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Authoritarianism under Stalin

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1 Authoritarianism under Stalin

2 Study of Stalinism Analysis of major elements
Resources: Fitzpatrick chapter 5 Debate: Russians should be proud of the accomplishments of Josef Stalin Fitzpatrick and Nikita Petrov article Additional resources Primary source analysis: elements of totalitarianism in primary source analysis Practice Paper 2 essays about authoritarianism

3 Agenda: February 12 Debate about Lenin Homework
Debate Paper 3: Russians, today, should be proud of the accomplishment of Josef Stalin Read chapter 5 of Fitzpatrick. Articles on Moodle about Stalin under this week Paper due next Tuesday, 2/19

4 Debates Communism remains an important political philosophy.
Jennie, Mariah, Isaac E, Karina Vladimir Lenin was a great communist leader. Lauren, Valeria, Efrain, Madie, Tony Tuesday Feb. 12 Russian today should be proud of the accomplishments of Joseph Stalin. Julia, Audrey, Amrita, Sona, Rachel Fidel Castro was a great communist leader. Bari, Isaac, Daniel, Jonathan, Joseph Cubans, today, should be proud of the accomplishment of the Cuban Revolution. David, Ricky, Hunter, Dennis, Avi, Adem Regardless of the leaders involved in the conflict, the Cold War and the regional conflicts such as in Korea, were inevitable.  Mona, Eileen, Carlos, Christabel The US government should shoulder the majority of the blame for the Cuban Missile Crisis of Leyna, Oshini, Dean, Rohan, Noor

5 Agenda, Wednesday Feb. 13 Review of Test
Recapping the period Introduction to Authoritarianism Totalitarianism Homework: Debate Paper 3

6 Politics: The Struggle Among Values
Liberty-Positive vs. negative Equality-equality of opportunity vs. equality of outcome Order: Justice, righteousness, conforming to principles or ideals about right action

7 Who Should Rule: Good and Corrupt Forms
The One: Monarchy and Dictatorship The Few: Aristocracy and Oligarchy The Many: Democracy and Mob Rule

8 Disenchantment with Liberal Capitalist Democracy
Poor Economic Performance Hypocrisy of Liberty and Equality for all Destructiveness of Globalization Poverty Environmental impact Sense that democracy really just means rule by the wealthy

9 The Authoritarian Alternative
Capacity for Economic Growth Rapid Progress in many areas Ability to unify the people: nationalism

10 Development of Hybrid: Authoritarian Populism
Strong Popular Support for Elected Leader who then violates Civil Rights and Liberties Liberal Democracy: competitive elections plus protection of civil rights/civil liberties Authoritarian Democracy: Majority rule with a single leader as a focal point for change without protection of civil rights, civil liberties

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12 The Political Future Many people are turning away from liberal democracy Countries after the Cold War that started democratic are now embracing dictators– Poland and Hungary Many new parties in England, France, Germany, US that embrace authoritarian populism If the future we choose is authoritarian, we do have the benefit of hindsight to understand how these regimes worked.

13 Study the history of : Soviet Union under Stalinism Cuba under Castro

14 Authoritarian Regimes
Strengths Weaknesses Ability to rapidly modernize (industrialization, urbanization, development of middle class, health care, infrastructure, etc Unify the country against foreign threats End past oppressions quickly May make the wrong choices Prone to becoming aggressive Outgroups are persecuted Lack of negative freedom Equality defined according to in-group criteria

15 Russia Withdraws from Great War
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk (February 1918) Negotiated by Leon Trotsky Russia lost the Ukraine, parts of Poland, and Finland, Baltic States -Annulled with defeat of Germany by Allies

16 Civil War begins: Reds vs. Whites (Summer 1918)
Reds: communist Whites: Tsarists, white is symbol of royal support Part of old Russian army led by Admiral Kolchak, started anti-communist government in Siberia, British, French, and American troops aid Tsarists Peasants conscripted by both Whites and Reds. But Reds promised land to peasants whereas Whites had only a conservative agenda

17 War Communism 1918-1920 Rapid nationalization banking and credit
Nationalization of industry Requisition of food from peasants, by force is necessary Collapse of money economy: barter only Collective and state farms created

18 Communist Party Principle of democratic centralism: top-down leadership Ban on party factions and independent trade unions favored by Trotsky Millions join party Persecution of rivals Arrest and trial of Mensheviks and Cadets (liberals) Kronstadt sailor revolt put down (1921)

19 The Communist Government
Dictatorship of the Proletariat State government bureaucracies paralleled by Bolshevik organizations Central Government:Council of People’s Commissars Party: The Politburo is the supreme policy-making body of the Communist Party Appointed by Central Committee of Communist Party Came to overshadow the Central Committee General Secretary of the Communist Party was the chairman of the Politburo (about members) Lenin and after 1924, Stalin

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21 The White Stallion Must slay the Red Dragon encircling Russia!

22 The Cheka: The Secret Police
The All-Russian Extraordinary Commission for Struggle against Counter-Revolution, Sabotage and Speculation (the Cheka) Protect regimes from counterrevolution Organ of Terror Summary justice: arrests and executions

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24 You! Are You a Volunteer Yet!
(Bolshevik Propaganda Poster, 1920

25 New Economic Policy (NEP)
War Communism had led to starvation NEP: Re-introduction of free market for agriculture (1921) Lenin, responding to criticism from orthodox Marxists: “Please don’t try teaching me what to include and what to leave out of Marxism: eggs don’t teach their hens how to lay!”

26 Bolshevik Culture Women’s liberation: equal rights, right to divorce, equal pay Popularity of cubism in art Esparanto Libertine attitudes about sex among young communists

27 Futurism Early 20th Century
Speed and energy were the main preoccupations of the Futurists from around dedicated to the triumph of motion in modern life. The machines of the 20th Century were the inspiration for this movement, sequential or multiple exposure photography were often used as reference for the art works. Brilliant colours and flowing brush strokes created the illusion of movement. The Traveler: Liubov Popova

28 Suprematism Nonobjective representation
Self-portrait in two dimensions By Malevich

29 Aero-plane Flying, 1915

30 Lenin dies in 1924 Leadership Struggle Trotsky: Commissar of War
Stalin: General Secretary Zinoviev: head of Comintern Kamanev: head of Moscow Party Organization

31 The Body Remains-with daily chemical
Treatments to preserve it

32 Lenin Documentary from History Channel

33 The Father, The Son, And the Holy Ghost?

34 Summary: Historiographical schools regarding Stalinism
Totalitarian argument: Stalinism is the logical outcome of Marxist Revolution Revisionist argument: There was widespread social and political support for Stalinism because Marxist-Leninist modernized Russia, brought many people opportunity, and Stalin defeated fascist powers. Postrevisionist argument: Careful archival history and primary source analyses reveal nuances that support both totalitarian and revisionist arguments.

35 Studying Soviet History
Traditional approach: focus on political leaders, policies, make generalizations about changes in Soviet society Social History—studies the experience of many different peoples regarding how Stalinism affected them Focus on specific populations—women’s history, ethnic and minority histories Case studies Heavy use of primary sources-diaries, photographs, oral history, documentation of everyday life

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38 Totalitarianism What are the origins of totalitarianism?
To what extent did Stalinism receive popular support? To what extent was Stalinism sustained by terror? “Stalin in the Kremlin Cares For Us” (1940)

39 Totalitarianism Friedrich and Brzesinski, “The Model of Totalitarianism” “The basic features or traits that we suggest as generally recognized to be common to totalitarian dictatorships are six in number. The “syndrome” or pattern of interrelated traits of the totalitarian dictatorship consists of an ideology, a single party typically led by one man, a terroristic police, a communications monopoly, a weapons monopoly, and a centrally directed economy… These six basic features, which we think constitute the distinctive pattern or model of totalitarian dictatorship, form a cluster of traits, intertwined and mutually supporting each other, as is usual in “organic” systems. They should not be considered in isolation…”

40 Stalin consolidates power
Competitors forced into exile Struggle was not so much over policy but over how centralized control was to become Trotsky wanted more internal party democracy. Stalin consolidated power by appointing local secretaries who in turn appointed delegates to Communist Congresses.

41 Trotsky Trotsky exiled 1928 Assassinated by Stalinist
Agents in 1937 in Mexico City

42 Building a Communist Society
Rapid industrialization Shift of population to cities Education of people –gain in technical skills “Socialism in One Country” Focus of Communist Party becomes modernization rather than international revolution

43 Comparative Urbanization– living in town of more 20K
Accessed 24 Feb 2018

44 Stalin’s Opponents Left Oppositionist Right Oppositionist
Favored rapid industrialization, and collectivization (similar to Stalin’s perspective) Wanted more internal democracy within Party Most prominent Leftist Trotsky, Zinoviev, and Kamenev Right Oppositionist Favored continuation of market-oriented agricultural policy (NEP) Opposed coercion of peasants Opposed class war between peasants and workers Most prominent rightist Bukharin: head of Comintern, theoretician

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46 (1) What is the nature of Stalinism as a system (politically, economically, and ideologically)?

47 Stalin’s Five -Year Plan (1929)
Industrialization: focus on steel production and heavy machinery Centralized planning—setting of target quotas for each plant Collectivization of agriculture—reliable grain production at low prices Organization of kohlkozy 93% of agriculture collectivized by 1937

48 Bruce Clark, “An Overview of the Soviet Economy,”
accessed 24 Feb. 2018

49 Source: Ibid.

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51 My Grandfather atop Construction Materials for Moscow Subway: (1934)

52 Socialist Realism Lenin With Villagers. Post-Stalin (1959). Painted by Evdokiya Usikova (Ukraine). Oil on canvas, 133cm x 197cm.

53 Socialist Realism Gorky and Lenin
socialist realism socialist realism, Soviet artistic and literary doctrine. The role of literature and art in Soviet society was redefined in 1932 when the newly created Union of Soviet Writers proclaimed socialist realism as compulsory literary practice. As conceived by Stalin, Zhdanov, and Gorky, socialist realism prescribed a generally optimistic picture of socialist reality and of the development of the Communist revolution. Its purpose was education in the spirit of socialism. Its practice is marked by strict adherence to party doctrine and to conventional techniques of realism. Socialist realism has been widely condemned as stifling to artistic values. After the death of Stalin in 1953 some relaxation of strictures was evident, although socialist realism continued as the official doctrine. A similar approach to the creation of art and literature was also enforced for a time in the People's Republic of China. Gorky and Lenin

54 Karpo Demjanowitsch Trokhimenko: "Stalin as an organizer of the
October revolution". Oil on canvas, 85 x 117 cm

55 “To Collective Work”

56 Steel Workers. Stalin-era (1950).
Painted by V.Malagis. Oil on Canvas, 162 x 200cm.

57 Learn, Learn, Learn! Iwan Alexejewitsch Wladimirow (Ivan Alekseevich Vladimirov): "In a Girls' School".

58 Roses for Stalin. Stalin-era (1949). Painted by
Boris Ieremeevich Vladimirski. Oil on canvas, x 141 cm.

59 Black Ravens Slang for the secret police Cars (passed censors!)
(unknown artist, 1930s)

60

61 Agenda: Wednesday Stalinism continued More Presentations
Homework: Cuba Assignment Chapter 9 (?) on Cuba take notes, for Tuesday March 6 Watch “Fidel” American Experience video on YouTube, Practice Paper 2 or 3 question: due Tuesday March 13

62 Theory/Evidence Consolidation of Control by Stalin Socialist realism
Totalitarianism Communist ideology Single party Cult of personality Terror Propaganda Violent Revisionist historiography: popular support for regime Postrevisionist: methodological emphasis on more social history, seeking balance Consolidation of Control by Stalin Socialist realism Five-year Plan Economic Growth/modernization Fear/Gulag Threat from Bourgeoisie (civil war), replaced by fear of fascism

63 Campaign against the Church
At the lower levels of the party, one of the touchstones of a good Communist was having rid oneself of the superstition of religion. Conversely, one of the most common ideological offenses for a party member was to have allowed his wife or other female relative to remain a believer, to christen their children, attend church, or keep icons in the house. Party members were frequently cross-examined on this score, as in this dialogue reported from a local party cell meeting: (excerpted from Everyday Stalinism by Fitzpatrick) Did you baptise your children? The last one to be baptised in my family was my daughter in 1926. At what date did you break with religion. In 1923. It seems that there are still icons in your house. Yes, that's because my mother-in-law doesn't want me to take them down!

64 Purge Questions What was he doing before 1917 and during the October Revolution? Was he at the front? Was he ever arrested before the revolution? Did he have any disagreements with the party? Does he drink? ... What does he think about Bukharin and the right deviation, about the kulak, the Five-Year Plan, the events in China? ... Is it true that he has a private automobile and a pretty wife who was an actress? ... Did he get married in church? Did he baptize his son? ... Whom did his sister marry?

65 Opposition to Collectivization
Report from the Italian consul in Novorossiisk: The Soviet state is powerful, and armed to the teeth, but it cannot fight this sort of battle. There is no enemy against which to take up a battle formation on the steppes. The enemy is everywhere and must be fought on innumerable fronts in tiny operations, here a field need hoeing there a few hundredweight of corn are stashed; a tractor is broken here, another sabotaged there, a third has gone astray A depot has been raided, the books have been cooked, the directors of kohlkozy, through incompetence or dishonesty, never tells the truth about the harvest And so on, infinitely, everywhere in this enormous country The enemy is in every house, in village after village. One might as well try to carry water in a sieve (Courtois et al.163)

66 The Gulag                                                                     Two million deported to work camps, to work on various public works projects Deportees were kulaks and many thousands that had been found guilty of minor crimes, opposing collectivization.

67 Map of Soviet Republics

68 Eastern Europe and Former Soviet Republics

69 Currently contested areas

70 Theory/Evidence Consolidation of Control by Stalin Socialist realism
Totalitarianism: orthodox school (1950s) Communist ideology Single party Cult of personality Terror Propaganda Violent Revisionist historiography (1960s) popular support for regime Postrevisionist (1970s-): methodological emphasis on more social history, seeking balance Consolidation of Control by Stalin Socialist realism Five-year Plan Economic Growth/modernization Fear/Gulag Threat from Bourgeoisie (civil war), replaced by fear of fascism

71 Analytical Questions Schools of thought:
Are dictatorships forced upon peoples? Or, do people willing to give up freedom for security? How much support for Stalin was there? How can we as students of history answer these questions Schools of thought: Orthodox school: Friedrich/Brzesinki: Totalitarian School Revisionist: Popular Support for Stalin Postrevisionist: Methodology shift to social history, thesis—balance between orthodox and revisionist

72 For your consideration:
Are people willing to give up freedom for security? Perhaps think of issues that we notice in our own lives. How are you explaining Stalinism? As dictatorship brutally imposed? As with the social support of the people? A mix?

73 Famine of Grain requisitions from collective farms so high that peasants in grain-producing areas (especially the Ukraine) were left with nothing Internal passports used to prevent peasants from coming to city 6 million dead

74 Famine Victor Kravchenko was a Soviet official who escaped from the USSR Embassy in the United States in He described his life in the book I Chose Freedom. In 1933 he was one of the Communist agents assigned to safeguard the new harvest, the "Harvest in Hell" as he calls it: "Although not a word about the tragedy appeared in the newspapers, the famine that raged ... was a matter of common knowledge. "What I saw that morning ... was inexpressibly horrible. On a battlefield men die quickly, they fight back ... Here I saw people dying in solitude by slow degrees, dying hideously, without the excuse of sacrifice for a cause. They had been trapped and left to starve, each in his own home, by a political decision made in a far-off capital around conference and banquet tables. There was not even the consolation of inevitability to relieve the horror.

75 Letter from writer Mikhail Sholokhov, April 1933, and reply by Stalin
…The Vechenski district, along with many other districts in the Northern Caucuses, failed to fulfill its grain quota this year not on account of some “kulak sabotage,” but because of bad leadership in the local Party headquarters…. Last December the Party regional committee, with a view to accelerating the government’s collection campaign, sent the plenipotentiary Ovchinnikov. He took the following measures: (1) he requisitioned all available grain, including the advance given by the kohlkhoz leaders to all the collective farmers for sowing this year’s harvest; and (2) he divided by family the entire quota that was due to the state from the collective farmers. The immediate result of these measures was that when the requisitioning began, the peasants hid and buried the grain. The grand total found came to 5, 930 hundredweight… And here are some of the methods that were used to recover these 593 tons, some of which had been buried since 1918… The “cold” method, the worker is stripped bare and left out in the cold, stark naked in a hangar. Sometimes the whole brigades of collective workers are treated in such a fashion… It seems to you that this letter is worthy of the attention of the Central Committee, then please send us some real Communists, who could unmask the people here who have struck a mortal blow against the collective farming system. You are our only hope.

76 Letter from Stalin in reply…
….To avoid being mistaken in politics—and your letters, in this instance, are not literature, they are pure politics--- one must see another aspect of reality, too. And the other aspect in this instance is that the workers in your district—not just in your district, but in many districts—went on strike, carried out acts of sabotage, and were prepared to leave workers from the Red Army without bread! The fact that this sabotage was silent and appeared to be quite peaceful (there was no bloodshed) changes nothing---these people deliberately tried to undermine the Soviet state. It is a fight to the death, Comrade Sholohov!

77 Show Trials Anti-capitalist revolution against civil servants, members of the clergy, shopkeepers and craftsmen Accused of conspiracy against revolution were sent to the gulag Trials and executions of Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1935

78 Great Terror of 1936-38: The Purges
Campaign to liquidate ex-kulaks, members of clergy, criminals and other anti-Soviet elements Victims were ordinary Party members suspected of being sympathetic to Trotsky 6 million arrests 3 million executions 2 million deaths in camps

79 Letter to Dad interned in Gulag
Hello Papa I forgot how to write soon in School I will go through the first winter come quickly because it's bad we have no Papa mama says you are away on work or sick and what are you waiting for run away from that hospital here Olyeshenka ran away from hospital just in his shirt mama will sew you new pants and I will give you my belt all the same the boys are all afraid of me, and Olyeshenka is the only one I never beat up he also tells the truth he is also poor and I once lay in fever and wanted to die along with mother and she did not want to and I did not want to, oh, my hand is numb from write thats enough I kiss you lots of times ...       Igoryok 6 and one half years       - Letter to an imprisoned victim of Stalin's Purges, cited by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, The Gulag Archipelago, vol. 2 (New York: Harper & Row, 1975), pp

80 “In the NKVD’s Dungeon”
By Nikolai Getman

81 “Moving Out” Nikolia Getman

82 “Kolyma Highway” by Nikolai Getman (prisoners building a highway)

83 “Upper Debin Camp” by Nikolai Getman, Sign with Stalin’s portrait says, “Through honest labor lies the Road to Release.”

84 “Lunchtime: They Bring in the Gruel”

85 “Taiga”

86 “Eternal Memory in the Permafrost”

87 The Purges "Blind chance rules a man's life in this country of ours," said one NKVD officer, who found himself suddenly placed under arrest. For ordinary citizens, "Fear by night, and a feverish effort by day to pretend enthusiasm for a system of lies, was the permanent condition." (Conquest, The Great Terror: A Reassessment, p. 434.) Crush the Traitor!

88 Critical Reflection To what extent do people willingly give up freedom for security? Consider the development of Stalinism and the three historiographical schools– orthodox (totalitarian), revisionist (social support for Stalinism), postrevisionist ( a mix). How do you explain the development of Stalinism?

89 People’s Century Red Flag

90 Mandelshtam died at the Vtorya Rechka work camp, December 27, 1938.
We live deaf to the land beneath us. Ten steps away no one hears our speeches. But where there’s so much as half-conversation The Kremlin man of the mountains will be mentioned. His fingers are fat as grubs And the words, final as lead weights, fall from his lips, His cockroach whiskers leer And his boot tops gleam. Around him a rabble of thin-necked leaders—fawning Half-men for him to play with. They whinny, purr or whine As he prates and points a finger, One by one forging his laws, to be flung Like horseshoes at the head, the eye or the groin. And every killing is a treat For the broad-chested Ossete “Stalin Epigram” (1934) by Osip Mandelshtam (read at a private gathering). Informant reported poem to Stalin who telephoned another poet, Boris Pasternak, about what should be done with Mandelshtam. Pasternak gave an ambiguous answer. Stalin replied, “If I had a poet friend who was in trouble, I’d throw myself at a wall to save him!” Mandelshtam died at the Vtorya Rechka work camp, December 27, 1938.

91 "Only in Russia poetry is respected – it gets people killed
"Only in Russia poetry is respected – it gets people killed. Is there anywhere else where poetry is so common a motive for murder?" Osip Mandelshtam

92 Who was responsible for the purges?
“Great massacres may be commanded by tyrants, but they are imposed by peoples” H.R. Trevor Roper Historian Treachery and counterrevolution everywhere!…Perhaps there was an element of Primitive magic in such words: what else could we do but try to ward off the evil Spirits by uttering charms?” Nadezhda Mandelstam

93 Stalinism Brainstorm about its characteristics:

94 Elements of Stalinism Industrialization Urbanization—modernization
Collectivization Changing Culture-literacy, education, health Changing role of women Terror and the Gulag Show Trials Cult of Personality Communist designs—class, ideology, party Treatment of groups within Russia

95 Elements of Stalinism Collectivization of Agriculture Five Year Plans
Bureaucratization under Party Control Terror: the Gulag Cult of Personality Ideological Communist Fervor

96 Key Terms Chapter 5 (use additional references as needed)
First Five Year Plan Industrialization Collectivization Kohlkozy Kulaks dekulakization Trotsky Zinoviev Bukharin Ukrainian famine Internal Passports Purges Show Trials Cult of Personality

97 Paper 1/Primary Source project
Identify one question about Stalinism ( ) your group wishes to investigate using primary sources. Gather a balance of primary sources and secondary sources. Keep excerpts rather short and provide context as necessary. Following the example of a Paper 1 exam from IB, write your own exam as a group. Put in Word/or some other program and to me with names of everyone in group (100 pts). Guideline for presentation of primary sources to class: be sensitive both in regards to your audience, and respectful about those you portray. Present IB exam to the class and discuss answers. Discuss what you have learned about the topic.

98 Chapter 6: Fitzpatrick Themes of the 1930s
Revolution Accomplished: Stalin celebrates the victory of communism in early 30s Revolution betrayed: Thermidorean policies of mid-1930s Revolutionary Terror: Great Purges of 37-38

99 Revolution Accomplished
Every smokestack and every tractor: victories for socialism First Five Year Plan completed in 1932 Collectivization of agriculture Peasants resentful of “second serfdom” Kohlkozy were inefficient and poor Peasants were allowed to small private plots that were highly productive

100 When is the victory complete?
Criteria for judging the revolution: Life is getting better! No more exploitation No more class antagonisms Withering away of the state Stalin introduces the idea of communism as the condition when the state is no Longer needed. But as long as there are hostile nation-states, the state will be Necessary. Hence the Soviet Union is a socialist state.

101 1936 Constitution Guarantee of equal rights
No more discrimination in favor of workers and against bourgeois or noble backgrounds How serious a pledge?

102 Revolution betrayed? (mid-30s)
How much liberty, equality, fraternity? Development of communist intelligentsia/bureaucrats Apparatchiki-party officials Nomenklatura—elite managers (subset of party) Privileges gained from party membership Material incentives for hard work Return of entrance exams to high schools and college rather than use of social and political criteria Return of respect for family: more difficult to get divorces, abortion outlawed

103 Stalin’s Opponents Right Oppositionist Left Oppositionist
Favored rapid industrialization, and collectivization (similar to Stalin’s perspective) Wanted more internal democracy within Party Most prominent Leftist Trotsky, Zinoviev – leader of Communist international, Politboro member Kamenev: Politboro member Right Oppositionist Favored continuation of NEP Opposed coercion of peasants Opposed class war between peasants and workers Most prominent rightist Bukharin: theoretician

104 Hyperlink: Justification for Purges
Revolutionary Terror Assassination of Leningrad Party Leader: Sergei Kirov (1934) sparks: Trials of Oppositionists Accused of being counterrevolutionaries, agents of foreign powers (Hitler had gained power in 33) Millions sent to the Gulag Revolutionary wartime logic: Is it better that ten innocent men perish than one guilty man go free?

105 Mariinsky ballet of Leningrad renames the Kirov Ballet (’35), reverted to Mariinsky ballet again after the fall of communism

106 Show Trials Anti-capitalist revolution against civil servants, members of the clergy, shopkeepers and craftsmen Accused of conspiracy against revolution were sent to the gulag Trials and executions of Zinoviev and Kamenev in 1935

107 Great Terror of 1936-38: The Purges
Campaign to liquidate ex-kulaks, members of clergy, criminals and other anti-Soviet elements Victims were ordinary Party members suspected of being sympathetic to Trotsky 6 million arrests 3 million executions 2 million deaths in camps

108 Is terror a necessary part of Revolution
Is terror a necessary part of Revolution? Does the Revolution demand blood on a regular basis? Betrayal Conspiracies Enemies Logic of Revolution, Logic of Totalitarianism Was the Terror inevitable? Stalin’s consolidation of power Logic of revolution demands purges Defense against hostile capitalist and fascist world? Or unnecessary?

109 The Purges "Blind chance rules a man's life in this country of ours," said one NKVD officer, who found himself suddenly placed under arrest. For ordinary citizens, "Fear by night, and a feverish effort by day to pretend enthusiasm for a system of lies, was the permanent condition." (Conquest, The Great Terror: A Reassessment, p. 434.) Crush the Traitor!

110 Cycles of Revolutionary Fervor
Bring meaning to history Periodic returns to the fundamentals of the revolution Exhaustion Followed by return of social stratification, elements of capitalism Then Revulsion: New revolutionary fervor

111 Who was responsible for Stalinism?
“Great massacres may be commanded by tyrants, but they are imposed by peoples” H.R. Trevor Roper Historian Treachery and counterrevolution everywhere!…Perhaps there was an element of Primitive magic in such words: what else could we do but try to ward off the evil Spirits by uttering charms?” Nadezhda Mandelstam

112 Who was Responsible? Richard Pipes in his book Russia Under the Bolshevik Regime: "Stalin was a true Leninist in that he faithfully followed his patron's political philosophy and practices. Every ingredient of what has come to be known as Stalinism save one -- murdering fellow Communists -- he had learned from Lenin, and that includes the two actions for which he is most severely condemned: collectivization and mass terror. Stalin's megalomania, his vindictiveness, his morbid paranoia, and other odious personal qualities should not obscure the fact that his ideology and modus operandi were Lenin's. A man of meager education, he had no other source of ideas."

113 The past is never dead. It's not even past.
William Faulkner, Requiem for a Nun (1951)

114 How do you assess the rule of Joseph Stalin?
Describe three interpretations of Joseph Stalin. a. Uncle Joe b. Master Tactician c. Brutal Dictator d. Cult Figure e. Modernizer Discuss the logic and evidence used by each one. (2) What is your interpretation?

115 Quiz (1) What is the nature of Stalinism as a system (politically, economically, and ideologically)? (2) In your opinion, who is responsible for the intense suffering experienced under Stalinism?

116     David Low, Evening Standard, 1936

117        

118    

119 Paper 2 questions Select two leaders of single party states, each chosen from a different region, and explain how and why the conditions of their state helped them to rise to power. Select one leader of a single-party state, and explain why there was opposition to his rule, and why the opposition succeeded or failed.


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