How Did Joseph Stalin Fall To Power

There are three competing theories of the causes of the Cold War; the traditional theory, the liberal theory, and the ideological theory. In all three theories lie causes that could have equally contributed to the conflict, but only one is more convincing than the others.

From 1928, when the plan started, to 1932 to its end, many factories, dams, power stations and even cities were being built. Despite there being harsh penalties implemented to workers for failure to meet their targets, there was still a significant increase in Russia’s industrial growth in a very short period of time. Just like the emancipation of the serfs in 1861, under Tsar Alexander II, in protest of Stalin’s policies, the peasants, in protest, refused to work harder than they needed too, causing them to destroy livestock and crops, which eventually lead to their unnecessary death. Stalin, just like the Tsarist autocratic regime, was not committed to collectivism but preferred capitalism in his ruling of the Soviet Union. This caused a lot of rebellion from the Kulaks who opposed collectivism.

In a repressive regime, many people cannot conclude whether it was the fault of the people or the fault of the ruler. Without taking the people into consideration, new rulers come into the government, knowing how they want things to go, regardless of how the people feel. Stalin used his power, and fear to be sure that they were going to do what he wanted. Although while Stalin was getting power, the people were not aware of what was going on. The people were at fault because they sat back and watched the events unfold.

The denial of human rights in Ukraine and Cambodia has had huge impacts on regional and international communities. Ukraine was very independent, and Stalin wanted to remove the threat that the Ukrainians were becoming. In Cambodia, Pol Pot attempted to create a utopian Communist agrarian society.

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.

Over history, many nations have had political leaders that have impacted the world. A Political leader is a leader who is heavily affiliated with their political party in pushing their ideologies and policies. They will change the course of history with their policies and influence their society. Many political leaders use methods such as force, promises, and deception to gain power. Two examples of political leaders who attained power and made a huge impact in their societies are Joseph Stalin and Adolf Hitler.

Joseph Stalin became dictator of the Soviet Union in 1928 (“Joseph Stalin – Powerful Communist Ruler”) after the death of Russia’s former ruler Vladimir Lenin (“Joseph Stalin”).

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

During the 1930s the Soviet Union went through several changes economically and socially. Some historians see what happened in the Soviet Union at this time as a Second Revolution. However, this is an understatement as the Soviet Union actually went through more than one revolution at this time. This period saw rapid political, social, industrial and agricultural change that shaped the future of the Soviet Union and arguably the 20th century as a whole. All four of these changes worked together to form a rapid socioeconomic revolution. Moreover, a revolution from the government against its people made this socioeconomic revolution possible. This revolution was implemented through the use of terror. Historian Robert C. Tucker saw this as a revolution

Who is Joseph Stalin? Is Joseph Stalin important? What did Joseph Stalin do? Joseph Stalin was the ruler of the Soviet Union and helped defeat Nazism. Joseph was born on December 18, 1879 in Gori.On December 18, 1879, in the Russian peasant village of Gori, Georgia, Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, later known as Joseph Stalin, was born. The son of Besarion Jughashvili, a cobbler, and Ketevan Geladze, a washerwoman, Joseph was a frail child. At age 7, he contracted smallpox, leaving his face scarred. A few years later he was injured in a carriage accident which left arm slightly deformed, some accounts state his arm trouble was a result of blood poisoning from the injury.

Hitler’s plan was to invade the Russian territory before the winter sets in. The commander in chief thought “that the Red Army could be defeated in two or three months” time, and by the end of October, they would have conquered the European regions of Russia (Royde-Smith). They never thought that the war would last for another three years and did not prepare for the winter that had yet to come. The ‘German planners had failed to equip their troops for winter warfare … sufficient food and medicines… [and] outran their supply lines” (Invasion of Soviet Union). By December of 1941, the Red Army had recovered a bit from the millions that was lost on the first few days of war. The Russians were trained to fight in the cold; however the Germans were not as fortunate. Approximately “100,000 cases [of frostbites] were reported by end of 1941, resulting in the amputation of nearly 15,000 limbs” for the Germans (Andrews). The harsh weather did not only cause problems to the German soldiers but also to their weapons. “Tanks and jeeps refused to start, and guns and artillery often froze and failed to fire” (Andrews). This gave the Red Army an advantage, because they were prepared to fight in the winter. The Soviet Union’s army was trained to fight through the “General Winter”, a name to describe the Russia’s coldness. Stalin also issued an order in which every soldier in the Red Army have to fight till the end. There were “special units who were positioned behind their own lines and charged with shooting any soldier who tried to flee” (Andrews). Any soldier who tried to leave was called a traitor and will be executed if they ever returned to Russia. Hitler thought the Russians were weak based off of the attempt of the invasion of Finland. Joseph Stalin, however, was a cruel dictator. On December 6th, 1941, the Russians set a major counterattack on the Germans, forcing them to move back from

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

Through the folds of history, the phrase “the end justifies the means” has appeared often in an attempt for leaders to degrade their terrible acts and exaggerate their achievements that resulted. In the late 1800s, during the repressive and absolute rule of Stalin, many Russian citizens argued however, that Stalin did not justify his end with his means. The death of tens of thousands of Russian citizens from both execution and starvation, which were a direct result from his goals of a perfect communist utopian society, is not an act that can be ignored when considering his ultimately ‘good’ goals of pulling Russia out of poverty and stagnant economic and political growth. Joseph Stalin was able to greatly boost the Soviet Unions economy by instituting the 5-year plans with a resulting goal of rapid industrialization, and by instituting collectivization.

Joseph Stalin is perhaps one of the most important and discussed people in Russian history. He was arguably a feared tyrant cursed and despised by many. At the same time, one finds sufficient evidence for the adoration and worship of Stalin that used to exist in the minds of the citizens of the Soviet Union. One reason for this worship was the existence of the so called ‘Cult of Personality’ where Stalin was celebrated as a wise leader, father of all people, and the architect of victory of the Second World War. In his book, The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power, Jan Plamper states that Stalin’s cult of personality was largely a visual phenomenon. This statement formed the basis of this essay, which seeks to explore “To

1. How could the Russian Revolution have been avoided? What factors could have been changed that might have stemmed the call for revolution? Or, was the Russian Revolution inevitable? Why?