Explain the Methods Taken by Stalin to Transform the Soviet Union in the Period 1924-1939

Stalin’s early promises compromised of socialism and a life free from exploitation in regards to his social policies. However, he soon realised his error and reverted to a more conservative form of rule, whereby the interest of the state was given priority. Many describe his soviet social policy during the 1930s as a ‘Great Retreat’, it was named this as his policies saw a return to earlier social policies under the Tsar and former leaders. It is debatable as to how far his actions were a retraction of previous decisions…and the areas impacted were women, family, and education. A common theme of the great retreat was the gender role in society.

Stalin’s policy priorities were not building a ‘worker’s paradise’ or a classless society, but protecting Russia from war and invasion. In 1928, Stalin launched the first of two ambitious five-year plans to modernize and industrialize the Soviet economy. These programs brought rapid progress – but also significant death and suffering. Stalin’s decision to nationalize agricultural production dispossessed millions of peasants, forcing them from their land to labor on gigantic state-run collective farms. Grain was sold abroad to finance Soviet industrial projects, leading to food shortages and disastrous famines in the mid-1930s. Soviet Russia was dragged into the 20th century, transforming from a backward agrarian empire into a modern industrial superpower – but this came at extraordinary human cost.

Between 1924 and 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to emerge as the leader of the USSR and maintain what Kruchev described as “the accumulation of immense and limitless power”. Stalin's rise to power was a combination of his ability to manipulate situations and the failure of others to prevent him from taking power, especially Leon Trotsky. Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, a great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned. During his time of reign, Stalin put into effect two self-proclaimed "five-year

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.

Similar to other dictatorships, one of the momentous changes that happened under Stalin was the cultural change that was present in society. Importantly the peasantry ceased to be the national social unit as urbanisation took its effect. Urbanisation occurred due to the use of collective farming in agriculture sector and due to the rapid industrialisation of the cities. As the demand for workers increased many moved to the industrial heartland of the Soviet Union. Under Stalinism both industrial and agricultural industries began to be looked at as sing societal units. Urbanisation changed the way people lived their lives thus adding to the controls that Soviet policy was already introducing.

Joseph Stalin was one of Russia’s most powerful and ruthless leaders. With his economic policies, he attained the favour of the struggling working class people and with the power he obtained from being a leader he eliminated the opposing party members. The concept of a ‘Five-Year-Plan’ was adopted by the Soviet Union as they sought escalated industrialization and controlled the economy where peasantry was directly in political power.

Vladimir Lenin was slowly degrading before Stalin took power. Before Lenin died, he spoke out against Stalin by saying, “Stalin has concentrated enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution.” (Document 1). As the main creator of the Communist party and the USSR, Lenin warned the public that Stalin’s power was going to get to his head and he was going to become a selfish ruler. This became true when Stalin becomes a full time dictator. He begins abusing his power by creating a police state that brought terror among the public. He forced obedience and crushed any opposition that came in his way. Secret police arrested and killed off any traitors towards Stalin. Stalin, then, betrayed members of the Communist Party. From there, he lofted the Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror against all of his citizens. He killed off anyone that threatened the power and authority against him. Old Bolsheviks and the police themselves were either arrested or eliminated. It is estimated by the end of the Great Purge, Stalin killed as many as 8 to 13 million people. These were all people who supposedly threatened his regime. Even more people got killed, when Stalin started persecuting religious officials and followers. By Lenin’s warning, the Great Purge, and religious persecution, it is evident on how Stalin frequently abused his power during his reign. It also shows how selfish he is towards his

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.

While Stalin was in power the size of the Communist Party increased by many millions. Many people attribute this to the fear that he culminated into the Soviet Union’s citizens’ minds. His principal way to gain power were a sum of dishonesty, fraud, lies, extreme brutality, and mass murder. Some examples of the ways he used to make people fear him are the Gulag camps, the secret

During the Stalin Era of governing, totalitarianism remained a guaranteed part of life. Marxism-Leninism was the only ideology of the state. The police would watch a citizens every move, a parent could not even talk in front of their children. The great terror was initiated by Stalin, and made sure that no one remained part of the state that he did not like. The Bolshevik party controlled the entire method of communication. No one knew what the Bolshevik’s did not want him or her to. The economy was fixed. Prices were set, and output was as well, so quality was low and competition was non-existent. The military

A leader in many people’s minds is defined as a person who does what is right for the betterment of their country, but through out history, there are leaders who do inhumane acts and are still just as famous as some of the greats, if not even more famous. One of those leaders is Joseph Stalin. He was the leader of Russia; most importantly know as the Soviet Union. For the paper I will be writing about the entirety of Stalin’s life and his role in George Orwell’s 1984. Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, or Joseph Stalin, was born on December 21st, 1879, in Gori, Georgia, which was a czarist part of Russia in western Asia.

In order to conclude the extent to which the Great Terror strengthened or weakened the USSR the question is essentially whether totalitarianism strengthened or weakened the Soviet Union? Perhaps under the circumstances of the 1930s in the approach to war a dictatorship may have benefited the country in some way through strong leadership, the unifying effect of reintroducing Russian nationalism and increased party obedience.

Joseph Stalin is the face of the Soviet Union, and the shift from monarchy to communism, a system that promised equality and order. The Soviet Union, or the USSR, as discussed in lecture, was the first communist society, a society that emphasized the collective effort over individuality. Communism had the vision of social equality by eliminating class division, the emancipation of women and their rights, controlled education, and industrialization. Under Stalin’s rule, the Russian people believed there was hope for a brighter future, but unfortunately this was not the case. Even though the Soviet Union is considered a failed attempt at creating the utopian vision, this time in Russia is a fascinating topic of discussion. Joseph Stalin was a powerful leader nonetheless and was extremely successful in creating the “Personality Cult” which established a base of “newly coined believers” in the communist ways. This praise of Stalin, despite the terror he reigned, is evident in many pieces of literature throughout this time period including Yevgeny Schwartz’s The Dragon and Fazil Iskander’s Sandro of Chegem, will be discussed in relation to Stalin’s rule and the creation of the Soviet Union.

This paper will discuss how Stalin’s background helped build the qualities of a ruthless leader and how he displayed them