Tuesday, 5 November 2024
1.2 - Stalinism
Stalin’s Growing Power Over the Party
- Lenin Enrolment: organisation under Stalin’s control which increased number of
industrial workers 1924-25
• Over 500,000 members recruited, doubled Party membership
• New members were politically naive and grateful to Stalin for the
opportunities (despite humble origins)
- Power struggle 1924-28 won by Stalin: used trickery, campaigned that Lenin’s
Testament should be remembered (depicting himself as natural successor)
The Great Purges
They were a wave of terror used to remove enemies
- Show Trials were public trials of key state enemies, lmed and shown in cinemas
as propaganda
- Secret Police (OGPU>NKVD): surveillance, executions, labour camps… became
increasingly bureaucratic and controlled police
- Purges of Party Members: became violent
• Chitska 1932-35: removed people who questioned Stalin’s Five Year Plan
to speed up reform, by 1935 22% of the Party was purged
• Left Opposition attacked as enemies of the state (wanted worldwide
revolution while Stalin focused on ‘socialism in one country’)
- Causes of the Purges:
fi
, - Consequences of the Purges:
Stalin’s Control:
- able to ensure Politburo followed his orders:
• by replacing members by replacing members with his cronies
• 1930s meetings of Politburo became less frequent, Stalin exercised his
control in subgroups outside
- used tactics of intimidation over Bolshevik Party, all Party & State institutions had
no real political importance
The Soviet Constitution of 1936
- need for a second constitution highlights failure of democratic institutions
- changes from 1924:
• abolishment of classes means every citizen could vote
• freedom of press, religion… & employment were guaranteed
- in practice it was fake: Stalin’s justi cation was that political con ict was a result
of capitalism but since they were communists and didn’t have any classes, only one
party was needed
Limits on Stalin’s Power
- Personal: Stalin was forced to delegate and prioritise (and he wasn’t as
successful as predicted with the 5 year plan)
fi fl
1.2 - Stalinism
Stalin’s Growing Power Over the Party
- Lenin Enrolment: organisation under Stalin’s control which increased number of
industrial workers 1924-25
• Over 500,000 members recruited, doubled Party membership
• New members were politically naive and grateful to Stalin for the
opportunities (despite humble origins)
- Power struggle 1924-28 won by Stalin: used trickery, campaigned that Lenin’s
Testament should be remembered (depicting himself as natural successor)
The Great Purges
They were a wave of terror used to remove enemies
- Show Trials were public trials of key state enemies, lmed and shown in cinemas
as propaganda
- Secret Police (OGPU>NKVD): surveillance, executions, labour camps… became
increasingly bureaucratic and controlled police
- Purges of Party Members: became violent
• Chitska 1932-35: removed people who questioned Stalin’s Five Year Plan
to speed up reform, by 1935 22% of the Party was purged
• Left Opposition attacked as enemies of the state (wanted worldwide
revolution while Stalin focused on ‘socialism in one country’)
- Causes of the Purges:
fi
, - Consequences of the Purges:
Stalin’s Control:
- able to ensure Politburo followed his orders:
• by replacing members by replacing members with his cronies
• 1930s meetings of Politburo became less frequent, Stalin exercised his
control in subgroups outside
- used tactics of intimidation over Bolshevik Party, all Party & State institutions had
no real political importance
The Soviet Constitution of 1936
- need for a second constitution highlights failure of democratic institutions
- changes from 1924:
• abolishment of classes means every citizen could vote
• freedom of press, religion… & employment were guaranteed
- in practice it was fake: Stalin’s justi cation was that political con ict was a result
of capitalism but since they were communists and didn’t have any classes, only one
party was needed
Limits on Stalin’s Power
- Personal: Stalin was forced to delegate and prioritise (and he wasn’t as
successful as predicted with the 5 year plan)
fi fl
