How successful by 1939 had Stalin been in achieving his aims in the USSR?

aims as the other main possible candidates for power followingLenin's death in 1924, Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev were all expelledfrom the party, and Trotsky was assassinated during his exile inMexico in 1940. Stalin achieved this by cutting off the "OldBolsheviks" and regarding them as the enemy and alienating them fromhis own party. He was able to do this by primarily emphasising ontheir different opinions, particularly regarding the "PermanentRevolution" policy and use this to distinguish himself from the otherswhilst undermining them. Stalin's seminal theories made Trotsky appeara disloyal usurper. He used the fact that Trotsky, Zinoviev andKamenev wanted to disband the New Economic Policy and re-centralizeeconomy, saying that they did understand the function of the NEP.Stalin put emphasis on the industrialization of Russia improving itseconomy. He aimed to do this largely by increasing taxes on the"kulaks", or the wealthy peasants and collectivising, which would aidin easier mechanisation of agriculture and regulating the foodstuffs.Initially, he second Five Year Plan of 1923-8 gained twelve times asmuch output as had been hoped. Much of this was due toelectrification. Lenin commented, "Communism equals Soviet power plusthe electrification of the whole country". Urban population grew to32% between 1920 and 1940. ' However, this was dampened withundercurrents of underfulfilments as some of the objectives were toounrealistic to be realized. In the 1930s, official records andstatistics were changed to disregard the undeniable effect the purgeswere having on the growth rate of the economy. Also, the Stalinistscontradicted themselves as the only way to increase the production inagriculture was by allowing the workers to have privatised allotmentsand livestock. Also, there were great amounts of waste throughout theprofessions and the number of cattle fell dramatically between1928-37. There were also reduced rights and standards of living.Absenteeism and laziness were severely punished, and food was rationeduntil 1935. Between 1928 and 1937, realm wages dropped by 39%. Also,new elites with privileges, often encouraged by party members, emergedand ranks were being re in forcedStalin focused on his cult and the culture, knowing that they can beinfluence to support the advancing of the economy. Literature and art,among other influential social aspects, all supported Communistideology and values, yet the changing social hierarchy under Stalincan be seen from their growing partiality from the average worker tothe skilled expert and manager, etc. Motherhood and the traditionalfamily structure were also encouraged by the arts. Nationalism wascapitalized by changing history texts to serve the interests of theRussian cause and Russian historical figures such as Peter the Greatand Ivan the Terrible were once again favoured. Stalin also had hisrole in the Russian Revolution of 1917 magnified and neglect those ofhis rivals, such as Trotsky. However, Stalin proved that he had morepower than Lenin had had by, making himself the sole focus of allideology from 1929. He used propaganda to portray himself as the"leader, teacher and friend" of the people.Whether or not it was Stalin's deliberation, there certainly was acultural revolution during the chaotic changes of rapidindustrialisation of the first Five Year Plan(1929-33). There was anemphasis on recruiting new members to the Party, so that these newmanagers will be dependent on Stalin, criticizing non- Party membersand specialists, as these attacks on managers opposing the unrealisticaims of the Five Year Plan eliminated opponents of any opponents tothe next Five Year Plan. Perhaps Stalin welcomed the instabilitybrought on by the Cultural Revolution as it helped him in achievinghis industrial and economic, social and political aims for Russia.As Stalin had wanted, there was a dynamic change in the socialstructure of its period, making Russia's workforce far more balanced.Between 1924 and 1959, the workforce also increased by 52%. This canbe explained by the combination of the pressure for urbanisationcaused by collectivisation and economic development, and theimprovement of educational standards, a result of the compulsory stateeducation was introduced in 1930. The effects of the purges left theyounger people open to new opportunities, infiltrating the former"elites".Stalin's political purges, which had started in the 1920s with tryingand eliminating the Mensheviks, "Old Bolshviks," who had been accusedof "Trotskyism" and SRs became far more sinister. Stalin's purges hadmany different motives, yet he primarily instrumented the purges toconsolidate his power, and the mounting international threatsincreased Stalin's paranoia as did his initial lack of power or favourwith the Riutin Platform, as he rooted out enemies and eliminatedpotential opponents. Stalin also used the purges to get rid ofdisloyalty to him from within the party. However, once started, it isdebatable that Stalin did not continuously orchestrate the purges asit gained an almost uncontrollable momentum of its own with the NKVDpolice and desperate accused members confessing in the hopes ofleniency and protection for their loved ones. Combined with the showcases that Yezhov conducted, the list of possible suspects and otherculprits due.By 1939, it is evident that Stalin had achieved his aims,economically, personally, socially and politically. They fact that hesuccessfully accomplished these points that he had long since achievedhis immediate short- term aim that enabled all the others to happen;to consolidate his power as the sole, autocratic and undisputed leaderof Russia.