Today I want to talk about Josef Stalin, “ a man who’s genuine historic achievement lies in the fact that he found Russia working with a wooden plough and left her equipped with atomic piles” – those are the words of a polish writer, journalist and political activist Isaac Deutscher, who newer was a proponent of Stalin. In the short 20 years, Stalin took mostly agrarian country ravaged by civil war, and developed it into industrialized power. But I want to focus on the Stalin’s leadership at the most dramatic time for Soviet Union, World War II. On his qualities and actions before and during that time that proved him to be a visionary leader. Also I want to talk about things that I learned about myself after sifting through a lot of information …show more content…
Former Russian Empire was incredibly diverse, but not many Bolsheviks understood the problem. Stalin, who was Georgian himself, understood the importance of diversity. In the first Soviet government Stalin become People’s Commissar for Nationalities. He was a proponent of the Declaration of Rights of the Nationalities of Russia, one of the first official documents of Soviet power. Stalin was saying that nationalities have a right to self-determination. In 1922 were created 8 new republics within the Soviet Union. Most of them were less developed then Russia, and for the longest time resources were pulled from more developed parts of the country to promote development of new republics. After Stalin came to power, he had support from all newly created …show more content…
At the beginning of World War 2 he was 62 years old. He worked 12 to 15 hours a day throughout the war, and demanded the same from others. He would often make phone calls to government and military officials late in the evening requesting information, and expected to find them in the office.
Averell Harriman, who was an American ambassador in Moscow 43 through 45 wrote that Stalin was very approachable but blunt and prepared to use shock tactics. On social occasions Stalin showed concern for everybody, drank with everybody, but never got drunk or lost his self-control, he had an enormous ability to absorb detail and to act on the detail.
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What really stands out to me is how Stalin handled his failures during World War 2. He learned from his mistakes and got better as war progressed. I take failures very hard, and while I always like to have alternate plans, sometimes it is hard to rebound. Stalin’s failure to prepare for war was affecting the whole country, but he found it in himself to motivate the nation to fight the aggressor. His speech on the of 3 July addressed to the citizens of the Soviet Union, was an action plan and a vision on how to win the war rolled into one.
Summary: Summary of main points, Claim, Close with tie back to attention
The concept of Stalinism, being the ideologies and policies adopted by Stalin, including centralization, totalitarianism and communism, impacted, to an extent, on the soviet state until 1941. After competing with prominent Bolshevik party members Stalin emerged as the sole leader of the party in 1929. From this moment, Stalinism pervaded every level of society. Despite the hindrance caused by the bureaucracy, the impact of Stalinism was achieved through the implementation of collectivization and the 5-year plans, Stalin’s Political domination and Cultural influence, including the ‘Cult of the Personality’. This therefore depicts the influence of Stalinism over the Soviet State in the period up to 1941.
Joseph Stalin's Leadership Through World War Two Stalin (1927-1953) led the Soviet State through the challenges of World War II. Although the war was a terrible drain on the already impoverished and exhausted society, it resulted, paradoxically in strengthening the Soviet dictatorship.
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.
Soso Djugashvili, more commonly known as Joseph Stalin, ‘man of steel’, dictator of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Russia, can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent when features of Stalinism are compared to those of Tsarism and Russia ruled by Nicholas II’s autocratic regime from 1894 to 1917. A ‘Red Tsar’ is a communist leader whom follows similar principles followed under the leadership of a Tsar, that were influenced by few opinions allowing sole leadership and little opposition from others. Stalin can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent as he ruled Communist Russia as a somewhat totalitarian state and was considered a ‘God-like’ figure sent to Earth to lead the nation and its people. From Stalin’s reign of terror from 1929 to 1953 there can be similarities seen in his regime to features of Tsarism as well as differences, this is why there are alternative interpretations for Stalin being considered a ‘Red Tsar’.
Joseph Stalin was born in Djugashvili in the middle of December in 1878. Not much is known about his younger years as a child. He was an only child and it is said that he grew up in a very poor house hold. Stalin’s remorseless attitude can be credited to his father actions since he was beaten as a child. Due to this Stalin dedicated his life to his studies which in turn lead to him getting a scholarship. He then used this scholarship at a catholic school in hopes of becoming a priest. While studying to become, a priest he also began indulging in the readings of Karl Marx. This influenced him to practice Marxism and got him kicked out of school for it.
It is plausible to suggest that Joseph Stalin was essentially a Red Tsar. Whilst Stalin was committed to communism, his ideology and authoritarian reign was reminiscent of the Tsarist autocratic rule that proceeded him. For nearly six centuries Russia was ruled under a Tsarist autocratic government until it was overthrown during the 1917 revolution that led to the introduction of the first communist government in Russia and the leadership of Joseph Stalin. During his reign, Stalin enacted a ‘cult of personality’ in which he was worshipped as a god-like being similar to that of the autocratic Tsars who ruled before him. Likewise, there were immense similarities in the social structures and quality of life for Russia’s people under the reign of the last Tsar, Nicholas II, and Joseph Stalin. There is considerable evidence therefore to support the idea that Joseph Stalin was essentially a Red Tsar.
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.
It is undeniable that Stalin had a profound impact on the Soviet Union following Lenin’s death. His rise to power within the Soviet Union has provided historians with a hotbed of political intrigue for many years. He was an opportunist, coming to dominance by manipulating party politics and influential figures in the politburo to eliminate his opposition by recognising and exploiting their weaknesses thus becoming the dominant leader of the Soviet Union. He was severely underestimated by other members of the Politburo about his potential within the party, leading to missed opportunities to ally and stand against him- a mistake that Stalin never made. He gained support from the public by exploiting the idea of ‘the Cult of Lenin’ in 1924 at Lenin’s funeral, and then adopting this concept for himself, thereby likening himself to Lenin; and, more importantly, gained support from other party members by following the wishes of Lenin, for example, initially supporting the continuation of the NEP and supporting the idea of factionalism. This essay will also argue that he was ideologically flexible as he was able to change his ideas for the party according to who he needed as an ally, in order to achieve dominant status in the party. He sought out which individual was the biggest threat, and eliminated them before they could stand against him.
The Impact of Stalin on Russia and the Russian People Joseph Stalin was born to a poor family in the province of Georgia in 1879. Stalin's real surname was Djugasvili; he adopted the name 'Stalin' whilst in prison as he felt the translation 'Man of Steel' would help his image. Stalin joined the Bolshevik party as a young man and soon became an active member organizing bank raids to gain money for party funds; this led to Stalin's imprisonment a number of times. Stalin first met Lenin in December 1905 in Finland and was quite surprised to see him as an ordinary man unlike the person he had imagined. In 1918 Stalin was made Commissar for Nationalities of the Bolshevik party, then in 1922 he became
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
Joseph Stalin, from the time that he was a low level revolutionary to the years that he spent as the dictator of the Soviet Union, always knew what he needed to do to achieve his goals. His organized rise to power allowed him to gain a steady flow of followers who would support him for decades to come. Stalin received a minor government position in 1917, but by the time a new leader was needed in 1924, he “had turned the largely routine post of Party general secretary into the most powerful office in the Soviet Union” (“Joseph Stalin) and “had built a personal empire for himself through his control over committee appointments at all levels . . . expand[ing] the leading Party organs with his supporters, who then voted against his rivals”
This paper will discuss how Stalin’s background helped build the qualities of a ruthless leader and how he displayed them
World leaders are leaders with high governmental power in the world. Every leader, not just world leaders, is either great or corrupt; they are rarely both. Most of Russia’s history is filled with corrupt leaders. Joseph was one of those leaders. Stalin killed millions of people during his rule. But Stalin also led the Soviet Union almost to the top in world power. Stalin had many influences that led him to his Soviet Leadership in which gave him many admirers but even more non-supporters.
Joseph Stalin used his intellect, and power, to outmanoeuvre his rivals to become leader of the Soviet Union. Using carefully planned propaganda including, painting, statues, and a series of cultivated posters Stalin immortalised and glorified his leadership. These state-manufactured images created a ‘cult of personality' around him, subsequently, creating an image of a heroic worshipped figure, who was associated with every aspect of soviet society. Stalin controlled the media and according to the historian Moshe Lewin, Stalin single handily, ‘become the system,’ (Lewin in Pittaway, 2008, p.137.)
Once eliminating Trotsky, Stalin’s idea of, “socialism in our country,” inevitably meant that Russia needed strength. The productions in the USSR had almost reached pre-war levels by the mid-1920s, but the population of Russia had also increased by 20 million people. No matter, Stalin assured that maximum efforts and resources would be given to the expansion and strengthening of Russia herself rather than an effort to start a revolution elsewhere. This is explained in his famous 1931 speech, gaining power for himself. The people had nowhere else to turn to and needed a leader. Stalin was there and knew what to do to make the people interested in his ideas, thus acquired their trust and control. From these ideas, he created his first