The Impact of Stalin’s Domestic Policies on the Soviet People

The Impact of Stalin’s Domestic Policies on the Soviet People

By 1928 Stalin had become the undisputed leader of the CPSU. With his

power of appointment as general secretary, the majority of members

owed their position to Stalin. Stalin’s agricultural, industrial and

social policies between 1928 and 1940 turned Soviet Russia into the

second largest economy in the world, but at the expense of living

standards. Under Stalin, the working class of Soviet Russia found

themselves living under a totalitarian state, with little to no

freedom.

Stalin’s agricultural policies had woeful results both practically,

and for the peasants. Collectivisation was Stalin’s program of

utilizing the factors of production more effectively in agriculture.

In Stalin’s Great Turn he announced that the rich peasants or kulaks

would be exterminated, as they were seen as class enemies. The policy

of dekulakisation led to the persecution of millions of innocent

peasants. The term itself was extended to all resistors of

collectivisation. The excesses of dekulakisation led to the butchery

of millions of peasants, and Stalin himself admitted to local

officials becoming “dizzy with success”. The alarming aspect of

collectivisation was the food shortages of the peasants. Millions of

cows and horses were eaten upon the eve of collectivisation. Such was

the resentment to Stalin’s agricultural policy.

Stalin’s industrial policies between 1928 and 1945 were numerically

excellent, but at the expense of workers and living standards. The

Five Year Plan set arbitrary quotas, which compelled workers to work

12 to 14 hours a day. The policy of militarisation of the workforce

imposed severe curbs on worker’s rights. Quitting and unemployment had

become disused words, and trade unions were banned. A mixture of fear

and political will compelled workers to try to accomplish astronomical

quotas. The sudden rise of the urban population led the development of

slum housing. 2 to 4 families shared the same unit. Stalin’s

industrial policy switched production from consumer goods to

industrial or military goods. Between 1928 and 1940 the GNP tripled,

but at the same time consumption per capita fell.