The USSR under Stalin

2)

Despite chaos and despite waste the increase did take place and the statistics show us that. The statistics are an admission and Source D improves the credibility of Source A.

3)

Source B is a speech given by Stalin to the Central Committee of the Communist Party in January 1933.  The purpose of the speech is to present a specific political perspective to the reality. The value of the source is an interpretation by Stalin and its limitations are that it is biased, as it is seen from Stalin’s point of view. It is the way Stalin wants people to understand the situation. The motive behind it is to justify the purges in the party. Stalin wanted to create scapegoats for all the failure to meet the targets.

Source E is an extract of “Stalin”, by Isaac Deutscher, who is a Polish journalist and a former communist. The text is an account and the purpose of it is to inform about USSR’s industrial achievements and how the USSR was in comparison with other industrialised countries. It’s biased because it’s seen from the journalist’s point of view and therefore the readers will experience the story of how Deutscher experienced it. Also the writer, Deutscher, lived in London from 1939 so he has seen the development from outside the USSR rather than from the inside.

4)

According to Source E, Russia’s industrial power was catching up with Germany and other industrialised countries, but the standard of living for the people was still low. The industrialisation process of Russia did take place and in comparison with earlier the USSR did make an effort to increase it. Stalin’s Five Year Plan is a good example of how the USSR wanted to become modern, wealthy and economically at the same level as other countries. The standard of living of the people didn’t increase as much as the countries overall rapid growth, but especially the women experienced an increase in their standard of living as they become more liberated due to the Industrialisation.