Soviet Union 1924-2000

By 1rallisc

  • Bolshevik Revolution

    Oct/Nov Revolution

  • Leadership Struggle - Stalin was in the Politburo

    Stalin was in the Politburo with Lenin, Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamanev, Bukharin and 2 others.
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    NEP

    New Economic Policy is implemented

  • Leadership Struggle - Stalin becomes General Secretary

  • Leadership Struggle - Triumvirate forms

    The troika consisting of Kamanev, Stalin, Zinoviev against Trotsky - Started a 'whispering campaign' concerning Trotsky's non-Bolshevik past.

  • Leadership Struggle - Stalin was re-elected as General-Secretary

    He re-elected a new Central Committee of 40 members (3 members only be strong supporters of Trotsky). He began replacing Trotsky's supporters with those loyal to him.

  • Leadership Struggle - Lenin's Testament is kept secret

    Lenin's wife revealed he testament to the central committee with a clear recommendation for Stalin's dismissal. Zinoviev and Kamenev decided not to read Lenin's testament out because they believed Stalin to be weak and because the testament would help Trotsky and they didn't want him to win. They also wanted the party to stick together.

  • Leadership Struggle - Stalin ensures that supporters of the Left Opposition are removed.

    He did this through a process of indirect election of delegates in a conference in which condemned the views of Trotsky and the 46 and accused them of disloyalty to the Politburo.

  • Leadership Struggle - Campaign Against Trotskyism

    Publication of Trotsky's speeches and writings of 1917 resurface and spark off another dispute. It showed how close his views were to Lenin's and how Zinoviev and Kamenev opposed Lenin and only Stalin seemed not guilty in these offences.

  • Leadership Struggle - Lenin Dies

    • Stalin tricks Trotsky to miss the funeral

  • Leadership Struggle - Trotsky was removed from his position of Commissar of War

  • Leadership Struggle - Stalin persuades the Central Committee to expel Trotsky and Zinoviev from the Central Committee

  • Stalin + Bukharin clash over collectivization

    Crisis in rural Russia -- shortages, high prices fixed by state (forced requisition in some places) Those lenient with the kulaks are Bukharinists...they are removed from power (Trotsky's policies are being implemented Food crisis is worse, Stalin renews leftward course
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    1st Five Year Plan

    • Emphasis on all industries (coal, iron, steel, oil, machine production, etc.)
    • Plan to increase industry by 300%
    • Emphasized goal of increasing light industry/ electricity
    • New factories built in areas where there weren't any before
    • Transformed Soviet economy
    • Although major growth was made, goals were not met (Lasted only 4 years due to false reports)
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    2nd Five Year Plan

    • Emphasis on heavy industry
    • Building on achievements of 1st five year plans ( intended to create a fully socialist economy)
    • Made Soviet Union self-sufficient in machine-production, iron and steel output
    • Increased labor productivity ( industries had model workers, awards, medals)
    • Stopped rationing from Collectivization (1935)
    • 5000 new enterprises compared to 2000 in the 1st plan
    • Growth came to a stop in 1937 as the purges saw many manager and experts imprisoned or executed

  • Start of the Purges

    Started with Kirov's assassination
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    3rd Five Year Plans

    • Emphasis on heavy industry and defense
    • 1st 2 plans were the foundation and the 3rd would transform the USSR into communism
    • Lasted only until 1941 due to German invasion
    • Industrial production overall increased and helped Soviet Union defeat Germany

  • (The Great Patriotic War) Start of the Winter War

    Finland vs USSR (Hitler thought the USSR was weak)

  • (The Great Patriotic War) Stalin Felt confident that Germany wouldn't invade

  • (The Great Patriotic War) Invasion of Germany into USSR

    Within a week
    - Red Army's Defence Smashed
    - Equipment + Supplies destroyed / captured (not all of it)
    - 1/3 of air force destroyed
    - 500,000 taken prisoner

  • (The Great Patriotic War)

    • Germans launched an attack on Moscow
    • Moscow and soviet union saved by a couple of things
      • Serious defeats suffered by Red Army led to Zhukov taking over command on western front
      • Siberian Troops
      • Russian Weather
      • Lack of food due to scorching

  • (The Great Patriotic War) Soviet Union Desperate

    • 4 million dead/captured
    • lost a lot of equipment

  • Operation Barbarossa

    Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union. Stalin's moral was "down". He prohibited every army soldiers to be captured or leave.

  • (The Great Patriotic War) Stalin declared "Scorch Earth" Policy

    • Stalin wanted everything (land, food sources, crops, etc.) burned so that the Germans couldn't use it

  • (The Great Patriotic War) Germans attempted to take Stalingrad

    • at times they had most of Stalingrad
    • incredible soviet resitance

  • Nazis left the Soviet Union.

    After the siege of Leningrad, the Germans surrendered and left.