6. Stalin's Regime, 1928-1953

• When did Stalin, Kamanev, and Zinoviev form a triumvirate against Trotsky?

  1924
• What did Stalin, Kamenev, and Zinoviev's triumvirate against Trotsky affect?

  Answers:

  • Stalin used his party membership to ensure that Trotsky was defeated in votes at the 13th Party Congress.
• When was Trotsky removed as Commissar for War?

  1925
• How did Stalin attempt to further his position in the power struggle in 1925?

  Answers:

  • He now fully allied himself with the right of the party.
  • However, Zinoviev and Kamenev turn against Stalin and try to defeat him at the Fourteenth Party Congress.
  • They lose every vote because Stalin controls the delegates.
• When do Zinoviev and Kamenev lose their positions in the party?

  1927
• When is Trotsky expelled from the Politburo and the Central Committee?

  1927
• When were Bukharin, Rykov, and Tomsky removed from the Politburo?

  1929
• When was Trotsky forced into exile?

  1929
• What was Stalin's economic policy, relating to industrialisation?

  Answers:

  • He wanted to transform the Soviet economy from a mainly rural economy dependent on agriculture, to an urban industrialised economy able to compete with Western Europe, particularly in the ability to fight a modern technological war.
• What was Stalin's economic policy, relating to agriculture?

  Answers:

  • He wanted to pursue collectivisation in order to bring peasant ownership of land to an end and force peasants to join together.
  • This would be done in two ways: collective farms (kolkhoz) and state-owned farms (sovkhoz).
• What was Stalin's economic 'virtuous circle'?

  Answers:

  • Collectivisation would modernise agriculture and boost production.
  • Food would be guaranteed for the urban working-class, and the USSR would no longer be reliant on the whim of the peasants for food.
  • Production would outstrip demand and the excess grain could be exported to fund industry.
  • Industry would be modernised, industrial production would increase, and the urban working-class would expand.
  • The USSR would become a modern industrial state, able to compete with the West. Industrialisation would also help modernise agriculture.
• What were collective farms called in collectivisation?

  Kolkozes.
• What were features of collective farms (kolkozes)?

  Answers:

  • Land would be held in common by between 50 to 100 households. All land, tools, and livestock had to be pooled. An elected committee directed the way in which the land was farmed. Each household was allowed 1 acre of land to use as a private plot.
  • Machine tractor stations (MTS) were established to support the collective farms. Peasants had to hand over around 20% of their produce to make use of the MTS machinery. The MTS were staffed by Communist officials.
  • Each collective farm had a food quota which they had to fulfil.
• (Card two): What were features of collective farms (kolkozes)

  Answers:

  • The state would pay the farm for the food, then sell the food on to the towns at slightly higher prices. Excess food would be exported to meet the cost of industrialisation. From 1934, peasants were allowed to sell food produced from their private plot.
  • The peasants made little profit from the work they did. They would be credited with workdays in exchange for their labour. Any profit made by the farm would be divided amongst the households in proportion to the number of workdays they had completed.
• What were features of state farms (sovkhozes)?

  Answers:

  • These state-owned farms were run on the same lines as a factory: workers were paid a wage for their work, and did not have a share in the profits of the farm.
  • Initially, the Communists wanted to create mostly sovkhozes, but in the end most of the farms were collectivised.
• What were the key features of the Five Year Plans for industry (card two)?

  Answers:

  • The plans were not realistic and set unobtainable targets. They were used as propaganda. Workers were told they were participating in a war against capitalism. Huge projects were encouraged- the building of Magnitogorsk, the Dneiprostroi Dam, the Moscow-Volga Canal, and the Moscow Metro. This tendency for huge projects is known as gigantomania.
  • The plans were always declared complete a year ahead of schedule to reinforce the impression that they were successful.
• What were the key features of the Five Year Plans for industry (card three)?

  Answers:

  • The success of the plans are difficult to evaluate exactly, as Communist officials frequently lied about production to avoid punishment.
  • The plans were successful in industrialising the USSR, but the human cost was high, and production was often inefficient.
  • There is a close link between the plans and Stalin's use of terror. When targets weren't reached, he blamed 'spies, wreckers, and saboteurs', rather than admit targets were too ambitious.
• When was the first Five Year Plan?

  October 1928-December 1932
• When was the second Five Year Plan?

  January 1933-December 1937
• When was the third Five Year Plan?

  January 1938-June 1941
• What was the emphasis for the first Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • The emphasis was on heavy industries- coal, oil, iron, steel, electricity, cement, metals, and timber.
  • This account for 80% of total investment, and 1500 enterprises were opened.
• What were the successful sectors of the first Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • Electricity production trebled.
  • Output doubled for coal and iron.
  • Steel production increased by one third.
  • The engineering industry developed and increased output of machine tools and turbines.
  • Huge new industrial complexes were built or were in the process of being built.
  • Huge new tractor works were built in Stalingrad, Kharkov, and other places to meet the needs of mechanised agriculture.
• What were the weaknesses of the first Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • There was very little growth, and even a decline in consumer industries such as house-building, fertilisers, food-processing, and woollen textiles.
  • Small workshops were squeezed out, partly because of the drive against NEPmen and shortages of materials and fuel.
  • Chemical targets were not fulfilled.
  • The lack of skilled workers created major problems. Workers were constantly changing jobs, which created instability.
• What was the emphasis for the Second Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • Heavy industries still featured strongly but new industries opened up and there was greater emphasis on communications, especially railways to link cities and industrial centres.
  • 4500 enterprises opened. The plan benefited from some big projects, such as the Dnieprostroi Dam, coming into use.
• What were the successful sectors of the Second Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • Heavy industries benefited from plants which had been set up during the first plan and now came on stream.
  • Electricity production expanded rapidly.
  • By 1937, the USSR was virtually self-sufficient in machine-making and metal-working.
  • Transport and communications grew rapidly.
  • Chemical industries, such as fertiliser production, were growing.
  • Metallurgy developed, and minerals such as copper, zinc, and tin were mined for the first time.
• What were the weaknesses of the Second Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • Consumer goods industries were still lagging, although they were showing signs of recovery.
  • There was growth in footwear and food processing- but still not enough.
  • Oil production did not make the expected advances.
• What was the emphasis for the Third Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • The third plan ran for only 3 years because of the USSR's entry into the Second World War.
  • Once again, heavy industry was emphasises as the need for armaments became increasingly urgent.
• What were the successful sectors for the Third Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • Heavy industry continued to grow, such as machinery and engineering, but the picture was uneven and some areas did poorly.
  • Defence and armaments grew rapidly as resources were diverted to them.
• What were the weaknesses of the Third Five Year Plan?

  Answers:

  • Steel output grew insignificantly.
  • Oil production failed to meet targets and led to a fuel crisis.
  • Consumer industries once again took a back seat.
  • Many factories ran short of materials.
• How was collectivisation carried out for the peasants?

  Answers:

  • Stalin used the ideological weapon of the 'class enemy' for the kulaks in the countryside. In December 1929, he announced the 'liquidation of the kulaks as a class.' The aim was to persuade middle-class and poorer peasants to join kolkhozes, but people were unwilling to identify kulaks, as they were still part of the village community.
  • Local party officials also opposed enforced collectivisation and were unwilling to identify kulaks. Stalin ordered an army of 25,000 urban party activists to oversee collectivisation.
• How was collectivisation carried out for the peasants (card two)?

  Answers:

  • The urban party activists were backed by the OGPU and the military. They were to take the land, animals, tools, equipment, and buildings from the kulaks to use for the new collective farms.
  • Dekulakisation went ahead. Kulaks were split into 3 groups. One was counter-revolutionaries, who were to be shot or sent to forced-labour settlements, and another was active opponents of collectivisation who were to be deported (often to Siberia). There was also those who were expelled from their farms and settled on poor land.
• When was the first official piece of ant-kulak legislation initiated?

  1st February 1930
• What did this anti-kulak piece of legislation state?

  Local party organisations were given power to use necessary measures against the kulaks, and sometimes whole families and villages were rounded up.
• How was collectivisation carried out for the peasants (card three)?

  Answers:

  • Communists also used propaganda to encourage people to join collective farms and to inflame class hatred.
  • In some places, it was very effective, with even children being encouraged to denounce their neighbours and parents.
• How did peasants resist to collectivisation?

  Answers:

  • They responded with riots and armed resistance. One riot was 5 days long and had to be suppressed by armoured cars.
  • Peasants burned crops, tools, and houses instead of handing them over to the state.
  • There were raids to recapture animals that had been taken into the collectives.
  • Many peasants slaughtered animals and ate or sold the meat rather than hand them over to the collectivised farms.
  • However, by the end of February 1930, the state claimed that more than 50% of all peasant households had been collectivised.
• How did collectivisation lead to the famine between 1932 and 1934?

  Answers:

  • Collectivisation was a disaster- the most enterprising peasants had been shot or deported, and around 25%-30% of all cattle, pigs, and sheep had been slaughtered.
  • The state continued to requisition grain whilst it collectivised, and by the end of 1931 it had collected 22.8 million tons of grain.
  • However, there had also been a drop in grain production, due to lack of farming knowledge in the collectives, not enough animals to pull the ploughs, insufficient tractors, and a drought.
• How did collectivisation lead to the famine between 1932 and 1934 (card two)?

  Answers:

  • By spring 1932, there was famine in Ukraine, which soon spread to other areas. Millions of peasants died between 1932-1934 (around 7 million). Ukraine was particularly treated badly due to the strength of Ukrainian nationalism and opposition to collectivisation. They were set high targets for grain procurement in 1931 and 1932 (over 7 million tonnes a year), even though the amount being produced was falling.
  • Grain continued to be exported, with 17.3 million tonnes in 1932, despite the famine.
• How did collectivisation lead to the famine between 1932 and 1934 (card three)?

  Answers:

  • The government brought in strict laws to ensure grain was handed over. This included the Law of the Seven-Eighths, giving a 10-year sentence for stealing 'socialised' property. This was later changed to the death penalty. Decrees in August and December gave prison sentences of up to 10 years for stealing meat and grain before quotas were filled.
  • This led to the deaths of millions of peasants in Ukraine, north Caucasus, Kazakhstan, and other parts of the USSR.
• What happened to collectivisation after 1934?

  Answers:

  • By the end of 1934, 70% of peasant households were in collectives, and 90% by 1936. Individual peasant landholdings were squeezed out.
  • Grain production began to recover, but did not reach pre-collectivisation levels until 1935. Grain procurement continued at a high level throughout the 1930s, regardless of production levels.
  • There was a lack of incentive for the peasants. They had nothing to work for, especially since they were meant to get a percentage of profits- but there were none. Instead, they continued to follow passive resistance.
• How did the government ensure industrialisation in the workplace?

  Answers:

  • Measures were brought in between 1930 and 1933 to deal with absentees, including dismissal, eviction from factory-owned homes, or loss of benefits.
  • People could be sent to prison if anything was damaged or if someone left a job without permission.
  • In 1938, labour books and internal passports were issued in order to tighten control during the 2nd and 3rd Five Year Plans.