Communist Government in the USSR 1917-85
- Created by: hannahelizabethfitzgerald
- Created on: 27-04-17 09:19
The creation of a one-party state
By 1922 Lenin had created a Communist dictatorshiopp of a one-party state.
He wanted to replace capitalism with socialism
The October revolution formally handed power to the All-Russian Congress of Soviets
The Congress created the Sovnarkem and the Provisional government
Lenin passed a series of decrees
Decree on Land
Decree of Peace
Worker's Decree (Nov 1917)
Civil War 1918-21
Civil War led to an emergence of an authoritarian, centralised and bureaucratice regime
Power passed from sovnarkem to the soviets to the Politburo
New government also became increasingly bureaucratic.
Communist Nomnklatura dominated the government
In Feburary 1921 Lenin authorised the Checka
The Party congress of 1921
War communism created famine and the Red Terror led to backlash
The autum of 1920 peasents in Tambov rebelled agaisnt war communism
January 1921 a rebel force of 50,000 was fighting the communists across the whole Tambov region
In early 1921 there was a wave of strikes across Russia's main cities - red army respond
Saliors at Kronstadt naval base rebelle Communists and demand to end war communism and restore democracy
In 1921, Lenin replaced war communinsm with the New Economic Plan (NEP)
The Ban on Factions
Lenin faced opposition from two factions (Worker's opposition and Democratic Centralists)
Lenin introduced a resolution "On party unity" which banned factions inside the party
this made opposition more difficult
Lenin's legacy
He died in 1924
From 1920 the Politburo became the government of Russia and the Sovnarkem played a much smaller role
By 1921 the new government was based on 2 parallel structures (Communist aprty and soviet state)
From 1921 oppostition party's fomally banned
Created the "party-state"
Party used its powers to ensure that Party members recieved more food and better accomidation than ordinary workers
By the early 1920's the Communist party had become a privalledged new elite
Elimination of opposition
Between 1923 and 1928, Stalin was engaged in a struggle for power against Trotsky, Burkarin and Zinoviev
He expelled main rivals from the Politburo
He could give well paid and powerful jobs to his supporters as he was general secretary
Could count on loyal party members who wanted to retain their poistions or get a promotion
Extent of the Purges of the 1930's
Stalin responded to opposition by launching the great terror
The Great Teroor was at its height from 1935-38
Around 10 million people died (10% of the population)
Political consequences of the Great Terror
Most puclic aspect of the Great Terror was the show trials that took place in 1936, 1937 and 1938
The Great Terror led to the imprisonment of a whole generation of communists who had known and worked with Lenin
By the mid-1930's Stalin's position was fully secure
Stakin terrorised the Communist partty.
This ended Party Rule and established the personal rule of Stalin
By 1935 neither Party nor State could oppose Stalin
Political consequences of the Great Terror
Most puclic aspect of the Great Terror was the show trials that took place in 1936, 1937 and 1938
The Great Terror led to the imprisonment of a whole generation of communists who had known and worked with Lenin
By the mid-1930's Stalin's position was fully secure
Stakin terrorised the Communist partty.
This ended Party Rule and established the personal rule of Stalin
By 1935 neither Party nor State could oppose Stalin
Political consequences of the Great Terror
Most puclic aspect of the Great Terror was the show trials that took place in 1936, 1937 and 1938
The Great Terror led to the imprisonment of a whole generation of communists who had known and worked with Lenin
By the mid-1930's Stalin's position was fully secure
Stakin terrorised the Communist partty.
This ended Party Rule and established the personal rule of Stalin
By 1935 neither Party nor State could oppose Stalin
Totalitarianism
Stalin constructed a new kind of dictatorship (complete control of the economy, use of widespread political terror, complete control of media, propaganda to win hearts and minds of his people)
Stalin demanded heartfelt enthusiasm from his people
Did not simply want obedience
Relationship between party and state
Lenin had created the communists party and soviet state but had failed to define their relationship
Stakin used this vaugness to his advantage by encouraging competition
This meant that senior officials in the soviet government competed with each other and not Stalin
In 1938 Politburo was most senior committee in government
By 1942 State Defence committee was the most powerful committee in in government
After WW2 councile of ministers became more powerful
By shifting power, Stalin ensure that none of these senior committees grew to rival him
Renewed Terror
The Leningrad affair of 1949
Following Zhdanov's death around 100 of his supporters were shot and 2,000 arrested and dismissed
Stalin also used persecution to test the loyalty of senior members.
Stalin died in 1953
Neither party nor state had any independant authority
De-Stalinisation
Khrushchev came to power in 1956
wanted to De-Stalinise the government (ending personal rule, ending the use of terror)
In March and April 1953 there were amnesties for various classes of prisioners
In May 4,620 Communist prisoners were rehabilitated
Khrushchev removed Stalin loyalists from senior party bodies
Betwen 1953 and 1956 Khrushchev replaced around half of the senior party secretaries and 44% of the central committee
The secret speech
In 1956 Khrushchev released a secret speech criticisng Stalin and the Party Congress
Said Stalin had abandoned the party and established a dictatorship based on a cult of personality
Many communists were shocked by what they heard
demonstartions in favour of multi-party democracy at Moscow's State university broke out.
Khrushchev responded by backtracking
Agreed that the Soviet people were not ready to know the truth about Stalin
Democratisation and decentralisation
"Democritisation" was designed to allow peaseants and workers to join the communist party
Became more representative of the Russian people
"Decentralisation
Khrushchev's final reforms
The Twenty-Second Party Congress of October 1961 introduced Khrushchev's final major poiltical reforms
The Party was divided into two (one party supervised agriculture, the other industry)
Fixed terms introduced for all government jobs (Centrl Committee members had a fixed term of 16 years)
Some aspects of Stalinism lived on
Never publicy rejeced his legcy or admitted the extent of Stalin's crimes
Khrushchev succeeded i getting rid of terror
Ended the sytem of personal rule
In Otober 1964 Khrushchev was forced to retire by senior figures in the Party who believed the reforms had gone too far
Restoration
Brezhnev reversed Khrushchev's key rforms in a process called restoration
Reversed de-centralisation and re-established the all-union ministers
Ended the split betwen theindustrial and agriultural wings of the Party
Stability of Cadres
Reversed fixed-term positions
Not a return of Stalin's terror
Brezhnev controlled the party by offering Party members security
"Stability of Cadres" discouraged demotions or changes in perosnnel within governement
Political Stagnation 1970-85
Stability of Cadres meant that governent officials stayed in the same job for years
Few young people entered the governtent and so the avareage age increased
Avarage age of those in the Politburo rose from 58 in 1966 to 75 in 1982
Nicknamed the Gerontocracy (rule of old people)
Became less effective
Extremely limited opportunities for promotion and so oficials were effectivly stuck in dead-end-jobs
Provided no incentives to work hard
Created the context of corruption
Blak market a major form of corruption
Brezhnev's rule led to a change in party nature as he believed the revolution wa over and so there as little to no revolutionary spirit
Andropov and Chrenenko 1982-85
Soviet Union ruled by Andropo and Chernenko
Both had been close to Brezhnev
Andropov initiated policies that were designed to end corruption and increase efficiency
Abandoned the "Stablility of Cadres" plocy and replecaed a 1/4 of senior officials
Anti-corruption campaign
Chernenko unwilling to consider major reform due to ill health and hi short rule
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