In the USSR, during the first of Joseph Stalin’s five-year plans, it was a cutthroat, hard working place in time. Stalin was forced to put this plan in place because he wanted to have a competitive industry with the rest of the world. Stalin himself said it best when he was quoted saying, ”We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this distance in ten years. Either we do it, or they will crush us.” In order to have a better incite for what it was like for the workers of this time, a great resource would be the book Time, Forward! by Valentine Kataev.
The book is centered upon a concrete plant during the first of Stalin’s five-year plans, and the plans push to break the record for most concrete poured in a single day. In the book one of the characters, Georgi Nikolayevich Nalbodov, is thinking of a way in which to undermine his rival, David Lvovich Margulies. Margulies is in charge of one of the sectors and decides on the amount of concrete that is poured while also having the responsibility to make the highest quantity while still not disrupting the quality if the concrete. While thinking about how to undermine Margulies, Nalbondov decides upon “two contradictory charges” in which he could write a report on. The first was that “Margulies permitted the number of mixtures to increased to four hundred and twenty-nine per shift, thereby endangering the quality of the concrete.” To Nalbondov this charge seemed more scientific. The second charge was “in violation of the resolution of the Party, urging every possible effort to increase tempos”. This charge was “less scientific, but was more in the spirit of the times”. (Kataev, 314) The “spirit of the times” in which Nalbondov was ta...
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... Time, Forward! and the creation of socialist realism in other arts. This “spirit” is showcased in the book Time, Forward! because the concrete plant that they were working at symbolized all industrial plants found at this time and how they were innovating and changing how things in the time were done. These plans developed the USSR from a backwards rural country into an industrial power and a world leader.
Works Cited
"History of The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)." History of The Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks). N.p., n.d. Web. 09 Nov. 2013.
Kataev, Valentin, and Charles Malamuth. Time, Forward! Bloomington: Indiana UP, 1976. Print.
Von Geldern, James. "Socialist Realism." Soviehistory.org. N.p., n.d. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.
Young Steel Workers. Post-Stalin (1961). Painted by Ivan Bevzenko (Ukraine). Oil on Canvas, 80 x 156 cm.
The Development of Totalitarianism Under Stalin By 1928, Stalin had become the undisputed successor to Lenin, and leader of the CPSU. Stalin’s power of appointment had filled the aisles of the Party Congress and Politburo with Stalinist supporters. Political discussion slowly faded away from the Party, and this led to the development of the totalitarian state of the USSR. Stalin, through.
death in 1953. But how is it that Stalin emerged as the new leader of
Life in USSR under Stalin." Life in USSR under Stalin. History Learning Site, 2000. Web. 24
One of the most well known countries in the world is Russia. Since the Paleolithic Period, Russia has faced misfortune and difficulties through its brutal leaders. Every change that has made this country more inclusive has been won with toil, tears, and blood. The year of 1879 was the beginning of another "great new chapter" (Flachmann p. 357) in Russia's history. It was the year two patrons of world domination were born. These patrons were Joseph Stalin, born Dzhugashvili, and Leon Trotsky, born Bronstein. They would soon become two of Russia's most important leaders who altered the world in many ways. Stalin and Trotsky were the same age, and both had once been members of the Russian Social Democratic Party. These two dedicated Communists shared similar viewpoints such as their commitment to the "unity of theory and practice" (McClellan p. 62) and both prospered on spreading Communism throughout the world. However, each had a unique childhood that gave them both special qualities, which influenced them to live different lives. The tension between Trotsky and Stalin worsened into a life-and-death fight as Lenin got sick and died. Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky were two committed communists who represented the strength of the Soviet Union during the early 20th Century.
Johnson, Priscilla and Leopold Labdez (eds.). Khrushchev and the Arts: the politics of Soviet Culture, 1962-64. MIT Press, 1965.
Time, Forward! Is set during the middle of Stalin’s first five year plan. The entire novel spans a 24 hour period and takes place on a construction site that mixes and pours concrete. The novel centers on a shock crew that specializes in mixing concrete and their attempt to break a world record for most concrete poured in a single day. Through out the story these proletarian worker have to over come many obstacles in order to achieve the impossible. In the end the workers achieve this great feat only to find out that another crew had broken their record the very next day. There are multiple examples of socialist realism that can be found in the book. One of the more prominent examples from the book is when Marguiles initially finds out that the concrete pouring record was broken he immediately starts to formulate a plan to set a new record. Like stated earlier one of the main aspects of socialist realism is it promotes to the party policy and is relatable to the working class. During this time period there was a great emphasis put on being as productive as possible. At times manager would go to drastic measures to accomplish quotas set by the government. Sometimes going as far as putting sawdust in dough to substitute for the lack of flour they needed to bake bread. If the novel were to show factory works cutting corners it would have
The Soviet citizens during the 1930s, particularly the younger ones, believed “they were participants in a history process of transformation, their enthusiasm for what was called ‘the building of socialism’” (68). The Soviets built hotels, palaces, and had blueprints displayed all throughout “that was supposed to set a pattern for urban planning throughout the country and provide a model of the socialist capital for foreigners” (69).
The Soviet Union at that time was represented by a form of governmental control called communism. Communism was formed by a man named Karl Marx. The belief is that the government should control ev...
During Stalin’s regime, the individual Russian was the center of his grand plan for better or worse. Stalin wanted all of his people to be treated the same. In the factory the top producer and the worst producer made the same pay. He wanted everyone to be treated as equals. His goal to bring the Soviet Union into the industrial age put tremendous pressure on his people. Through violence and oppression Stalin tried to maintain an absurd vision that he saw for the Soviet Union. Even as individuals were looked at as being equals, they also were viewed as equals in other ways. There was no one who could be exempt when the system wanted someone imprisoned, killed, or vanished. From the poorest of the poor, to the riches of the rich, everyone was at the mercy of the regime. Millions of individuals had fake trumped up charges brought upon them, either by the government or by others who had called them o...
Documents two, three, five, and eleven exemplify the positive aspects of Stalin’s policies. Document two, from the text book History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks): Short Course (1948), tells of all the achievements of Socialism in Russia. Some of the achievements were the rejoicing to the Party, workers and collective farmers, the Soviet intelligentsia, and the honest citizens of the Soviet Union. This document celebrates the demolition of the enemies of the Party, the consolidation of the ranks, and the classless Socialist society (Doc. 2). In document three Alec Nove’s An Economic History of the USSR (1969) shows the positive impact of the five-year plans through a chart. The chart lists the increases in coal, oil, pig-iron, steel, electricity, and wollen cloth. Coal went from 35.4 (millions of tons) in 1927 to 128 in 1937. Oil increa...
Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union can be best described as a period of terror and censorship. In other words, he was very strict, considering the fact that he created the totalitarian government. In order to create this type of government, Stalin used fear and propaganda. He took part in The Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror that was supposed to eliminate anyone who threatened Stalin’s power. He also relied on secret police, who would arrest and execute any traitors. The online blog, “The Reasons For the Failure of The Russian Revolution”, brings up information on how Stalin planned to rule as dictator of Russia. It has been noted, “This ‘reshaping’ had three main aspects: the elimination of all dissent; the liquidation of all forms of democracy and of working class organisation; the slashing of the living standards of the working class and the physical annihilation of millions of peasants” (Text 5). This quote explains how Stalin wanted to industrialize Russia, which includes the deaths of several peasants of Russia. The Russians did not just die from The Great Purge, but also from Stalin’s Five-Year Plan. The Five-Year Plan was an attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union. It was also a plan for increasing the output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity. He had control over economic resources, including farms and
at age 26. He no idea what was involved, what to do and went along
...change of industrial leadership crippled Russia's mechanization efforts and it is still argued today if the effects are still felt. By removing these people from the Soviet society both the biologist theories of Nature verses Nurture were challenged at best and destroyed at worst. For the argument of nature being the greatest influence on learning ability most of the intellectuals and brightest leaders were removed from the gene pool. In contrast to Nurture these people could not influence society any longer. Through these changes in society Stalin has forever made his mark. His pollicies effected every area in Russian culture.
The Soviet economy was highly centralized with a “command economy” (p.1). fsmitha.com), which had been broken down due to its complexity and centrally controlled with corruption involved in it. A strong government needs a strong economy to maintain its power and influence, but in this case the economic planning of the Soviet Union was just not working, which had an influence in other communist nations in Eastern Europe as they declined to collapse. The economic stagnation led to the frustration of the workers because of low payments, bad working conditions, inefficiency, corruption and any lack of incentive to do good work. There were lots of frustrations among the workers in the working field who began to express their feelings and emotions towards the Soviet government.
Fitzpatrick, Sheila, and Yuri Slezkine. "N.I. Slavnikova Et Al. "Speeches by Stakhanovites"" In the Shadow of Revolution: Life Stories of Russian Women from 1917 to the Second World War. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2000. 331-41. Print.