A helpful resource covering numerous aspects of the USSR topic - perfect for your Pearson Edexcel A-Level History exams!
Key points and content for: government; industrial and agricultural change; control of the people; social developments; and fall of the USSR.
5 pages, 4000+ words
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Aspects Key Points/Content Key Judg
Government The creation of a one-party state: Lenin closed Constituent Assembly in 1918 (?), suppressed other parties (e.g. through 1917 decree which
banned non-socialist newspapers) and banned them in 1922. Fear of loss of employment allowed the party to gain blind loyalty and its
membership increased from 730k in 1921 to 1m in 1924.
Party congress of 1921: addressed lack of unity within party, dismissed Kronstadt mutiny as counter-revolutionaries stirred up by Whites,
dissent and factionalism was strictly forbidden and Party members (even high-ranking) could be expelled from the party for breaking this;
signified that the party had now become a dictatorship under the Politburo
The nature of Lenin’s government and growing centralisation: climate of suspicion and lack of real loyalty as one third of the party was non-
violently purged and the Nomenklatura system encouraged excessive shows of loyalty rather than genuine commitment to the party. Power
was centralised in the hands of the Politburo and local soviets were merely rubber-stamping bodies. Allowed Lenin to claim that party had
democratic nature and allowed him to pass unpopular but necessary policies but there were cracks in the party control that could be
exploited by local mafia, as local Soviets had fewer ties to the government.
Under Stalin, centralisation increased to just him and advisors within the Politburo. He expelled several significant party members in 1925
and the 1936 show trials further centralised power in his hands. He sought to cleanse the party of unwanted members.
Purges of the 1930s: OGPU only took orders from Stalin and directed intimidation at elements within the party. NKVD sought to target
‘enemies of the people’, opposition to industrialisation and political rivals of Stalin. Thousands of personnel and millions of informants,
climate of fear and suspicion, far less opposition to the regime due to fear of consequences. Stalin used terror to consolidate his own
position (as demonstrated by the fact that he launched the terror when the party was already at its strongest) and remove his opposition
whilst justifying it as necessary to secure the revolution and secure the revolution. Arrested people within the party who were deemed
suspicious (all 6 other members of Stalin’s first Politburo were eventually executed/assassinated; all but three of the second were executed
and one of these was Molotov, whose wife was exiled) and had them and/or their families jailed and/or killed. The show trials of 1936
removed older and higher-ranking communists and the Red Army was purged, with 8 generals and over 30k soldiers killed in late 1930s.
Stalin’s power over party and state: he created careers and therefore had an unquestioned and untouchable role within the party. People
were loyal to him even after he had wronged them (e.g. Molotov after his wife was arrested and exiled), contradiction was harshly punished
(e.g. head of air force executed after calling planes “flying coffins”) and therefore dissidence, innovation and new ideas were all suppressed
through fear. Furthermore, he was able to create genuine belief in his capabilities and image as a leader, to the extent that he was not
removed after deserting during WW2 because the commanders felt loyalty and fear towards him as well as an inability to replace his
leadership. The nomenklatura system allowed the party to be responsible for appointments in virtually every enterprise.
Industrial and SC: transitional phase between capitalism and communism; included Land Decree of October 1917 which abolished private ownership of
agricultural land, pleasing the peasantry by giving them control over the land they farmed and worked upon; Decree on Workers’ Control of Nov 1917
change placed control of factories in workers’ hands; December 1917 saw all private banks nationalised and, along with State Bank, amalgamated
into People’s Bank of Russian Republic; gave considerable power to workers and peasants but had a detrimental impact on economy;
workers’ councils voted to give themselves huge pay rises which caused inflation; managers with technical skills were removed, often
violently; government set up a Supreme Council to exert greater authority over economy; tensions between worker self-management and
government control, leading to increased gvt power during civil war
WC: had communist aims and succeeded in its aim of winning the war but saw reduced production and morale and the growth of the black
market
NEP: was successful in reducing the black market and increasing production and morale but its progress was slow and inevitably temporary
as it countered communist ideology. It also increased inequalities between workers and peasants; it was eradicated in 1928 because of the
, Livestock populations dropped due to improper care and killings to meet targets and there was not enough machinery to replace them.
Grain harvests didn’t consistently exceed pre-collectivisation levels until 1935 and 5-10m famine deaths as well as reduced peasant morale,
which hindered production but reduced the chances of revolt.
5YPS: 28-32: heavy industry and collectivising agriculture, saw fall of consumer goods; 33-37 same as first and led to famine; 28-42
emphasised production of armaments ahead of war; fourth stressed economic reconstruction after war; fifth stressed continued growth,
perhaps at a slower and more realistic rate
Recovery from war after 1945: Overall production reduced due to Nazi occupation – steel, oil and wool had all dropped significantly; grain
over halved from 1940-42 and WW2 deaths also hindered food production; cattle halved, 25m homeless and thousands od towns and
villages destroyed; took reparations from East Germany and trade agreements signed with newly Soviet-dominant Eastern Europe; gulag
workers used to increase production; strong central planning helped achieve quick results and industrial production quickly recovered,
wartime labour used for reconstruction, retraining programmes to help rebuild, harsh penalties for slackers; metal and heavy engineering
industries particularly successful but consumer industries neglected and failure to adopt new technology; industry performance post-war
was impressive and living conditions in the towns improved, although this occurred more slowly in the countryside; ‘Link’ system which
allowed peasants to profit during the war was abolished, taxes were raised on private plots; agricultural production remained low post-war
due to shortage of workforce and livestock; drought and Ukraine famine in late 40s and grain production in 1952 was lower than 1940 and
less productive than 1913; large collectives were implemented but unpopular with peasants and semi-desert regions were useless
expenditures because trees simply died
Control of the State control of mass media and propaganda: Lenin used media and propaganda to suppress and censor other parties and political beliefs
people and encourage genuine support for a party which was unpopular when it arose to power. Stalin used it to encourage genuine support for
socialism and build an image of heroism and unquestionable leadership surrounding himself, as well as using it to boost morale through
distorted production figures and news of the war. Khrushchev censored negative news and sought to present socialism as more desirable
and efficient than communism, particularly by using new, modern technology such as television, although this also allowed greater
penetration by Western trends. Brezhnev continued this censorship in order to prevent significant opposition to the government but
allowed more freedom of speech regarding minor criticisms against small issues and bureaucrats, but not party leaders. This meant that
complaints about housing became common, demonstrating that the government was arguably more responsive to the people.
Attacks on religious beliefs and practices: Stalin oversaw the destruction of thousands of churches and monasteries, as well as the killing of
hundreds of clergymen and the prevention of the church from educating and publishing, demonstrating an eradication of religion from the
ground up. Stalin continued this idea of replacing the church with centres of socialism by replacing baptisms with ‘Octoberings’ and seeing
the number of working churches and monasteries decline by almost 600x during his premiership, although he became more lenient during
WW2 when he realised that the church could help increase morale and accepted a role for it, albeit under the state. Khrushchev, however,
intended to completely eradicate religion, with almost 50k clergymen killed by the end of his reign, the number of churches decreasing by a
third from 1960-65 and closing 10k churches in 1961 alone, as well as ensuring that any surviving clergymen were harassed by the secret
police; he sought to suppress religion to the best of his ability and prevent its future regrowth. Brezhnev was less harsh due to international
exposure and instead focused his persecution on the most critical of the regime, Baptists and Jews, as well as protest groups such as the
CDBR, and used a council to monitor loyalty to socialism within the church.
Personality cults of Stalin, Khrushchev and Brezhnev: Stalin sought to present himself as Lenin’s successor and gain genuine support for
himself as a leader and socialism. He accumulated great support from the public and became an untouchable figure within the party,
arguably rendering the Politburo insignificant. Khrushchev criticised Stalin’s CoP to push destalinisation but adopted his own to increase his
own position and support him when his policies were failing. For him, it was a double-edged sword, as it allowed him to gain power amidst
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