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OCR A-Level Russia - Topic 8 Summary
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A bullet-point summary of the OCR Russia textbook chapter 8, giving a basic knowledge of the fundamental concepts for the chapter. Got an A in A-Level history.
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Stalin’s Dictatorship 1929-1941The Purges
- They were Stalin’s principle method of consolidating his power, where industrial
and political enemies were tried and expelled from the party. In the prelude to the first
purge, between 1933-1934, a million members were excluded for being Ryutinites
- Kirov, a committed Bolshevik, was shot dead in December 1934 under Stalin’s
orders, which worked to his advantage as Kirov was highly popular and opposed
industrialisation. Stalin signed a decree against terror attacks and a party purge began,
led by Yagoda, head of the NKVD. Thousands of suspected conspirators were
imprisoned or executed, replaced by Stalin’s own nominees
- His constant assertion that the Soviet Union was in a state of siege was used to
increase the violence of the purges. The progressive terrorising between 1936 and
1939 was known as the Great Terror
- In 1936, Kamenev, Zinoviev and 14 others were accused of involvement in the
Kirov murder. In 1937, 17 Bolsheviks were denounced as anti-Soviet-Trotskyist-
Centrists and charged with spying for Germany. In 1938, Bukharin, Rykov, Tomsky
and 20 others were charged with sabotage and conspiracy
- Older Bolsheviks in the Politburo were reluctant to denounce their comrades, so
Stalin replaced Yagoda with Yezhov
- They were run by Yezhov, the chief of the control commission and the head of the
NKVD, and got progressively more violent
- Attempts to criticise him made him think there was organised resistance, which
prompted him to develop the purges into an organised system
- Between 1933-1934, Stalin centralised all major law enforcing agencies, which were
put under the body of the NKVD and answered to him
- A secret letter was sent out by the CPSU warning local party branches of a terrorist
conspiracy by the Trotskyite-Kamenevite-Zinovievite-`leftist-Counter-Revolutionary
bloc
- Stalin was the driving force behind the purges, nut how they were implemented
depended on local organisations. The notion of civil rights was not strong enough to
provide an alternative
- Public confessions led to an atmosphere of false charges and revealed the scale of
the conspiracy
- The proceedings against Bukharin and the right were strengthened by Radek’s
confession which saved him from execution but incriminated Bukharin
- Prior to Bukharin’s execution, he had been the principle draftsman of the 1936
constitution. The Soviet Union was trying to form popular fronts between the socialist
and progressive parties of Europe to offset the Nazis – it claimed there were no
classes and rights were guaranteed, but the role of the party was not mentioned
- Of the 1996 delegates who attended the 1934 Party Congress, 1108 were executed in
the next three years
- The Stalin enrolment was the influx of skilled workers to the CPSU who joined to
advance their careers. Their self-interest kept them loyal
- Stalin purged the army as they stopped the party having total control. He organised
transfers to lessen centres of resistance, In May 1937, Vihinsky announced a gigantic
conspiracy in the Red Army and Mikhail was arrested, with the trial held immediately
in secret. Voroshilov ordered the execution of Tukhachevsky, who he was jealous of,
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