Joseph Stalin was and still is universally known for his harsh leadership in the Soviet Union. To examine the extent of his cruelness, World Civilization II: The Rise and Fall of Empires© 1500-present stated, "Stalin was not a communist; he was a sociopath. He enjoyed hurting people and ordering their deaths. In his time as dictator of the Soviet Union, he was responsible for the deaths of tens of millions of his people, and the cruel torture and imprisonment of millions more" (Sattler, 71). 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 …show more content…
Fordham University entailed, "if there were a proletarian dictatorship not only in our country but in other, more advanced countries as well, Germany and France, say.If that were the case, the capitalist encirclement could not be so serious a danger as it is now, " With these three quotes excerpted thus far, it is clear to see that Stalin played the victim card, making the Soviet Union seemed completely doomed. To fix this awful problem, the answer lied in the rapid industrialization he desperately wanted and eventually achieved (Fordham University). Stalin also explained on the Soviet Unions issues internally. Fordham University stated, "But besides the external conditions, there are also internal conditions which dictate a fast rate of development of our industry as the main foundation of our entire national economy. I am referring to the extreme backwardness of our agriculture, of its technical and cultural level. I am referring to the existence in our country of an overwhelming preponderance of small commodity producers, with their scattered and utterly backward production, compared with which our large-scale socialist industry is like an island in the midst of the sea, an island whose base is expanding daily, but which is nevertheless an island in the midst of the sea" (Fordham …show more content…
He begins with the statement on how many people are happy with the achievements of socialism has achieved, but one class was not happy (Fordham University). This class was known as the gentry, Stalin described them as follows, "These gentry were guided in their evaluation of the achievements of the workers and collective farmers not by the interests of the people, who applauded every such achievement, but by the interests of their own wretched and putrid faction, which had lost all contact with the realities of life” (Fordham University). Next speeches by the gentry were analyzed, Fordham University States, “At the Seventeenth Party Congress, Bukharin, Rykov and Tomsky made repentant speeches, praising the Party and extolling its achievements to the skies. But the congress detected a ring of insincerity and duplicity in their speeches” “Speeches were also made at the Seventeenth Congress by the Trotskyites, Zinoviev and Kamenev, who lashed themselves extravagantly for their mistakes, and eulogized the Party no less extravagantly for its achievements.” By the writing of Stalin, it seemed that this group of individuals were plain
Nikolai Litvin recalls his experiences from his tenure as a Red Army soldier in his memoir 800 Days on the Eastern Front. Litvin transcribed his memories of the war seventeen years after he left the military, which provided him ample time to process his experiences and formulate his thoughts on what happened. Using a concise writing style, Litvin packs his memoir with vivid details of military operations and offers valuable details about Stalinist thinking and Soviet life. Not surprisingly, Litvin’s memoir maintains a Soviet bias, and the storytelling is clearly impacted by the unique experiences of a Red Army soldier. To truly understand 800 Days on the Eastern Front, the reader must decipher how Litvin understands his experiences, the impacts
The best way to answer any question is to be clear about what is being asked and to look only for the facts of that question. We are not being asked whether Joseph Stalin was a good person. The question is, what are the accomplishments of Joseph Stalin that improved his country and made it great? From this point, we can clearly identify what he did, as seen in the articles. Was Stalin beneficial to the USSR?
Russian Atheist with an Iron Fist Joseph Stalin shows a harsh example of religious persecution during his reign in power. It can be shown through the history of the laws, Atheist propaganda, and it’s ever so lasting effects after his death. On December 18, 1879 a boy named Joseph Stalin is born. He is born to an abusive, alcoholic cobbler and a religious washerwoman. In his early years he contracted smallpox at age seven.
Leaders are trusted by their people to uphold high standards of diplomacy and to make citizens’ lives less burdensome. The Soviet Union needed a figure who would help improve and strengthen the country. Joseph Stalin took this role, promising to get the country out of World War I, paying debts, and giving land to the citizens. While he followed through on a few of his promises, he ultimately betrayed his people by lying to them. Through his leadership, Stalin made many decisions to help the Soviet Union, but he made even more choices that harmed individual people due to his abuse of power.
Joseph Stalin, the man of steel, was not only known for the massive death count that he was responsible for, but also for many other amazing actions that changed the world as we know it. Though Joseph Stalin’s historical importance has been greatly disputed for generations, the truth is obviously that he could be nothing less than the most influential person in history because of his nigh unbelievable feats such as swinging the outcome of World War two into the favor of the allies, constructing the most powerful nation on the planet in a mere five years with no more than will and impeccable leadership, and throwing western countries into a nuclear standoff that lasted for fifty years. Of course, there is a need for further elaboration, so without further ado, I challenge you to dive in and enlighten yourself in the marvelous accomplishments of the most influential person in the world, Joseph Stalin. II. Biography
In Dear Comrade Editor, different voices, opinions towards Stalin and his ideologies are presented. Some people, of course, response to Khrushchev’s speech: “You want to weep with despair when you hear people demand that all this be consigned to oblivion, people who try to justify Stalin’s crimes and sing his praises whenever they can.” (Riordan&Bridger 31) “Even before I never understood and I condemned those young people who had parted ways with their parents when the latter were arrested, so why am I now being called upon to betray my commander and to spit on him?” (33) Instead of supporting Stalin, this WWII veteran is confused by the shift in ideologies. He represented many average Soviet people, the confusion and hopelessness.
Tragically, since then, history has repeated itself many times, including Stalin’s purges. To put an end to all genocides, we must speak up and demand that government leaders make the right choices to prevent and stop atrocities. Joining together, words can be heard. In conclusion, Stalin did horrible things to innocent people, like other
“Hitler trusted no one, not even his closest advisers. His distrust of others spread to those around him, and continual suspicion was actively encouraged by Hitler” (“Hitler, Adolf”). The absence of accurate information and organization, often directed Hitler toward making choices that impacted his rule negatively. His intelligence organization often fabricated information to escape Hitler’s wrath and sometimes gain favor. Stalin’s paranoia was no different in his tyrannical reign for power.
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.
Imagine living in a society brainwashed by propaganda, where you only can think what you are told. From 1929-1953, citizens of the Soviet Union had to endure this under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union in 1929 right after the death of Vladimir Lenin, the first leader of the Soviet Union. From the moment he came into power, Stalin started instilling fear in the population, and those he viewed as a threat were sent to his gulags or labor camps.
Stalin knew that he had to try and prevent people from taking control, so he figured that killing everyone would be his best option. Joseph Stalin even said, “Death is the solution to all problems. No man- no problem.” After examining Joseph Stalin 's rule in Russia, it is clear that his background of upbringing, specific targeting on certain groups of
Stalin was working with the united states and great Briton during world war 2 but after the war he focused his attention on spreading communism to eastern Europe and making his country bigger. In total through his years, Stalin was responsible for more than 20 million people’s
Although Stalin turned the USSR into a prosperous, productive society; he is known for ruling by terror. The History Channel site asserts, “Stalin ruled by terror and with a totalitarian grip in order to eliminate anyone who might oppose him. He expanded the powers of the secret police, encouraged citizens to spy on one another and had millions of people killed or sent to the Gulag system of forced labor camps.” (Joseph Stalin). The USSR declared war against the Axis powers after Germany invaded the Soviet Union and broke their Non Aggression Pact.
Stalin’s use of Strong language shows us how truly serious the Soviet Union were going to be in promoting and carrying out their plans. The use of state terror to encourage such production increases proves this even further. The regime also used propaganda in the form of Stakhanovism to promote the industrial revolution that the country went through. This use of propaganda promoted Aleksei Stakhanov as the ideal Soviet worker who could apparently produce one hundred and two tonnes of coal in one shift.
His rule lead to a huge massacre of many citizens and and a constant fear for the people, which is never the right way to rule. This has brought me to completely go against Stalin’s methods of keeping control over the USSR. A method Stalin used