Stalin in Power

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Recommended: Similarities and differences between the character of lenin and stalin

The leadership capabilities give a person freedom to decide which way to use them. One can use them to reach the power; another can use them to enrich others. In Stalin’s case having leadership resulted in policies that had negative effect on country stabilization. The millions of people lost due to Stalin’s regime was a devastating blow to the Soviet Union. Although, the Soviet Union made more progress under Stalin than under any other leader of the Soviet Union, but it happened at a great cost. The enforced policies were meant to improve the overall standards of the people but they had the opposite effect and created chaos. Vladimir IIyich Lenin was one of the biggest influences on Stalin and the way he would come to rule the Soviet Union. “In 1922, with Lenin’s strong support, Joseph Stalin was appointed to a newly created post: general secretary (Kort 152).” After Stalin took this position he began appointing loyal allies to key government positions. There was a series of purges from within the party to eliminate careerists who were there for personal advancement. This would end up playing a major role for every regime afterwards but Stalin took it to a new level by killing off anyone who he felt could beat him. Lenin then denounced him saying that he had too much power but it was too late because he died and Stalin started eliminating his competition to become the leader. “Stalin was the only Bolshevik sitting on the Central Committee, the Politburo, the Orgburo, and the Secretariat, the party’s four main power centers (Kort 152).” Lenin gave him too much power and seemed to finally notice when it eventually became too late. Trotsky and Stalin never really seemed to be friends; however, they were both friends of Lenin wh... ... middle of paper ... ... Lenin never would have imagined to what extent the General Secretary would go to assume control over the State as a whole. The policies implemented during the Stalinism era were great; however the way in which they were enforced was harsh. The Bolshevik party should be held responsible for Stalin’s time and especially Lenin for giving that much power to one individual. During the entire period of terror it became more vindictive while others were favored greater and led to the demise of many individuals including Sergei Kirov. Finally Stalinism was not worth the brunt of trauma that Soviet citizens faced and he should be held accountable for the millions of lives lost through terror. Works Cited Kort, Michael. The Soviet Colossus. Armonk New York: M.E. Sharpe, INC, 2010. 202. Remington, Thomas F. Poitics in Russia. New York: Pearson Education INC, 2008.

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