Stalin's Transformation of The Russian Economy
Stalin attraction to the works of Karl Marx was what brought Stalin
into the political world. He was in a seminary when he became
interested in Marxism and this was frowned upon, and so he was
expelled. This was where he joined the Bolshevik Party.
During the time when the party split and speeches were being made,
Stalin made one praising the present leader - Lenin, whose attention
was caught.
In 1917, Stalin became the Commissar of Nationalities meaning he was
responsible for the ethic minority. Five years on, 1922, Stalin became
the General Secretary of the Communist Party - this position was
perfect for Stalin later on, as he came into knowledge about other
members, which gave him a lot of favours. However just before Lenin's
death, Lenin wrote a Testament, which had things about his party
members and who would be ideal to be leader of Russia after his death.
In this he was very critical of Stalin, which could have hindered
Stalin's position in the party. Instead he used it to get rid of two
of his opponents - Zinoviev and Kamenev. Stalin, eventually, came into
power after the death of Lenin. He wasn't a first choice as leader of
Russia, but Stalin fought his way to the top by getting rid of the
opposition.
Prior to Stalin's reign over Russia, the economy of the country wasn't
good. Going back to when there still was a tsar, Tsar Nicholas II, in
1894, was the start of the major problems. The Tsar came to the throne
at age 26. He no idea what was involved, what to do and went along
with what others told him. When Russia was involved in war, Nicholas
went to be on the front line. He left his wife, Alexandra, in charge.
Alexandra at this point was very close to a man called Rasputin, who
'helped' Alexandra with her decisions. He hindered Russia's economy.
After the downfall of the Tsar came the new Government, the Duma. The
Duma tried to set Russia as a democratic society, but they struggled,
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)
around the age of 18. There he began to see a psychiatrist concerning his erectile dysfunction,
so a treaty would be a minor set back if Germany lost the war to
The question of whether or not Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take significantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a friend of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that "Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism" (Trotsky). Stalin's policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his suppression of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well before they were characteristic of Stalin. Although some of Stalin's policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did show from Leninism were either policies which Lenin had called for but never put into action, or logical continuations of Lenin's original principles, but modified to suit the demands of the time.
The Impact of Stalin on Russia and the Russian People By 1929, Stalin had become the sole leader of Russia. He said, "We are between 50 and 100 years behind the West. We must make this difference in 10 years or go under." He wanted things to change in Russia quickly and so he brought up the five year plans, which were to modernise the Russian economy.
Communist Ideology's Influence on Stalin's Decision to Implement Collectivisation in 1928 Collectivisation was the agricultural policy, which Stalin adopted and began work on in the summer of 1928. The main features included, as Stalin quoted in Pravda "The transition from individual peasant farming to collective socialised farming," and the process of De-kulakisation. It was an agricultural policy necessary to try and combat the problem with the poor provision of grain by the peasants, a problem that had always been evident in Russia's agricultural management. The heavy cost and brutality has led historians to offer a variety of explanations for why Collectivisation was used. Some pragmatists argue the original aim was to increase the tempo of industrialisation by increasing the grain procurement.
Before Lenin’s death in 1924 Stalin held many pointless positions which allowed him to build up his power but only by a tiny amount. During the Russian Civil War and Polish-Soviet War, Stalin was political commissar of the Red Army at various fronts. Stalin's first government position was as People's Commissar of Nationalities Affairs (1917–23). Also, he was People's Commissar of Workers and Peasants Inspection (1919–22), a member of the Revolutionary Military Council of the republic (1920–23) and a member of the Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets (from 1917).
Stalin’s initial economic impact on Russia was greatly significant as he introduced a number of 5-year-plans that improved the steel and coal industry and provided more jobs. Industrialisation was needed in the USSR, and Stalin turned a mostly backward, illiterate society into a major power in just a few years . Many workers at the time would have seen Stalin as a significant figure due to his plans and actions to modernise Russia as this meant more jobs would be available and they can be more self sufficient as a nation. This support was important, as many farmers across Russia disagreed with Stalin’s ideas, so he relied on the support of workers. Alexander Nove states that if the goal was to modernise and industrialise Russia, then Stalinism
The Russian Revolution was a turning point in history because it tried to use communism as its main principal. “Communism is the riddle of history solved, and it knows itself to be this solution” (Marx Quotes: Quotes from Karl Marx and Frederick Engels). In a communist society, everyone in that society receives equal shares of the benefits derived from labor. In a communist nation, there would be a classless society, and everyone would be happy to share their wealth. The government would own all means of production, and the government would redistribute the wealth from the rich to the poor. The Russian revolution started due to the lack of food in Russia, and the huge difference between the rich and the poor. The Russian people were also mad that Czar Nicholas II was keeping Russia in war. Thousands of Russian soldiers were being killed every week. At the end of the war, around 1,700,000 soldiers died (WWI Casualty and Death Tables). At least 1,500,000 Russians and possibly up to more than 5 million Russians were wounded. (WWI -- Russia).
Lenin and Stalin had many characteristics in common, but many marked difference. The sand is a sand. Lenin’s character has many key strengths. One of his major strength was that he was a great intellectual. Indeed Lenin was one of the leading Russian writers and thinkers of the period.
The Effects of Stalin on Russia Much like Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin was one of the most ruthless and despised people in the recorded history of the world. Stalin, though, found it fit to abuse his people in any way he saw fit. This man started what history now calls "The Great Purge. " Through the late 1920's when the rest of the world was living it up as the roaring 20's came to an end, Joseph Stalin was setting the stage for gaining absolute power by employing secret police repression against opposing political and social elements within his own Communist Party and throughout society.
The Effects of Stalin's Economic and Social Policies. One of Russia's most prominent political leaders of all time, was a. man named Joseph Dzhugashvili. A man, who at one time was being trained to become a priest, and would one day become a major. revolutionary in the history of the USSR.
After establishing himself as Lenin’s successor, Stalin ruthlessly increased his power and pushed forward with all his policies. What resulted was an extreme totalitarian dictatorship. Stalin imposed his stamp on Russia. He employed greater control over the communist party, and to guarantee its longevity, he unleashed a flood of fear and coercion which had never been seen before. He eliminated any threats to his position via the NKVD and the purges which resulted in the death of millions of soviet people. This also enabled him to proceed with his major economic changes in the form of collectivisation and industrialisation through three, Five Year Plans. These plans were merely reactivating the earlier ideas and policies of the Bolsheviks, policies which Stalin had condemned Trotsky to exile.
Lenin's Economic Policies in 1924 When the Bolsheviks seized power in October 1917 they inherited many of the problems faced by the old Tsarist regime as well as those of the Provisional Government after the Tsars abdication. Lenin, as leader of the Bolsheviks took many measures to try and solve these problems, each with varying degrees of success. This essay will, therefore, go on to look at and discuss the various measures that Lenin and the Bolshevik party took, and, whether these measures created more problems for Russia in the end or in fact made significant progress towards the communist society that Lenin had prophesised for Russia. In the early days of Bolshevik rule, there were many problems facing Lenin.
The Conditions for Workers and Peasants Under the Bolsheviks and Under the Tsar's Rule Conditions for workers and peasants were deplorable under the rule of the Tsars, but not to the extent they were under the Bolsheviks. Despite the Bolsheviks claiming their policies were entirely in favour of the proletariat, peasants were forced to face horrific famine and a vast decline in living standards under rule by Lenin and the Bolsheviks. When Alexander II came to power in 1855 he realised that in order to modernise Russia and improve the weakening economy he needed to make dramatic reforms. In 1861 Alexander issued his Emancipation Manifesto, proposing 17 legislative acts that would free the serfs in Russia. Even though this new-found freedom in some ways seemed to place a greater burden on the peasants due to heavy redemption payments on their land and little improvement regarding agricultural methods in Russia, the act made the now-freed serfs feel that progress was being made towards a fairer social system in Russia and gave them some hope for more affirmative reforms in the future.