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The Policies and Sanctions of Joseph Stalin The Bolshevik revolution of 1917 was a 'new model of modernization' for Russian society and government. Although it changed society profoundly, the Stalin revolution, 1928-1932, may have had a more dramatic effect on the society and government of Russia. The sanctions that Stalin imposed in the late 1920's created the tension and opposition that led to the mass repression of the mid thirties. One of his first governmental changes was called the Five Year Plan. The plan involved major economic and social changes, which were based on some of Marx's ideas. The five year plan was designed to strengthen and enrich the country, make it militarily and industrially self-sufficient, lay the groundwork for a true workers' society, and overcome the Russian reputation for backwardness. In a speech in 1929, Stalin said "We are becoming a country of metal, a country of automobiles, a country of tractors. And when we have put the USSR in a motor car and the muzhik in a tractor. . . we shall see which countries may then be 'classified' as backward and which as advanced." (Palmer/Colton 763). In order to relieve Russia from being considered a backward country, Stalin said that they (the Russians) must achieve some sort of economic prowess. In order to achieve this 'economic prowess', Stalin set up an agency called the Gosplan to administer a new economic policy. The Gosplan had total control over anything remotely concerning economics. They determined how much of every article the country should produce, how much national effort should go into the formation of capital, and what wages each class of workers would receive. They decided which raw materials to get, how much to buy, what to produce wi... ... middle of paper ... ...of the worker, with children, or with Lenin. He became the source of all wisdom and authority in Soviet society. Such propaganda had created a cult around his personality. Stalin consolidated his totalitarian rule through his effective use of terror and coercive methods. Stalin combined with the control of the secret police over the civilian population, the creation of an atmosphere of public paranoia, and the increase in party loyalty due to purges to consolidate totalitarian control over Soviet Russia by 1939. Stalin's revolution, spanning over the years of 1928-1932, changed society as well as Russian government profoundly. The sanctions and policies Stalin imposed led to the revolution and the undeniable tensions and contradictions that contributed to the mass repression of 1937 and 1938. These results influenced the Soviet government for many years to come.
Stalin’s five-year plans and policies affected people in all different ways some farmers were in the midst of famine, others were treated negatively, and some had an optimistic view of Stalin’s plans. Stalin’s five-year plan largely helped out the growing economy, but at the same time it hurt the farmers. Although Stalin was extremely supportive to the publics faces, his reign, starting in the 1920’s, led to the most killings in European history. The Soviet Union ended up surviving another thirty years.
When Stalin became leader of the USSR the quality of life and standard of living dropped considerably. For instance the people had no personal freedom. Meaning that they had to worship Stalin as all other religions had been abolished and most churches had been demolished. The people who went into those churches that were left standing were arrested or punished otherwise. Soon there were food shortages. Somewhere between 1932 and 1933 over 6 million people died of starvation. This was the greatest man made famine in history. The famine came as a result of Stalin’s unrealistic goals . Also, people had poor family lives. Abortions came a dime a dozen as did divorces. Wedding rings were banned. There was insufficient housing, as some people had to live in tents. This may be because of workers not working hard enough. Maybe if the workers worked harder they could have received better housing.
By 1928, Stalin had ousted Trotsky and the rest of the Left opposition. In four years, Stalin had single handedly taken major steps away from Lenin’s collective leadership and free inter party debate and replaced them with his autocratic dictatorship. Stalin began to secure predominant power over the communist party and the state by destroying passive opposition from the peasantry and former Lenin supporters. He won growing support from the working class who were impressed with the initial five-year plan. As it promised increased industrialization, which would lead to socialism in one country within their lifetime.
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.
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
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 to increase the output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity.
Stalin continued even once he was successful in accomplishing those goals, as he did not stop hurting people, but if anything it gave him more power to hurt people even more. But, at the end of the day, although Lenin ruled for only a very short time, he did raise the standard of living, though there maintained a large amount of hardship. Stalin, however, transformed the USSR from a peasantry to an industrialized nation in less than a decade, he did it on the backs of his millions of victims, who died because of his harsh policies and many purges. Lenin made a series of policies throughout the beginning of the Revolution and through his short time in public office that came to be collectively known as ‘Leninism’. There were many things that influenced Leninism, such as Karl Marx.
In order to conclude the extent to which the Great Terror strengthened or weakened the USSR, the question is essentially whether totalitarianism strengthened or weakened the Soviet Union? Perhaps under the circumstances of the 1930s in the approach to war a dictatorship may have benefited the country in some way through strong leadership, the unifying effect of reintroducing Russian nationalism and increased party obedience. The effects of the purges on the political structure and community of the USSR can be described (as Peter Kenez asserts) as an overall change from a party led dictatorship to the dictatorship of a single individual; Stalin. Overall power was centred on Stalin, under whom an increasingly bureaucratic hierarchy of party officials worked. During the purges Stalin's personal power can be seen to increase at the cost of the party.
The Russian Revolution Made a immense change for the best for its people. The Everyday sadness of the people of Russia grew as the rich got richer and the poor got poorer. With World war l taking place and Russia being involved many Russians were being killed by the Germans. Millions of casualties and starvation all across Russia caused the Russian people to become frus-trated. Under the control of Czar Nicholas II the people were hoping for a change. Russian be-came furious wanting Nicholas out blaming him for what was going on in their country without getting assistance by their ruler.
His involvement with domestic and foreign policies cast his shadow upon the world at the end of World War II with his radical ideals. The policy of socialism, the Five Year Plan, and the collectivization of Agriculture were all of Stalin’s key methods of casting this impactful shadow on the world. Socialism was designed to strengthen the gains of the social revolution. By the ideals of Orthodox Marxism, it claims that a socialist revolution in a country must be followed by similar revolutions in the advanced industrial countries to survive. The Five Year Plans built vast factories in places such as Stalingrad, Leningrad, and several others across the Soviet Union.
In the late 1920’s, living in Lenin’s shadow, Stalin decided that the New Economic Policy would introduce the Five-Year Plan.
Realizing that the Soviet Union was fifty to one hundred years behind the advanced countries, Stalin devised a Five-Year Plan to industrialize the nation. Modernization was expensive, and in order to fund his new project, Stalin knew that the Soviet Union needed to increase its agricultural exports. To accomplish this he outlawed the private ownership of land and organized collective farms. Stalin demanded collective workers give a huge majority of their crops to the government.
Stalin implemented a Five Year Plan in order to build up the industrial production of the Soviet Union. In order to keep the illusion of a successful Five Year Plan, production quotas were constantly made known well before they had been attained. He also announced another Five Year Plan before the last Five Year Plan was completed. According to Lyotard, Stalin and his Communism tried to give the proletariat a reality beyond that of the working class still bound to national traditions and differential claims, but unfortunately it would never be recognized for the legitimacy of any local power. Stalin to maintain power in his totalitarian regime, he purged his party of those who might oppose him and opportunists who might make the attempt to replace his regime. His use of terror was able to deceive people as long as it did because it seemed to be working toward the realization of the socialist republic. Terror became one of the key features of the government. Stalin, through his totalitarian power, got Russian workers many benefits like free education, free medical services and pension. The unemployment rate decreased and there was a great possibility for personal advancement. To advance in this society y...
The New Economic Policy instituted by Vladimir Lenin in 1922 was seen as a necessary evil in order to maintain power in the Soviet Union. While most historians agree with Lenin’s assessment and believe that without the change, the entire Soviet economy would have collapsed, there is a wide range of thoughts on the true effectiveness of the NEP. This paper will look at the progression of the NEP and the differing views Bolshevik leaders had on it, as well as the perceived effectiveness of the limited free market policies adopted by these socialist leaders. It will also try to determine if NEP remains a viable option for the economy long term. The New Economic Policy was in many ways a reactionary policy put forth because of widespread public disdain for War Communism (Richman 1981, 92-93).
Joseph Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, and great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned (Seton, 34). Stalin put into effect two self proclaimed "five-year plans" over the course of his rule. Both were very similar in that they were intended to improve production in the nation. The first of these plans began collectivization, in which harvests and industrial products were seized by the government and distributed as needed. The government eliminated most private businesses and the state became the leader in commerce. Stalin also initiated a process called "Russification". (Great Events, 119)"