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Historical Commentators throughout the past century have referred to Joseph Stalin through numerous aliases, one of which is ‘The Red Tsar’. The rationale for referring to Joseph Stalin by such an alias is due to the accurate assessment of his governance that coexists with the term. In medieval Russia, the title tsar referred to a supreme ruler and this form of jurisdiction lasted for three hundred years until it was abdicated during the revolution of 1917. Furthermore, Tsarism was inevitably maledicted due to the fact that it could not acclimatize with the changing class system. Particularly, with an augmented proletariat class that transpired for a more representative parliament and a more liberal constitution which in turn jeopardized the …show more content…
Both forms of autocracy inundated the citizens of the empire with propaganda in order to show them that their leader has absolute control. In Stalin’s case, his cult of personality facilitated him to achieve a complete totalitarian rule and one that was unopposed. Stalin was able to accomplish this through his efficient use of propaganda; to the extent that it permeated every level of the Soviet culture. Stalin’s propaganda was spread through news, art, cinemas, literature, and education in order to portray him as an almighty leader and the savior of Russia. This resulted in the total loyalty and dedication of all Soviet citizens. In order to specifically inculcate subservience within Stalin’s party he placed his political rivals on “show trials”, which was a form of propaganda to depict the trails as just, and during these trials, Stalin’s rivals pleaded guilty to dreadful charges of treason. This way he instilled fear into the hearts of those that held a position within his party to show them their fate if they chose not to comply. This infiltration of Stalin’s propaganda enabled him to uphold power and at the same time maintain control over the Soviet Society. Correspondingly, in the case of a Tsarist Autocracy, propaganda was not used by Tsars until after 1905. The advisers of Nicholas II then endeavored to promote his image through pamphlets, portraits, photos and staged …show more content…
As Stalin desired to portray himself as a 'God-like' figure; this made him a sequestered leader who tolerated no criticism or reproach, similar to the style of ruling under the Tsars. Furthermore, both leaders dismissed ministers at their own will and chose to act on their own personal emotions (“To what extent does Stalin deserve the title of Red Tsar when assessing his rule in the context of Russian government from 1855- 1964”). Stalin's key weapon in imposing terror on his country was the secret police. The NKVD infiltrated all aspects of Soviet life and performed monitoring roles with power to eradicate any opposition to Stalin’s party. The historical significance of NKVD is that it coordinated political murders, kidnappings, and assassinations. In addition, the NKVD hired internal spies and civilian informants to find protest leaders or protesters. The organization has also hired provocateurs to stimulate political rivals to commit illegal acts against the government, and this facilitated Stalin to have a motive for their arrests. Akin to Stalin’s NKVD, the tsarist society had their own form of secret police known as the Okhrana which was utilized to
Tucker, Robert C. "Stalinism as Revolution from Above". Stalinism. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1999.
Stalin used the media in order to convince the Russian citizens that there were saboteurs and spies within Russian population. Stalin used the secret police and military forces to carry out the arrests of so called saboteurs and spies that were plotting against the motherland of Russia. There were many innocent people put into work camps and jails because they stood up against the false charges of the saboteurs. "'And why was Alik arrested?' 'Oh, Natasha, if you only knew the kind of crude language he used in front of everyone in line. I'm sure now that his lounge was the undoing of Koyla,too'"(87) When Alik stood out and spoke his mind, leading to his arrest. This is very similar to when Sofia Petrovna stood up for Natasha at the print house, and then had to resign from her job. The media's attention to the saboteurs and spies gave Stalin and the government power to arrest or cast out individuals in the Russian work force and society, because they were a threat to the motherland,even if they were just acting slightly out of line.
In order to establish whether Lenin did, indeed lay the foundation for Stalinism, two questions need to be answered; what were Lenin’s plans for the future of Russia and what exactly gave rise to Stalinism? Official Soviet historians of the time at which Stalin was in power would have argued that each one answers the other. Similarly, Western historians saw Lenin as an important figure in the establishment of Stalin’s socialist state. This can be partly attributed to the prevailing current of pro-Stalin anti-Hitler sentiments amongst westerners until the outbreak of the cold war.
In conclusion, many soviets citizens appeared to believe that Stalin’s positive contributions to the U.S.S.R. far outweigh his monstrous acts. These crimes have been down played by many of Stalin’s successors as they stress his achievements as collectivizer, industrializer, and war leader. Among those citizens who harbor feelings of nostalgia, Stalin’s strength, authority , and achievement contrast sharply with the pain and suffering of post-revolutionary Russia.
Originally platformed by Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin took control of the communist party in 1924 when Lenin died of a stroke. Communist ideals were heavily in opposition to classical liberal values; Whereas Liberalism stressed the importance of the individual, Communism sought to better the greater good of society by stripping many of the individual rights and freedoms of citizens. Communism revoked the class structure of society and created a universal equality for all. This equality came with a price however. Any who opposed the communist rule were assassinated in order to keep order within society. Joseph Stalin took this matter to the extreme during an event known as the Great Purge. The Great Purge, also known as The Great Terror, began in 1936 and concluded in 1938. During these two years, millions of people were murdered and sent to labour camps in Siberia for opposing the Communist party and the ultimate dictator, Stalin himself. In some cases, even those who did not oppose the regime were killed. Sergey Kirov was a very popular member of the communist party and Stalin saw this as a possible threat to his ultimate power. As a result, Stalin order Kirov to be executed. Stalin furthered his violation of individual rights by introducing the NKVD who worked closely with the russian secret police force. One of the primary goals of the secret police was to search out dissidents who were not entirely faithful to the communist regime. This violation of privacy caused histeria en mass in the Soviet Union and millions were killed as a result. The Soviet union resisted liberalism to such an extreme that it resulted in the deaths of millions of people, leading to some of the darkest days in russian
When most people hear the name Joseph Stalin, they usually associate the name with a man who was part of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. He was willingly to do anything to improve the power of the Soviet Union’s economy and military, even if it meant executing tens of millions of innocent people (Frankforter, A. Daniel., and W. M. Spellman 655). In chapter three of Sheila Fitzpatrick’s book, Everyday Stalinism, she argues that since citizens believed the propaganda of “a radiant future” (67), they were able to be manipulated by the Party in the transformation of the Soviet Union. This allowed the Soviet government to expand its power, which ultimately was very disastrous for the people.
...ppress counter-revolutionaries rather than remove opposition. Because of the Bolsheviks abolished press freedom and control of the news indicated that opposition was bound to take place resulted in retaliating with violence which reduced opposition but established annihilation in Stalin’s regime. Censorship and other repressive methods were used often in tsarist regimes to effectively control radicals and anti-state crimes, which is reflected mainly in Nicholas 2nd’s regime indicating that this effective measure removed opposition without the use of terror or violence that Stalin always relied upon.
But Stalin’s dictatorship increased in strength and by 1938, the purges had made Russian’s so fearful, they were willing to accept the totalitarian ruler instead of the democratic system which had originally been hoped for in the February 1917 revolution. Stalin had also used fear as a motivator for workers and managed to industrialise. Overall the most similarities occur between Alexander III and Stalin due to their repressive actions but although all the Tsars and Stalin depended on central control, it cannot be said that there were more similarities because of the power and support for Stalin’s when his reign ended compared to the weak Tsarist system which Russians felt was not worth saving.
Son of a poverty-stricken shoemaker, raised in a backward province, Joseph Stalin had only a minimum of education. However, he had a burning faith in the destiny of social revolution and an iron determination to play a prominent role in it. His rise to power was bloody and bold, yet under his leadership, in an unexplainable twenty-nine years, Russia because a highly industrialized nation. Stalin was a despotic ruler who more than any other individual molded the features that characterized the Soviet regime and shaped the direction of Europe after World War II ended in 1945. From a young revolutionist to an absolute master of Soviet Russia, Joseph Stalin cast his shadow over the entire globe through his provocative affair in Domestic and Foreign policy.
One of the worst nations to suffer from Stalin’s great purges in the Soviet Union was not the Russians. Fascist sought to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity which individuals are bound together by ancestry, culture, and blood which are all super personal connections. However, even though Stalin did enforce Russia of the Soviet Union the main enemies of his were the political opponents and their followers. His most ferocious acts of terror “The Great Purges” took place between 1934 and 1939.
...ns of anti-Bolsheviks and according to Service, 500,000 sent to the Gulags through 1917-21. Pipes highlights the significance of the Red Terror as ‘a prophylactic measure designed to nip in the bud any thoughts of resistance to the dictatorship.’ Lenin also used class warfare to terrorise the middle classes and hostile social groups. This played well with the workers and soldiers and made it difficult to criticise the new government. As a result, Lenin’sintroduction of the Cheka (1917) and the emergence of the Red Terror (1918) ensured his rule was absolute not only within the party but across the Soviet Union.
Stalin’s hunger for power and paranoia impacted the Soviet society severely, having devastating effects on the Communist Party, leaving it weak and shattering the framework of the party, the people of Russia, by stunting the growth of technology and progress through the purges of many educated civilians, as well as affecting The Red Army, a powerful military depleted of it’s force. The impact of the purges, ‘show trials’ and the Terror on Soviet society were rigorously negative. By purging all his challengers and opponents, Stalin created a blanket of fear over the whole society, and therefore, was able to stay in power, creating an empire that he could find more dependable.
Joseph Stalin was a realist dictator of the early 20th century in Russia. Before he rose to power and became the leader of Soviet Union, he joined the Bolsheviks and was part of many illegal activities that got him convicted and he was sent to Siberia (Wood, 5, 10). In the late 1920s, Stalin was determined to take over the Soviet Union (Wiener & Arnold 199). The main aspects of his worldview was “socialism
The term Stalinism is most commonly used to specify the political regime under Joseph Stalin. Stalinism therefore covers the policies, reforms and regulations implemented within the Stalinist period of 1929-53. The profound imprint of Stalinism could be seen in multiple facets of the Soviet society, including economy, agriculture, politics and culture, as the ultimate modifications to such areas allowed for Stalin to transition Russia towards the new goal of ‘socialism in one country’. The effects of Stalinism however proved devastating for the Russian populace as through the use of manipulation and terror, these goals were attempted and achieved. The introduction of industrialisation, collectivisation, the changes to cultural and educational
There are many similarities between the way Joseph Stalin governed Russia and the Tsars before him. The Tsar himself has absolute authority and sovereignty over a Tsarist regime. All rights of the people and the state entirely belong to the Tsar. This is very much the way in which Joseph Stalin ran Russia. The Tsars ran Russia under an autocratic regime ruling without democracy. They were mostly all anti-reform, with the exception of Tsar Nicholas 11, who wanted Russia to remain a feudal, peasant-based nation whilst reinforcing a sense of imperialism and nationalism to their people. The Tsars, especially Tsar Nicholas II, and Stalin both acted as “gods on earth” whilst both portraying themselves as cults of personality. To a large degree Stalin ran Russia under an autocratic regime just like his predecessors, even though this wasn’t his governmental title.