Stalin 1928 -41

In 1929 the Ural-siberian method is used throughout most of the societ union bringing the NEP to an end. In December, Stalin launched collectivism.

- Announced in december 1929

- January 1930 stalin announced that 25% of grain farming areas would be collectivised that year

- The secret police, army and party work brigades were all used to force peasants to accept the new arrangements

- By March 1930, 58% of peasant households had been collectivised through a mixture of force and propaganda

- Dizzy with success speach March 1930

- Grain and livestock was destroyed, 25-30% of cattle, pigs etc. were slaughtered by peasants between 1929 - 33, livestock did not reach pre collectivisation levels until 1953

- grain procurement levels were unrealistic and grain output did not reach pre collectivisation levels until after 1935

- 1932 the corn laws were introduced to punish anyone caught stealing from a colletive farm 

In December stalin announced that he would 'annihilate the Kulaks as a class'. The Red army and the Cheka were used to identify, execute or deport kulakswhich were said to represent 4% of peasant households. In reality around 15% of peasant households were destroyed and around 150,000 richer peasants were forced to migrate to poorer land. Dekulakisation was not only inhuman but it also removed 10 million of the most succesful farmers. 

The phrase dizzy with success comes from an article published by Stalin in Mrch 1930 in which he shifted the balme for the hostility of collectivisation on to local officials , whom he accused of being over-eager in their duties. This speech lead to a slow down in the collectivsation process. The mini NEP was introduce to ease the unrest and a way to give the workers what they asked for.

Kolkhoz were collectives operated by a number of peasant families on state-owned land, where peasants lived rent-free but had to fulfil state procuremant quotas. Any surplus was divided between the families according to the amount of work put in and each family also had a small private plot.

Stalin's ideal organisation was the sovkhoz. This was a collective farm run on the same principles as a state-owned factory. Local authorities marked out the land for each sovkhoz and hired peasants for fixed wages. Such a type of farming was thought eminently suitable for the grain-growing expanses in Ukraine and southern Russia. Yet Stalin recognized that most peasants were ill-disposed to becoming wage-labourers, and he yielded to the extent of permitting most farms to be of the kolkhoz type.

The Great Turn was the move from the NEP under Lenin to the Five Year Plans and collectivisation under Stalin. This entailed a move to centeral planning making the government responsible for economic coordination. This is sometimes called a command economy, it was beleived that the new industrial growth would build self sufficiency and lead to a truy socialist state.

Machine-tractor station, Russian mashinno-traktornaya stantsiya (MTS), in the Soviet Union, state-owned institution that rented heavy agricultural machinery (e.g., tractors and combines) to a group of neighbouring kolkhozy (collective farms) and supplied skilled personnel to operate and repair the equipment. The stations, which became widespread and prominent during the collectivization drive in the early 1930s, were instrumental in the mechanization of Soviet agriculture.

In October 1931, drought hit many agricultural areas. Combined with kulak deportations this brought severe drop in food production and by the spring of 1932, famine appeared in the Ukraine and spread to parts of the Northern Caucus. The period of 1932-33 saw one of the worst famines in Russian history - in some areas it continued to 1934.

It aimed to increase production by 300%, develop heavy industry, boost electricity production by 600%, double the production from light industry and chemicals productions. 

None of the main targets were actually met but major investment brought some impressive growth. Electricity output trebled, iron output doubled and steel production increased by a third. New railways, hydro electric power schemes, engineering plants and industrial complexes i.e. Magnitogorsk sprung up.

it aimed to continue the development of heavy industry, put new emphasis on the light industries, develop communications to provide links between cities and areas of industry and boost engineering and tool making. 

'the three good year' - the Moscow Metro eas opened in 1935. Electricity production and chemical industries grew rapidly, new metals such as Zinc and copper were mined for the first time. Steel output trebled , coal production doubled and by 1937 the soviet union was virtually self sufficient in metal goods and machine tools. In 1936 greater focus was placed on rearmement which rose from 4% of GDP in 1933 to 17% in 1937.

Oil production failed to meet its targets, there was still no apreciatable growth in consumer goods.

It aimed to focus on the development of heavy industry, promote rapid rearmement and complete the transition to communism.

Some strong growth in machinery and engineering, spending on rearmament doubled between 1938 and 1940. Steel production tagnated, oil production failed to meet targets causing a fuel crisis. Industries were short of raw materials and consumer goods were also regulated o the lowest priortiy.

This was a brand new industrial centre situated in the Urals that was intended to showcase socialism in action. A giant steel plant was built there and a town of 150,000 people was created from nothing. This new indutrial base was designed to be the home of the new 'socialist man' dedicated to his work and the party. Here wrokers lived in communal barracks beneath imposing pictures of Lenin and Stalin and were sbject to constant lectures and political discussions.

Stage one of Stalins terror attack which lead to 20% of party member being expelled from society non violently and as a part of a clearing out process after collectivisation.

Aleksei Stakahanov was a miner who extracted in 5 hours 45 minutes the amount of coal usually expected from a miner in 14 times that length of time. He was hailed as and exmaple of how human determination and endeavour might increase productivity. Competitions were arranged others to emmulate stakhanov's acheivement. The Stakhanovite movement became a way of forcing management to support their workers so a to increase production - failure to meet targets meant managers might be branded as 'sabouters' and removed.

The deportations mainly consited of internal forced migrations. These stared with the Finns and Poles. In 1937, Koreans in the far east of russia were deported while Stalin divided central Asia into five seperate republics and forced th migration of muslim ethnic groups to weaken any loyalty to a single state. After the annexation of the eastern part of the Polish republic, 1.45 million people in the region were deprted during 1939-41 of which 63.1% were Poles and 74% were Jews. The process was repeated in the Bltic states while Romanians and Volga Germans were deported in increasing numbers in 1941.

Gulags were economic colonies a way of exploiting the prison population to boost econmic growth, millions of prisoners were used to dig mines and canals, build railways ad clear forests. One major gulag project was the construction of the White Sea Canal. Some 100,000 prisoners were employed on this task in 1932 but 25,000 died in the winter of 1931-32. It was opened by Stalin in a blaze of publicity 1933, but proved useless for bigger ships.

The nazi soviet pact was agreed in August 1939 by which Hitler advanced into Poland whhile soviet troops seized eastern Poland, the three Baltic provinces and the Romanian province of Bessrbia. They also took Finalnd after the wonter war 1939-40. Stalin knew that the pact would only buy time.

In 1937-38 the great purges merged with the Yezhovschina, named after the head of the NKVD. Thousands from all sections of society were terrorised , executed or sent to labour camps. In 1935 after an investigation by the NKVD 250,000 party members were expelled as anti leninist and 11,000 'former people' were arrested, exiled or placed in labour camps. 

Gulags were put under the control of the OGPU - the political police until 1934 when the NKVD  took control.

A Cult of Personality grew enormously under Stalin. Lenin had never sought cult status but it occured after his death, largely through the efforts of Stalin who wanted to appear to be his dsciple. By the late 1920s Lenin was being treated like a god. Stalin even insisted that his body hould be embalmed and Lenins tomb was turned into a shrine. The word Lenin appeared everywhere. Petrograd became Leningrad.

From 1932 all writers had to belong to the 'union of soviet writers'. The body exerted control over both what was created and who was allowed create for non membership meant artistic isolation with no opportunity for commission of the sale of work. In april 1934 the first congress of the uninion of soviet writers in which the frame of reference for writers was laid out by Zhdanov, works were expected to glorify the working man and communities working together and embracing new technology. 

People were lead to appreciate socialist relaity and to see the reflection of the future in the present. Literarture and art were used to show how the 'march to communism' was inevitable.

He became a member of the politburo in 1939 and led the defence of Leningrad against the German army in 1941-44. In 1946 he was appointed to direct cultural policy and he promoted the Zhdanocschina. 

At the 17th Pary congress in elections to the centeral committee Stalin recived 150 negative votes, although only 3 were recorded.

At the 17th Pary congress in elections to the centeral committee Stalin recived 150 negative votes, although only 3 were recorded.

Following his standing ovation for his speech which called for a slowing down of cnomic policies, Kirov was murdered. Stalin was quick to blame Trotskyite conspiratos led by zinovites to overthrow the party. A decree was passed the day after giving Yagoda - head of the NKVD - the power to arrest and execute anyone found guilty of terrorist plotting. Arougn 6500 were arrested under this law in December.

The social engineering and modernization efforts in agriculture and industry of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin have been described as gigantomaniac. The creation of extremely large industrial complexes, farms, engineering efforts, buildings and statues was to prove the superiority of the socialist system over capitalism. These projects also aimed for a mass transformation of the Russian peasant society into a proletarian one: massive construction sites, such as Magnitogorsk, also functioned as ideological education centers for the workers or Gulag inmates.

In addition to massive construction projects, Stalin's gigantomania can be seen in the ideologue of Stakhanovism, which emphasized constantly over-fulfilling production target quotas.

Soviet gigantomania continued, albeit with less popularity, after Stalin's death.

Yagoda was head of the NKVD before he was replaced by Yezhov in 1936, who was the subsequently replaced by Beria in 1938 and shot in 1940.

In 1928, 53 egineers at the Shakty coal mine in the northern causcus were accussed of 'counter revolutionary activities' after there was a declin in production there. They were given a show trial in which they were force to confess. 5 were executed and 44 received long prison sentences.

On 9 November 1932, after a public spat with Stalin at a party dinner, enraged at the government's collectivization policies on the peasantry, Nadezhda shot herself in her bedroom.

Kaganovich - Was a full member of the politburo by 1930 and supported collectivisation and brought the Moscow regional party organsiation firmly under Stalins control.

Molotov - He replaced Litvitnov as the soviet commissar of foreign affiairs in May 1939 and negotiated the Nazi Soviet pact in Augsut 1939. He held various diplomatic posts after the war.

Around 70% of the mebers of the centeral committee at thw 17th party congress were arrested and shot. Of 1966 delegates to the congress, 1108 were arrested. Old bolsheviks were removed through show trials.

Leaders of national republics were charged with treason and removed. Around 350,000 people from minority ethnic groups were put on trial includng 140,000 poles.

8 senior generals, 3 out of 5 marshalls, all 11 commissars and all 8 admirals were shot.

Yagoda and more than 23,000 NKVD men were put on trial, most were shot.

Kulaks represented around 50% of all arrests and more than half the total number of executions.

Mikhail Nikolayevich Tukhachevsky was a leading Soviet military leader and theoretician from 1918 to 1937. He commanded the Soviet Western Front in the Soviet-Polish War of 1920–1921 and served as chief of staff of the Red Army from 1925 through 1928, as assistant in the People's Commissariat of Defense after 1934 and as commander of the Volga Military District in 1937. He contributed to the modernization of Soviet armament and army force structure in the 1920s and 1930s and became instrumental in the development of aviation, mechanized, and airborne forces. As a theoretician, he was a driving force behind Soviet developmentof the theory of deep operations. The Soviet authorities accused him of treason and had him shot during the military purges of 1937–1938