Fuhs 3 A Typical To do list for Joseph Stalin: Command people, forge new government, find new friends, and

change a whole nations industry. This recaps what Stalin did in his time of dictatorial power over Soviet Russia. He accomplished feats such as the forging of the communism style government or the transformation of Russias main industry. Others were perks of the job that applied exclusively for Stalin. Joseph Stalin influenced the 1930s by being the ruthless dictator of the Soviet Union, and industrialization of the Soviet Union at an impeccable rate. Joseph Stalin was born on December 6, 1878 in Gori, Georgia. His given name is Joseph Vissarionovich Dzhugasvili, (Haugen, 15), but took the name of Stalin or man of steel (Stalin,

Joseph (1879-1953) par.2). He had a tough childhood because he was in poverty and was abused by his
alcoholic father Vissarion; this lead to him not having much of a social life. One source states, little is known [about Stalin] beyond the fact that he seemed to have always been a lonely man (Joseph Stalin

par.13). He began to feel inferior because of the mal treatment by his father which then led to him
having a thirst for power and to be in control, he had Soviet histories re written to make his role in past events feel greater than it really was (Stalin, Joseph par. 6). The way Stalin grew up influenced how he took his role as dictator in the future. The great dictator came into power after the October Revolution of 1917. To become leader he did not necessarily play fairly; because he bent the rules and stretched the truth in his favor to guarantee his position. The main leader of the revolution, Vladimir Lenin, had become ill and Stalin saw the possibilities, Moshe Lewin considers Lenins ill health to have been crucial to Stalins readiness to challenge him (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 103). With Lenin partially incapacitated, Stalin made use of his opportunity to turn the tide of him becoming leader in his favor. Stalin had a wish for power, yet Lenin wished for him not to be in power; Lenin had realized that Stalin was too powerful and should be

Fuhs 4 removed from his post as general secretary (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 104). Lenin does not trust Stalin with a lot of power and would prefer Trotsky, the other candidate for leader, but Stalin finds a way to remove that option. Lenin died and the funeral was scheduled, though Stalin had an idea, Stalin gave the oration at Lenins funeral but also gave Trotsky the wrong date for the ceremony so that he missed the funeral all together (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 104). This put Trotsky on bad terms with the public and essentially ruined his chances as leader, and giving Stalin a yellow brick road to follow and become the leader of the new Russia. The tactics Stalin used ensured the success of his wish to become the leader and thus began his career as the dictator. Despite his dishonest tactics, Stalin made some improvements to the overall Russia, and began the start of many methods for industrialization for the common Communist. Stalin started the use of large state-run farms, In 1929, Kolkhoz or collective farms were established to replace the individual farms owned by peasants, (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 107). This was a way to give Stalin control of the food supply and the ability to manage that part of the countrys industry. The positives to that approach were, agriculture would pay tribute to industry and cheap food could feed the cities and also be exported to finance the machinery ahead, (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 110). This use of farming allowed for communist style government with equal distribution of resources to everyone applicable. Another good idea he executed was the industrialization of Russia through his three five-year plans. The first began in 1927; Stalin set out to create a proletariat by moving large numbers of peasants from the countryside to the cities (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 113). This set up the basis for the next plans by arranging the work forces he planned to use in order for his plans to succeed. The second and third plans took place from 1922-1941, the focus in these two five year plans shifted to the production of heavy industrial goods (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 114). Giving rise to the movement of the industrial

Fuhs 5 revolution and manufactured goods taking over the market. Other countries used similar methods however; they did not use labor camps or cruel methods like Stalin. Stalin created some methods for industrialization that sparked the industrial revolution world-wide. Being the dictator, Stalin made decisions to retain his power. This included genocide of those that opposed him, hard labor for all, and limitations of citizens abilities. To begin the horrors, he led purges of killings of those that opposed him and or didnt have views that agreed with him. This included the people that formally worked with him in the 1930s he began a series of purges that led to the arrest and execution of his former opponents and even his own lieutenants, (Stalin, Joseph par.4). Their combined authority had the slight ability to overthrow him and Stalin took that as a risk. If he caught the slightest hint of rebellion, you paid the price. He also was a big user of hard labor in work camps. This is what founded his mindset on the use of people, Stalin used his citizens as renewable resources; if one dies there would always be another to replace him or her, (Haugen 11). He saw humans only as a means to achieve his goal, the industrialization of Russia. This labor was based in the work camps known as Gulags, these were labour camps where the kulaks [peasants] were sent and also hundreds of thousands of political prisoners were sent during the purges, (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 111). This was a way of speeding up production, yet they werent the most ideal for the victims. This labor was intense, brutal, and efficient which is why Stalin enjoyed it the most. He also had methods to keep you from denying hard labor which were known as internal passports. This allowed one to navigate the country legally, to prevent workers from leaving jobs they found too demanding and looking for work elsewhere; introduce internal passports that prevented workers from changing jobs, (Mimmack, Eunice, Daniela 114). This guaranteed that the people were working to industrialize as quickly as possible no matter the cause. Overall, he had little respect for the value of human life other

Fuhs 6 than the work the provided, so he decided that that would not bother him, if one person dies that is a tragedy, he said; If a million people die that is a statistic,(Ingram 64). He decided that he had not worry about the death in the present, but the progress in the future. Stalins tactics were horrific, but they contributed significantly to Russias rise to become a superpower. The 1930s were impacted greatly by the feats that Joseph Stalin accomplished as the communist, industrial revolutionist dictator of the Soviet Union. What he did completely changed the economic style of Russia to a communist get the job done as opposed to their previous agricultural monarchy. What he did in the 1930s eventually spread to other nations and the world of industrialization had begun. Being one of the biggest industrial and military powers of the world as well as being the leaders in the world of communism Joseph Stalin completely transformed the country of Russia. Formed a new government, and changed an economy while being a tyrannical dictator of 12 years. What did you do?