Stalin - Plans and Purges Trivia Quiz

Answer: Sergo Ordzhonikidze

These plans prescribed exact amounts of materials needed (whether coal, iron or steel), and then provided to have them transported to where they needed to be.

Stalin wanted his Five Year Plans to make the USSR the "Soviet America". In reality, this could never be achieved with the method of central planning, as underproduction in one sector of industry would affect all subsequent areas. Furthermore, the transport system in the USSR could not cope with the overly ambitious targets set by Stalin and the Supreme Economic Council.

Answer: Magnitogorsk

Magnitogorsk was one of the largest steel and iron works in the world, and its rate of production was a huge achievement. Nevertheless, because Magnitogorsk was built so quickly, it did face difficulties. Many workers, both in building it and mining it, faced serious safety hazards and there was a lack of skilled workers able to run the plant. This led to underproduction and inefficiencies.

The targets for the first Five Year Plan were high so as to create a sense of urgency, and due to a war scare in 1927 many Russians accepted this rapid industrialisation. Although there were people to provide work, the inevitable problems which occurred were covered up due to fear of the oppressive regime and so problems went unresolved.

Answer: Baltic Sea and White Sea

The second Five Year Plan lasted from 1933 to 1937 and was generally better run than the first. Railways were improved so that more materials could be moved from one place to another, thus making the economic targets more realistic. The targets themselves were scaled down so as not to put as much pressure on factory managers. Because very large projects, such as Magnitogorsk and the Dnieprostroi Dam, had been built during the first Five Year Plan, the rate of production soared, causing these to be described as the "good years".

By 1937, it could be argued that the USSR was completely self sufficient. However, heavy industry was still the key focus, and because of this, there were fewer consumer goods and the quality of housing fell.

Answer: Armaments

With war looming, and finally being declared in 1939, there was a massive drive to produce more weapons. Due to the focus on armaments, other areas suffered. Oil production and domestic goods continued to decline, and even steel and iron production also fell.

Another key factor for in fall in production was the purges, which saw many factory managers and skilled workers killed or deported. Nevertheless, Stalin continued to send these workers to gulags (forced labour camps in Siberia or in the Kazakhstani desert), in an attempt to increase product output.

Many argued that the gulags were inefficient as the workers, although not paid, had to be looked after and guarded closely to prevent escape.

Answer: Martemyan Ryutin

Ryutin presented his views in a 200 page document which became known as the "Ryutin Platform" in 1932. In this document, Ryutin also personally attacked Stalin, referring to him as the "gravedigger of the revolution" and the "evil genius of the party". Those who sided with Ryutin became known as "Ryutinites", and these were all to be culled in the Great Purges later that decade. Stalin wanted the death penalty to be implemented in this case, but he was overruled by the politburo and Ryutin was exiled.

This type of opposition cemented the view in Stalin's mind that a purge was needed. These mild purges of 1932-34 became known as the "chistka", and merely consisted of taking away the party membership of the accused. As well as removing opposition from the party, Stalin intended to use these purges to cause fear, speed up industrialisation, and provide scapegoats for the failures in industry, thus diverting blame from himself.

Answer: Nadezhda

Nadezhda was said to have stormed out of a dinner party after watching Stalin shamelessly flirt with other women. She was found that night, dead with a gun by her side. She was declared to have died of appendicitis, but Stalin knew the truth. He saw her suicide as a betrayal. From this point on Stalin was said to become even more suspicious of other party members, and more paranoid that people were plotting against him.

Answer: He was murdered

Kirov was assassinated in 1934 by Leonid Nikolayev. There was much suspicion aroused by this murder, as there were no guards present at the time and a key witness was killed in a car crash on his way to give evidence. Stalin followed this up by having many arrested, including the NKVD boss, Yagoda. It is speculated that this was done so that Yezhov could be brought in as the new leader of the secret police, as he was more willing to co-operate with Stalin's Great Terror.

There is still fierce debate over whether Stalin was involved in this assassination or not. He was clearly worried by the threat Kirov posed, and so had a motive for removing him. If Stalin was involved in the plot, it shows that he intended to take the terror to the level it reached in 1937.

Answer: Andrei Vyshinsky

The "show trials" involved a collection of powerful political members who had opposed Stalin in the past. These trials were carefully scripted and the main prosecutor, Vyshinskiy, would reveal the numerous (and in some cases heinous) crimes committed by the accused, before they pleaded guilty. The guilty pleas were brought about by threatening the families of those in the trial.

As for the haranguing, if the accused object to the evidence, Vyshinsky shouted things like, 'How dare you open your mouth, you foul traitor'.

Answer: Kamenev and Zinoviev

Both Kamenev and Zinoviev are famous (or perhaps infamous) for being the two Bolsheviks who opposed Lenin during the October Revolution in 1917. They both rivalled Stalin during his rise to power in the late 1920s and often criticised his policies.

The second show trial in January 1937 also featured many leftist Communists. Yuri Pyatikov (deputy commissar for heavy industry in the USSR) was one of those to be executed following this trial, in which he was forced to accept the blame for mistakes which occurred in the economy. This was a clear factor in the suicide of Sergo Ordzhonikidze (chief commissariat for heavy industry) just a month later.

Answer: Nikolai Bukharin

As well as those in the right of the party, Yagoda (ex-head of the NKVD), was also a "star" of this show trial.

It was not just political rivals who were targeted during the show trials, but people form all backgrounds. These included peasants, factory workers and managers.

The third show trial took place in March 1938 and involved a total of 21 rightist Communists. As well as Bukharin and Yagoda, Rykov was also amongst the accused. Yagoda pleaded guilty to being responsible for the murder of Kirov in 1934, and in doing so, "proved" that Stalin played no part in the murder. The overall result of the show trials was that leaders who had challenged Stalin in the past, directly or indirectly, were now paying the price and their removal from the party left Stalin as supreme, unrivalled ruler of the USSR.