) alliance in December 1922 against Trotsky.

LENIN’s LAST TESTAMENT

Lenin became worried about the infighting for power and suggested to Trotsky forming a “Joint Bloc for Democracy”. In December 1922, Lenin had a second stroke, and wrote what he thought would be his final political Testament. It discussed what he saw were the strengths and weaknesses of the leaders of

Stalin the party. As he witnessed Stalin’s growing power, he wrote a postscript, suggesting Stalin be removed and Trotsky work to keep the party together...Stalin learned of this and was able to stifle it, keeping it out of the politburo until after his death. It was not publicly acknowledged until well after Stalin’s death (1953) in Khrushchev’s “Secret Speech” in 1956.

THE POWER STRUGGLE:

The Triumvirate campaign against Trotsky began in April 1923 at the 12th Party Congress. Stalin was re-elected General Secretary, and the number of people in the congress was increased. Stalin began to replace those who supported Trotsky with those who support the Triumvirate (but mainly him). By the end of 1923, Stalin had control of the local level to ensure that his guys would be elected to the congress. In October 1923, Trotsky formed the Left opposition to the Triumvirate, and Stalin immediately isolated them. At the January 13th Party Congress in 1924, Stalin condemned The Left’s views. Lenin died on January 21st 1924. Stalin gave Trotsky the wrong date for the funeral, which raised suspicions as to why he wasn’t there...Stalin dismissed Left Oppositionists from their positions of power, however Lenin’s widow Krupskaya, revealed Lenin’s Testament to the central Committee…

Zinoviev and Kamenev, thinking they could control Stalin, convinced the members not to go public with the Testament or act upon it. In November 1924, Trotsky published Lessons of October, which showed how close his views were with Lenin’s and how Zinoviev and Kamenev had been against Lenin on many occasions...Stalin was not mentioned...which led to his position being strengthened because it could not be used against him. January 1925, the Triumvirate removed Trotsky from his position as Commissar of War.

POLITICAL DIVISION

Debate over the NEP divided the politburo and Triumvirate. Kamenev and Zinoviev now led the Leftists, and in the Summer of 1925, they attacked Bukharin’s Rightist views, whom Stalin began to side with. Stalin now began removing Kamenev’s supporters from positions in Moscow, however Zinoviev’s Leningrad supporters resisted. Stalin officially switched allegiances to Bukharin, and at the 14th Party Congress in Dec. 1925, he made sure they had a majority in the newly elected Politburo and Central Committee. Stalin then accused Zinoviev of Trotskyism, and Zinoviev lost the leadership of the Leningrad party to Sergi Kirov, who supported Stalin... Zinoviev supporters lost power.

UNITED OPPOSITION

July 1926, Trotsky, Zinoviev,Kamenev and Lenin’s widow Krupskaya teamed up to create the United Opposition, against Stalin...however, Stalin banned their meetings and dismissed their supporters.

Stalin Trotsky’s supporters published Lenin’s Testament in the New York Times → Politburo expelling Trotsky and → Krupskaya made her peace with Stalin. November 1927, Stalin succeeded in expelling Trotsky and Zinoviev from the communist party, along with 100’s of others. When it looked like Stalin would abandon the NEP, Zinoviev and Kamenev backed off criticising him, and by December 1927, the United Opposition was done. Many were exiled to the furthest regions of USSR.

DEFEAT OF THE RIGHT

In 1927 there were bread shortages and high food prices, which forced Stalin to adopt a Leftist policy towards agriculture and industry. (something Bukharin was against). Stalin then turned on Bukharin and got rid of his supporters which led to old Trotsky supporters now taking Stalin’s side. By July the food crisis became worse. Stalin forced his leftist policies through the politburo, and people abandoned Bukharin to side with Stalin. Bukharin contacted Kamenev and told him to get in contact with Trotsky, for fear that Stalin was creating a police state and would strangle them.

September 1928, Bukharin tries to form an alliance with Trotsky. Rightists wanted to continue the capitalist policies of the NEP, Leftists wanted to end the NEP policies...The Left didn’t want to support the Bukharin-Trotsky alliance because it looked like Stalin was about to enact rightist policies that they wanted…This isolated Trotsky even more and Bukharin gave in and sided with Stalin. Thus Stalin defeated BOTH the Left and the Right by having a majority of supporters because he was the General Secretary. Stalin feared a Left-Right alliance, had Trotsky expelled entirely from the USSR, and was deported in 1929. On the 5th anniversary of Lenin’s death, Bukharin made a speech titled, “Lenin’s Political testament” alluding to his Last Testament… which → Stalin to accuse him of factionalism (trying to break up the communist party, which was against Democratic Centralism). Bukharin made a defence for collective leadership, but he was removed as editor of Pravda (communist newspaper) and then dismissed from the Politburo by November 1929. Stalin now had complete control of the communist party.

WHY was Stalin able to get power?

Stalin was able to fly under the radar. He had made close ties to Lenin early on in 1905,and made a name for himself by robbing banks to fund the party. However, he was not ideologically strong, he never had much to contribute to communist theory. Stalin came from a peasant background, he was not a wealthy intellectual, which led the other leaders to look down upon him and underestimate him. His close relationship to Lenin is what got him the position of General Secretary, which was not thought to be a very important position. Stalin’s opportunism and shrewdness, however turned it into a very powerful position.

Stalin POWER POLITICS Explained by historians:

● Robert Conquest argues that Stalin’s aim was simply to gain supreme power by crushing all other factions

● Robert C.Tucker argues that Stalin’s aim was to make himself into a revolutionary hero as important and famous as Lenin. Stalin’s success is seen as dependent not only on his political shrewdness and ruthlessness, but also on the weaknesses and mistakes of his rivals.

● Edward Carr argues Zinoviev and Kamenev were portrayed as careerist and weak-willed ● Stephen Cohen believes Bukharin’s commitment to the NEP,blinded him to the dangers posed

by Stalin until it was too late.● Isaac Deutscher argues that Trotsky, can be seen as having made several serious errors and

miscalculations – perhaps because he dismissed Stalin as a ‘grey blur’ and a ‘mediocrity’. Trotsky also either refused, or did not have the skill, to organise a faction of his own. However, it has been argued that without Lenin he was virtually isolated at the top of the party from the beginning.

STRUCTURAL REASONS

● Stalin was a product of Russian history and the system setup after the 1917 Revolution● Stalin followed the long Russian tradition of authoritarian Tsarist rule● The Civil war led to the appointment of politicians RATHER than having them elected, that

power to appoint people gave Stalin his authority● As the government got bigger, so did his support. Robert Daniels calls this a ‘circular flow of

power’, by which Stalin appointed local party leaders, who in turn controlled elections to party organisations

● As new people joined the government, many did not fully understand the ideas of Marxism and were easy to manipulate

IDEOLOGICAL EXPLANATIONS

● Differences of opinion on the NEP were less than issues for power● The Left feared the NEP would lead to a restoration of capitalism which would have made their

revolution pointless● The Right argued that since Russia was agricultural and industrially backwards, the NEP was

needed in order to revive the economy and make it fully communist later on. They overlooked the conflict between the (capitalist) Kulaks (farmers) and Nepmen (businessmen) and the workers and the state

Stalin ● Stalin flip-flopped and was neither committed to the Left or Right, thus, many supported him as

a way of finding a central way● Stalin’s support of continuing the NEP and focusing on Communism in One Country (rather than

Trotsky’s proposal of eliminating NEP and creating revolution around the world), seemed more stable and safe.

● Trotsky saw Stalin’s rise as the result of a backwards Russia, who was isolated from the world and an apathetic working class that allowed conservative elements to take over and shift their allegiance to Stalin in order to maintain power/privilege

IDEOLOGYStalin was more of a practical man, less of a thinker, and did not offer much to change the ideology of the party. The Bolshevik Revolution was based on the Marxist doctrine. Prior to the revolution, Stalin’s role was that of bank robber to get money for the cause and editor of Pravda. It wasn’t until 1929 that Stalin can seriously be seen as changing much political thought

Marxism promotes worldwide revolution, Stalin however, supported focusing on “Socialism in One country” rather than Trotsky’s proposal of “permanent revolution” abroad. Marxism said it would be a revolution of the workers. society would not eventually progress to socialism, it had to be forced.

Lenin’s main adaptation from marx was his idea of Democratic Centralism (from his book What is to be Done? 1902) He said that all members have the right to form factions to argue their point of view HOWEVER, the party could only operate effectively in a centralized way, therefore once the party decided on something, that was it, no more discussion. Trotsky warned Lenin against this, as it could allow for a dictator to come to power.This was further enabled when Lenin banned all other political parties

STALIN’S CONTRIBUTIONS…

Stalin His main contribution was the notion of “Marxism-Leninism” and the notion of

“Socialism in One Country” which had never been used before Lenin’s death in 1924. He used the idea of Marxism-Leninism to refer to orthodox communism, to show that what Lenin believed (and Stalin) about political and economic issues was correct.

Marxism-Leninism became the official ideology of the Soviet Union...however, as long as the “Old Bolshevik” guard existed, there would be many leading communists who knew of the old Marxist theories and remembered the true facts of what the Bolsheviks stood for before 1917. Stalin had the vast majority of them executed during the purges of 1930’s

Stalin portrayed the Trotskyists as “petit-bourgeois” (that were at odds with Marxist-Leninists) and that Trotsky had no faith in the peasants or working class. He painted Trotsky’s support of “Permanent Revolution” as threatening the alliance between workers and peasants. Many Marxists believed that Stalin’s ideas were a total distortion of what Marx and Lenin had said and done → use of the term Stalinism, that was fundamentally different. Particularly the rejection of democracy in favor of a one-party state.

Some say that a dictatorship was the intended outcome for Marxism because he used the phrase “dictatorship of the proletariat” BUT that does not mean he believed in a harsh repressive regime, in fact after the Paris Commune in 1871, he added the idea that eventually there would be no need for the state as workers naturally would govern themselves, in a sense, he chose the path of anarchism (no government). In the USSR under Stalin, the Central Committee ran the party between the Party Congresses, but power began to shift to other political bodies, such as the Organisational Bureau (Orgburo) and the Political Bureau (Politburo) as well as the Secretariat. Stalin was the only party member to have a seat on all four bodies.

Stalin’s Consolidation of PowerTHE GREAT PURGE 1936-1939

Purges occurred before Stalin, but were used to get rid of those harmful to the revolution: drunkards, careerists, or those hostile to Bolshevik aims. In the power struggles of the 1920’s many of Stalin’s opponents lost senior posts or were expelled from the party. He still was not totally dominant though, Bukharin had been removed, but he still had supporters. At

Stalin the 16th Party Congress in June, 1930, Bukharin was re-elected to teh Central Committee due to problems from mass collectivisation and rapid industrialization which divided the Poliburo, where only Molotov and Kaganovich were uncritical supporters of Stalin. In December 1930 Sergy Syrtsov and others wer expelled from the Central Committee for criticising the excesses under the collectivisation.

RYUTIN AFFAIR, 1932

Martemyan Ryutin (rightist) called for the end of forced collectivisation, rehabilitation of oppositionists and Trotsky and the dismissal of Stalin. This document was signed by several prominent communists. Ryutin, Zinoviev, Kamenev and 17 others were expelled from the Central Committee, Stalin wanted Ryutin executed, but the Politburo would not allow it, showing that Stalin did not have complete control yet.

17th PARTY CONGRESS, 1934

Opposition to Stalin continued after the expulsions. In 1933, Smirnov was expelled for forming an “anti-party group” to try and remove Stalin. The 17th Party Congress ( known as the Congress of Victors) was a turning point. Prior to the Congress, some leading officials asked Kirov (a Politburo member and Party boss of Leningrad) to replace Stalin, but he refused. Congress then abolished the post of General Secretary...making Stalin no more important than Kirov, Kaganovich and Zhdanov (the other three secretaries of the communist party). It’s possible Stalin wanted this to share the blame for the poor economy.This showed that the Central Committee (elected by Congress) did not want Stalin’s leadership. It appears that more delegates gave votes to Kirov rather than Stalin.

KIROV AFFAIR, 1934

Kirov had doubts about rapid industrialization and Stalin. In December 1934, under suspicious circumstances, Kirov was assassinated. Stalin claimed this was a plot to overthrow him and the communist party. The plot was supposedly organized by a Leningrad Opposition group that had ties to the Trotsky Opposition and the United OPposition groups. The NKVD, headed by Yagoda (who was a Bolshevik in 1907, headed the Checka in 1917 and was in charge of the forced-labor camps in 1930), was given more power to arrest, trial and execution under a special terrorist decree passed the day after Kirov’s death.

Stalin Over the next few weeks, over 100 party members were shot and thousands of Trotskyists and Zinovists were arrested, including Kamenev and Zinoviev. In January 1935, Zinoviev, Kamenev and 17 others were tried and imrpisoned for five to ten years. A few days later 12 important NKVD members were tried and imrpisoned and several thougsand “bourgeois” elements were rounded up. By the middle of 1935 the purges had begun to slow down and then stop.

The Great Purge

By the Summer of 1936 a new purge began, using the first show trial. It was the begining of what would become known as The Great Purge. The NKVD said they had unconvered a Trotskyist-Zinovieist counter-revolutionary conspiracy. Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others were accused of organising a plot to kill Stalin and other Politburo members. They were put on trial,

found guilty and executed. Bukharin and other rightists were questioned, but not arrested. Stalin then had Yagoda replaced with Ezhov, claiming yagoda had not been active enough in exposing the full scope of the conspiracy.

In January 1937, 17 new communist leaders were put on trial for plotting Trotskyist conspiracy assassinations and sabotaging industry and spying. The NKVD produced false confessions (similar to the previous trial). This time 13 were sentenced to death. A new Central Committee

Stalin meeting occurred after the second trial and discussed the destruction of the Trotskyist conspiracy as revealed by Stalin and Molotov. Ezhov, inspired by Stalin, accused Bukharin of having known of trotsky’s plans. Bukharin refused to confess, was expelled from the party and arrested. The Trial of the 21 was the last of the biggest show trials, which focused on Bukharin and 20 others accused of a Trotskyist-Rightist Bloc. Most of the accused made false confessions to their so-called crimes, Bukharin however refused to play the game. He did not confess. Bukharin and 16 others were found guilty and shot.

THE GREAT TERROR

By this time, the Purge had transformed into the Great Terror (Ezhovshchina). Remeber, Yagoda was replaced for not doing enough...Under Ezhov the number of denunciations, expulsions, trials, imprisonments and execution multiplied. Initially the purges went after party Members, but by 1937, it widened to include administrators and specialists, engineers and railway workers. In 1937-38 nearly the entire Party structure in teh Ukraine (from teh Poliburo downwards) was purged. In other republics, high ranking party officials were purged of “nationalists”. Moscow even set quotas for each region as to the number of “wreckers” they should find. Most ended up in the Gulag.

The Great Terror also affected the army. As threat of war with Germany increased, Stalin began to worry about a military coup, since some officers had been implicated in the second show trials. In may 1937, Marshal Tukhachevsky (chief of general staff and deputy commissar for defence) and Yan Gamarnik (head of Red Army political commissars) were arrested, accused and, along with other leading commanders, were executed. The Great terror then spread to the lower ranks of the Red Army, so that by 1938 the list of those executed included three out of five Red Army marshals ans 14 out of 16 top commanders and ALL eight admirals. Airforce officers and military intelligence were also badly hit. In all, 35,000 (50%) of the entire officer corps were executed or imrpisoned.

The Great Terror began to impact large numbers of ordinary people. IN order to avoid suspicion falling on them, many people tried to prove their loyalty to Stalin by denouncing others. SOme viewed it as a way to settle a score or move up and obtain the job of the person who was denounced (or get a promotion). BY 1938, Russia was in a state of terror, reluctant to talk openly to anyone.

Stalin THE END OF THE GREAT TERROR

By the end of 1937, Staln raised dobts over the usefulness of purging industrial workers who were needed to modernize Russia. In December 1938, Beria replaced Ezhov, who was blamed for the excessiveness of the Great Purge/Great Terror and in 1939 was accused of being a British spy...and was executed. At the 18th Party Congress Stalin and Zhdanov announced that the purges were no longer necessary and that some mistakes had been made. The mass arrests ended and several thousand were released from the Gulags. SOme from the party were rehabilitated. Even though the purged slowed, they didn’t entirely stop. Potential opponents of Stalin were still arrested, imprisoned and/or executed, but on a much smaller scale. A fairly accurate number of those murdered fromt he purges lies around 2 million people.

THE GREAT PURGE DEBATE

The traditional view of the Great Purge centers on Stalin’s role. It’s based on his position as dictator of the USSR,w hich had clearly been established by that time. It should be seen as a rational response to the 1930’s - Stalin’s determination to remain as leader. Some, such as Tucker, have argued that they occured because Stalin was suffering from a mental illness, or paranoia that led to the irrational extremes. Trotsky saw the Great terror as a way of Stalin providing scapegoats for the poor economy. It was also a consequence of an inevitable paranoia resulting from Stalin’s own increased isolation and bureaucracy. Historian Isaac Deutscher believes the international situation of the 1930’s and the outbreak of an upcoming war led to a real possibility of a coup against him. HIstorian Roy Medvedev links Stalin’s “lust for power” and his “measureless ambition” which was threatened over the huge support given to Kirov in 1934. The Great Purge, then , was designed to strengthen his regime and position.

REVISIONIST - Recently many historians have focused on teh existence of real opposition that posed a potential threat to Stalin’s position. John Arch Getty suggests there is evidence that Stalin’s references to a Trotskyist-Zinovievist plot were based partly on fact. Between 1930 and 1932, middle ranking communist officials contacted Trotsky about formin a new opposition bloc. HOwever, the numbers of the Great PUrge were FAR greater thant eh actual number of those likely to have opposed stalin.

Gabor Rittersporn argues that although Stalin made crucial appointments (replacing Yagoda with Ezhov) the NKVD and the local party bosses were often out of control in the chaos of hte

Stalin 1930’s, and took matters well beyond what Stalin intended. Thus, the Great Terror was an opportunity for rival local leaders to settle old scores.

LINKS TO LENIN

The Great terror and purges can be linked to Lenin, who frequently portrayed those who had different ideas about the “correct” policies were “traitors” and “class enemies”. In the 1920’s the Bolsheviks resorted to purges under Lenin and after his death. Purges took place during the Civil War and when the NEP was introduced. In 1919 and 1921, 15-25% of members were expelled from the pary, much higher than the 1930’s. In 1933, 18% were expelled in in 1935, it was 9%. The Checka used terror agaisnt opponents of the bolsheviks in teh Civil War, it was not used against the party members.

Deutscher and Medvedev portray Stalinism as distinct from Leninism becuase terror was not used against party memebers under Lenin. Communist party leadership in the 1930’s tried to linmit actions taken against various oppositions. Lenin also never forced political opponents to recant their views or make preposterous “confessions” as Stalin did. Historians also point out that Stalin was attempting to create an ideologically “pure” party. His purges were uniquely violent and a clear break from Lenin.

BESIDES TERROR...THERE WAS THE CULT OF PERSONALITY

BY Stalin’s 50th birthday the COmmunist party and the media consciously began to build up Stalin’s image as a hero and linked his political thinking with that of Marx and Lenin. Pravda called on people to rally around Lenin’s “most faithful and dedicated pupil and associate” (Stalin). This emerged during the power struggle with Trotsky, as Stalin tried to portray himself as Lenin’s true disciple, while his opponents were “anti-Leninists”. During times of trouble (the collectivisation, purges, etc) there were many references to the “Lenin-Stalin partnership” and that “Stalin is the Lenin of today.” Stalin’s opponents were airbrushed out of photographs, taken out of books or simply blanked out with pens.

In the 1930’s this Cult of Personality, switched to making Stalin the “father of the nation.”He had saved teh USSR from its enemies (Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinovieiv). Stalin was a savior and an expert in science, and culture. Posters, paintings, and statues appeared erywhere: streets, factories, schools and in the home. He was refered to as the “UNiversal Genius” and “Shining

Stalin Sun of HUmanaity” It was Stalin who made teh USSR the envy of the world with the achievements of the Five Year Plans. Artists, writers and filmm directors were ordered to make pieces that praised him and his achievements. Children were specifically targeted in school. After WWII, it was Stalin whose leaderhsip and bravery had saved the USSR from teh Germans. In 1945, he promoted himself to “Gereralissimo”. Many soviet citizens DID see Stalin as a hero, he made sure to take the place of pride in victory parades over the military (who actually did the fighting).

Stalin’s Domestic PoliciesBACKGROUND

During the Civil War, Lenin instituted War Communism. This was complete state control over the economy, which was focused on supporting the Red Army against the WHite army. When the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional government, they did not have complete control over the entire country and had to fight those who opposed them: Socialists, Anarchists, Tsarists, Even the Allies from WWI(USA, France, Britain, Japan…) It put a heavy strain on farmers and industry in general. During the revolution, Russia was a backwards nation, primarily agricultural with very little industry. After teh Civil War, Lenin needed to take drastic measures to build up the economy and instituted the New Economic Policy, which allowed small forms of private business to occur. Farmers were allowed to sell their surplus food, which led to a group of wealthy farmers called Kulaks. Small businessmen were also allowed to sell good creating a class businessmen called Nepmen (men who made money off of the new system). In 1925 Trotsky argued that the NEp was creating a capitalist class of Kulaks and Nepmen that threatened the socialist/communist aspect of their revolution. At the time, Stalin and Bukharin dismissed this...but by 1928 Stalin changed his mind and decided to focus on gaining more control over agriculture and industry.

INDUSTRY

Economic modernisation was something desired in 1925, and in 1926 Stalin called on the Soviet Union to catch up and overtake the West in industrial production. By 1927, Stalin had defeated the United Opposition and felt able to use some of their economic policies. Stalin stressed the foreign threat and need to increase heavy industry. In 1927-28 there was a grain crisis, which → Stalin to abandon teh NEP to rapidly industrialize. This is what splits Bukharin and Stalin in

Stalin 1928. With the Right defeated by teh end of 1928, Stlain pushed for higher production targets. By 1929 Stalin pushed for a plan that would double Soviet production by 1932.

FIRST FIVE YEAR PLAN 1928-32

The first plan began on October 1, 1928, and concentrated on heavy industry (coal, iron, steel, oil and machine-production). Production was intended to increase by 300%. Light industry was supposed to double its production and to make sure all of this was possible, energy production was expected to increase by 600%!Many workers were excited to create a socialist economy and worked very hard to achieve their goals. Reports (unreliable) were sent to Moscow about how targets were being exceeded and people began talking about how they would fulfill the plan in 4 years rather than 5. Stalin supported this and in 1930, propaganda posters appeared proclaiming 2+2 = 5…

Stalin

This produced significant achievements: hundreds of new factories and mines were built, many in places that had no previous industrial developments. New railroads, hydroelectric schemes and industrial complexes were built. By December 1932 Stalin claimed everything had been fulfilled...but in despite massive growth, none of hte major targets had been met.

CRISIS 1932-33

Stalin The success of hte first Five Year Plan had cost much more than they had allowed for. The increase in coal, iron and industrial goods was too much for the railway system to deal with. As people moved to the cities, there was a housing shortage, which threatened further industrialization. There was also a food crisis due to forced collectivisation (discussed under agriculture) which led to food shortages, rationing and famine. Under these extreme situation, workers changed jobs frequently. Managers had to increase wages and offer unofficial perks in order to retain skilled worker to meet their targets.

THE SECOND FIVE YEAR PLAN 1933-37

Intended to create a fully socialist economy...but it just pushed to increase production and improved living standards and building on advancements from the first plan. From 1934-36, there were many successes: machine production and iron and steel output grew making the USSR basically self-sufficient

Success of the Second Five Year Plan is partly due to the increase in labor productivity. In August 1935 Aleksei Stakhanov, a miner, dug out a massive amount of coal in one shift (102 tones when the average was 7 tonnes). After this, production targets were greatly increased, urging workers to follow his example (his success reached international heights).

Most industries had their own version of Stakhanov. these workers recieved higher bonuses and other material advantages (new apartments) as well as “Heros of Socialist Labor” medals. BY this time, the worst effects of collectivisation were over and rationing was abandoned in 1935.

THIRD FIVE YEAR PLAN, 1938-1942

Problems in 1937 ocurred partly from the growing purges, which took many specialists, administrators and managers that were experts and put them in prison...or executed. The international situation also began to divert funds to defense. The third plan was not approved until 1939, by this time the proposal to develop light industry and increase consumer goods was overshadowed by the

emphasis on heavy industry and defense. Molotov stated the first two plans created the

Stalin foundation for the socialist economy, and the third plan would complete the process, but it was interrupted by the invasion of Germany.

AGRICULTURE

From 1924-26 the NEP had made a small increase in agriculture production. In 1926 the state collected 50% of what had been expected. Emergency measure were taken against Kulaks and nepmen → seizure of grain and increasing taxes on kulaks to force them to sell more grain to the state. Low state purchases of grain in 1927 threatened hunger in the expanding cities, which hurt industrialization.

By 1927, many saw the NEP as getting in the way of agricultural and industrial production. Stalin said it could be overcome by strengthening co-operative farms, increasing mechanization and supporting voluntary collectivisation. In 1928 low grain purchases → Stalin to tell local officials to increase their take of the grain. They took more grain and closed markets. Those who resisted were arrested. After the 1928 harvest, these actions → rural unrest and bread shortages.

In July 1928 at a Central Committee meeting Bukharin managed to get an increase in the price of grain and to end the forcible measures….Stalin wanted industrial production to continue and stopped the money from going to the Kulaks. The fall in grain sales to the state + the crop failure led to large increases in the free-market prices, which led to a slump in grain deliveries to the state and the beginning of rationing in the winter. During 1929, the rest of the USSR was forcibly collectivised and the NEp was destroyed. In December 1929, Stalin ordered the forced collectivisation of all farms and the “liquidation of the Kulaks”.

Stalin was determined to resolve the grain crisis, and made a massive grain procurement was launched. Officials needed to make their quotas (or be purged) so they arrested, deported and confiscated the property of the kulaks who didn’t hand over their quotas. 16 million tonnes were taken, over 30% of the crops were taken. A Kulak was defined as any peasant that owned two horses and four cows, but many peasants were labeled kulaks without these qualifications.

MASS COLLECTIVISATION - 1930

Stalin Stalin stepped up his game against Kulaks in January 1930 by organising collectives. Originally he used persuasion, but he pressed for rapid results, which led to an increase in violence. The kulaks were divided into groups, those who were deemed “counter-revolutionaries” or “exploiters” were given harsh punishments, deportation or execution.

Richer peasants sabotaged the system by destroying their crops and livestock rather than hand it over to the Kolkhoz (a co-operative/collective farm run by a number of peasants on state owned land). SOme even raided the Kolkhoz to get their grain back. Local parties were given targets of how many households should be collectivised. About 4% of households were IDed as Kulaks, but in the end, 15% of households were impacted. 150,000 people were forced to migrate to poorer land in the north and east (their land was then confiscated by the state)

In March of 1930, 58% of peasant households were collectivised. Due to the resistance, the Politburo asked Stalin to halt the collectivization. Official policy returned voluntary collectivisation, and many peasants who had been wrongly accused of being kulaks had their property restored.

COLLECTIVISATION 1930-37

This retreat was temporary. Once the 1930 harvest had been taken, collectivisation resumed. By 1931 50% of Soviet households were in collectivised farms and reached 70% in 1934. By 1937, 90% were collectivised. Between 1929 and 1932, over 2,500 Machine Tractor Stations (MTS) were made to supply seed and lend out machinery to the local Kolkhozes

Stalin As a result of this and the backlash from the peasants, there was a horrible famine in 1932-33. This was made worse by a drought. The famine first hit in the Ukraine in the spring of 1932 and spread, especially to the north. It was mostly over by 1933, but some areas were still hurt in 1934. HIstorians still don’t know what the exact number of deaths were, but it is estimated that 7 million died, 5 million were from the Ukraine. This massacre of peasants is called Holodomor (Execution by hunger). People were so desperate for food, that reports of cannibalism became more and more common.

SUCCESS…?

Many historians debate over whether Stalin had a plan. Many claim changes occurred because of the unforeseen problems due to the NEP. Stalin’s constant interference by increasing the targets prevented them from being successfully implemented. Stalin’s response to the crisis of 1928 was seen as a short term measure that initiated more radical changes. Other historians argued that Stalin clearly intended to modernise the Soviet Union and that his agricultural and industrial policies were a means to an end.

Soviet statistics about the increases in productivity are suspicious, especially those during the purges. The official figure for increased industrial production is 852%. Even with the padded numbers, it is notable that the Soviet Union did make tremendous gains in productivity. The problem with the official numbers arose from the fear factory managers had of punishment for not meeting their quota. Another problem was that many workers were unskilled, as they were peasants who had the most basic training. It was also difficult to make production increase by “storming” or running the machines 24 hours a day. The machines frequently broke down , disrupting production.

IMPACT ON WORKERS

In order to meet the quotas, new work regulations were put into place. In 1929, the “uninterrupted week” was introduced with shift work organized for factories to work nonstop. Absenteeism and late arrival were punished by losing your job and house. After 1931, this was a criminal offense, and you went to a labor camp (gulag). this led many workers to change their jobs frequently.

Stalin The rushed pace of industrialization drastically reduced the living standards , especially when food shortages ocurred and prices rose. Even recovery after hte famine did not return to pre-1928 standards. However, they did end the high unemployment of the 1920’s and many women were able to work, leading to joint incomes for families. Peasants who became industrial workers did see a rise in their standard of living. Many young women were able to get office jobs when before they were delegated to being domestic servants. Many also benefited from the expansion of education and technical colleges.

THE GULAG

In order to overcome shortages in 1929, the OGPU was told to make timber camps to bring in foreign money. The OGPU set up a special department to run them, the Chief Administration for Corrective Labour Camps (Gulag). From 1934, all prisons, camps and colonies were under Gulag control. LIfe was hard and food was scarce. Prisoners (zeks) were used to make huge construction projects, such as canals, railways, etc. Many were deported kulaks or workers who had committed labor offences, while others came from the purges.

COLLECTIVISATION

This was intended to solve the problem of getting enough grain to feed the people in the cities, however the destructive resistance by the kulaks and the deporting of 2.5 million people to the gulags in 1930-31 led to a serious drop in food production and along with the drought, a serious famine in 1932-33. The deaths from the famine and collectivisation atre tied in with the purges, making exact numbers difficult to make. Some estimate the combined deaths equal as many as 20 million. Even though the collectivisation decreased the output, after 1928 grain deliveries to the state increased and the shift of money from agriculture to industry allowed for the rapid industrialization to occur.