Stalinist Revolution Essay

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

The Russian’s loss in the Russo-Japanese war was the another way that they got the public to turn against the provisional government and strengthen the communist revolt. The revolt got stronger and stronger until the Bolsheviks finally revolted and took down the Russian Provisional Government. Because of this, civil war erupted all over the country. At the end of this war, in 1920, the Bolsheviks set up the USSR, or Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, under control of Vladimir Lenin. When Lenin died, Stalin aggressively worked his way up until he was the leader of the USSR. In his control, Stalin set up a “5 year plan” to advance the Russian economy from just farming to also having industry. In this plan, he would also advance the military and “cleanse the country of villains” or those he saw as villains. To “cleanse the country”, Stalin would have unfair trials that would have many on trial at once. These were called his “Show Trials”. The majority, if not all, of these people were found guilty and sent for execution. They were executed all at once, and the executions were called the Purges. To advance the Russian economy, Stalin would work the farmers to death… literally. When the farmers revolted, Stalin stopped sending them food and even more died from starvation. On the last of the purges, 16 men were put on trial and accused of acts of terrorism towards Stalin and the Soviet government. Two of them were Stalin’s allies after Lenin’s death, Zinovyev and

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.

The purges not only impacted those openly opposed to Stalin and party members, but had devastating effects on ordinary people too, also resulting in the prevention of progress in the Soviet community, impacting it’s future. During Stalin's rule of the country over 20 million people were sent to labor camps of the Gulag, where nearly half of them died. Fear of losing his power and dictatorship led Stalin to believe that the educated would be most likely to challenge his authority. The origins of Stalin’s lower class background are rumoured to have left him feeling inferior towards the educated class, also leading to obsessive determination to remove the threat. Subsequently, scientists, doctors and engineers, became targets, and were also imprisoned and killed. As a consequence, the execution of Russia’s educated during the Terror, stopped the social development and growth in the Soviet initiated after the revolution, predominantly in the area of science and technology. Many people in Russia believed everything Stalin said, with most blinded by the vision of a father figure of authority who would do them no harm. If anyone

Stalin's scheme looked differently because it started in a state which has already been authoritarian and had already been involved in it. He didn't have to win support of masses as Hitler did but had to eliminate his contenders and strengthen his position inside the party.

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

During the 1900’s the Russian Government made it extremely hard for the Bolsheviks to progress which made them revolt against the government making this a prime matter for the start of the Revolution. The Czarist government was ostracized by the common people of Russia so Tsar Nicholas II was overthrown by the Provisional Government, whom later on were overthrown by Lenin and shortly after the Bolsheviks took control over Russia. Russia was hard to develop because of the major leaders who had control; Lenin, Stalin, Trotsky. Almost overnight an entire society was destroyed and replaced with one of the most radical social experiments ever seen. Poverty, crime, privileged and class-divisions were to be eliminated, a new era of socialism

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.

It is true that Stalin’s rule positively affected Russia, after all, the Soviet Union did become a major military superpower under his government, and the economy also thrived. However, to fulfill these achievements Stalin acted as a harsh and cruel dictator. He ruthlessly killed people who opposed his form of government in his Great Purges. And his execution countless kulaks cannot be forgiven. Instead of protecting

He demanded a revolution against the Provisional Government as soon as possible. In November 1917, under the leadership of Lenin and Trotsky, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Provisional government, beginning the era of Communist rule in

The first thing Stalin did while he was in power was create a totalitarian government. A totalitarian government is a government that takes control of every aspect of public and private life. Stalin's totalitarian government challenged the human values of reason, freedom, human dignity, and the worth of the individual. Stalin's government practiced police terror, indoctrination, propaganda, censorship, and religious persecution. He wanted all citizens to support him and always be loyal to him. Stalin persecuted religions because he believed that religions may cause "enemies of the state." Stalin launched the Great Purge in 1937. The Great Purge was a campaign of terror directed at eliminating anyone that threatens Stalin's power.

The purges also saw a huge loss of original Bolshevik party members who had taken part in the original revolutions of February and October. It could be argued that the replacement of these individuals, among others, strengthened the party as it reduced threats to Stalin by removing prominent leading members and therefore potential rallying points for other dissidents. Lionel Kochan is of the opinion that `Stalin's purges did of course reveal the existence of widespread dissatisfaction and opportunist sentiment'. If this is true and there was real factional threat in the Communist party, then the purging of dissidents at a time when disunity could be fatal could be seen as strengthening the party and government and through them, the country. Repressed by the ideas of denouncement and the threat of arrest the party was united by fear, this had the added, beneficial effect of deterring outbreaks of resentment at the violence. This is perhaps not the best unifying factor, however, it insured obedience. This effect and the now open positions at the top would have been a strengthening factor for Stalin's position as he could select the individuals who would suit him; he

“Stalin’s revolution” is a term signifying the drastic increase in power experienced by the bureaucracy during the 1930’s. The First Five Year Plan incorporated policies which furthered mass production. The goal was to increase industrialization in order to reconstruct the Soviet Union into a utopian and powerful nation. The politburo, titled “nashi vozhdi”, was determined to create a nation which worked as a single, mass-producing machine. Everyone was under constant watch and expected to work in a “campaign style,”—“...In short, hectic bursts of concentrated attention to particular tasks, not through routine, incremental activity. This made life at the factory resemble life at the front…” (32). Efficient and vigourous production was key to reconstructing the Soviet Union into an industrialized and socialist state.

“Of the delegates who attended the National Congress of the CPSU (Communist Party of the Soviet Union) in 1934, fully 70 percent had been executed by the time of the National Congress in 1939” (pg. 90). Through this purge, Stalin solidified his control over the communist party and the country. Lenin differed by allowing his Bolshevik opponents to remain in their posts, but was mindful of their activities. He took action to prevent these opponents from ousting him form power. This action can be seen when Lenin, weary of his opponents turning to the Romanov family for leadership had the entire family executed.

The show trials targeted the previous generation of the Communist Party. The Purges of 1937 wiped out younger members of the party, and dealt with unreliable elements within the army. A general purge of the Russian people kept the country in a state of fear and obedience. This enabled Stalin to establish a personal dictatorship as he eliminated any future rivals and kept Russia in a