Effects of Communism on Russia
The twentieth century witnessed a great clash of social ideologies. While western countries remained with capitalism, a wave of new ideas sprouted in the east: Communism. Following a power struggle in the Soviet Union after Lenin’s death, the notorious Stalin took power. Gaining his power through force and fear, Stalin alone forever influenced the Soviet Union with his ideals, forming it to what we saw during the cold war, and what we see in current day Russia. Stalin’s power stems from his autocratic power and strict policies. And from these policies, Stalin damaged the Soviet Union forever. Communism has forever damaged Russia, as millions of innocents died under its rule, with millions repressed, and its political environment in shambles. Most prominent, the policies placed under the Soviet Union led to the deaths of millions of innocents. Most deaths were caused by either artificial famines, or executions. To remove any potential opposition to the Communist Party,” four hundred thousand members were expelled from the Communist Party [in 1993]. By 1936 and 1937, the purge of the Communist Party was associated with widespread executions” (Stock). Along with the executions of party officials, many peasants living in rural areas were also condemned. In its attempt to control the masses, “Millions of kulaks were shot or sent to labor camps. In the Ukraine, South Russia, and Kazakhstan” (“Joseph Stalin”). Further, the government’s complete
This is because Stalin’s rule was oppressive and led to millions of deaths for soviet citizens, and much of it through his own cruel methods. One of the first things he did was to put his communist ideas into place. He developed the collectivization policy which took small peasant farms to form large collective farms. (Document 3) In doing this, Stalin brought all of the farms under the operation of the state, upsetting the kulaks who were the wealth farmers.
The best way to answer any question is to be clear about what is being asked and to look only for the facts of that question. We are not being asked whether Joseph Stalin was a good person. The question is, what are the accomplishments of Joseph Stalin that improved his country and made it great? From this point, we can clearly identify what he did, as seen in the articles. Was Stalin beneficial to the USSR?
Although Russia won, many Russian civilians and soldiers died (“Joseph Stalin – Powerful Communist Ruler”). After World War 2, Stalin continued to dictate. Various examples of this were the initiation of purges, executions and exiles to labour camps to rid him of any opposition or other influences (“Joseph
Stalin didn’t just use the secret police to crush the hopes and dreams of his people. He also banned religion. This was done because he believed in science and he didn’t want people to focus on life without communism. (Document Four) Stalin’s political actions can be seen as completely tyrannical but he did impact society as
The denial of human rights in Ukraine and Cambodia has had huge impacts on regional and international communities. Ukraine was very independent, and Stalin wanted to remove the threat that the Ukrainians were becoming. In Cambodia, Pol Pot attempted to create a utopian Communist agrarian society. When Stalin came into power after Lenin’s death in 1924, the government was struggling to control and unwieldy empire.
The author says that perhaps many citizens may be drawn to Communist ideology if the social injustices become more prevalent, and urges the readers to look into the problems of Communist civilizations. This article is an example of how many felt during the Red Scare and Cold War in regards to communism. It shows that people felt a collapse
Rachel Carson was a courageous woman who in the early 1960s called attention to the harms of indiscriminate pesticide use. In Silent Spring, a beautiful book about a dreadful topic, she explained how pesticides were accumulating in the food chain, damaging the natural environment, and threatening even the symbol of American freedom, the bald eagle. In spite of industry attempts to paint her as a hysterical female, her work was affirmed by the President’s Science Advisory Committee and in 1972 the EPA concluded that the scientific evidence was sufficient to warrant the banning of the pesticide DDT in America. In 2007, the Internet was flooded with the assertion that Carson was a mass murderer, worse than Hitler because Silent Spring led to the banning of DDT, without which millions of Africans died of malaria.
Not that they harmed anyone, but they opposed with what the laws the government had. We do not normally face that issue due to freedom of speech, but back in 1940’s and 1950’s people did not have the same advantage of that freedom. This caused a widespread scare of the Communist Party and serious loss in
Although World War I was to soon come to an end, a wave of fear of radicals and communists emerged throughout the United States in 1917. The hysteria lingered as Russia was taken over by a communist group in 1917 known as the Bolsheviks. From the moment this Russian Revolution occurred, there was a widespread fear of possible communist uprisings in the United States. Communism is a political system that pairs a socialist or command economy with a totalitarian government. Within a communist system, there is no private ownership of businesses or property.
Post WWl, Russia was still not industrialized, suffering economically and politically and in no doubt in need of a leader after Lenin’s death. “His successor, Joseph Stalin, a ruthless dictator, seized power and turned Russia into a totalitarian state where the government controls all aspects of private and public life.” Stalin showed these traits by using methods of enforcement, state control of individuals and state control of society. The journey of Stalin begins now.
Imagine living in a society brainwashed by propaganda, where you only can think what you are told. From 1929-1953, citizens of the Soviet Union had to endure this under the rule of Joseph Stalin. Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union in 1929 right after the death of Vladimir Lenin, the first leader of the Soviet Union. From the moment he came into power, Stalin started instilling fear in the population, and those he viewed as a threat were sent to his gulags or labor camps.
Andre Abi Haidar PSPA 210 INTRODUCTION It is always difficult to write about and discuss Karl Marx, or more importantly the applications of Marx’s theories, due to the fact that he inspired and gave rise to many movements and revolutionaries, not all of which follow his theories to the point. Although Marx tends to be equated with Communism, it might not seem righteous to blame him for whatever shortcomings occurred when his theories were put to the test; Marx passed away well before the revolution in Russia, and he played no role in the emergence of the totalitarian regime at the time. When discussing Marx, however, Vladimir Lenin is one of the biggest highlights when it comes to studying the outcomes of Marx’s theories.
Through the folds of history, the phrase “the end justifies the means” has appeared often in an attempt for leaders to degrade their terrible acts and exaggerate their achievements that resulted. In the late 1800s, during the repressive and absolute rule of Stalin, many Russian citizens argued however, that Stalin did not justify his end with his means. The death of tens of thousands of Russian citizens from both execution and starvation, which were a direct result from his goals of a perfect communist utopian society, is not an act that can be ignored when considering his ultimately ‘good’ goals of pulling Russia out of poverty and stagnant economic and political growth. Joseph Stalin was able to greatly boost the Soviet Unions economy by instituting the 5-year plans with a resulting goal of rapid industrialization, and by instituting collectivization. Joseph Stalin ruled with an iron fist.
Most of the population disagreed with both of the policies, however, the benefits and the positive effects outweighed for many. War Communism had a significant impact on the peasantry and the proletariat, it was extremely unpopular and not successful enough to continue. It has been suggested that War Communism was an attempt by the Bolsheviks to go straight to socialism, it is more likely that it was a reaction to wartime conditions, justified by ideological position. The effect of War Communism on the proletariat was immense, Lenin nationalised businesses to place the economy on a war footing. All industries came under direct control of the state, managers were forced to stay in their positions and private trades were banned.
His rule lead to a huge massacre of many citizens and and a constant fear for the people, which is never the right way to rule. This has brought me to completely go against Stalin’s methods of keeping control over the USSR. A method Stalin used