The Soviet Union under Stalin, Kidner, Ch. 27, pp

The Stalin/Trotsky Rivalry After Lenin’s stroke in 1922 and his subsequent death in 1924, a power vacuum was left Two factions emerged Trotsky Faction Joseph Stalin ( ) Faction, general secretary of the party Lenin had criticized both before his death, but especially Stalin Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved.

Trotsky’s Position Urged rapid industrialization financed by expropriation of farm production Collectivization of agriculture The Soviet Union should encourage worldwide Socialist revolution Allow for opposing opinions/debate w/in the Communist Party Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved.

Stalin’s Position Russia needed a strong authoritarian leader Opposed Trotsky’s position on worldwide revolution Russia must secure itself from Nazi and Japanese threat Rapid industrialization would push Russia ahead of US and Great Britain and give it a stable economy Talks about disarmament, BUT builds up Russian military Five-year plans Russia must become a recognized world power Russia joins League of Nations in 1934 Collectivization of agriculture Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved.

Rise of Stalin His position of general secretary allowed him to amass bureaucratic and administrative power By 1927, Stalin in control – opposition crushed Trotsky exiled by 1929 “[Stalin] is an unprincipled intriguer who subordinates everything to his appetite for power. At any given moment he will change his theories in order to get rid of someone," Bukharin to Kamenev

Russia: Rapid Industrialization Rejects New Economic Policy (NEP) and free market trade, INSTEAD institues Series of Five-Year Plans Complete state control of the economy (Planned Economy) The State Planning Commission or Gosplan oversaw every aspect the economy Economy grows 400% between 1928 and 1940, BUT what are the tactics that Stalin’s regime uses to insure this kind of economic growth? (see pg. 782) Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved.

Collectivization Stalin forces Russian peasants to give up their private farms and work collectively on farms owned by the state – collectives Stalin felt this policy would produce enough food domestically and for foreign export “Dekulakization” – the forced removal of any peasants, especially those who were well off, who resisted collectivization Millions of peasants are killed, imprisoned, exiled to Siberia or starved to death (see statistics pg. 783) Religious leaders of many faiths are attacked and their places of worship closed By 1937, 90% of the country’s grain is collectivized Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved.

The Purges Stalin, starting in 1933, gets rid of his enemies and opponents, both real and imagined, in the Great PurgesGreat Purges Stalin’s thirst for power and his paranoia caused the purges Party chief Sergei Kirov along with other members of the Politburo are executed Show trials ensue to “prove” guilt of accused Millions of people (family members of government leaders, ordinary Soviet citizens, members of the military) are either executed or sent to gulags (labor camps) NKVD (secret police) employed in carrying out the purges As a result, Communist Party moves away from the philosophies of Lenin and other early Communist leaders Copyright © 2010 Pearson Education, Inc., Upper Saddle River, NJ All rights reserved.