Russia - Stalin
Russia Coursework a) Explain Trotsky's contribution to the success of the Bolsheviks up to 1922 The Bolsheviks were the majority party for the communists. After the Bolsheviks overthrew the government in October 1917, they managed to hold on to power by winning the civil war; which was started because other parties demanded a share in government; however the Bolshevik leaders wanted to govern alone. Leon Trotsky was a War Commissar and organized the Red Army using ex-Tsarist officers to train and lead soldiers. He took officers' families hostage to ensure loyalty, and assigned a political commissar to each unit to help secure the loyalty of the officers. Trotsky kept up morale, however he was very ruthless in his discipline and he often used the death penalty; however this contributed to the excellent performance of the Red Army. Trotsky was a superb organiser and a great orator, her was popular with the youth and committed communists and had strong military support. He was a very intelligent man and used his knowledge to organise the Red Army. In doing this, the Civil War was won, because of Trotsky's tactical ability, the army was strong enough to defeat the Whites and therefore stay in power. Had it not been for the discipline within the army, using ex-Tsarist officers, the war could have easily been lost due to poor defence. Though there were other factors that helped
Stalin and Russia - Sources Question
Stalin and Russia - Sources Question . To answer this question we have to look at all the sources and interpret what they are trying to tell us about Stalin himself. There are positive sources and also negative sources. I will now try to explain the impression each source gives of me. If we take source A it states at the bottom that it was published in the 1930's in Paris. It illustrates three pyramids of skulls and vultures flying above them. The skulls are most likely the victims of his purges and policies. He seems to be pointing at the skulls as if he is proud of them, as some sort of achievement. The vultures flying over these pyramids seem to be there to indicate death that is what this cartoon seems to be trying to project about Stalin. It is trying to condemn the Russian leader for his ruthless and murderous policies and criticise the way in which he keeps control of his country solely by the use of fear. The source seems to be putting forward a sarcastic tourism theme. It uses the pyramids of Egypt to carry this out. The French writing in the illustration translates to, "Visit the Pyramids of Russia". Overall this source seems to give a fairly negative impression of Stalin, but we have to recognise that it was published by an outsider, a French cartoonist such a person was not under any of Stalin's mind control, if you would like to call it that. A non- Russian
Russia - Trotsky and Stalin.
9.2.5 Russia. A I think that without Trotsky's contribution to the revolution it wouldn't of been a success I think this because Trotsky was put in charge of organising the revolution by Lenin and this might show that Lenin believed that Trotsky could do great things and this also means Lenin must of trust Trotsky as he picked him very carefully. I also think as this was a vital job Lenin must of thought that Trotsky was the best man for the job. Trotsky also had organised the Bolsheviks in Petrograd. He did this because it was the capital city and it was very important to take control of the strongest part first this showed Lenin that Trotsky was very clever. Before the revolution Trotsky trained Bolshevik agents to go into factories in Petrograd, Trotsky did this because he wanted to spread hatred against the provisional government and to tell them how to prepare for a revolution if it ever happened. He did this in factories because it was easy to spread hatred to people who were fed up and tired of slaving away and want an equal country. His proposals inspired many ordinary people across the country and people started supporting him he made more and more public speeches to his supporters. After Trotsky had gained supporters and respect he helped to build up the red guard units he did this as he knew that the revolution was to take place he even had a date set and he
Stalin and Russia, 1929-41.
Stalin and Russia, 1929-41. Background - The New Economic Policy (NEP) 1921-28. . Communists take their ideas from the writings of Karl Marx (1818-83) see page 4 of Nichol & Shephard. Marx argued that private ownership led to exploitation. Instead, Marx wanted all shops, businesses and farms to be owned by the community and the profits spent on schools, hospitals and roads. This was also the view of Lenin and the Bolsheviks in Russia. 2. However, the Civil War (1918-21) brought starvation and disease in Russia. In 1921, Trotsky had to put down a serious mutiny at the Kronstadt Naval Base where the sailors were angry at the cruel treatment of workers and peasants under War Communism. 3. Lenin introduced the NEP (New Economic Policy) so that Russia could have a breathing space in which to recover from the war. Farmers were able to pay their tax in grain and not have it seized. They were allowed to sell for profit. Private trading of food and livestock was allowed. 4. From 1925, the rich peasants, the Kulaks, were allowed to employ others. 5. The NEP saved Russia from economic disaster. There were more markets, shops, cafes and restaurants. However, the government still owned the banks and the oil, railway, steel and electricity industries. 6. From 1923, Russia was renamed the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR or Soviet Union). Collectivisation (1929-37). .
Communist Russia under Stalin, 1928 - 1939.
COMMUNIST RUSSIA UNDER STALIN, 1928 - 1939 * Stalin's Economic Aims * Main Features of a Centrally-Planned Command Economy * The Five Year Plans and Industry * The Results Stalin wanted the USSR or Russia to become more powerful than other countries. To do this he had to modernise the USSR's economy by a programme of rapid industrialisation. This means developing industry to such an extent that a country that mainly depends on agriculture or farming is changed into one which mostly depends on industry. Stalin said that the USSR was 50 or 100 years behind the advanced countries. He aimed to catch up with and surpass them within ten years. Russia's industry was recovering from the effects of war, but even then, production from heavy industry was low compared with other countries. Stalin felt it was necessary to catch up with the West because the West that hated Communism threatened the USSR. To survive an attack from the West, the USSR had to rapidly expand its heavy industries: coal, iron, steel and power. This would allow the USSR to expand and strengthen its military. Rapid industrialisation was also necessary for the county's defence was surrounded by countries whose governments hated Communism: Iran, Romania, Finland and Poland. Stalin believed that making the USSR Socialist would make it a richer and stronger country. To become a strong industrial economy, the
How did Stalin control Russia from 1924-1953?
How did Stalin control Russia from 1924-1953? Stalin was in control of Russia for nearly 30 years, from 1924, after the death of the Bolshevik leader, Lenin, to 1953, when Stalin, himself, died. He was incredibly brutal, and sent many innocent people to their deaths, or to "gulags" (Russian concentration camps). He had his critics tortured, or removed and was the cause for around 20 million deaths, and even this figure is not exact, as many people simply disappeared from society and were never seen again. He had Russian citizens living in fear and not knowing whom to trust, not even their close family or friends. Yet he stayed in power for nearly three decades, but he only managed to achieve this by using clever tactics to remove his enemies and promote himself as the wonderful, caring leader Russia wanted. Purges. One of these tactics was what was known as the Purges. The word "purge" comes from the Greek word Kathairei, which means "to cleanse". Stalin said he was "cleansing" the Communist party of all the traitors to Russia. The truth was that this was just Stalin's new campaign of political terror against the Communist Party members who had brought him to power, but were potential opponents or enemies. His excuse to begin this was the assassination of his leading colleague and potential rival, Sergei Kirov. Some historians believe that Stalin was responsible for his
Stalin and his effect on the economy of Russia.
Russia in the 1920's and 1930's faced enormous economic problems. The world wide depression had a great impact on all great industrialized nations. However, Russia's problems were somewhat different regarding their lack of industrial growth as much of the rest of Europe had undergone. The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and the destruction of traditional monarchy coupled with the new experiment of communism made Russia unstable at best. Following Lenin's death in 1924, there seemed to be no clear leader for Russia and their new government. Beginning here, Josef Stalin showed his great organizational skill and manipulative powers. Stalin, as General Secretary of the Communist Party, had already placed his loyalists in positions of great power in strategic areas of the government. This guaranteed him majority support in issues of controversy even during Lenin's illness before his death. One great example of manipulation occured immediately following Lenin's death. Leon Trotsky, one of Stalin's greatest rivals, had left for Sukhum to be treated for a lingering infection. Trotsky learned of Lenin's death on his journey and sent a telegram to the Kremlin in Moscow. He stated he was making arrangements to return to Moscow. The reply came from Moscow indicating Trotsky would not be able to arrive before the funeral and he should proceed as his health was most important. The reply was
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Soviet Russia?
Why did Stalin emerge as leader of Soviet Russia? Observing his revolutionary background and other personal factors, Stalin was indeed a weak contender for the leader of Soviet Russia and lacked a strong, admirable past that perhaps people such as Trotsky did not. However, from 1924 to 1929, Stalin, with the use of manipulation, determination and tactical strategies, managed to emerge as leader of Soviet Russia. The reason as to why he created such an outcome is quite clearly an impressive doing, but what really worked in his favour and ultimately acquired him the position that eventually led to him becoming the totalitarian dictator he is infamously known for? An important factor as to why Stalin was able to emerge as leader was due to the advantages that he had as a result of his position within the Communist Party. Stalin managed to obtain the position of Head of the Central Control Commission. His role presented him with the power to investigate and discipline members of the Party. He used this to the best of his manipulative ability by not only expelling corrupt officials, but by expelling those who disagreed and went against him ideologically. Not only would this be to his advantage due to the fact he could rid of those who wouldn’t like to see him as leader, but it also strengthened the support and loyalty of the people within the party, thus providing him with a
The Impact of Stalin on Russia and the Russian people
The Impact of Stalin on Russia and the Russian people Joseph Stalin was born to a poor family in the province of Georgia in 1879. Stalin's real surname was Djugasvili; he adopted the name 'Stalin' whilst in prison as he felt the translation 'Man of Steel' would help his image. Stalin joined the Bolshevik party as a young man and soon became an active member organizing bank raids to gain money for party funds; this led to Stalin's imprisonment a number of times. Stalin first met Lenin in December 1905 in Finland and was quite surprised to see him as an ordinary man unlike the person he had imagined. In 1918 Stalin was made Commissar for Nationalities of the Bolshevik party, then in 1922 he became General Secretary. This made Stalin very powerful, particularly when soon after his appointment Lenin was hospitalised to have 'Dora Kaplan's bullet' removed. The operation was unsuccessful and left Lenin paralysed down his right side. Joseph Stalin then became Lenin's mouthpiece. The initial effects of this was the rise of Stalin to become the leader of the Communist party in Russia, this then resulted in Stalin going down in History as a brutal dictator and mass murderer. In 1924 Lenin died and most people presumed Trotsky who had formed the Red Army and who had been Lenin's right hand man would become Lenin's successor. If Stalin had not been around Trotsky probably would
Russia 1905-1945 Stalin - man or monster - source based questions
HISTORY COURSEWORK. RUSSIA 1905-1941 ASSIGMENT B: OBJECTIVE 3 STALIN: MAN OR MONSTER? : Study Sources A,B and C. Do these sources give similar or different impressions of Stalin? Explain your answer with references to the source. Source A gives the real image of what Stalin´s results had been due to his policies. This source reflects how ambitious and cruel Stalin had reached to be, in order to achieve his proposed aims. Stalin´s main aim was to have control of everyone and everything, no matter how many lives he´d sacrifice if the final result was beneficial for him. This source is a clear example of what Stalin´s felings were after his policies had finished. My impression is that Stalin was proud of what he had achieved,he was a man who didn´t mind what problems he had caused Russia with his policies. Stalin brought to the Russian people a lot of disasters as a consequence of his uncounsciencious thougths and his selfishness.This source shows Stalin as evil, cruel and like a murderer proud of what he has done, so therefore a monster.Stalin is shown as an arrogant man really proud of his masterpiece and what he had achieved so far. Stalin killed millions of people and he considers it a wonder compared it with the pyramid of Egiypt. I also deduce from the source that he had blood thirsty and that he´s evilness and cruelty didn´t let him see what was really
