Joseph Stalin Dbq

Process of Findings
The first part of this report will discuss the evidence pertaining to the “genuinely concerned, pragmatic” side to Joseph Stalin’s leadership. Stalin was a leader who was honoured and praised by many of his people in the USSR for various reasons. He was portrayed on propaganda posters as a kind, caring and genuinely concerned leader particularly towards children who were the future of the USSR (Source A). By Stalin being portrayed as a leader who shows genuine concern and care for the children of his country, it propagates the message that children and the entire population of the USSR will have an “enlightened future” under his leadership13 (Source A), and would in turn help Stalin gain more support for himself. Not only

The Five-Year Plans were a series of goals which each took five years to complete, that were aimed at quickly improving the economy and industrialisation of the USSR so that it could compete with Western Capitalist countries. According to Stalin in a speech on 7 January 1933, the first Five Year Plan was a great success in terms of its outputs, and furthermore because the working class was able to complete the first Plan ahead of schedule in only four years16(Source B).The Plan was successful in creating an iron and steel industry, a tractor industry, a machine-tool industry, a chemical industry, an agricultural machinery industry and an aircraft industry16(Source B). In addition, the USSR now ranked among the first for electricity, oil products and coal outputs in the world16(Source B).In another speech delivered by Stalin in April 1928, Stalin discusses the modernisation of agriculture and puts forward his idea of Collectivization to increase agricultural outputs for the USSR17(Source C). Stalin knew that agricultural production and development was very slow, and was thus negatively affecting the country’s economy17(Source C). Stalin blamed this slow development on the fact that the USSR still had an “insecure” and “primitive” system of economy because of

Stalin’s mental health was a leading factor in his development of paranoia. Dr Alexander Mysanikov was a Russian doctor who treated Stalin during Stalin’s final years up until his death on 5 March 195318 (Source H). Mysanikov kept a secret diary during the time that he treated Stalin, and in one of the entries he wrote that during Stalin’s autopsy it was discovered that he suffered from atherosclerosis in his brain18 (Source H). Mysanikov as a medical professional believed that this disease could have, to an extent, not only affected Stalin’s health, but also his actions and character, and could have resulted in him suffering from paranoia18 (Source H). Everything around Stalin could have been over exaggerated, and could have led to Stalin feeling threatened by absolutely everyone and everything around him. Mysanikov even went so far as to call Stalin “cruel”, “suspicious” and “a sick man” in his diary entry (Source H). A Soviet psychologist also labelled Stalin as a “paranoiac” in 1927 (Source J).The death of Stalin’s wife in 1935 could have been another reason for the worsening of his condition (Source