Joseph Stalin By Joseph Stalin: An Exceptional Leader

Joseph Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union. He was a brutal ruler. He had millions of people killed. He changed his name to Stalin, which is Russian for steel.

Joseph Vissarionovitch Stalin, notoriously known as one of the most ruthless and inhumane tyrants, startlingly was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize because of his efforts to end Second World War. Yet Stalin was not flaccid in his rise to power from an irrelevant position to the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1941-1953. Joseph Stalin is ubiquitously considered a totalitarian due to his economic, social, a political policies of government.

Joseph Stalin was both a blessing and a curse for Russia. He ruled with an iron fist, had harsh tactics, and treated people as obstacles in his way on the path to power. While Stalin is most commonly known for killing millions of his very own people, most people also forget that he was the man who transformed Russia into an industrialized state with infrastructure and a strong military. One could even argue that without Stalin Russia might not have lasted the test of time and make it into modern times.

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’s three decade long dictatorship rule that ended in 1953, left a lasting, yet damaging imprint on the Soviet Union in political, economic and social terms. “Under his inspiration Russia has modernised her society and educated her masses…Stalin found Russia working with a wooden plough and left her equipped with nuclear power” (Jamieson, 1971). Although his policies of collectivisation and industrialisation placed the nation as a leading superpower on the global stage and significantly ahead of its economic position during the Romanov rule, this was not without huge sacrifices. Devastating living and working standards for the proletariat, widespread famine, the Purges, and labour camps had crippling impacts on Russia’s social

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

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.

Throughout the millennia that humans have been forming societies with leaders, there have been many different kinds of leaders, some effective and others not. Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar shows examples of leaders who prevailed over time and leaders who didn’t. This information combined with knowledge of other past leaders can be used to establish common traits among effective leaders and common traits among ineffective leaders. Although Joseph Stalin is primarily considered a cruel tyrant, he also exhibits several of the leadership traits deemed most effective. While most can agree that his practices were immoral, it is often forgotten that due to his organization, practicality, and determination, Stalin was a decidedly effective leader.

Joseph Stalin is known to be “one of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history” (bbc.co.uk). Stalin became general secretary of the Communist Party, which had given him the control that he had been looking for (bbc.co.uk). Soon after, he was granted dictatorship of the Soviet Union after Vladimir Lenin had died (historyplace.com). Many people did not like the way that Stalin was ruling. People wanted their own independence from Stalin and he did not take that very well. In 1929, Stalin had believed that many Ukrainian scholars, scientists, religious leaders, etc. were planning a riot against him. Without even being listened to during a trial, they were killed or deported immediately to prison camps (blogspot.com).

Stalin used propaganda to rise to power and build a totalitarian state in the 1920's and 30's. The use of propaganda helped Stalin gain followers and make him look better to the public so they would want to follow him and help him rise to power. Propaganda helped with building of a totalitarian state by helping convince the public of whatever Stalin wanted them to

Joseph Stalin was a cunning and adroit politician and a stalwart leader for the Soviet Union.

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

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.)

Throughout World War 2, several events highlighted Joseph Stalin’s actions and identified him as a visionary leader who failed to successfully implement that vision with his subordinates due to his own ineffective use of key team building, diversity and leadership concepts.