1. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

2. By 1922, the Bolsheviks created the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
Consisted of 15 republics
50% of the population claimed Russian ethnicity and language
In 1919, the Bolsheviks created the Third International (Comintern)
Represented a Soviet effort to control the international communist movement

3. Party-State Structure
Party-state dualism
Each function of the government had both a party and state organ
The party played the primary role in policy making
The state organ worked to carry out policies

4. Constitutions were created in 1924 and 1936
Elections featured only 1 party
Elections and discussions flowed upward to the top
At the top of the centralized structure stood the Central Committee
Within the Central Committee was the Politburo who dominated the decision making process

5. The Nationalities Issue
For centuries, tsars had unsuccessfully attempted to Russify the 50 different ethnic groups
The Bolsheviks adopted a federal structure of government but the dominance of the Communist Party prevented movement away from the USSR’s centralized structure
The minority issue never died

6. The New Economic Policy
Soviet economy stood at only a small fraction of its prewar productivity
Lenin introduced the New Economic Policy in 1921
Compromise with capitalism
Peasants were allowed to sell their grain themselves
Men in towns and cities began to exchange goods for profit

7. A new class of wealthy peasants, called kulaks, arose in the countryside
The NEP did help revive production
By 1928 the Soviet economy had returned to its prewar level
The policy provoked a split in the Politburo

8. Social and Cultural Changes
Legal changes provided women with a measure of equality
Alexandra Kollontai was a prominent woman in the building of a socialist society
Helped create the Zhenotdel, a bureau to fight illiteracy and educate women

9. For children, the USSR created the Communist Youth League
Artists and intellectuals assisted in promoting literacy
Sergei Eisenstein pioneered new techniques of portraying action and political themes in film
Radical artists incorporated the style of futurist art with a socialist message

10. Stalin vs. Trotsky Lenin fell ill from a series of strokes
General Secretary Stalin and Leon Trotsky battled for control of the party
Trotsky condemned the NEP as a sell out to capitalism
Called for permanent revolution

11. Stalin engineered Trotsky’s dismissal from the party and his exile
By 1928, Stalin had secured his absolute hold on power