Tudor Ciurea

1S1
History Essay
Russias status as a world superpower conferred it a great importance during the 20 th century
and Stalin is among the most prominent figures of this period. He succeeded Vladimir Lenin, who
died in 1924 wishing that Trotsky would be the one to take his place. But because he lacked the
Bolsheviks support, Trotsky ultimately lost to Stalin. The latters rise to power from 1818 to 1828
culminated with his appointment as the leader or the Soviet Union. However, it was not without
effort that this man achieved such a feat and, truthfully, his path was at no point an easy one, mainly
because of how high he always aspired. Even though by 1941 Stalin had crushed all of his opposition
and it could be assumed that he had complete control over Russia, this came at the price of the
countrys development, and the revolutions continued.
Stalin was irrefutably autocratic. He controlled his country through false propaganda and
through the countys educational system, by influencing young minds to think of him as a superhero
who could never be wrong in anything he did. This came to be known as the Cult of Personality'. All
school subjects were designed to glorify him and textbooks were continuously altered to concord
with the executions that took place in Russia. The system was very strict, and four years of education
were mandatory at first, but the number was later increased to seven.
A mere two years after he became a dictator, in 1930, Stalin set out to secure his position. The
leading Bolsheviks were given Show Trials, where they were forced to confess to crimes they had
not committed by being told that this was the only way their families would be left alone. The aim of
the Show Trials was to destroy the reputation and get rid of all the old Bolsheviks who knew that
Lenin had appointed Trotsky. Stalin also accused Trotsky of treason and said that he had done
nothing to help Russia. These attempts became known as the Purges. The felons that resulted from
the trials and the purges were sent to Gulags, or labour camps, where they were worked to death in
horrifying conditions.
Stalin knew that the Five Year Plans would enable him to increase his control over the Soviet
Union. An essential part of the first Five Year Plan was collectivisation. In theory it was supposed to
improve the quality of peoples lives and maximise output. But it was in fact an attempt to grab land
from the individuals, so as to make it part of the public domain. It was also an effort to destroy the
Kulaks, who opposed the totalitarian regime and were therefore enemies of the state. With these
objectives in mind, many farming-related modifications were made and the peasants who worked on
public fields were given tractors. The Plans eventually increased industrial production by about
400% during the 1930s.
However, Stalins dictatorship had several shortcomings that only intensified as time went on.
The methods he used to take control of the country took a toll on its progress.
Managers of industries who did not meet ridiculously high targets for production were
purged. The fear of this, which was purposely inspired by the government, led many officials to lie
and falsify figures. Industry suffered because of this and because managers were unwilling to try
anything new out of the same fear. No criticism of the Plans was accepted. Generally, the emphasis
was on quantity and not quality.

Literature, art and music were also stifled. The Red Army lost almost all its experienced
officers to executions issued by Stalin. Scientists, engineers and all experts of any kind who were not
trusted or understood were purged. Because of this, science and technology were hindered, and new
inventions were stopped. Stalin actually clung to outdated ideas, deliberately preventing
development in some areas.
Despite the possible benefits of the machinery provided for the farmers, most of them could
not use it, as many of the tractors did not actually work. One of the biggest issues that Stalin had to
put up with during his leadership were the Kulaks, who resisted the reforms and, as a protest,
destroyed crops and animals instead of handing them over. This led to massive famines, which
further increased the number of deaths caused by communism. The contrasting images of
propaganda, and the stark reality of the famine show the two sides of collectivisation.
As a response to the horrors faced in the countryside, many people flocked into the cities in
search of higher paying jobs in the developing industry. Unfortunately, they were uneducated, could
not do the required work and much machinery broke down as a result. The crime rate on the streets
of the Soviet Union steadily increased for a long period of time.
Overall, the regime did arguably bring some benefits, such as improved education and
housing and an increased literacy rate, as well as equal rights for women for the first time. The
progress that Russia made from its days of tsarist autocracy until the outbreak of the Second World
War enabled Stalin to defeat the Germans. But these changes were also accompanied by death and
the inhuman suffering of many an individual. Ultimately, the cons of the system undoubtedly
outweighed the pros. As a proof of this, in the years immediately following Stalins death, in 1953,
there was a backlash against his policies, known as de-Stalinisation in Russia.