Russian Dictator: Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin

Stalin was indeed good for the USSR, because he improved the economy by using collectivization farms, which led to an increase in quality of life. Although he did good for the country, he wanted prosperity and recognition more than anything, so he was willing to sacrifice his own citizens’ lives. Stalin was good for the USSR, because he changed the USSR’s economy positively by using sets of goals, called the “Five Year Plan”. The objective of this was to multiply production in manufacturing, like coal, oil, pig iron, and steel.

It is extremely difficult to decide if he was a reformer or a tyrant once you have learned about all of the political, military, social, and economic effects his reign had on Russia. There were so many events that were devastating, like the imprisonment of the patriarch and the overall fear and paranoia instilled in the people of Russia. But, there were many positive reforms too, like the writing of the law (sudebnick) and the first nationwide representative meeting (zemsky sobor). Ivan’s ideas are fundamental in theory, and while they did not deem successful at the time, were recycled and perfected by later rulers. The significance of Ivan’s rule is extremely complex in nature, and cannot be written off as a complete failure without taking into account all of the many impacts he had on ruling Russia.

Have you ever wondered who killed over twenty million people? He was a ruthless dictator with a reputation to kill people. Many of you would guess Adolf Hitler, but it was actually Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin was a Soviet Union dictator from 1924 to 1953. Joseph Stalin acted tyrannically towards civilians of the USSR and made dreadful decisions that negatively affected many.

Post WWl, Russia was still not industrialized, suffering economically and politically and in no doubt in need of a leader after Lenin’s death. “His successor, Joseph Stalin, a ruthless dictator, seized power and turned Russia into a totalitarian state where the government controls all aspects of private and public life.” Stalin showed these traits by using methods of enforcement, state control of individuals and state control of society. The journey of Stalin begins now.

Because of this Stalin was treated poorly by the other villagers; due to this Stalin started to feel inferior to others, this also lead to start his journey to be respected greatness, because of the disrespect he got from the villagers this led him Stalin become cruel and heartless to whoever crossed him. attended the Gori Church School when he was younger, he excelled in academics being one of the smartest people in his grade, while at the school Stalin fell in love with reading, as well as climbing in the wild mountainous side of Gori. He

After the revolution and death of the Russian Czar in 1917, Vladimir Lenin overthrew the short-lived democratic government that followed the end of Nicholas II, replacing it with a Bolshevik communist regime. (Background essay) His teachings were inspired by Karl Marx who was a German philosopher that believed society goes through certain stages: Capitalism, socialism, and finally communism. Lenin would then go on to establish the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics in 1922 which slowly led to the rise of the USSR as one of the superpowers of the world. In today’s society, many mysteries about the Soviet Union lurk among the world and textbooks should emphasize three certain things to bring light to the subject of the Soviet Union.

-> Early Years Lenin born Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov in Simbirsk, Russia April, 22 1870, was driven to the path of a professional revolutionary by the execution of his brother Alexsandr. Lenin was raised in a well educated family and exceeded in school he was showed

Stalin manages to halt this type of alienation and to introduce goals to the society that will increase their standards of life as a whole. Stalin’s totalitarian regime is connected to the idea of a “permanent revolution”. Therefore, as with each revolution, the society has a common goal that it needs to achieve. (USSR Handout). In addition to that, Stalin established three 5-year plans that aimed for industrialization of USSR and which created quotas for the workers.

However, this only scratches the surface of what Stalin put the Soviet Union through. Stalin was a very persuasive man, his writings make it seem as if he is in the right and is innocent. To support this statement, two pieces of Stalin's writings were

Stalin came into power and maintained control through his economic policies, smart use of propaganda and killing those who disagreed with him. Stalin was a smart leader who knew how to rule effectively. Stalin enacted his first five year plan putting control of agriculture and production into the hands of the state. He took food from the farmers and gave it to the people for a very low price. This was to get other people to like him.

The bloodshed and carnage of WWI was still fresh in the minds of Europe. Russia had recently gone through a revolution that destroyed the monarchy, and put the leader of the Bolsheviks, the party that led the revolution, in charge. His name was Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, also known as Lenin. Lenin and the Bolsheviks practiced communism, the belief a totalitarian system of government in which a single authoritarian party controls state-owned means of production. In other words, there is no privately owned property, and all property is owned by the state.

Describing Trotsky as an intelligent young boy, helps to explain why he became such a wise figure during the Russian Revolution. Showing that Trotsky had few friends due to his “intellectual arrogance” expands on why other revolutionaries despised him. Mentioned by spartacus-educational.com “After Trotsky finished schooling in Odessa, he went to Nikolayev, were he was first introduced to the ideas of Karl Marx.” (“Leon Trotsky”) illustrating that it was the beginning of Trotsky’s revolutionary self. Showing that Trotsky was being introduced these ideas early in his life, indicated that he wanted a change in ruling in Russia, even when he was young.

The Soviet dictator has not only exterminated, but also had potential enemies executed or been sent to labor camps. Stalin claimed his policies were based on Marxism-Leninism, but there can be no doubt

How did Stalin control the USSR? After Vladimir Lenin died on January 21st 1924, in charge were the 9 members of the Politburo for a limited time; the Soviet Union went through a power struggle between Joseph Stalin, Leon Trotsky, Grigory Zinoviev, Lev Kamenev and Nikolai Bukharin. No elections were held, but Stalin became the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republic (USSR) in 1929, having already been in the position of General Secretery since 1922. Although he had the control over the party, his ideas were not shared by all of the members, especially Trotsky, who created the leftist movement called “trotskyism”, which believed in the theory of permanent revolution, contrary to Stalin’s beliefs.

“Long Road to Power,” author Rayfield documents the struggle that shaped Stalin’s personality. Rayfield draws attention to the fact that Stalin’s background is similar to one in three great dictators, artists, or writers. That is - Stalin witnessed before the coming of age his father becoming disabled by alcoholism. Stalin’s childhood can be describe as a brutal one. For example, when young, he received beatings from his dad.