Russia and the USSR, 1855–1991: Autocracy and Dictatorship

241 Pages·2005·6.089 MB·English

by  Stephen J. Lee

RUSSIA AND THE
USSR, 1855–1991
Russia and the USSR, 1855–1991 explores all the key aspects of
this extremely important period in Russian history. Stephen J. Lee
examines and compares the ideologies of Tsarist autocracy and
Soviet Communism and the opposition to these regimes. The 1917
Revolution, the use of repression and terror by these regimes and
the impact of the First and Second World Wars on Russia are also
analysed. A major feature of the book is the guidance provided for
students preparing for the synoptic module of A2 exams.
Stephen J. Lee is Head of History at Bromsgrove School. His many
publications include European Dictatorships (2nd edition, 2000) and,
in this series, Gladstone and Disraeli (2005) and Lenin and Revolutionary
Russia (2003).
QUESTIONS AND ANALYSIS IN HISTORY
Edited by Stephen J. Lee, Sean Lang and Jocelyn Hunt
Other titles in this series:
Modern History Early Modern History
Imperial Germany, 1871–1918 The English Wars and Republic,
Stephen J. Lee 1636–1660
Graham E. Seel
The Weimar Republic
Stephen J. Lee The Renaissance
Jocelyn Hunt
Hitler and Nazi Germany
Stephen J. Lee Tudor Government
T. A. Morris
The Spanish Civil War
Andrew Forrest Spain, 1474–1598
Jocelyn Hunt
The Cold War
Bradley Lightbody The Early Stuart Kings,
1603–1642
Stalin and the Soviet Union
Graham E. Seel and
Stephen J. Lee
David L. Smith
Parliamentary Reform, 1785–1928
Sean Lang
British Foreign and Imperial Policy,
1865–1919
Graham D. Goodlad
The French Revolution
Jocelyn Hunt
The First World War
Ian C. Cawood and
David McKinnon-Bell
Anglo-Irish Relations, 1798–1922
Nick Pelling
Churchill
Samantha Heywood
Mussolini and Fascism
Patricia Knight
Lenin and Revolutionary Russia
Stephen J. Lee
Gladstone and Disraeli
Stephen J. Lee
RUSSIA AND THE
USSR, 1855–1991
Autocracy and Dictatorship

STEPHEN J. LEE
First published 2006
by Routledge
2–4 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN
Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada
by Routledge
52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group
© 2006 Stephen J. Lee
Typeset in Akzidenz Grotesk and Perpetua by
Florence Production Ltd, Stoodleigh, Devon
Printed and bound in Great Britain by
TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced
or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording,
or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in
writing from the publishers.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data
Lee, Stephen J., 1945–
Russia and the USSR, 1855–1991: autocracy and dictatorship/
Stephen J. Lee.
p. cm. – (Questions and analysis in history)
Includes bibliographical references.
1. Russia – Politics and government – 1801–1917. 2. Soviet Union –
Politics and government. 3. Despotism – Russia. 4. Dictatorship – Soviet
Union. 5. Authoritarianism – Soviet Union. 6. Totalitarianism – History –
20th century. I. Title. II. Series.
DK61.L42 2005
947.08 – dc22 2005020925
ISBN10: 0–415–33576–0 ISBN13: 978–0–415–33576–8 (hbk)
ISBN10: 0–415–33577–9 ISBN13: 978–0–415–33577–5 (pbk)
CONTENTS

List of illustrations ix

Acknowledgements x

Introduction xi

Outline chronology xiii

List of abbreviations xxiii

1 Ideologies and regimes 1

Analysis 1: What were the main features of the ideologies

of Tsarist autocracy and Soviet Communism? 1

Analysis 2: ‘Their rule was conditioned by a fundamental

ideology on which their power depended’. To what

extent would you agree with this assessment of either

Nicholas II or Stalin? 9

Analysis 3: Compare autocracy and Marxism-Leninism as

ideologies within the context of Tsarist and Soviet Russia. 14

Sources:
1. The theory and practice of autocracy in late-Tsarist Russia 19

2. Marxism, Marxism-Leninism and Stalinism 23

2 Constitutional development 26

Analysis 1: Outline the development of Russia’s

constitutional structure between 1855 and 1991. 26

CONTENTS v
Analysis 2: Explain why, and with what degree of success,
new constitutional structures were introduced in either
the late-Tsarist or Soviet periods. 30
Analysis 3: Discuss the similarities and differences
between the constitutions introduced during the
late-Tsarist and Soviet periods. 36
Sources:
1. The Imperial Constitution of 1906 42
2. The Constitutions of the USSR 48
3 Political parties 51
Analysis 1: Examine the meaning and development of
political parties between 1855 and 1991. 51
Analysis 2: How successful were either Alexander III and
Nicholas II or Lenin and Stalin in controlling the power
of political parties? 56
Analysis 3: ‘The meaning of political party differed profoundly
between the Tsarist and Soviet regimes’. Do you agree? 62
Sources:
1. Political parties in Tsarist Russia 65
2. The Communist Party of the Soviet Union under the leadership
of Stalin 68
4 Repression and terror 71
Analysis 1: Explain the development of the secret police
in Russia between 1826 and 1991. 71
Analysis 2: ‘Ruthless but effective’. Assess this view of
the secret police either in Tsarist Russia under Nicholas II
or in the Soviet Union under Stalin. 76
Analysis 3: Compare the use of repression and terror by the
Tsarist and Soviet regimes between 1855 and 1991. 83
Sources:
1. Terror, moderation and the secret police under Nicholas II 88
2. Historians and Stalin’s Terror 89
vi CONTENTS
5 The nationalities 93

Analysis 1: Examine the development of nationalities within

Russia and the Soviet Union between 1800 and 1991. 93

Analysis 2: ‘The most repressive of their policies, in

response to the greatest of their threats’. To what extent

do you agree with this assessment of the treatment of

the nationalities either by Alexander II, Alexander III and

Nicholas II or by Lenin and Stalin? 98

Analysis 3: Compare the treatment of the nationalities

by the Tsarist and Soviet regimes between 1855 and 1991.

How effective were their policies? 106

Sources:
1. The policies of Alexander III and Nicholas II towards the

nationalities 113

2. Different perspectives on the nationalities under the Tsarist

and Soviet regimes 115

6 The impact of war 118

Analysis 1: Explain the impact of war on Russia’s internal

development between 1854 and 1991. 118

Analysis 2: ‘A turning point in the fortunes of the Russian

regime’. Discuss this view in relation to either the First

World War or the Second World War. 122

Analysis 3: Compare the Tsarist and Soviet regimes

at war. 131

Sources:
1. The impact of the First World War on Russia 134

2. The impact of the Second World War on the Soviet Union 136

7 Agriculture and industry 139

Analysis 1: What were the key developments in Russian

agriculture and industry after 1855? 139

Analysis 2: Can the economic policies of either Witte or

Stalin be considered a ‘turning point’ in Russian history? 143

CONTENTS vii
Analysis 3: Compare the economic performances of the

late-Tsarist regime (1855–1917) and the Soviet Union

(1917–91). 149

Sources:
1. Witte and Russian industry 155

2. Stalin and Soviet agriculture 157

8 The social classes 160

Analysis 1: Examine the development of the peasantry

and urban workers between 1855 and 1991. 160

Analysis 2: ‘A substantial difference between theory and

practice’. How effectively does this describe the official

view of social class either between 1855 and 1917 or

between 1918 and 1991? 165

Analysis 3: Compare the response of the different classes

to the late-Tsarist and Soviet regimes, 1855–1991. 175

Sources:
1. Alexander II and the abolition of serfdom 183

2. The motivation of the Soviet workforce in the 1930s 186

Glossary of terms 190

Notes 198

Select bibliography 205

Index 208

viii CONTENTS
ILLUSTRATIONS
1 Base, superstructure, the dialectic and class conflict 4

2 The main constitutional changes 1855–1991 27

3 The main political parties and factions 1855–1991 53

4 Tsarist and Soviet secret police 75

5 Imperial Russia, the Soviet Union and the successor

states 96–7

6 Map of the USSR in 1953 125

ILLUSTRATIONS ix