Stalin questions: 1.

How far do Trotskys own misjudgements account for his failure in the power struggle which followed Lenins death? Own Misjudgements: Suppression of Lenins Testament Offered deputy chairman of Government but declined due to anti-Semitism 1917 Trotsky thought it would look bad Attack on Bureaucratisation Lessons of October aimed at Kamenev and Zinoviev Many politicians had a vested interest from Bureaucratisation and so invited retaliation Kamenevs Lenin or Trotsky Socialism in One Country and Anti NEP allowed Stalin to criticise and create an isolated figure Other: Lack of party powerbase Stalin exploited Trotsky as a disruptive force against the NEP and socialism Stalins manoeuvring during the power struggle Stalins Ability to deliver the votes due the propaganda war throughout the 1920s led to the CPSU relieving Trotskys position of war commissar 2. How far is it accurate to describe Stalins policy of collectivisation as a failure? Successes: Aimed to end Private land ownership and succeeded Urbanization - Ended the pre-communist sustained difficulties of too many people sitting unproductive on land that could not support them Wrong thing for the right reason

 The economy was strong enough to survive the war Failures: 1939 Soviet agriculture had only just = 1913 Official Silence on the man made famine killed 0-15 million people in the 1930s Conquest Stalinism is one way of attaining industrialisation, just as cannibalism is one way of attaining a high protein diet In an attempt to eradicate market forces and competition, the 2nd revolution became heavily dependant on blat to succeed 3. How far do Stalins fears and suspicions account for the extent of terror in the USSR in the years 1936-1939? Stalins Paranoia: Revolution from Above (instead of below) caused great hardship and coercion with many possibly seeking revenge The purges were present throughout Stalins Vozd and became a permanent addition to Soviet life suggesting to his gross personality disorder Consolidate Power Consolidate role - Kirov was known to be unhappy with the speed and Scale of Stalins industrialisation as well as the extreme disciplinary measures on members of the party if anyone could rally against Stalin, he could (although 1934) Bukharin execution Purge of the Armed Forces Tukhachevsky and 7 other military generals were arrested as Stalin realised he needed to retain control of the Red Army (May 1937) This was followed by 35,000 officer corps, 14 of 16 army commanders and 11 war

commissars all being imprisoned and the majority executed The quota system was put in place to frighten the USSRs ethnic national minorities into abandoning any lingering thoughts of challenging Moscows control and force waverers into accepting the industrialisation programme Other: Ferocity of the purges generated from below to break the traditional elite role of higher party member families 4. How far do you agree that Stalins war leadership mainly accounts for the USSRs ability to resist the German invasion in the years 1941-43? Stalins Leadership: Stalins recovery of nerve Stalin overcame his depression and showed strength, leadership and commitment to the fight for survival (3rd July 1941) first radio broadcast of the war and appealed for people to defend Mother Russia Stalin remained in Moscow in October 1941 taking the word of Marshall Zhukov that it could be held Molotov claimed Moscow would have burned and the Soviet Union would have collapsed if he had left at the critical stage and he inspired people to fight Other: Barbarossa was delayed due the events elsewhere in Europe by 6 weeks, so in spite of the rapid advance of the German forces neither Moscow nor Leningrad had fallen General Winter between 1941-42 caused a torrential autumn making incredibly muddy

conditions followed by one of the severest winters in Russian memory all together halting the German advance giving time for the Russians to regroup and counter-attack Nazi Racism ensured many groups that originally welcomed the invasion from there hatred of Stalinism were also killed not only was this an opportunity missed to gain Allies, but it united the USSR in the counter-attack (where the German civilians were subjected to the same ferocity which the Soviets had suffered) earning the title The Great Patriotic War

5. How far is it accurate to say that the position of women improved in Stalins Russia? 6. How far does Stalins position as General Secretary explain his success in defeating his rivals in the years 1924-29? 7. How far did the priorities of the three Five Year Plans change in the years 1929-41? 8. How far were economic problems responsible for Stalins decision to replace the New Economic Policy in 1928 with the first Five Year Plan? 9. How far was the dramatic development of a war economy responsible for the USSRs victory in the Second World War? 10. Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Soviet Russia? 11. How far do you agree that the struggle for power after Lenins death in 1924 was caused by the ideological differences between the contenders for power? 12. Why did Stalin launch the First Five-Year Plan?

13. How far do you agree that Communist ideology was the main reason for the introduction of the First Five-Year Plan? 14. Hw far did the role of women in Russia change between 1928-1941? 15. How far did the First Five-Year Plan differ from the Second and Third Five-Year Plans? 16. To what extent was Communist ideology the main reason for Stalins Great Retreat? 17. How far was the failure of the NEP the main cause of collectivisation? 18. How far did collectivisation improve Russian agriculture in the period 1928-1941? 19. How far do you agree that Stalins paranoia was the main cause of the Great Terror? 20. How far do you agree that Socialist Realism was Stalins most important method of social control? 21. How far do you agree that the main consequences of the Great Terror was the removal of Stalins rivals? 22. To what extent was the Great Terror the major reason why the USSR was unprepared for war in 1941? 23. How far do you agree that the USSR won the Second World War because of the mobilisation of Russias people and economy?