To answer this question, one must crucially set out what Lenin’s legacy was, before analysing whether Stalin did or did not betray it. The sources seem to disagree on what this legacy was – Source 5 claims that “For Lenin, the state, the dictatorship […] the terror, were only the means. The aim was socialism”,…
According to Marxist theory, only through a modern industrialised economy could a true proletariat class be developed. Marx makes no mention of a peasant class, a distinction that struck a chord in Stalin – and even his predecessor Lenin – in his attempt to transition into a Communist State. Therefore, he was convinced that a…
The Great Terror that began with Kirov’s death had many far-reaching results. One of the main results was that Stalin’s political dominance was reinforced a thousand fold, but there were other consequences of the purges, both social and economic. These consequences changed the lives of ordinary Russian people to a huge extent – food shortages…
“We are 100 years behind the advanced countries. We must make good this lag in ten years. Either we do it, or they crush us!” Josef Stalin, speech to the Fourth Plenum of Industrial Managers, Feb. 4, 1931. Lenin had decided abandon the socialization of agriculture and the communization of property under the NEP of…
On June 28th, 1948 the Cominform, the principle symbol of Stalin’s control over Eastern Europe, issued a resolution that formally expelled Yugoslavia from the assembly, citing that Yugoslavia’s ruler, Josep Broz-Tito, had deviated from the correct communist line of governance. Stalin contended that Tito was guilty of flouting the “unified communist front against imperialism”[1] and…
The Russian Revolution killed 10 million people (Stalin later over 20 years killed 20 million more) Vladimir Lenin brought the idea of Communism to Russia. Originally Communism was designed to be a revolution of the industrial working class (factory workers) overthrowing their political and financial superiors. A utopia would be created where people share the…
The February and October revolutions William Chamberlain describes the Feb. revolution as “the most leaderless, spontaneous, anonymous revolutions of all time”. That is true because there were no dominating figures such as Lenin present at the revolution. Others such as David Longley says that people “simply rose to the occasion” On Feb. 23 a demonstration…
In 1929, Joseph Stalin, the Communist leader, started a revolution that would transform the Soviet Union’s economy. A major aspect of the Stalin revolution consisted of the forced collectivization of agriculture. From 1929-1933, the collectivization drive met resistance, resulting in the liquidation of an estimated five million successful peasants called Kulaks.[1] In 1978, Lev Kopelev…
As World War II drew to a close the political geographic makeup of Europe began to shift drastically. After Germany had invaded Russia in 1941 as part of Operation Barbarossa, the tide of the war began to shift. After the German invasion was halted, the USSR began to push the enemy back, and in 1945…