Life in Communist Russia (Junior Cert History): Revision Notes

Life in Communist Russia

Communism and the Bolsheviks

• In February 1917, Tsar Nicholas II of the Romanov Dynasty was forced to step down.
• The provisional government that replaced the Tsar was overthrown in the October Revolution of 1917 by Vladimir Lenin and the Bolsheviks.
• The Bolshevik Party believed in the communist ideas of Karl Marx, advocating for revolutions to end private ownership and distribute wealth, creating a classless society.
• Communism is a system where the state controls all aspects of the economy and society, with limited individual rights and discouragement of religion. Russia was the first communist state.

• Lenin's government banned all other political parties, took control of banks and factories, and ended Russia's involvement in World War I through a peace treaty with Germany.

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The Russian Civil War

• In 1917, civil war broke out between the Bolshevik Red Army, led by Leon Trotsky, and the anti communist White Army.
• In July 1918, Tsar Nicholas II and his family were executed by the Bolsheviks.
• By 1922, the White Army was fully defeated, and Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), known as the Soviet Union.

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Stalin's Rise to Power

• In 1922, Lenin suffered strokes and wrote his Testament, critical of Joseph Stalin, who was the General Secretary of the Party.
• Lenin died on 21st January 1924, leading to a power struggle among senior Party members, including Lev Kamenev, Grigory Zinoviev, Nikolai Bukharin, Leon Trotsky, and Stalin.
  • Stalin seized control by organising Lenin's funeral, giving the main speech, and expelling Trotsky and others from the Party and government.
  • Stalin's policy of 'Socialism in One Country' focused on strengthening communism in the USSR before spreading it further.
  • By 1928, Stalin had become the absolute ruler, creating a dictatorship.

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Daily Life in Stalin's Russia

• In 1927, Stalin introduced collectivisation, merging small farms into large, state-owned farms.
• Resistance led to the deportation or execution of 2.5 million kulaks (wealthy farmers).
• By 1936, 90% of farmland was collectivised.

• Stalin launched three Five-Year Plans to boost industrialisation:
  1. The First Five-Year Plan (1928-1932) focused on heavy industry, with unrealistic targets but notable improvements.
  2. The Second Five-Year Plan (1933-1937) targeted industry, transport, and consumer goods, resulting in projects like the Moscow Underground.
  3. The Third Five-Year Plan (1938-1941) shifted focus to arms production due to World War II.
• Shortages of everyday goods and food rationing were common, leading to severe famines.
• Workers received benefits like apartments, free schooling, and healthcare.
• Productive workers were rewarded and used in propaganda.

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Terror

• Stalin was a dictator who used terror and propaganda to maintain power.

• In 1934, the secret police, Cheka, were reorganised as the NKVD, arresting and executing 'enemies of the state'.

  
  • The gulags (forced labour camps) held millions, with high death rates due to harsh conditions.
  • Stalin initiated purges, including show trials where tortured confessions were used to eliminate rivals.

• Major show trials included: 4. The Trial of the Sixteen (1936): Executions of Communist Party leaders. 5. The Trial of the Seventeen (1937): Executions and imprisonments of leading Bolsheviks. 6. The Trial of the Twenty-One (1938): Elimination of Stalin's last rivals.

• Stalin also purged the Red Army, executing or firing nearly 30,000 officers.

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Propaganda

• The Communist Party's newspaper, Pravda, and posters/art promoted the greatness of the Soviet Union and communism.
• Stalin was depicted as a godlike figure, with cities and streets named after him and enemies airbrushed from photos and records.

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Education

• Compulsory schooling and exams improved literacy rates.
• Propaganda influenced education, rewriting textbooks to glorify Stalin.
• Youth groups like the Young Communists and Komsomol were established.

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Women's Lives

• Under Lenin, women gained the vote, education, and access to contraception and divorce. State provided services included dining halls and childcare.
• Under Stalin, contraception and abortion were banned by 1936, and divorce was discouraged to increase birth rates. Women were rewarded for having six or more children.
• By 1937, women made up 50% of the workforce.

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A Leader in Communist Russia: Josef Stalin (1878-1953)

• Born near Tiflis, Georgia, Stalin was expelled from priest training for radical Marxist ideas.
• After joining the Bolsheviks, he was sent to Siberia in 1904 and played a minor role in the October Revolution.
• As General Secretary, he seized power after Lenin's death, expelling and exiling Trotsky.
• Stalin's policies included collectivisation and purges to eliminate opposition.
• In 1939, Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany, but in 1941, Germany invaded the Soviet Union. Stalin joined the Allies to defeat Germany.
• After the war, Stalin imposed communist governments on Eastern Europe and initiated the Berlin Blockade in 1948, marking the start of the Cold War.
• Stalin's health deteriorated, and by his death in 1953, the Soviet Union was a nuclear power.

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Key Terms

1. Tsar Nicholas II: the last Emperor of Russia, ruling from 1894 until his abdication in 1917 during the Russian Revolution, leading to the end of the Romanov dynasty.
2. October Revolution: a 1917 Bolshevik-led uprising in Russia that overthrew the provisional government and established a communist state under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin.
3. Vladimir Lenin: the leader of the Bolshevik Party and the key figure in the October Revolution, who became the first leader of the Soviet Union.
4. Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR): a federal socialist state in Eastern Europe and Asia, established in 1922 and dissolved in 1991, known for its centralised economy and single-party rule.
5. Josef Stalin: the leader of the Soviet Union from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953, known for his totalitarian rule, extensive purges, and policies of industrialisation and collectivisation.
6. Collectivisation**:** a policy implemented by Stalin in the late 1920s and 1930s to consolidate individual peasant farms into large, state-controlled enterprises.
7. Five-Year Plans: a series of nationalised plans for economic development in the Soviet Union, aimed at rapid industrialisation and centralised economic control.
8. NKVD**:** the Soviet secret police organisation responsible for political repression, including purges, surveillance, and enforcement of Stalin's policies.
9. Gulags**:** a network of labour camps in the Soviet Union where millions of people were imprisoned and subjected to harsh conditions, forced labour, and political repression.
10. Berlin Blockade: a Soviet blockade of West Berlin in 1948-1949, aimed at forcing the Allies out of the city, which was countered by the Western Allies' Berlin Airlift to supply the city with food and goods.

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Revision Questions

1. What event forced Tsar Nicholas II to step down?
2. True or False: Lenin's government allowed other political parties.
3. Who led the Red Army during the Russian Civil War?
4. Fill in the blank: The Soviet Union was renamed the _______ in 1922.
5. What policy did Stalin introduce in 1927 to merge small farms?
6. True or False: The NKVD was responsible for managing the gulags.
7. What was the purpose of Stalin's Five-Year Plans?
8. Fill in the blank: Stalin's purges included public trials known as _______.
9. Who were the enemies airbrushed from photographs during Stalin's regime?
10. True or False: Stalin signed a nonaggression pact with Nazi Germany in 1939.

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