Lesson 1 * Opposition
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Transcript Lesson 1 * Opposition
Lesson 1 – Opposition
Essential Question
What opposition developed
towards Stalin before 1934?
Learning Outcomes - Students will:
◦ Learn about early resistance to Stalin
Success Criteria
I can write an extended paragraph
explaining the opposition Stalin
faced before 1934
Vocab
Success Criteria
I can write an extended paragraph
explaining the opposition Stalin
faced before 1934
Purge
Chistka
17th Party Congress
Purges
‘cleaning out’ or ‘cleansing’ an
organism of impurities
◦ Chistka (cleansing) – nonviolent where
when membership came up for
renewal, they would be refused new
cards
Expelled for drunkenness, corruption and
not being an active member
3 phases of the purges in the 1930s
1.
2.
3.
Chistka of 1932~5 – 20% of party
members are expelled non-violently
Show Trials – old Bolsheviks publically
tried and executed
The Great Terror of 1937~8 – 1000s
of party members, officials, armed
forces and professionals were
denounced, arrested and executed
Party
Popularity
1933 – Communist Party was extremely
unpopular
◦ Rapid industrialization had created tension and
stress in society
◦ Violence of forced collectivization and the famine
of 1932-33 had alienated the peasantry, making the
murder of rural Communist a regular event
◦ Urban workers were angered by low wages, strict
controls and harsh punishments
Party members are angry
◦ Cities were overcrowded, insanitary and violent
◦ Horrified by the terror methods used to
collectivize agriculture and waging of war on the
peasants
◦ Some even committed suicide (ex. Stalin’s wife
Nadezda Allilueva)
◦ Local leaders in the regions were unwilling to
implement central policies and orders
Argued about high grain prices, unwilling to identify kulaks or
get rid of specialists who might help them reach production
targets
1. Chistka (1932~35)
Dec 1932 - Party leaders became
angry with this lack of party
discipline resulting in the
launching of the Chistka of party
members
◦ Target: ‘do not carry out
decisions…and who are turncoats
who have allied themselves with
bourgeois elements’
◦ By 1935 – 22% of party members had
lost their membership
Also used to expel those who
disagreed with Stalin’s party line
Ryutin Affair
1932 – Former Moscow Party
Secretary, Ryutin, circulated a
200 pg. document highly critical
of Stalin
◦ Called Stalin ‘the evil genius of the
Russian revolution’ referring to his
‘personal dictatorship,’ urged Stalin’s
removal and to end collectivization
◦ Stalin wanted the death penalty but
other members of the Politburo
opposed Stalin and Ryutin wasn’t
executed
17th Party
Congress 1934
Jan 1934 – Pravada announced ‘Socialism
in One Country has Won’
26 February 1934 – 17th Congress is
called ‘Congress of Victors’
◦ Belief economic change had been accomplished
and it was now possible to slow down, stabilize
and reduce the tensions caused by
collectivization and rapid industrialization
◦ Stalin made it clear he would not slacken the
pace of industrialization
◦ Sergei Kirov (Leningrad Party Boss) said ‘the
fundamental difficulties are behind us’ and
talked about stopping grain seizures and
increasing workers rations
◦ Stalin did badly in Central Committee elections
Kirov – 3 voted against him
Stalin – 292 voted against him (Stalin changed this
to 3)
Kirov was asked by party members to replace
Stalin as General Secretary (He refused)
Success Criteria
I can write an extended paragraph explaining the
opposition Stalin faced before 1934
What sort of opposition to Stalin
had developed before 1934?
Using today’s notes and pages 34-35, write a
paragraph explaining what opposition Stalin
faced before 1934 and why. Consider:
◦ Why the Communist Party was unpopular with
the people
◦ Why many Communist were distressed by Stalin’s
policies
◦ What opposition Stalin faced in the regions
◦ The Chistka of 1932-35
◦ Opposition within the Party leadership
◦ Stalin’s difficulties at the 17th Party Congress
Wrap Up
Can we answer our question?
What opposition developed
towards Stalin before 1934?
•
With your partner, discuss possible answers
What