aprender>
Artes e Humanas>
História>
Stalin and Stalinism in Russian History cursos>
3.7.4. The New Economic Policy (NEP) and the 10th Party Congress

Loading...

3.7.4. The New Economic Policy (NEP) and the 10th Party Congress

Lecture 3 describes the creation of the Soviet state by the Bolsheviks, the Civil War that followed, War Communism and Lenin’s turn to the New Economic Policy. It analyses Stalin’s role in the Soviet government and in the Civil War, his crushing of his political rivals and opponents and his route to power in the Bolshevik party and in the Soviet state.

The course presents the life and deeds of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 till 1953. It analyses the reasons for his actions and their results, as well as the causes of his popularity in Russia today. It offers an analysis of the phenomenon of Stalinism and of its significance for Russia and beyond. In the late 1920s – early 1930s Stalin directed the massive and rapid industrialisation of the country and the forced collectivisation of its agriculture. The industrialisation was based on forced labour, and collectivisation on repression, but both helped to create the material base for the Soviet defence industry. In the late 1930s Stalin unleashed mass terror against the Soviet people, in which millions perished. In his view this helped to rid the country of any potential internal enemies on the eve of the coming war. The USSR, together with its allies, won the Second World War, but at the cost of dozens of millions of lives. Stalin was instrumental in creating the post-war order. The system which he created in the 1930s shaped the USSR as it was during his lifetime and for decades after his death. It also influenced the lives of millions of people beyond the Soviet borders. The course will enable those who take it to develop an informed understanding of the Stalin era and of the phenomenon of Stalinism.

Visualizar o programa do curso

Ministrado por

Irina Filatova
Professor

Transcrição

The Bolsheviks won the Civil War,

but the country lay in ruins.

There were many uprisings in the country.

But one uprising that of course,

Kronstadt marines, the core of the revolution,

really changed Lenin's heart.

These are the Kronstadt marines during the revolution.

They were right at the center of it.

But then they rose against the Soviet power, in March 1921.

This is one of the Kronstadt marines questioned by the Cheka.

The uprising was suppressed with enormous cruelty.

1,000 marines were killed,

2,000 were executed and more than 6,000 were arrested and otherwise punished.

What is very difficult to comprehend was that,

one of the leaders of this suppression was Pavel Dybenko,

who himself was a Baltic marine,

and he came from Kronstadt and was a Kronstadt marine himself.

Now he was a big commander and he directed the troops against his former comrades.

When some of his troops refused to shoot the marines,

he organized the second line.

And when these troops started to retreat,

he ordered to shoot.

But as I said,

this uprising brought the change of heart

and Lenin decided to introduce the New Economic Policy.

What did it mean?

It meant a partial return of the market.

It meant that some enterprises,

particularly smaller enterprises, were allowed.

Big factories all remained in the property of the state as was the foreign trade.

But most importantly, peasants got their relaxation.

The food was now not requisitioned.

What was introduced was the food tax at a stable price.

The result of it was what you see in the pictures basically.

This is new shops,

some sort of order,

food in the stores.

So it was much,

much easier during those years but not everybody liked it.

For the Bolsheviks, it meant a retreat.

And also, the unemployment was high.

Stalin's attitude to this whole new policy was not clear.

He just followed Lenin.

But the story of his participation in

the Civil War and his confrontation with Trotsky left him weakened.

Lenin decided to restore balance because for him,

Trotsky became too powerful.

During the coming Tenth congress of the party,

he organized things in such a way that Trotsky's supporters lost all their positions.

The Tenth congress of the party was a momentous event.

Not only because it marked Trotsky's retreat,

but also because Lenin introduced a particular clause into the party constitution.

It was a clause on party unity.

What it meant was that,

factions were banned in the party.

So factions could not exist.

And Stalin later on used

this clause to the utmost in his struggle against the opposition.

Well, here you can see Lenin with the delegates of the Tenth congress.

But what was important also was that Stalin's influence in

the party during the preparation of this congress grew because he was Lenin's right hand.

He helped him to organize the congress,

he supported every word that Lenin said.

He was rewarded.

In December 1922,

Stalin became general secretary of the party.

It was a new position and it seemed at first that it was quite technical.

Stalin was responsible for formulating

the agenda of the meetings of Politburo and the Central Committee.

Possible for the personnel,

personnel matters, who is appointed to what position.

Perhaps more importantly, because of this position,

he had a constant and permanent access to Lenin.

He supported him but at the same time,

with the deterioration of Lenin's health,

he became a gatekeeper of this axis.

Vídeos recomendados

Sobre o Coursera

Courses, Specializations, and Online Degrees taught by top instructors from the world's best universities and educational institutions.

Join a community of 40 million learners from around the world

Earn a skill-based course certificate to apply your knowledge

Gain confidence in your skills and further your career

O Coursera proporciona acesso universal à melhor educação do mundo fazendo parcerias com as melhores universidades e organizações para oferecer cursos on-line.

© 2019 Coursera Inc. Todos os direitos reservados.

Baixar na App Store

Baixar no Google Play