1. Emergence of Josef Stalin – Part II
By Mr. Baker

2. 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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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)

10. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. The Purges
Other officials, church members, army officers, kulaks, and counter-revolutionaries were purged

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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)

17. 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

18. 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

19. 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

20. 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

21. 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

22. 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)

23. 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

24. 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