Establishment of Stalin’s Authoritarian and Single-Party State Methods: Force, legal Form of Government: ideology Nature, extent and treatment of opposition

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal 1929: Stalin emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union BUT Stalin still had opponents in the party – he did not feel that his position was secure in There were still disagreements about economic policy Stalin wanted for the Soviet Union rapid, transformational MODERNISATION!

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges. Purges had existed even under Lenin – the expulsion of those considered unsuitable for the Communist Party. E.g. Drunkards, careerists and those against Bolshevik polices Those within the party that disagreed with the Five Year Plans and Collectivisation had to be eliminated. HOW?

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges. Stalin was ruthless in destroying his rivals Those who threatened or questioned Stalin’s leadership were ▫a) expelled from the Party ▫b) imprisoned or ▫c) executed

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges. 1932: Ryutin Affair Wrote a document that opposed Stalin’s policies. Document was signed by prominent party members Stalin expelled them from the committee and wanted Ryutin executed. Politburo said ‘No!” to Ryutin’s execution Stalin felt he still wasn’t in complete control of the Party

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges. 1934: Kirov Assassination Kirov was the secretary of the Leningrad Soviet and was known to have criticized/questioned Stalin’s methods of discipline in the party Kirov killed – Stalin (today) was implicated Stalin used the assassination as an excuse to begin purging all those who were against him

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges. 1934: Kirov Assassination Stalin as mourner-in-chief at Kirov's funeral

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges/Show Trials. 1935: Zinoviev and Kamenev were arrested and accused of instigating terrorist activities Death penalty was extended to all those who were ‘spies’ and ‘traitors’ including those who knew about such activities 1936: First show trial involving Zinoviev, Kamenev and fourteen others

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges/Show Trials. Post –Kirov purges 1943 – 1936 NKVD = Secret Police hunted down suspected conspirators (to Kirov’s murder) Many were imprisoned or murdered Tens of thousands deported to prison camps – GULAG Vacant positions in the party filled with Stalin’s own nominees.

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Purges/Show Trials. Post –Kirov purges 1943 – 1936 Arbitrary arrest and summary execution became the norm Representatives of the Party Congress in 1934 suggests that; ▫Of the 1996 delegates who attended, were executed during the next three years ▫In addition of the 139 Central Committee members selected at that gathering all by 41 of them were executed during the purges

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal ‘The Great Terror’ – 1936 – 1939 Can be broken down into three sections i)The purge of the Party ii)The purge of the armed services iii)The purge of the people

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal

The purge of the Party 1936 – Kamenev and Zinoviev along with 14 other leading Bolsheviks were tried and executed 1937 – seven Bolsheviks were denounced collectively - ‘Anti – Soviet Trotskyist Centre’ charged with spying for Germany – all but three executed 1938 – Bukharin, Rykov and others branded Trotskyist rightist, conspirators = executed

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal The purge of the Party Why did leading Bolsheviks publically admit their ‘guilt’? Torture Families were threatened Loyalty to the party – martyr to the cause All of this supported Stalin’s assertions that the Soviet Union was under threat and the purges were necessary in order to preserve the Bolshevik Revolution By 1940 Stalin was the only survivor of Lenin’s 1st politburo

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal

The purge of the armed forces Stalin needed to ensure that he had control of the armed forces – he would do that through terror Feared that the Red army, which had been Trotsky’s creation might sympathise with Trotsky ‘Conspiracy’ was discovered and leading generals were accused of spying for Germany and Japan Generals ‘confessed’ – secret trial this time and then executed

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal The purge of the armed forces War Commissars were removed from office Three of the five Marshals of the Soviet Union were dismissed 80 out of the 101 Supreme Military Council were executed Fourteen of the sixteen army commanders removed commissioned officers were either imprisoned or shot By 1939 all of the serving admirals of the naval fleet were shot or sent to labor camps The air force also purged – only one senior commander survived

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal The purge of the armed forces RESULT: Navy, Army and Air Force were left seriously undermanned Replaced with inexperienced and incompetent leaders Left the defense needs of the Soviet Union in a serious condition

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal The purge of the people Anyone suspected of disloyalty was taken away by the secret police: NKVD One person in every eight of the population was arrested during Stalin’s purges Almost every family in the USSR suffered the loss of at least one of it members as a victim of the terror People who wanted to avoid arrest did so by providing information about others – even if it was false

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal A French cartoon "Visit the Pyramids of the USSR" - political satire referring to the Purges. 1930

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal What were the effects of the Great Terror? Thousands of Party members lost their lives Red army was great weakened in the purges of the armed forces Millions of ordinary, innocent Russians ended up in the Gulag. Many perished due to the freezing weather and poor conditions. A climate of fear gripped the Soviet people due to informers in all walks of life

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Stalin terrorised the population into obedience The Purges disrupted industry and stifled initiative Stalin had complete domination over the Party The cult of Stalin expanded – Stalin’s icon took the place of religion The personality cult encouraged ordinary Russians to regard Stalin as a father-figure – a genius.

Stalin: Methods: Force, Legal Under the leadership of the great Stalin - forward to Communism!

Censorship and Propaganda Stalin tightened his grip on the USSR Artists and writers had to follow the Party line, creating ‘useful’ art for the workers Students of the Leningrad Academy of Art preparing the giant portrait of Stalin for the festive decoration of 1 May 1934 (photo by M. Mitskevich)

Censorship and Propaganda Newspapers, cinema and radio spread propaganda about the heroic workers’ struggle Criticism was banned History was rewritten so that Stalin became more important in the story of the October Revolution than he really had been at that time

Censorship and Propaganda

Trotsky became a non-person Photographs were altered to show Stalin as a close friend and ally of Lenin

Censorship and Propaganda