1. Does the fact that images of Stalin appeared everywhere, as described by Steinbeck in Source 14.8, prove that Stalin attracted genuine adulation?
The fact that images of Stalin appeared everywhere does not prove that Stalin attracted genuine adulation. I believe this because the "Cult of Personality" occurred after the Great Purges so the people could've still been a little afraid to do something Stalin wouldn't approve because they could be executed. Since they still fear being executed it shows that they wanted to bring the least amount of tension towards themselves, and the only way to do that was to blend in with the crowd, who had Stalin statues and paintings everywhere in his honor. Not only could have the people been afraid of Stalin but their neighbors and co-workers as well. Their neighbors and co-workers could still be in that mode during the Great Purge, where many people were executed and denounced because their neighbors told the NKVD and Stalin that they are Trotskyites. So basically there still could've been fearfulness going around during the "Cult of Personality" because of the Great Purge, therefore some people may have thought that the only way to prove themselves loyal and not get executed was by having statues and paintings of Stalin in their homes.
2. Describe the various devices used to establish and spread the cult of Stalin.
The various devices used to establish and spread the cult of Stalin are as follows: the link between Stalin and Lenin, Stalin's accomplishments in the First Five-Year Plan, Stalin being protrayed as a hero, paintings and other forms of art portrayed Stalin with co-workers, peasants, and other citizens, retrogressing back to Stalin's childhood, and the success in World War II against the Nazis.
First, the link between Stalin and Lenin was one of the devices in the spread by Stalin being protrayed as Lenin's desciple, as he was portrayed at Lenin's funeral. Stalin is shown in some paintings as giving Lenin advice, and in Source 14.6 Lenin is showing Stalin that he can go ahead of him which is supposedly a symbol if Lenin showing Stalin the way to the bright future. Therefore Stalin is shown as still a desciple of Lenin and that Stalin is going to be just a good a leader as Lenin was, giving people hope and almost guarantee that Stalin is and will be a good leader.
Also, Stalin’s accomplishments in the First Five-Year Plan are used because it shows the people what Stalin has accomplished in a positive light, and that more great stuff will occur in the future with Stalin. Basically, Stalin accomplished all the industrialization in USSR and he could do it again in the future.
Third, Stalin was portrayed as a hero amongst all the villains from the Great Purge. The “traitors” were being executed during the Great Purge and confused the citizens because of all the executions and supposed traitors, but Stalin was shown as a leader that would get USSR through the Great Purge, and that he would lead the people out of confusion.
In addition, in paintings and other forms of art like statues Stalin is portrayed as there for the people and that the people are in his best interest. This is true because in some paintings Stalin is with industrial workers talking with them and in others he’s in the fields talking to peasants, which shows that Stalin has the people as his top priority. Since Stalin is shown as keeping the people as a top priority it probably gave people peace almost, that they would be taken care of by Stalin. There were also posters in hospitals saying that without Stalin they wouldn’t have had a happy childhood, which shows that Stalin made the people very happy and without him it wouldn’t have been joyful.
Another device that was used was going back to Stalin’s childhood. They used his childhood to show that he was a natural born leader. Since he’s portrayed as this it gave the people hope that Stalin, a natural born leader, will bring USSR to greatness and possibly become one of the great powers. Also, it gave the people almost guarantee that since he was a natural born leader he must be able to do all good for the country.
Lastly, the success in World War II against the Nazis was used as another device in the Cult of Personality. The success enhanced Stalin’s position and fed the cult because now Stalin wasn’t portrayed as a disciple but as an equal or even the master. Now Stalin was giving Lenin directions, and Stalin was perceived almost like a god. In some paintings he is distant from everyone and even portrayed as the sun, which shows that he was very powerful and very much praised by the people.
3. Account for the relative success of the cult - why do you think it worked with the Russian people?
I believe the “Cult of Personality” worked with the Russian people because of the chaos and uncertainty the Great Purge made and then Stalin being perceived as a great leader who will bring them out of the chaos. The Great Purge caused confusion because nobody trusted anyone anymore, and they didn’t know what was the real purpose of the Great Purge (they were confused on Stalin’s motives with the Great Purge). Since they didn’t know Stalin’s motives and if he was really leading them, they became confused; however, Stalin saw this and tried to fix it with the “Cult of Personality.” The main factor, in my opinion, that made it work with the people was how Stalin was perceived in paintings and other forms of art as being able to lead the people out of the confusion and bring them stability. This is what the people wanted, stability and leadership, since Stalin was portrayed as this they saw hope and certainty that Stalin would and could do this. Stalin being portrayed as leader and bringing stability is similar to when Lenin used the ideology “Peace, Bread, and Land,” which was all the people wanted at that time. In the end the people were content that Lenin became the leader because of his political platform, he planned on bringing what the people wanted most, and this is exactly what Stalin is doing.
4. What conclusions can you reach about whether the adulation Stalin received was genuine? Make notes of your answers.
I can come to two conclusions about whether the adulation Stalin received was genuine, and that is yes and no. Yes in the aspect that Stalin offered the Russian people what they wanted most, and no in that some people were still afraid that they would be executed. Since Stalin planned on being the leader and bring USSR out of the chaos from the Great Purge the people were almost excited or relieved that finally someone was going to lead them and bring them out of this chaos. Since Stalin was going to bring this it made the people praise him more, therefore, the adulation that Stalin received was genuine from this point of view. On the other hand, some people could have still been afraid of being executed by Stalin due to the Great Purge. Since there were so many people executed during the Great Purge for many reasons that weren’t always fair, people could have still been afraid after the Great Purges. If they were still afraid of being executed most likely they would have tried to blend in so they wouldn’t get executed. During this time, the “Cult of Personality,” the only way to blend in was by having paintings of Stalin and giving him adulation. Therefore, the adulation given to Stalin on this side wasn’t genuine because the people on this side were just extremely fearful of being executed, and were solely praising him so that they wouldn’t die not because they really did praise Stalin.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Purges, Terror and Show Trials
1.What is the significance of Kirov's murder? (This is what I went over in class.)
The significance of Kirov's murder has nothing to do with the actual murder, but the purges that soon came after. Kirov's murder made an opening for Stalin to get rid of the communist party members that he didn't trust. The purges were almost like a cleansing of the members for Stalin.
2. According to Stalin, who had Nikolayev been working for when he assassinated Kirov? Why is this significant?
According to Stalin Nikolayev had been working for a "Leningrad Opposition Center" when Kirov was assassinated, the opposition center supposidly had connections with the old Left Opposition like Trotsky. This is significant because after Stalin had said Nikolayev was told by this "Leningrad Opposition Center" he was able to question and make others question whether other party members were loyal. Since Nikolayev was able to kill Kirov it shows that the "opposition" could possibly be planning to have some sort of revolution, and since Nikolayev had specific information of Kirov, like his movements in the office, it shows that there could be men or party members that gave him that information so there were basically spies in the communist party. Due to Stalin thinking that there were "spies" it led him to get rid of them by convicting them, which basically was the Purges. The overall significance of the people Nikolayev had been working with is basically that Stalin now had a reason to kill members of the party.
3. What is a Trotskyite?
A Trotskyite is someone who is a counter-revolutionary, which is also what this group of people were called. Trotskyites were people who were for Trotsky's ideas and wanted to impliment them in the USSR, since Trotsky was in Norway they had to do it without them. They were also greatly against Stalin and the Bolsheviks.
4. There are three major "show trials." List them and a brief description of their significance.
a. The Trial of the Sixteen. Zinoviev, Kamenev, and fourteen others were trialed because they were accused of being involved in a conspiracy to overthrough the government organised by Trotsky. The significance is that all of the accused confessed to everything that they were accused of without any resistance, and only one was not found guilty. This shows that there might be something fishy going on because why would all of the accused confess to what was accused of them. Maybe they were forced to confess to these false accusations because they were tortured or were just trying to prove their loyalty to Stalin.
b. Another show trial is the "Trial of the Seventeen," where the accused were said to be working with Trotsky, setting up terrorist groups, and destroying industry. All of the supposid "criminals" were found guilty and were shot.
c. The third show trial was the "Trial of the Twenty-one," where Bukharin, Rykov, and nineteen alll confessed to being members of Trotskyist-Rightist bloc. They were accused of wrecking industry and helping foreign spies as well, but all were foud guilty and shot. There were no fights for innocence from the accused.
All thse show trials shows that they "Criminals" could have been forced to confess to these strange crimes and they had absurd confessions. This shows that the accused could have been tortured or told that they wouldn't be executed if they confessed, while others confessed to try to show last minute loyalty to Stalin. However, these acts of loyalty and confessions made thinking they wouldn't get shot turned out badly because they were found guilty and shot. It shows that there might've been some deeper meaning behind these trials because they didn't really make any sense with the absurd confessions and the amount of peeople being accused.
5. During the Great Terror, there were three stages to the purges, starting with members of the Communist party. What were the next two stages and what type of people were purged?
The second stage were purges against generals and marshalls in the Red Army, and then individual people were purged. For example, the most famous Russian marshal was Marshal Tuchachevsky and he was arrested and shot along with many other Red Army generals. By the end of 1939 all of the admirals, three of five Red Army Marshals, and about half the officers of hte armed forces were executed because they were accused of helping foreign spies. Also, citizens were purged because anyone, including children, were told to denounce anybody who criticized Stalin to the NKVD where they would be trialed and most likely shot, this led to about everyone trying to denounce everyone so they could take revenge on someone they didn't like and so that they wouldn't get denounced themselves.
The significance of Kirov's murder has nothing to do with the actual murder, but the purges that soon came after. Kirov's murder made an opening for Stalin to get rid of the communist party members that he didn't trust. The purges were almost like a cleansing of the members for Stalin.
2. According to Stalin, who had Nikolayev been working for when he assassinated Kirov? Why is this significant?
According to Stalin Nikolayev had been working for a "Leningrad Opposition Center" when Kirov was assassinated, the opposition center supposidly had connections with the old Left Opposition like Trotsky. This is significant because after Stalin had said Nikolayev was told by this "Leningrad Opposition Center" he was able to question and make others question whether other party members were loyal. Since Nikolayev was able to kill Kirov it shows that the "opposition" could possibly be planning to have some sort of revolution, and since Nikolayev had specific information of Kirov, like his movements in the office, it shows that there could be men or party members that gave him that information so there were basically spies in the communist party. Due to Stalin thinking that there were "spies" it led him to get rid of them by convicting them, which basically was the Purges. The overall significance of the people Nikolayev had been working with is basically that Stalin now had a reason to kill members of the party.
3. What is a Trotskyite?
A Trotskyite is someone who is a counter-revolutionary, which is also what this group of people were called. Trotskyites were people who were for Trotsky's ideas and wanted to impliment them in the USSR, since Trotsky was in Norway they had to do it without them. They were also greatly against Stalin and the Bolsheviks.
4. There are three major "show trials." List them and a brief description of their significance.
a. The Trial of the Sixteen. Zinoviev, Kamenev, and fourteen others were trialed because they were accused of being involved in a conspiracy to overthrough the government organised by Trotsky. The significance is that all of the accused confessed to everything that they were accused of without any resistance, and only one was not found guilty. This shows that there might be something fishy going on because why would all of the accused confess to what was accused of them. Maybe they were forced to confess to these false accusations because they were tortured or were just trying to prove their loyalty to Stalin.
b. Another show trial is the "Trial of the Seventeen," where the accused were said to be working with Trotsky, setting up terrorist groups, and destroying industry. All of the supposid "criminals" were found guilty and were shot.
c. The third show trial was the "Trial of the Twenty-one," where Bukharin, Rykov, and nineteen alll confessed to being members of Trotskyist-Rightist bloc. They were accused of wrecking industry and helping foreign spies as well, but all were foud guilty and shot. There were no fights for innocence from the accused.
All thse show trials shows that they "Criminals" could have been forced to confess to these strange crimes and they had absurd confessions. This shows that the accused could have been tortured or told that they wouldn't be executed if they confessed, while others confessed to try to show last minute loyalty to Stalin. However, these acts of loyalty and confessions made thinking they wouldn't get shot turned out badly because they were found guilty and shot. It shows that there might've been some deeper meaning behind these trials because they didn't really make any sense with the absurd confessions and the amount of peeople being accused.
5. During the Great Terror, there were three stages to the purges, starting with members of the Communist party. What were the next two stages and what type of people were purged?
The second stage were purges against generals and marshalls in the Red Army, and then individual people were purged. For example, the most famous Russian marshal was Marshal Tuchachevsky and he was arrested and shot along with many other Red Army generals. By the end of 1939 all of the admirals, three of five Red Army Marshals, and about half the officers of hte armed forces were executed because they were accused of helping foreign spies. Also, citizens were purged because anyone, including children, were told to denounce anybody who criticized Stalin to the NKVD where they would be trialed and most likely shot, this led to about everyone trying to denounce everyone so they could take revenge on someone they didn't like and so that they wouldn't get denounced themselves.
Monday, January 24, 2011
Kirov Murder Mystery
1. In what circumstances did the assassin carry out the murder?
The assassin, Leonid Nikolayev, had to carry out the Kirov murder with interesting circumstances. Nikolayev was a little off his rocker, as in he had been taken off the Communist Party and reinstated, and he felt like he wasn't being recognized for his work that he was doing in the party. To add to this, he believed that his wife, MIlde Draule, was having an affair with Kirov which made him angry and revengeful.
The circumstances with Kirov were that Kirov was becoming really popular with the party and the popular, as popular and maybe even more popular than Stalin; which Stalin most likely saw as a huge threat to his reign. Kirov was also more likeable to the people than Stalin and was a great orator (as good as Trotsky), which added to Stalin seeing Kirov as a threat.
2. What strange coincidences surround the murder?
The strange coincidences that surround the murder are that Kirov left his personal body guard, Borisov, downstairs while he went upstairs to his office and Kirov didn't notice the absence of the other body guards that are usually there; these strange coincidences were during the murder but there were also strange coincidences before the murder. For example, Kirov and Stalin had recently had many issues or disagreements between each other, a few personnel were put in key posts without Medved's (the head of the NKVD) persmission, and Nikolayev had been arrested twice in Kirov's neighborhood. Even when Medved tried to take out these key personnel they were told by a high authority to not leave or move.
3. Is there any evidence to link Stalin to the murder?
There is no physical evidence to link Stalin to the murder, but there is some mysterious incidences that you can assume Stalin was involved in the murder, such as when Nikolayev was interrogated and asked why he murdered Kirov and he said to ask 'them" referring to the NKVD. Since the NKVD were accused there could be some connection to Stalin because he has full control and pretty much made the the NKVD.
4. Is there any evidence to suggest that the NKVD was involved in the murder?
There is some evidence, but it is questionable because Nikolayev accuses the NKVD of telling him to kill Kirov, while he was being interrogated he was asked why he killed Kirov and responded by saying why don't you ask 'them,' referring to the NKVD. Therefore, you can assume that the NKVD wanted Kirov gone for some reason, but we can't be sure that this is true because Nikolayev could be exaggerating or lying.
5. Who had the best motive for the murder?
The best motive is Nikolayev because he had personal reasons, while the NKVD and Stalin just wanted to make sure they still had power and that Stalin still had all the power. Nikolayev thought Kirov and his wife were having an affair, which is a reason to want to kill someone because your wife or husband goes behind your back and has an affair with someone else, which would make someone very angry. Also, he disagreed with the communist party's beliefs which could be a reason to kill someone who is a big part of the communist party and does the things that Nikolayev disagrees with. Maybe in his mind in order to get rid of or to try to stop the ways of the communist party is by killing a key player or figure, in this case Kirov.
6. What theories can you suggest about who was responsible - was it the assassin alone or were others involved?
I believe that Stalin was completely responsible for Kirov's murder. I believe this because Stalin has had issues where he's had possible threats and he's dealt with them by eliminating them. For example, he eliminated the Kulaks when they threatened to, in his eyes, defy his revolutionary ideas and ideology. Stalin killed the Kulaks in order to get rid of this threat, but he also he got rid of the other party members such as Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin when they were potential threats against him obtaining power. However, Stalin didn't kill them, which could be because he wasn't in power yet and if he did kill them it could be a very high possibility that he wouldn't get into power because the people or Congress wouldn't want a murderer as a ruler.
I believe that it wasn't just the assassin involved, I believe Stalin and the NKVD were all working together to pull the murder off. I believe that Stalin had told the plans to the NKVD who then hired Nikolayev to do the main task. The entire NKVD, however, wasn't involved just certain members that Stalin might've specifically talked to; like the personnel that were put at key posts and were told by a higher authority other than Medved to stay there, possibly by Stalin and Zaporozhets. I don't think the bodyguard, Borisov, was involved because he would've told the truth if he made it to the interrogation room but the NKVD killed him "accidentally." I think this "accident" was on purpose because it was by a group of NKVD, who I suspect were already involved with the murder, and the truck load of men could be a sort of cover up to make it look like it was an accident because the people may not think that a group of soldiers in a truck wouldn't purposely go try to kill someone. Therefore, I believe Stalin and parts of the NKVD were involved, except for the bodyguard Borisov who I think was murdered by the NKVD and Stalin; I believe Stalin planned this entire event but he wasn't involved in any of the dirty work because of the mysterious circumstances involving the higher authority with the extra personnel put into key posts.
The assassin, Leonid Nikolayev, had to carry out the Kirov murder with interesting circumstances. Nikolayev was a little off his rocker, as in he had been taken off the Communist Party and reinstated, and he felt like he wasn't being recognized for his work that he was doing in the party. To add to this, he believed that his wife, MIlde Draule, was having an affair with Kirov which made him angry and revengeful.
The circumstances with Kirov were that Kirov was becoming really popular with the party and the popular, as popular and maybe even more popular than Stalin; which Stalin most likely saw as a huge threat to his reign. Kirov was also more likeable to the people than Stalin and was a great orator (as good as Trotsky), which added to Stalin seeing Kirov as a threat.
2. What strange coincidences surround the murder?
The strange coincidences that surround the murder are that Kirov left his personal body guard, Borisov, downstairs while he went upstairs to his office and Kirov didn't notice the absence of the other body guards that are usually there; these strange coincidences were during the murder but there were also strange coincidences before the murder. For example, Kirov and Stalin had recently had many issues or disagreements between each other, a few personnel were put in key posts without Medved's (the head of the NKVD) persmission, and Nikolayev had been arrested twice in Kirov's neighborhood. Even when Medved tried to take out these key personnel they were told by a high authority to not leave or move.
3. Is there any evidence to link Stalin to the murder?
There is no physical evidence to link Stalin to the murder, but there is some mysterious incidences that you can assume Stalin was involved in the murder, such as when Nikolayev was interrogated and asked why he murdered Kirov and he said to ask 'them" referring to the NKVD. Since the NKVD were accused there could be some connection to Stalin because he has full control and pretty much made the the NKVD.
4. Is there any evidence to suggest that the NKVD was involved in the murder?
There is some evidence, but it is questionable because Nikolayev accuses the NKVD of telling him to kill Kirov, while he was being interrogated he was asked why he killed Kirov and responded by saying why don't you ask 'them,' referring to the NKVD. Therefore, you can assume that the NKVD wanted Kirov gone for some reason, but we can't be sure that this is true because Nikolayev could be exaggerating or lying.
5. Who had the best motive for the murder?
The best motive is Nikolayev because he had personal reasons, while the NKVD and Stalin just wanted to make sure they still had power and that Stalin still had all the power. Nikolayev thought Kirov and his wife were having an affair, which is a reason to want to kill someone because your wife or husband goes behind your back and has an affair with someone else, which would make someone very angry. Also, he disagreed with the communist party's beliefs which could be a reason to kill someone who is a big part of the communist party and does the things that Nikolayev disagrees with. Maybe in his mind in order to get rid of or to try to stop the ways of the communist party is by killing a key player or figure, in this case Kirov.
6. What theories can you suggest about who was responsible - was it the assassin alone or were others involved?
I believe that Stalin was completely responsible for Kirov's murder. I believe this because Stalin has had issues where he's had possible threats and he's dealt with them by eliminating them. For example, he eliminated the Kulaks when they threatened to, in his eyes, defy his revolutionary ideas and ideology. Stalin killed the Kulaks in order to get rid of this threat, but he also he got rid of the other party members such as Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin when they were potential threats against him obtaining power. However, Stalin didn't kill them, which could be because he wasn't in power yet and if he did kill them it could be a very high possibility that he wouldn't get into power because the people or Congress wouldn't want a murderer as a ruler.
I believe that it wasn't just the assassin involved, I believe Stalin and the NKVD were all working together to pull the murder off. I believe that Stalin had told the plans to the NKVD who then hired Nikolayev to do the main task. The entire NKVD, however, wasn't involved just certain members that Stalin might've specifically talked to; like the personnel that were put at key posts and were told by a higher authority other than Medved to stay there, possibly by Stalin and Zaporozhets. I don't think the bodyguard, Borisov, was involved because he would've told the truth if he made it to the interrogation room but the NKVD killed him "accidentally." I think this "accident" was on purpose because it was by a group of NKVD, who I suspect were already involved with the murder, and the truck load of men could be a sort of cover up to make it look like it was an accident because the people may not think that a group of soldiers in a truck wouldn't purposely go try to kill someone. Therefore, I believe Stalin and parts of the NKVD were involved, except for the bodyguard Borisov who I think was murdered by the NKVD and Stalin; I believe Stalin planned this entire event but he wasn't involved in any of the dirty work because of the mysterious circumstances involving the higher authority with the extra personnel put into key posts.
Monday, January 3, 2011
Gulags and the Purges
The Gulag System
1. What type of construction projects were built using the Gulag system?
Some of the construction projects that were built using the Gulag system were the Belomer Canal, the Moscow Metro, Magnitogorsk, and the Dnieper Dam. The type of construction projects, like these ones, were all built using slave labor. The laborers had no modern tools at all, they would use wooden wheel barrows, shovels, and picks to dig.
2. What were the conditions of the work camps?
The conditions at the work camps were horrible. Before you even entered you could see the piles of bodies lined up against the tents, like in the camps in the tundra area such as the Kolyma camps. The slave laborers there sometimes had to work in complete darkness, far below freezing temperatures, and had to deal with the permafrost; which made it extremely difficult to dig the soil. Also, the zeks, or the slave laborers, were forced to work because if they didn't they wouldn't get any food. The food was rationed by how hard you worked, if you achieved the quota or the 'norm' you were given a certain amount of food. The better you did, or the more work you did, the more food you recieved. For example, Ernst Tallgren said that if you 15 or 20 percent over the quota you were given 750 grams of bread and a meal twice a day with a meal having some meat or fats; while others who failed to reach the quota were given thin soup twice a day and 400 grams of bread. However, a zek said that they were never in the right condition to do what was demanded, therefore they didn't get enough to eat. Since they didn't get enough to eat they couldn't work hard, and it became a vicious cycle, according to the zek. As a result of these conditions very few zeks made it out of the camps alive.
3. Why do you think slave labor was used in the projects rather than paid laborers?
I believe slave labor was used in the projects instead of paid laborers because Stalin and the other party members wanted to get the projects done fast and mostly to put fear into the people. Stalin didn't want anyone trying to overpower him or go against him because then he could come out of reign. Since the people in the camps or GULAGS were so afraid and basically powerless over Stalin they didn't do anything to stop him, which was exactly what he wanted.
Purges, Show Trails and Terror
4. What were the issues surrounding Kirov's murder? Why do you think he had been murdered?
The issues surrounding Kirov's murder were the circumstances and events that occurred before and after were bizarre. Kirov's body guard was supposed to be with him at all times, but this one time where he was nowhere to be seen he was killed. Also, before the assassination the assassinator, Leonid Nikolayev, had tried to kill him earlier and was caught before the act with a piece of paper with all his movements and a gun, but he was set free and given his gun back. After the murder on the same day Stalin made a law saying that terrorists would be invesetigated immediately and executed, which Nikolayev recieved. Also, it was suspected that Stalin planned it all because Kirov was a potential threat towards Stalin's power. He was liked, recieved the same amount of praise as Stalin, and was a good speaker. I think he was murdered because Stalin saw him as a threat. Since he was liked, a good orator, and recieved the same amount of praise he was a great threat to Stalin; he was the person that could possibly take the power from Stalin. Since Stalin couldn't let his power be taken away from him he would just have to kill the man.
5. What was the Great Purge? What specific group did it target?
The Great Purge was the executions of basically everyone in Russia for suspect of terrorism, for being a Trotskyite, or being against Stalin. Anyone who was suspected of terrorism, being a Trotskyite or being against Stalin was tattle-taled on to the government by anyone and then executed. They could be accused via letter, by their sons or daughters, anyone in the family, neighbors, basically anyone could turn you in. The specific group it targeted were the diplomats or party members because Stalin didn't want to lose power, popularity, and had to get rid of the threats somehow.
6. What was the purpose of the Show Trials?
The purpose of the Show Trials was to humiliate the accused, show that Stalin was in control, and no one should try to overpower him or go against him. The Show Trials showed that Stalin could do anything and no one was going to stop him even if they were brave enough. Also, it was a threat to everyone that there would be deadly consequences to anyone who was suspected or did turn against him. As an added bonus the accused were humiliated because they knew that Stalin was in control and would have to come up with these ridiculous sentences to try to convince Stalin that they were loyal to him and only him.
7. What was the Great Terror?
The Great Terror was when anyone, citizens, workers, you name it, could be accused for being a Trotskyite or being against Stalin; where they would most likely be executed. People were so afraid of being executed or sent to a Gulag, that they were willing to accuse anyone, and they were told to accuse anyone if they heard anything even if it was a son/daughter or mother/father. This made everyone afraid because they couldn't trust anyone and they could very likely be accused and be exedcuted because ridiculous accusations were told about them.
1. What type of construction projects were built using the Gulag system?
Some of the construction projects that were built using the Gulag system were the Belomer Canal, the Moscow Metro, Magnitogorsk, and the Dnieper Dam. The type of construction projects, like these ones, were all built using slave labor. The laborers had no modern tools at all, they would use wooden wheel barrows, shovels, and picks to dig.
2. What were the conditions of the work camps?
The conditions at the work camps were horrible. Before you even entered you could see the piles of bodies lined up against the tents, like in the camps in the tundra area such as the Kolyma camps. The slave laborers there sometimes had to work in complete darkness, far below freezing temperatures, and had to deal with the permafrost; which made it extremely difficult to dig the soil. Also, the zeks, or the slave laborers, were forced to work because if they didn't they wouldn't get any food. The food was rationed by how hard you worked, if you achieved the quota or the 'norm' you were given a certain amount of food. The better you did, or the more work you did, the more food you recieved. For example, Ernst Tallgren said that if you 15 or 20 percent over the quota you were given 750 grams of bread and a meal twice a day with a meal having some meat or fats; while others who failed to reach the quota were given thin soup twice a day and 400 grams of bread. However, a zek said that they were never in the right condition to do what was demanded, therefore they didn't get enough to eat. Since they didn't get enough to eat they couldn't work hard, and it became a vicious cycle, according to the zek. As a result of these conditions very few zeks made it out of the camps alive.
3. Why do you think slave labor was used in the projects rather than paid laborers?
I believe slave labor was used in the projects instead of paid laborers because Stalin and the other party members wanted to get the projects done fast and mostly to put fear into the people. Stalin didn't want anyone trying to overpower him or go against him because then he could come out of reign. Since the people in the camps or GULAGS were so afraid and basically powerless over Stalin they didn't do anything to stop him, which was exactly what he wanted.
Purges, Show Trails and Terror
4. What were the issues surrounding Kirov's murder? Why do you think he had been murdered?
The issues surrounding Kirov's murder were the circumstances and events that occurred before and after were bizarre. Kirov's body guard was supposed to be with him at all times, but this one time where he was nowhere to be seen he was killed. Also, before the assassination the assassinator, Leonid Nikolayev, had tried to kill him earlier and was caught before the act with a piece of paper with all his movements and a gun, but he was set free and given his gun back. After the murder on the same day Stalin made a law saying that terrorists would be invesetigated immediately and executed, which Nikolayev recieved. Also, it was suspected that Stalin planned it all because Kirov was a potential threat towards Stalin's power. He was liked, recieved the same amount of praise as Stalin, and was a good speaker. I think he was murdered because Stalin saw him as a threat. Since he was liked, a good orator, and recieved the same amount of praise he was a great threat to Stalin; he was the person that could possibly take the power from Stalin. Since Stalin couldn't let his power be taken away from him he would just have to kill the man.
5. What was the Great Purge? What specific group did it target?
The Great Purge was the executions of basically everyone in Russia for suspect of terrorism, for being a Trotskyite, or being against Stalin. Anyone who was suspected of terrorism, being a Trotskyite or being against Stalin was tattle-taled on to the government by anyone and then executed. They could be accused via letter, by their sons or daughters, anyone in the family, neighbors, basically anyone could turn you in. The specific group it targeted were the diplomats or party members because Stalin didn't want to lose power, popularity, and had to get rid of the threats somehow.
6. What was the purpose of the Show Trials?
The purpose of the Show Trials was to humiliate the accused, show that Stalin was in control, and no one should try to overpower him or go against him. The Show Trials showed that Stalin could do anything and no one was going to stop him even if they were brave enough. Also, it was a threat to everyone that there would be deadly consequences to anyone who was suspected or did turn against him. As an added bonus the accused were humiliated because they knew that Stalin was in control and would have to come up with these ridiculous sentences to try to convince Stalin that they were loyal to him and only him.
7. What was the Great Terror?
The Great Terror was when anyone, citizens, workers, you name it, could be accused for being a Trotskyite or being against Stalin; where they would most likely be executed. People were so afraid of being executed or sent to a Gulag, that they were willing to accuse anyone, and they were told to accuse anyone if they heard anything even if it was a son/daughter or mother/father. This made everyone afraid because they couldn't trust anyone and they could very likely be accused and be exedcuted because ridiculous accusations were told about them.
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