Stalins Domestic Policies Great Terror 1934 1938 Involved

Stalin’s Domestic Policies

Great Terror (1934 -1938) • Involved “the removal of unwanted or potentially threatening elements from the country”: – Former members of anti-Soviet parties – Former Whites – Former tsarist bureaucrats – Nobles – Kulaks – Foreigners – Priests – Army officers – Party members

Great Terror • Former members of anti. Soviet parties, former Whites, former tsarist bureaucrats, and nobles – all had been against the rise of communism • Kulaks – better-off peasants were scapegoated as being counterrevolutionary

Great Terror • Foreigners – Ethnicities were accused of being spies and wreckers • Priests – Anyone who identified with Communism was enlightened and progressive, while those who held belief in God were backward and counter-revolutionary • Army officers – Stalin believed they were getting too powerful and might launch a coup • Party members – Stalin was tired of being opposed by the “left” and “right”

NKVD – Communist Secret Police • Arranged the arrest of all the leading political figures in the Soviet Union who were critical of Stalin • The Secret Police broke prisoners down by intense interrogation: – Threatened to arrest and execute members of the prisoner's family if they did not confess – Interrogations lasting for several days and nights • Eventually the NKVD was purged as well for having “fascist elements” and killing innocent people

Show Trials • Show Trials of prominent communists were often staged based on forced confessions and ending in hangings or shootings • The purpose was to put people on display who were against Stalin’s policies so that no one would dare criticize him Bukharin, a loyal supporter of Stalin, was killed after a show trial

Gulags • Labor camps were to transform “criminals” into good citizens, although most would live a year or less • Men, women, and young children could all be sent to the Gulag for being petty thieves, homeless, shoddy work, being more than 20 minutes late, or breaking passport laws • Over 20 million were sent to the Gulags to work on canals, railroads, subways, architectural projects, and forestry • There was little food, torture, no machinery, in remote areas, rape and sexual abuse

Local Party Leaders Spread Terror • Local party bosses exceeded quotas to round up “enemies” of the state • Many held their own show trials and purged local party leaders • Nikita Khrushchev was party boss of Moscow who eagerly used terror

Reasons for the Terror • 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

Reasons for the Terror • 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

Industry In Russia • It was not until 1927 that production had reached the levels achieved before the start of the First World War • Stalin's advisers told him that with the modernization of farming the Soviet Union would require an extra 250, 000 tractors • As well as tractors there was also a need to develop the oil fields to provide the necessary petrol to drive the machines • Power stations also had to be built to supply the farms with electricity

Rapid Industrialization • Stalin wanted rapid industrialization to: – Free Russia from dependence on capitalist states for goods – Make Russia economically strong so that she would be able to produce more powerful weapons – Prove that the socialist system was more successful than capitalism – Raise the standard of living

Five Year Plans • First Five Year Plan (1928 -1932) – Aimed to create an industrial base for further development through the rapid expansion of coal and steel production, electrical power, and transport • Second Five Year Plan (1933 -1937) – Aimed to diversify and the focus shifted to communication systems such as railways and new industries such as the chemical industry • Third Five Year Plan (1938 -1941) – The aim was weapons production

Gosplan • This was a group responsible for administering the Five Year Plans • They decided: – The amount of every article the country should produce – How much of the national effort should go into the formation of capital and how much for consumption – The wages all classes of workers should receive – The price of all goods exchanged

Five Year Plans - Positives • Russia was transformed into a major industrial power second only to the U. S. • The Five Year Plans allowed the USSR to resist the German invasion • Living standards declined at first, then improved slowly • Industrial production increased, albeit slowly • Unemployment in Soviet Russia was unknown and crime was scarce • Workers received free education, day cares, free medical services, and old-age pensions

Five Year Plans - Negatives • Communist principles were compromised: – Good workers were rewarded with higher pay and competition between factories was encouraged – Capitalist models were used for nearly every project – Stalin had to import experts and borrow technology from the West • Food was taken from the peasants and given to the workers in the cities, causing mass starvation • Russians suffered a lack of consumer goods and daily necessities

Five-Year Plans - Negatives • There were few individual freedoms for workers and punishments for small violations were harsh – being late, absent, bad workmanship • Working conditions were dangerous and if targets were not met, severe punishments would be inflicted • Overcrowding and poor sanitation were common • Most workers could only afford one-room houses • Pay for most workers was very low

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)

Media & Propaganda in the USSR • State control of the media was total • Newspapers and films continually told of socialist achievements and capitalist plots • Those who attempted to listen to or read anything from the West were severely punished

Media & Propaganda in the USSR • The poster was strictly censored and heavily used for propaganda • The words “Those who take down the poster commit a counter revolution” were printed at the bottom of each one • Poster artists were instructed to condemn capitalism and praise Stalin • Stalin was portrayed as a father figure

Media & Propaganda in the USSR • Private cinema was eliminated under Stalin and movies were used to portray a political agenda • Only 9 -12 films were produced each year and were examined several times by the Politburo and Stalin himself to ensure they portrayed the correct message • Typical themes were anti-fascism, ethnic equality, the fad of aviation, and the pleasure of life under Stalin • Many films were about good workers, laborers, and brave soldiers

Happy Birthday Dear Stalin, Happy Birthday To You! • The first major opportunity to establish a Stalin cult along the lines of Lenin came on Stalin’s 50 th birthday on Dec. 21, 1929 • A wide array of people numbering in the thousands were mobilized from all walks of life to show their devotion by writing letters to Pravda • Pravda alone printed 200 messages of congratulations, 117 of them between Dec. 21 and 28 • 483 different terms were used to designate Stalin’s preeminence