INTERWAR PERIOD

 STALIN’S USSR

Civil War. After the Revolution in October a Civil War exploded in Russia. The rich land owners created the White Army that fought against the Red Army created by the Bolsheviks. This red army, directed by Leon Trotsky, finally won the war. However, the situation in Russia was catastrophic, the economy was collapsed and hunger had killed 5 million people. During the war the Bolsheviks had assumed the name: Communist Party of the Soviet Union. This Communist party had all the powers in Russia, all the other parties were forbidden. In 1922 the Soviet Union was created as a federation of republics. The Supreme Soviet was the Parliament and the Communist party controlled the political life. This kind of government has been called Totalitarism. The State and the Party were the same thing. The parliament was not elected. Marx’s ideas about the dictatorship of the proletariat were the ideological support for the structure of this state. In theory this dictatorship was a provisional moment in the way towards Communism.

 Internal fights. When Lenin died in 1924 their followers were trying to decide what the Party should do. Trotsky thought that the best idea was trying to export the revolution to other countries, helping the workers around the world to start their own revolutions. On the other hand Stalin wanted to continue with Socialism only in one country: the Soviet Union. The USSR had to become a power, and, after that it would boost revolutions in other countries. Stalin won the internal discussion and became the strong man in the Soviet Union in 1927. Trotsky had to escape out of Russia. 

Stalinism. Stalin’s idea of the Soviet Union becoming a great industrial power started with the collectivization of the economy. The measures included: .- The private property was forbidden. All the factories and lands became a property of the state. .- They prioritized the heavy industry. The idea was that the heavy industries were the first step to built a mighty nation, after achieving this the light industry could be developed. .- The State controlled the economy establishing what had to be produced. For this they used the “ five year plans”. This ideas worked (at the beginning) and the industry in the USSR got bigger. There were, however, problems: The light industry was not developed and as a result of this the population could not get the goods they needed. Another problem was agriculture, since the government focused on industry the land remained behind. Stalin started a real dictatorship characterized by the cult given to Stalin himself . All the possible dissidents were accused of being “enemies of the Socialism” and sent to concentration camps called gulags. 

THE US: THE HAPPY 20’S. 

- Consequences of WWI in the US. The US took advantage of the war. During the war they sold weapons, food and industrial goods to the allies, this made possible than the country became the most important economic power in the world. Moreover, when the war finished a lot of countries had to pay back the money that they had borrowed from the US. So the US became not only an industrial power, but also an economic one. 

- The happy years in the US. The situation when the war finished was perfect for the US. The 20’s was a decade of prosperity. The “American way of life” was created. America was a paradise for emigrants from all around the world. This growth was also possible due to the changes introduced by the Americans in the system of production: .- New ways of producing when Ford’s ideas about production were assumed. .- Since the workers earned more money they could spent more money, so more goods had to be produced. This economic growth affected the stock market. The economy seemed to be ok so everybody wanted to buy shares ( participations in companies).The prices of this shares went up. But the prices of the shares weren’t going up because the companies were going better but because of the people wanting to buy them. People bought shares only to sell them in a few days. ( In a few days the price had gone up). Some people even took out loans to buy shares. 

- Overproduction crisis. Things seemed to be ok but not everybody had such a good situation. Agricultural producers were the first who had troubles. During the First World War they had taken out loans to buy more land and new machinery. They needed to increase production to satisfy the needs of the countries that were fighting the war. When the war finished exports decreased. All the manufactured goods could not be sold in the American market. The consequence: the stocks accumulated and the prices went down. The agricultural workers couldn’t pay their loans and they had to sell their land and move to the cities. In factories the process was similar, American factories produced too much for the market. The factories, tried to sell their stocks by reducing the prices, but a lot of them went bankrupt. Unemployment increased and these unemployed people couldn’t buy anything, so there were less people to buy the goods produced.... and the stocks continued growing.... 

FASCISM IN ITALY. 

- Italy after the First World War. Italy suffered during the First World War, and, at the end of the war Italy was in the “winner team”. However, the peace agreements were a disappointment for Italy. Italy got Trieste, Istria and Trentino alto Adige but they couldn’t get Dalmacia and Fiume. So the idea of a “mutilated victory” spread all around the country. Moreover, Italy was living a situation dominated by politic instability. Between 1919 and 1922 5 governments tried to rule a country suffering constant strikes of the proletarians in the North. ( They even occupied factories and lands) All these movements were stopped, but the conservative sectors were afraid of a revolution “Russian Style”.

 The Fascism. During this situation Benito Mussolini appeared. He created the Fasci di combatimento also known as the Black Shirts. Their objective: stopping the revolution by attacking the trade unions and their leaders. In 1921 the Fasci di combatimento became a political party: The Fascist Party. Their ideas: Create a strong state in Italy, able to guarantee private property. Their ideas also focused on building an empire, a new Roman Empire was the aim. This party was supported by the bourgeoisie and funded by the rich land owners. The Catholic Church also thought that they could stop communism in Italy. ( remember... communism was atheistic). In 1922 the Fascist Party only got 22 representatives ( in a parliament of 500) but the party showed its strength by stopping a general strike promoted by Socialist and Anarchist trade unions. Mussolini demanded the power from the king and, to show his power, organized a military parade towards Rome. The king, finally, gave the power to Mussolini. 

- Fascist dictatorship. Until 1925 Mussolini eliminated his opponents, but tried to pretend that Italy was a democracy. After the elections in 1924, won by the Fascist Party, he turned the country into a dictatorship. The Fascist Party and the State became the same thing, Mussolini had all the powers. He was called the Duce. All the political parties were forbidden, their leaders sent to jail. A new parliament ( non democratic) : Camera dei Fasci was introduced. All the trade unions, and strikes were forbidden too. The Party controlled everything, from economy to mass media. Private companies that supported the Party got grants and contracts from the government.