World History Topic 10: Authoritarian States (20th Century)

Lenin Stalin Hitler

Emergence Conditions Economic Factors Long Term: There was a debate within the The hyperinflation crisis of 1923 damaged the reputation of the
 About 80% of Russians were peasants. The population had grown party over the NEP. Trotsky Weimar Republic and wiped out the savings of the middle class.
rapidly in the second half of the 19th century, leaving many advocated abandoning it in his The middle class would disproportionately support the Nazis.
peasant families with inadequate land. Some were forced off the philosophy of “Permanent
land to migrate to cities. Some barely grew enough to feed their Revolution”, collectivizing the The Dawes (1924) and Young (1929) plans to enable Germany to
families and went hungry frequently. A few “kulaks” were peasants and industrializing the keep up with its commitment to pay reparations mad The
relatively prosperous and were resented by poorer peasants. In USSR rapidly through a series of German economy very dependent on the US economy, which
general, Russian agriculture was backward and did not grow plans emanating from the centre. meant that:
enough to provide a secure food supply for the cities. Stalin gained some support by The Great Depression after the Wall Street Crash hit Germany
 The main Russian cities nearly doubled in population between advocating “Socialism in one very hard. Not only did loans from the US dry up, leaving
1897 and 1914 because of population growth and migration from Country”, which seemed to be Germany critically short of capital, but most countries stopped
the countryside. This influx of people meant lower wages, and more consistent with the views of importing goods, so that Germany couldn’t export anything. By
shortages of food and housing, leading to high prices, terrible those in the right wing of the party mid-1932 1/3 of all German workers was unemployed. There Is a
living conditions and chronic hunger. The Bolsheviks would take who wanted to continue the NEP. direct correlation between the level of unemployment in
advantage of these conditions to mobilise the proletariat. Germany and support for the Nazis:
Connection to Stalin’s Rise  In the election of 1928, before the Wall Street Crash, the
Short Term:  This economic dispute helped Nazis got 2.6% of the vote. (1.4 million unemployed)
 The First World War made all of the above problems worse. Many Stalin to ally with the right wing  1930 election: 18% (3.1 million unemployed)
peasants were conscripted into the army, leaving fewer people to of the party to marginalize  July 1932: 37% (5.6 million unemployed)
grow food. Trains that had been used to supply the cities were Trotsky, Kamenev and Zinoviev.  November 1932: 33% of the vote.
needed for the army, exacerbating shortages of food and fuel in
the cities. This led to rapid inflation of prices of essential goods
and wages did not keep up. Also many factories had to close for
lack of fuel, leading to unemployment.

Connection to Lenin’s Rise:

 The March Revolution started because 40,000 striking
steelworkers from the giant Putilov plant hit the streets the day
before the March 8 International Women’s Day observances put
thousands of angry women on the streets demanding bread.
 Between March and October, things got even worse in Petrograd.
The bread ration in October was even lower than it had been in
March. This led to a situation where no-one was interested in
defending the Provisional Government.
Social Division There was a massive gap between rich and poor in Russia. The poor The NEP was good for the peasants There was a major left-right divide in Germany. Many people
peasants and many of the proletariat were chronically hungry while and the NEPmen, but not so good who were worried that all the unemployed workers might launch
other lived in luxury. This discrepancy fueled the anger of the for the proletariat. (See economic a communist revolution turned to the Nazis in the hope that they
peasants against the landlords and the anger of the proletariat issues above.) Otherwise, this could stop it.
against the bourgeoisie and the aristocracy. In the summer of 1917 wasn’t really a factor in Stalin’s
there was chaos in much of the countryside as peasants took matters rise. On a more positive note, the Nazis gained a lot of supporters by
into their own hands and took over the landlords’ estates. Many advocating national unity, urging Germans to think of the
peasant soldiers deserted the army to join in. All of this weakened the country and the race as a whole instead of thinking in terms of
provisional government, which deferred land reform for the next individuals of classes. In this way, they parlayed discomfort over
government to deal with. In the cities, the Bolsheviks stoked the existing social divisions into support.
proletariat’s anger to recruit the Red Guards who would carry out the
revolution. The down side of this national unity message was that it was
grounded in racism. By defining Germans as a race, all who did
not qualify for this racial definition ceased to be German. The

Impact of War The First World War made all of Russia’s economic problems worse.
Many peasants were conscripted into the army, leaving fewer people
to grow food. Trains that had been used to supply the cities were
needed for the army, exacerbating shortages of food and fuel in the
cities. This led to rapid inflation of prices of essential goods and
wages did not keep up. Also many factories had to close for lack of
fuel, leading to unemployment. This hardship caused the people of
Petrograd to support the March Revolution and to acquiesce to the
October Revolution.
The First World War also discredited both the Tsar’s government and
the Provisional Government because of the massive numbers of men
taken prisoner and the huge amount of territory lost. The Bolsheviks
differentiated themselves from all the other political parties in Russia
by calling for peace. After the Provisional Government ordered a
disastrous offensive in June 1917 soldiers, sailors and workers in
Petrograd staged a huge demonstration calling for the Bolsheviks to
take charge (the July Days). The demonstration did not succeed, but
many of the same people would help the Bolsheviks take over in
November.
Weakness of The Provisional Government was merely a committee formed from
Political System the Fourth Duma before it disbanded. The Fourth Duma itself had
been elected in a process that heavily favoured rich people. It did not
have a true mandate to govern Russia and its members were aware
of this. They wanted to put off major decisions until a properly-
elected Constituent Assembly could be formed. It took until
November to organize these elections, by which time the Bolsheviks
had already seized power.
From the beginning, the Provisional Government was undermined by
the Petrograd Soviet. This was an assembly of representatives of
various socialist parties, military units and factories in the Petrograd
area. Although all its representatives were from the Petrograd area, it
claimed to represent all the workers, soldiers and peasants of the
world. One key way in which this body undermined the Provisional
government was through Order Number 1. This was an edict directed
at the armed forces asserting that committees of soldiers and sailors
should take control of weapons and refuse to obey any orders not
backed up by the Petrograd Soviet. This helped to undermine
discipline in the army, which was already shaky. The Provisional
Government’s commitment to civil rights meant they also had to
tolerate the activities of the Bolsheviks, who were intent on
overthrowing them from the moment Lenin returned to Petrograd in
April 1917.
Among the unpopular decisions of the Provisional Government were
Not a factor.
Stalin’s position as General
Secretary of the Communist Party
and head of the Orgburo gave him
tremendous power. He could
decide which party members got
which government jobs, meaning
that any party member wanting a
job had to be nice to him. He
controlled admission to the party,
allowing him to pack it with his
supporters. He had a lot of
influence over the local party
secretaries who determined which
members would be sent to the
national Party Congress, which
elected the Central Committee.
Lenin’s illness and death created a
power vacuum which many
leaders sought to fill. Kamenev and
Zinoviev were more worried about
Trotsky taking over than they were
about Stalin, so they allied with
Stalin to marginalize Trotsky.
Nazis fueled resentment of these groups, particularly Jews and
Gypsies, in order to reinforce the unity of the favoured race.
The First World War forced the abdication of the Kaiser, leading
to a new, weaker government.
The Weimar Republic was obliged to sign the deeply unpopular
Treaty of Versailles, which made it unpopular from the start.
Germany lost 13% of its land,12% of its population, including
more than 3 million ethnic Germans, 16% of its coal fields, almost
half of its iron and steel industry, 15% of its agricultural
production and all of its colonies. It also had to accept the blame
for starting the war and pay £6.6 billion in reparations. The
German people resented this bitterly and many were attracted to
the Nazis because they promised to do away with this treaty.
Even before the reparations, the war left Germany in a dire
financial position because the whole war had been paid for on
borrowed money which had to be paid back. The combination of
this debt and reparations contributed to the hyperinflation crisis
of 1923. The government had already been printing money to
service its existing debt. When it fell behind on reparations
payments, the French and Belgians occupied the Ruhr. The
workers of the area went on strike and the government printed
even more money to pay them not to work. This caused
hyperinflation.
The Weimar Republic was obliged to sign the deeply unpopular
Treaty of Versailles, which made it unpopular from the start.
In November 1918 Ebert had been very concerned with averting a
communist revolution. As a result, he made many key
compromises with the old government. For instance, he agreed
to leave the leadership of the army alone in exchange for a
promise of support. All the judges and civil servants appointed
by the Kaiser were left in place. Many of these were not
supportive of the new government. When Wolfgang Kapp tried to
overthrow the government in 1920, the army refused to come to
Ebert’s aid. The Kapp Putsch was eventually halted by a general
strike, but only one of its leaders received any punishment. When
Hitler was put on trial for trying to overthrow the government in
the November 1923 Munich Putsch (during which four policemen
were killed), he received the minimum sentence of five years, of
which he served only 9 months. Furthermore, he served those
months in a comfortable castle rather than in a conventional
prison.
Meanwhile, after the suppression of the Spartacist Revolt, the
communists hated the SPD at least as much as they hated the
right wing parties. Thus, the left wing parties did not unite to
keep Hitler out of power.
The Weimar Constitution contained significant weaknesses:
  The decision to continue the war, which meant continuing
the both the losses and the chronic shortages afflicting
Russian cities. In particular, the Kerensky Offensive of June
1917 was unpopular, leading to the July Days uprising in
favour of the Bolsheviks.
 The decision to put off land reform until the Constituent
Assembly could decide, which caused the peasants to get
impatient and take matters into their own hands, leading to
chaos in the countryside and increasing desertions from the
army by peasant soldiers.
 The Kornilov Affair of August 1917 completely discredited
Kerensky, made it impossible for him to receive support from
the army and empowered the Bolsheviks.
The Bolsheviks tied to portray the November Revolution as a
demonstration of mass support for their leadership. In fact, a very
small group of Red Guards supported by radical sailors carried out a
coup under cover of darkness. They succeeded more because no-one
was willing to risk his or her life for the Provisional Government
than because there was massive support for their rule.
Methods Persuasion See ideology/propaganda.
There was a division in the party
over whether or not to continue
with the NEP. Stalin exploited this
by allying with the pro-NEP wing to
marginalize Kamenev and Zinoviev.
Used his position and the divisions
in the party to persuade various
people to support him.
- New members which he
admitted to the party were
likely to vote with him at party
congresses.
- Party members wanting jobs in
the government which he
controlled were likely to vote
with him at party congresses.
- He convinced Kamenev and
Zinoviev to join him to rule the
USSR as a “Troika” as a way of
marginalizing Trotsky.
- Then he convinced the pro-NEP
faction in the party (Bukharin,
Rykov and Tomsky) to ally with
 Article 48 granted the President the right to rule by
decree in an emergency, but failed to define what would
constitute an emergency situation. Various chancellors
used the powers of the president to pass regular
legislation during the crisis of 1930-32, which meant the
constitution was already breaking down. After the
Reichstag Fire of Feb 27 1933 Hitler persuaded
Hindenburg to issue the Emergency Decrees, which
basically allowed Hitler and the Nazis to arrest all their
political opponents without due process. These decrees
remained in force throughout the Nazi era.
 The system of proportional representation made it very
difficult for any party to get a majority in the Reichstag,
leading to a lot of weak coalition governments that
frequently fell apart. There were 18 different coalitions
in the 14 years of the Weimar Republic. There were four
different chancellors in the two years before Hitler was
appointed in January 1933.
 The introduction of freedom of the press and full civil
rights for the first time led to Germans seeing open
criticism of the government in the newspapers for the first
time, which gave the impression that the government was
worse than the one before.
Convinced von Papen that it was safe to make him chancellor in
January 1933.
See also ideology/propaganda.

Propaganda Lenin’s April Theses (April 1917): Peace, Land, Bread and All power
to the Soviets – these differentiated the Bolsheviks from the other
socialist parties that were willing to continue the war and cooperate
with the Provisional Government. They also promised something to
all the ordinary people of Russia.
The Bolsheviks worked to get the word out through propaganda
posters, speeches and a newspaper.
They managed to gain the support of the sailors at the Kronstadt
naval base, who would be very helpful in the November Revolution
and Civil War.
Coercion/Use of The Bolsheviks seized power by force in November 1917. They then
Force used force to disband the Constituent Assembly in January 1918 and
fought a bloody Civil War from 1918-21 to consolidate their hold on
the country. The secret police (Cheka) also helped to consolidate
Bolshevik power through the Red Terror.
him to marginalize Kamenev
and Zinoviev.
Famously tricked Trotsky into
missing Lenin’s funeral and then
used the event to make himself
appear much closer to Lenin than
he actually was, by acting as a
pallbearer and giving the “Lenin
Oath” speech.
Made speeches advocating
“Socialism in One Country” to
counter Trotsky’s speeches
advocating “permanent
Revolution” – gave the impression
that he was also an important
theorist.
Not really part of his rise to power,
although he did eliminate all
potential opponents as part of his
consolidation of power in the
1930s.
The Nazis devoted a lot of attention to propaganda.
 Hitler gained name recognition through the Munich
Putsch of 1923
 Mein Kampf was a bestseller.
 They had a newspaper and also published articles in other
right wing newspapers.
 They used propaganda posters, leaflets, etc.
 They had their own flag.
 They tailored their propaganda to local issues
 Hitler was a powerful speaker.
 They trained thousands of speakers to speak all over the
country.
 They portrayed themselves a s movement rather than a
party
 They held rallies where flags, music, speeches, uniformed
SA etc. combined to cultivate a sense of excitement.
 They used new technology like slide shows and films.
 Nazi songs with catchy tunes helped to insinuate their
messages into people’s minds.
 The SA and the Hitler Youth spread the message both
actively and by being seen in their uniforms.
Threat of a coup:
The party ostensibly gave up on the idea of taking power by force
after the failure of the Munich Putsch in November 1923, but the
threat was always there. By 1932, there were 400,000 men in the
SA and only 100,000 in the German army. Several army leaders
wrote to Hindenburg that they were concerned about the
possibility of civil war if Hitler were not appointed Chancellor,
which may have helped persuade Hindenburg to appoint him.
SA
The SA helped to convey an image of strength and toughness.
They also fought many real battles with communists in the
streets, especially between 1930-32. This helped convince many
Germans who were worried about the threat of Communism that
the Nazis were the ones capable of dealing with the threat.
During Hitler’s Consolidation of Power:
 The Emergency Decrees of February 28, 1933 gave the Nazi-
controlled secret police the power to arrest the Nazis’
opponents without trial and lock them up in Concentration
Camps. By the end of 1933, about 100,000 opponents had been
arrested. The Nazis also banned their opponents’ political
meetings, shut down their newspapers and seized the state
radio station. These “emergency decrees” remained in place
throughout the Third Reich, allowing the Nazis to silence
opposition.
  The Night of the Long Knives of June 29 1934 was used by Hitler
to eliminate potential opponents, and not just those in the SA.
Under the pretense that they were plotting a coup, about 90
opponents were executed without trial, including 50 SA leaders.

Role of Leaders Lenin: Kamenev and Zinoviev were more Anton Drexler
 Excellent speaker concerned with enhancing their Founder of the German Workers’ Party (DAP) in January 1919,
 Created the Bolshevik Party in 1903 – small disciplined party own power and keeping Trotsky which Hitler joined in September.
dedicated to seizing power right away instead of waiting for from having too much power than
Russia to become industrialised. they were with the threat posed Hitler:
 In his April Theses, he differentiated the Bolsheviks from the by Stalin. Became leader of the DAP, renamed “National Socialist German
other socialist parties that were willing to continue the war Workers’ Party (NSDAP)”, commonly known as the Nazi Party in
and cooperate with the Provisional Government. They also Trotsky made key mistakes. He 1921.
promised something to all the ordinary people of Russia. refused the position of Vice  Talent for making powerful emotive speeches.
 He was the one who insisted that the Bolsheviks seize power Chairman of the Council of  Good at propaganda.
in November and persuaded the others to go along with him. People’s Commissars twice before  Personally designed the swastika flag.
Trotsky: Lenin died – the post would have  Gained name recognition after his trial after the Munich
 Excellent speaker made him effectively vice Putsch.
 Respected Menshevik, who brought others with him when president of the country. He was  Wrote bestselling Mein Kampf
he switched to the Bolsheviks in 1917. also often ill and away from
 Persuaded Lenin to hold the November Revolution the night Moscow at key moments like Goebbels
before the meeting of the Second All Russian Congress of Lenin’s funeral. Like Kamenev and  In charge of the Nazis’ highly effective propaganda campaign
Soviets to give it legitimacy. Zinoviev, he underestimated the from about 1926.
 Organized the November Revolution. (Lenin was in exile until threat posed by Stalin. Finally, he
just before it started) did not insist that Lenin’s
 Formed and led the Red Army to victory in the Civil War. Testament, which was very critical
of Stalin, be published more
widely.

Meanwhile, Stalin used his position

adroitly and made alliances within
the party (see persuasion).

Ideology Communism was attractive to Russia’s suffering proletariat who His professed ideology of 1920 25-Point Programme
dealt with long hours, poor working conditions, overcrowded living “socialism in one country” seemed  This envisioned a racial state that excluded Jews from
conditions and chronic shortages that raised prices in the cities to the to be more consistent with the citizenship and included all ethnic Germans in a “Greater
point that even full time workers were going hungry. The Bolsheviks NEP, which helped him to make Germany” with additional territory to provide “living
had a majority in the Moscow and Petrograd Soviets by August 1917. friends with the Pro-NEP faction in space” for the German race.
the party to marginalize Kamenev  Abrogation of the treaties of Versailles and St. Germain.
The peasants were desperately poor and many did not have enough and Zinoviev. It was also vague  Strong central government.
land. Although most of them voted for the SRs (who also promised enough that many people could  Various socialistic policies, including the confiscation of
land reform) in the November 1917 elections, they were attracted by assume that Stalin agreed with profits from war profiteers, the breakup of big
the Bolshevik promises of land reform as articulated in the April them, helping him to steer a department stores, debt forgiveness, old age pensions,
Theses of April 1917 and the Decree on Land of November 1917. In middle course between the measures to promote health etc.
the end, when faced with a choice between the Bolsheviks ho at least factions.
acknowledged their right to keep the land they had taken and the Hitler would eventually quietly drop many of the anti-big
whites who often tried to take the land back, they would side with business policies. Part of his dispute with Rohm in 1934 was over
the Bolsheviks in the Civil War. whether he would carry out these parts of the party platform.
However, until then they helped the party attract working class
support.

Other aspects of the Nazi ideology appealed to many Germans

who wanted a stronger, more united country and abrogation of
the deeply unpopular Treaty of Versailles.

It wasn’t really explicit in the 25-point programme, but the Nazis

were consistently anti-Communist. Many Germans who felt
threatened by communists would turn to them because they had
more working class support than any other right wing party.
 Mao Castro
Emergence Conditions Economic Factors Poverty of Chinese peasants Cuba was a monoculture economy, almost entirely dependent on sugar. This
These made up 80% of China’s population. It is true that a 1930 law was supposed to made it very vulnerable to fluctuating market forces and dependent on the
limit rents to 37.5% of the produce from each peasant’s land, but this rent control was USA to buy most of its crop.
not enforced. There were also token efforts to do things like establishing rural
cooperatives to give credit to the peasants and establishing a rural service to Ownership of land and sugar mills was concentrated in the hands of the
encourage students to help with the harvest in their holidays, but these were a drop in upper class and foreign companies. At the beginning of 1959 United States
the bucket of the peasants’ needs. For instance the cooperatives held only 2.4% of companies owned about 40 percent of the Cuban sugar lands - almost all the
peasant debt. Most were in inescapable debt to their landlords. Meanwhile peasants cattle ranches - 90 percent of the mines and mineral concessions - 80 percent
paid high taxes, especially during the war. During the war, they were also of the utilities - practically all the oil industry.
disproportionately subject to conscription into the army, since richer people could buy
their way out. In addition, they were frequently drafted for labour projects like building
runways and fortifications. Since most of Chiang Kaishek’s supporters came from the Wages for ordinary people were very low and work in the sugar industry was
landlord and bourgeois classes, he was unwilling to make any attempt at land reform. seasonal. In 1953, the average Cuban family had an income of $6.00 a week,
All of these factors helped to push the peasants into the hands of the CCP. 15 to 20 percent of the labor force was chronically unemployed, and only a
third of the homes had running water.
Rampant inflation during and after the war also helped to alienate Chiang’s natural
supporters in the bourgeoisie. Inflation was about 230% annually in the GMD area
between 1941-45. This meant the real pay of officials fell by 85% and soldiers by 94%.
This massively increased corruption. The army suffered badly as corrupt officers
embezzled food and equipment. Malnourished conscripts sometimes had to be tied up
to prevent them from running away. During the Civil War, the problem became worse.
Inflation in Shanghai between May to August 1948 was 1000%. In August 1948 the
GMD introduced a new paper currency and ordered everyone to convert their gold and
foreign currency. When its value collapsed in its turn, it therefore took everyone’s
savings with it. This angered many of the bourgeoisie to the point that they were
willing to give the CCP a chance.

Social Division The GMD was supported by the landlords and bourgeoisie – they had little concern for There was a big gap between rich and poor in Cuba.
the peasants. Mao was able to exploit this.
There was high illiteracy, especially in the countryside. Cuba’s literacy was
76% in the 1950s. (It should be noted that this still made it the fourth most
literate country in Latin America at the time.)

There was widespread discrimination against Afro-Cubans.

Impact of War The timely invasion of the Japanese probably saved the CCP from annihilation in 1937
when Chiang was forced to agree to the Second United Front. The Japanese then
helpfully drove the GMD out of the north of China. The CCP spread their control
throughout the countryside of North China. During the war many idealistic young
people joined the CCP, making them strong enough to challenge the GMD by 1945. In
1935, at the end of the Long March, the CCP had about 20,000 soldiers, by 1945 they
had about 800,000 (Whitfield says 320,000, Roberts says between 800,000 and
900,000). At the same time, the Japanese weakened the GMD. Many of the best
officers were killed and corruption and indiscipline were a major problem.
The invasion of Manchuria by the USSR in the last few days of the war also helped the
CCP, since the Soviet generals gave them a lot of captured Japanese weapons. Thus,
although they were still outgunned by the GMD at the beginning of the Civil War, they
were able to hold on.
Weakness of Political Disunity
System Chiang had united China on paper, but did not have strong control:
- Most western provinces were run by warlords, so the CCP managed to escape
by heading through the west on the Long March.
- Warlords very independent: Chen Jitang let the CCP escape in 1934, Zhang
Xueliang kidnapped Chiang in 1936.
Inefficiency
Chiang’s leadership was ineffective. He often appointed the several people to do the
same task and tried to micromanage some while ignoring blatant corruption in other
areas. At one point he held 25 different positions at the same time.
40% of the budget was spent on the military and there was a 20% budget deficit.
Ongoing problems with inflation especially during and immediately after the war.
Failed to do anything close to solving the problems of the peasants.
Corruption:
Associated with gangsters like Big Eared Du, which was put in charge of opium
suppression. His gangster friends helped him raise funds by extorting money from rich
people.
Nepotism ie TV Soong appointed finance minister because he was the elder brother of
Chiang’s wife. When he fell out with Chiang, his wife’s sister’s husband got the job.
Only 2% of the bureaucracy was appointed through the examination system. The rest
got in through nepotism.
Not applicable.
Corrupt and Undemocratic Government:
 Cuba had a history of corrupt and ineffective governments even
before Batista. From 1934 onward the armed forces under Batista
controlled the government through a series of puppet presidents.
Elections were rigged. In 1952, Batista simply took over in a coup.
Although he had instituted some social reforms and pro-union reforms
in his earlier presidency, from 1952 onwards, Batista became
increasingly corrupt, taking steps to increase his personal fortune. He
seems to have been obsessed with getting the acceptance of the
upper classes (who never let him into any of their clubs because he
was of mixed European, African, Chinese and Amerindian descent) He
amassed a fortune of $300 million by 1959. In return for kickbacks,
Batista gave control of Havana’s racetracks and casinos to American
mobsters. He also blatantly favoured US economic interests at the
expense of his own people in return for military aid.
 1952 Took power in a coup – caused pro-democracy forces to unite
against him. Also made it impossible for Castro to run for office legally.
 Banned PSP in 1953, making it impossible for them to get power
legally.
 Held rigged elections in 1954 while Castro was in prison and the PSP
were banned.
 He rigged the elections of 1958 so his candidate would win.
 His police and army imprisoned and tortured anyone suspected of
being a rebel, including many innocent men and women.

Tried to get some ideological buy-in through the “New Life Movement but it ended up
being about behavior and only reaching a small segment of the population.
Corruption within the army was a huge problem. Officers embezzled the food and
supplies that were supposed to go to the soldiers. During the war, a staggering 10% of
all conscripts died before reaching their units. Conscripts had to be tied up at night to
stop them from deserting. During the Civil War, thousands of these soldiers would
desert to the CCP, bringing their weapons with them.
Insufficiently Nationalist:
Insisted on launching repeated campaigns against the CCP instead of doing something
about the Japanese who took over Manchuria in 1931, and gradually increased their
territory in northern China until they were at the gates of Beijing in 1936. Even when
the war began, he participated in the Trautmann mediation in 1937 and retreated to
Chongqing, leaving most of China at the mercy of the Japanese. The Americans
accused him of hoarding his strength to fight the communists instead of doing all he
could to fight the Japanese.
Didn’t get rid of the foreign concessions, although they were reduced in number.
Extraterritoriality didn’t end until 1943.
During the Civil War, the CCP were able to paint the GMD as being puppets of the USA.
Undemocratic
Chiang ruled as a dictator and his secret police, the Military Bureau of Statistics
arrested, tortured and killed all suspected communists and other opponents of his
regime. Many of his political opponents were assassinated.
Key Mistakes:
Flooded Yellow River Dikes in 1937, killing hundreds of thousands of his own people in
an effort to slow the Japanese down.
Methods Persuasion See ideology.
 During the fighting against Castro, he ordered peasants to evacuate
whole areas of the countryside and treated those who remained as
traitors.
 To try to clear the jungle to find the rebels, he burned plantations,
destroying peasants’ crops.
Failure of previous government to solve Cuba’s Problems
- Foreign Domination
o The USA retained a controlling interest in Cuba after the Treaty
of Relations. They bought most of Cuba’s sugar crop at prices
higher than the market rate, and in return Cuba gave
preferential access to American products and companies. At
the beginning of 1959, the US supplied two thirds of Cuba’s
imports.
o US companies invested heavily to build gas, electricity,
communications, railways and banks in Cuba. At the beginning
of 1959 United States companies owned about 40 percent of
the Cuban sugar lands - almost all the cattle ranches - 90
percent of the mines and mineral concessions - 80 percent of
the utilities - practically all the oil industry.
- Economic Problems – see “economic problems”
- Social Problems – see “social divisions”
Leo Huberman and Paul Sweeny “In the two year period from Christmas 1956,
when the twelve men were alone on the mountain top until Batista fled and
his army surrendered on January 1, 1959, nearly all classes of the population
had identified themselves, in varying degrees, with the 26 of July Movement.
Some became an integral part of it because they believed in its revolutionary
program; others made common cause with is because it had become the most
effective force in the struggle to overthrow Batista.”
Achieved by:
Behaviour of rebels towards peasants
 During the period (1956-59) when Castro’s forces hid in the
Sierra Maestra wilderness conducting guerrilla warfare,
Castro’s forces did not steal from the peasants and always
paid for the food they were given. They respected women,
provided doctors for the peasants, taught them to read and
even helped with chores. Any soldier breaking this code was
sentenced to death.
Behaviour of rebels toward enemy soldiers
  Captured soldiers were treated with kindness and their
wounded given medical attention. This encouraged enemy
soldiers to surrender.

Propaganda – see below

Failings of Batista (see above)

Castro’s charisma (see role of leaders)

Propaganda Using Snow’s Red Star Over China they spun the Long March into a heroic episode History Will Absolve Me - Castro’s speech at his trial for the raid on the
illustrating the rightness of their cause. Moncada Barracks. It was smuggled out and published widely.

By claiming to be moving north to fight the Japanese, they appealed to Chinese
nationalism. Also, their actions in the Xian Incident suggested they put country before
party.
Activists fanned out into Chinese villages promoting communist ideas and promising
the peasants a better life.
Radio Rebelde: A radio station established by Castro in 1958. It spread news
about the events in the Sierra. Because Cubans didn’t trust the news put out
by the Batista government, many tuned in. Encouraged by news of the
successes many more joined the movement.

Coercion/Use of Force Purges: Helped to cement his control over the party. Force:
 Futian Incident, 1930  Attempts on Moncada Barracks (1953) and Granma expedition (1956)
 Rectification Campaign, 1942 both failed
 Successfully used guerrilla warfare in the Sierra Maestra and in the
Guerrilla Warfare rest of Cuba
 Allowed the CCP to survive the first four extermination campaigns 1930-33 o attacked government installations, railways, public buildings,
 Allowed some of the CCP to survive the Long March telephone lines, electricity stations and gas services.
 Allowed the CCP to make a show of fighting the Japanese to show they were o assassinated enemies of the revolution
patriotic.  1958 Castro’s forces took Santa Clara and advanced toward Santiago
 Allowed the CCP to survive the beginning of the Second Civil War, 1946-47.
BUT it was more Batista’s failings than the use of force that got them into
Conventional Warfare power. In the end, most of Batista’s soldiers deserted or surrendered. The
 The CCP converted to this method of warfare in the middle of the Civil War and USA imposed an arms embargo, all political parties united in the Pact of
successfully defeated the Nationalists. Caracas and Batista fled. His army immediately stopped fighting. The rebels
took Havana itself without firing a shot.
Role of Leaders Talented generals like Zhu De, Peng Dehuai and Lin Biao helped the CCP survive the
first civil war and the war with Japan and allowed them to win the Second Civil War.
At the Zunyi Conference in January 1935, Zhou Enlai, who was probably the most
influential member of the party at the time threw his support behind Mao, making him
the leader of the party.
Mao played a crucial role
 Adapting Marxism to Chinese conditions, by advocating a peasant revolution
instead of a proletarian revolution.
 Won support by promoting land reform (aimed more at the landlords than the
wealthy peasants).
 Won support by promoting women’s rights.
 Advocated for the effective guerrilla warfare tactics.
 Created a disciplined party with a clear plan.
Ideology Mao’s form of communism was tailored to the needs and concerns of the peasants,
who made up about 80% of the population. His assertion that China did not need the
help of the USSR pleased some nationalists who were tired of foreign influence. The
CCP also appealed to nationalists by making a big deal about fighting the Japanese.
During the Civil War, the Red Army was renamed the “People’s Liberation Army” to
appeal to non-communists as well as communists. In areas they controlled they won
support with land reform, democratically elected local councils and the liberation of
women.
Castro’s charisma: the importance of this factor is supported by historians
Max Weber and Eric Selbin
All of the leaders of the 26th of July Movement proved to be able, intelligent
and experts at guerrilla warfare.
This was quite vague. It is not at all clear at what point he became a
communist. This vagueness of ideology probably helped him get support from
non-communist anti-Batista parties. In his “History Will Absolve Me” speech
at his trial, he clearly promised land reform, improved access to education
and measures to ensure each urban family owned a home, but he stopped
well short of Socialism. The 26 of July movement was a big tent, including
Huber Matos and Che Guevera.
Pact of Caracas 1958
An agreement between all the major political parties and organizations in
Cuba, including the PSP, to recognize Castro’s leadership in the struggle
against Batista. This exposed Batista’s political isolation.
Rule Consolidation Legal Methods They had the power to make laws, which were used to back up their various policies,
and including the use of force. Also:
Maintenance
of Power  Residence Permits (Hukou) issued to everyone – controlled everyone’s
movements.
 Work Units (Danwei) Every employed Chinese citizen belonged to one.
(unemployed people were under the jurisdiction of residents’
committees) They were led by Party cadres. They controlled the
allocation of housing, grain, cooking oil and cloth. They also issued
permits to travel, marry, enter the army, apply to university or
change employment. These gave the party immense control over
people’s day-to-day lives.
 Residence Committees: Implemented party campaigns in
neighbourhoods and kept an eye on the residents.
Force • 1950-52 “Speak Bitterness” Campaign
47 million hectares (40% of cultivated land) taken from landlords and given to
300 million poor peasants, usually farmed collectively. Unknown number of
landlords killed, Lynch says up to 1,000,000. The CCP organized the peasants in
each area to put their landlords on trial and decide what should happen to
them. (Thus the decision to execute people was made by the people, not the
party and the party was seen to be doing the will of the people.) In many cases,
whole landlord families were executed, not just the adults.
• Killed "bandits and criminals" in Shanghai and Guangzhou to deal with
organized crime
• Youth organizations closed or taken over by CCP
• Churches closed, foreign priests and nuns expelled, Chinese clergy physically
abused.
• Resist America and Aid Korea Campaign 1950-53: targeted foreigners (apart
from USSR) and those with foreign connections.
• Three Antis Campaign 1951: Targeting waste, corruption and inefficiency
• Five Antis Campaign, 1952: Targeting industrial sabotage, tax evasion, bribery,
fraud and theft of government property.
• Anti-Rightist Campaign, 1957: Targeting those who had voiced criticism during
the Hundred Flowers Movement along with any other potential critics.
Charisma A cult was built up around Mao, but he wasn’t really charismatic. His mystique came
from his remoteness and authority rather than his charisma.
Rowan Callick points out that speech-making and charisma are not seen as signs of
strength in the Chinese context. A truly powerful leader doesn’t need to gain people’s
Castro installed allies as President and Prime Minister and retained control of
the armed forces himself. After 6 weeks, the prime minister resigned. Castro
stepped in. In July, the President resigned because Castro refused to hold
elections. Castro simply replaced him with a supporter and continued to rule
without a constitution until 1976. Since his was the only government there
was, it could make up its own laws, so everything they did was legal in that
sense. Arguably, the failure to hold free elections made everything illegal.
Although initially President and Prime Minister of Cuba were liberals, Castro
held the real power because he controlled the armed forces.
About 400 Batista supporters who had served in the government or the
armed forces were shot after very suspect trials. Others receive long prison
sentences.
In 1959, when Huber Matos, who had played a leading part in the Sierra
Maestra days in the taking of Santiago, began to express his opposition to the
radicalization of the revolution he was arrested. He spent 20 years in prison
and was subjected to physical and psychological tortures. When released in
1979 he fled to Miami where he has become a leading force of the Cuban
dissidence and published his memoirs, How the Night Came.
Camilo Cienfuegos, who had been sent to arrest Matos died shortly
afterwards when his plane disappeared. This may have been an accident or
he may have been eliminated to being too popular and having misgivings
about the growing influence of communism in Cuba.
In 1971 the poet Padilla was imprisoned, tortured and forced to make a
public confession and accuse others of counter-revolutionary activity after
publishing poems critical of the regime.
Castro made almost daily speeches during his consolidation of power. He
went into the streets and travelled around the country to meet ordinary
people and discuss their problems in a very friendly, familiar way. His people
called him “Fidel” and he inspired immense affection from many Cubans.
“Che” and “Camilo” were also referred to by their first names.
 approval with speeches or a pleasing personality. To appear to want to do so is a sign of Propaganda often depicted the leaders working alongside ordinary people.
weakness.
Propaganda The communist party deployed this in the form of songs, posters, films, school classes,
loudspeakers in the streets, impressively choreographed parades on important
anniversaries and heavily censored newspapers and magazines.
There were periodic campaigns in which a special propaganda push focused on one
particular theme. Sometimes it was practical, as in the various public health campaigns
of the 1950s. There were also political campaigns like the Resist America and Aid Korea
Campaign (1950-53), the three Antis Campaign (1951), the Five Antis Campaign (1952),
the Hundred Flowers Campaign (1956), and the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957). It was
also used to push economic projects like the Great Leap Forward of 1958-61 with its
infamous Backyard Steel Campaign.
The “Learn from Lei Feng” Campaign” of 1963 encouraged everyone to follow the
example of model PLA soldier Lei Feng.
The Cultural Revolution, lasting from 1966-76 went further than any of the previous
campaigns in that it attempted to shut down all aspects of cultural and literary life that
were not propaganda. Education was mostly restricted to studying the Quotations from
Chairman Mao and entertainment to various versions of Jiang Qing’s Eight Model
Operas.
This was used to create a Cult of Personality around Mao. At the height of the cultural
revolution, people were reporting their thoughts to his portrait twice per day and even
dancing a “loyalty dance”. All of this built up Mao’s reputation to the point that he was
even obeyed when he ordered China’s youth to attack his own party. Even after his
death, his reputation was so great that his portrait still hangs in every classroom and
the party insists that “Mao was 70% right and 30% wrong.”
Nature, extent and Eliminated the remnants of the GMD in military campaigns in 1950. Remaining GMD
Treatment of leaders executed or sentenced to long prison terms. Many lower level members were
Opposition blacklisted for life, as were their children and grandchildren.
Hard to tell how much real opposition there was. The party took a pre-emptive attitude
and silenced or eliminated potential opponents along with real opponents: see “Force”
above.
Mao certainly felt he had opposition within his party in the 60s in the form of officials
like Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping whom he accused of “taking the capitalist road”. He
dealt with these by unleashing the Cultural Revolution on his own party, using first
young Red Guards and later the PLA to root out all potential opponents and all “Four
Olds” thoughts.
Spread through the school system, through speeches, through posters,
through the arts, etc.
In the school system new textbooks were adopted telling the history of the
revolution and the lives of its heroes. Libraries were purged of inappropriate
material. Castro said, “The task of the schools…is the ideological formation of
revolutionaries, and then, by means of the revolutionaries, the ideological
formation of the rest of the people.”
In the arts, a National Ballet and a Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinema
Industry were formed in 1959. In 1961 the film PM was censored, angering
many writers and film makers. In response to this PM Affair, the Union of
Artists and Writers of Cuba was formed. Its declaration was “the writer must
contribute to the revolution through his work, and this involves conceiving of
literature as a means of combat, a weapon against weaknesses and the
problems that, directly or indirectly, could hinder this advance.” At the
opening conference, Castro gave his “Words to the Intellectuals” asserting
that all art had to serve the revolution. In 1971 the poet Padilla was
imprisoned, tortured and forced to make a public confession and accuse
others of counter-revolutionary activity after publishing poems critical of the
regime. The 1976 constitution stated that “There is freedom of artistic
creation as long as its content is not contrary to the revolution.” Censorship
never reached the extremes reached in China during the Cultural Revolution,
but nothing critical of the regime can be published on the island.
Images of Castro and other leaders working alongside ordinary people were
common.
The FMC promoted portrayals of women as being equal to men and
empowered.
Nature/Extent of Opposition:
- On coming to power they had to deal with a lot of Batista supporters.
- Several former supporters pulled out of the movement over the
failure to hold elections and communist influence in 1959, including
the President, the Prime Minister and Huber Matos.
- Many in the upper classes turned against Castro because he failed to
hold free elections, and he nationalised their schools and confiscated
their property. Many also objected to Communism.
- Artists like the makers of the film PM in 1961 and the poet Padilla in
1971 objected to censorship.
- The Church opposed the nationalization of Catholic schools and other
efforts to reduce the influence of religion, but many priests supported
Castro’s social programs.
- At least 125,000 people discontented with low living standards and
political repression left in the Mariel Boatlift in 1980 and tens of
thousands have left since. The USA admits many of these are
economic migrants rather than political opponents of Castro.
Treatment of Opponents – Less pre-emptive treatment than in China
 Over the years, a lot of Castro’s opponents have simply left, taking
advantage of the fact that they are welcomed by the USA and can
settle relatively easily in Florida’s large Cuban community. This
reduces domestic opposition in Cuba.

 About 400 Batista supporters who had served in the government or

the armed forces were shot after very suspect trials. Others receive
long prison sentences.

 When Huber Matos, who had played a leading part in the Sierra
Maestra days in the taking of Santiago began to express his opposition
to the radicalization of the revolution in 1959, he was arrested by
Castro. He spent 20 years in prison and was subjected to physical and
psychological tortures. When released in 1979 he fled to Miami where
he has become a leading force of the Cuban dissidence and published
his memoirs, How the Night Came.

 Committees for the Defence of the Revolution

There were set up in 1960 in every workplace, block and residential
building. They organize some social projects, but mainly they keep an
eye on their neighbours and report “counter-revolutionary activity”.
By 1963, 1/3 of all Cubans belonged to one of these. This means the
level of peer surveillance is very high which intimidates potential
critics.

 Beginning in 1960, there was a mass propaganda campaign led by Che

Guevara aimed at changing Cuban values to create a “New Man” – who
would be selfless, willing to work without compensation, egalitarian,
etc. This aimed to educated upper class opponents out of their
opposition. (See Propaganda). Mariel Boatlift suggests this wasn’t
entirely successful.

 1961 Bay of Pigs Invasion – fought off militarily. Then solicited the help
of the USSR to defend the island. USA pledged not to support similar
invasions as part of the settlement after the Cuban Missile Crisis
(1962).

 UMAP (Military Units to Aid Production) (1965-68)

These were camps set up in 1965 and lasting until 1968 where about
25,000 young men were sent to be “re-educated through the
liberating effects of collective work.” Inmates included:
– Everyone opposing military service
– Homosexuals
– Children of political prisoners
– Political dissenters
– Young people imitating American dress codes and tastes

 In 1971 the poet Padilla was imprisoned, tortured and forced to make
a public confession and accuse others of counter-revolutionary activity
after publishing poems critical of the regime.
  Peruvian Embassy, 1980
In 1980 a bus full of Cubans crashed the gates of the Peruvian
embassy, in the process of which a Cuban guard was shot. They
claimed asylum and the Peruvians refused to hand them over. In
response, Castro removed all the guards and 10,000 Cubans forced
their way into the embassy demanding asylum. This illustrates the
level of discontent in Cuba at the time and also one of Castro’s tactics
for dealing with opposition – letting the dissidents leave the country.

 Mariel Boatlift, 1980

After the Peruvian embassy incident, Castro decided to let all the
discontented Cubans go. 125,000 assembled at the port of Mariel and
Cuban Americans organized boats to bring them to the USA. Some
were opponents of Castro, some were anxious to be reunited with
relatives in Miami, and some were criminals and mental patients who
were forced onto the boats. Of those who left voluntarily most were
economic migrants – there had been an economic downturn in Cuba
and Cuban Americans had recently been allowed to return and had
exposed thousands of Cubans to a somewhat rosy view of life in the
US. This illustrates the level of discontent in Cuba at the time and also
one of Castro’s tactics for dealing with opposition – letting the
dissidents leave the country. This practice has also embarrassed the
USA, which is unwilling to accept all the migrants, leading to the
somewhat hypocritical “wet foot dry foot policy”.

 The Catholic Church has been tolerated in Cuba since 1959, although
religion has been discouraged:
– Religious schools were nationalized and religious education is only
permitted in churches.
– Until 1998 religious people were not allowed to join the PCC.
– Castro was suspicious of many of the congregations of Cuba,
accusing them of representing foreign interests.
– Whenever bishops criticised his policies, Castro accused them of
abandoning their pastoral duties and getting involved in politics.
– Many priests welcomed the revolution as a way of achieving social
justice. They joined and encouraged their parishioners to join the
various health and education campaigns.
– The Pope visited in 1998 and criticized both the lack of freedom in
Cuba and the US Embargo.

Impact of foreign policy If we judge Mao’s foreign policy by his ability to make advantageous relationships with
on maintenance of other countries, it was largely a failure. On the other hand, given China’s history of Sequence of Events of deteriorating relations with USA
power foreign domination, he was able to use his refusal to compromise with foreign powers 1959
to promote a sort of xenophobic nationalism that probably enhanced his control. China  Appointed PSP to key positions
did eventually take the UN seat by 1971  Import taxes on luxury goods
 Failed to hold elections
• 1950-51 “Peaceful Liberation of Tibet”, and CCP control established in Xinjiang  Agrarian Reform Law
and Guangdong  Arrested Huber Matos
1960
USSR:
 1950 Treaty of Friendship Alliance and Mutual Assistance
- Soviet Aid was a loan, not a gift, and they charged interest
- China had to take out high interest loans to pay for the 10,000 Soviet Advisors
- China had to pay through the nose for Soviet arms during Korean War
- Soviet advisors helped China with the very successful First Five Year Plan and
advised against the disastrous Great Leap Forward.
 Sino-Soviet Split 1958
Causes
o Border Disputes:
This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet split. There were several disputes
of this nature:
- 1919 Russia took over Outer Mongolia
- 1945 Russians stripped Manchuria of $2 million worth of industrial resources
before returning it to China after liberating it from the Japanese.
- There were a series of border clashes on the Sino-Soviet border in the 60s.
- In 1969 China and the USSR pointed nuclear weapons at each other.
o Disputes over Chinese Revolution:
This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet Split:
- Stalin disagreed with Mao's contention that a proletarian revolution
could be peasant-based.
- Stalin had kept telling the CCP to ally with the GMD during the 20s, 30s
and 40s, even when it was clear that the GMD wanted to wipe out the
CCP, and even when it was clear the CCP were winning. This convinced
Mao that Stalin wanted a weak, disunited China
- USSR was critical of the Great Leap Forward and later the Cultural
Revolution
- China accused the USSR under Khrushchev of perverting socialism and
betraying the revolution by making a détente with the West. Khrushchev
and his successors accused Mao of distorting Marxism to make it fit in
with China’s peasant society.
o Personal Animosities:
This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet Split. There were various sources
of friction:
- Mao was offended by the superior air adopted by Stalin when Mao
visited the USSR in 1950. He also felt the Chinese guests were treated in
an offhand, disrespectful manner.
- When Khrushchev visited Mao in 1958 to try to patch things up, Mao
arranged for his delegation to be put up in a hotel without air
conditioning and held one round of talks in a swimming pool
- After the Albanian incident, Khrushchev abused Mao as an "Asian Hitler"
and a "living corpse". Mao called Khrushchev a "redundant old boot".
o Khrushchev’s Destalinization:
This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet Split:
- Khrushchev's criticism of Stalin's "cult of personality was seen as an
oblique criticism of Mao's "cult of personality". (This was one reason for
Zhou Enlai's walking out of the 1961 Moscow Congress of the
Communist Party of the Soviet Union while Khrushchev was criticizing
Albania)
- Mao blamed this policy of Khrushchev’s for unrest in Eastern Europe.
o Khrushchev’s foreign Policy:
 (March) Full diplomatic relations and favourable trade deal
with USSR
 (May) US-owned oil companies in Cuba refuse to refine Soviet
oil.
 (June) US oil companies confiscated
 (July 5) USA cancelled sugar quota, forcing Castro to go to
USSR
 (July 9) USSR agrees to buy Cuban sugar.
 (October)
 USA imposes partial economic embargo (excludes food
and medicine)
 Castro nationalizes all US-owned property on the
island.
1961
- (January) USA Severs Relations with Cuba
- (April) Bay of Pigs Invasion
1962: (October) Cuban Missile Crisis
Deteriorating Relations with the USA – Allowed Castro to claim to be standing
up for the independence of Cuba against imperialism. It also helped him to
convince the USSR to prop up the Cuban economy from 1960-c 1985.
• Began reducing the influence of the USA-owned big businesses and
estates in Cuba in 1959.
• Encouraged strikes against foreign companies.
• Agrarian Reform Law of 1959 confiscated large estates.
• Import taxes on “luxury goods” Import taxes on “luxury goods” were
imposed to keep money in the country by getting Cubans to spend
less money on them, and also to raise money for industrialization.
These angered the USA because its sales to Cuba decreased by 30%.
• Lack of fair trials for Batista supporters
• Communist leanings.
• Failure to hold free elections
• Cultivated Relations with USSR, including full diplomatic relations and
an oil deal in 1960.
• (March 1960) Full diplomatic relations with USSR
• (June) US oil companies confiscated when they refuse to refine
Soviet oil.
• When Castro ordered the expropriation of US property in Cuba
(in response to the USA pressuring other countries to prevent
economic aid to Cuba) Eisenhower cancelled the Sugar quota.
Castro got the USSR to buy the sugar instead.
• Economic Embargo
• After Castro confiscated US banks in Cuba, the USA imposed a
partial economic embargo in October 1960 and a full economic
embargo in 1962 on Cuba that continues today. Castro
responded by moving closer to the USSR.
• It is unclear how much of Cuba’s present-day poverty is due to
this embargo and how much to impractical economic policies.
The embargo definitely makes it easy for Castro to blame
economic problems on the USA.
 This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet split:
- Mao disagreed with Khrushchev's policies of "peaceful coexistence" and
"different roads to socialism"; Mao wanted to pursue World Revolution.
The launch of Sputnik (1957) convinced him the USSR had the power and
wasn't using it. Deng and Mao expounded these views at a meeting of
international Socialist leaders in 1957, embarrassing the USSR
- Mao criticized Khrushchev for signing the Nuclear Test Ban treaty of 1963
because it was collaboration with capitalists.
- Khrushchev accused Mao of wanting to see USSR and USA destroy each
other leaving China to take over.
- Khrushchev refused to support China when she mobilized against Taiwan
in 1958. After this, the USSR withdrew its economic advisers and
cancelled commercial contracts.
- Khrushchev supplied India with MIG fighters during the Sino-Indian War
of 1962.
- Mao was critical of Khrushchev's handling of the Cuban Missile Crisis.
o China Supported countries hostile to the USSR:
This policy of the Chinese government was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet
split:
- Zhou Enlai walked out of the 1961 Moscow Congress of the Communist
Party of the Soviet Union (to which he had been invited as an observer)
to protest Khrushchev's criticism of Albania. This led to the severing of
diplomatic relations between the two countries.
- When the USSR stole a march on China by getting communist Vietnam
into its camp, China “adopted” Cambodia, in spite of the massacres
committed by Pol Pot’s regime. When Vietnam invaded Cambodia in
1978 over a border dispute, China invaded Vietnam. The PRC was
eventually forced out of Vietnam and Vietnam overthrew Pol Pot in
Cambodia, but people in China were not informed of this.
o USSR’s Assumption of the Leadership of Communism:
This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet Split:
- 1958 Soviet Ambassador Yudin suggested that China's Navy should be
subordinate to the USSR's while negotiating a joint Sino-Soviet Naval
programme.
- Since the 1950s Mao was infuriated by Stalin and Khrushchev’s insistence
that if China wanted Soviet help with its nuclear programme, it must give
the USSR a controlling hand in the PRC’s defence policy.
- “Brezhnev Doctrine” of the mid 1960s stated that, in order to maintain
solidarity among socialist states, all the Eastern European states were to
follow the leadership of the USSR. This was the justification for the
crushing of the “Prague Spring” in 1968. Mao didn’t agree with counter-
revolution, but he resented this assertion. Brezhnev organized an
International Communist Conference in Moscow in 1969 with the aim of
outlawing China, but did not succeed in persuading the other states to do
this.
o Nuclear Issue:
This was one of the causes of the Sino-Soviet split:
- USSR withdrew Nuclear advisors in 1959. China proceeded to piece
together their shredded records and build its own nuclear programme.
- Mao’s speeches led many to believe he was willing to risk a nuclear war:
Dependence on the USSR This was very helpful at first, but it had some
drawbacks. It helped to alienate the USA (although expropriating US property
was probably a bigger issue). Cuba incurred very large debts to the USSR,
which was part of the motivation for the “Year of 10 Million”. It also meant
Cuba was in a very difficult position when the USSR ran into financial trouble s
and reduce d the price it paid for sugar and then collapsed altogether in 1991.
1960
 (March) Full diplomatic relations and loans to purchase industrial
equipment
• (May) Selling weapons and oil to Cuba
• (July 9) Agreed to buy Cuba’s sugar quota.
1961 After the Bay of Pigs promised to prevent an armed US intervention
against Cuba)
• All of this alarmed the USA because they had long regarded the
Western Hemisphere as their exclusive sphere of influence, and also
because they were worried that Communism would spread from
Cuba to the rest of the Americas.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis
1962-85 Soviet investment in Cuba continues.
1985 USSR reduced aid to Cuba
1991 Collapse of USSR
Cuban Missile Crisis 1962
• US spy ‘planes discovered that the USSR was placing nuclear missiles
in Cuba.
• USA blockaded Cuba to prevent USSR from sending more missiles.
• Eventually Khrushchev agreed to remove the missiles in return for a
US promise that the USA would never invade Cuba (and a secret
promise to remove missiles in Turkey) Castro was not consulted.
Venezuela
The election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 1999 has been very beneficial to
Cuba. Venezuela provides Cuba with 90,000 barrels of oil per day, which
allows Cuba supply all its domestic needs and even to export oil. In return,
Cuba provides Venezuela with tens of thousands of doctors and technicians.
Cuba is also training Venezuelan doctors and technicians and many
Venezuelan nationals are given free medical treatment in Cuba, with
Venezuela covering the transportation costs and Cuba covering all other costs
 “There are 2.7 billion people in the world…I say that, taking the extreme
situation, half dies, half lives, but imperialism would be razed to the ground
and the whole world would become socialist.” - Mao in 1957

“We are willing to endure the first [U.S. nuclear] strike. All it is a big pile of
people dying.” – Mao in conversation with Khrushchev
Events
1958 USSR withdrew economic advisors and cancelled all commercial
contracts.
1964 China develops Atom Bomb
1967 China develops Hydrogen Bomb
1969 China and Russia point rockets at each other.

USA
o 1950-53 Korean War
• 1950- c. 1972 Chinese school children taught to view USA as the "number one
enemy"
This involved chanting "Death to the American imperialists and all their running
dogs" every day before classes.
o 1972: Nixon visits China - Shanghai Communique – agreed to recognize each
other and that Taiwan was part of China, but was not to be taken by force. Full
diplomatic relations with the USA were not established until 1979 with DXP and
Jimmy Carter.

UN
o 1950-53 Korean War
o 1971 China takes the seat in the UN formerly occupied by the Taipei govt.

Taiwan:
• 1950 USA extends area covered by Truman Doctrine to include Taiwan
 1950-58 China periodically shells Taiwan
 1972 Agreed not to take Taiwan by force

Aims and Economic Problems: Problems:

Results of • China had already been a poor country before the war. After so many years of - Large gap between rich and poor
Policies war, Agricultural production was down 25% and industrial production down - Much of the land and industry was foreign-owned.
50% - Monoculture economy
• Most of China’s people were illiterate peasants.
• Rapid inflation Timeline of Key Events
• Very little industry compared to other countries of similar size. 1959:
• Chiang Kaishek had taken the gold reserves to Taiwan. - Agrarian Reform Law 1959
- Rents reduced by half in cities.
Stabilized Currency: 1960:
• Slashed inflation from 1000% in 1949 to 15% by 1951. They achieved this by: - US embargo begins
– reducing public expenditure, - Confiscated all US-owned property
– raising taxes in the cities 1962
– replacing the old currency with the RMB. - Abolished rents
- Changed the currency, which eliminated savings of anyone
Collectivisation whose money wasn’t in a government bank
• 1950 Agrarian Reform Law 1963
 • 1950-52 “Speak Bitterness” Campaign
47 million hectares (40% of cultivated land) taken from landlords and given to
300 million poor peasants, usually farmed collectively. Unknown number of
landlords killed, Lynch says up to 1,000,000. The CCP organized the peasants in
each area to put their landlords on trial and decide what should happen to
them. (Thus the decision to execute people was made by the people, not the
party and the party was seen to be doing the will of the people.) In many cases,
whole landlord families were executed, not just the adults.
• 1951 CCP Organize poor peasants into “mutual aid teams” of about 10
households farming collectively.
• 1952-3 “Agricultural Producers Cooperatives” of 30-50 households formed.
– They farmed collectively, but the profit was shared out partly according
to how much land each family contributed to the collective and partly
according to how much labour each family had contributed.
• 1955 “Higher Stage Agricultural Producers Cooperatives” of 200-300
households formed.
– In these profits were divided more by labour than by land.
– CCP officials tended to be appointed to administer these, increasing the
government’s control.
 1958 Communes
Organizations of peasants into groups of about 20,000 people, administered by
party officials. These took over local government functions and had their own
military units as well as organizing agricultural labour. All land was farmed
collectively, children were cared for in communal kindergartens and peasants
ate in communal kitchens. These are blamed for imposing unwise agricultural
practices and also for taking way the individual peasant’s responsibility for
supplying his own family with food, making the peasants more likely to follow
government policy blindly.
 1960-76 Modified Communes
Peasants had private gardens and rural markets were opened where they could
sell surplus produce.
Agricultural Production
 Agriculture
o Grain production rose from about 164 million tonnes in 1952 to about
305 million tonnes in 1978. It mostly kept pace with a rapidly growing
population.
BUT: Great Leap Forward let to a disastrous famine in which about 20
million people died.
 Great Leap Forward 1958-62
195 million tonnes of grain had been produced in 1957. The government
claimed 375 million tonnes were produced in 1958, even though the real
output was about 200 million tonnes. In December 1958, Mao set at target of
430 million tonnes for 1959. Actual production dropped to 170 million tonnes.
China’s grain production in 2012 was about 575 million tonnes.
Government control of Industry
• 1949-50 Banks, gas and electricity nationalized (some compensation paid to
those who seemed prepared to support the new regime.
 Owners often left in place as managers, at least at first.
- Agrarian Reform Law 1963 (medium estates)
1968
- Agrarian Reform Law 1968 (small estates)
- Revolutionary Offensive
1970 Year of the 10 Million
1986 Rectification Campaign
1991 Special Period
1999 Chavez comes to power in Venezuela
Efforts to Collectivise Agriculture
1959-68 Gradual collectivization through the three Agrarian Reform Acts of
1959, 63 and 68.
1968 Revolutionary Offensive
This was launched in March 1968. It aimed to remove the last vestiges
of capitalism from the island. All remaining private enterprises were
abolished, including street vendors, service shops, farmer’s markets
and self-employment. It resulted in administrative chaos and loss of
productivity due to high absenteeism.
1970 Failure of the Year of the 10 Million
• To achieve this harvest, Castro militarized labour mobilizing students,
conscripts, soldiers, law breakers, emigrants waiting to leave the
island, and volunteers. Bars and theatres were closed and the New
Year celebrations were cancelled.
• The harvest was a record 8.5 million tonnes, but below target and also
other sectors of the economy had suffered and the campaign
exhausted Cubans and made them sceptical.
• Castro accepted responsibility in a speech on July 26 1970, even
offering to resign. The crowd cheered him. He also reintroduced
farmer’s markets, gave companies more independence from
bureaucratic control and introduced material incentives like pay for
overtime work.
Economic Problems in the 1970s
• The USSR cut the price it paid for Cuban sugar
• High unemployment, debt and policies that limited
consumption led to discontent.
1986 Rectification Campaign
• A campaign to return to Socialist principles of solidarity and
volunteerism (Castro blamed Cuba’s economic problems on the
economic liberalization of the 70s. )
• Farmer’s markets were banned again, self-employment was
discouraged and financial incentives were abolished.
• Productivity fell; absenteeism increased
1991 Onward Special Period
• Many state owned farms were converted to worker-managed
cooperatives in an effort to increase productivity.
• Farmers markets, handicraft markets, self-employment and small
private businesses allowed.
Efforts to Eliminate of Private Property in Cities/Industry
1959 Rents reduced by half in cities.
1960 Confiscated all US-owned property
 • 1949-50 Property of GMD supporters who had fled to Taiwan confiscated.
Also all property owned by foreigners (except from USSR)
• 1958 Great Leap Forward
No private business allowed. Mao wanted China’s steel production to rise from
5.35 million metric tonnes in 1957 to 100 million tonnes by 1962 and 700
million tonnes ten years after that. Massive public works projects were
undertaken by tens of thousands of labourers working with hand tools instead
of machines. he wanted communes to contribute to industry as well as
agriculture. In the backyard steel campaign peasants and other laymen were
induced to try to make steel in homemade furnaces. The result of all this was
the deforestation of China, a lot of low quality metal and a famine lasting from
1959-62 in which at least 20 million people died.
 1960-76 Small businesses allowed to open.
Industrial Production
 Industry
 Steel production tripled between the 1950s and the 1970s. All other
industrial indicators also rose.
 Output grew by an average of 10.2% per year between 1957 and 1979.
 Expansion of hydroelectricity and nuclear power.
 Foundations of oil industry laid
BUT: Taiwan made better progress with very different methods.
Also, the progress was largely due to the application of methods very different
from those advocated by Mao. When his ideas were implemented in the GLF
and CR, they were disastrous.
Industrial Production During the Great Leap Forward:
5.4 million tonnes of steel were produced in 1957. That year, the Party set a
goal of increasing that to 20 million tonnes by the 1970s. That Autumn, Mao
upped this target to 40 million tonnes. By the autumn of 1958 he was predicting
100 million tonnes by 1962 and 700 million tonnes by the early 1970s. China’s
actual steel production reached a high of 13 million tonnes in 1960. In 1962 it
was 8 million tonnes. (China finally achieved 100 million tonnes in 1996 and
passed the 700 million tonne mark in 2012.)
Economic Problems in the 1960s
• Lack of specialized personnel and technicians (many had left the
country)
• Workforce unmotivated- poor quality goods, frequent absenteeism,
low agricultural productivity
• Buying industrial machinery increased Cuba’s debt.
1962
 Abolished rents
 Changed the currency, which eliminated savings of anyone whose
money wasn’t in a government bank
1968 Revolutionary Offensive
• This was launched in March 1968. It aimed to remove the last vestiges
of capitalism from the island. All remaining private enterprises were
abolished, including street vendors, service shops, farmer’s markets
and self-employment. It resulted in administrative chaos and loss of
productivity due to high absenteeism.
1970 Year of the 10 Million
• Campaign to increase Cuba’s sugar production to 10 million tonnes in
1970. (The three previous years had averaged 5 million tonnes) The
goal was to make enough sugar to pay off Cuba’s debts to the USSR
and get capital to fund economic diversification. To achieve this
harvest, Castro militarized labour mobilizing students, conscripts,
soldiers, law breakers, emigrants waiting to leave the island, and
volunteers. Bars and theatres were closed and the New Year
celebrations were cancelled.
• The harvest was a record 8.5 million tonnes, but below target and also
other sectors of the economy had suffered and the campaign
exhausted Cubans and made them sceptical.
• Castro accepted responsibility in a speech on July 26 1970, even
offering to resign. The crowd cheered him. He also reintroduced
farmer’s markets, gave companies more independence from
bureaucratic control and introduced material incentives like pay for
overtime work.
Economic Problems in the 70s
• The USSR cut the price it paid for Cuban sugar
• High unemployment, debt and policies that limited
consumption led to discontent.
1986 Rectification Campaign
• A campaign to return to Socialist principles of solidarity and
volunteerism (Castro blamed Cuba’s economic problems on the
economic liberalization of the 70s.)
• Farmer’s markets were banned again, self-employment was
discouraged and financial incentives were abolished.
• Productivity fell; absenteeism increased
1991 Onward Special Period
 The period beginning with the dissolution of the USSR in 1991. The
USSR had been absolutely central to the Cuban economy. Suddenly all
the Soviet technicians left and hundreds of projects were abandoned.
Subsidized goods, access to international loans and oil were no longer
coming in from the USSR. Cubans faced new levels of rationing, and
 the need to save energy resulted in long black-outs and restricted
public transport. There were food shortages, although no-one starved.
 To respond to this crisis:
• Many state owned farms were converted to worker-managed
cooperatives in an effort to increase productivity.
• Cuba was opened to international business with foreign firms
invited to invest in tourism, mining and energy
• In 1993 it was made legal for Cubans to buy and sell US dollars in
an effort to attract money from Cubans living overseas.
• Farmers markets, handicraft markets, self-employment and small
private businesses allowed.
1999 Deal with Venezuela
• The election of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela in 1999 has been very
beneficial to Cuba. Venezuela provides Cuba with 90,000 barrels of oil
per day, which allows Cuba supply all its domestic needs and even to
export oil. In return, Cuba provides Venezuela with tens of thousands
of doctors and technicians. Cuba is also training Venezuelan doctors
and technicians and many Venezuelan nationals are given free medical
treatment in Cuba, with Venezuela covering the transportation costs
and Cuba covering all other costs

Efforts to End Monoculture Economy

 USSR investment 1960-1985
- Loans, oil, technical advisors
 Year of the 10 Million, 1970
- This was an effort to raise capital to pay off the USSR and diversify
the economy, but the heavy focus on sugar to the exclusion of all
else actually hurt the economy.
 Special Period, 1991 onward
Suddenly all the Soviet technicians left and hundreds of projects were
abandoned. Subsidized goods, access to international loans and oil
were no longer coming in from the USSR. Cubans faced new levels of
rationing, and the need to save energy resulted in long blackouts and
restricted public transport. There were food shortages, although no-
one starved.
To respond to this crisis:
- Many state owned farms were converted to worker-managed
cooperatives in an effort to increase productivity.
- Cuba was opened to international business with foreign firms
invited to invest in tourism, mining and energy
- In 1993 it was made legal for Cubans to buy and sell US dollars in
an effort to attract money from Cubans living overseas.
- Farmers markets, handicraft markets, self-employment and small
private businesses allowed.
- By 1994 Cuba’s economy was recovering somewhat, with tourism
replacing sugar’s role in the island’s economy.
 Deal with Chavez 1999:
After Chavez was elected in Venezuela they made a bilateral
agreement whereby Cuba provided Venezuela with health care and
technicians and Venezuela provided Cuba with oil.

Political 1949-59 – Wanted to cement the CCP’s control of China - successful
 (see consolidation of power)
1962-71 – Wanted to reform the CCP and reassert his control over it. – successful but
costly
 1962: 7000 Cadre Conference
 1964: Socialist Education Movement
 1963: Lin Biao published Little Red Book
 1965: Yao Wenyuan criticizes Hai Rui dismissed from Office, Mao moved to
Shanghai
 1966: First Red Guards form – endorsed by Mao May
 July 1966: Mao swims the Yangzi river at Wuhan and then moves back to Beijing
 August 1966: Mao writes “Bombard the Headquarters” at CC meeting; Liu
demoted
 Aug-Dec 1966: Red Guards go after people and things representing “Four Olds”,
including party members and begin split into factions.
 Jan 1967: Alliances of Red Guard groups take control of Shanghai, Beijing and six 1961-91 Wanted to build support for socialism in Cuba (see also
provinces. Liu and Deng subjected to “struggle sessions”
 Feb 1967: February Adverse Current
 Feb-Aug 1967: Mao turns against the February Adverse Current Feb
- Liu and Deng placed under house arrest
- PLA commanders who had cracked down on the Red Guard were court
martialled.
- PLA ordered not to use force on the Red Guards
- Jiang Qing began advocating arming the Red Guards in case they came up
against “capitalist roaders in the PLA”
- Pitched battles between rival groups, i.e. 600 killed in Wuhan in July
- Arms shipments intended for North Vietnam seized
- Beijing foreign ministry seized. British, Indian, Burmese and Indonesian
embassies attacked.
 Aug 1967: PLA ordered to contain the Red Guards. PLA took over targeting of
“bad elements”
 Oct 1968: Liu expelled from the party; New constitution for the party endorsed
sidelining the CC in favour of a “standing committee” of close advisors to Mao.
 Nov 1969: Death of Liu Shaoqi
1971-76 – Wanted to maintain control and cement his legacy by choosing the right
successor. - unsuccessful
In general, Cuba still has a monoculture economy with tourism replacing
sugar. It is still poor. The Castro brothers blame their economic problems on
the US embargo. There may be some truth to this. Cuba has a well-educated
population and a relatively advantageous geographical position but it lacks
natural resources (crops like sugar and tobacco are declining in value). The
trade embargo makes it difficult to access raw materials from other countries.
Cuba also has a tiny and poor domestic market and the embargo makes it
difficult to access international markets. On the other hand, there is no
guarantee that Cuba’s socialist economy would be equipped to participate in
the market if it had full access.
1959-60 – Increase influence of Communists in Cuba – successful
1959
 (February) Accepted the resignation of the Liberal Prime Minister and
took over as Prime Minister
 (July) Accepted the resignation of the Liberal president and replace
him with a supporter.
 (October) Raul Castro reorganizes the military, distributing key
commands to communist officers. Many anti-Communist officers
resign
 (October) Arrested Huber Matos for trying to resign.
 By the end of the year anti-communism was the same as counter-
revolution.
1960
 FMC Established
 Committees for the Defense of the Revolution established.
propaganda)
1960 Onwards
 Che Guevara’s “New Man” campaign
 Ongoing indoctrination through the education system.
1961
 Josi Marti Pioneers Established
 PM Affair, Union of Artists and Writes of Cuba Established, Words to
the Intellectuals
In 1961 the film PM was censored, angering many writers and film
makers. In response to this PM Affair, the Union of Artists and
Writers of Cuba was formed. Its declaration was “the writer must
contribute to the revolution through his work, and this involves
conceiving of literature as a means of combat, a weapon against
weaknesses and the problems that, directly or indirectly, could hinder
this advance.” At the opening conference, Castro gave his “Words to
the Intellectuals” asserting that all art had to serve the revolution.
1965
 Party renamed Communist Party of Cuba (PCC)
1968
 Revolutionary Offensive
1971
  1971 Lin Biao attempts a coup and dies in a ‘plane crash.  Year of the 10 Million
 1972 Deng Xiaoping rehabilitated 1971
 1973 Wang Hongwen (of the Gang of Four) named Mao’s successor: Mao seems  Padilla Affair
to have hoped Deng’s experience would balance Wang’s “political correctness” 1976
 1975 Mao’s health deteriorates while Zhou Enlai enters the final stages of  New Constitution
cancer. Deng is given several important promotions. Gang of Four required to
make self-criticisms 1976 Constitution
 1976 (January) Zhou dies  Allows the government to censor any expression contrary to the
 1976 (April) revolution and punish anyone acting or speaking in a way that is
- First “Tiananmen Incident” April 4 and 5 – Tomb Sweeping Day “contrary to the existence and objectives of the socialist state, or
demonstration of affection for Zhou. contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to build socialism and
- Deng Xiaoping leaves Beijing and is stripped of all his party posts communism.”{ (Article 62)
- Hua Guofeng appointed Mao’s successor  Municipal council representatives are elected by secret ballot and
 1976 (September 9) Death of Mao do not have to be members of the PCC.
 1976 (October 6) Arrest of the Gang of Four  About half the candidates for elections to the National Assembly
 1978 Deng rehabilitated chosen by these municipal councils.
 1980 Hua Guofeng demoted and Deng named “Supreme Leader”  Candidates for the provincial assemblies and the rest of the national
assembly delegates are chosen by committees composed of
representatives of various mass organizations. Since these
organizations are chosen by the PCC, this effectively means the PCC
approves all these nominees. There is only one candidate per
position, but if a candidate receives less than 50% of the vote he or
she is not elected.
 In practice, the vast majority of delegates end up being members of
the PCC and there is considerable unofficial pressure to support the
party.
1980
 Mariel Boatlift
1986
 Rectification Campaign

1991 Focus on Economic survival in the wake of the Collapse of the USSR
leads to some liberalization
– i.e. The Pope visited in 1998 and criticized both the lack of freedom in
Cuba and the US Embargo. Castro began letting Christians join the PCC.
– Allowing private enterprise and foreign investment reduces some political
control as the government no longer controls everyone through his or her
workplace.

Cultural Expansion of Education Expansion of Education

 Literacy climbed from 20% in 1949 to 70% by 1976. In 1959, Literacy was 76%, (much lower in the countryside than in the cities.)
 Simplified characters and Pinyin were introduced to make learning easier.  1961 Year of Education
 Attempted to get universal primary education. (In 1949 only 20% of primary aged  Converted barracks into schools
children were in school.) By 1980, at least 90% started school.  Built more schools between 1959 and 1962 than had been built in
 200 Universities in 1949. 434 in 1976. the previous 58 years.
 In 1949, China had 50,000 scientists. By 1966 they had 2,500,000.  Trained 271,000 teachers
 Encouraged literate Cubans to go to the countryside as brigadistas.
BUT: Universities and high schools were concentrated in the cities, with rural children  Private schools nationalized
mostly getting only a few years of education. Also, a lot of resources were focused on  FMC organized adult education programmes for women.
 Illiteracy dropped from 24%-4% in a year.
 “key schools” which were supposed to take the best pupils. The Cadres got their
children into these.
Also, in 1966 many university students were angry that the well connected children
were getting better career opportunities after universities. This was one reason for the
Cultural Revolution.
Mao then attempted to rectify the problem by temporarily suspending education in
China altogether, but this didn’t only meant no-one had opportunities. Also, the attacks Industry were formed in 1959. In 1961 the film PM was censored, angering
on intellectuals harmed the education system in a way that took decades to repair.
Social This category has to do with the changes in relationships between different classes,
genders and ethnic groups as well as changes in customs and culture. See “Cultural”
“Economic – changes in class structure” “Women” “Minorities”. Also:
• Public Health
– Campaigns to improve sanitation and hygiene and to educate the public
about these things.
– 1.3% of budget spent on hospitals, but these were still few and far
between. On the other hand, access was not limited to the wealthy.
Impact on Women • Women's Rights
– 1950 Marriage Law ended arranged marriages, child marriages, killing of
female babies, bigamy. Gave women joint ownership of property within
marriage. Divorce by mutual consent introduced.
– 1951 Expectant mothers got maternity benefit of full wages two month
after childbirth.
– Footbinding finally eradicated
– Set a target of 25% female delegates and party and government
congresses, but didn’t achieve it.
BUT laws aside, attitudes change more slowly:
– Killing of female children may still not have ended in remote areas.
– A preference for male children has not entirely disappeared, leading to a
gender imbalance in the country, achieved by selective abortion or
abandonment of female babies.
– Women are underrepresented at the top of the party and government.
Impact on Minorities The party pays lip-service to protecting minorities and respecting their culture, but in
practice, Mao’s policies were aimed at assimilation. Tibet and Xinjiang, home to two of
 1976 constitution says the state must provide free education at all
levels
 As of 2009 it was 99.8% according to the UN (The USA’s was 99.0%)
BUT heavy emphasis on indoctrination in schools.
Culture:
Insisted that all artistic/cultural endeavors serve the revolution:
In the arts, a National Ballet and a Cuban Institute of Arts and Cinema
many writers and film makers. In response to this PM Affair, the Union of
Artists and Writers of Cuba was formed. Its declaration was “the writer must
contribute to the revolution through his work, and this involves conceiving of
literature as a means of combat, a weapon against weaknesses and the
problems that, directly or indirectly, could hinder this advance.” At the
opening conference, Castro gave his “Words to the Intellectuals” asserting
that all art had to serve the revolution. In 1971 the poet Padilla was
imprisoned, tortured and forced to make a public confession and accuse
others of counter-revolutionary activity after publishing poems critical of the
regime. The 1976 constitution stated that “There is freedom of artistic
creation as long as its content is not contrary to the revolution.” Censorship
never reached the extremes reached in China during the Cultural Revolution,
but nothing critical of the regime can be published on the island.
This category has to do with the changes in relationships between different
classes, genders and ethnic groups as well as changes in customs and culture.
See “Cultural” “Economic – changes in class structure” “Women”
“Minorities”. Also:
 Public Health
Increased health spending by a factor of 8. Trains 3000 doctors per
year, each of whom spends at least two years in a rural community.
Life expectancy has risen from 59 in 1958 to 79.1 today. China’s
current life expectancy is 76.1. The USA’s is 79.3.
Measures to improve the status of women:
 FMC (founded in 1960) trained women for new jobs previously not
open to them.
 All jobs and levels of education open to women.
 Textbooks revised to portray women as committed workers and
soldiers.
 1970 family code mandated that both spouses should share in
household duties.
 1976 Constitution mandates full equality for women, including
requiring men to share in household duties and child care.
 FMC encouraged women’s participation in health and education
campaigns as well as social work.
However, women still underrepresented in the workforce and there are
very few at the top of the PCC.
Efforts to improve the status of Afro-Cubans
 the largest minorities, were brought under central control, to the point of being forced
to use Beijing time. Thousands of Han Chinese were encouraged to migrate to those
areas, overwhelming the local population. Mandarin was and is the language of
education. During the 1950s religion was suppressed. During the Cultural Revolution
there were efforts to shut it down altogether. Religious leaders were targeted in the
Cultural Revolution and many temples, mosques and churches were closed. Racism was
and is discouraged, but Mao’s goal of absolute conformity of culture and thought did
not allow for any expression of minority culture apart from fancy costumes and ethnic
songs and dances.
Extent to which By 1976, criticizing Mao in any way was a criminal offense and ordinary citizens were
authoritarian control encouraged to police each other’s thoughts, suggesting totalitarian control. On the
was achieved. other hand, after the excesses of the Cultural Revolution, the Rustication Campaign
sending students to the countryside and the Lin Biao episode, most of the Chinese
people were disillusioned and a general consensus against the Gang of Four – if not
against Mao himself, had developed. The protests accompanying the death of Zhou
Enlai and the swift fall of the Gang of Four after Mao’s death are evidence.
• Living standards for the poor have improved, which helped a lot of
them.
• 1976 constitution explicitly prohibits all forms of racism.
• Access to education and jobs is theoretically colour blind.
• Revolutionary rhetoric vehemently condemns racism.
BUT: There are still relatively few “mixed marriages” and Afro-Cubans are
underrepresented at the top of the PCC.
• The 1976 Constitution allows the government to censor any
expression contrary to the revolution and punish anyone acting or
speaking in a way that is “contrary to the existence and objectives of
the socialist state, or contrary to the decision of the Cuban people to
build socialism and communism.”{ (Article 62)
• Municipal council representatives are elected by secret ballot and do
not have to be members of the PCC.
• About half the candidates for elections to the National Assembly
chosen by these municipal councils.
• Candidates for the provincial assemblies and the rest of the national
assembly delegates are chosen by committees composed of
representatives of various mass organizations. Since these
organizations are chosen by the PCC, this effectively means the PCC
approves all these nominees. There is only one candidate per position,
but if a candidate receives less than 50% of the vote he or she is not
elected.
• In practice, the vast majority of delegates end up being members of
the PCC and there is considerable unofficial pressure to support the
party.
• Committees for the Defense of the Revolution keep many residents
under surveillance.
• Considerable indoctrination in the education system.
 Rather than punishing people suspected of unkind thoughts about the
leader, the people punished seem to be people to say or do things
that are overtly opposing the PCC. Even people attempting to leave
the island are not punished if intercepted and returned by the US
Coast Guard.