The Constitution of 1936
Approved on 5 December 1936 and called the "Stalin Constitution". Stalin said socialism had been built, so the rules should change.
- Voting: every adult aged 18 and over could vote, in a secret, direct and equal ballot (earlier, some groups had been barred).
- Supreme Soviet: a two-chamber parliament: the Soviet of the Union and the Soviet of Nationalities.
- Rights: work, rest, education, care in old age, equal rights for women and for all nations and races.
- Article 126: the Communist Party is the "leading core" of all state and social groups.
In practice only Party-approved candidates stood, so people could not truly choose. Rights such as free speech were not protected in real life.
Repressions: show trials and the Great Terror
On 1 December 1934 Sergei Kirov, a Party leader in Leningrad, was shot. Stalin used it to attack "enemies".
- Show trials (1936 to 1938): old Bolsheviks such as Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin confessed to made-up crimes. The outcome was decided in advance.
- The Great Terror (1937 to 1938) run by the secret police (NKVD) under Yezhov: about 1.5 million people were arrested and about 680,000 shot. Quotas of "enemies" were set for each region.
- The army: top commanders, such as Marshal Tukhachevsky, were arrested, which weakened the army.
- The Gulag: a system of labour camps; millions were held there.
- In late 1938 the Terror was slowed, and Yezhov was replaced.
Most victims were ordinary people, not party leaders. Many were later cleared after Stalin died.
Culture and society
The state wanted writers, painters and filmmakers to help build the new society.
- Socialist realism: art that shows workers, farms and leaders in a hopeful, heroic way. A Writers' Union (1934) set the rules.
- Education and literacy: schools, evening classes and campaigns raised literacy from about half the people (1926) to about 87 per cent (1939).
- Cinema, music, sport: popular films, parades and sports clubs spread fast.
- Control: churches and mosques were closed or restricted, and writers who did not follow the line were silenced.
- Cult of Stalin: pictures, songs and statues made him look like a wise "father of the people".
Foreign policy in the 1930s
With Hitler in power in Germany, the USSR first tried to build alliances:
- 1934: joined the League of Nations.
- 1935: pacts of mutual help with France and Czechoslovakia.
- 1936 to 1939: helped the Spanish Republic in the Civil War.
- 1938: at the Munich Agreement Britain and France gave Hitler part of Czechoslovakia and did not invite the USSR. Stalin felt alone.
- August 1939: the Nazi-Soviet Pact: a promise not to attack each other, with a secret deal about land in eastern Europe. It bought the USSR time, but a few weeks later the Second World War began.
Try it
Use the slider in step 5. For each year write one word: for 1934 "League", for 1936 "Constitution", for 1937 "Terror", for 1939 "Pact". Then cover the screen and say the five-word chain.
Key formulas and definitions
- 1934: Kirov murdered; League of Nations; Writers' Union
- 5 Dec 1936: new Constitution (Stalin Constitution)
- 1937 to 1938: Great Terror, about 1.5 million arrested
- Socialist realism = art that praises workers and the state
- Gulag = labour camp system
- 1938: Munich Agreement (USSR left out)
- 23 Aug 1939: Nazi-Soviet Pact
Worked examples
1. List two rights promised in the 1936 Constitution and say why they were weak in practice.
The Constitution promised the right to work and to education, and an equal secret vote at 18. In practice one Party list was offered and Article 126 made the Party the leading force, so voters had no real choice and freedoms could be ignored.
2. About 1.5 million were arrested and about 680,000 shot in 1937 to 1938. What share of those arrested was shot?
680,000 รท 1,500,000 โ 0.45, so about 45 per cent.
3. Why did the USSR sign a pact with Germany in 1939 after trying to find allies earlier?
After Munich in 1938 the Western powers left the USSR out, so Stalin doubted their help. The pact promised peace with Germany for a while, and gave the USSR time and extra land. It did not stop Germany from attacking in 1941.
Common mistakes
- Thinking the 1936 Constitution made the USSR a real multiparty democracy. Only the Party list stood.
- Mixing up the show trials (public, staged trials of leaders) and the Great Terror (mass arrests of ordinary people).
- Saying the Terror only hit Party leaders. Most victims were ordinary workers, peasants and officials.
- Forgetting that the USSR first tried alliances (1934 to 1935) before the 1939 pact.