Stalin
Stalin was mainly responsible for shaping the leadership and movement of the communist party after l945, when World War II was over.
Stalin was born in Gori, (presently the republic of Georgia) in l879, under the name of Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili. Stalin's father abused him terribly and at age 11, Stalin was fatherless. His mother expressed her desire that Stalin enter a theological seminary by his teenage years, which he did. Stalin was kicked out in l899, because of his growing belief in Marxism, instead of Christianity. He later became a member of Marxist functions, and then in l903, joined the extremist Bolsheviks. He married soon after, but his first wife died of tuberculosis within three years. Stalin married for the second time in l9l9, and had a son and a daughter. It is said that his second wife killed herself or that possibly Stalin murdered her.
Stalin had a very rebellious nature, was arrested many times, and was banished to Siberia at one period in his life. Some said that Stalin was a professional revolutionary. He was ruthless, committing murder, robbery and uprisings in labor disputes, especially in the Baku working centers.
He was a man of many words and, therefore, served very well writing for the Bolshevik newspaper. He changed his name by l9l0 to Stalin, which meant 'man of steel.' (http://www.pathfinder.com/time/special/moy/html.)
3
It was in l922, that Joseph Stalin became well known and held the title, Secretary General of Communist Party. Vladimir Lenin, the leader before Stalin, made it known in one of his writings before he died, that Stalin should not be in power because of his viciousness. Lenin felt that a man by the name of Trotsky should take power instead. Lenin was accurate in his belief, but Stalin managed to hide the writing. Along with two other parties of the Politburo, Trotsky lost his bid to power. Lenin had thought Trotsky to be the better man. Stalin then turned on several who had aided in his rise through the ranks. With manipulation, propaganda, and deception, Stalin rose to be the leader of Russia. (www.msn.com/index/le/ole3200htm.)
He was now in complete and absolute control. Stalin began to implement several "five year plans," which really was a six volume plan on ways to bring manufacturing and business enterprises to Russia. Ultimately, it was an attempt to amass total crop and livestock production maintained under Stalin's regime.
Joseph Stalin became leader of the USSR after Lenin’s death in 1924. Lenin had a government of abstemious communist government. When Stalin came into government he moved to a radical communist society. He moved away from the somewhat capitalist/communist economy of Lenin time to “modernize” the USSR. He wanted to industrialize and modernize USSR. He had overworked his workers, his people were dying, and most of them in slave labor camps. In fact by doing this Stalin had hindered the USSR and put them even farther back in time.
death in 1953. But how is it that Stalin emerged as the new leader of
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
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)
After Vladimir Lenin, a Russian communist revolutionary, politician and political theorist, died, Stalin outmaneuvered his rivals and won the control of the Communist Party. In the tardy 1920’s he became dictator of the Soviet Cumulation. Then he wanted to industrialize the country because at the time the economic was farming. Millions of farmers reluctant to be apart of Stalin’s orders and were killed as penalization. The civilization led a widespread famine across the Soviet Coalescence and killed millions of people. Stalin wanted to kill anyone who opposed him of his orders. He engendered an army of secret police, and inspirited citizens to spy on others which had many people killed or sent to a labor camp. Virtually everyone around Stalin was considered a threat to him, even the Communist Party, the military, and components of the Soviet Coalescence society, s...
The Bolsheviks, the ruling party of the Soviet Union, was lead by the Lenin. When Lenin died in January of 1924, he left behind no clear successor, and vague indications of his intended plans for the Bolshevik party. A power struggle for control of the party ensued, one in which many historical figures arose. Within this plethora of names, two of the most important names in Soviet history arose, Leon Trotsky, and Joseph Stalin. As the power struggle continued, the mutual antagonism grew, resulting in a life or death struggle. Eventually, Stalin was able to seize power and exile Trotsky. The reason for Stalin's success over Trotsky can be seen in their respective methodologies. Initially, the two were both long-time Marxists, in great positions of power, and both had worked closely alongside Lenin. However, where Stalin was willing to abuse his powers within the state, Trotsky refused to abuse his power. Secondly, Trotsky arose on the scene of the power struggle much earlier than Stalin, and allowed Stalin to bide his time and attack at his convenience. Finally, Stalin chose his allies wisely, and when they no longer suited his needs, was able to drop them and ruin their reputations in so doing. Trotsky however, formed uneasy alliances with other party members, ones that questioned his reputation. In the end, Stalin was in a position of great authority and command, leaving Trotsky in a position of futility.
Joseph Stalin is known to be “one of the most powerful and murderous dictators in history” (bbc.co.uk). Stalin became general secretary of the Communist Party, which had given him the control that he had been looking for (bbc.co.uk). Soon after, he was granted dictatorship of the Soviet Union after Vladimir Lenin had died (historyplace.com). Many people did not like the way that Stalin was ruling. People wanted their own independence from Stalin and he did not take that very well. In 1929, Stalin had believed that many Ukrainian scholars, scientists, religious leaders, etc. were planning a riot against him. Without even being listened to during a trial, they were killed or deported immediately to prison camps (blogspot.com).
A power struggle for control of the Bolshevik party began after Vladimir Lenin's death in 1924. Among the several contenders, two of the most important names in this struggle were Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Ultimately, Stalin was able to secure power and vote out Trotsky. In the following essay I will discuss the reasons why Stalin rather than Trotsky emerged as the leader of the USSR in 1929.
Stalin ruled the Soviet Union with a heavy hand; he wanted Russia to become a great nation. To Stalin, Communism represented a higher stage of development (Stakhanovites). A cult of personality developed around his image; people immortalized him, thinking of him as a god-like figure. They really had no choice; they were absorbing his propaganda through many different outlets such as radio and film. Stalin was drilling the idea he was a great leader who knew what was best for the USSR and would do everything he could to make them grand. Stalin also cracked down on the arts, calling for Socialist Realism, an art that represented the people and was easily understood by the masses and pointed the way to a glorious future. He was xenophobic towards outside art, calling it bourgeois and not at all representative of the people (Zhdanov). This was all part of his method to shape the Soviet Union into what he wanted it to become.
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.
.... “This ambitious plan brought hardship and met resistance as he purged the kulaks (wealthy peasant farmers) (Stalin: The Man and His Era).” This was followed in 1932 by the second, equally ambitious Five-Year Plan. In 1936, Stalin developed a new Soviet constitution, which was seen as a democratic document. “However, the following elections were marred by purge trials from 1934 to 1938 in which Stalin systematically eliminated his opposition(Stalin: The Man and His Era).” Stalin further hurt his international image when he signed a nonaggression pact with Adolf Hitler in 1939. The Nazi leader soon broke this agreement and invaded the Soviet Union in 1941.
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.
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.
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.
Stalin, Lenin’s successor, dramatically transformed the government of the Soviet Union. Stalin was determined that the Soviet Union should find its place both politically and economically among the most powerful of nations in the world. Stalin worked to establish total control of all aspects of life in the Soviet Union. He controlled the government, the economy and many aspects of citizens’ private lives.