1941-1945 - Effect of WW2 on USSR Government

• On his return to Moscow in early July 1941, Stalin established the Council for State Defence (GKO).

  • It essentially replaced the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the Politburo in taking authority of the war effort
• Some party members were in the GKO and Politburo.
• Stalin was Chairman of the GKO and Chairman of Stavka (the Supreme Military Command).

  • These two positions meant Stalin's political dominance of the USSR remained unchallengeable.
• Beria remained Head of the NKVD, whose brutality ensured loyalty and commitment of both the Soviet people and the armed force.
• In July 1941, Order 227 established detachments of NKVD officers who would operate behind the frontline forces and shoot deserters and those who retreated.
• 13,000 Soviet troops were shot by their own side in the Battle of Stalingrad in just a few weeks.
• Order 270 stated that anyone who surrendered to the enemy was considered a traitor and faced the death penalty.
• In Ukraine, the NKVD carried out a wave of reprisals, killing thousands of people who were accused of welcoming the German invaders.
• Propaganda also continued to play a central role during the war.
• The cult of personality was further promoted to boost the people's confidence in Stalin as a great war leader who would lead them to victory.
• Patriotism of the people and the cult of personality both raised morale.
• At the end of the war, Stalin was regarded as a national superhero.
• Propaganda and victory convinced the vast majority of the population of Stalin's genius.

  • He was celebrated in poetry, song, posters, paintings and statues.
• However, Stalin himself became even more paranoid during the war due to his suspicion that enemies of the USSR could be anywhere or anyone.
• After the war, Stalin continued the use of terror against perceived enemies.
• A final political effect of the war was on the nature of the Communist Party which became much more closely aligned with the military.
• During the war, the size of the Party expanded significantly with 3.6 million new members - 2.5 million of those members of the armed forces.
• By 1945, a quarter of armed forces personnel were Party members that made up around 50% of the total membership.
• Martin McCauley argued that the necessities of war strengthened the bond between the Party, the state and the military which was a significant development in the long-term.