SGQ #6

IBSL2 SGQ6

QWs:

Compare and contrast the economic and social policies of one left wing and one right wing single-party ruler.

Examine the status of women in two single-party states, each chosen from a different region.

In what ways did one ruler of a single-party state try to use education to support his regime?

MWH 361-368


1. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's economic problems?
a. What were Russia's economic problems?
Production from heavy industry was still surprisingly low, there was a lack of capital to finance the industrial progress Stalin wanted since foreign countries wouldn't invest in a communist country; Russia would need to produce more food for feeding workers and exporting.

b. What were the Five Year Plans?
i. How were they carried out?
The cash was provided from grain export money, charging peasants heavily for using government equipment, and "ploughing back of all profits and surpluses". Education was improved to make a whole generation of skilled workers, and some capitalist methods such as pay differentials were used in the workplace to encourage production.

ii. How successful were they? (Provide hard facts as evidence!)
In terms of getting production numbers up they were mostly successful: from 1929-1940 coal increased from 40.1 (million tons) to 164.9 (higher than Britain in 1940), pig-iron from 8.0 to 14.9, and steel from 4.9 to 18.4. However, since the focus was on heavy industry, the people's standard of living did not successfully develop; there were "primitive" housing conditions, a severe shortage of consumer goods, and severe punishments for bad workers.

c. What does collectivization mean? The idea that small farms and holdings belonging to the peasants should be merged to form large collective farms jointly owned by the peasants.
i. How was it carried out?
Policy was passed in 1929. Collectivization was carried out by brute force; armies of party members forced unwilling peasants to join, encouraged poorer peasants to seize the property of richer unwilling peasants, and arrested/sentenced to labor camps/shot any peasants who refused to join.

ii. How successful was it? (Provide hard facts as evidence!)
Production rose; amount of grain exported and taken by government rose significantly in 1930+1. However, much livestock had been slaughtered, AND total grain production did not really increase - in fact it was less in 1934 than it had been in 1928. There was a famine in 1932-3, especially in Ukraine, and over 5 million peasants died of starvation while 1 3/4 tons of grain were exported. So, collectivization was a failure.

2. How successful was Stalin in solving Russia's political problems?
a. What were Russia's political problems?
i. decrease of gov't popularity/growing opposition to Stalin in the Party (circulated document called 'Ryutin Platform' calling for removal of Stalin and slow-down of procedures.
ii. a new constitution was needed to consolidate Stalin/communist hold on country
iii. some non-Russian parts of country wanted to become their own nation; Stalin said no.

b. The Purges and Great Terror
i. What were the "purges"?
They were the political "cleansing" (expelling and sentencing - no killing) of "dissident" party members..

ii. How were the purges justified?
1. The "dissidence" of party members
2. Kirov had been killed by a party member and a supposed plot to kill Stalin and the prime minister was "discovered"

iii. What was the Great Terror? How was it carried out?
The intense campaign from 1936-8 led by Stalin to eliminate anyone he distrusted after the murder of Kirov and the supposed plan of murder for Stalin and Molotov. Total executed and sent to labour camps in 1937-8 alone: more than 3 million. Hundreds of officials were arrested, tortured, and made to confess for crimes they (most of the time) hadn't committed, and they were forced to go to 'show trials'.

c. What was the purpose of the 1936 constitution? How did it work in practice?
The supposed purpose was to establish a more democratic government and let the people have a voice in electing members of the national assembly called the Supreme Soviet. However, in practice it was not democratic because there was only one candidate (the Communist choice) for each position, and their job was to elect members of 2 other groups, one of which Stalin was the secretary.

d. What was Stalin's two part approach for holding the union together? (since 47% of russia's population was non-russian and wanting independence)
i. National cultures an languages were encouraged and republics had certain amount of independence
ii. However, Moscow had the final say in all important decisions! Force would be used if necessary.