The Origins and Development of

Authoritarian and Single-Party States:

Stalins Soviet Union
I. Conditions that Produced the State
A.World War I (1914-1918)
1. Russia unprepared for WWI: inexperienced military
leaders, poor technology, equipment, training; suffered
terrible losses to modern, better trained German army.
2. In attempt to reinvigorate army, Nicholas II took
personal command of army in field (no military
experience); left government in hands of wife
Alexandra who was influenced by Gregory Rasputin
(monk, healed hemophiliac son Alexis).
3. Russian people increasingly upset about military
disaster and presence of Rasputin controlling czarina,
government; conservatives attempted to save
monarchy by assassinating Rasputin.
4. Strikes, demonstrations to end war continued;
Nicholas ordered troops to break riots w/force but
many troops refused to shoot, joined demonstrators.
5. Russian Duma convened to ask Nicholas to abdicate,
which he did, and create provisional government with
Alexander Kerensky as president.
6. Kerensky decided to continue fighting war, upset
workers, soldiers, peasants who were tired of the war
(deaths, economic hardship).
7. Sovietscouncils representing soldiers, workers
sprang up around Russia to oppose provisional
government, play important role in politics; mostly
socialists.

B.Russian Revolution (1917)

1. Bolsheviks small faction of Russian socialist party led
by Vladimir Lenin dedicated to violent revolution to
overthrow capitalism, end Russian involvement in war
2. Lenin in exile when provisional government formed,
shipped to Russia by Germany in hopes Bolshevik
revolution successful.
3. Once back in Russia, Lenin wanted to gain control of
soviets to use them to help overthrow provisional
government and introduce socialism to Russia.
4. Bolshevik platform:
a. Peace, Land, Breadend war, redistribute land to
peasants,
b. Worker Control of Productiontransfer control
of factories from capitalists to workers,
c. All Power to the Sovietstransfer government
power to soviets.
5. Bolshevik popularity increased, held majorities in
Moscow, Petrograd soviets; November 1917
Bolsheviks stormed Winter Palace, forced collapse of
provisional government, Bolsheviks now in control of
Russia.
6. Bolsheviks renamed themselves the Communists,
ended war with Germany, gave up much territory to
secure peace (Poland, Ukraine, Finland, Baltic states).
C.Russian Civil War (1921-1922)
1. Many groups in Russia opposed Communists
(loyalists, liberals, anti-Lenin socialists or
Mensheviks); supported by Allies (GB, US, Fr) who
gave troops, supplies; all these (Whites) joined in civil
war against Communists (Reds).

2. Russian Civil War between Reds and Whites, 19181921 was very bloody and resulted in much
destruction of Russian land.
3. Communists won war: (1) Efficiency, discipline of
Red Army, (2) Whites lacked common goal,
divisiveness prevented effective cooperation, (3)
Communists has strong sense of purpose, (4) war
communismCommunist control of banks, farms,
industries to serve war effort, (5) revolutionary terror
of Chekasecret policeto arrest anyone who did
not support Communists, create atmosphere of fear.
4. By 1921 Communists had complete control of Russia,
(Soviet Union); became centralized, single-party state
distrustful of, hostile to West for supporting Whites.
II.Emergence of Leaders: Aims, Ideology, Support
A.Lenin
1. Aims
a. Protect Revolution at any cost: Civil War v. Whites
b. Consolidate Revolution
c. Spread Revolution
2. Ideology
a. Economic: War Communism to NEP
1) New Economic Policy: Limited private
ownership of business, agriculture; incentives,
bonuses introduced for workers; heavy industry,
banking, mines remained in government control.
2) Temporary: allow country, economy to recover
from Civil War.
3) Illustrates Lenins pragmatism to achieve aims.

b. Political: Democratic Centralist and Authoritarian

1) Democratic Centralism: true democracy in
Bolshevik Party lay in obedience of members to
instructions of leaders.
2) Communist Party of the Soviet Union: task of the
enlightened leaders of CPSU to guide, instruct
workers in true revolutionary role.
3) CPSU only party allowed in USSR; factionalism
(formation of sub-groups within Party) banned.
c. Cultural: Proletarian
1) Believed humans could be molded, improved into
new species: Homo sovieticus.
2) Could not happen of own accord, must be
directed by CPSU.
a) The arts: writing, drama, filmmaking, painting,
poetry, music all mobilized to express values
of revolutionary, socialist Soviet Union.
b) Religion: church expropriated, clergy no
longer salaried by state, Church no longer
organization with authority over
congregations, religious education forbidden.
c) Women: could seek divorce, illegitimate
children full citizens, abortion legalized,
children to be raised by state.
3. Support
a. Political: Bolshevik Party (CPSU)
b. Military: Red Army (Trotsky, Civil War)
c. Police: Cheka (secret police, Red Terror)
d. Social: soviets, proletariat.

B.Trotsky
1. Aims: Spread proletarian revolution internationally.
2. Ideology: Permanent Revolution
a. Revolution was process of risings from place to
place, not single event.
b. Events in Russia only first step in worldwide
socialist revolution.
c. Individual nations did not matter; interests of
international working class paramount.
d. True socialism could only be achieved in USSR
with successful revolutions worldwide.
3. Support: Marxist Theory and Lenins Testament
a. Marxist theory: Trotsky intellectually far superior to
Stalin; could debate and persuade people due to
mastery of theory, excellent writing, speaking skills.
b. Lenins Testament: Supported Trotsky as heir on
Lenins death, ouster of Stalin; document
suppressed due to rest of CPSUs fear of Trotsky,
thought Stalin could be controlled.
C.Stalin
1. Aims
a. Consolidate victory of Revolution
b. Build USSR into modern industrial, world power
able to defend itself in a world hostile to socialism.
2. Ideology: Socialism in One Country
a. USSR to overcome agricultural, industrial weakness
by own, unaided efforts.
b. Make survival of USSR absolute priority, even at
expense of supporting international revolutions.
3. Support: Secretariat and Lenins Legacy
a. Secretariat:

1) General Secretary appointed, kept track of

membership in Party, government appointments
of party members.
2) Patronage: used this authority to place his own
supporters to key positions; supporters owed
positions to Stalin, could count on them to vote
his policies in Party and government.
b. Lenins Legacy
1) Lenin Enrollment 1923-1925: wanted to increase
number of actual workers in Party; membership
2x, 1922-1925; most poorly educated, politically
unsophisticated but willing to be loyal in return
for Party privileges.
2) Attack upon Factionalism: used Lenins ban on
factionalism to resist challenges to his authority.
III. Totalitarianism: Aim and Extent to which it was Achieved
A.Aims
1. Elimination of Internal Threats: The Purges
a. Early Purges (1932-1934)
1) Stalin used position as General Secretary to
revoke Party membership of those who opposed
him; nonviolent, simply expelled low-level
enemies from Party.
2) Centralization of law enforcement agencies:
civilian police, secret police, labor camp
commandants, border and security guards all
placed under authority of NKVD; answerable
directly to Stalin.
b. Post-Kirov Purges (1934-1936)
1) Sparked by murder of Sergei Kirov: highly
popular Party official unhappy with several of

Stalins policies; heavy suspicion Stalin approved

of, planned murder.
2) Stalin signed Decree against Terrorist Acts giving
NKVD unlimited power in pursuing enemies of
state, Party; followed by large-scale round-up of
suspected conspirators who were imprisoned,
executed.
3) Justified mass murder of high- and low-level
Party members: 55% of all Party members, 29%
of Central Committee members executed: CPSU
totally under control of Stalin.
c. The Great Purge (1936-1939)
1) Purge of the Party: acceleration of attack on Old
Bolsheviks; public show trials where former
heroes confessed guilt, implicated others.
a) Torture used to secure confession
b) Demoralization of being accused by party to
which they have dedicated their whole lives
c) Last act of loyalty to Party
d) Made it difficult for other to claim innocence
e) proves large scale of conspiracy, need for
purges to continue
2) Purge of the Military: high-ranking generals
(heroes of Civil War) accused of spying for
Germany, Japan; confessions garnered to
implicate othersin three months:
a) 100% of War Commissars removed
b) 60% of Marshals dismissed
c) 90% of Supreme Military Council arrested
d) 87% of army commanders, 66% division
commanders removed

e) 50% (35,000) commissioned officers

imprisoned, shot.
3) Purge of the People: Terror seen as method of
government of peoples actions, thoughts to not
challenging government control, Stalins forced
industrialization
a) Quotas set, followed for number of victims in
certain locality.
b) Victims tortured, asked to confess, name others
c) 13% of Soviet population arrested.
d) Almost all families lost at least one member.
d. The Later Purges (1941-1953)
1) Postwar purge of military
a) Military defeats, desertions blamed on internal
sabotage = large-scale purge after victory.
b) New territory acquired after war = new citizens
= new potential enemies = new purges.
2) The Leningrad Affair: Party purge of those
involved in defense of Leningrad during WWII.
3) The Doctors Plot: Anti-Semitic pogrom
prepared against Jews in medical center planning
to murder Stalin; Stalin died before implemented.
2. Economic Modernization: Catch the West
a. Collectivization: raise capital for industrialization
1) Take land from peasants, give it to state; state to
make more efficient use of land for agricultural
productionpeasants efforts pooled, no profit.
2) Surplus grain sold on international markets,
proceeds used to buy industrial machinery;
surplus peasants to work in factories.

3) War against Kulaks: peasants who grew wealthy

during NEP demonized as greedy, profiting at
expense of workers, poorer peasants; major
propaganda, terror effort at de-Kulakization.
4) Resistance: peasants hoard, hide food from
government, slaughter own livestock so would
not fall into hands of statemade largest manmade famine in history: 10-15 million starve.
b. Industrialization: Either we do it, or we shall be
crushed.
1) Establish a war economy: focus on iron, steel, oil
production; heavy industry v. consumer products.
2) To be planned, driven by state, not private
enterpriseGosplan: list of quotas of production.
3) Organized into Five Year Plans beginning 1928:
a) Plans were targets, not really plan of how to
produce, when, etc.; officials, managers often
sacrificed quality for quantity, falsified
numbers to save them from Stalins wrath.
b) Accompanied by huge propaganda effort to
convince people taking part in changing
society; making new, better world; need to
cooperate and make sacrifices.
4) Resistance to industrialization met with harsh
punishment; Stalin presented FYPs as defense of
USSR from fascists, capitalists.
5) Could then justify resisters, slackers as
saboteurs, wreckers, enemies of the state
put on elaborate trial to show futility of protest
against program; anyone who was suspected of

not pulling own weight could be arrested or put

on trial for being Enemy of People.
6) While many inefficiencies in system existed (lack
of coordination, over-/underproduction, hoarding,
falsification, quality), FYPs had successes:

(tons/kWhs
)
Coal
Steel
Oil
Electricity

1927

1930

1932

1935

1937

1940

35
3
12
18

60
5
17
22

64
6
21
20

100
13
24
45

128
18
26
80

150
18
26
90

B.Extent to which it was Achieved: Party, State, Economy

1. Party and State: total
a. Party: purges eliminated all rivals to leadership
b. State: Stalin had full control over Party officials,
therefore had total control over who could serve in
government, what positions; Red Army, NKVD,
gulags, civilian police.
2. Economy and Society: partial

a. Economy: while collectivization, industrialization

successful in ways, resistance, sabotage,
falsification of Stalins plans common.
b. Society: while civilians quiescent, mere existence of
terror, NKVD shows how force, propaganda
necessary to implement programs; not willing
partners in aims.

IV. Methods: Force, Legal

A.Force: Terror, Purges
B.Legal: Socialist Realism, State Propaganda
V.Form of Government, Ideology
A.Form of Government: Totalitarian Dictatorship
B.Ideology: Marxist-Leninist
VI. Nature, Extent, and Treatment of Opposition
VII. Structure and Organization of Government and
Administration
VIII.Political, Economic, Social, and Religious Policies
IX. Role of Education, the Arts, the Media, and Propaganda
A.Education
B.The Arts: Socialist RealismMotivating the Masses
1. No profit motive, had to find other ways to motivate
people to sacrifice for state, Party.
2. Nature:
a. Proletarian: art relevant to the workers and
understandable to them.
b. Typical: scenes of every day life of the people.
c. Realistic: in the representational sense.
d. Partisan: supportive of aims of State, Party (Stalin).

3. Sculpture, music, literature, poetry, architecture,

painting.
C.The Media
D.Propaganda
X.Status of Women, and the Treatment of Religious Groups
and Minorities