Stalin - Man or Monster? - Sources Questions

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Phil Cox        Question 1 – Stalin Man Or Monster?        -  -

Study Sources A, B and C. Do these sources give similar or different impressions of Stalin?

Source A is a cartoon, which shows the results Stalin’s purges (such as the ‘dekulakisation’ programme that he introduced). The cartoon was published in Paris in the 1930’s. This raises questions about its reliability as the cartoonist is portraying communism from the perspective of a capitalist country.

Source B is a painting, which depicts Stalin mingling with workers, insinuating that he is a man of the people. It is an official Soviet painting, showing that it conforms to the ‘Socialist Realism’ Policy that Stalin introduced to ensure that all pictures, songs and pieces of writing corresponded with Stalin’s views and policies and did not portray them in a negative light.

Source C shows a photograph of Stalin shaking hands with the wives of army officers. This is quite an ironic photograph as the wives of many army officers are congratulating Stalin and yet he purged 3/5 Marshals and 50,000 troops were sent to the gulags.

Source A depicts Stalin in a negative light as the caption, when translated, reads, ‘Visit the pyramids of the U.S.S.R.’. The cartoon also shows piles of skulls that have been shaped into pyramids. Perched on top of the piles of skulls are several black Ravens. This could refer to the fact that during the purges, members of the N.K.B.D., nicknamed ‘The Black Ravens’ because they tended to operate under the cover of darkness, arrested many victims. The circling ravens perhaps indicate that the N.K.B.D. had complete control over the people. On 12th December 1938 Stalin signed the death sentence of 3182 innocent people and then went to watch a film in the evening and these pyramids are the results of these, as well as other, acts of Stalin. Stalin is gesturing towards the pyramids as if he was proud of his achievements. This source tells us that Stalin killed a great number of people and showed no remorse for doing so. This source depicts Stalin as a monster rather than a man.

Source B shows Stalin as a sociable and popular character. In the background is a dam, similar to the Dneiper dam, which meant that Russia had the largest Hydro-Electric Power station in Europe. In reality, these projects were often using forced labour, usually inmates in a gulag. In the painting, the workers are happy and are talking to Stalin. This painting has undergone the ‘Socialist Realism’ policy and so could not possibly show Stalin in a negative light, as the creator would, most likely, have been punished. This painting was created during the 1930’s when the first five-year plans were in place. The aim of these plans was to modernise Russia from a backward peasant society into a modern industrial state, which was able to withstand the threat of any future foreign invasion. One of the targets that Stalin set was for the amount of electricity produced to increase to 22 million kilowatts. The dam is shown in the painting was regarded as essential to achieve this goal. This source shows Stalin as being a man and not a monster.  

Source C is a photograph showing Stalin as popular because there are many outstretched hands, which are trying to shake hands with Stalin. Everybody has a smile on their face and the general mood is a cheerful one. This photograph is unlikely to be a true reflection of public opinion as the army suffered heavily as a result of Stalin’s purges and Stalin often staged or edited photographs. An example of Stalin editing photographs is when he removed his political rivals from the history of the revolution. In one photograph, Lenin is making a speech with Trotsky and Kamenev in the foreground, whereas in the second photograph, both Trotsky and Kamenev have been removed. In this photograph, Stalin is portrayed as a man and not as a monster.

In Source A gives a different impression to sources B and C. A depicts Stalin as a monster who massacred a great deal of people and shows no remorse but demonstrates his ‘pyramids’ almost like national treasures, the things that each country is proud of, such as the Pyramids of Egypt. The people in source A are not happy because they are dead. Sources B and C are both similar to one another but are different to source A. This is because both sources show Stalin as a kind and popular man where everyone is happy. Stalin’s ‘Socialist Realism’ Policy has censored both sources B and C whereas source A has not and so is different to them. Source A was created by an individual who was from a Capitalist country whereas sources B and C were both created by individuals from a communist country. Source A is totally fictional because such pyramids did not exist whereas sources B and C are both based on reality (the dam in the background of B and the fact that source C is a photograph).

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How Useful Is Source D?

        This document is an anecdote, which was written by Stalin in 1945. Stalin is recalling an incident that occurred thirty years before, between 1900 and before the Bolshevik revolution, when he was exiled in Siberia. This was written at a time when the Russians were drawing to a close the Second World War and the cold war was beginning to set in. This was not a war as such but a period of hostile relations between the Capitalist Western countries and the communist Russians.

        This source was written to portray Stalin ...

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