CH2 Stalin's Soviet Union

CH 2.0 Stalin’s Soviet Union Timeline: 1917 Feb Revolution: Tsar abdicated in March, Provisional Government set up Oct Revolution: Provisional Government overthrown, Bolsheviks established government. 1918 - Stalin became Commissar for Nationalities and a member of the Communist Party Central Committee (Politburo portion) - Russian Civil War started 1922 - End of Russian Civil War - Soviet Union formed through merger with Transcaucasian, Byelorussian and Ukrainian Soviet republics - Stalin became Secretary-General of the Communist Party 1924 - Death of Lenin - Power struggle within Communist Party ensued - Non-disclosure of testament 1925 - Trotsky removed from the Red Army 1927 - Trotsky expelled from the Communist Party 1928 - First Five-Year Plan started: Focus on expanding industry, transport and power supply a. Lasted until 1932 1929 - Trotsky exiled - Stalin became supreme leader of the Soviet Union 1933 - Second Five-Year Plan started: manufactured goods, farming machinery

1934 - Kirov Affair Start of the Great Terror purges 1938 - End of the Great Terror purges 1939 - Third Five Year Plans: First to allow luxuries such as bicycles and radios a. Disrupted by World War 2, whereby focus was shifted to arms production 1940 - Trotsky assassinated while living in exile in Mexico 2.1 Stalin’s rise to power Character or Circumstance? Character Circumstance Role as Secretary General and Leader of Cheka ● Exploitation to remove opponents’ supporters and appoint own supporters Secretary-General Role ● Chosen by Lenin Interception of Lenin’s Letter to Trotsky ● Realised Lenin’s dislike for self Manipulation of ideological divisions ● Troika: - Attacked Trotsky during party meetings, bringing up his past as a Menshevik and exploiting his opposition to Lenin’s New Economic Policy, criticised Trotsky, claiming that he was disloyal to Lenin and the party - Possible reason for the non-disclosure of Lenin’s Testament ● Breaking of Troika - Sided with rightists Rykov and Bukharin and claimed that Kamenev and Zinoviev were plotting with Trotsky to overthrow government - Isolated them from the CP and expelled them with show trials Non-disclosure of Lenin’s Testament ● ● Read out to the central committee yet no one took notes ● Made it clear that Stalin should be removed from position - Stalin often quarreled with Lenin and his wife and made an abusive phone call to her when Lenin wrote a letter to Trotsky for future collaboration ● Zinoviev who was chairing Lenin’s Funeral decided to suppress Lenin’s Testament - Felt that all it did was criticise party members and was thus brought more harm than good

● Switch to Leftists (Radicals) - Opposed Bukharin and Rykov, who wanted the NEP in contrast with Stalin’s plan for rapid industrialisation and central economic cont