Stalin 's Legacy
Josef Stalin is a name world renowned for invoking terror at the very thought of his dictatorial reign, purges and labour camps; yet still almost half of Russians see him as one of their greatest leaders. This is a man who caused the death of 23 million people during his reign, many of which were innocent Russian citizens. A combination of Stalin 's long term effect on Russia through modernization, collectivization and improvement to social services, as well expansive use of propaganda to gain a 'cult of personality ' have continued to effect the Soviet Union to this day in the running of their country. This has caused many Russians to excuse his mistakes (such as the Great Purge). Modern education in the Soviet Unionhas also developed to teach Russians to think of Stalin as a 'necessary evil ' that needed to happen for the advancement of the country. These factors have made sure that Stalin remains one of the most important and recognized figures in Russia 's history, allowing his 'legacy ' to live on.
To rise to power Stalin first had to eliminate his opposition, but he did so in a way that made him appear innocent. Lenin died on January 21st 1984 after having a large stroke (the last of three) and modern doctors say his cerebral arteries were ‘so calcified that when tapped with tweezers they sounded like stone’. It is theorized that Stalin may have caused his death, and even a letter written by Stalin saying “On Saturday, March 17th in the strictest secrecy… I, Stalin, should take the responsibility for finding and administering to Lenin a dose of potassium cyanide. I felt it impossible to refuse him… when it is necessary I will fulfil his demand without hesitation.”. Though later saying he could not comm...
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...rnisation in conditions of shortages of resources, loyal to the supreme power and immaculate from the point of view of executive discipline." There are many differences in their version of history, for example it is taught in Russia that the Second World War began in 1941 and that for three years Russia fought alone until D-day in 1944. In the same way Western education minimizes teaching the Soviet Union 's role in defeating Hitler, Russia to leaves out Britain and the USA 's role in WWII. In 2007 a history guidebook was published for teacher 's in the Soviet Union, and in them declared Stalin 'Russia 's greatest leader of the 20th century '. These varied (and possible falsified) versions of history would influence Russians to believe that Stalin 's crimes were not as 'bad ' as they are made out, and in were in fact necessary for Russia to become as it is today.
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].
death in 1953. But how is it that Stalin emerged as the new leader of
In conclusion, many soviets citizens appeared to believe that Stalin’s positive contributions to the U.S.S.R. far outweigh his monstrous acts. These crimes have been down played 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.
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
For most people that know who Joseph Stalin was, they can agree on one thing: Stalin was one of the most brutal and ruthless leaders that mankind has ever seen. He is known as the instigator and leader of the Reign of Terror, which incorporated extremely horrifying purges. These purges have been estimated to have killed five times as many people as the Holocaust. The purges also helped him establish his power base, which allowed him to build one of the most powerful countries in its day and age. But he was not born evil, in fact, when he was a child, family and friends said he was shy. This does not mean he didn’t have a bad childhood, which happened quite often in rural Georgia. The pain of his childhood built as the years went by. Growing up admiring people like Karl Marx, Machiavelli, and Ivan the Terrible only stoked the fire even more. I believe that Joseph Stalin’s reign of terror can be traced directly back to his brutal childhood and complete belief in Marxist principles.
When most people hear the name Joseph Stalin, they usually associate the name with a man who was part of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. He was willingly to do anything to improve the power of the Soviet Union’s economy and military, even if it meant executing tens of millions of innocent people (Frankforter, A. Daniel., and W. M. Spellman 655). In chapter three of Sheila Fitzpatrick’s book, Everyday Stalinism, she argues that since citizens believed the propaganda of “a radiant future” (67), they were able to be manipulated by the Party in the transformation of the Soviet Union. This allowed the Soviet government to expand its power, which ultimately was very disastrous for the people.
Has there ever been a more ruthless and evil leader than Adolf Hitler? According to statistics, Joseph Stalin was far more heinous. Joseph Stalin is considered one of the most controversial leaders in world history. Although the Soviet Union was transformed into a modern superpower under his rule, the ethics used are questionable. The 5 year plan came to be as an outline for Russia’s development. In addition, Stalin’s glorification came as a necessity to motivate people. Also, in order to maintain his control, Stalin exterminated his opposition.
Stalin was “born in Gori, Georgia” as the third and only surviving child of a “cobbler and ex-serf”(Compton’s 403). His true name was Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. “In 1912 he took the alias of ‘Stalin’, from the Russian word stal, meaning ‘steel”, hence his nickname “Man of Steel”(Compton’s 402). Stalin began his studies at the seminary as a devout believer in Orthodox Christianity, where he was soon exposed to the radical ideas of fellow students. In 1899, just about the time of graduation, he gave up his religious education and to devote his time to the revolutionary movement against the Russian monarchy. In 1902 Stalin was hunted down and arrested by the imperial police for organizing a large worker’s demonstration. A year later he was sentenced to “exile in the Russian region of Siberia, but soon managed to escape and was back in Georgia by early 1904”(Archer 58). When the Russian Social Democratic Party split into Menshevik and Bolshevik factions, Stalin sided with the Bolsheviks, who just happened to be led by Vladimir Lenin. Stalin immediately became a staunch follower of Lenin, studying his every move. He did marry in 1905 but his beloved bride died of tuberculosis two years later. Their son, Yasha, died later in a Nazi Prison camp during World War II. After the Bolshevik’s Civil War victory, Stalin became highly organized and was elected secretary of the Communist Party. “After Lenin’s death, Stalin gradually isolated and shunned his political rivals, especially Leon Trotsky, and by the end of 1929 Joseph Stalin had succeeded in eliminating his opponents and became the supreme leader of the USSR” (Compton’s 404).
Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin were similar in what they claimed to be, but in actuality they were very different people. Although Stalin claimed that he followed Leninism, the philosophy that Lenin developed from Marxism, he often distorted it to follow what he wanted to do. While Lenin wanted to make a unified society without classes, with production in the hands of the people, while Stalin wanted to make Russia into a modern industrial powerhouse by using the government to control production. Lenin accomplished his goals through violence, because he thought achieving Communist revolution was worth using violence, with a ‘The ends justify the means’ mentality. Stalin also used violence to accomplish his goals, however Stalin used much more violence than was often necessary to accomplish his goals. 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.
He one day had a stroke and just collapsed and that was the first sign of it being very serious at this point. When he collapsed, there was an alert sent out to all his doctors so they could get there with the medication, but they didn’t get it in time. The doctors were all out on purge missions. (“Death of Stalin”)
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.
Stalin was able to damage Trotsky’s reputation and political prestige, by tricking Trotsky for not showing up at Lenins funeral. After Lenins death, on the 21st of January 1924, on over three days, about three and a half million people queued to see Lenins body. Although many people felt hatred towards the regime, many felt a bona fide affection towards Lenin, which was comparable with the affection the people had to the Romanov dynasty, before the October Revolution. Throughout Lenins funeral, Stalin hoped that he could strengthen his position in the Party and remove Trotsky from his powerful position, which he was in. Trotsky turned ill just before Lenin’s death, and had settled in the south of Russia, to recover. Stalin contacted Trotsky about Lenins death and meant that Trotsky would not make it to the funeral. For Trotsky not attending the funeral, caused his reputation and political prestige, within the party, to be damaged. During Lenins funeral, Stalin made a speech referring t...
Joseph Stalin once said, “Death is the solution to all problems. No man-no problem.” He followed his philosophy throughout his rule. Joseph Stalin was a cruel Russian man who ruled the Union of Socialist Soviet Republics (USSR) from 1941 to 1953, many have idolized Joseph Stalin, while others have hated him. Joseph stalin grew up extremely poor and by his ultimate determination to transform the USSR, he became a ruler of a very powerful union. His goal was to positively transform the USSR from a peasant society to an industrial superpower. Joseph Stalin ran a government of fascism, killed millions, ruled in terror, took over agriculture by killing millions, and focused on running a government with complete power and turn it into an industrial
Joseph Stalin's Rule Stalin was an evil dictator whose rule did nothing to improve Russia." Joseph Stalin was a dictator of Russia, his plan was to revolutionise. the country. During his reign he achieved his goal but at the cost of millions of lives. He imprisoned millions of his citizens, army and members of the Communist Party.
Joseph Stalin is a polarizing figure. Decades after his death his legacy still continues to create debate about his tumultuous years as the leader of the Soviet Union. This is evident throughout the four documents while some praise Stalin as impeccable others criticize his policies and lack of political, economic, and social progress during his regime. Even though Stalin was behind various violations of human rights he was able to maintain the Soviet Union during a time of turmoil both domestically and internationally as a result he has earned notoriety as a great leader and advocate for Marxist ideology.