As Stalin's powers for organization and manipulation became dominant in the Communist Party, so did his total control of the government. Some theories profess only Stalin the authoritarian could have industrialized Russia so quickly. Stalin and the communists used the world wide depression to illustrate the demise of capitalism as they entered their first fiveyear plan. Stalin planned to collectivize the small farms into large ones and force masses of population into urban areas to employ the new industrial base. Russia did industrialize under Stalin but the costs were extraordinary. Labor unions to protect the working class were no longer present to protect the laborers as communist doctrine ruled them to be unnecessary. Critics cited the costs to be not only human freedom but gross inefficiencies in the consumer and distribution sectors of the economy. The Stalin faithful argue this was the only way for a backward and exploited people to raise itself to the level of the capitalist economies. They bolstered surpassing the capitalist would come later.
While Stalin was, at least in a manner, successful in revitalizing the Russian economy, there is no doubt his reign was filled with terror. From his early maneuvering to gain control of the party to the great party purge to ensure that control, Stalin ruled Russia through fear. There were some seven million casualties of collectivization and seven to nine million arrested in the great party purge. Of the latter, one million were executed and the rest sent to cruel, harsh labor camps where about a third died the first year. History finds it difficult to find any regime which costs a nation so much in terms of human expense.
The party purges of 1938-1939 placed Russia in the most grave of situations. Perhaps Stalin thought he had things under control with some more of his manipulation with Nazi Germany. Hitler and Stalin had signed a nonaggression pact. Stalin may have thought this would give him time to revitalize his red army after removing many of his ranking officers. The agreement to divide Poland even proclaimed a desire for peace by Russia between Germany and the English-French coalition. The party purges almost proved to be the ruination of Russia. As the war progressed and Germany broke this pact and invaded Russia, Stalin's army was weaker than expected. Many believe this to be because of the lack of experienced leadership due to the party purge. It seemed Stalin had almost made a fatal mistake, in trying to ensure total control he had left Russia vulnerable to foreign assault.
However, evidence indicates while Stalin ruled with terror, he managed to maintain social cohesion prior to the war. Typically, it is argued the impact of the "Great Terror" resulted in shattered personal trust and connections. Although it was politically dangerous to relate certain stories, it seems Stalin through state controlled humor manage to even control popular culture. "Official humor" of the communist party featured in publications and film indicate social cohesion in the Soviet Union on the eve of the war.
While Russia under Stalin was successful, the social costs cannot be denied. Stalin's rule through terror and fear destroyed many human rights of the Russian people. But the argument may also be made, Josef Stalin through his communist made Russia quickly competitive with a capitalist world.
