The Condition of the Soviet Union by 1941 (AQA A Level History: Component 1: Breadth study): Revision Note

Personal power

• By 1941, Stalin ruled alone, above the Party

• In 1934, his power came from leading the Party

  • By 1939, no one could control him

• Concentrating so much power in one man's hands made rule harsh and unpredictable

• His grip was not total

  • He was outvoted once in the Politburo (1937)

  • Slow officials held things up

Terror and the NKVD

• Terror crushed all opposition and forced obedience

• The NKVD ran spying, arrests and the Gulag

• The Great Purges (1936–38) destroyed the Old Bolsheviks and any rivals

• The purges also killed off skilled people and most top army officers

  • This left the army weak just before the German attack of June 1941

• Constant fear made people work less effectively

Propaganda and the cult

• The cult of personality made Stalin look like a wise, almost god-like leader

• It won real loyalty, not just fear

• Officials competed to flatter Stalin

• People were too scared to disagree

  • Even when he was wrong

Industry

• The USSR became a major industrial power

• Steel output trebled and coal production doubled by 1937

• New cities were built from scratch, such as Magnitogorsk

• Consumer goods, housing and services were neglected

• Every day life for ordinary people remained difficult

Defence

• The USSR became virtually self-sufficient in metal goods and machine tools

• Rearmament spending rose from 4% of GDP (1933) to 17% (1937)

• The Third Five-Year Plan (1938-42) was strained by the purge of managers

• It was cut short by the German invasion in June 1941

Agriculture

• The state gained full control of farming (around 90% of households by 1936, almost 100% by 1941)

• Dekulakisation removed the country's most successful farmers

• A quarter to a third of livestock was slaughtered (1929-33) in protests, with levels not recovering until 1953

• The seizure of grain contributed to the famine of 1932-33, costing millions of lives

Class

• The old system of ranks and privilege was destroyed

• Titles were abolished in 1917

  • Nobles and the middle class lost their place

• New chances opened up for workers

• A new elite of officials, managers and experts grew up

  • Meaning inequality came back in a different form

Women and family

• Under Lenin, women won new rights (easy divorce, legal abortion)

• Millions went into industry

  • Female workers rose from 3 million (1928) to 13 million (1940), 43% of the workforce

• Most women still did the housework and childcare on top of their jobs

• The 1936 Family Code took back the early freedoms

  • Divorce was made expensive and abortion was banned (except on medical grounds)

• Being a mother was now treated as a duty

Education and literacy

• Schooling became free and open to all

• Most people could now read

  • By 1941, 94% in the towns and 86% in the countryside

• After 1935, schools became strict and political

• There were fixed subjects, exams, uniforms, Soviet-style history and military training

Religion and nation

• The state pushed hard to make society atheist

• Churches were shut and the League of the Godless spread anti-religious ideas

• The push for atheism was done by force and never fully worked

  • Many people stayed religious

• Earlier promises of freedom for different nationalities were taken back

Youth

• Young people joined the Komsomol and gained education, status and a way into the Party

• Not many of those who could join had joined yet

• These groups existed to make loyal citizens, not free thinkers