emergence of josef stalin · stalin rises in leadership •when he learned that the tsar abdicated,...
TRANSCRIPT
Emergence of Josef Stalin
By Mr. Baker
Upbringing
• Stalin was born the son of a poor shoe
repairer and a washer-woman
• He learned Russian while attending a
church school and attended Tiflis
Theological Seminary to become a priest
• It was there when he first read Karl Marx
• He was expelled for revolutionary activity
Stalin Rises In Leadership
• Between 1901 and 1913, he was arrested,
imprisoned, and exiled 7 times!
• His revolutionary activity caught the
attention of Lenin, who named him to the
board of Pravda, the party newspaper
• Within two weeks he was given a seat on
the Executive Committee of the Soviet, but
was exiled to Siberia until 1917
Stalin Rises In Leadership
• When he learned that the Tsar abdicated,
Stalin returned in March 1917
• He briefly led the Bolsheviks in July 1917,
when Lenin’s failed uprising caused him to
go into hiding
• Stalin played little part in the October
Revolution that placed the Bolsheviks in
power
Stalin Rises In Leadership
• During the civil war, Stalin was sent to
Tsaritsyn (the future Stalingrad) as
Director General of food supplies
• Stalin also reorganized branches of the
Cheka and suppressed many plots by
simply arresting the accused and having
them executed
Stalin Rises In Leadership
• In 1922, he came General Secretary of the
Central Committee. He was also member
of the Politburo and of many other
committees
• The same year, Lenin suffered a series of
strokes which left him nearly incapacitated
Lenin’s Potential Successors
• Leon Trotsky
– Trotsky was an intellectual and formerly a
member of the Mensheviks (he recently had
joined the Bolsheviks)
– He had led the Red Army and was probably
the most able successor, but he was very
arrogant and did not have political allies
– He was prepared to criticize the party for the
growth of bureaucraticatization
Lenin’s Potential Successors
• Kamenev and Zinoviev
– These candidates lost credibility by allying
themselves with Trotsky
Lenin’s Potential Successors
• Bukharin
– Was the editor of Pravda and Secretary of the
Comintern
– He supported Lenin’s NEP
– He was not a viable candidate to succeed
Lenin because his belief system was not
sufficiently Marxist
Lenin’s Potential Successors
• Josef Stalin
– Was underestimated and was careful never to criticize
the party
– As General Secretary of the Cabinet, Stalin controlled
promotions and ranks in the Soviet Union. He filled
the party with those who were personally loyal to him
– He used the image of Lenin and the “Cult of Lenin” to
present himself as the rightful heir. Stalin presented
himself as the only true Leninist
– The Cheka was used to find information which could
be used to discredit his opponents
Lenin’s Death
• Lenin learned of Stalin’s actions and
began preparing letters and speeches in
order “to crush Stalin politically”
• However, on March 7, 1923, he suffered
his last stroke and lost the power of
speech
• He died on January 21, 1924
Stalin Rises to Power
• Stalin did not allow Trotsky to attend his
funeral, which discredited Trotsky
• Stalin discredited Lenin’s warnings to
others of himself because Lenin was “a
sick man surrounded by womenfolk” at the
time of his death
• Stalin ruthlessly discredited or shot his
comrades
Rapid Industrialization
• Stalin wanted rapid industrialization to:
– Free Russia from dependence on capitalist states for goods
– Put all national resources under government control, including workers
– Make Russia economically strong so that she would be able to produce more powerful weapons
– Prove that the socialist system was more successful than capitalism
Rapid Industrialization
• Was rapid in the cities due to coercion and
strict enforcement of worker discipline
• Stalin encouraged enthusiasm and that
people were part of something new and
good
• Educational programs would replace the
bourgeoisie intellectuals with a new Soviet
educated class
Five Year Plans
• Were plans to industrialize Russia with
emphasis on heavy industries such as coal, iron,
oil, steel, and electricity
• Capitalist models were used for nearly every
project
• Targets were set which industries had to meet
• Exaggerated figures were often submitted to
demonstrate that a particular factory had
exceeded expectations
Gosplan
• This was a group responsible for administering the Five Year Plans
• They decided:
– The amount of every article the country should produce
– How much of the national effort should go into the formation of capital and how much for consumption
– The wages all classes of workers should receive
– The price of all goods exchanged
First Five Year Plan (1928-1932)
• Aimed to create an industrial base for further
development through the rapid expansion of
coal and steel production, electrical power, and
transport
• It called for a 20% increase per year, but it was
not realistic since peasants had little skill and
central planners were inexperienced
• It met with some success as a result of
enthusiastic workers puffed up by propaganda
Second Five Year Plan (1933-
1937)
• The aim was diversification
• The focus shifted to communication systems such as railways and new industries such as the chemical industry
• The skilled workforce meant excellent growth in certain areas such as engineering and metal working
• The rise to power of Hitler demanded that more and more resources be allocated to weapon production
Third Five Year Plan (1938-1941)
• The aim was weapons production
• Its goal for growth was 12%
• It was not successful because:
– There were labor shortages due to the purges
and famines caused by collectivization
– Stalin’s purges led to disorganization in the
party
Assessment of the Five Year Plans
• Russia was transformed into a major industrial power second only to the U.S.
• The Five Year Plans allowed the USSR to resist the German invasion
• Living standards declined at first, then improved slowly
• Russians suffered a lack of consumer goods and daily necessities
• Communist principles were compromised – good workers were rewarded with higher pay and competition between factories was encouraged
Collectivization of Agriculture
• Industrial development could not occur
without sufficient food production
• Collectivization was pursued as a means
of giving the government the food supply
needed to support industrial areas
Collectivization of Agriculture
• Peasants were forced to work on collective farms
• All their belongings were confiscated and those peasants who resisted were killed or faced starvation
• The main goal of the revolution from the peasants’ point of view was land ownership
• The kulaks resisted strongly by smashing farm tools, burning farm buildings, slaughtering livestock, and setting crops on fire
Collectivization of Agriculture
• In 1932, a crop failure came which resulted in a
famine that killed 5 million
• By 1939, 95% of Russian farms had been
collectivized, but some concessions were made
to peasants:
– Were allowed too keep small plots for their own use
– Were able to keep their own cattle
– Were able to sell their extra crops on the open
market for profit
Collectivization of Agriculture
• Results:
– The workers were guaranteed a supply of cheap
food
– The produce of collectives was sold in overseas
markets for big profit – the money could be used in
industries
– The government gained greater control over the
production and allocation of food, which helped
during German’s invasion
– Kulaks were virtually eliminated
– Had an enormous human cost