More handpicked essays just for you.
Similarities and differences between the character of lenin and stalin
Stalin impact on russia
Similarities and differences between the character of lenin and stalin
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
A.
After the Bolshevik Revolution of November 1917 took place, Lenin ruled the newly communist USSR until his death. “Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugashivili,” commonly referred to as Stalin, was the one man he warned his country not to put in power. The man who appeared most qualified for the position, was rather Lev Davidovich Bronstein, or Leon Trotsky, the leader of the USSR’s military, an important member in the Communist party, and a close friend to Lenin (Rempel). Despite Trotsky’s superior position, Stalin became the new communist leader. To answer the question: “What were the factors that lead to Stalin, rather than Trotsky, rising to power in the post-Lenin USSR?”, several in-depth biographies, including: The Life and Death of Lenin by Robert Payne, Trotsky the eternal revolutionary by Dmitri Volkogonov, as well as several books on the USSR: The rise and fall of the Soviet Union and The USSR under Stalin by Stewart Ross; will be searched for any information pertaining to Stalin’s overtaking.
B.
With The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, a pair of German philosophers, established the foundation upon which the principles of the Russian revolution of November 1917 were based. Promoted by Lenin, the chairman of the communist party in Russia, as well as Trotsky, another prominent leader who was in charge of the Red Army, the values of a classless society, equality for all, equal distribution of resources, and a place for everyone became the basis of a revolution that transformed Russia into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, the USSR (Stoff 16).
Under Lenin, who became the new leader, the country was able to recover from the economi...
... middle of paper ...
...oad to Stalingrad. London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1975.
Mawdsley, Evan. The Stalin Years: The Soviet Union 1929-1953. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 1998.
Payne, Robert. The Life and Death of Lenin. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1964. Print.
Rappaport, Helen. Joseph Stalin A Biographical Comparison. Santa Barbara: Rappaport, Helen, 1999. Print.
Rempel, Gerhard. "Stalin vs Trotsky." GCSE Modern World History. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 May 2014.
Ross, Stew art. The USSR under Stalin. New York: Bookwright, 1991. Print.
Stoff, Laurie. The Rise and Fall of the Soviet Union. Farmington Hills, MI: Greenhaven, 2006. Print.
Ulam, Adam B. Stalin; the Man and His Era. New York: Viking, 1973. Print.
Volkogonov, Dmitriĭ Antonovich., and Harold Shukman. Trotsky: The Eternal Revolutionary. New York: Free, 1996. Print.
Tucker, Robert C. "Stalinism as Revolution from Above". Stalinism. Edited by Robert C. Tucker. New York: American Council of Learned Societies, 1999.
Trotsky, L., 2014. The Overthrow of Tzarism and the Triumph of the Soviets. In: L. Trotsky, The Russian Revolution, 1st ed. Garden City, New York: Doubleday.
As relations changed between Russia and the rest of the world, so did the main historical schools of thought. Following Stalins death, hostilities between the capitalist powers and the USSR, along with an increased awareness of the atrocities that were previously hidden and ignored, led to a split in the opinions of Soviet and Western Liberal historians. In Russia, he was seen, as Trotsky had always maintained, as a betrayer of the revolution, therefore as much distance as possible was placed between himself and Lenin in the schoolbooks of the 50s and early 60s in the USSR. These historians point to Stalin’s killing of fellow communists as a marked difference between himself and his predecessor. Trotsky himself remarked that ‘The present purge draws between Bolshevism and Stalinism… a whole river of blood’[1].
"Stalin, Joseph." International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Ed. William A. Darity, Jr. 2nd ed. Vol. 8. Detroit: Macmillan Reference USA, 2008. 86-87. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 26 Feb. 2014.
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.
Althusser, Louis. Lenin and Philosophy and Other Essays. Http://virginiabonner.com/courses/cms4310/readings/althusser.pdf. Ben Brewster, Apr. 1970. Web. 29 Apr. 2014 8.
In the beginning Josef Stalin was a worshiper of his beloved Vladimir Lenin. He followed his every move and did as he said to help establish and lead the Bolshevik party. Much of the early part of his political career was lost due to his exile to Siberia for most of World War I. It wasn’t until 1928, when he assumed complete control of the country were he made most of his success. After Lenin’s death in January 1924, Stalin promoted his own cult followings along with the cult followings of the deceased leader. He took over the majority of the Socialists now, and immediately began to change agriculture and industry. He believed that the Soviet Union was one hundred years behind the West and had to catch up as quickly as possible. First though he had to seal up complete alliance to himself and his cause.
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.
A. Soviet History. Marxists.org. 2010. Web. The Web. The Web.
7) Vernadsky, George. A History of Russia: Fourth Edition, Completely Revised. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1954.
After the death of Lenin, his chief lieutenant Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin fought for control of the country. Stalin was able to win out over Trotsky and gain control of the Russian government. He felt that Lenin and Trotsky’s socialistic ideas were flawed in that they were to wait for other countries to revolt and become socialistic as well. Staling believed that a single country could make socialism .
Bender, Frederic L. Karl Marx: The Communist Manifesto. New York: W.W. Norton & Company. ed. 1988.
[xxvi] Brians, Paul. Study Guide for The Communist Manifesto. 15 March 2002 <http://www.wsu.edu:8080/ ~brians/ hum_303/manifesto.html>.
...E. The Cold War: The United States and the Soviet Union, 1917-1991. New York: Oxford UP, 1998. Print.