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Stalins Rise To Power

Decent Essays
Comrade General Secretary Joseph Stalin’s rise to power in the former Soviet Union was born in the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1917. His association and friendship with Vladimir Lenin also played an integral part in the dictator’s power grab. Stalin participated in the December 1904 oil worker strike in Baku, Georgia, which ended successfully later that month. It was the first time in Russian history that a collective bargaining agreement was signed between oil company owners and oil workers. With his newfound credibility, he wrote several popular articles speaking out against the current regime. Stalin also raised paramilitaries to spread propaganda. They were funded by raising money through bank robberies, kidnappings, and…show more content…
Joseph Stalin was the Man of Steel. Stalin’s use of propaganda and intimidation allowed him to consolidate his influence and thus increased his power.

Stalin’s popularity in the Soviet Union continued to grow with thanks the propaganda that was distributed. This was aided by his role in industrializing the Soviet Union, empowerment of women, and World War II. In the early 1920’s (Stalin’s first and second five year plans) industrial output was 13% of the 1914 level. In 1933 workers’ earnings dropped to one tenth of the 1926 level. Despite these setbacks, by 1932 electricity usage and coal production had more than doubled, steel production had increased six fold, and tractor production had increased by twenty five times that of 1928. Major famines concluded near the end of 1933. Food production was on the rise and the Soviet Union was moving from third world to first world country status. By employing and feeding the populous Stalin cemented his popularity in his country. This rang especially true among women when he raised education standards for women and children. .By the early 1930’s the family was being purported as the central unit in Soviet society. During World War II many Soviet women were trained as pilots, snipers, and in the armor (tank) corps. During the Battle of Stalingrad hundreds of women snipers defended the city from the Nazi’s. This new found equality for women greatly facilitated his popularity with at least
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