Emergence of Josef Stalin – Part II

By Mr. Baker

Stalin’s New Constitution

• In 1936, Stalin decided that it was time to draft a new constitution which would:– Preserve his autocratic power– Give the appearance of

democracy to Russia

• It was adopted by popular vote and went into effect in 1938

Stalin’s New Constitution

• Included a Bill of Rights:– Freedom of speech, press, assembly, and

religion– Right to employment and holidays with pay

• Universal suffrage was ensured for every man and woman aged 18 or over (and secret ballot)

• The Communist Party was the only legal party in Russia

Criticism of the Constitution

• Although elections were held, only communist names appeared on the ballot

• Russia remained a police state. Many thousands of people suspected of disloyalty to communism were sent to labor camps, exiled, imprisoned or put to death without trial

• The Constitution consolidated the Communist Party’s hold over the country

Social Control

• Stalin’s goal of “Socialism in One Country” put productivity before any social programs

• Religion, education, youth programs, and culture were all geared to increasing industrial and agricultural production

Social Control

• The secret police were renamed from the Cheka to the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD)

• The purpose of the organization was to purge counter-revolutionaries

• The Gulag, or forced labor camps contained several million inmates of both criminal and political dissenters

Life of Workers

• Unemployment in Soviet Russia was unknown and crime was scarce

• Workers received free education, day cares, free medical services, and old-age pensions

Life of Workers

• However, the pay was poor and consumer goods were simply not produced

• There were few individual freedoms for workers• Working conditions were dangerous and if targets

were not met, severe punishments would be inflicted

• Overcrowding and poor sanitation were common• Food prices were high in the early years of

collectivization• Most houses only had one room

Life of Workers

• Workers worked hard anyhow because:– Stalin was known as “Uncle Joe” – they

believed in his propaganda and thought they were working for a better society

– Groups of workers were encouraged to compete against one another for rewards

– Those who did not work hard were sent to Gulags (missing work carried a prison sentence)

The Purges

• Involved “the removal of unwanted or potentially threatening elements from the country”:– Intelligentsia– Religious groups– Non-Russian nationalities

• Fabricated charges were laid to intimidate suspects into naming other potential threats to the Soviet regime

The Purges – Show Trials

• Show Trials of prominent communists were often staged based on forced confessions and ending in hangings or shootings

• Kamenev and Zinoviev were arrested and given a Show Trial for the murder of one of Stalin’s officials

• They were shot

The Purges – Show Trials

• Bukharin was arrested and forced to confess to several murders, treason, and espionage

• He was executed• Trotsky fled to Mexico,

where he was killed by an NKVD agent in 1940

The Purges

• Other officials, church members, army officers, kulaks, and counter-revolutionaries were purged

Reasons for the Terror

• The reasons for the purges were:– To remove rivals and those who weren’t for Stalin’s ideology– To replace people with officials who were devoted to Stalin– To create a source of slave labor to reach industrial goals– Terrorize the population by arresting the innocent as well as

the guilty, so that no one could feel safe– To rid of opposition who would’ve opposed an alliance with

Hitler– Stalin had a brutal personality– Stalin believed that traditionally people valued a strong Tsar– Overzealousness to settle personal scores

Effects of the Purges

• Approximately 20 million died• Opposition to Stalin was removed• The Cult of Personality around Stalin grew• Many of the most talented and proficient members of

Soviet society were eliminated• Initiative became dangerous• The purge of Soviet army officers weakened the

army and may have encouraged Hitler’s attack• Millions of innocent people were executed or

imprisoned

Easing Restrictions on Freedom

• Army – – Many people served who were indifferent to or

hostile to communism– Some people were promoted from labor camps

• Party – – There were no meetings of the Politburo,

Central Committee, or National Congress– The USSR was governed by the State Defense

Committee (GKO)

Easing Restrictions on Freedom

• Industry – – Needed war materials and had to reintroduce some

elements of a market system– Local initiative was allowed

• Agriculture – – Peasants could work the land in a collective and take the

rest for their own profit– Could use public facilities and tools for private work

• Ideology – – Stalin appealed to traditional patriotism and nationalism to

defend “Mother Russia” rather than Marxist-Leninism

Stalin as a War Leader

• The bad:– Was unprepared since Stalin had been banking on

time to prepare and launch an attack– Stalin interfered with operational decisions and no one

dared to contradict him– People hastened to propose what he would wish to

hear, so he didn’t get good advice– He blamed failures on scapegoats– Stalin would sacrifice men and materials without a

second thought

Stalin as a War Leader

• The good:– The Five Year Plans provided a good base for

transition to a wartime economy– The movement of huge industries east, out of the

path of the invaders, was one of the greatest achievements

– Stalin learned to leave military tactics to local commanders

– The victory preserved and legitimized Stalinism

Restoration of Controls

• Army – – Marshall Zhukov, the victorious war

leader, was transferred to the distant military district of Odessa

– Officers taken from the Gulags were put back there

• Party – – The Politburo and Central

Committee began to meet again; the National Congress didn’t meet until 1952

Restoration of Controls

• Industry – – Wartime labor regulations were not lifted, preserving

military discipline in the factories

• Agriculture – – The wartime drift to privatization was reversed– Could no longer use public facilities and tools for private

work

• Ideology – – Was tightened – close supervision of media, literature,

and arts was reimposed

Opposition

• There was a purge and massacre of those who had supported Hitler

• POWs returning from the West were:– Put into labor camps (if Russian)– Shot (if non-Russian)

Assessment of Stalin’s Rule

• He made the Soviet Union a superpower in both land and political status

• Played a major part in defeating Hitler

• Workers who did not offend the state were better off than under the tsar

• Russia’s military forces benefited from industry

• Stalin provided a stable government structure

• Millions died in fame and purges

Assessment of Stalin’s Rule

• Agriculture remained at the same level in 1930 as in 1928, but had 40 million more people

• Russia became a “telling” society – the secret police actively encouraged people to inform on neighbors, workmates, and family members

• Many of Russia’s most talented people were murdered or exiled

• Russia imposed Communism on many countries