1917: Lenin becomes vozhd1920: Agit-prop dept is set up1921: NEP1922: Stalin becomes secretary-general1923: Trotsky and the 46 attack the NEP1924: 13th Party Conference denounces the 46; Lenin dies; Stalin becomes khozyain1927: 15th Party Conference – United Opposition expelled1928: First Five-Year Plan begins1929: 16th Party Conference – Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky expelled; Stalin is declared vozdh; Stalin announces collectivisation1932: Ryutin’s Appeal1933: Second Five-Year Plan begins1934: 17th Party Conference – Stalin is demoted; Kirov is assassinated; NKVD is set up under Yagota1936: New Constitution; Show trial of Zinoviev and Kamenev; the Great Purge begins1937: Purge of government and armed forces; Russification1938: Show trial of Bukharin, Rykov and Yagota; end of the Great Purge

USSR, 1924-1941

CONTENTS

trotsky and stalin...................................................................................................................................................3

lenin’s testament...................................................................................................................................................3

the new economic policy.......................................................................................................................................4

Lenin’s funeral.......................................................................................................................................................4

general secretary...................................................................................................................................................5

communist rule in the 1920s.................................................................................................................................5

getting rid of rivals.................................................................................................................................................6

the Kirov affair...................................................................................................................................................7

the show trials.......................................................................................................................................................8

the yezhovshina.....................................................................................................................................................8

the gulag............................................................................................................................................................9

effects of the terror.........................................................................................................................................10

the 1936 constitution......................................................................................................................................10

Soviet culture......................................................................................................................................................11

Stalin’s dictatorship.........................................................................................................................................11

the need for economic growth............................................................................................................................12

TO WHAT EXTENT HAD STALIN BECOME A PERSONAL DICTATOR IN COMMUNIST RUSSIA BY THE END OF THE 1920S?BACKGROUND

In November 1917, the Bolsheviks had seized power in Russia; their vozhd (leader) was Lenin.

The Bolsheviks believed that true Communist Revolution could only be achieved by the proletariat (working class). But 85% of the people of Russia were rural peasants. Lenin’s idea was that the Bolsheviks would rule for the people until the people were industrialized and educated in communism.

Lenin ruled by decree as dictator of Russia. His two right-hand men were Stalin and Trotsky.

TROTSKY AND STALIN

Trotsky and Stalin disliked each other…

Stalin disliked Trotsky’s conduct of the civil war Trotsky complained about Stalin’s excesses in Georgia where Stalin executed a number of White

Russian officers)

Trotsky and Stalin also disagreed about which direction the revolution should take after 1917….

Stalin wanted ‘socialism in one country’: the revolution would be best protected by making Russia strong

Trotsky advocated ‘permanent revolution’: the communists across Europe ought to be encouraged and set up communist governments too

LENIN’S TESTAMENT

By March 1923, Lenin was ill and dying, having had 3 strokes. So power passed to the Politburo (the group of commissars who ran the government’s day-to-day business). The members were:

Trotsky Stalin Kamenev (chairman of the Moscow Soviet) Zinoviev (president of the Petrograd Soviet) Tomsky (leader of the Trade Unions) Rykov (chairman of the Council of National Economy) Bukharin (president of the Communist International)

To reduce the pressure on Lenin, the Politburo decided that Stalin should be the only person allowed to see him. Rather than helping Stalin’s career, this almost ended it! Lenin came to hate Stalin, and when Stalin had a

disagreement with Lenin’s wife, Lenin wrote a Political Testament. This said that Stalin was rude, would abuse his power and should be removed from his post.

The initial concern of the politburo was not Stalin, but Trotsky. Kamenev and Zinoviev especially didn’t want Trotsky to take power, so they formed an alliance (called the troika) with Stalin.

Stalin is sometimes though as a dull man. In fact he was a brilliant politician and organiser, and many thought him friendly and cheerful. He had been the editor of Pravda (the Bolshevik newspaper). In 1917 he was made Commissar for Nationalities. In 1922 Lenin made Stalin also secretary-general.

Leon Trotsky organised the Bolshevik Revolution and ran the Red Army; it was Trotsky who organised the ‘Red Terror’ in the civil war. In 1917 he was made Commissar for Foreign Affairs. Trotsky was unpopular – he was arrogant and aloof, and had become a member of the Bolshevik Party only in 1917.

THE NEW ECONOMIC POLICY

The struggle for power began with an argument over the economy.

Everybody agreed a strong economy was vital: the new state needed food etc. And the Bolsheviks believed that Russia needed to have an industrial revolution with a larger proletariat.

Already, in 1921, Lenin had abandoned War Communism, and had adopted the New Economic Policy – allowing a degree of private enterprise.

In October 1923, Trotsky and 46 leading members of the Bolshevik Party attacked the NEP – they said it had allowed the economy to stagnate.

At the 13th Party Conference in January 1924, the politburo attacked the ‘Forty-Six’. They accused them of being trouble-makers and marked them for ‘political annihilation’.

LENIN’S FUNERAL

21st January 1924, Lenin died!

Petrograd was renamed Leningrad and the Politburo organised a massive funeral.

In honour of Lenin, they organised a ‘Lenin levy’ – an enrolment of 100,000’s of new party members. Most of these party members were poorly educated an ignorant of Bolshevism. They completely swamped the ‘Old Bolsheviks’ who had been members since before 1917.

Stalin rushed to take advantage of these members and their worship of Lenin: in 1924 he wrote a book summarising Lenin’s ideas. In the eyes of these new Bolsheviks this established him as the true heir to Lenin.

At this time, Trotsky was in the Crimea recovering from malaria. When Lenin died, Stalin (as general-secretary) told him he would not be able to make it back for the funeral the next day, so he should stay in the Crimea. In fact the funeral took place on 27th January, so he could have made it. This absence damaged Trotsky's political career greatly.

After the 1924 Party Congress Stalin became known was the khozyain (father figure) of the Party.

GENERAL SECRETARY

Being general secretary gave Stalin a tremendous advantage in the struggle for power. It was the job of the general secretary to:

1. Organise meetings: Stalin could set dates which were best for him [seen with Lenin’s funeral]2. Prepare the agendas for the meetings. He could decide which questions would be asked, when, by

whom and in what order: he could put his opponents at a disadvantage during the Party Conferences3. The top 5,000 Party officials (the nomenklatura) were appointed by him. 20,000 less important

officials (apparatchiki) were given their jobs by the nomenklatura Stalin appointed: he was able to push his supporters into important positions. And whenever any matter came to the Party Conference, the delegates (70% were party officials) agreed with Stalin as he had given them their jobs.

COMMUNIST RULE IN THE 1920S

The Soviet Union was a dictatorship.

The OGPU was the secret police. It arrested ‘class enemies’ i.e. political opponents, priests. It organised the gulags (system of labour camps). The gulags were an important weapon used by Stalin; after 1924 anyone who opposed Stalin was thrown in.

Agitprop was a combination of agitation and propaganda.

The Agitprop department was set up in 1920 by the politburo. It had a propaganda section which censored the press and conducted campaigns, and a political education section which set the school curriculum.

The govt used parades, posters, books, films and radio to spread its message Agit-trains took lecturers, leaflets and agitki (short propaganda newsreels) into the countryside As soon as opponents were defeated, they disappeared from all textbooks and official photos

WHY DID STALIN, NOT TROTSKY, BECOME RULER OF THE USSR BY 1928?

1. Policies: Trotsky ‘permanent revolution’ // Stalin ‘socialism in one country’2. Personalities: Trotsky was arrogant and unpopular // Stalin was cheerful and popular3. General secretary position: organised agendas, dates for meetings, appointed the nomenklatura 4. Zinoviev and Kamenev alliance: helped Stalin survive Lenin’s testament5. Trotsky missed Lenin’s funeral6. Stalin had support from these new Party members7. In January 1924, Trotsky was marked for ‘political annihilation’ for opposing the NEP8. Editor of the Pravda: could influence the readers9. [getting rid of his rivals]

GETTING RID OF RIVALS

1. TROTSKY

Trotsky tried to stop Stalin’s rise to power. In May 1924, he forced the politburo to consider Lenin’s testament. But Stalin was saved by Zinoviev and Kamenev.

This conflict ended Trotsky's political power. In 1925 he was forced to resign as Commissar for War. In 1926 he was expelled from the politburo. In 1928 the OGPU took him to a prison camp in Siberia. In 1929 Trotsky was exiled. In 1940 he was assassinated on Stalin’s orders!

2. ZINOVIEV AND KAMENEV

Stalin next plotted to get rid of Zinoviev and Kamenev. He removed their supporters from key positions in the Moscow and Leningrad parties and replaced them with his own supporters.

1925-28 there was a furious argument. Zinoviev and Kamenev attacked the NEP and accused of Stalin to trying to be the sole ruler. Joining them, Trotsky caused him of being the ‘gravedigger of the revolution’. The alliance of Zinoviev, Kamenev and Trotsky became known as the United Opposition.

Stalin was supported by Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky. He denounced Zinoviev and Kamenev as factionalists. At the 15th Party Conference in 1927, Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev and more than 1500 of their supporters were expelled from the Party.

After 1928 nobody dared admit they opposed Stalin and Stalin refused to admit that there was any opposition to his ideas.

3. BUKHARIN, RYKOV AND TOMSKY

In 1928, Stalin moved against Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky.

Stalin announced a forced acquisition of grain from the peasants and declared the peasant farms would be collectivised. Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky realised that this was a move to replace the NEP with the ‘modernisation-by-force’ of War Communism. When these three rightists tried to stop it, they were denounced as factionalists and deviationists.

At the 16th Party Conference in November 1929, they publicly admitted their guilt and were demoted.

HOW DID STALIN REINFORCE HIS DICTATORSHIP IN THE 1930S?BECOMING SOLE RULER

By 1929 Stalin had got rid of his chief rivals in the politburo Nobody disagreed with him in public In December 1929, he was celebrated as Lenin’s successor, the new vozhd

Yet it is arguable that he was not the sole rules of the Soviet Union. Other people were powerful as well and there were still people who opposed his policies.

Kirov = the Leningrad Party leader. He was very popular.

In1932, Ryutin (friend of Bukharin) published ‘An Appeal to All Bolsheviks’. It called for a return to the NEP, an end to forced collectivisation and the elimination of Stalin. Stalin interpreted this as a call for his assassination and wanted Ryutin to face the death penalty. He was stopped by members of the politburo, notably Kirov. In the end Ryutin was expelled.

At the 17th Party Conference in 1934, some delegates asked Kirov to take over as general secretary. When he refused the Congress abolished the position as general secretary, and Stalin was reduced to the same level as the three other secretaries. In the ballot, Kirov gained 300 more votes than Stalin.

THE KIROV AFFAIR

In December 1934, Kirov was shot! Many people suspect it was Stalin but there was no proof.

Stalin set up the NKVD, which was a strong secret police, including the OGPU. He appointed the ruthless Yagoda as its head. When Yagoda investigated Kirov’s death, they claimed to have found evidence of a ‘Moscow Centre’ led by Zinoviev and Kamenev.

In January 1935 Zinoviev, Kamenev and thousands of ordinary Leningrad Party members were arrested and imprisoned.

The Great Purge (sometimes called the Great Terror) had begun.

WAS STALIN ALL-POWERFUL BY 1929?

YES1. Had removed all his rivals2. General secretary, had appointer the

nomenklatura3. Had established himself as the vozhd4. Popular with the Lenin levy people5. Could use OGPU and agitprop

NO1. Other leaders e.g. Kirov were popular2. Opposition within party, ‘Appeal to all

Bolsheviks’3. His rivals, Zinoviev, Rykov etc. were still alive4. Other people still thought for themselves5. Russia was weak agriculturally and

industrially

THE SHOW TRIALS

Until 1936, Stalin had only dismissed or exiled his opponents. Now he began to have them executed!

The government mounted public show trials to show how it humiliated and executed its opponents. The defendants were ‘softened up’ in prison, and so generally pleaded guilty to impossible crimes. The trials consisted of political speeches by the prosecute Vyshinskii and little evidence.

THE YEZHOVSHINA

After 1937, the purges rolled out into other areas.

1: GOVERNMENT

1108 of the 1966 delegates at the 17th Party Congress were shot. Many former NKVD interrogators were shot. Families of the government were exiled, while their husbands of fathers were made to continue to

work and socialise with Stalin

August 1936

16 defendants incl. Zinoviev and Kamenev Accused of being a part of a 'Trotskyite-Zinovievite Counter-Revolutionary Bloc'Found guilty and shot

August 1936

Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky arrested. Tomsky committed suicide.Plans for the show trial fell through. So Stalin sacked Yagoda for laxity. Replaced with Yezhov - viscious, nicknamed the Bloody Dwarf

January 1937

17 Old BolsheviksAccused of running a 'Anti-Soviet Troskyite Centre'. Practising terrorism, sabotage, spying for Germany and Japan and plotting to assassinate Party members.Pleaded guilty and were shot

March 1938

Bukharin, Rykov and 17 more Old Bolsheviks incl. YagodaUsual list of impossible crimes: Bukharin accused of plotting to kill Lenin and Stalin in 1918, and take over the govt.

2: ARMY

In May 1937: Marshal Tukhachevskii, chief of army staff, confessed to spying for Germany and was shot

By December 1938: 3 of the Soviet Union’s 5 marshals, most of its admirals and more than half its army and naval officers were dead. [the army Hitler faced in 1941 was very weak]

3: ACADEMIA

Academics were suspect as being counter-revolutionary The Belarus Academy of Sciences was a nest of Japanese spies (apparently!) The editor of a dictionary was arrested because he had omitted the names of Lenin and Stalin from his

dictionary. [this weakened Soviet science and research]

The NKVD did not need to investigate. Denunciations flooded in. If you wanted your manager’s job you could get rid of him by reporting him to the NKVD! Suspects were beaten until they confessed.

THE GULAG

This was originally the department which would administer the prison camps, but the word came to mean the entire system of more than 450 Soviet work camps.

Many of the prisoners were political opponents of Stalin, and everyday Russians who were heard telling a joke about Stalin.

Later on, the gulags were where the Kulaks were sent, and it provided forced labour for Stalin’s Five Year Plans.

DID THE GREAT PURGES STRENGTHEN THE USSR?

YES1. Removed all Stalin’s rivals2. Attacked ‘wreckers’, saboteurs and spies3. Government, army and universities purged4. Forced in collectivisation and the Five-Year

Plans5. Provided a united state on the surface, even

if it was only held together by terror

NO1. Climate of constant terror – smiling mask2. Human cost3. Armed forces weakened4. Soviet science and research weakened5. 1936 Constitution destroyed local

government6. Russification destroyed national identity

EFFECTS OF THE TERROR

1. People wore a fixed smilea. They dare not look worried otherwise that could be taken as evidence of a guilty conscience.

They dare not laugh otherwise they could be accused of mocking Stalinb. Even at home they wore this smile, for fear that their children might say something

2. In 1938: Stalin said the purge and liquidated spies etc. but there had been grave mistakes. Yezhov was dismissed and executed, and some of his interrogators were shot. Local officials were praised for releasing the innocent. The purge paused.

3. Nobody knows how many died in the Great Purge. Some claim 20 million were sent to the gulag, and that up to 15 million died there from starvation, cold, ill-treatment etc.

a. But figures from NKVD files record: 789,096 executions between 1930 and 1953. And a peak of 1,196,369 prisoners in the gulag in 1937.

THE 1936 CONSTITUTION

In the middle of all this horror, Stalin drafted a new Constitution for the Soviet Union:

Gave the vote to every citizen over the age of 18 Guaranteed the people:

o Freedom of speecho The right to worko Care in old age or sicknesso Housingo Education

But the freedom it proclaimed was an illusion. Since all parties except the Communist Party were banned, the USSR’s parliament only every enacted what the Communist Party had already decided – the govt was totally controlled by the Communist Party.

Also the Constitution introduced ‘direct voting’ for govt members. This weakened the power of the local soviets; therefore all decisions were made by the central govt.

DID THE SOVIET PEOPLE LIKE STALIN?

YES1. 1936 constitution – more democratic2. School children were indoctrinated to love

him3. Writers praised Stalin as a demi-god4. Cult of Stalin –

posters/operas/films/paintings5. Ordinary workers liked the terror

NO1. Climate of constant terror2. Orthodox Church, Muslims and Jews

persecuted3. Russification suppressed nationalities4. Criticisms by writers such as Solzhenitsyn

SOVIET CULTURE

Schools were used to make good Soviet citizens:

Pupils studied official textbooks: told how Stalin had won the 1917 revolution; Trotsky wasn’t mentioned

Strict school uniform, compulsory pigtails for girls

A war against religion

Only 9 out of 163 Orthodox Christian bishops survived beyond 1939 Muslim mosques and schools were banned Jewish leaders were executed and Yiddish schools were closed

A war against nationalism - imposed a policy of ‘Russification’

National languages, legends and literature were banned Governments of national republics were purged:

o 1937-38, every member of the Ukraine’s government was arrested. The Ukraine was treated ruthlessly and the resulting famine killed 5 million

In 1932: the Union of Soviet Writers was set up. It was instructed that novels had to celebrate Soviet heroes and every story had to have a happy ending. The function of the literature was to make its readers better socialists – an approach called ‘Socialism Realism’.

Soviet art had to depict Soviet heroes

Industry and science had to serve the state too. Soviet achievements had to outshine the West.

In 1963 the Russian poet Yevtushenko concluded:

I realise now that Stalin’s greatest crime was not the arrests and the shootings he ordered. His greatest crime was the destruction of the human spirit.

STALIN’S DICTATORSHIP

WAS STALIN TO BLAME FOR THE TERROR?

He did sign 383 death lists containing the names of 44,000 people of whom 39,000 were shot – so he did know what was going on.

But some say that the purges arose naturally out of the revolution. The terror and famines of the civil wars created a disregard for human life, many workers enjoyed seeing their bosses denounced and replaced. In January 1937 a crowd of 200,000 turned out to demand the execution of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyite Centre on a day where the temperature fell to -27°C. Most of the descriptions of the Terror are by authors who suffered under it.

TO WHAT EXTENT DID STALIN MAKE THE USSR A GREAT ECONOMIC POWER?THE NEED FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH

Under the NEP Russia made up a lot of lost ground since WW1. But in 1928, the country was still backward compared to other major powers. Stalin wanted the USSR to be strong industrially: a) to prove communism superiority of capitalism b) to resist invasion.

Industry especially heavy industry such as coal, steel and oil had to expand. New factories and towns would have to be built.

But first agriculture would have to modernise. To feed the industry workers, more food would be needed so agriculture would have to be more efficient.

To industrialise successfully the Soviet Union needed to buy machinery from other countries. To do this it needed to raise money from the export of grain to the west. At the same time, workers and capital needed to be releases from agriculture to invest in industry.

COLLECTIVISATION

Russian agriculture was backward and inefficient in 1928: farms were small and peasants were using old methods of farming. When a food crisis occurred in 1928, Stalin began seizing grain. They were furious and either produced less of hoarded, as they had done in War Communism.

In 1929 Stalin announced the collectivisation of Russian agriculture. The most common of the collective farms was the kolkhoz, where peasants joined their land together to form a larger farm. All their animals were given over to the kolkhoz. It was run by a committee, and the peasants worked under the control of a farm manager. Each farm produced a set amount of grain which was sold to the state at a low price.

The idea was that the farm would be more efficient and would be able to use modern methods – the state provided tractors and other machinery to help the peasants. For the peasants, it seemed like a return to the time when they were serfs.

THE PROCESS OF COLLECTIVISATION

To try and persuade the peasants to join the collective farms, he linked collectivisation with socialist policy. He identified an enemy of the poor –the Kulaks, better-off peasants who had prospered under the NEP. He claimed he was taking land from the greedy capitalist Kulaks and sharing it amongst the poor peasants.

Even so collectivisation met widespread resistance. Rather than hand over their crops, stock and buildings the peasants destroyed them.

From 1929 to 1931 the number of cattle fell from 67 million to 48 million and the number of sheep and goats from 147 million to 78 million

RESULTS OF COLLECTIVISATION

1. Stalin declared war on the Kulaks: a. Kulak families were shot or deported to labour camps in Siberia. b. High human cost – 5 million Kulaks were executed or deported

2. By 1937 nearly all the farmland in the USSR was organised into collective farms3. Agriculturally it was a disaster:

a. Communist officials sent from the towns to enforce collectivisation, didn’t have a clue how to run the kolkhozi.

b. Grain production actually fell – from 84 million tonnes in 1930 to 68 million tonnes in 1933.c. Bad harvests and destruction of crops caused famine 1932-33 with millions dying of

starvation4. But grain production did increase after 19335. High human cost

a. 5 million kulaks executed or deportedb. 13 million peasants died during collectivisation, mainly from famine

6. Peasants traditional way of living ended7. 17 million peasants left the land to live in the towns

WAS COLLECTIVISATION A SUCCESS?

YES1. Nearly all farmland collectivised (1937)2. More modern farm methods – tractors3. After 1933, grain production increased4. 17 million peasants went to the towns –

increase proletariat5. Communists ran kolkhozi/spread of

communism into the countryside

NO1. Peasants killed their livestock in protest and

destroyed crops – the number of cattle from 1929 – 1931 fell from 67 million to 48 million etc.

2. At first grain production fell3. Human cost – 5 million Kulaks liquidated, 13

million peasants died4. Peasants way of life destroyed (although

good for Stalin as control +)

INDUSTRY: THE FIVE YEAR PLANS

Stalin believed that industry could only develop through strong state control and planning. This was to be achieved by a series of Five-Year Plans. During each five-year period the state would decide what and how much would be produced.

Gosplan = state planning agency. It was responsible for the Plans. It set targets an industry had to meet in five years. Each factory would have its own target to contribute to the overall target of that industry. Success in meeting targets was awarded, failure was punished.

Between 1928 and 1941 there were 3 Five-Year Plans...

1. First FYP 1928-1933: focused on heavy industry – coal, iron, steel, oil and electricity. It failed to meet its targets but substantial growth was achieved.

2. Second FYP 1933-37: heavy industry again. Even more industrial growth took place3. Third FYP 1938: at first focused on consumer goods. But when Nazis invaded it changed to arms (war)

THE GROWTH OF INDUSTRY

Old industrial areas were developed and expanded. New industrial areas were created to the east, in the Urals and Siberia (far away from areas Germany could attack easily).

New towns were built e.g. Magnitogorsk in the Urals, and Komsomulsk in Siberia. In 8 years Magnitogorsk was transformed from a tiny village to an industrial city producing steel.

Construction of the hydro-electric dam, on the River Dnieper (the Dnieper Dam). This by itself produced more electricity than was produced in the whole of Tsarist Russia.

New enthusiasm with eager pioneers, who built new industrial cities with ‘Soviet zeal’.

Celebration of achievements of factories and workers.

The miner Stakhanov in 1935 mined 102 tonnes of coal in 5 hours (40 times his quota)o Workers were urged to become Stakhanovites and those who did so received medals

Scientists, engineers and skilled workers were given higher wages (although this was un-communist)

The authorities used terror: workers who were absent would be sacked, and idlers could find themselves arrested or shot.

RESULTS OF THE FIVE-YEAR PLANS

1. In all key industries, coal, iron, steel, oil and electricity, the USSR grew to be a major industrial power. This made it strong enough to resist the Nazis when they invaded in 1941.

1928 1937Coal (million tonnes) 35 128Steel (million tonnes) 4 18Oil (million tonnes) 12 29Electricity (1000 million kWh) 5 36

2. Growth in science and technology3. Forced labour

a. Much of the labour came from the gulags4. Poor conditions

a. At work: harsh and dangerous; millions died from accidents, hunger, coldb. In the towns: mass influx of people from the countryside = slums and bad sanitation, disease

5. Supplied production goods by no consumer goods – people didn’t benefit6. Not enough food, rationing was common7. Long hours of work, low wages8. Crime and alcoholism increased9. Improvements such as housing, schools could not meet demand and the apparatchiki (govt officials)

made sure they got all the best new housing10. Politically, the FYPs marked the triumph of ‘socialism in one country’. They had turned the Soviet

Union into a strong state capable of resisting Hitler11. Proletariat numbers increased, but reduced them to ‘slaves of the state’ – they gave their labour and

lives but received little in return12. Women had more opportunities and were better educated (but this is true throughout whole of

Stalin’s Russia)

WERE THE FIVE-YEAR PLANS A SUCCESSS?

YES1. Increased heavy industry production2. New industrial areas in Urals and Siberia3. New towns such as Magnitogorsk4. Dnieper Dam5. Enthusiasm – pioneers/Stakhanovites6. Growth in science and technology7. Turned the Soviet Union into a strong state –

was able to resist Hitler in 19418. There was improvements in housing, schools

even if they didn’t meet demand9. Women had more opportunities

NO1. Use of terror - arrests2. Forced labour - gulags3. Poor conditions in the new towns –

countryside -> town = slums and disease4. Poor working conditions – deaths due to

accidents, temp., long hours, low wages, dangerous

5. NOT consumer goods6. Crime and alcoholism increased