1. Josef Stalin
and the USSR

2. Legacy
Established the political and economic structure of Russia until 1991
Rise to power
Consolidation of power
Maintenance of power

3. Origins and Nature Had been a Bolshevik during the October Revolution
Not responsible, really Lenin and Trotsky
Associated with the consolidation of the USSR
Josef Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, 1879, Gori, Georgia
Had its own language and culture, Russian his second
Became influenced by a revolutionary Georgian group, met socialists
Became a professional revolutionary in Russian Social Democratic Labour Party in 1901
Helped organize labors, arrested, exiled
Returned in 1917 with Provisional Government

5. Role in 1917
Returning to Petrograd in 1917, became part of the Pravda, the newspaper of the Central Committee of the Communist Part
Elected to the Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party
Lenin’s leadership gave the party power
Some tension between the two early
Stalin had showed support for Provisional Government

6. Stalin after the Revolution
Had been appointed Commissar for Nationalities
First quarrel with Lenin
Lenin thought the Soviet republics could be trusted
Stalin thought they would have to ruled with strict discipline
1922 Georgian Question
Wanted to join the USSR
Treaty of Union in 1924 Stalin brought them in under strict control
Stalin used the 1921 ban on factions to tighten control
1922, Appointed General Secretary of the Party
Now a member of the Politburo
Seven policymakers from Central Committee
The Orgburo
Oversaw local elections
The Secretariat
Bureaucracy

7. Stalin’s Methods Stalin had fallen out of favor
Lenin had concerns about his behavior and power
Never able to express them due to health
Said Stalin should be removed, but no one read it in his testament
Afraid to hurt Stalin’s feelings
Thought party needed to appear reunited
Lenin had a stroke in 1923 and Stalin jumped on opportunity of influence
Stalin gave the oration at his funeral, gave Trotsky the wrong date
Stalin tried to expand membership through Lenin Enrolment
Masses encouraged to join
Could choose future leaders from his position
No arguments over party ideology, Stalin wrote it in The Foundations of Leninism in 1924

8. Stalin and His Rivals

9. Cast of Characters in Stalin’s Rise
Grigory Zinoviev
Bolshevik since 1903 and close friend of Lenin
Member of the Politburo
Leader of the Petrograd city government
Appointed the first Chairman of Comintern in 1919
International support structure
Tried and executed in 1936

10. Cast of Characters in Stalin’s Rise
Lev Kamenev
Bolshevik since 1903 and Lenin’s close confidant
Member of the Politburo and Chairman of the Moscow Party
Tried and executed in 1936

11. Cast of Characters in Stalin’s Rise
Leon Trotsky
Bolshevik only since 1917
Brilliant orator and strategist
Planned the revolution in October 1917 and led Red Army to victory in the Civil War
Commissar for Foreign Affairs and appointed Commissar for Military and Naval Affairs
Assassinated in Mexico 1940

12. Cast of Characters in Stalin’s Rise
Nikolai Bukharin
Bolshevik since 1906
Editor of the Pravda
In the Politburo and also on the Committee of Comintern
Tried and executed in 1938

13. Cast of Characters in Stalin’s Rise
Alexei Rykov
Bolshevik since 1903, Deputy Chairman of Sovnarkom, Chairman of Gosplan
Organization that coordinated and organized the Soviet economy
Moderate who favored Lenin’s New Economic Policy
Tried and executed in 1938

14. Cast of Characters in Stalin’s Rise
Mikhail Tomsky
Trade union leader who joined the Bolsheviks in 1906
Moderate who favored the NEP
Elected to the Politburo in 1927
1936, criticized Stalin and then committed suicide

15. Stalin’s Rivals - Trotsky
Seemed like the natural successor
Strategist of October Revolution
Brilliant leadership of Red Army during civil war
Oratorical skills
Lacked the will though
Also, Jewish, brought uncertainty
Did not have the strong ties of Stalin, made enemies by attacking NEP and advocating for military leadership of the economy
Too focused on permanent revolution
Stalin: Socialism in One Country program
Resigned from the military

16. Stalin’s Rivals – Zinoviev and Kamenev – the Left Opposition or the Left Deviationists
Kamenev and Zinoviev had worked with Stalin to expel Trotsky
Now debate over continuation of NEP
Did it favor peasants over workers?
Kamenev and Zinoviev said it did
Their support was from Moscow and Leningrad, not surprising
Opposed by Bukarin who said it worked effectively
Kamenev attacks not only NEP, but also Stalin’s Socialism in One Country
Removed from the Politburo
Three supporters of Stalin voted on
Kamenev and Zinoviev joined with Trotsky as United Opposition in 1926
He is exiled, they repent

17. Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky – The Right Opposition or the Right Deviationists
Stalin began to criticize the NEP in 1927 and advocate for harsher policy towards the peasants
1928 went back to grain requisitioning, NEP was over, his opponents taken out of the Politburo
1929, he is the most powerful member, undermined the Bolshevik Party

19. Aspects of Stalin’s Rise
What Stalin did was legal
Elected to Politburo
Appointed General Secretary
His power was from these high offices
Ban on factions had helped
Majority members had created this in 1921
Gave the people what they wanted
Workers wanted more influence, he dropped the NEP

20. Stalin’s Domestic Policies
Five Year Plan, model for every communist country throughout 20th century
Agricultural exports had to be increased to import technology from abroad
Financed by agriculture, peasants would have to work in the interests of the state
Lenin had started it, Vesenkha and Gosplan had been established
Stalin believed in strict control to industrialize and urbanize

21. Collectivization of Agriculture
Stalin turned to collectivization in ensuring people worked together, provide a workforce
1929, total collective farms established
Opposition labeled Kulaks and punished
25 million farms consolidated to 200,000
Advantages
State control of national wealth
Tribute to industry
Authority established over the countryside
Food production and use of machinery more efficient
Surplus peasants used in cities
No food shortages

22. Effects of Collectivization
Not a popular policy
1930, poor harvest
Stalin halts program, sends party activists to the countryside for encouragement
Wore opponents down
Disastrous famine in killed 5-8 million people
May have been a genocidal famine, particularly in the Ukraine
Maybe not, Stalin did cut quotas three times in 1932, did need labor

23. Peasants to Proletariat
Peasants moved around, children often abandoned
Some could not afford to feed them
Crime rose
Orphanages and camps
Stalin passed a law stating children over 12 could be held
Brutality to form this new utopia throughout the 1930s
“If a man is a problem, no man, no problem”
Arrest, torture, imprisonment, execution
Often innocent, very random

24. The Five Year Plans First Five Year Plan, 1928- 32
Goal of industrial buildup
Second Five Year Plan, and Third Five Year Plan, 1937-
Goal of heavy industrial buildup
Trains, trucks, tractors
Needs resources to re- arm

25. Stalin Strategies Labor discipline Slave labor Enthusiasm Rewards
Propaganda
Social Transformations
Women’s roles were conservative once more
Used the church for popular support
Growth of music
Further access to Red education
Stalin’s Aims
Secure his own position and defend the USSR