Michael Rubel Stalinism, Terror and the Gulag The differences between the Gulag system and terror

under Lenin, Khrushchev and Stalin demonstrate the great terror and Gulag camps were a result of Stalinism, not of communist ideology. The Great Terror was used to dispose of potential enemies to Stalin. Additionally under Stalin, Gulags were given economic projects to complete. The great terror and Gulag were a result of Stalinism, not a consequence of the October Revolution or the ideology of the Soviet Communist Party. Under Lenins leadership, terror was used but the terror was much less harsh. The left SR Commissar for Justice opposed the use of terror to defend the revolution. Under him the Cheka, more or less, was kept on a leash (McCauley 54). The terror used by Lenin during the civil war was directed at the enemies of communism. Most of those who died were prominent pre-revolutionary figures (McCauley 55). The terror under Lenin should be viewed in the context of the struggle between the red and white forces. The terror perpetrated by the Reds was matched by the whites. Red Terror was countered by White Terror. Workers and anyone associated with the Bolsheviks were mown down. It was exterminate or be exterminated.Red Terror may have claimed over 100,000 lives; White Terror probably more (McCauley 55). Much of the terror in this time was caused by the struggle of the civil war and was unrelated to communist ideology. Unlike Lenin, Stalin terrorized mainly communists, those who could be a threat to himself. This included former Old Bolsheviks. An example is his execution of former Bolshevik leaders such as Bukharin, a major leader in the Bolshevik party before 1917. Preparations for the show trail against the Right Deviation got under way. The main targets were Nikolai Bukharin, Aleksei Rykov and Mikhail TomskyIn March 1938, the third great

show trial began (McCauley 181). Stalin also terrorized those in the military who could be a threat. Suspicion then fell on the military. Arrests of military leaders began in 1936 and peaked in the June 1937 trail of the anti-Soviet Trotskyist military organization (McCauley 181). Individuals could be deemed guilty by Stalin without any proof of action. The GPU could label anyone a heretic. It gradually escaped control by law and the legal authorities and became arbitrary. Stalin could use it against anyone. He had a lot of scores to settle. The malicious, vindictive side of his nature was now given free rein (McCauley 178). The Great terror under Stalin was a different terror than that used under Lenin. The terror under Lenin was a reaction to civil war and opposition to the communist party. The terror under Stalin was used against those who could be a threat including communists, especially other communist leaders. The Great terror is a result of Stalinism and Stalins protection of himself and persecution of those who could oppose him. The Gulag camps under Stalin were different than those used previous to him. Under Stalin the Gulag camps were forced to complete economic projects. The gulag was centralized in late 1932 to become a vast network of camps servicing huge economic projects (McCauley 175). The economic projects led camp conditions to be poor under Stalin. The exploitation of camp labour led to appalling conditionsMass violence and murder were commonplace (McCauley 176). Stalins Gulags and terror also affected many more people than those under Lenin. In the early 1930s, about one in six of the adult Soviet population was subject to repression or persecution. Stalin and his team viewed these socially alien elements, ex-Party members and the others, as a nascent fifth column. The drive to eliminate this potential fifth column led inexorably, to the Great Terror (McCauley 186). The Gulag system grew under Stalin from about 400,000 prisoners in 1930 to about 2.5 million prisoners in 1953. This was

because the camps were used to complete economic projects. The economic projects also caused the conditions in the camp to be atrocious. The formation of the large Gulag used for economic projects was caused by Stalinism not communist ideology. The camps were not used for this purpose under the communist Lenin, the Gulag system expanded under Stalin to fulfill his objectives. Khrushchevs response to Stalins actions also provides evidence that the terror and Gulag were a consequence of Stalinism and not of communism. Khrushchev opposed Stalins actions of imprisoning and killing communist party members. Khrushchev outlined his opposition to Stalins actions in a speech in 1956. The speech stunned the audience; at least one fainted from shock. It laid bare Stalins crimes since 1934 (McCauley 322). Following Stalins death many prisoners were released from the Gulag camps. Beria informed the Presidium that there were 2.5 million in prisons, colonies and the gulagHe recommended that about a million be released. An amnesty followed (McCauley 318). Punishment for those that disagreed with Khrushchev was dealt with differently under Khrushchev than under Stalin. An example is Khrushchevs handling of a failed coup in 1957. Those who attempted the coop were merely removed from their political positions. The plenum removed Malenkov, Kaganovich, Molotov and Shepilov from the Presidium (McCauley 324). Under Stalin those who would have tried a coup or oppose him would be killed. The gulag and terror could not be a consequence of communist ideology. Khrushchev, a communist leader, reduced terror and released a million prisoners of the Gulag. If the Great Terror and Gulag were caused by communist ideology they should have been continued under Khrushchev. The Great Terror and Gulag were not a consequence of communist ideology. Terror was not used by other communist leaders as it was used by Stalin during the Great Terror. Stalinism

enlarged the Gulag to perform economic projects and used terror to eliminate other communist leaders who could oppose him. The Gulag was not used the same by other communist leaders. The Gulag and Great Terror were a consequence of Stalinism and not communist ideology. The novel, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, is a narrative of one day inside a Gulag camp in Soviet Russia. The story is set in 1951, a period in which the Gulag camps were under Stalins control. There are several symbols in the book, that when matched with historical facts suggest the author was saying the Gulags were a consequence of Stalinism. One example that the novel suggested that Gulag camps were a consequence of Stalinism is Buinovskys interaction with a camp guard. In the novel Buinovsky, a prisoner, protests a search that stripped prisoners of clothes in the cold. He protests to the guards: Youve no right to strip the men in the cold. You dont know Article Nine of the Criminal Code Youre not behaving like Soviet people (Solzhenitsyn 28). The quote suggests that the Gulag system had deviated from the principles of Communism in the administration of the camps. This is a statement on how the Gulag camps deviated from Communist principles under Stalin. Stalin had changed the Gulag camps, making the conditions much harsher after centralizing the system and implementing economic projects in the camps. Stalin also deviated from former Soviet leaders and communist principles in who her terrorized, persecuting many Communists that could be a threat to Stalin. Through Buinovskys dialogue the author is demonstrating that the Gulag system was a consequence of Stalin deviating from Communist principles. The harshness of camp life was also showed that the Gulag was a consequence of Stalinism. Throughout the book the conditions are bleak, such as the sleeping conditions. The ragged noise was muffled by ice two fingers thick on the windows and soon died away. Too cold for the warder to go on hammering (Solzhenitsyn 1). The display of harsh conditions in

the camp highlights the changes that took place under the centralized Gulag system implemented by Stalin. The novel suggests that the Gulag and Great Terror were a consequence of Stalinism. The interaction of Buinovsky and the camp guards suggests that the changes implemented to terror and the Gulag system were a consequence of Stalinism. The display of the harsh conditions in the camp shows how the camps become much crueler under Stalin. The symbols used throughout the book suggest that the Gulag and Great Terror were a consequence of Stalins actions.

Works Cited McCauly, Martin, The Rise and Fall of The Soviet Union, London, England: Pearson Education Limited, 2008.

Solzhenitsyn, Alexander, One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovich, New York, NY: Penguin Group, 1963.