1. USSR under Joseph Stalin

2. War Communism (Lenin)
what
When :
What: Industry was nationalized, compulsory labour was introduced and private trade was suppressed
Why: because of the desperate need to obtain food for the Red Army & the urban population
Outcome: communism, military & militants swung into full force

3. So What?
Peasants resisted, and forcible requisitioning and repression became common
There was further economic decline as requisitioning and rationing were needed to supply the Red Army & cities with food
- This was Lenin’s first attempt to install the first communist economy

4. Lenin’s New Economic Policy
What
When: March 1921 What: Introduced a small measure of capitalism Why: Problems with War Communism Outcome: Some improvement in production

5. So What?
- Lenin showed his flexibility; some private trade was permitted, peasants were allowed to sell surplus, small factories returned to a form of private ownership
With this policy, Lenin sacrificed some of the ideals of Marxism for the seeming necessity of capitalist production
-The economy improved a little

6. Effects of Lenin’s NEP What So What
Peasants handed over a fixed proportion of their crops to the state; peasants were allowed to keep or sell surplus
Small farms were returned to their former owners & incentive schemes were set up to encourage more production
Small factories returned to private ownership
Social results of the NEP were a threat to the Communists who disapproved of class distinctions
Stalin was committed to socialism and the Communists did not like the increase in the number of kulaks (richer farmers) or
“Nepmen” (small business people)

7. Emergence of Stalin
Born: in
Georgia
Died:

8. Troubled childhood Abusive father
Mother wanted him to be a priest, but he was kicked out of the Seminary, most likely for bad behaviour

9. Power-hungry from young age
Idolized Lenin
Wanted to succeed Lenin as leader of Communists
Excellent memory
Lived simply
Liked good food & wine
Not interested in money

10. Power Struggle with Trotsky
What
So What
Trotsky believed that the success of socialism depended on worldwide revolution. He represented the left wing of the party.
The right wing supported the NEP
Stalin was in the middle. He believed that socialism could be built in one country.
He called for the development of socialism in the USSR
Stalin promised power and prestige without the problems posed by fostering international revolution
Because of Stalin’s dynamic personality the party supported him and not Trotsky. Stalin was a master schemer and tactician and got control.
In control, Stalin had Trotsky removed from the party and exiled. He was later murdered.

11. Once sentenced 70,000 people to death at one time
“Man of Steel”
Ruthless, cruel, cold
Once sentenced 70,000 people to death at one time

12. Who were Stalin’s victims?
Political rivals – often killed by NKVD (secret police)
All military that didn’t support him
Just before WWII, purged 2/3 of the army and most talented members of Communist party and the military

13. Sent to labour camps or to work on industrialization projects
3) Dissidents
Sent to labour camps or to work on industrialization projects

14. 4) Ukrainian peasants – 6
“Collectivization” – killed 6 million in 2 yrs (even his wife committed suicide over the plan)
State farms: like agricultural factories;
peasants worked for wage. Losses borne by
state

15. b) Collective farms - advantages
-rewarded labour for its input
-tax was paid to the state
overhead was paid for by earnings
surplus distributed on basis of how much labour each worker had done
workers could maintain small, private plots, plus limited # of livestock
Purpose – destroy rich peasants (Kulaks), and the poor peasants would be victorious

16. The brutality of collective farms
Kulaks – farmer with property = $ about 5% of farmers were Kulaks -Kulaks deemed “unfit” for collective farms…too independent -forced out of Ukraine (breadbasket of USSR) -Siberia & Central Asia -5 million kulaks “disappeared” Starved to death, sent to industrial projects, deported to labour camps in Siberia

17. Collectivization destroyed USSR’s agriculture
If peasants resisted, govt. slaughtered their livestock
Droughts in Southern Russia and Ukraine
led to major famine in Ukraine,
6 million deaths
USSR never able to grown enough grain for its people again, but continued to export grain

18. Collectivization What So What
Peasants forced to give up own land and become workers on collective farms. Collectives were called Kolkhoz and all land was pooled. The farm committee would order the workers what to do.
1930 – ½ peasants on collectives
1931 – 53% on these farms
1932 – 62%
Resistance by some farmers = famine
Grain was taken away to feed the cities and the army and to sell on foreign markets
Ended private ownership of agricultural land
The class of the ‘Kulak’ was completely eliminated (they were killed or sent to prison camps as they were a symbol of free enterprise)

19. Purges & Show Trials What So What Began in 1933
What: Old heroes of the Revolution & other political enemies were charged with treason, ‘tried’, and executed
Why: Stalin wanted to purify communism and solidify his power
Stalin executed 1 of every 5 officers in the Red Army
Killing so many officers would come back to haunt Stalin later in WW11.
The Purges showed Stalin’s ruthlessness
All forms of dissent, real or imagined, were punished brutally
Introduced Show Trials
Stalin became a totalitarian leader who rivaled Hitler in ruthlessness