5-7 million died in the famine
stalin turns out to be effective leader
mass collectivization
no legal free enterprise
authoritarian turns totalitarian
decoulackization - repression
abuse of power, most of it is direct
famines meant to crush resistance
crush alternative leaders
targets strong leaders in great purges, has military leaders shot
liberal use of siberian labor camps
strong resistance to collectivization in countryside
rumor that stalin's wife killed herself rather than live with him
found dead in bedroom with a gun nearby, not clear if suicide or murder

after stalin, brief gap in leadership, khrushchev steps up
denounces stalin, destalinization
stops using prison camps to large extent
strong cold warrior internationally
cuban missile crisis
took missiles back to USSR
goes on a vacation, when he gets back, gov't ousts him and installs someone else

brezhnev 1964-82 takes power
ends process of destalinization
puts siberian prison camps back into use
also starts declaring dissidents mentally ill, very effective in several ways
maintains strong international stances, takes stronger control of satellite countries
crushes opposition in czechloslovakia
consolidates power everywhere
1973-1978 - detente, increased cultural interaction between eastern and western countries
1979 - ussr supports communist forces in afghanistan
1980 - US boycotts olympics in ussr
cold war heats up again
ussr spending 25% of GNP on military

andropov 1982-84
aggressive icbm policy

chernenko 1984-85
aggressive icbm policy

gorbachev 1985-91
massive change
ussr falls apart, almost accidentally
wanted mild reforms
wasn't looking for end to ussr or communism
opens system to small changes, large outcry for more
product of stalin's regime
perestroika - economic restructuring, some free market activity, going back to roots of USSR
glasnost - openness, more transparency in government, gov'tal process
1989 allows fall of berlin wall
nobel peace prize 1990
1990 presidency of USSR
1991 coup attempt: rise of Yeltsin