Stalin Review

1. One social condition that led to the rise of Stalin was the popularity of Marxism in Russia, which led to the Russian Revolution in 1917. A political condition was the power struggle between Lenin's potential successors; Stalin was able to gain the support of others who wanted to prevent Trotsky from coming to power in the event of Lenin's death.
2. Some of Stalin's aims included maintaining his own position of power, collectivizing Russia's economy, spreading Communism throughout the world, and defeating capitalism both locally and internationally. Also: improve industry in Russia (5 Year Plan)
   
3. Stalin was able to gain support from others who did not want Trotsky in power (either because they disliked him personally or disagreed with him politically). When Trotsky was no longer a threat, Stalin turned against the rightists who had been supporting him.
4. Totalitarianism was achieved to a great extent during Stalin's rule. Stalin had "unlimited authority" over the communist party even before Lenin's death and the elimination of Trotsky as a political threat. As Russia's leader, he was able to defeat any opposition through the use of fear and propaganda, and had the power to turn his people against the wealthier peasants (kulaks) in order to proceed with collectivization.
5. One legal method Stalin used in order to maintain his power was the creation of show trials. These were faked trials for people who had already had their fates determined by the government, designed to discourage the public from opposing Stalin. He also used censorship to indoctrinate the people, making sure that writers and artists were watched carefully and forced to join certain unions. (Also- including women in the work force, changing education)
   
6. Two examples of force under Stalin's rule was the use of secret police known as the NKVD and the establishment of Gulags, areas in which prisoners were kept and forced to do labor. (Also- collectivization, 5 Year Plan)
7. Stalin's ideology as a leader seems to have been based almost entirely around the goal of maintaining his own position of power. Because of this, it was his priority to eliminate any possible opposition he might have faced, rather than to work together with others in order to improve Russia.
8. Throughout his rise and rule, Stalin generally focused on eliminating groups and people that might be threats to him in the future instead of waiting for threats to appear unexpectedly. Examples include Trotsky during Stalin's rise, and the kulaks during his rule. One major exception to this was the external threat of Hitler during World War II. Stalin realized that Germany and Russia would eventually go to war, but he did not take any preemptive aggressive actions against Hitler.
9. The Soviet government was controlled by Stalin and a small group of his closest allies, who controlled the nation largely through the use of fear and propaganda. Some of the people within the Communist party disagreed with Stalin, but Stalin and his allies were usually able to control them with purges.
10. Stalin was determined to keep the Soviet Union together, despite the nationalist wishes of some members to become independent countries. He also did his best to make the USSR a totalitarian single-party state under the Communist Party.
11. Stalin achieved the collectivization of agriculture, which was both a social and economic goal, by 1936. He also effectively indoctrinated the people of Russia, resulting in the creation of a cult of personality.
12. Because some priests opposed collectivization, Stalin ordered local party groups to attack priests and churches. The number of working priests dropped from about 60,000 to about 6,000, and only one in 40 churches were left functioning. People began to replace their old religions with worship of Stalin and the Communist Party.
13. Stalin greatly expanded education between the years of 1929 and 1931. This was an efficient way for Stalin to indoctrinate children, teaching them to become good communists.
    
14. Stalin used the arts for propaganda purposes, using them to portray communism as good and capitalism as evil.
    
15. Stalin used the media and propaganda as a method of eliminating his opposition; he was able to convince people that certain groups were enemies of the state, and that everybody should play their part in defeating those groups.
16. Women in Russia were often involved in work, as opposed to Germany, where woman were encouraged to focus on supporting their families at home.
17. Stalin had many religious groups and minorities purged as enemies of the Communist Party.
    

In Class Assignment 3

Source Analysis:

A. The document does reflect Wilson's belief in "peace without victory," quoting his statement which said that the peace settlement for WWI must be "justice that plays no favorites." However, the document also reflects how Wilson changed his mind by the end of the war, when he "demanded that Germany be punished."

B. Britain's aims were much less vengeful than those of France, being focused mostly on achieving peace rather than on punishing Germany. While France made demands to divide Germany further than it already had been, Britain disagreed, thinking that making extreme decisions in a peace settlement might simply lead to another war.

C. 1. France primarily wanted revenge and compensation for its losses during the war, and assurance that a similar war would never happen again.
C. 2. France thought that the best way to achieve its goals was to cripple Germany as much as possible. To do this, France wanted to limit Germany's military and to make sure that it stayed away from France's border. It also wanted to take away most of Germany's wealth.

D. 1. Japan and Italy wanted to maximize their war-time gains, mostly in terms of territory. For example, Italy wanted the port of Fiume, while Japan wanted to keep the territories it gained in China.
D.2. Countries such as the USA, China, and Britain would oppose these claims.

Gas Warfare

1. In World War I, the use of chemical weapons was an expected act of war, in contrast to the completely unexpected act of genocide by Saddam Hussein against the Kurds in 1987 and 1988. Also, the gas seems to have been distributed in different ways, with the Germans relying on wind to carry clouds of gas while Saddam Hussein used warplanes to bomb Kurds with chemical weapons.
2. The goal of the Iraqi forces seems to have been the genocide of the Kurds in northern Iraq. In World War I, the Germans were using gas as an instrument of making progress in the war, rather than for simply killing as many people as possible.
3. The use of chemical weapons was generally not approved of internationally after the First World War.
4. Gas is effective in that it can often be deadly and is able to break up or disable large groups of people. However, it can be unreliable, because it can not be controlled very well after it is released. It seems to be much less humane than other weapons, because it kills people slowly and painfully and can have long term effects on survivors.
   

In Class Assignment 1

With reference to origin and purpose, assess the values and limits of charts 1-6 for historians studying the causes of WWI.

Charts 1 through 6, published in the UK in 1988, offer information about the industrial and military capabilities of eight different countries that participated in the First World War. These charts are valuable in that they provide specific numbers for various statistics regarding each country. This could give historians an idea of the economic causes of the war, in addition to pointing out a global increase in military power in the time leading up to World War I. However, this does not give any indication of which countries are competing with each other and which are allied, and the charts do not say why the numbers changed in the way that is shown.

Russian Revolution Notes (from last year)

1905 Revolution

• autocracy- country is governed as the ruler sees fit
  
• Russo - Japanese War- Japan won
  
• Economic problems
• minimal industrialization
• periodic famine- caused people to become difficult to control
  
• permanent underclass (serfs/peasants)

Weaknesses of the regime

• Failure of land reforms
• Industrial unrest
• Government oppression
• Revolutionary parties
• Bolsheviks- "communist" party
  
• Mensheviks- wanted Russia to be fully industrialized
  
• Social Revolutionaries
• Royal family scandal- Rasputin in the royal court
  
• WWI
  

Which of these problems was the most significant? Least Significant?
The First World War was probably the most significant of these things, because of the damage it caused to Russia's population and resources. The royal family scandal may have been the least significant, having less of an impact on the country as a whole.

Poor living conditions, weak leadership, and conflicting political parties all seem to be conditions which may lead to the establishment of single-party states.

• In Russia, these conditions were added to government oppression, periodic famine, and the loss of the Russo - Japanese War.
• In Germany, these conditions were added to the Treaty of Versailles and French occupation.
  

Two Revolutions:

• February Revolution
• bread riots- started revolution
  
• factory workers- went on strike, joined the riots
  
• troops- refused to shoot at unarmed crowds, mutinied
  
• Tsar's response- sent more troops to Petrograd, ignoring suggestions to set up a constitutional monarchy
  
• Abdication- The Tsar renounced the throne to his brother, who refused, causing the monarchy to fall apart
  
• Provisional government- what was it and why did it fail?
• June (July) offensive- caused the collapse of the army's morale and discipline
• Power sharing- the government shared power with the committee known as the Petrograd soviet, which gained control over the army
  
• broken promises- delayed elections and no land reform caused the government to lose support
  
• Lenin's return
• economic crisis
• "July days"
• Kornilov affair
• Bolsheviks seize power
  

Tsar Nicholas could not govern 125 million people by himself, so he employed thousands of civil servants (people who permanently work for the state).

Secret police called the Okhrana, or "Protective Section", censored books/newspapers and spied on political parties, arresting people who criticized the government.

Peasants sometimes revolted during famines, so the Tsar sent in Cossacks, mounted soldiers, to break up the crowds.

4 of every 5 Russians were peasants.

Redemption payments- peasants had to pay for the land given to the commune in yearly installments for 49 years.

Low life expectancy made it unlikely that peasants would live long enough to pay off their redemption payments. Children rarely lived past the age of 5.

Peasants < Capitalists < Army < Clergy < Royal Family

High unemployment, very crowded housing

1% of the Russian population was made up of nobles, who owned about 25% of the land

The Tsar owned 8 palaces and employed about 15,000 servants to work in them.

World War I

• Russians were poorly equipped and had bad leadership
• In 6 weeks, over 250,000 Russians were killed, wounded or taken prisoner
• Not enough workers during the war, so factories had to be closed
• There were not enough trains to keep everyone supplied with food and materials
• Inflation caused Russian money to lose value, while food prices went up
• The Tsar left Russia during the war, leaving the Tsarina and Rasputin in charge of the country, they do an even worse job of leading
• Thousands of workers go on strike in Petrodgrad
• Bread riots begin
• Cossacks refused to attack strikers, joined the riots
• Parliament creates a Provisional Committee- temporary government set up until a real government could be decided on, claims to have legal authority
  
• Petrograd Soviet- council of workers and soldiers in Petrograd, claims to have practical authority
• Tsar quickly loses power and support, gives up his position
• Order No. 1 said that soldiers and sailors needed to set up committees to take control of all arms, ammunition, and equipment. It also said that off-duty soldiers should not salute their officers, and that they should address them as "Mister Colonel," or "Mister General." This was obeyed by the entire army and navy, showing that the Petrograd Soviet controlled the country's military.
• Lenin's April Thesis: the war with Germany must end, all land must be given to the peasants, banks must be nationalized, the Bolsheviks should be called "Communists," and no support should be given to the Provisional Government.
• Summer Offensive- In June 1917 the Russian armies made a major attack on Austria. The offensive failed, and many Russians were killed while others deserted and joined the Bolsheviks.
• Kornilov revolt- the Bolsheviks arrested Kornilov, saving the Provisional Government.
• Provisional Government began to quickly lose power; chaos
  
• Leningrad, who had been chased back out of the country, returns again to lead the revolution
• Sovnarkom- the new organization leading Russia
  
• Decree on land- gave land to peasants
• Decree on peace- Sovnarkom intended to make peace with Russia's enemies at once
• The Cheka was set up as a political police force

Constituent Assembly: Russia's new parliament in 1917
Democracy- everyone votes on everything
Representative democracy- Everyone votes for representatives who vote for everything
Republic- a state without a monarch
Federal- a system where there is a joint national government and a smaller regional government
Capitalism- Private citizens own/control the means of production
Socialism- Government owns and controls means of production
Communism- the people colectively own/control the means of production
Autocracy- Rule is through one leader
Monarchy- Rule is hereditary
Oligarchy- Rule by a small group
Theocracy- Rule by a religious leader

The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk- harsh treaty between Russia and Germany. Russia had to give up all its Western lands, losing people, farm land, railways, iron ore