Introduction
Joseph Stalin is still regarded as one of the main world’s dictators, even though he significantly contributed to the transformation of USSR when he ascended to power. Many people argue that he ruled USSR with iron hand right from the time he gained power until his death in 1953. The bloody repression as well as the immense suppression he subjected his people to enabled him to transform Russia into one of the world’s economic and military power. Under his leadership, the USSR was changed from a peasant society into an industrialized economy. However, his rise to power was not easy, as he was forced to face a lot of challenges because of the stiff political competition to succeed his predecessor Lenin. He only managed to rise to top leadership after outmaneuvering his main political rivals by managing to control the party. At the same time, he came from a poor background. Despite bloody repression and suppression tactics that Stalin used to maintain his power, he left significant influence on USSR’s politics, economy, social, military, and foreign policy issues (Applebaum, 2014).
Political Influence
Stalin is remembered as one of the genius political leaders, especially because of his ability to rise to power when no one expected that he would outmaneuver his political rivals who were close to his predecessor like Trotsky. He managed to form a rebellion against Trotsky who was his main rival to become the country’s top leader. After the death of Lenin in 1924, even after been opposed by many politicians in the party, he was elected as the party leader and ascended to power to succeed Lenin (Applebaum, 2014). He was, therefore, one of the most influential political leaders in USSR between 1928 and 1945.
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Stalin’s political influence was mainly based on the use of purges and show trial to attain his political goals and objective. He launched the Great Purge in 1937 with the sole aim of suppressing and eliminating any individual who threatened his political dominance and power (Flewers, 2011). Consequently, he managed to get rid of his political opponents like Trotsky, Kamenev, and Zinoviev. He was the only Lenin’s original Politburo who was left by 1941. He successfully managed to use the Great Purge of his political rivals and individuals who opposed his policies and governance system, including army personnel, especially those who were close to Trotsky. For instance, after realizing that some people were planning to replace him with Sergie Kirov, he organized the assassination of Kirov in 1934, and he used the murder to threaten and eliminated people who were against his rule (Applebaum, 2014). Hence, Stalin used the Great Purge to establish his political influence and he subjected the USSR population into a constants state of terror. As a result, he was the most influential USSR political leader. However, his immense political influence made his administration system less effective due to the elimination and experts, even though many young people who were loyal to him thrived during his reign.
Stalin was also able to use sophisticated propaganda to enhance his political influence. Specifically, he created the cult of personality among his followers, which made him to be adorable to people despite his oppressive tactics. The use of propaganda made his followers to have the impression that he was the wisest political leader and people believed that he was never wrong (Keefe, 2009). As a result, people loved and worship him like god, making him one of the most influential political leaders in the 20 th century. Therefore, even though Stalin political influence was mainly associated with terror and propaganda, he used it to execute some of the policies that helped in reforming USSR.
Economic Influence
Stalin had a lot of economic influence in USSR, particularly after coming up with some economic policies that were aimed at transforming the country from a peasant society into an industrialized economy. In 1928, after Stalin rose to power, he realized that the USSR was not close to becoming one of the world’s major powers. He realized that there were two main problems that were preventing USSR from becoming a major power. The first problem was the insufficient production of food by the country peasants (Keefe, 2009). Secondly, industries in the country were developing at a slow pace. As a result, he developed the Collectivization and Five Year Plans to solve the first and the second problems respectively.
In order to increase the amount of food and raise money to fund industrialization activities in the country, Stalin came up with Collectivization policy that involved taking farmlands from peasants and making them large collective farms that were managed by committee of peasants. The primary objectives of the policy were to enhance agricultural production, encourage modernization of farming activities, and raise money for industrialization. The policy helped in the modernization of the agricultural activities in Russia (Keefe, 2009). For instance, in 1928, there were only about 100 farming tractors in USSR, but the number increased to 1,500 by 1936. At the same time, the amount of tax that the country was collecting for industrialization doubled, as USSR was able to export farm produce to get foreign revenue. The Collectivization also made peasants to move from countryside to industrialized areas where they could do commercial farming. Other benefits that were linked to the Collectivization included the growth of industrial workers, development of social amenities such as schools and hospitals, and increased income in many households.
Therefore, with the determination to ensure that USSR became the world’s major power, Stalin transformed the economic landscape of the country. Money that was collected from exporting farm produced was used to finance industrialization as well as the Five Year Plans (Keefe, 2009). The money was also used to execute spectacular projects such as Dnieper Dam, the Moscow-Volga canal, and the Moscow Metro. At the same time, there was the establishment of many industrial areas that significantly improved the productivity of the country. In addition, wages also increased, which led to improved standard of living for workers and their family members.
However, Stalin’s desire to make USSR a major power in the world led to some of the negative economic influence, especially among peasants. In 1932, Stalin doubled the tax to be paid by peasants, including grains to be submitted to the government. As a result, the richest peasants like Kulaks refused to give their land and farming produce to the government, which led to their arrest while others were sent to the labor camps. Peasants responded to government action by burning their crops and killing their livestock, which led to a significant decline in agricultural produce between 1928 and 1935. The substantial decline in agricultural produce led to disastrous famine that killed about 11 million people that affected industrialization and economic growth. Hence, some of the economic policies that were formulated by Stalin were disastrous (Keefe, 2009).
Social Influence
One of the major Stalin’s social influences was based on his education and indoctrination policy. Stalin used his influence to ensure that his administration strictly controlled the education system from nursery to universities. He also ensured that education was compulsory while at the same time he make it possible for children to enjoy nine years of free education. Besides, with the desire to enhance industrialization, Stalin ensured that students were taught technical subjects that were in line with his vision and mission. As a result, Stalin was able to substantially improve the literacy rate of his people, especially by making education compulsory. However, he was able to use his influence to suppress divergent opinions and perspective in the education sector by ensuring that learning process was designed in a way that uphold the virtues and values of Communist Party (Flewers, 2011). Therefore, Stalin structured the education system in USSR to achieve his personal goals and objectives and to adhere to the communist ideology.
Stalin also used the media to promote Stalinist messages and ideologies that influenced the culture of USSR (Applebaum, 2014). He controlled the mass media to promote his Stalinist messages and to discredit the ideologies shared by his rivals. Stalin could not allow any individual creativity that was not in conformity of his views and ideologies and those of the state. For instance, photos and messages that were contained in the mass media like radio, newspaper, and TV were edited to block his rivals and to glorify his achievement and significance to the local people. Therefore, he used the media to shape and disseminate the mainstream ideology that was shared by the majority of the USSR people. As a result, many USSR people believed in communist ideology, values, and virtues.
Stalin shaped the religious beliefs of USSR citizens. He believed that all religious organizations should be banned in USSR. Consequently, he closed down many churches and mosques (Flewers, 2011). For instance, it is estimated that 40,000 churches and 25,000 mosques were closed down during his reign. In addition, religious leaders were arrested and persecuted. To effectively achieve his objective, Stalin formed League of Militant Atheists that encouraged people to go against their religions. His primary objective was to make USSR people to worship him, which led to the formation of the Cult of Stalin. He became a god-like personality among USRR people. Stalin made many people to abandon their religion.
In addition, Stalin improved the socio-economic status of women in Russia. He gave women the opportunity to work in various industries and to be housewives. As a result, women started gaining economic independence by engaging in active income jobs. However, this was associated with Stalin’s desire to enhance industrialization in the country and to improve economic growth and development. On the other hand, he suppressed the rights of minority groups. Stalin, therefore, had a lot influence on social activities in USSR (Flewers, 2011).
Military Influence and Foreign Policy
Stalin’s drive to make USSR a world’s major power made his to create formidable military that could be used to conquer the world. It was through his leadership that Soviet Armed Forces was created (Bulganin, 2008). He ensured that the Soviet Armed Forces had the resources and personnel that is required to be successful in the battlefield. Stalin used the military for succeed in the periods of the Civil War and ensured the independence of the USSR. At the same time, he enhanced creativity of the USSR military by encouraging military science (Harrison, 2003). In addition, he used his influence to ensure effective organization of the USSR military, especially during wars. As a result, USSR military thrived during Stalin’s reign.
In order to achieve his objectives, Stalin foreign policy was mainly based on expansion and diplomatic isolation. He used the expansion foreign policy in 1920s and early 1930s to disseminate communist ideology and doctrine in various parts of the world. In late 1930s, Stalin used diplomatic isolation, especially due to the Great Depression that was affecting various parts of the world. The foreign policy was also aimed at strengthening communist ideology, particularly in Europe. Therefore, Stalin used various foreign policies to attain some of its main goals (Harrison, 2003).
Conclusion
Stalin is one of the most prominent leaders as well as dictators in the world’s history. He was the leader who substantially helped in the transformation of USS economy after coming with some of the policies such as Collectivization that change the country from peasant to industrialized society. At the same time, he improved the economic status of many people who complied with his policies and ideologies. However, Stalin was a dictator who suppressed his critics and political rivals. He killed many innocent people due to his personal interests. Even though Stalin’s influence and leadership are mainly associated with dictatorship, he helped in transforming USSR.
References
Applebaum, A. (2014, November). Understanding Stalin. The Atlantic . Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2014/11/understanding-stalin/380786/
Bulganin, N. (2008). Stalin and Soviet Armed Forces. Retrieved from https://www.marxists.org/archive/bulganin/1949/12/21.htm
Flewers, P. (2011). Stalin and the Great Terror: Politics and Personality in Soviet History. Critique , 39 (2), 271-293.
Harrison, M. (2003). Soviet industry and the Red Army under Stalin: A military-industrial complex ? University of Warwick, 44 (2), 323-342.
Keefe, J. R. (2009). Stalin and the Drive to Industrialize the Soviet Union. Inquiries Journal , 1 (10).
