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Introduction

DEPH STUDY USSR * How did Stalin gain and hold on to power? 1. Why did Stalin and Trotsky emerged as Lenin's successors? 2. Why did Stalin launch the purges? 3. What methods did Stalin used to control over the Soviet Union? 4. How complete was Stalin's control over the Soviet Union? Lenin had many possible successors. Among the contenders of the Communist Party, there were Kamenev and Zinoviev. However, the real struggle to succeed Lenin was between tow leading figures and bitter rivals in the Communist Party, Josef Stalin and Leon Trotsky. The struggle between these two was long and hard and it was not until 1929 that Stalin made himself completely secure as the supreme leader of the USSR. Stalin achieved this through a combination of political scheming, the mistakes of his opponents and the clever way in which hi built up his power base. ...read more.

Middle

Education became free and compulsory for all. But Stalin's control was also harsh at the same time. Factory discipline was strict and punishments were hard. To escape the hard work and hard discipline, some workers tried to move to other jobs, so the secret police introduce internal passports, which prevented free movement of workers inside the USSR. But, anyway, in my opinion Stalin had dominated and controlled effectively the USSR left by Lenin. * What was the impact of Stalin's economic policy? 1. Why did Stalin introduce the Five-Year Plan? 2. Why did Stalin introduce collectivisation? 3. How successful were Stalin's economic changes? 4. How were the soviet people affected by these changes? Stalin ended Lenin's NEP and set about achieving modernisation through a series of Five-Year Plans. These plans were drawn by GOSPLAN, the state-planning organisation that Lenin set up in 1921. They set ambitious targets for production in the vital heavy industries. ...read more.

Conclusion

But there is another, very important though, that is the creation of the new constitution, where he gave freedom of speech and free elections for the Russian people, made him, in certain way, much more popular. The Communist Party saw him as a winner and Soviet citizens saw him as a "dictator of the people". The Soviet people sincerely believed and trusted in Stalin. By the late 1930s many Soviet workers had improved their conditions by acquiring well paid skilled jobs and earning bonuses for meeting targets. Unemployment was almost non-existent. In 1940, the USSR had more doctors per head of population than Britain. Education became free and compulsory for all. But Stalin's control was also harsh. Factory discipline was strict and punishments were hard. To escape the hard work and hard discipline, some workers tried to move to other jobs, so the secret police introduce internal passports, which prevented free movement of workers inside the USSR. That's why I can say that the economic changes brought uo by Stalin had both affected and benefited the Russian people. ...read more.

This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our AS and A Level Modern European History, 1789-1945 section.