Is Stalin the Red Tsar?

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Stalin – Is he the Red Tsar?

Stalin is sometimes referred to as the ‘Red Tsar’. Compare and contrast Tsarist Russia with Stalinist Russia.

It can be said that Stalin’s policies and ideals were similar in some ways to the Tsars of the Russian Dynasty. However, in other areas, they were completely different in the way they operated. It is therefore to some extent that Tsarist Russia was like Stalinist Russia. This essay will plan to compare and contrast between the two societies under the headings of the economic and political decisions that the leader made and the effect the leader had on society and culture. Of particular importance, this essay will focus on the reforms the two leaders implemented, the cultural and economic shift from agrarian to urban, and the political control the two had over Russia during their respective reign.

The shift from an economy and society based on agriculture to one based on industrialization happened in both eras, but the way it is implemented was different by each leader. The Tsar and Stalin were both faced with a largely agricultural peasant-based society when they came into power, the Tsar more so than Stalin. The Tsar instrumented industrialization under his finance minister, Witte, who encouraged the growth of Russian industry and tried to attract foreign investors. Despite strong economic growth under Witte, the peasants were taxed heavily, there is inefficiency in production, and the techniques employed in the factories relied on large amounts of foreign capital. With high economic growth, Witte also brought with him the curbing of the power of the Russian autocracy. The people then decided they wanted apart of the booming economy, and attempted to revolt in 1905. Witte was subsequently replaced. In 1906, Stolypin became the new finance minister and brought the idea of the “carrot-and-stick” method. This was an attempt by the Tsar (through Stolypin) to develop a wealthy peasant class of kulaks, thus preventing another possible revolution. This method saw the promotion of the kulaks (carrot), but also the stick, which was the introduction of military tribunals to counter revolutionary activity.  

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A number of links can then be made to the way that Stalin dealt with these types of reforms. Stalin was also faced with a peasant-based society, but countered this with rapid industrialization with his five year plans and collectivization, which thus brought about the movement from country to city. Like the Tsar, though through Witte, under Stalin there was a strong emphasis on heavy industry, consumer industry was limited, and the five year plans were often inefficient and ill-planned. Conversely, Stalin attempted to destroy the kulak class that Stolypin, and consequently the Tsar had created, due to ideological differences. ...

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