Anti-Stalinism: The Socialist Government

Joseph Stalin was the most controversial person in Russia who has come into power. This has come from his 5 year plan that he has assembled when Russia was in shambles, due to the civil war, the economy failing, and no industrial equipment. His job now was to restore Russia and make it into an industrial powerhouse.

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.

Communism is a political and social act where everything was controlled by the Government and the citizens having no say. Life in Russia has forever been different than that of Canada. Although Russia claims to be a democracy, its citizens do not fully know the idea of freedom. Joseph Stalin had a plan to make Russia the super power of the world but ultimately failed because communism never works. Stalin released new ideas that he thought would help improve the economy but never actually did. From the time that Stalin came into power in 1924, up until his death in 1953 he transformed Russia’s previously more week society into an active military and industrial superpower striking fear and terror into its citizens. Stalin did play a huge role in defeating the Axis power in WWII but is seen as a communist who was a ruthless ruler responsible for the deaths of over 20 million people. Although some people believe that Joseph Stalin’s plan for communism was good, in reality many horrors affected his people, the economy, and the future of Russia.

The assumption of power by Joseph Stalin was arguably one of the most significant periods of Bolshevik Russia’s history. Stalin is recognised as one of the most influential men to have ever lead Russia, and he did so through the largest war the world has ever faced, World War II, and through the beginning of one of the most tense periods of modern history, the Cold War. It is easy however, to get lost in the legacy Stalin left behind, and forget about the events leading up to his total control over the communist regime of the 20th century Russia.

After World War II the Soviet Union led by Stalin maintained a strong presence and influence in Central and Eastern Europe, specifically, Poland through the communist Polish United Workers’ Party (PZPR). In this paper I aim to address the reason why communism and Marxist ideologies were unsuccessfully received in post war Poland. I will be arguing *that Marxism was made into a tool of oppression by the Soviet Union, and therefore became illegitimate in itself. I intend on arguing this theory by investigating the goal of the Soviet Union. In addition to this I will identifying instances where the Soviets and communist puppet parties in Poland had strayed from traditional Marxist ideologies. Finally I will recognize the opposition groups and parties that had formed against the Soviet oppression and instillment of inequality.

I see the picture on the left to be as Stalin to be as a caring person.He seems to care about his citizens. He was portrayed as good person which then brings you to the second picture.In the right he is seen as a communist ruler and seems a little majestic. I believe that the one on the left is when the United States saw Russia as a problem because we believed they would spread their communist views. We can learn from these pictures that we shifted from allies to enemy. One is while the U.S.A was allies with Russia and the other on the left is when we feared communism the Red Scare.

4.The First World War brought out the worst of the forces that had been steadily gnawing at Tsarist Russia for years. The Russians had little in the way of maintaining a modern army. They had more troops then any other European Army, yet they did not have enough rifles, cannon, and ammunition to adequately supply them. In going to war with Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Ottoman Turkey, all of the routes from which the allies could easily ship them supplies were blocked. The Baltic by the German High Seas Fleet, and the Bosporus by Ottoman shore guns and the Gallipoli peninsula. This left Russia dependent on her own industry, which was not sufficient enough to fight a major war against three powerful enemies, while your most important

The Bolsheviks were an organization of professional revolutionaries. They were governed by quasi-military discipline and democratic centralism. The principle of democratic centralism became more centralized and less democratic over time. The beliefs and practices of the Bolsheviks are called Bolshevism. Vladimir Lenin was the founder of the Bolsheviks. The Bolsheviks were an important factor in the Russian Revolution. (“New World Encyclopedia” 1)

The end of communism and the beginning of an era of capitalism in the Soviet Union finally led to the long-awaited feasting the Soviet citizenry had long been living frugally for. It took almost a century of enduring one to access the other. Substantially longer than what the peasants endured for their reward. Fast and feast, although motivated by different forces throughout Russian history have characterized Russian dietary habits for next to six-hundred years. Religious reasons drove pre-revolutionary Russian to forgo animal products (which they preferred to eat because they were a symbol of wealth and a delicacy) in the name of holiness and religious reverence. However, the Soviets had a much more practical, material, and ideological reason

The Soviet Union was a socialist state located on the Eurasian continent, which existed from 1922 to 1991. It was a conglomeration of a number of subnational Soviet republics with its government and economy centralized. The Soviet Union was based on a one-party system under the governorship of the Communist Party, with Moscow as its capital. Since the decline of the Soviet Union, Russia has been on the forefront seeking to bring about a resurgence of the socialist state. Current political events in Europe and in particular, those that revolve around Russia, demonstrate efforts directed towards reviving the Soviet Union. In more than one occasion, news releases have alleged that Vladimir Putin has plans underway to reignite the Soviet Union gradually and that the annexation of Crimea is evidence of this. In an article, journalist Adam Withnall noted that “…Vladimir Putin will not stop trying to expand Russia until he has “conquered” Belarus, the Baltic states and Finland,” (para. 1). Thus, there is increased tension in countries around the region, which was initially considered as being part of the Soviet Union. In truth, the Ukrainian revolution is demonstrative of Russia’s attempt to reignite the Soviet Union following the acquisition of Crimea, which will result to limiting the influence and expansion of NATO and the United States in Europe. Thus, Russia’s motivation to expand her influence

The Second World War left Europe utterly devastated once again, by the modern armies of Europe. The Russian Red Army liberated Berlin from Nazi dominance and control in 1945, installing their own governmental ideologies, social, economic, and political terms. Contracting postwar governments, in the post war period immediately after the war known as "Zero Hour". Once the Russians liberated Germany any type of governmental stability and law/order just deteriorated. In its wake building East Germany to become known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR) under the control of the Soviet Union. Life and society in general, was controlled by government, not just political institutions but also social institutions as well. The people were always watched and suspected by the elites in the communist party using their network of secrete spies and police. Only later to be overthrown in a domino effect of Revolutions all throughout Eastern Europe towards the final years of the Soviet Union.

The Second World War saw an unlikely alliance between the Western Democracies of Britain and the United States and the Communist dictatorship of the Soviet Union. The war against Nazi Germany, and its massive military and technological might, necessitated this alliance; but the vast social, government, and political differences between the two side eventually led to decades of hostility and "Cold War." For much of this time there has been division among historians over what, and who, was responsible for the rise of the Cold War, and in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in the 1990's, this argument has intensified. On one side are the "traditionalists," who view the Soviet Union, and particularly their tyrannical leader Josef Stalin, as being primarily responsible for the onset of more than 50 years of Cold War. The other side is made up of "revisionists," who claim they have taken a more objective look at the facts and come to the conclusion that it was the United States, and particularly its actions concerning the development and use of the atomic bomb, that alarmed the Soviet Union and brought about the Cold War. The question at hand is whether Josef Stalin was responsible for the Cold War, and while many feel that little compromise can be reached on this issue, there is an argument to be made that the Cold War was the responsibility of both Josef Stalin and the Western Democracies.

Joseph Stalin (1878 – 1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics or Soviet Union from 1929 to 1953. In the eyes of many, Stalin’s rule was a time of terror and suffering. Stalin ruled by fear. Anybody that showed the slightest sign of objection or rebellion against Stalin could be sent away to the Gulags without ever returning. As leader of the Soviet Union, Stalin stopped at nothing to transform his country from a rural society that functioned with outdated and poor tools, into an international superpower. Under his reign, Stalin ruthlessly killed tens of millions of people. The main cause of death was forced labour. Some people see the time of his reign a time of great pride for the Soviet Union as it was under him that the nation became an international super power and helped defeat Hitler. However this is not the view of others. Others say that his reign was a time of only terror and suffering and that he was a man of pure evil.

Joseph Stalin was a ruthless dictator who killed millions of his own people. Stalin maneuvered his way through the ranks until he was the leader of the Communist party. He then proceeded to attempt to gain complete control on the country through the government. Stalin was involved in World War II with Germany until Hitler turned on Stalin. In the end, all Joseph Stalin accomplished was tearing apart the U.S.S.R.

When Joseph Stalin came into power the Soviet Union was a large and under developed country. Mostly agriculture, a high producer of grain but without industry. Only the capital Moscow had started to industrialize but in a very centralized area in small and slow steps. The Russian people had just been through World War 1, two revolutions in 1917, civil war and famine by the time Stalin took the reigns of the country. All which had massive impacts on the state of the economy. Stalin saw Russia as weak compared to her counterparts and wanted to strengthen Russia and bring her to the world table as a dominant power. Stalin knew that the greatness of a country came with severe suffering however the suffering could not be forced, and the devastation that comes with success should not be planned. Stalin tried to force Russia to greatness, which he accomplished for a short period of time but can be seen as temporary as Russia struggles today in economic sectors. Stalin believed that the Soviet Union should start to build from within and strengthen internally. The turn toward national communism was a shift from the previously held Marxist position that socialism must be established globally. The theory of socialism in one country was adopted by the Soviet Union as state policy in 1925. This was going to be the beginning of Stalinism we know today. His concept of socialism and how he tried to achieve greatness with his country by the means of changing economic policy,