Stalin's Cult of Personality

1. Does the fact that images of Stalin appeared everywhere, as described by Steinbeck in Source 14.8, prove that Stalin attracted genuine adulation?

Answer: No, although Stalin was adored by some, and there were images of the leader everywhere; this did not mean he attracted genuine adulation, it is undoubted that he did attract adulation- however more so because of his ability to place images of himself in the public view, as well as strategically use propaganda to "force" the public to support and like him. Steinbeck in source 14.8 depicts the images of Stalin in a more creepy, gruesome, Big Brother way... that Stalin was eternally, and creepily watching over everyone, and everything, always. 


2.Describe the various devices used to establish and spread the cult of Stalin.
Answer: As mentioned above, Stalin strategically implicated the use of Images, Statues, Propaganda, and "Forced- Popularity" in order to make himself appear the obvious and only choice for power, supported by Lenin and the entire party, and of course omnipotent and immersed in issues for the good of the party. Stalin also used his "Link to Lenin" in order to establish his cult of personality- if Lenin had wanted Stalin in power, then those who were loyal to Lenin before his death, would now logically be loyal to Stalin after it; except this is not the case. Stalin strategically placed himself at Lenin's side, made the speech at his funeral, and changed documents, photos, and other images to show that they were close, and that Lenin was "beckoning" (see source 14.6) Stalin into the position of power for the Soviet Union. A third device used my Joseph Stalin was the "failures" of others, when the past heros or leaders where tried, or perhaps deemed bad for party leadership, bad for the state, or bad in general Stalin is depicted at the "wheel of the ship" steering the USSR out of harms way, being a beacon of hope, almost demi-god like when others failed. 


3 Account for the relative success of the cult - why do you think it worked with the Russian people? 
Answer: I believe that this worked so well because the Russian people were desperate for something to cling to, when economic, or policial grounds were not stable; Stalin seemed to be helping the party and again "steering" it out of harms way. He seemed to "know" the direction that Lenin would have wanted the party taken in, and was going to be able to hold the soviet society together- which is very important to a mass of people who are undergoing a political transformation. Some looked to Stalin as almost god-like. 

4. What conclusions can you reach about whether the adulation Stalin received was genuine? Make notes of your answers.

Answer: I feel that I have two conclusions, that partially contradict themselves. The first saying that some of the adulation that Stalin received was genuine, due to the demi-god status he had reached. The people were looking for someone to put their faith and trust in that they would be sure that the country was going in the right direction for the people, so that the economy would be up, and there would be food to eat, unlike life under the Tsarist Regime. Many people saw Stalin almost as Christ-like or Prophetic, and that he was the "guiding light" of the party; this attitude however, brings me to my next point that this would not be achieved without the use of propaganda, doctored photos, altered documents, and extreme purges. Therefore some of the adulation that Stalin received could not have been genuine because it was based off of people's incorrect assumptions, or beliefs that had been forced upon, or tricked into thinking. Most of  what the people of Soviet Russia saw was propaganda or altered, so it is hard to know what views people had that were unbiased in relation to Stalin's adulation. 

Purges, Terror and Show Trials.

1. What is the significance of Kirov's murder?
Answer: The significance of the Kirov murder what that it gave Stalin an excuse to purge the party, and begin the show trials.
2.  According to Stalin, who had Nikolayev been working for when he assassinated Kirov? Why is this significant?
Answer: According to Stalin Nikolayev was working for the Leningrad Opposition Center, this is significant because it gave him a motive to want to eliminate a major party leader, such as Kirov, Stalin etc; as an act of "terrorism" against the communist party.
3. What is a Trotskyite?
Answer: A Trotskyite was someone who was not loyal to the party, and were loyal to Trotsky and the way that he would have run the party, and his side and views. They were often denounced in party meetings or put in show trials.
4. There are three major Show Trials, name and briefly describe them.
Answer: 1. The Trial of the Sixteen- this involved Zinoviev, Kamenev, and 14 others; they were accused of involvement in conspiracy, relating to Trotsky.
2. Trial of the Seventeen- the victims were accused of having links to Trotsky, and creating terrorist actions, and wrecking industry.  3. Trial of the Twenty-One- involved Buhkarin, Rykov, and 19 others; they were accused of helping foregin spies, being Trotsky-Righists, and wrecking industry.
5. During the Great Terror, there were three stages to the purges, staring with members of the Communist party. What were the next two stages and what type of people were purged?
Answer: The next two stages were purges of the armed forces and the general public of the USSR. Neighbours could rat out their neighbours and no one was safe. 

Kirov Murder Mystery

Sorry! This is copied out of a word doc!:)


1. In what circumstances ti the assassin carry out the murder?
He was able to get into the building while Kirov's body guard was downstairs, wait in the hallway all day, and then while his body guard was not with him, shot Kirov. Previously the assassin was caught, questioned but given back his gun. 2. What strange coincidences surround the murder?
Kirov had just gained popularity among the 7th party congress- making him a threat to Stalin, the man who assassinated Mr. Kirov was also seen near his building, and neigborhood right before the murder- he also had NKVD friends, whom he enjoyed shooting his revolver with. 3. Is there any evidence to link Stalin to the murder?
although there is no evidence, there is however a lot of conspiracy that he was eliminating the competition, and that he was aiming to make himself the only person in power; as well as beginning show trials, and the reason to purge. 
4. Is there any evidence to suggest that the NKVD was involved in the murder?
Yes, they had earlier questioned the assassin and let HIM go with his revolver, it is also alleged that an NKVD man posed as Nikolayev's friend and shot his revolver with him, as if to teach him how to use his revolver.
5. Who had the best motive for the murder?
Stalin, because he wouldn't want to have anyone who would be competing with him for the power of the party, especially if they were more popular then stalin. Also, i think that he would not have wanted anyone to get in the way of his purging. 
6. What theories can you suggest about who was responsible - was it the assassin alone or were others involved?
I think that the assassin was  influenced by the NKVD and Stalin because they would have the most reasons to be motivated to kill off Kirov for security of power, and security of the popular vote. They would also be more experienced (NKVD) in the art of assassination.

Gulags and the Purges

1. What type of construction projects were built using the Gulag System?
   The most notable construction projects to come out of the Gulag would be the Canal from the White Sea to the Baltic Sea ( which was too shallow, and was deemed a failure), as well as the Moscow Metrosystem and other large scale but expensive projects such as the electrical facility in the Ukraine.

2.What were the conditions in the camps?
   Many of the camps exposed its prisoners to cold and brutal conditions due to the location of the camp, in some camps temperatures were reported dipping under -60 in the winter, to make the prisoners work harder the Zek rationed food, some of the worst camps were in Kolyma this is where the winter conditions were brutal, and the workers were forced to prospect gold by hand.

3.  Why do you think slave labor was used in the projects instead of paid labor?
    I think that they chose to use slave labor because the projects were so large in scale and expensive as it is that they could not afford to also pay workers, another problem was relating to the purges, many of the skilled workers and more skilled people were in Gulags or dead, because they were considered to be enemies of the state. Also, by using slave labor they were able to achieve much more, because the conditions could be lower in standard.

4. What were the issues surrounding Kirov's murder?, Why do you think he had been murdered?
 Surrounding Kirov's murder there were the issues of the assassins plan, he was originally caught and arrested, however the police later released him, and returned his gun to him, another strange thing about the murder of Kirov is that Kirov's bodyguard was no where to be found, when normally they were always together, the next day he too was killed. I think that he was murdered because he was too popular  for Stalin's good; he was more handsome, from russia ( not georgia) popular, and a moderate member of Politburo at the time, stalin would not want anyone to appear better for the job then him.

5. What was the great purge? what specific group did it target?
The great purge was a purge of the party where those who were deemed unrealiable were purged from the party, they mostly targeted people who had been supporters of trotsky or zinoviev.

6.What was the purpose of the Show Trials?
The show trials were put on in order to parade around those who Stalin wished to purge from the party, who had places of power. They were eventually pushed into false-confessions and killed, they were put on for show, and were given the maximum publicity to humiliate and make example of the men accused.

7.What was the Great Terror?
The great terror was the spread of the purges outside of the party, those in the military went first, admirals were shot, then anyone could accuse anyone within the USSR, citizens ratted out other citizens, where they would be taken away in the night and killed.