The Rise of Dictatorial Regimes

A New Era in the Soviet Union

▪Lenin: War Communism during Civil war in Russia. (do you know what is War Communism?)
▪ Government controlled most industries and seized grain from peasants to ensure supplies for the
Red army.
▪Once the Civil War was over, peasants started to hide their grain from the Communist government.
▪A Drought caused Great Famine in 1920-1922. (5 Mln. people died)
▪Industry was also a failure.
▪Russian peasants were exhausted (tired).
▪Their slogans became: “Down with Lenin and horseflesh. Bring back the Czar and pork”.
 Lenin’s NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP)
▪March 1921: Lenin stopped WAR COMMUNISM and started NEW ECONOMIC POLICY (NEP)
▪Do you know what is NEW ECONOMIC POLICY?
▪ The NEP was similar to the capitalist system.
▪During the NEP, peasants were allowed to sell their agricultural goods in open markets.
▪Lenin allowed agricultural sellers to remain private.
▪Heavy Industry, banking and mines, however, remained in the hands of the government.
▪Finally, Lenin and the formally created a new state (UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS-USSR)
▪With the NEP, Soviet agricultural production climbed to 75 % of pre-war level and brought an end to
famine.
▪The NEP saved USSR from complete economic disaster.
 QUESTION
What was Lenin’s New Economic Policy?
UNION OF SOVIET SOCIALIST REPUBLICS
(1922-1939)
 The Political Divisions in USSR (Soviet
Union)
▪1924: Lenin died.
▪Power Struggle began among the Members of Political Bureau (Politburo) in USSR.
▪Two Divisions in Political Bureau (Politburo).
▪One group: Leon Trotsky:
1) To end NEP and start rapid industrialization at the expense of peasants.
2) Spread communism abroad and make communist revolution worldwide.
▪The other group: Stalin:
1. No worldwide communist revolution. To focus on only Russia.
2. Continue the NEP.
They believed rapid industrialization would destroy the living standards of Soviet Peasants.
 THE RISE OF STALIN
Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin rivalry.
Trotsky: Commissar of War
Stalin: The general secretary of Bureaucratic jobs.
The general secretary appointed regional, district, city and town party officials.
Therefore, it became most important position in the party.
Stalin used this position and appointed thousands of bureaucratic jobs to people who was loyal
to him.
In this way, Stalin took control of the Politburo and created his dictatorship.
 Question
How did Stalin took control of Politburo and created a Dictatorship?
 Five-Years Plans
Shift in economic policy in 1928.
Stalin ended the NEP and started five-years plans.
The goal was to transform Russia from agricultural into an industrial country overnight.
1st five-years plan: Max. production of heavy machines and armamments.
This plan quadrupled the production of heavy machines and doubled oil production.
Between 1928-1937, steel production in Russia increased from 4 mln tons to 18 mln tons.
The number of workers also increased by millions.
But there was no housing, no normal living conditions for these workers in the big cities.
Due to huge number of labor force, the wages in industry declined by 43 %.
 Cost of Stalin’s Program
The Collectivization created a huge famine (severe hunger) across the Soviet Union.
Stalin himself admitted that 10 mln. peasants died in the famines of 1932-1933.
The only thing peasants were allowed to have: one small garden area.

His program also had political costs.

In 1936-1938, most prominent Bolsheviks were put on trial and condemned to death.
Stalin also purged army officers, diplomats, party members, intellectuals and millions of citizens.
8 Mln. Russians were arrested.
Millions were sent to labor camps in Siberia (never returned)
 Question
What was the cost of Stalin’s Program?
 Eastern Europe
▪Austria, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary:
All adopted parliamentary systems.
But it was soon replaced by authoritarian regimes (except for Czechoslovakia)
Czechoslovakia was able to maintain its political democracy because it had large middle class, a
liberal tradition and a strong industrial base.
Do you know what is authoritarian regime?
(Learn On google the difference between Democratic regime, authoritarian regime and totalitarian
regime)
Parliamentary systems failed in most Eastern European States.
1) reason is these states had little tradition of political democracy.
2) reason these states were mostly rural and agrarian (which means they were mostly illiterate)
 Question
How did Czechoslovakia maintain its political Democracy?
 Spain
▪In Spain too, Political Democracy failed to survive.
▪Francisco Franco (Spanish Fascist leader) revolted against the democratic government in 1936.
▪Civil War started between Democratic Government and Fascists in Spain.
----Foreign Intervention: The Fascist regimes of Italy and Germany aided (helped) Francisco Franco’s
forces (Spanish Fascist leader) with arms, money and men.
----The Spanish government was aided (helped) by 40,000 volunteers, by planes, tanks and military
advisers from Soviet Union.

The Spanish Civil War came to an end when Francisco Franco (Spanish Fascist leader) captured Madrid in
1939.
Francisco Franco established a Dictatorship that favored landowners, businesspeople and Catholic
Clergy.
Read the pages in the Pdf pages 761-764
(from the New Era in Soviet Union until the
end)