Despite his reputation as a brutal dictator, Stalin introduced many social policies that would help the Russian people, The two main categories that Stalin focused on were Education and Women’s Rights however to see the extent of the change we need to decide if they were for the good of the people or to cater for Stalin’s own agenda.
The state of Education in 20th Century Russia was awfully low, with people living in rural areas having little or no education, to combat this Stalin wanted to make Education more accessible and more widespread, so that everyone could access it. To do this he made education free, however it was also compulsory. The change was immediate with literacy rates in rural areas rising to up to 86%. However we can infer that this would benefit Stalin’s agenda as it would make more people aware of any propaganda that he would have issued this would enable him to promote himself as leader of Russia and cement himself in their history, this policy alone had a great impact on the Children of Russia and certain changed their lives.
Consequently though the Russian School syllabus represented Stalin’s agenda and ideas of creating the best citizens for the USSR, This would have started a process known as indoctrination that Stalin could use to benefit his governments future, as a result we see that Bolshevik ideas were taught to students and any deviation could be picked up by the secret police. Consequently the Soviets would censor any material that was not relevant to the Soviet cause. National Pride was encouraged through the teaching of Russian past as well as Stalin’s life this would benefit Stalin as it would cause him to be seen as a national hero, no doubt the material would be edited in some form. On the...
... middle of paper ...
...ade prior to WW2.
In conclusion we can see that the policies introduced by Stalin to aid the lives of the women and the children did change their lives in Soviet Russia, it helped boost the economy which was key to Russia being prepared for the Second World War and it also helped those in need of education further themselves, despite the fact that some rights that women had were limited such as the right to an abortion, it was countered by the policy that Stalin introduced so that there would be somewhere to look after these children so that their mother could work. As a result these policies look better due to the arrival of the Second World War. They may not have been the best policies but they certainly changed the lives of those they were targeted at, so in answer to the question. Yes, the lives of the Russians were changed by Stalin implementing his policies.
Joseph Stalin said, “Ideas are far more powerful than guns. We don 't let our people have guns. Why should we let them have ideas?”. Stalin was a dictator of the USSR from 1929 to 1953. Under his dictatorship, the Soviet Union began to transform from a poor economy to an industrial and military based one. While still a teen, Stalin secretly read Karl Marx 's book the “Communist Manifesto”, and became more interested in his teachings. When Stalin gained power, he ruled his nations using terror and fear, eliminating those who did not comply with his governance.
In order to establish whether Lenin did, indeed lay the foundation for Stalinism, two questions need to be answered; what were Lenin’s plans for the future of Russia and what exactly gave rise to Stalinism? Official Soviet historians of the time at which Stalin was in power would have argued that each one answers the other. Similarly, Western historians saw Lenin as an important figure in the establishment of Stalin’s socialist state. This can be partly attributed to the prevailing current of pro-Stalin anti-Hitler sentiments amongst westerners until the outbreak of the cold war.
In fact the Soviet people never saw any of these rights. Constitutional rights could only be used to support the regime, not to criticize it. In conclusion, many Soviet citizens appear to believe that Stalin’s positive contributions to the U.S.S.R. far outweigh his monstrous acts. These crimes have been downplayed by many of Stalin’s successors as they stress his achievements as collectivizer, industrializer, and war leader. Among those citizens who harbor feelings of nostalgia, Stalin’s strength, authority and achievement contrast sharply with the pain and suffering of post-revolutionary Russia.
(See Anti-Semitism Reviving in Russia) On its own that may seem entirely innocuous. Stalin was a paranoid man, who was attempting to consolidate power by removing all possible enemies, not just the Jews. However, when combined with the rampant anti-Semitism that was found in the hearts and minds of the Soviet citizens, one begins to wonder whether Stalin did indeed hope to exclude Jews entirely from the Communist party. Ironically, Hitler had decried the Jews as being Marxists, and Stalin would not even allow them to join the actualized Marxist party. Furthermore, middle class students were beginning to get expelled from colleges, and Jews were reported as being 90% of the affected students. (See Anti-Semitism Reviving in Russia) Perhaps, Stalin and the education ministers were hoping to curtail any future Jewish resistance by insuring that they could not be properly educated. That theory retains credence when the author of the article cites how Soviet citizens had felt threatened by the Jews being well educated. (See Ant-Semitism Reviving in
The argument that both of these book have made is that Stalin, for all of his brutality, was a patient political leader that was concerned about the direction of the Soviet Union. The simplicity of “If you were seen as an obstacle you were removed” workered well for Stalin . Whether that future be political, ideological, or technological, Stalin deemed himself worthy of screening many aspects of Soviet society. Although we do get a portrait of Stalin's domestic life, that was of comparably lesser importance than running a nation with trouble developing a thriving heavy industry, defending itself from outside attacks, and spreading communist ideology. Stalin was a monster, but he built the Soviet Union from into an a world super power state.
...lped educated the Russians. He even helped turn Russia from a Back ward agricultural state into the world's second greatest military and industrial power- Stalin modernized Russia.
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.
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.
However, the idea of the benefits to totalitarianism can only be successfully argued had Stalin made the right decisions later and shown the consequences of the purges to be worth the suffering.... ... middle of paper ... ... These effects coupled with the already existent military problems (rudimentary communications without radio and the total lack of appreciation of modern war techniques) must have posed a real threat to the security of the Soviet Union and damaged her ability to defend herself later. Alec Nove is right in suggesting that it was the Great Terror that made Stalin's advisers too afraid to inform him of the German invasion and this had huge human costs as Soviet forces were caught sleeping.
...ense of worth in which they were as they had to change who they were to survive in a troubled time. Stalin in the end was not looking to eradicate or find a neat “final solution” because since his plan did not go as planned, he has to constantly try and adapt and tweak his idea till it became something completely different all together. The Russian people allowed Stalin to rein supreme over them, and if enough people had revolted, there could have been a different outcome. Most people accepted their fate and in the end they died from it.
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.
Around the early 1920’s, Stalin took power and became leader of Russia. As a result Russians either became fond of Stalin’s policies or absolutely despised them. Stalin’s five-year plans lured many into focusing on the thriving economy rather than the fact that the five year plan hurt the military. The experience of many lives lost, forced labor camps, little supply of food, influenced the Russians negative opinion about Stalin. Having different classes in society, many Russians had different points of views. For the Peasants, times were rough mainly because of the famine, so they were not in favor of Stalin and his policies; where as the upper classes had a more optimistic view of everything that was occurring. Stalin’s policies affected the Russian people and the Soviet Union positively and also had a negative affect causing famine for the Russian people.
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
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.
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