HIST127CW25Lecture PDF

Week 1 Tuesday Lecture: Introduction AI Generated ​ Office Hours Wednesday 1:30-3:30 Bunche 5276 ​ Documents are supplementary ​ Textbooks are for if you miss a lecture ​ Podcasts are supplementary ​ Book appointment for History Writing Center ​ Why Study Russian and Soviet History?:...

Week 1 Tuesday Lecture: Introduction AI Generated ​ Office Hours Wednesday 1:30-3:30 Bunche 5276 ​ Documents are supplementary ​ Textbooks are for if you miss a lecture ​ Podcasts are supplementary ​ Book appointment for History Writing Center ​ Why Study Russian and Soviet History?: ○​ The Soviet Union, as a global superpower, wielded immense influence in the 20th century, controlling 11 time zones, housing 290 million people, and maintaining alliances worldwide until its collapse in 1991. The course examines three core reasons for its historical significance: ○​ 1. Utopian Aspirations: ​ The Soviet Union's socialist goals promised a radical transformation of society but often fell short due to structural issues and violent governance. Its legacy includes accessible healthcare, education, and scientific advancements, contrasted with repression, environmental destruction, and human rights abuses. ○​ 2. International Impact: ​ Beyond its borders, the Soviet Union’s influence shaped geopolitics, including its contentious relationship with the U.S. and its role in the Cold War. These dynamics had lasting effects on global relations and continue to inform contemporary events, such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict. ○​ 3. Cultural and Historical Lessons: ​ The Soviet Union's bold aspirations and ultimate failure provide valuable lessons about political systems, governance, and the resilience of individuals in repressive regimes. ​ The Historical Context of the Russian Empire: ○​ To understand the Soviet Union, it is essential to study its roots in the Russian Empire. This vast territory, spanning 9,000 miles and encompassing a sixth of the world’s landmass, was ruled by the Romanov dynasty (1613–1917) under the triad of Orthodoxy, Autocracy, and Nationality. ​ 1. Geography and Governance: ​ The empire was multinational, with over 100 ethnic groups and Russians comprising only 43% of the population. ​ The Orthodox Church played a central role, aligning with the autocracy and resisting reform. ​ 2. Social Structure: ​ Society was stratified into estates, including the nobility, clergy, urban residents, and peasants. The majority (85%) were peasants, often trapped in cycles of poverty and illiteracy despite the emancipation of serfs in 1861. ​ Urban residents included a growing intelligentsia and working class, both of which began to challenge the status quo. ​ 3. Economic Challenges:  ​ Industrialization lagged behind Western Europe, with limited infrastructure and dependence on foreign investment. ​ Agriculture dominated the economy, but inefficiencies and famines hampered growth, fueling dissatisfaction. ​ The Challenges of Modernization: ○​ The late 19th and early 20th centuries saw Russia grapple with the pressures of industrialization and modernity. Reform efforts, such as the emancipation of the serfs and economic modernization, were often half-hearted and failed to address systemic issues. By the early 1900s, the empire faced a volatile mix of growing nationalism, discontent among peasants and workers, and tensions among ethnic minorities. ○​ The intelligentsia, though ideologically diverse, universally agreed on the need for radical change. The lack of political participation and an autocratic system resistant to reform left the empire vulnerable to revolutionary upheaval. ​ Studying Soviet History: A Balanced Approach: ○​ The instructor emphasizes the importance of understanding Soviet history through a historian’s lens, which requires objectivity, critical thinking, and an awareness of biases. Key approaches include: ○​ 1. Understanding Before Judging: ​ Historians aim to analyze events within their historical context rather than impose modern moral judgments. ○​ 2. Complexity and Nuance: ○​ The Soviet Union was neither purely evil nor utopian; it was a mixture of repression, cultural achievements, and bold experiments in governance. ○​ 3. Inclusion of Everyday Lives: ​ Beyond state violence and political upheaval, the course will explore the cultural and social lives of Soviet citizens, including their dreams, art, and daily experiences. ​ Legacy and Contemporary Relevance: ○​ The course highlights the Soviet Union’s lasting impact on modern Russia, its former republics, and global geopolitics. The Soviet project’s failures continue to shape international relations and domestic policies, particularly in regions like Ukraine and the Global South, where Soviet influence remains evident. Events like the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war underscore the importance of understanding the historical roots of current conflicts. ​ Final Thoughts: ○​ The week’s lecture set the stage for exploring the rise and fall of the Soviet Union by providing a historical overview of the Russian Empire. Students are encouraged to consider the broader implications of history, including the intersection of politics, society, and culture, to develop a nuanced understanding of the Soviet experience. ○​ As the course progresses, students will delve into key events and themes, such as the Bolshevik Revolution, Stalin’s regime, the Cold War, and the Soviet Union’s eventual collapse. By integrating historical analysis with the lived  experiences of individuals, the course aims to provide a comprehensive view of one of the most significant experiments in modern history. Week 1 Thursday lecture ​ Karl Marx: German writer, reporter, lawyer ​ Communist Manifesto/Marxism: not about communist society, rooted in 18th century Enlightenment, classical economics, utopian socialism, and German idealism ​ Dialectics: come from the word dialogue, there’s a tension between thesis and antithesis that leads to synthesis, Hagel says supposed to be mental realm, Marx says bring this into real world ​ Materialism: only matter exists ​ Dialectical Materialism: determines course of history, opposed to divine right and religion ​ Class struggle: results from dialectical materialism, creates political economy ​ Totality: there is a base and superstructure to society, everything is defined by superstructure, but base can go back and shape superstructure, statis ​ Activist Political Philosophy: don’t just interpret the world, but change it ​ Feudalism: creates bourgeoisie, sets the foundation for capitalism ​ Capitalism: surplus value from laborers, progressive impoverishment, boom and busts, wars from instability ​ Socialism: no private property, only one class ​ Stages of history: primitive communism -> slavery -> feudalism -> capitalism -> socialism -> communism ​ Plekhanov: “Father of Russian Marxism”, populist turned Marxist, emancipation of labor party, bourgeois revolution, translates Marxist Capital ​ Context to why Marxism grew in Russia: Industrialization, late 19th century famine, identified with progressivism ​ Russian Social Democratic Labor Party: founded in 1898, Marxist, popular among working class, 2nd Congress in 1903 in London -> led to split into Bolsheviks and Mensheviks ​ Lenin 1870-1924: came from middle class family, brother killed for radical beliefs 1880s, studied law, arrested and exiled 1897, 1900 leaves for europe, 55 volumes of work ​ Lenin: vanguard party = professional revolutionaries, aim: revolution, What is to be done?, Bolsheviks ​ Martov: mass party, workers form the basis of revolutionary consciousness, aim: small changes, Mensheviks ​ Summary of Lenin’s Contributions: argued for leadership of party by professional revolutionaries, argued that peasantry have just as much revolutionary potential as working class, sees imperialism as highest stage of capitalism ​ Russian Leftist Parties ​ Bolsheviks ​ Radical Revolutionary Marxist socialists ​ Already capitalist ​ “uninterrupted revolution” ​ Popular among unskilled working class ​ Mensheviks ​ Moderate reform minded Marxist socialists ​ Capitalism before socialism ​ Popular among skilled working class ​ ​ Socialist Revolutionaries ​ Former terrorist turned moderate socialists ​ Avoid capitalism ​ Popular among peasantry ​ ​ Russian Revolutionary Movement ​ Russian Terrorism ​ Develops in 1860s ​ Assassination of Alexander II in 1881 ​ Hiehgt of activity between 1905-17 ​ Between 1894-1917, 17,000 victims of revolutionary terrorism ​ 1905 Dress Rehearsal ​ ​ 1917 wouldn’t have happened without 1905 ​ In lead up to the revolution, ​ led to increased political organization ​ Reforms fail ​ Russo-Japanese war ​ ​ “Bloody Sunday”: January 9, 1905 ​ Protest led by Father Gapon to the Winter Palce ​ Tsar’s troops fire on the crowd ​ Hundreds of protestors killed ​ Bloody Sunday aftermath ​ Potemkin Uprising in Odessa in June 1905 ​ Wave revolt, labor unrest and peasant revolts ​ Nationalist uprisings ​ Georgia, Estonia, Ukraine, and Poland: general strike in Warsaw ​ Labor Unrest ○​ Magnitude unprecedented ​ In 1905, 10,000+ work stoppages ​ 23.5 million working days lost ​ Employers lost 127 million rubles ○​ Strikes over political and economic matters ​ Not only industrial workers ○​ Strike movement had broad support ​ Creation of Worker’s Councils ○​ Elected assemblies in factories ○​ representnt workers’ economic and political demands ○​ Means to coordinate politically ​ October General Strike and Moscow Uprising ○​ Mass general strike called by St. Petersburg Soviet from September 20 to October 13 ○​ Most successful strike in history ​ Forced concessions by Tsar ​ Socialists/Mensheviks and Bolsheviks push revolution in December 1905 ​ Stage uprising in Moscow in December ​ Widespread peasant unrest ○​ Directed against landlords’ estates  ○​ Peasants well-organized at local level ○​ Pacification by the state (“punitive expeditions”) as response ○​ Right-wing groups like Black Hundreds respond ​ 57 anti-Jewish riots throughout Empire ​ Why did the peasants revolt? ○​ Economic distress ○​ War failure ○​ News of Bloody Sunday ○​ Poor harvests/food shortage ​ Resulting reforms ○​ October Manifesto 1905 ​ Semi-constitutional regime created ​ New civil liberties ​ Freedom of speech ​ Freedom of assembly and association ​ Elected Duma ​ Universal male suffrage ​ 1905 Summary ○​ Legitimacy of regime shaken forever ○​ Many sectors of society aire grievances and act on them ○​ Growing split in society ○​ Will reforms solve, placate these demands for change? Week 2 Tuesday Lecture ​ Lecture Questions ​ How did WWI contribute to the revolutionary moment of 1917 ​ What were the promiate and long-term causes of the Russian revolution? ​ What was the Russian Revolution? ​ How and why did the Bolsheviks end up in power after 1917? ​ Before 1917 ○​ October Manifesto: Tsar is gonna promise a lot of things to people and not deliver ○​ Duma: ineffective during tsars time, not popular, still in modern day ○​ Stolypin more of the brain’s than the tsar ○​ Stolypin gonna rig elections ○​ Stolypin gonna roll back male suffrage ○​ Strengthen hereditary inheritance ○​ Consolidate land plots ○​ Reforms far too slow ○​ Students becoming radicalized ○​ Growth of parties ​ Octobrists- more conservative, don’t get rid of tsar, c. Oct 1905 ​ Kadets- “constitutional democrat”, range from support constitutional democracy to parliamentary democracy, want protection of property, main opposition TO Octobrists, c. 1905  ​ ​ ○​ ​ WWI: Russia at War 1914-16 ○​ With Allies, against Central Powers ○​ Goes very poorly and very quickly ○​ Utterly destructed by Germans and removed from German territory ○​ After first year:: No wins, just catastrophic losses, 1 million deaths, 1 million POWs ○​ By 1916, 3.5 dead and wounded, 2 million POWs ○​ Reason: Largest army in the world BUT poor leadership (Tsar), supply chains, Technological deficit ○​ Support for war gone by 1915 ○​ Conditions on homefront led to: ​ Disrupts family life ​ Martial law: strikes made illegal ​ Economic problmes: ​ Fixed wages ​ Fixed grain prices ​ Alcohol prohibition ​ Food rationing ​ Duma dissolved Sept 1915 ○​ Russians knew who enemy was, BUT not motivation ○​ Lack of leadership (can’t coordinate, doesn’t understand life of avg pl, PR problem bc Rasputin, excludes Duma from war efforts) -> lost all support from all classes ○​ Crisis of Legitimacy: the right keeps the status quo, the center is directionless, the left understands nothing but is moving blindly ○​ February (March) Revolution 1917- Russia is using old calendar here ​ 5 days of revolution that end 1000 year monarchy ​ Catalyst: women’s bread, peace, land protests in st. petersberg in february ​ 70,000 people striking across country ​ Coldest winter in a while ​ Lack of food and fuel ​ Tsar gone ​ Weak leadership ​ Tsar abdicates March 1917 ○​ Simultaneously to February 1917 ​ Worker rebellion ​ Soldiers mutiny ​ Middle class rejection of tsarism ​ Peasant revolts ​ Ethnic nationalism ○​ Dual Authority after Feb 1917 ​ Provisional Gov ​ Led by Kerensky ​ Duma ​ Middle class and Kadets ​ Continue the war ​ Wait for Constituent Assembly ​ Petrograd Soviet ​ SRs and Mensheviks ​ Democracy ​ “Revolutionary Defencism” ​ Wait for Constituent Assembly ​ Argue for troops to be servient to Soviets ​ Argue for 8 hour working day ○​ Lenin Returns April 3, 1917 ​ Gonna claim popularity but not most popular of Petrograd Soviet ​ Bolsheviks only a few of Petrograd Soviet ​ Other leaders Trotsky and Stalin abroad during Feb Rev ​ Stalin and Lenin back April 1917 ​ Lenin doesn’t want to work w Mensheviks ​ April Theses: we, Petrograd Soviet, shouldn’t work w provisional govt, war needs to end immediately, “All power to the soviets!” ​ “Bread, peace, land!” ○​ July Days ​ Provisional govt orders offensive for the foront ​ Soviet organizes demonstrations -> gain support of soldiers and sailors ​ Bolshevik Central Committee: Lenin initially urges caution then supports demonstrations ​ Provisional govt puts down protests (shoots) and Bolsheviks outlawed (Lenin goes into hiding) ○​ Kornilov Affair ​ September 1917 ​ Relations between Kerensky and Kornilov (Cossack general) worsen ​ Kornilov marches on Petrograd, ​ Kerensky approaches Bolsheviks and mobilized to defend revolution ​ Kornilov is easily defeated ​ Bolsheviks use success in Kornilov Affair as propaganda ​ Bc of Kornilov affair -> ​ Red Guards armed ​ Bolsheviks free ​ Less public trust in military leaders and provisional govt ​ Kornilov wants to go back, Kerensky wants to move forward, Bolsheviks want smth diff  ​ Bolsheviks make the argument that though they don’t have superior numeric superiority, they have support among where it matters: peasants and soldiers (guns) ​ Red October ​ Bolsheviks seize power October 25 ​ Lenin orders armed takeover of the govt; Left SRs against it but ignored ​ Red Guard and soldiers seize city by October 25 ​ Kerensky flees capital ​ Nov 7-9 2nd Congress of Soviets ratifies revolution -> Mensheviks and right SRs walk out ​ Why did the Bolsheviks win ​ Crisis of war ​ Weakness of moderates and other socialists -> not as disciplined, not armed, aims were not clear to public ​ Provisional govt foot-dragging ​ Social revolution ​ “Bread, peace, land” ​ Reasons that DON’T account for Bolshevik’s victory ​ Monolith and tightly disciplined ​ Lenin’s iron will ​ Meeting in secrecy ​ ○​ Week 2 Thursday Lecture ​ Early Bolshevik Rule 1917-1918 ○​ Constituent Assembly, 1918 ​ Civil War 1918-1921 ○​ Red/White Terror ○​ Bolshevik Victory ​ What were the causes of the Russian Civil War? ○​ Bolsheviks seized power in St. Petersberg, October 1917 ○​ Congress of largest socialist groups, dissatisfied with Bolsheviks ○​ We have single power- only federal government bc provincial governments are gone ○​ There is a constituent assembly to ask questions and determine Congress ○​ Other Bolsheviks think that constituent assembly is stepping stone to multi-party government ○​ Early on, Lenin is ambivalent against multi party government ○​ Lenin thinks soviets is higher democracy than assembly ○​ Bolsheviks know that SR’s are gonna get more votes -> Lenin wants to get rid of assembly ○​ Constituent Assembly has vote on November 25, where SRS get 60% of vote and Bolsheviks get 25% vote -> not enough votes for Bolsheviks to form a coalition meeting ○​ After vote, Constituent Assembly has another meeting January 18-19th -> when Bolsheviks try to claim authority and try to add their own resolutions, they are rejected -> Bolsheviks walk out and lock up doors of Assembly ○​ This eas the last attempt at democratic parliamentarian government until Gorbachev 1988/1989 ○​ Bolsheviks had been mistaken that peasants cared about Constituent Assembly ○​ Bolsheviks had claimed power through actions of: ending provincial governments and staffing their own army: WE HAVE THE GUNS argument ○​ Why did peasants decide fate of revolution? ○​ One of the causes of the Civil War was the end of WWI ​ There’s still millions of people on the frontlines ​ Lots of disagreement on what to do after the war ​ Bolsheviks negotiate with Germany and Austria-Hungary to end the war ​ 2 positions on the war: ​ Internationalist/socialist fortress approach ​ Affirmative revolution: revolutions need to proceed in other countries and Russia needs to lead ​ By ending the war thru Treaty of Brest-Litovsk March 3, 1918 ​ -> Bolsheviks gain legitimacy with soldiers ​ -> But Russia also loses the Baltic areas, Poland, Ukraine, and parts of the Caucasus ​ -> Russia loses 60 million people from empire, 20% of transportation, 5,000 factories/mills/distilleries/refineries ○​ Bolsheviks’ post war economic decrees  ​ Legitimate peasant seizure of land -> less production of agriculture -> less food in cities ​ Some private ownership BUT more work control and committees must work with trade unions ​ !Ultimately, only BRIEF period of liberalization bc later, millions of hungry troops AND expensive civil war ○​ Bolshevik Social and Religious Changes ​ Gender equality ​ New marriage/divorce laws ​ Legalize abortion ​ Church crackdown ​ Separation of church and state ​ Seizure of church land ​ Societal changes ​ Eliminate nobility titles ​ Free school / social services ○​ By end of 1918, control of army, capital, and major cities under Bolshevik ​ Countryside weak ​ Ethnoreligious groups, non-Slavs resisting ​ Still lots of SR support -> SR does Bolshevik biding ○​ ! Ultimate goal of Bolsheviks is to bring down old order, support working class, and bring communism to Russia ​ But how do you bring communism to a country that has no working class? ​ ​ What was the Russian Civil War? ○​ 1918-1921 ○​ Before Russian Civil War ​ The civil war isn’t just a continuation of the revolution, but preceded by class struggles/divides, combined with differing views on revolution -> inherent polarization in society ​ Splits within diff parties ​ Splits within army and other parties ​ SRs attempt an uprising in July 1918 in Moscow ​ August 1918 there is an assassination attempt on Lenin ○​ Who? ​ Reds: Bolsheviks ​ Whites: Monarchists, moderate socialists, liberal (want parliamentary democracy) ​ White leaders: Kolchak (part of old imperial navy), Denikin (Cossacks), Wrangel (imperial army) ​ Other groups: Makhno (anarchists), Greens, Ukrainian nationalists ○​ Where? ​ In territories: Ukraine, Poland, Caucasus, Baltic, Central Asia ​ Within Russia: Don, Kuban, Far East, Siberia, Volga, Ural  ○​ Layers of Civil War: ​ Soviet War in Baltics 1918-1920: Bolshevik desire to regain part of Baltics lost to war ​ End: After brief Soviet rule, Baltics become independent states ​ End: By end of Ciil War, Bolsheviks control Caucasus (Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia) ​ End: Bolsheviks control Central Asia but religious differences ​ Peasant Uprising 1917-1921 ​ Polish-Ukrainian War 1918-1919: over fate of part of Ukrainian territory but Ukraine wants to be independent ​ Soviet-Polish War 1919-1921: ​ Course: Ukraine has new governments/changes hands many times during late 1910s ​ End: Poland sells out Ukraine -> ppart of Ukraine goes to Poland and another part goes to Russia ​ Russian Civil War (Reds vs Whites, Bolsheviks vs Monarchists, 1917-1922 ​ Bolsheviks first support self-determination ○​ But tensions over party over direcion -> Bolsheviks settle on state with federal structure based on national units ​ Bolshevik Support Across Territories ○​ Baltics ​ More support in Estonia/Latvia ○​ Ukraine ​ Chaotic ​ Support among working classes ○​ Caucasus ​ Support for Mensheviks but controlled by Bolsheviks in 1920 ○​ Central Asia ​ Less nationalist sentiment, very decentralized ​ Foreign Intervention during the Civil War ○​ Who sends troops to support the Whites ​ Czechoslovaks, Japanese, Greeks, Americans, Poles, Canadians, Serbs, Romanians, Italians, British, French ○​ British sends troops in the north ○​ Foreign troops don’t affect turn of civil war but more so affect mindset of Bolsheviks ​ Timeline of Civil War: 1918 ○​ February: Red Army forms w Trotsky leading ○​ March: Treaty of Brest-Litovsk ○​ April: first instances of foreign intervention ○​ May: 30,000 Czech legion joins fight ○​ July: band of SRs rebel in Moscow arrested ○​ July: Romanovs killed in Ekaterinburg  ○​ November: white commander Kolchak controls Siberia ○​ November: First Bolshevik incursion into Western borderlands ​ 1919 ○​ March: Poles launch offensive in borderlands in Polish-Soviet war ○​ May: Green army commander Origoriev caputure central Ukraine -> pogroms ○​ June: Finland declares war ○​ October: White General Yudenich launches assault on Petrograd and almost suceeds; Deinkin reaches Ovel ○​ November: Yudenich pushed back to Estonia, Western allies stop funding whites ​ 1921 ○​ January: Tambor peasant leader Antonov attacks Bolsheviks ○​ Feb: Kronstadt ailors revolt ○​ March: Kronstadt rebellion suppressed ○​ May: Tambor rebellion suppressed ○​ Red Terror ​ Starts Autumn 1918 ​ Was a response to assassination attempts ​ 10,000-15,000 shot in 2 months ​ Total 50,000=140,000 people killed ​ Victims: workers, peasants, army deserters ​ Beginning of “Gulag”: Solovki prison camp ​ Execution of royal family ​ Under house arrest since March 1917 ​ Moved to Yekaterinburg August 1917 ​ White forces move in July 1918 ​ Lenin ordered execution July 1918 ○​ Demonization of monarchists, white forces ○​ Demonizations of SRs ○​ White Terror ​ Murder Bolshevik prisoners, partisans, local allies ​ Whites support extermination of Ukraine Pogroms (Jews) 1919: 100,000 ​ Petliura casualties: 40% ​ Ukrainian forces: 25% ​ Cossacks and Whites 17% ​ Bolsheviks: 8.5% ​ War Communism July 1918-March 1921 ○​ Centralized economy ​ Production planned by govt ​ Grain seizures and requisitions starting fall 1918 ​ Rations ○​ Wartime dictatorship ○​ Costs ○​ Kronstadt uprising ​ How to deal with the aftermath of a multinational empire?  ​ Why did the Bolsheviks win? ○​ Peasant’s hatred of the old regime > hatred of Bolsheviks bc Bolsheviks let peasants keep seized land ○​ Bolsheviks control railroad lines that are centered in Petrograd -> dispatch supply lines rlly quick ○​ The Whites have a hodgepodge group of people -> lack of support and messaging, lack of working class base ○​ Bolshevik’s policy of self-determination won them support of national minorities ○​ Promises of a better future (utopia) ​ What was the impact of the Civil War on the Bolshevik Party and Soviet state and society? ○​ Civil War Costs ​ Combat 2 million ​ Famine 5 million ​ Disease 2.3 million ​ Millions more exiles, refugees, homeless, and disabled ​ Legacies ​ Legacy of distrust and violence ​ “Siege mentality” bc Bolshevik rev was underground movement ​ Party discipline ​ Ban on other parties ​ Suspension of freedom of press/assembly ​ Centralization to counter chaos from peasant land seizure ​ Civil War Legacies ○​ Defining revolutionary event ○​ Bolsheviks went from elite org to mass political party ○​ Remembered as time of heroism, revolutionary romanticism, and utopianism ○​ Became epitome of communism Week 3 Tuesday Lecture ​ Questions ○​ What are the inherent tensions within the concept of Revolutionary Utopia? ○​ Who was the New Soviet person and how were they supposed to live/act? ○​ What was the role of women in NEP society? ○​ – ○​ – ​ Russian Revolution ○​ Change world ○​ Destroy old empire ○​ “Revolution is… revelation” Stites, Historian ​ Socialism and Utopia ○​ Russian roots ○​ Utopian dreaming: ○​ “Principle of hope”: the idea that the present order will not stan ​ Recording started at 9:42 ​ Eschatological (Judeo-Christian) worldview: “Novel idea of a unique world history guided by a single principle and direction toward consummation of that history”, Doctrine of last things ○​ End of History for Christianity: fall of Adam and ends with Apocalypse ○​ End of History for Marxism: “original expropriation” and universal revolution, ​ Pros: ○​ Potential for transformation ○​ Break with the past and present ○​ The Future ​ Cons: ○​ Purity and revolutionary asceticism ○​ Impatience with time ○​ Authoritarian impulses ○​ Protecting the revolution ○​ Social pressures ​ Revolutionary iconoclasm: to remake, reorganize everything in present into something better ○​ Iconoclasm: image breaking ○​ De-Romanovization starting in 1917 ○​ Attack on the church ○​ Peasants attack social order in countryside ○​ Alexander III: peasants write inscription into statute, Putin unveils statue in Crimea ○​ Removal double-headed eagle ​ New Institutions ○​ Proletkult Proletarian Culture ​ Main institution from revolution until mid 1920s ​ For working class culture ​ Destruction of “bourgeois” culture ​ Theatres, publications, clubs ​ Clashes with conservative elements in revolution ​ New Festivals ○​ May Day International Workers’ Day ​ Commemorates Chicago haymarket fire 1886 ​ Started 1904 ○​ International Women’s Day ​ March 8th ​ Originated in US 1909 ​ Since 1913, Started in 1917 ○​ October Revolution Day ​ Celebrating seizure of power ​ God-killing ○​ 1st atheist state  ○​ Persecution of church hierarchy, confiscation church property, agaitation against faith ○​ Anti-religious propaganda ​ Training of propagandists 12th party Congress 1923 ​ “League of Godless” 1925 ○​ Marx: “Religion is opium for the masses” ​ God-building ○​ Lifecycle: Birth/Marriage/Death ○​ Revolutionary christenings in name of socialist leaders ○​ Red Weddings: single the Internationale, communist speeches ○​ Red Funeral: cemeteries are gonna fall out of use, crematories will become more popular bc more economic, cemeteries will become parks ​ New Soviet Person ○​ Tension between new egalitarian society vs tradition ○​ New “structure of the soul” ​ Traumas of War and Revolution ​ Literate ​ Educated ​ Socially active, politically conscious ​ Fit ​ Sober, Not smoking tobacco nor marijuana ​ Atheist ​ Scientific ​ Rational ​ Against domestic abuse ​ New Everyday Life ○​ Need to change places of interaction in life ○​ Private becomes public and vice versa ​ Focus on youth ​ Komsomol: communist youth league ​ Standards on social etiquette and hygiene ○​ Women have new rights and responsibilities ​ Change domestic sphere: men and women share domestic duties ​ Abortion will become legalized and state-funded ​ Equal pay, maternity leave, divorce ○​ Experimentation with communal living and nuclear family ○​ Sex and relationships ​ Omdovodia; freedp, om ;pve amd sex ​ Romantic not hedonistic love ​ Zalkind’s “12 Sexual Commandments”, closer to Lenin ​ Revolutionary expediency: make revolutionist population ​ Reality of New Everyday Life ○​ Masculinity persists -> sexual harassment, unemployment ○​ Women have low representation in party  ○​ Lack of social support for working women ○​ New family code 1926 ○​ Sexual license tied to ideological deviance ○​ Puritanism ​ Revolutionary Culture ○​ Attacks on “high culture” -> bourgeois and aristocratic f orms and rituals ​ Privileges peasant and working class ○​ Traditional forms and/or the avant garde ○​ Leadership takes “soft line on culture” ​ 1920s most experimental and creative in Soviet Union ​ “Fellow travelers” allowed to return or stay ​ Culture Movements ○​ Art and architecture: constructivism, supremacism, futurism ○​ Literature: ​ Realism, satire, formalis,m futurism ​ Futurism, symbolism, acmeism ​ Theatre: mock trials ​ Film: montage, propaganda ○​ ​ 1920s Cultural Denouement ○​ Many artists, writers disillusioned by censorship ○​ Many writers, poets criticize philistinism and bureaucracy in Soviet Union -< later commit suicide Week 3 Thursday Lecture ​ Questions ​ ​ Lenin said “1 step forward, 2 steps back” getting rid of imperial Emperor ​ NEP= Peasant Brest-Litovsk ○​ Temporary: replaces “war communism” in 1921 ○​ Limited free trade ​ Still state controlled sectors ○​ Mixed/blended economy of socialism and capitalism ○​ Town and countryside link ○​ Individuals can own some small scale industry and trade freely ○​ NEPmen: private traders ○​ Tax-in-kind on agriculture then pay in money or produce ○​ Replace requisitioning with fixed tax ○​ Encourages foreign investment in economy ​ War communism and new economy policy ○​ Gov’t takes all surplus vs. govt takes 50% ○​ sell nothing vs. sell some ○​ left only with subsistence vs. subsistence + cash ○​ keep all subsistence vs: govt takes 50% of subsistence ​ Consequences of NEP ○​ Workers flee cities bc not educated enough to run economy ○​ Peasants distrust govt and are economically destroyed ○​ Capitalists still keep old jobs/run old systems bc peasants not educated to do it ​ The Scissors Crisis 1923-4 ○​ Industry lags bc ​ Lack of experts and workers  ​ Lack of raw materials ​ Inefficient production ○​ ↪ Industrial retail + wholesale prices jump ○​ ↪ Agricultural retail + wholesale prices stay the same ○​ ↪ Creates scissor effect on graph ○​ ∴ Peasants have less buying power -> peasants disincentivized to increase production ​ State Response to Scissors Crisis ○​ Export grain abroad ○​ Revamp industries -> bring back old managers ○​ Crack down on price gouging ○​ Commissariat of Trade and Regulation ○​ ↪ By 1924 industrial prices much lower ​ Left Opposition- Trotsky ○​ Super industrialization ○​ Pay peasants low prices ○​ Tax peasants heavy ○​ Rely on workers ○​ Faster industrial growth ​ Right Opposition- Bukharin, Lenin ○​ Mixed NEP ○​ Pay peasants higher prices ○​ Encourage peasant production ○​ Tax peasants light ○​ Slower industrial growth ​ NEP Outcome ○​ Proletariat grows ○​ Population growth wipes out gains from revolution ○​ ↪ Grain production falls off late 1920s ○​ Standard of living improves for all sectors ○​ Rise of NEPmen ​ Retail trade privatized ​ Numerous and prosperous ​ New bourgeoisie ○​ Rise of Kulaks wealthy peasants ​ Lease land ​ Hire labor ​ Party worries they have too much power ○​ ​ The State And/Of Party Democracy 1921 ○​ Workers’ opposition 1921 ​ Shliapnikov (Russian Metalworkers Union) and Kollontai (zhenotdel) ​ Empower workers against bureaucracy ○​ Lenin “On Party Unity”  ​ Bans party factions -> dissolves groups based on platforms ​ Democratic centralism ​ “Freedom of discussion, unity of action” ​ Any who disobeys expelled from the party ​ Strict discipline ○​ Lenin has stroke 1922, 1923 -> incapacitated ​ The Pollity becomes state ○​ Politburo ​ 1919 ​ Dozen members ​ Makes all key decisions ​ Like cabinet ○​ Central Committee ​ Former decision-makers ​ Elected by party congress ​ 70 to 287 members ​ Like congress ○​ Orgburo ​ Under Central Committee ​ Implements decisions ○​ Secretariat ​ Runs bureaucracy ​ Carries politburo decisions and Orgburo recommendations ​ personnel assignment ​ Connected to network of party secretaries ​ Stalin: 1st head ○​ ​ ​ Lenin dies: January 21, 1924 ​ Lenin’s Testament ○​ Trotsky: most capable, arrogant, doesn’t work well with others, too focused with administration ○​ Stalin: rude, intolerable, makes others better, should be replaced ○​ Bukharin: most valuable, theorist, party favorite, too scholarly, doesn’t have leadership ability ○​ Acknowledges split between Trotsky and Stalin ○​ Document released 1926, 1927 ○​ Trotsky accidentally misses Lenin’s death ​ Stalin ○​ Born in Georgia to shoemaker ○​ Joins Bolsheviks 1903 ○​ Involved in Caucasus before revolution ○​ Poor theorist ○​ Excellent political/party operator ○​ build massive network of loyal secretaries ○​ Only person in Politburo; Orgburo; and Central Committee ​ Triumvirate ​ Criticizes Trotsky for being too ambitious, anti-Leninist, and party factionalism ​ Publishes “Foundations of Leninism” in 1924  ​ Argues for “socialism in one country” ​ Trotsky ○​ Born in Ukraine to wealthy Jewish farmers ○​ Joins Marxist socialists in 1890s ○​ Originally w Mensheviks ○​ Joins Bolsheviks during Revollution ○​ Leader of Red Army ○​ Fired, deported ○​ Assassinated 1940 ○​ Left Opp ​ Attacks bureaucracy ​ Party democracy ​ Increase state planning ​ Platform 46 ​ Pushes permanent revolution as key to successful industrialization ​ Loses party leadership 1925 ​ Bukharin ○​ Born in Moscow to schoolteachers ○​ Studied at university ○​ Joins Bolsheviks 1906 ○​ Theorist, economist ○​ ​ Stalin’s Gains 1925-6 ○​ Allies: Molotov, Voroshilov, Kalinin ○​ Zinoviev and Kamenev split w Stalin ○​ Receives majority at 14th Party Congress 1925 ○​ Bukharin attacks Trotsky from right at 15th Party Congress 1926 ○​ United Opposition 1926-7: Trotsky, Kamenev, ZinovievRight Opposition: Stalin, Bukharin, Tomsky (unions), Rykov (gov) ○​ Stalin and Bukharin push socialism and one country ○​ Right opposition control key institutions ○​ United Opposition isolated ​ -> 1927 Trotsky expelled ​ -> 1929 expelled from Soviet Union ○​ Stalin uses war scare to requisition grain from peasants ​ Why was Stalin successful? ○​ Political operator ○​ Networks of loyal cadres (patronage) ○​ Remained with NEP ○​ Seen as true Leninist ○​ Party ban on facionalism/democratic centralism ○​ Played on fear of splits and disorder left by lack of named successor to Lenin ○​ Opposition was weak, disorganized, and misunderstood Soviet state Week 4 Tuesday Lecture ​ Captive Nations: nation states held under the Soviet Union, whereas Soviet Union saw itself as Friendship of Nations ​ Prison of Nations: used by Lenin to describe Russian imperial empire ​ Questions ​ Nations, States, and Nationalism ○​ Nation state will become dominant form during 21st century ○​ What is a nation? ○​ Nation could be any combination of factors ○​ Nationalism: new free, independent state, incorporate other nations into state, movements for these things ○​ Most territories are heterogeneous ○​ Speaking same language doesn’t mean they’re seen as same part of ethnicity ○​ Diff ethnicity w same language ≠ want to be part of empire ○​ Many ways to decide how who gets to reap benefits of nation state=no criteria ​ Russian Imperial Empire ○​ Largest territorial state on Earth at this time ○​ Heterogenous, various waves of immigration over 500 hundred years ○​ Hundreds of different ethnic, linguistic groups ○​ Paganism/fusions of paganism with Christianity ○​ Some groups will have very weak national identity ○​ Nations haven’t existed for 2000 years ○​ Nations are human made constructions ○​ Poles have very developed national identity: advanced intelligentsia, written language, cultural markers, ability to propagate information ○​ More rural areas: less developed -> weaker national identity ○​ Growth of industrialization, commerce, education but uneven growth -> people are exposed to new ideas and see themselves in different light ○​ Orthodox Russians only 43% of empire: Russo-ification: now you’re all Russian and have to speak Russian, supranational identity: beyond ethno-national identity, accomplished by Bolsheviks, ○​ Empire described by liberals as prison of nations ○​ Marx: Working men have no country ○​ Lenin: takes a middle ground, sees nationalism as an evil, moderate, changes stance according to circumstances ○​ Bolshevik: National Question ​ “Masking ideology”: pl mad about jobs, wages and nationalists will blame this on x,y,z group WHEREAS Bolsheviks see this problem as class-based ​ They see nationalism as inevitable and need to get rid of it ​ Nationalism within dominant groups is the greatest evil ​ Grievances need to be captured and dealt with ​ 1917 Revolution ○​ Goal: bring down nation states and replace them w smth else  ○​ -> Reality: take some aspects of nationalism ○​ Declaration of Rights of the Peoples of Russia: allow independence of sm states= self-determination ○​ Federalism: solution to national question problem, still allows national-territorial territory ○​ Narkomnats: commissariat of nationality, led by Stalin ○​ ​ ○​ ​ Bolshevik debates during Civil War ○​ 8th Party Congress ​ Lenin-Stalin see self-determination as important, see ignorance of national question as another form of oppression ​ Bukharin-Piatakov: internationalists, see self-determination as not important and outdated ​ Let Finland go ​ Give Ukraine, Georgia some independence ​ Later on, Stalin, Bukharin don’t trust ethnic groups with having their own nationalism ○​ ​ National Groups during the civil war ○​ Ukraine ○​ Poland ○​ Belarus ​ Rural ​ Illiterate ○​ Caucasus ​ Uneven development ​ Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan ○​ National Groups ​ CentralAsia ​ Muslims ​ National identity lowest ​ Nomads ​ Broken into republics ​ Declaration and Treaty on the Creation of the Union of Soviet Republics: December 30, 1992: first republic created from ethno national units ​ Debates Cont’d ○​ Lenin sees problem with communist party majority Russian ○​ Georgian problem has strong socialist movement w Mensheviks ○​ Stalin suppresses Lenin’s support for self-determination at 12th party congress 1923 ○​ Stalin takes over 1923 ​ Soviet Union 1918-1924  ○​ Structure of USSR: federal union of 7 republics ○​ Union vs autonomous republics ○​ Narkomnats: “Soviet of Nationalities” ○​ ​ “Affirmative Action” Empire ○​ Korenizatsiia ​ Indigenization or nativization campaign ​ National in form, socialist in content ○​ Korenizatsiia ​ Land/territory ​ Language ​ Elites ​ Identity via culture ○​ Problems w Korenizatsiia ​ Land question ​ Russian question ​ Resentment and pushback ○​ Consequences ​ Nationalized population ​ Classified population ○​ Gives Jews land in Siberia ○​ Encourage own culture and language -> codify oral languages ○​ Kitschification of culture ○​ What about Poles? Greeks? ○​ Russians are gonna pushback against affirmative action programs and against Doestoevysky, other Russian culture banned ○​ Cultural identity accelerated by Soviets ​ Consequences of Korenizatsiia 1930s ○​ Socialist Offensive 1928-32 ​ Trials and arrest of elites ​ ○​ Russification vs Primordialism ​ Friendship of Nations ○​ Great Retreat 1933-38 ​ Shift from targeted attacks on national leaders to ethnic cleansing ​ Great Terror ​ Legacy of state violence against national groups in post-war period Week 4 Thursday Lecture ​ Review on Tuesday ​ Midterm on Thursday ​ Outline ○​ Youth as actor and object in Stalinism ○​ Development of Stalinism thru First Five Year Plan  ○​ Conservative Turn ​ Communist Youth in the Early USSRg ○​ Founded in 1918 ○​ All union Leninist Communist League of Youth ​ Elite org ○​ Below 7% before 1930 ○​ BAge 14-23 ○​ Overwhelmingly male ○​ Bigger than party ​ Young Radicals ​ Is this the revolution we imaged in 1917 ​ Specialist baiting ○​ Class and age divide ○​ Unemployment ​ Cities vs countryside ​ Radicalism ○​ Komsomol Easter ​ Huge difference between radicals and state ​ War Scare of 1926-7 ○​ Comintern ○​ “Capitalist Encirclement” ○​ ARCOS Affair, 1927 ○​ Plateau in industrial growth, 1926 ish ​ Cultural Revolution ○​ Purge in education ○​ “Shock work” ○​ Shakhty Trial, 1928 ○​ Q: From above or below? ○​ Both ​ First Five Year Plan ​ Plan/Command Economy ○​ Seizure/taxation of commerce ​ 1927-8 version: ○​ 2x industry ​ April 1929 version ○​ 2.5x industry ​ Gosplan ​ In the Countryside ○​ 1927-28: Decreased Marketing (Grain Crisis) ○​ “Ural-Siberian Method” ​ Aka, requisitions ○​ “Dekulakization: ​ First: economic, cultural ​ Later: physical ​ November 1929 Plenum ○​ FFYO revised upward ​ Initially 20% of land to be collectivized ○​ December 29, 1929: “On Dekulakization” ​ War against the peasantry Jan-March 1930 ○​ Civil war in countryside ​ Peasant ○​ Organization of “kolkhozy” (collective farms) ○​ By March, ~60% of households in kolkhoz ​ Stalin, “Dizzy with success” ○​ OGPU (secret police) deports 1.8 million “kulaks” ​ Outcomes of Collectivization ○​ Grain requisitioning effective but brutal ​ Despite soft resistance ○​ Private plots ○​ Police labor empire ○​ Famine (Holodomor) ○​ Creation of underclass (dekulakized) ​ The Victory of Socialism ○​ Victory ​ Control over grain supply ​ Peasantry neutralized as political force ​ Cultured living ○​ New hierarchies ○​ Traditional education ○​ 1936: “Protection of Motherhood and Childhood” ○​ Revolution betrayed? ​ Cultural Changes ​ Youth in the Conservative Turn ○​ Elite organization becomes mass organization ○​ Focus on upbringing, militarization ○​ Increased representation of women ​ Highly gendered ​ Conclusions ​ Youth ○​ Important base of support to early 1930s ○​ Object of state upbringing from 1930s ​ What is Stalinism ○​ State-run ​ But: Commitment to protect communist state, future of communism ​ Prep for Test ○​ Look for key words ○​ words- multiple choice ○​ describe IDs and essay questions ○​ IDs: look for email ○​ Know what words are ○​ Read the conclusion of the chapters!!! ○​ IRS ○​ Mayor Karen Bass ○​ LA County ○​ 1st and last sen​ tence of each paragraph ○​ AAP Campbell Hall lower floor, print for free