- Study sources E and F.
Which of these two sources is the more reliable? Explain your answer with reference to the source.
Source E seems to be less reliable then source F. this is because source E is written for a communist party newspaper, to have been published it would have to favour Stalin. It is reliable to know that it was published at the time and some people did actually feel this way. I think the letter was written because the person wanted to have five minutes of fame and this was perhaps the easiest way. The language is over exaggerated and the person is clearly over trying to get his point across.
Source F was written by someone who used to support Stalin, we are not told why he fell into disgrace. It was written 7 years after he fell into disgrace and this tells us that he had reason to feel the way he does. But it does lead me to wonder why he would have said these things if he knew he might have been purged for it. Knowing how powerful Stalin was at the time makes me question his actions.
So in conclusion source F is more reliable then E because although there is a small chance that the person in E might have felt the way he said but it is more likely he just wanted to be heard about anything. Source F, however, had no motive to say what they did and should have been like the rest of Russia, too scared to speak up.
- Study sources I and J
How far do these sources agree about Stalin’s ‘show trials’? Explain your answer.
Source I is an American cartoon about Stalin´s show trials. Americans generally oppose Communism. Source J is also a cartoon but was published in France in the late 1930´s.
The purges began in 1934 when the leader of the Leningrad, Kirov, was murdered. Stalin used the murder as a reason to “purge” the opponents in the party. It is believed that Stalin had arranged Kirov´s murder to use it as an excuse. Many leading figures were purged by confessing to being traitors and were executed. The purges were aimed at Party members to begin with, 500,000 were arrested and executed or sent to labour camps. After the trails the purges were extended. By 1937 estimations show that 18 million people from all backgrounds, had been sent to labour camps.
Source I shows the courtroom at Stalin´s show trails. It shows Stalin as the judge and the defendant´s appear to be Yagoda, Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin. These people were all executed during the purges of the 1930´s. Yagoda was in the NKVD and was accused of spying for Japan and Germany and plotting to murder Lenin. Zinoviev and Kamenev helped with Stalin´s rise to power but also were used by Stalin to do this. Zinoviev was accused of plotting with Trotsky against Stalin and Kamenev was accused of the murder of Kirov and plotting to murder Stalin. Bukharin was responsible, along with Lenin for the NEP and also allied with Stalin over One Country Communism during his leadership campaign when Trotsky wanted Worldwide Communism. Stalin then turned on Bukharin and expelled him from the Communist party.
In the background of the source there is gallows already prepared which shows the trial was pointless as the outcome had already been decided.
The accused are all confessing very openly and in a sarcastic manner.
“Yes, I´m guilty!”
“Sure, I tried to betray my country!”
“Of course I´m a traitor!”
“There´s no doubt about my guilt!”
These statements are that of the accused in the source, they are almost joking about their guilt. This is used to show the absurdity of the confessions; even if the men were guilty they wouldn´t confess so openly or would at least try to defend themselves. The source is trying to show that the men were some how forced into confessing.
Source J is a cartoon published in France in the late 1930´s. It show´s the courtroom at a show trial. In the courtroom Stalin is everyone, the judge, the barrister, the court clerk and the whole jury is Stalin. The source is trying to show that the show trials were a joke, Stalin had total control over what was going to happen. There was no point in a trial they were going to be executed no matter what the court may say.
The two sources are similar in many ways, they both agree the show trails were a sham, they were completely controlled by Stalin and the outcome was predetermined, source I shows this with the gallows in the background and source J shows this with everyone in he courtroom being Stalin. They both mock the show trails.
5) Using the sources in this paper and your knowledge of Stalin explain whether or not you think he was a ‘monster’.
Stalin was born in Georgia in 1879 his given name was Josef Djugashvili, he changed it to Stalin which means man of steel. His father was an alcoholic shoemaker who abandoned his family when he was young. He made his name in violent bank raids to raise party funds and was exiled to Siberia twice by the Tsarist secret police, escaping each time. Stalin became a leading Communist figure after playing an important role in the defending of he Bolshevik city of Tsaritsyn during the civil war. Stalin was known to hold grudges and make his enemies suffer.
Stalin was ruthless in his political career; he stopped at nothing to get where he was. During his political battle with Trotsky he used every available tactic to win. He lied to Trotsky about the date of Lenin´s funeral, this made Trotsky look bad and improve his own image. This move was necessary as the public and the members of the Communist Party idolized Lenin and Lenin disliked Stalin.
“Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary General, has unlimited authority in his hands and I am not sure whether he will always be capable of using that authority with sufficient caution.” Lenin´s Testament.
Stalin changed his polices to coincide with those of the people he was using to gain popularity at the time.
Stalin then set about modernising the USSR, setting out the Five-Year Plans. Although these did aim to improve the way the USSR ran and improve living conditions Stalin would also gain from the USSR being strong. Enforced collectivisation did what it set out to do but also caused a bitter dispute between the Kulaks and the government. By 1934 there were no Kulaks left and there was a famine from 1932-1933.
Stalin´s industrialisation did gain more for the public. Unemployment became almost nonexistent, many people had well paid skilled jobs and got bonuses for meeting targets, health care was readily available and education was free and compulsory for everyone.
However life at this time was very harsh, any mistake in the factory was severely punished.
Stalin ruled the USSR through fear and propaganda, in 1934 he began what became known as the purges. He had any opponent of him killed or sent to labour camps. He had 1 million people executed, 2 million people died in camps, 1 million died in prison and 8 million people died as a result of the work ethic.
The evidence shows that Stalin was a very paranoid man who was aware that his position as leader could be threatened at any time.
“Stalin was a very distrustful man, very suspicious.” Source H
Stalin believed that using terror was the only way of keeping power. He claimed he was defending Communism.
“Stalin was convinced that the use of terror and executions was necessary for the defence of Socialism and Communism.” Source G a speech by Khrushchev in 1956.
Stalin became admired by the public in many cases he was admired to the point that it developed into the Cult of the Individual. Most of the people thought that Stalin did no wrong.
“The men of all ages will call thy name, which is strong, beautiful, wise and marvelous.” Source E.
The use of censoring and propaganda may however cover up any negative things about Stalin.
“Stalin is the brilliant leader and teacher of the Party,” Source K from a biography of Stalin published in Russia in 1947.
In conclusion, the evidence suggests that Stalin was a monster. He had millions of people killed and was responsible for the deaths of many more. He killed them simply to keep his power and rule by terror. However Stalin did improve the living conditions of many people in the USSR which could suggest he wasn´t a total monster.
6) Use the sources and your knowledge of Stalin and Soviet history to explain why there has been a disagreement about Stalin.
Stalin is a figure in history that creates conflicting opinions.
Some historians think he was a very bad politician whereas some think he was a superb politician. Some think he was a monster while some think he wasn´t.
The sources are good examples of this. Some describe Stalin as the greatest man that ever lived and some describe him as a tyrant.
Soviet history shows that Stalin´s polices changed the USSR beyond all recognition, this was a positive thing as before Stalin came to power the USSR was very backward. However Stalin is believed, by some to be a very poor politician who used terror and fear to cover up his lack of ability.
“Stalin is unhappy at not being able to convince everyone, himself included, that he is greater than everyone else. If someone speaks better than he does, that man if for it!” Source F.
“Everywhere he saw “enemies” “double dealers” and spies.” Source H a speech by Khrushchev.
Stalin was very paranoid about his ability as leader, he got rid of any opposition during the “purges” where he carried out executions of his opponents.
Stalin was very popular at the time, although he now appears like a monster the Soviet public thought very highly of him.
“Everybody is familiar with the clarity of mind, his iron will, his devotion to the party, his ardent faith in the people and love for the people.” Source K.
The disagreement about Stalin is whether or not he was a good politician and whether he was a monster.
It is difficult to know the whole truth about Stalin, the use of censoring and propaganda in the USSR at the time he was in power means the reliability of the sources that came out of the USSR at the time is questionable. Sources that came out of places such as France are also questionable as they are generally written by exiled Russians who will be bitter and produce biased accounts.
In conclusion the sources suggest that the disagreement about Stalin is because of the differing accounts of Stalin´s time in power, some portray him as a monster where some show him as the hero of the USSR. Stalin was a very complex character. He did many evil things but also did many very good things for the USSR. He was a good politician and changed the USSR, but was also very paranoid and felt the need to kill anyone who posed a threat to him.
