Stalin: Rise to power

Lenin's funeral

Stalin told Trotsky that Trotsky would not have enough time to arrive for the funeral. Therefore, Trotsky did not attend and it looked as though he could not be bothered to turn up. Stalin made a speech about the mantle of Leninism in order to transfer the cult-like image of Lenin to Stalin. Lenin did not want a luxurious funeral, but Stalin gave one and the people saw Stalin as a 'disciple' of Lenin instead of Trotsky.

There were also issues in which the government could not have a consensus on.
Permanent revolution vs. Socialism in one country
For Trotsky, he believed that the Communist revolution would not succeed in Russia because Russia's working class was too small and the economy was underdeveloped. Russian would continue fighting until world Communist revolution was achieved, thus putting Russia in a state of permanent revolution.

For Stalin, he appealed to nationalism and patriotism, allowing for Russia to take the role of a unique position and show the world what socialism meant.

NEP and industrialization debate

The NEP already appeared unattractive as it saw growth of rich class, property dealing, land speculation, gambling and prostitution. The government was also internally split on how to deal with the NEP.

The left wing (Trotsky) wanted to end NEP and go for rapid industrialization which meant that labor would be militarized, peasants' power on the economy would be broken, and peasants' grain would be squeezed out of them to be used for industrialization.

The right wing (Bukharin) wanted to keep NEP going and encouraged peasants to become richer by spending more consumer goods to lead to growth of manufacturing industry.

Stalin's positions
Stalin already worked in key party organizations such as the Politburo, Orgburo, Secretariat, and General Secretary.
As party secretary, Stalin had control over what was discussed and what information other members received in Politburo.
Being in the Orgburo and as the Secretariat allowed control of appointments to positions of responsibility in the party structure. Therefore, Stalin could put his supporters in key positions and party secretaries from regional to local were Stalin's men.
Because Stalin controlled party organization, he could influence selection of delegates who were sent to annual party congress where major issues of policy were decided.
He also had control of party membership, allowing him to weed out radical students and soldiers.

Political maneuvering 
Lenin's secret testament consisted of criticism towards Zinoviev, Kamenev and Stalin. For this testament to be read out in public would destroy the reputations of the three. Zinoviev and Kamenev sought Stalin's help in defeating Trotsky and they thought Stalin was not a threat. Zinoviev and Kamenev began to attack Trotsky while Trotsky attacked back. Stalin, though, was in the background, watching the fight, which added to his reputation of a moderate peacemaker.

Stalin's idea of socialism in one country was popular and it attracted the right wing because it seemed to fit in with NEP as their own route to socialism. Stalin formed alliance with Bukharin, supporting the NEP and cooperation with peasants.
In 1925, Zinoviev and Kamenev attacked Stalin, but Stalin, having control of the delegates, outvoted those two.
In 1926, the two joined Trotsky to form 'United Opposition,' but was accused of factionalism and all three lost positions of power and expelled from party.

Stalin turned against NEP and attacked right wing. Stalin advocated for rapid industrialization and use of force to make peasants cooperate. Bukharin defended NEP but Stalin's delegates once again outvoted Bukharin and he was removed from party.

Other factors
Trotsky had too many weaknesses, such as being high minded, arrogant, and dismissive of colleagues, which probably led to his downfall. Trotsky also joined the party in August 1917, and therefore, was not seen as loyal. As well, he did not build a foundational power base like Stalin did and Stalin destroyed the one Trotsky had which was eroding.
Stalin's advocating for rapid industrialization had the majority support. He was seen as a loyal part member due to his proletariat roots. Stalin adopted policies that were approved by majority of Communist party. He was also lucky that Lenin's testament was not read out loud.

Stalin: Great Turn

Stalin's rapid industrialization
1) Stalin wanted to rapidly industrialize because Russia was still relatively weak. He need the country's military strength to increase and fighting wars means a need of more supplies and industry to manufacture stuff.
2) Self-sufficiency was also another goal because Stalin did not want to depend on western goods, especially heavy industrial plants that was needed for industrial production.
3) Industrialization would increase grain supplies, therefore reducing the reliance on Russia's backwards agricultural system because in the past, there were problems whenever harvest was bad.
4) Socialism could be achieved only in a highly industrialized state and the overwhelming majority of the population needed to be workers.
5) It would add to Stalin's reputation and people would seem him like Lenin.
Standard of living also needed improvement.

NEP problems
1) Peasants were not producing enough grain and the agricultural system was backwards.
Relationship between government and peasants deteriorated towards end of 1920s because of the Red Terror. Stalin exacerbated the crisis by sending the police to get grain from peasants.
2) Workers were not better off as companies were still hierarchical. Unemployment was high and houses were overcrowded for workers.

The Great Turn
Five Years Plan meant end of NEP as NEP encouraged capitalism.
The UK broke off relations with Russia and there was suspicion about Japanese invasion and therefore, the Russians needed an armament base.
Collectivization was introduced and peasants could no longer have private land.

Collectivization
Bukharin and right wing worried Stalin would go back to War Communism. The right pressured Stalin and he stopped seizing grain in 1928; Stalin raised price of grain to attract peasants. But, there were food shortages and Stalin expelled Bukharin. Eventually, a policy of forced mass collectivization was announed.
It was an emergency decision to solve procurement crisis of 1928-29 and to crack down on resistance of peasants. However, many saw collectivization as key out of poverty.

Force, terror, and propaganda was used to carry out collectivization. Stalin also used the 'kulak' class enemy slogan and in December 1929, the kulaks, as a class, were liquidated. There were many kulaks who were not identified due to them being family or friends. However, Stalin assembled 25,000 urban party activists to loot and force kulaks into collectivization.

Result of collectivization
Peasants had nothing to work for as they were supposed to get share in profits of the farm at the end of the year but there were never any profits. They practice passive resistance shown in apathy, neglect and petty insubordination.
This made private plots on collectives very important as it was the only way peasants could earn something.
Collectivization referred to as 'second serfdom,' peasants tied to land, but did not own it.

Collectivization could be seen as a success politically, as the party gained control of villages and did not have a bargain with peasants any more.

Stalin: Five Year Plans

Features of the plans

1) Investment would go into coal, iron, steel, and other heavy industries.

2) Consumer industries producing clothes, shoes and similar products would be downgraded as Soviet citizens were asked to sacrifice standard of living for longer-term objectives.

3) Seemed to Stalinists that Western industrial revolutions had been underpinned by initial development in coal, iron, and steel.

4) Need of development of industries for defense of Russia against the West.

5) Plans complete a year ahead of schedule - superiority of Soviet planning over Western capitalist economies going through the Great Depression.

6) Huge new industrial centers were constructed virtually from nothing.

7) Spectacular projects were conceived to demonstrate the might of the new Soviet industrial machine.

First Five-Year Plan

Huge targets placed enormous strain on economy as materials of all shorts were in short supply and there was intense competition to get hold of them. At higher levels, powerful people in industrial commissariats pulled strings to make sure that their pet projects got the resources they needed for completion.

Materials and workers were rushed into the job. There was also underproduction and overproduction.

Stalin found the need to use class enemies propaganda to cover up mistakes and to blame somebody.

Bourgeois specialists were identified as saboteurs and were uncovered and imprisoned.

The Second and Third Five-Year Plans

There were severe shortages, disruptions in transport, lack of skilled workers and slower growth rates for certain industries.

The Second plan put more emphasis on consolidation.

Investment on railway system meant there was more stuff to be carried.

There were new training schemes that encouraged workers to learn skills and master techniques to tacke problem of skills shortages.

There also came industrial growth and the USSR began to be self-sufficient.

However, areas such as iron and steel stopped growing and there was a fuel crisis.

Ale Nove places blame on Great Purges as it deprived economy of valuable personnel.

Workers' reaction

The plans were met with enthusiasm and workers believed they would be better off. Real wages did rise a little, but unemployment was still high.

Women dominated some professions, but still had little literacy rate and little education.

Quicksand society

There were a lot of peasants working. But they were also moving everywhere to find jobs as they found working in a factory boring because it was a different environment.

There was a shortage of skills and many untrained, clumsy workers were doing an astonishing amount of damage to expensive imported machinery and were tuning out poor-quality goods.

Government response

Rewards began to be given to workers who stayed. Managers were paid bonuses and perks.

Payment according to the pieces of work completed became common across industry.

Many of the training programs were poor and trainees were rushed through by poor instructors. In the Second Five Year Plan though, there were fewer but better training schemes available.

Dismissal, eviction, and loss of benefits began to be imposed for those skipping work.

Results

Workers suffered badly while Stalin announced, with his propaganda, in 1935 that 'life has become better, comrades, life has become more joyous.'

Centralized distribution system was poor and often lacked basic commodities.

There was substantial growth in heavy industry - impressive achievements.

However, there were major weaknesses as unrealistic targets were set, bribery was used, corruption existed, and crooked deals were made to achieve targets.

Major shortages and products of dubious quality.

Stalin: Great Purges

Opposition to Stalin

In 1933, the Communist party was extremely unpopular. Within the party, there was also domestic turmoil. Many were horrified by terror methods used to collectivize agriculture and waging of virtual war against peasants. This was not the road envisaged. As such, nobody could agree on anything due to political disharmony and in 1932 and 1935, the party was weeded of not loyal elements and people. Ryutin criticized Stalin and Stalin wanted him to be executed, but was reminded that the Politburo still controlled Stalin.

At a party congress, there were people who wanted to stop and reflect on industrialization. However, Stalin wanted to keep going and there were many who opposed this. As well, in the Politburo, only 2 people favored him and it was a warning as Stalin could be removed.

Purges

When Kirov was killed, Stalin ordered those in the NKVD that did not protect Kirov to be sent to labour camps and then shot.

Stalin could use Kirov's murder as an excuse to begin purging. He decided to start with 'unmasking' old Bolsheviks. He started by pulling Zinoviev and Kamenev out of prison and in August 1936, put in front of a trial in full glare of public. This trial was a show trial and it was staged. It created an atmosphere of intimidation, sense of danger and feeling that enemies, spies and wreckers were around. They had to confess to a crime they did not do as the evidence was fabricated. They were also tired of torture and investigation and their families would be spared.

Stalin began encouraging lower ranking party members to accuse higher ranking parties of being part of Bukharin right or authorizing concessions to peasants in 1925.

Stalin then accused army of plotting to overthrow him and wiped out the best commander.

Arrests were made for random reasons from criticizing Stalin to even being as small as making a joke or being a friend of someone who was arrested. Confessions were important because it legitimized arrests and proved state was right. Many of prisoners were sent to Gulags.

Stalin eventually stopped purging towards end of 1938 when Yezhov replaced Beria as leader of NKVD. Arrests slowed down, but Central Committee members and army officers were purged well into 1939. These purges were destabilizing Russian society and key personnel were missing to run administrative systems. It had a negative impact on industrial production. Stalin blamed Yezhov and NKVD for terror and Stalin sent a hitman to kill Trotsky in 1940.

5.5 Classification

Binomial system of nomenclature
Binomial system - given scientific name - two Latin words.
First denotes genus, second denotes species.
Science of classification is taxonomy.

Seven levels of taxa-kingdom
Kingdom, Phylum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species
Examples:
Animalia, Chordata, Mammalia, Primate, Hominidae, Homo, sapiens (Human)
Plantae, Angiospermophyta, Dicotyledoneae, Ranales, Ranuculacae, Ranunculus, acris (Meadow buttercup)

Bryophyta, filicinophyta, coniferophyta and angiospermophyta
Bryophyta: mosses, liverworts and hornworts.
No true leaves or roots.
No vascular tissue (xylem and phloem) or wood for structural support.
No cuticle on leaves.
Reproduce by releasing spores from sporangium to develop into another plant.

Filicinophyta: ferns.
True roots and non-woody stems.
Vascular tissue (xylem and phloem).
Leaves uses pinnate (divided into leaflets).
Reproduce by releasing spores (like mosses).

Coniferophytes: conifers and pines.
Woody stems with vascular systems.
Narrow, long, thin needle-like leaves with a thick waxy cuticle.

Angiospermatophyta: flowering plants and grasses.
True roots, stems, and leaves with waxy cuticles.
Vascular tissue.
Seeds produced from ovules in ovaries.

Animal phyla
Porifera (sponges)
Asymmetrical
No mouth or anus
Pores through body

Cnidaria (jellyfish and anemones)
Radial
Mouth but no anus
Tentacles with stinging cells

Platyhelminthes (flatworms, tapeworms)
Bilateral
Mouth but no anus
Flat, softened body

Annelida (earthworms and leeches)
Bilteral
Mouth and anus
Segmented body

Mollusca (squids, slugs and snails)
Bilateral
Mouth and anus
May have shell

Arthropoda (insects, spiders)
Bilateral
Mouth and anus
Jointed appendages, exoskeletons

Dichotomous key
(ib.bioninja.com.au)

7.3 Transcription and 7.4 Translation

Direction of transcription
Transcription is carried out in a 5’ to 3’ direction.

Distinguish between the sense and antisense strands for DNA

Anti-sense strand serves as a template for mRNA; partner strand is the sense strand.

Process of transcription in prokaryotes

RNA polymerase binds to promoter region which initiates transcription. DNA polymerase splits DNA into two strands, but rewinds it after it passes and transcription is completed for that segment. Nucleoside triphosphates bind to complementary bases on antisense strand. RNA polymerase synthesizes in 5’ to 3’ direction until it reaches the terminator sequence. Then polymerase and mRNA detaches.

Removal of introns in eukaryotic RNA
Eukaryotic RNA needs removal of introns to form mature RNA.

tRNA molecule recognized by a tRNA-activating enzyme

Each different tRNA molecules has a unique shape / chemical composition that is recognized by a specific tRNA-activating enzyme. Enzyme (aminoacyl-tRNA synthetase) binds amino acid to molecule of ATP (to form amino-acid-AMP complex linked by high energy bond). Amino acid transferred to 3 and of appropriate tRNA, attaching terminal CCA sequence to acceptor stem and releasing AMP molecule.  tRNA molecule with amino acid is charged and can go translate. Energy in bond-linking the tRNA molecule to amino acid will be used in translation to form a peptide bond between adjacent amino acids.

Structure of ribosomes

Ribosomes made of protein (stability) and rRNA.

There are 2 subunits which consists of a small subunit contains mRNA binding site and a large subunit contains 3 tRNA binding sites (Aminacyl (A), peptidyl (P), exit (E) sites).

Translation

Translation contains initiation, elongation, translocation, termination.

Translation direction

Translation occurs in 5’ to 3’ direction.

Structure of peptide bond

Peptide bond between two amino acids: find the O=C-N-H bond.

(chemicalconnection.org.uk)

Process of translation

Initiation: Small ribosomal subunit binds to 5’ end of mRNA and moves until it reaches AUG start codon; large ribosomal subunit then binds to small one. Initiator tRNA in P site, next codon signals another tRNA to bind, it occupies the A site; peptide bond formed between A and P sites.

Elongation: Ribosomes translocates 3 bases along mRNA, moving tRNA in P site to E site, freeing and allowing tRNA with appropriate anticodon to bind to next codon and occupy vacant A site.

Translation: Process continues until stop codon is reached when free polypeptide is released.

Free ribosomes and bound ribosomes

Free ribosomes synthesize proteins for use primarily within the cell and that bound ribosomes synthesize proteins primarily for secretion or for lysosomes.

7.5 Proteins

Four levels of protein structure and their significance

Primary structure: sequence of amino acids attached by peptide linkage.

Secondary structure: parts of polypeptide chain take up particular shape; alpha helix, beta pleated sheet.

Tertiary structure: molecule is farther folded in held in particular complex shape, 3D shape due to interaction of R groups + surrounding medium.

Quaternary structure: 2 or more proteins become held together forming a complex biologically active molecule - like hemoglobin.

Structures of protein (biologyexams4u.com)

Difference between fibrous and globular proteins

Fibrous: protein elongated shapes, insoluble in water and physically tough.

Examples: keratin, collagen.

Globular: compact and rounded and water soluble.

Examples: enzymes, antibodies.

Significance of polar and non-polar amino acids

Polar amino acids have hydrophilic R groups; non-polar amino acids have hydrophobic R groups.

Water soluble proteins, non-polar amino acids found in center of protein (stabilizing structure) while polar amino acids found on surface (interacting with water molecules).

Membrane bound proteins - non-polar amino acids tend to be localized on surface in contact with membrane, polar amino acids line interior pores (to create hydrophilic channels).

Enzymes - active site depends on location and distribution of polar/non-polar amino acids as hydrophobic/hydrophilic interactions play role in substrate binding to active site.

Four functions of protein

Collagen (fibrous) - protein strengthening tissues.

Insulin (Globular) - hormone involved in regulation of blood sugar.

Sucrase (Globular) - enzyme that breaks down sucrose into glucose/fructose.

Immunoglobulins (Globular) involved in defense against disease.