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Stalin's Social Changes

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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 …show more content…

Industrialisation was brought in through Stalin’s Five Year Plans. The aim of these Five Year Plans was to rapidly change the Soviet Union’s economic output to be caught up with the other large economies such as the USA. Stalin stated at a conference of the Union in February 1931 that Russia was ‘fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries’. He claimed that it was necessary to catch up immediately if they were not to be crushed. 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. This, along with the use of piece rate as a means of salary shows how important production was going to be in the industrialisation of the Soviet …show more content…

The military-industrial complex along with the mass recruitment drive for the Red Army changed the Soviet military. This was one of the most important changes the Soviet Union went through under Stalin. Ultimately, it was this change that made the Soviet Union into a military superpower. The Soviet Union’s position as a world power contributed to the defeat of Nazi Germany. After all, it was them alone that fought the Nazis on the Eastern Front. Their growth into a military superpower is ultimately what built them into a great enough power to compete with the United States during the Cold

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