Political Ideologies And Social Methods

One of the characteristics of Totalitarianism is propaganda. Stalin ruled by terror and with a totalitarian grip in order to get rid of anyone who might oppose him. Stalin expanded the power of the secret police, and encouraged citizen to spy on one another and millions killed and sent to forced labor camps. Stalin had a cult of personality built around himself in the Soviet Union. Cities were renamed in his honor; Soviet history books were rewritten to give him a more important role in the revolution and mythologize parts of life. He was the subject artwork, literature, music, and his name actually became a part of their national anthem. His government controlled the Soviet Media which had a lot to do with propaganda.

To define how Stalin’s methods in removing opposition is effective, compared to tsarist and other communist leaders, his methods of suppression alongside the tsars and other communists are assessed to see how successful they were in defeating opposition without evoking further opposition in their regimes. Therefore, Stalin’s reforms of collectivisation, Five-Year-Plans, Gulags, and labour camps etc. have been successful in appeasing opposition with his increased and radicalized input of terror compared to Lenin’s use of terror during the Civil War in 1917-1921, which does not equate to the same economic success that Stalin achieved with his policies. This is similar but different to the social and economic change after the 1905 revolution with Stolypin’s Duma and October manifesto used to supress revolutionaries but resulted in another assassination after reforms in 1911 with Stolypin and Alexander 2nd in 1881 with the Emancipation Edict in 1861. Whereas, Stalin’s strict rule of repression there was little room for revolutionaries to overthrow Stalin as during 1930 to 1933 the death toll in the camps were 10 million higher than the First World War to which, in 1936 the prisoners were nearly extinct in 1940 . Alongside this, Nicholas 2nd’s control of the army during the 1905 revolution, which went for stability to a catastrophic lack of control as the military conflict sparked economic and political disorder which led to Nicholas 2nd abdicating in 1917; similar to the

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.

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’.

Under a backdrop of systematic fear and terror, the Stalinist juggernaut flourished. Stalin’s purges, otherwise known as the “Great Terror”, grew from his obsession and desire for sole dictatorship, marking a period of extreme persecution and oppression in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s. “The purges did not merely remove potential enemies. They also raised up a new ruling elite which Stalin had reason to think he would find more dependable.” (Historian David Christian, 1994). While Stalin purged virtually all his potential enemies, he not only profited from removing his long-term opponents, but in doing so, also caused fear in future ones. This created a party that had virtually no opposition, a new ruling elite that would be

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, 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”

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.

Why was Joseph Stalin a dictator? If he wasn't a dictator, nobody has ever been. He had total control of the country, where people worked, where they lived, even what crops were planted and what was sold, and anybody who spoke out against the Communist party, or Stalin could be imprisoned or killed. Millions were killed under Stalin, some say even more than under Hitler, mainly because the Soviet Union was such a vast country. So, Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign. Born into poverty, Stalin became involved in revolutionary politics, as well as criminal activities, as a young man."( Robert Service, A History of 20th Century Russia (1997))"

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.

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.

Stalin was noticed first by Vladimir Lenin who was currently getting exiled at the time. When Lenin found the Soviet Union he was the leader. Lenin worked well with Stalin and during those first few years of the Soviet Union and Stalin continued to move up in the political ranking system of the Soviet Union. When Stalin hit the rank of General of the central committee his ideas could finally be heard and giving knowledge for political support. When Lenin died Stalin beat Lenin’s rivals to the control of the Communist party, and later became the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist

The word ideology is a set of beliefs or ideas that can be shared with others. Most of the time it is the basis for political and economic, however it can still be used for any other system. An example of this can be Political parties such as Democrat and Republican. Both parties have different beliefs, systems and idea which make them different. For an example Republicans believe that abortion is not right and for the women to be punished while democrat has its own idea of it being the women's choice.For the test I am almost definite I will get democrat for many reasons. I believe in a lot of what democrats try saying such as Equality, Freedom of Speech, Education and much more. After taking the test I got exactly what I thought I was and what I wanted to be. To me this was no surprise. I said before I believe in nearly everything a democrat does. I just couldn't think of myself being a republican so I knew I was going to be democrat.

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.

If people were not persuaded by Stalin’s personality and economic policies they would be scared into supporting him. From the outset Stalin was particularly aware of his image and the importance and power of propaganda. He came to power partly as a result of his creation of a cult of ‘Leninism’ and by