A Brief Look at the Origins of Stalin and Lenin

Analyzing the Bolshevik State compared to Marxism can be difficult because Marx, Engels and their followers gave relatively little thought to what the state would look like after a socialist revolution. Engels famously wrote, “the state is not ‘abolished,’ it withers away,” which highlights the hazy and unfixed nature of Marx and Engle’s writings on the ultimate, classless society they envisioned. Further, what they did write is subject to the differing interpretations by numerous socialist parties all claiming to be Marxist. As discussed earlier, Lenin claimed he simply reshaped Marxism to fit the conditions of Russia. Others argue his interpretation was not true Marxism at all. However, the basic principles of a socialist state in the eyes of Marx’s are outlined in the Communist Manifesto as follows:

Lenin and Stalin had opposing ways on what the Communist government should look like. Lenin gave the power to the Communist party, and Stalin gave most of the power to himself. Both Lenin and Stalin used a secret police force that kept the power. Lenin's new economic policy allowed for some peasants to have their own land, while Stalin made a Command economy were the government owns everything. Under Lenin, the standard of living rose for many peasant and workers. Under Stalin the standard of living fell and peasants were struggling. Lenin and Stalin had differents views on Russian politics, but Stalin's way contributed to more suffering of people.

Despite they’re being many similarities between Tsarism and Stalinism, it is too far to say Joseph Stalin acted in a way for him to be known as a “Red Tsar”. He implemented much of the same strategies as the Tsars before him but also drifted away and opposed much of Tsarism. His believed communism was the underlying factor in changing Russia, which wasn’t the case of a Tsarist regime. He portrayed himself as a personality cult who used the media to convey an ideolised heroic version of himself, very much like Tsar Nicholas II. He also implemented much of the same governmental structures of Tsarism, just under the badge of communism. Whilst Tsars had their body of Nobles and Okrana, Stalin had his Nomenklatura and NVKD. He controlled, manipulated

Almost everyone knows what a monster Adolf Hitler was, but most people do not know that one of the great ally leader of World War II, Joseph Stalin, had committed even greater atrocities than Hitler. Joseph Stalin was a ruthless and yet diligent dictator of the Soviet Union, whose rise to power influenced a multitude of major events in his country’s history. Due to Stalin’s impactful reign, he made the Soviet Union become a global superpower, underwent difficult hardships such as the Great Famine in the Soviet Union, and after his death, caused the Soviet Union to go through a process known as de-Stalinization.

Joseph Stalin greatly influenced Russia in the years 1924 through 1932. His rise to this power can be explained by the Russian Revolutionary experience that allowed him to gain authority in Russia. Although historians often refer to Stalin as a ruthless, mindless dictator, he redirected the Russian Revolution to major economic development. Stalin’s character in Russia during the Revolution catalyzed the many events that took place during the time period. Because of Stalin’s ability to both appeal to the masses, and take advantage of events, like Lenin’s death, Stalin was able to rise to power. Essentially, the Russian Revolution fostered the development of Stalin’s dictatorship leading the country into a state of economic growth and influence. The Revolution fostered Stalin’s ability to maintain a central leadership, use violence to gain control, and regenerate a previously disconnected economy.

Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin were both Bolsheviks looking to make a communist state in Russia. They both had ideals and methods that brought them to where they got to and what they had achieved. While Lenin was more of a democratic follower, and allowed inter-party discussions, he was also a great theorist of socialism. He was also a communist who focused on the temporary capitalist development of Russia. As for Stalin, he was an opportunist politician, and was also a communist mostly just for his personal benefits and gains. He had and followed socialist policies and didn’t have the best personality and attitude, he was quite rude and disgraceful. These two leaders were mainly shaped into who they were due to their past, by comparing them, it will show if their pasts affected their ideology and methods as how different it was, also seeing how with the similar aims, how with their different attitudes and personality, they were able to

In 1917, Tsar Nicholas ll is the current ruler of Russia. Russia’s economic growth is increased by the czar’s reforms of the production of more factories. Since, Russia desperately needed to keep up with the rest of Europe’s industry. This reform worked out perfectly, but the working conditions of these factories didn’t please factory workers. After the events of the Russo-Japenese War, “Bloody Sunday”, and WW1, all of Russia was in utter chaos under the czar’s ghastly leadership. With no signs of the czar’s attempt to solve the problems that kept coming up, all of Russia banded together and filled the streets with strikes and riots. A revolution was peaking among the peasants. The uprising brought Nicholas ll no choice but to abdicate

In order to establish whether Lenin did, indeed lay the foundation for Stalinism, two questions need to be answered; what were Lenin’s plans for the future of Russia and what exactly gave rise to Stalinism? Official Soviet historians of the time at which Stalin was in power would have argued that each one answers the other. Similarly, Western historians saw Lenin as an important figure in the establishment of Stalin’s socialist state. This can be partly attributed to the prevailing current of pro-Stalin anti-Hitler sentiments amongst westerners until the outbreak of the cold war. As relations changed between Russia and the rest of the world, so did the main historical schools of thought.

Though World War II was a horrible war with cruel leaders, these cruel leaders were very powerful and successful. Perhaps two of the most notable leaders during World War II were Adolf Hitler, leader of the Nazi Party, and Joseph Stalin, dictator of the Soviet Union. These two leaders had their differences in opinions, especially when it came to politics. Hitler was an extreme nationalist while Stalin was a communist leader. Though they had their differences, Hitler and Stalin had the same view on how to treat their citizens. Hitler had the concentration camps and Holocaust, and Stalin had the Gulags, labor camps for kulaks, and purges of his party. Another thing these two dictators were similar in was goals of their governments. Hitler wanted

no one saw him as a real threat. This was important and enabled him to

Stalin was very harsh and strict about his rules as a leader. He went too far when anyone who didn’t agree with his rules were sent away to Siberian ¨work¨ camps, and for the Ukrainians who wouldn't give up their farms they got all of their crops confiscated. Causing the starvation of 10 million Ukrainian people. When the depression hit Japanese exports to the USA and Europe stopped because they had to focus on their own industries. That cost a lot of jobs in Japan, silk farmers suffered and the rice crops also failed and caused famine. People became frustrated and started to blame the government.They were angry and needed to do something about it. Japan went too far when they invaded Manchuria in 1931. Hitler was a very powerful influential

Compare and contrast the ideologies and the political and economic practice of Lenin and Stalin.

Stalin's and Lenin's policies were very similar but Stalin changed Lenin's policy and Stalin's policy was far more harsh. Lenin and Stalin’s social policies were to get rid of religion. Lenin and Stalin were also comparable in their economic policies, which were to have the government control the economy. Stalin’s economic policies broke with Lenin’s to create, what were in effect, two new Soviet revolutions in industry and in agriculture. Lenin and Stalin both wanted to achieve socialism in Russia, however their plans to achieve this were different with Stalin's way being more harsh.

Lenin’s search for obedient followers and hard workers would eventually lead him to Joseph Stalin. Stalin was courageous, rambunctious, bold, fierce, and determined. Stalin knew that in order to secure his place within the Bolsheviks, and move up the ranks, he needed to prove himself worthy to their cause. Stalin used these traits and put them to work gaining Lenin’s admiration. What Stalin really excelled in was organization, something that the early Bolshevik party desperately needed. While Stalin may not have been the most intelligent or the most the most “typical” candidate for acceleration, accelerate he did. In this time, had this been a normal government Stalin would not have risen amongst the ranks due to his lower class

As a teenager he took two harsh blows which led him on to become a revolutionist. The first was of his fathers death when he was threatened with early retirement because of the government’s fear of public school education and had soon died after. The second was the death of his eldest brother; he had been hanged for conspiring with a revolutionary terrorist group which had plotted the assassination of Emperor Alexander 3rd. this made Lenin feel very bitter toward the government and he felt as if he could change the country for the better. Lenin enrolled in Kazan University, but he was quickly expelled as a radical troublemaker and after being accused of joining an illegal secret student meeting he was