Joseph Stalin

Communism has long been heralded in capitalist countries as the root of all evil. However, as with all phobias, this intrinsic fear of communism comes from lack of knowledge rather than sound reasoning. It is the same fear that gave the world the Cold War and McCarthy”s Red Scare. The purpose of this paper is neither to support communism over capitalism nor the opposite, rather it is to inform the reader of communism”s migration through time and hopefully assist the regression of such fear. The ideology of communism came out of the minds of two men, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (Sowell, 11).

Since Marx is the most widely known influence, he will be the one most referred to. It was Marx”s belief that private property was the cause of poverty and degradation of the proletariat. Therefore, he came to settle on the idea that no one person should have control over production of goods, ownership of land, and management of funds. In that same token then, no one class should be allowed to have control over these things. He went on to comment that the exploitation of the working class must come to an end. That end would be achieved through revolution.

Once this was achieved, everybody would work according to their abilities and then be paid accordingly (Marx 586-617). Soon after, however, technical innovations would create such abundance of goods that “everyone works according to his abilities and receives according to his needs. ” Soon thereafter, money would ! have no place in society. People would be able to take what they want and in turn would be lacking nothing. Marx also believed that the pleasure of seeing the fruits of labor would be enough to cause man to work (Rieber, 56-62).

Countries and people were soon to catch on to this ideology. The two most well know places were Russia and China. Of the two, Russia was the first to adopt the communist beliefs. Russia already had a long history of peasant insurrections. Most of these uprisings though, were leaderless and highly unorganized. The motives of the rebels were vague and often confused. By the time the government made some improvements to help the peasants, it was too late. In 1917, due to the breakdown of the administration and military order, the peasants moved to carry out their own revolution.

They tore down any form of legal and territorial authority and distributed the land in a rough but equal fashion. During this time, a man by the name of Georgi V. Plekanhov had secretly come into Russia bringing Karl Marx”s books. Once there, these books influenced young students who saw the revolution dependent on the proletariat, not the peasant class. One of the people influenced by Plekanhov was a man going by the name of Nikolai Lenin. His revolutionary ardor was strong and he went on to creat a group called the Bolsheviks and they are the ones who would create the revolution needed to change the system.

It began on March 6, 1917 when bread riots erupted in Petrograd, Russia and did not end until the United Soviet Socialist Republic was organized on December 30, 1922. On January 21, 1924, Lenin died and this complicated matters since two people were interested in Lenin”s position. A power struggle ensued between Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky (Salisbury, xi). Stalin became the Bolshevik party general secretary in 1922, which was one step closer to being the next Lenin. In 1925, Stalin offered a more attractive solution to the Russian people than Trotsky (Rieber, 73-74).

Thus in 1927, Stalin scored the first major victory for himself when the Fifteenth All-Union Congress of the Communist Party denounced all deviations of the Stalinist line. Trotsky and any ally of his were banished to the Russian provinces. Here Stalin”s ruthless nature began to show. He completely expelled Trotsky from the Soviet Union and finally his fear of Trotsky-esque forced him to assassinate Le! on Trotsky in 1940 (Kaiser, 246). However, even after Trotsky was assassinated Stalin”s fears were never quite dissipated.

Stalin went on to establish a dictatorship, crushing any opposing voices within his party and his country. He would not stop there though, still being enough of a Marxist, he wanted to see the ultimate goal become a reality. He wanted to see a world wide socialist revolution. He and many other Soviet leaders held the furtherance of world revolution above the preservation of the dictatorship. It remained an important goal through the leadership of Khrushchev, Brezhnev, Andropov, and Chernenko. However, this came to the head during the leadership of Gorbachev.

Gorbachev had a country that was falling apart dumped into his lap. Dissension was widespread and in an effort to bring the country back to it”s former glory, Gorbachev implemented a program known as Perestroika, or reconstructuring. Its aim was to make good on the promises of socialism or else it would sink to the status of a third world country. One part of Perestroika that was particularly odd was called Glasnost. The purpose of Glasnost was to hear constructive criticism in order to possibly try to implement the ideas in an effort to help the country out of their difficulties.

This was much different from Stalin”s views. When western criticism said that Perestroika was slowing down, Glasnost went ahead at full speed, revealing not only the crimes of the Stalin era, but also the horrifying dimensions of the contemporary crisis. In foreign affairs, not only was there great progress on arms control, but also Soviet troops were withdrawn from Afghanistan. Most spectacular of all, in 1989, Gorbachev allowed Soviet control over Eastern Europe to evaporate, as communism was overthrown and independent governments were established in one satellite country after another.

In 1991, Gorbachev changed course as he came to realize that his only chance to preserve the union was to work with the leaders of the republics rather than against them. For many loyal members of the party and the security forces, as well as managers of industry and collective farms, the country as they had known it was on the brink of falling apart. The last stand of the old guard was an attempted coup in August 1991. It was easy for the plotters to take over the central government, but they found it impossible to topple Boris Yeltsin and the Russian Federation government.

The coup collapsed within days, and the Communist party was outlawed. The fate of the August showed how little vitality was left in the Soviet Union”s central government, and it was not long before appropriate conclusions were drawn. In another quieter coup in December, the leaders of Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus declared that a Commonwealth of Independent States would replace the Union of Soviet So! cialist Republics. The declaration only ratified the reality of republican independence. Gorbachev bowed to the inevitable and resigned at the end of the year. The seventy-four year history of the Soviet Union had come to an end (Grolier).

After Russia, China was the next major country to adapt to the communist system of beliefs. It was on October 1, 1949 that Mao Tsetung pronounced the establishment of the new Chinese Communist state: the People”s Republic of China. It was for this reason that Mao and over ten thousand people set off on what was to be called the Long March. They began in the Jiangxi province where their ranks rapidly grew and became known as the Fourth Red Army. It was comprised of peasants and soldiers who were in favor of a communist regime or were in opposition to Chiang Kai-shek”s nationalist views.

Mao”s army never numbered more than 85,000 peasants, while Chiang”s forces, the Kuomintang, numbered at least 200,000 well-equipped troops (Frankenstein 58-64). The odds were definitely against Mao. It was for this reason that he favored guerrilla warfare. Mao described these tactics in his Little Red Book: When the enemy advanced, we retreat. Our weapons are supplied to us by the enemy. In 1934, Chiang encircled the Jiangxi province in which Mao was camped and thus it was decided within his camp that they must break through Chiang”s blockade lines.

The 85,000 plus another 15,000 peasants poured through the breach that had been made. Within forty-eight hours, most of the people had broken through the lines. No one really knew what ahead, however, over six thousand miles, icy rivers, swampy marshes, and Kuomintang forces would leave only a handful alive at the end (Frankenstein 116-124). The Long March had begun. It would finally end in 1949, the same time the People”s Republic of China was formed. Mao had come out on top through extraordinary means. However, the civil war was not quite over.

While living in Taiwan, Chiang was still getting backing from the United States of America and again took the title of President in 1950. Mao recognized, however, that he would need to set up a government immediately in order to support the close to one billion people living in China. He then turned to the Soviet Union for financial assistance. Mao went on to create the Great Cultural Revolution: an effort to get China up to the status of a major world power. This was a major motivating force for Mao until his death in 1976 (Frankenstein, 161-165).

China and the communist party were without an outstanding leader for several years following Mao Tsetung”s death. Finally, Deng Xiaoping eventually emerged as the paramount leader they were looking for in 1978. He promptly launched his economic reform plan. Under his leadership, China tried moving their economy from a sluggish Soviet-style centrally planned economy to a more produ! ctive and flexible economy with market elements, all within the framework of Communist control. The result has been a strong surge in production with industry posting some major gains.

Deng”s reforms have improved the livelihoods of many Chinese living in urban areas. There is no doubt that Deng had lead China through greatest period of modernization and foreign contact. One of the saddest days in Chinese history was the death of Deng Xiaoping on February 19, 1997. While he had not been active for some time and had not appeared in public for three years prior to his death, the death of senior leaders had always had an unsettling impact on Chinese politics (CNN). On the other hand, Deng had retired in 1989 and he had placed Jiang Zemin in the powerful post of chairman of the Central Military Commission.

In 1993, Jiang was named president of China. Jiang”s policy, like that of his mentor, was to instill market reforms while still keeping the country politically and socially conservative (CNN). This was going to be difficult though with Hong Kong having been returned to China on June 1, 1997. President Jiang Zemin himself will preside as the motherland reclaims a piece of itself, instantly replacing the councils and crown symbols of Britain rule with the new authority of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. If only it were that simple.

The people of Hong Kong embrace neither of these extremes. They share pride in the reunification of China, but they harbor some misgivings about their new landlords, however, they are ready to give the new system a chance. Unfortunately the west is casting a skeptical eye. If Beijing is ready to be welcomed into the community of nations with the stature its size and wealth ought to command, China will have to convince the west that it is ready and able to live by the international community”s rules (McGeary, 186-192).

With the Soviet Union no longer in existence, the international community is turning their attention on to the last major communist nation that has influence. China will have to tread lightly, especially now with the return of a valuable port that was the refuge for millions of democratic citizens. China has promised a “one country, two systems” policy, but that is only drawing more criticism. Communism can no longer grow, it can only mature. However, this maturing process is turning it into more of a capitalist country.

Adolf Hitler, Joseph Stalin was one of the most ruthless and diabolical people in the history of the world. Hitler once said of Stalin, ” He is a beast, but he’s a beast on a grand scale who must command our unconditional respect. In his own way, he is a hell of a fellow! ” (Stalin Breaker of Nations, p. xvi) What Hitler said of Stalin is only his opinion, and it is not a valid one at that. For you must consider the source, it takes a beast like Adolf Hitler to know a beast and Stalin was a horrible beast. He was also a murderer.

Stalin abused his people when he starved them to death, and systematically murdered them. Stalin also abused his country by halting Russia’s progress and economic growth. Stalin was a breaker of nations. Stalin first enter the Russian political system in the early nineteen teens. With the help form Lenin, Stalin proposed an answer to the National Question, which was self determination. Stalin’s ruthlessness is first discovered by Lenin, when Stalin is sent to Georgia to convince the Georgia leader not to practice self determination.

When the leader does not agree with what Stalin has to say, Stalin punches the man out and threaten to kill them all. Years after that incident Lenin end up dying and Stalin takes over as the leader of Russia. Because Trotsky was hated by many of the influential political figures in Russia, Stalin becomes the leader of Russia even after Lenin’s dying last wishes. 1929 was the first of many years in which Stalin stunted Russia’s growth. In that year the “Engineer Trials” were held.

During these trials the Russian elite was brought forth by Stalin on the account of treason. Confessions by the elite which consisted of engineers, doctors, lawyers, teachers and clergy were extracted by many means including torture. After these trials were through thousands of the Russian elite were murdered, with their blood on Stalin’s hands. These trails had a horrific effect on the progress of Russia, there was now nobody left to lead Russian into the future, and the few elite’s that still remained in Russia lived in constant fear of their lives.

Around 1932, Stalin had put his plan into action that was later called the Terror Famine. In the Terror Famine, Stalin started to order grain requisitions from the lower class in the Ukraine. Stalin used his army to retrieve the grain from the people, following the orders by Stalin, the army takes too much grain and causes a famine among the lower class. Stalin justified the taking of the grain by saying that it was just a way for the state to regulate the price of grain. By doing this Stalin ended up breaking the back of the Georgians and the Ukrainians.

Knowingly, Stalin eliminated millions upon millions of Russian, between 30 and 50 million, in his attempt at an absolute totalitarian rule in Russia. By killing so many of the Russian’s who were the ones which the economy was supported on, Stalin has broken the nation of the Ukraine. From around 1936 through 1938 Stalin extracted his Great Terror. The Great Terror consisted of many events including the Purge Trials and the Katyn Massacre. During the purge trials, Stalin once again haltered Russian progress. The Purge Trials eliminated many military officers and engineers.

The numbers are not exact, but between 250,000 to 500,000 Russians died because of Stalin’s orders. These trials caused mass paranoia of the elite’s, afraid to make a difference, for if they did then they would ultimately end up dead. Stalin not only haltered the growth of his own country, but he haltered the growth of neighboring counties, on being Poland. In Poland during the Great Terror, Stalin ordered the Katyn Massacre to occur. The top 15,000 officers in the Polish army were rounded up and killed in the forests of Belarus.

This was a deep wound, the stunted the Polish progress, since now there were would be no more experienced leaders in Poland’s future, since Stalin killed most of their military elite. Once again Stalin had broken another nation. During all this time, Stalin was also methodically killing off all of his political opponents, or anyone who posed as to be the most remote of a threat to him. Unlike what Hitler thought of Stalin, the opposite is true. Stalin showed mercy to no one, he evil incarnate, killing innocent Russians and severely damaging any possible of future progress for Russia. Stalin had broken the Russian nation.

Spiritual Seminary, which trained him to be a priest. While he was there, he s secretly became infatuated with reading the work of Karl Marx, “Communist Manifesto. ” Josef interest steadily increased, and in 1 899 he claimed he was expelled from the Seminary for Mar exist Propaganda. After Stalin left the school, he joined the militant Bolshevik wing of the Marxism t Social Democratic movement, which was led by Vladimir Lenin. Stalin became an UN detergent political revolutionary who took part in strikes, propaganda distribution, bank heists, and ordered assassinations.

He was arrested multiple times and was ultimately ex lied to, and imprisoned in, Siberia. He escaped often times, and was moved up in the rank s of the Bolsheviks. Josef married his first wife, Catering Spavined, in 1906. She died of typhus in 1907, shortly after their son, Yak, was born. Yak died in 1943 as a prisoner of G errand In World War II. Stalin’s second wife, Endeared Alluvial, was a daughter of anon there Russian Revolutionary with whom he had several children. This marriage did not last Eng though, ad Endeared committed suicide a few years later.

In 1 912 Vladimir Lenin, who was exiled in Switzerland, appointed Stalin to seer eve on the first Central Committee of the Bolshevik Party. The Bolsheviks seized Russ IA in 1917 and was made the Soviet Union in 1922. Lenin was the first leader of the Soviets, a ND by this point Stalin became secretary general of the Central Committee of the Communist Party, with which he gained political support. In 1924, Lenin died and Stalin won a power struggle against Nikolas Buchanan, Level Kinsmen, Alexei Rooky, Mikhail Tomboy, Leon Trotsky, a ND Gregory Genevieve.

By the late 1 sass, Stalin was in control of the Communist Party and was the dictator of the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union underwent several longtime plans launched by Stalin to tar misinform it from a overstocking country to an industrial giant. He insisted on a govern interconnected economy and on the government taking control farms. Citizens who refuse d to comply with Josephs orders were brutally murdered or exiled. Millions of people died of FAA mine because of the agriculture control. Stalin ruled by striking terror in citizens and possible opponents.

He set up a s secret police and encouraged citizens to spy on one another in order to eliminate an Y possible uprising or opposition. Millions Of people were forced into labor or killed if Joss pep considered them a threat. Joseph essentially built a cult around himself by renaming cite s in his honor, having textbooks rewritten to promote him, and tying himself into the Soviet’s culture. In 1 939, Joseph Stalin and Doll Hitler signed a nonaggression pact. Stalin the annexed many countries, including Poland, Romania, Estonia, Latvia, Finland and Lithuania.

Stalin was warned by America, Britain, and the KGB about a possible break of the Insensitive pact, but chose to ignore the advice. In 1 941, the Nazis invaded the USSR and approached the capital, Moscow. Stalin ordered any supplies that could be beneficial to the e enemy to be destroyed. In 1 942, the Soviet Army defeated the Germans at the Battle Of SST Leningrad and drove them out of Russia. After this, Stalin took part in conferences with the A Lies. Although Stalin was a loyal ally in WI, he did not abandon the idea of a Com monist empire.

The question of whether or not Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take significantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a friend of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that “Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism” (Trotsky). Stalin’s policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his suppression of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well before they were characteristic of Stalin.

Although some of Stalin’s policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did show from Leninism were either policies which Lenin had called for but never put into action, or logical continuations of Lenin’s original principles, but modified to suit the demands of the time. One of Stalin’s main focuses was on the concept of “socialism in one country” – that is, the focus on the betterment exclusively of his own country rather than on the international communist revolution. “Socialism in one country” began with Lenin.

In 1918 Lenin signed the Treaty of Brest-Livtosk, which pulled Russia out of WW1 and surrendered much of the Ukraine to Austria-Hungarian forces (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). At this time, there was a revolutionary movement in the Ukraine composed of peasants and workers known as the Makhnovist movement. This group needed only the support of Lenin and Russia to launch their own socialist revolution. However, they were not given this support (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). Clearly, Lenin’s focus was on the well-being of Russia rather than the International Communist Movement.

He was focused on Socialism in One Country. Lenin’s actions, compromising his political ideals for the sake of peace, would later be echoed by Stalin when Stalin signed a non-aggression pact with Adolf Hitler on August 23, 1939. In addition to a focus on socialism only within his own country, Stalin also focused on a concentration of governmental control of industry and agriculture. This policy, originated by Lenin under the moniker of state capitalism, was a clearly established goal of Leninism well before Stalin implemented it.

Lenin said that “Socialism isnothing but state capitalist monopoly made to benefit the whole people” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). It is clear that his idea of socialism was one of governmental economic control. Moreover, Lenin fully intended for this plan to be implemented. He said that “If we introduced state capitalism in approximately 6 months’ time we would achieve a great success” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). As the government gained more and more control over the economy, Lenin felt it necessary to defend his actions.

He published an article in April of 1918 in which he stated that “Unquestioning submission to a single will is absolutely necessary for the success of the labor process… the revolution demands, in the interests of socialism, that the masses unquestioningly obey the single will of the leaders of the labor process” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). In addition to demonstrating the Leninist ideal of state capitalism, it also shows that Lenin viewed absolute governmental authority as necessary, a policy that would be further instituted during the totalitarian rule of Stalin.

One aspect of Lenin’s state capitalism was the forced collectivization of agriculture. In article six of his “April Theses,” Lenin called for “Nationalization of all lands in the country, and management of such lands by local Soviets of Agricultural Laborers’ and Peasants’ Deputies” (Russian History 1905-30″). In 1929, when Stalin forced collectivization onto the agricultural workers, he was simply putting Lenin’s concepts into action. Lenin had had the original idea, and had felt it was a necessary action, but he had been unable to put his plan fully into effect.

Stalin was able to take a previously incompletely implemented Leninist policy and put it into action. In their attempts to bring the workers under governmental control, Leninists were willing to take drastic action. In May of 1918, a new decree stated that only one third of industrial management personnel could be elected, the rest being appointed to their positions. In April of 1920, Trotsky stated that “Deserters from labor ought to be formed into punitive battalions or put into concentration camps” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”).

Arguments have been raised which state that Lenin’s New Economic Policy is a demonstration of the fact that Leninism’s goal was not one of total governmental control. However, the New Economic Policy was only instituted by Lenin when it became absolutely necessary for the survival of Russia, and even then it was only intended to be a temporary measure before returning to state capitalism. Despite the temporary nature of the New Economic Policy, it was still viewed by many leading members of the Communist party as being too drastic a departure from Leninist doctrine.

When Stalin abandoned the New Economic Policy, he was not abandoning a part of Leninism. Rather, he was banning a policy that even Lenin himself had not intended to be permanent, and that many people viewed as being a policy contrary to the aims of Leninism (Wood, p. 23-26). Stalin was also characterized by his strong suppression of opposition, which is once again a Leninist trait. A decree of the Sovnarkom on December 20, 1917 called for the creation of a commission “to persecute and break up all acts of counter-revolution and sabotage all over Russia, no matter what their origin” (“Russian History 1905-30”).

The decree further read that “measures [to be taken against these counter-revolutionaries are] confiscation, confinement, deprivation of [food] cards, publication of the names of the enemies of the people, etc” (“Russian History 1905-30”). While these actions were admittedly not as drastic as Stalin’s, they do represent a strong, forceful suppression of opposition. In addition, Stalin was in power after these measures had already proven futile. Given the ineffectiveness of these methods, a logical continuation of these policies would have been to increase the severity of the suppression.

In addition, other actions taken by Leninism were far more drastic. In a Cheka raid in Moscow in April 1918, 26 Anarchist centers were raided, killing or injuring 40 Anarchists and imprisoning over 500 more (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). Another feature common to both Stalin and Lenin was their attempts to eliminate any democratic or representative forms of government. This too was a continuation of a long-standing Leninist policy well before Stalin was in power.

Starting in 1918, in elections for factory committees, an approved list of candidates was created beforehand, and voting was done by a show of hands while a member of the Communist cell read the names and armed Communist guards watched on. Voicing opposition to the proposed candidates would result in wage cuts (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). Lenin’s suppressions were not limited to non-communists. As Stalin would later do, Lenin also worked to eliminate any possible sources of dissention within the Communist party.

In 1918 there was a faction within the party that was critical of the new policy of Taylorism, a system used to measure the outputs of the workers in the country. This faction was centered around the journal Kommunist. At a Leningrad party conference, the majority supported Lenin’s demand “that the adherents of Kommunist cease their separate organizational existence” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). Three years later, the 1921 party congress issued a ban on all factions within the Communist party.

Speaking regarding one of these factions, the Workers Opposition, Trotsky said they had “placed the workers right to elect representatives above the party. As if the party were not entitled to assert its dictatorship even if that dictatorship temporarily clashed with the passing moods of the workers democracy” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). We can see the dark motivations behind Leninism’s banning of factions: to keep the democracy from interfering with the dictatorship. Well before Stalin was using his power to eliminate any who might oppose him, Lenin was carefully and thoroughly removing the opponents to his power.

In the trade union congress of April 1920, Lenin stated that in 1918 he had “pointed out the necessity of recognizing the dictatorial authority of single individuals for the purpose of carrying out the soviet idea” (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). This concept of a single absolute ruler that Lenin felt was so necessary was to become one of the points for which Stalin was later criticized. In setting himself up as an absolute dictator, Stalin was merely following what Lenin had said was necessary. Another aspect of Stalin’s suppression of opposition was his violent suppression of workers revolts and the soviets.

Stalinism crushed revolts in East Berlin in 1953, in Hungary in 1956, and in Czechoslovakia in 1968, as well as many other, smaller revolts (“How Lenin Led to Stalin”). This policy would seem to contradict the Leninist ideal, in which the government was built for the workers, and a revolt of the workers would have been something that occurred only as a step towards a communist society. However, we can find this policy originating from Leninism. The Leninist government itself often showed strong opposition to attempts made by the workers to increase their power.

The first All-Russian Congress of Soviets, held in June of 1917, stated that giving full power to the soviets would have “greatly weakened and threatened the revolution” (“Russian History 1905-30”). In 1921, at the Kronstadt naval base, workers attempted to elect a soviet. They also issued a declaration which called for the reestablishment of the democratic soviets, and an end to censorship of speech and press. These actions were supported by the workers, the sailors, and many members of the Bolshevik party.

However, official Leninist forces stormed the base, killing many of the rebels who were unable to escape. Leninism had demonstrated that it was opposed to a representative government designed with the wants of the workers in mind. All of the defining policies of Stalinism were either policies that had originally being instituted by Leninism, policies called for by Leninism but not put into action until Stalinism, or else Leninist policies modified to fit the needs of the situation. Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism.

Joseph Stalin became the leader of the Soviet Union in 1928 and became Lenin’s successor. Stalin was a dictator but with his leadership he developed Russia from a backward country to a world superpower. Stalin had many triumphs during his leadership and brought both good and bad long lasting effects to Russia. Joseph Stalin’s aims were to make Russia an industrial and military superpower, and this was a time of clarity and strength for his followers. Therefore, he was also responsible for 20 million deaths and was an unfathomable toll that overshadowed many of his other accomplishments.

Stalin may have been Furthermore, Stalin had other frightening aspects of his leadership and none was more frightening than the existence of his brutal, unrestrained secret police terrorism- the Cheka. He used the Cheka to seek out dissenters and to keep the workers on task. Stalin also caused many Russian people to suffer during his time in power; peasants were forced to collectivize farms and forced to give whatever they produced to the state. This was one of Stalin’s ambitions; to implement his Five Year Plans in order to increase the production of agriculture.

This plan meant that every peasant had to collect their machinery and livestock on large farms and were to be controlled by the state. Farmers were given quotas that they had to meet and if they didn’t meet their quotas, they would either get killed or sent to the gulags. This would also mean that the government would take away land from rich farmers and create state-owned farms. Rich people, known as the Kulaks, were very much opposed to the idea of collectivization of farms and if they rebelled against Stalin’s plans, they were seen Communists and sent to the gulags or killed.

Although the state’s industry increased long before the Five Year Plan was completed, many Russian people suffered and this resulted in what is known as purges, this event shows that Stalin may have helped Russia’s economy to increase but the way of life and the way that many people felt towards him was filled with terror and many people suffered. Stalin’s leadership brought many long-term effects to Russia and eventually citizens did benefit by the improved housing, free education, state medical care, and transportation was also improved. Many industrial cities were uilt and people were also starting to move away from sub-urban living and going into the cities to find jobs.

Stalin also emphasized on heavy industries—such as steel mills, coal mines, dam building, power generation, and military equipments. He didn’t focus on the consumer goods but rather on military development and state-collectivization of farms. In conclusion, Stalin did prove to be the right leader of the Soviet Union, if he had only known how to use his leadership, knowledge, and power in the correct way, he would have been able to get Russia out of Depression in the 1930s and more workers would have liked and loved him.

He did do a lot of things that benefitted Russia in many ways, but the execution of his power was not seen as “right” to the Russian people because all the working people saw was their grain being exported to other countries, Stalin’s frightening purges, and his obsession with power. Nevertheless, Stalin proved to be a ruthless but yet triumphant leader in his rise to power and most of his successes are still seen in Russia today.

Nando Gehring Mr. Woodruff 3 13 February, 2013 Totalitarian Essay In a democracy, people are free to do what they please and cannot be punished, persecuted, or terrorized for expressing their beliefs by the government. That is why democracy is a better form of government than Fascism, Nazism, and Communism. People all over the world are terrorized for what they look like or what they believe in and this is even enforced by some forms of government in the world. Under the U. S democracy, every person has the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness which encourages citizens to favor the government and most importantly trust it.

Democracy is a better form of government than any form of totalitarianism because with less chance of conflict in a country where the leaders are loved rather than feared, the government has more time to focus on important issues such as industrialization, foreign policies, and imperialization. By analyzing the totalitarian leaders of this time like Stalin, Hitler, and Mussolini we can better understand why democracy is such an effective form of government. Ruling with an iron fist, Joseph Stalin took control of Russia in 1922 after Vladimir Lenin had a stroke and Leon Trotsky had been exiled.

He was a totalitarian leader who wanted to create a purely communist world with no social classes. He created the five years plan, which set goals for the future of the Soviets economy. He used collective farming, command economy, and the great purge in order to industrialize Russia. The great purge was a movement by Stalin to eliminate or exile anyone who threatened his power of the communist party and anyone who disagreed with his beliefs or policies. Similar in his ideals, Adolf Hitler, The dictator of Germany was also a leader that achieved total control of his country.

Hitler was a very harsh religious persecutor who started the holocaust in which approximately 6 million Jewish people were killed by guns, gas, scientific experiments, and torture. Hitler also believed in racial superiority and that the Aryan race was the only pure race and the only one that should exist. The Germans also needed “lebensraum”, which means living space. They needed to gain land in Europe so that the population had enough room to live and so that they could expand the Aryan race.

Another totalitarian dictator, Benito Mussolini, leader of Italy from 1922 to 1943, was a key figure in the creation of fascism. Just like Hitler, he was very racist and controlled his people with terror and censorship. While being an extreme nationalist he ruled over Italy with the strength of his military and his secret police, just like Stalin. Similar to Russia, Italy was also dealing with economic hardships. It is a downfall when the dictator is solely in charge of every economic decision of country.

All three of these leaders ruled by being feared not loved, which ended up being bad for them because it caused resentment among the people and they wanted a new and better form of government. Therefore democracy is a better form of government because the people have a say in the government and the choices the leaders of their country makes. They will not be forced to go to war or give up all their money for the good of the country. If people have an opportunity to make a change in their government by voting, they will be able to decide which direction the country needs to go.