For most people that know who Joseph Stalin was, they can agree on one thing: Stalin was one of the most brutal and ruthless leaders that mankind has ever seen. He is known as the instigator and leader of the Reign of Terror, which incorporated extremely horrifying purges. These purges have been estimated to have killed five times as many people as the Holocaust. The purges also helped him establish his power base, which allowed him to build one of the most powerful countries in its day and age. But he was not born evil, in fact, when he was a child, family and friends said he was shy. This does not mean he didn’t have a bad childhood, which happened quite often in rural Georgia. The pain of his childhood built as the years went by. Growing up admiring people like Karl Marx, Machiavelli, and Ivan the Terrible only stoked the fire even more. I believe that Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror can be traced directly back to his brutal childhood and complete belief in Marxist principles. Joseph Stalin’s brutal childhood was very significant in forming how we …show more content…
know Stalin today. His father Besarion, Beso, for short, was very important in creating the harsh environment he went through. In the later years of Stalin’s childhood, Beso became a raging and abusive alcoholic. He was a cobbler, and in rural Georgia, people didn’t have a lot of money. The problem with this is that he allowed customers to pay him in wine. A childhood friend of Stalin, Josef Iremashvili, said, “Undeserved beatings made the boy as hard and heartless as the father himself.” His father would beat him seemingly out of nowhere and for no reason. Beso’s abusive nature forced his wife Keke to also become abusive towards Stalin. Beso left them in 1884 to find work elsewhere. When he did, the combination of trying to stay afloat and make money, and Stalin, or Soso, becoming irritable and irrational at times, caused Keke to also become abusive towards him, creating an even harsher environment. Stalin experienced so much hatred and hostility, that he actually grew up thinking that violence-filled households were normal. Soso’s parents were very different. Beso never showed love to Stalin, even when he was sober, while Keke smothered him in love, even ironically while she beat him. This harsh environment caused Stalin to think some inhumane things and admire some ruthless people. For one, he admired Machiavelli, the Renaissance writer that said a ruler’s job is to stay in power no matter the cost. Stalin also admired Ivan the Terrible. To a native Georgian, this would be terrifying as Ivan is the man that basically formed the global stereotype of Russians and mean, cold-blooded people. The Reign of Terror was one of, if not the, worst atrocities ever committed by a human being. Most people can not even begin to imagine the thoughts that someone has to think to commit such crimes against humanity. Some say it was a “blood shedding.” But it was much more than that. You could say that these purges were like the French Revolution in that, if someone said something against the government, they could be killed. At the peak of his Reign of Terror, 1,500 people were shot per day.The main difference between this purge and other purges was mass concentration. Mass concentration is taking a lot of something, in this case people, and condensing them into a tight space. The population in Gulag labor camps jumped from 1.2 million to almost two million in the span of about six to eight months. The prisoners were transported to Gulag prisons in light track suits with slippers and in cramped boxcars. These boxcars are actually still used today. But these purges were not just about mass concentration, they were much more.They also included purges of the party, where they would “put on” big “show trials” against party members, but with very real consequences. Of the 767 members that were prosecuted in these trials, 512 were shot, 29 died in prison, and 62 committed suicide in prison. The main mission behind these show trials was to expose and eliminate a coordinated ring of spies and terrorists, and to prove the existence of conspiracies by having the accused confess their guilt by reading a script. Mass arrests went with mass concentration. The most infamous arrest operation was the “Kulak Operation,” which accounted for half of all arrests (669,929), and more than half of all executions (376, 202). The Kulak Operation targeted former Kulaks, criminals, and anti-Soviet elements. Kulaks were rich farmers that nobody really liked. In short, the Reign of Terror was horrific. People, to this day, still question how the leaders of the country allow such a man to lead them. Well, for starters, most people who knew him were impressed by his willpower. He was also clever; not an “out-of-the-box” kind of clever, but a “sneaky” kind of clever. Stalin was also underestimated by his colleagues. The party couldn't see him as a leader. Stalin never told anyone anything. Another interest he had that helped propel him towards dictatorship was his admiration of Machiavelli, the man who said that a ruler top priority was to stay in power by any means necessary. In Machiavelli’s book The Prince, he states that a very effective way of staying in power is through fear. The reason he believed it was better to be feared than loved is so that the people will not desire to rise up against him. The main way Stalin brought about fear was through execution. In addition to his childhood, his complete belief in Marxist principles was another big factor in forming how we know Stalin today. He believed in the idea that political superstructure has effect on the economy. This means that ideologies of a society have power over the economy. This is one of the parts of the Marxist theory of Base and Superstructure. The Base is made up of the productive forces, “relations of production,” which is the total amount of relationships people must have to survive, the division of labor and property relations. The Superstructure is the culture, institutions, political powers, and different ideologies like role, religion, and rituals. He also believed that these ideologies change and fluctuate and have different branches in a society. His strategy was to bring about a massive increase in political control in the state. Basically, he wanted to create a dictatorship. He also sanctioned forced labor, which is one of his staples of the Reign of Terror. Stalin also demanded greater militancy from his followers, meaning he wanted his followers to be prepared to fight to the death for him. But not all of these were necessarily bad. In a very short amount of time, industrial wages were increased by half, many mines were sunk, cities were built, and educational facilities were expanded. These major keys helped to make Soviet Russia into one of the world’s most powerful countries it has ever seen. This all had to come at a cost, though. All of these advancements have one thing in common: manpower. The Soviet Union needed people to work and build these things, which was especially difficult because of long hours and little pay. While Stalin did help bring the Soviet Union out of some dark times through his economic advancements, he did bring them into some even darker times.
The evidence is overwhelming; from his abusive mother and father, to the influence of Karl Marx on his life, to his admiration of Machiavelli. I think that these are the reasons behind Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror because it has been proven that children who grow up in an abusive household tend to become later in life, and because Marxism was a very popular idea at that time. I also believe Marxist beliefs had an impact because, to an abused farm boy, Marxism could appeal to him. I still hold firm to my claim that the reason that when we think of Joseph Stalin's Reign of Terror, we think of one of the most disgusting and horrifying crimes in all of human history, is because of his brutal childhood in rural Georgia, and his complete belief in various Marxist
doctrines.
I believe Stalin's main reason for starting the terror was to keep politicians and citizens from organizing and overthrowing Stalin with a revolution, much like the way Stalin ove...
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
Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili, born on December 18th, 1878, would come to be known as the communist dictator, Josef Stalin. Stalin came from a poor town in Georgia. He first studied for the priesthood where he came across the works of Karl Marx. Stalin later became interested in the revolutionary movement occurring in the USSR during that time and became a part of the Bolshevik group. Stalin gained power of the party after he outmaneuvered his opponents through shifting alliances. After obtaining power, Stalin impacted the world by developing Russia and Eastern Europe, promoting communism and helping to develop the Cold War. (Khlevniuk)
People say that the Stalin’s Great Purges could otherwise be translated as Stalin’s Terror. They grew from his paranoia and his desire to be absolute autocrat, and were enforced the NKVD and public show trials. When someone went against him, he didn’t really take any time in doing something about it. He would “get rid of” the people that went against industrialization and the kulaks. Kulaks were farmers in the later Russian Empire. (“Of Russian Origin: Stalin’s Purges). There were many reasons as to what caused the Great Purges but the main one seems to be Stalin. He believed that the country had to be united under the circumstances that he becomes the leader if it was to be strong. The Soviet Union was industry was weal and in the decline, obviously lacking the capacity to produce enough meal and heavy machinery for the imminent war.
He had an extreme thirst for power that drove him to completely reform Russia aware from its Tsar monarchy into a Communist empire. Unfortunately while he did have major influence and the devotion of his people, he was also extremely stubborn and paranoid. This paranoia caused him to crush his opposition in any means necessary, even using torture and death to get his way. Stalin’s stubborn and paranoid nature combined with conflicting political ideologies is what essentially drove the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet
Communism, as Karl Marx puts it, is a world where everyone is equal, where there are no social class, where there are no private ownership, where work is used only to produce the necessities, the people are under a control in which allows them to be on the same level as everyone else. What Stalin wanted to do was create and fulfill the governmental system of Karl Marx and create and envision the utopia that Karl Marx was led to believe. Under Stalin’s rule we come to see that his vision of a utopia quickly warps into a dystopia.
During the time that led up to World War II there was two national leaders who rose to power. They caused misery and death to millions of people while under their rule. These two well-known national leaders were Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin. They were two of the most murderous leaders the world has ever seen, and were surprisingly similar in many ways. These two widely known national leaders had many similarities such as both of them killed millions of innocent people, both rose in power due to favorable conditions, and both were very skilled users in propaganda.
Eventually, nations collapse and kingdoms fail, termination can occur through many causes. Whether through being ruled by a sequence of out of touch men, engaging in war, having too many enemies, or an amalgamation: no nation is safe. Russia in the year of 1910 was in an immensely horrible situation, she had all of these problems. If it was not for Vladimir IIich Lenin, Russia would not have existed by 1920.
During the 14th century in England Feudalism took place which left many europeans poor and with very little freedoms. Avi demonstrates what life is like to be living in this time period through the voice of Crispin, a thirteen year old boy that is wanted for a crime he did not commit. The life of Crispin demonstrates how political, social and economic aspects were when the nobles provided protection for the lands that was not owned but used by the citizens.
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.
In the beginning Josef Stalin was a worshiper of his beloved Vladimir Lenin. He followed his every move and did as he said to help establish and lead the Bolshevik party. Much of the early part of his political career was lost due to his exile to Siberia for most of World War I. It wasn’t until 1928, when he assumed complete control of the country were he made most of his success. After Lenin’s death in January 1924, Stalin promoted his own cult followings along with the cult followings of the deceased leader. He took over the majority of the Socialists now, and immediately began to change agriculture and industry. He believed that the Soviet Union was one hundred years behind the West and had to catch up as quickly as possible. First though he had to seal up complete alliance to himself and his cause.
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.
Joseph Stalin’s official reign of terror ended with his death in 1953, but the effects of his autocratic rule continued for many years to follow. His lasting hold on the people of the former Soviet Union still lingers in a few brainwashed minds. In the article "Stalin’s Afterlife" and the movie "Russia’s War - Blood Upon the Snow", Stalin is portrayed as the monster really was and should be remembered as.
Stalin consolidated his power base with the Great Purges against his political and ideological opponents, most notably the old cadres and the rank and file of Bolshevik Party (Stalin 2). The population suffered immensely during the Great Terror of the 1930s, during which Stalin purged the party of ‘enemies of the people’, resulting in the execution of thousands and the exile of millions to the gulag system of slave labor camps (Joseph 1). He also orchestrated a massive famine in the Ukraine in which a estimated 5 million people died (Stalin 2). It is believed that with the purges, forced famines, state terrorism, labor camps, and forced migration, Stalin was responsible for the death of as many as 40 million people within the borders of the Soviet Union (2). These purges severely depleted the Red Army, and despite repeated warnings, Stalin was ill prepared for Hitler’s attack on the Soviet Union in June 1941 (Joseph 1). His political future, and that of the Soviet Union, hung in the balance, but Stalin recovered to lead his country to victory (1).