Joseph Stalin was a ruthless Soviet Union leader from 1927 to 1953. The ruler exerted a powerful influence on the various fronts of Russian society due to the conditions that led to his ascent to power. Stalin started gaining prominence after the Russian Revolution which began in 1917. When it came to a close, he was given the position of general secretary to the communist party led by Vladimir Lenin ( Dobbs, 2010) . Stalin started his antics in 1924 when Vladimir Lenin died by using his position to appoint officials who will be loyal to him. Therefore, when he took over the mantle of leadership, he had an extensive network of individuals that would execute his demands. Among his primary goal was to have a highly industrialized and self-reliant economy but his exploits between 1942 and 1945 are what he is most remembered for.
The period between 1942 and 1945 was full of many military and diplomatic decisions on Stalin’s side which brought many successes as well as failures. The positive aspects of the period come due to the war victories against Nazi Germany and several other Eastern Europe countries. However, the process resulted in a lot of causalities. According to Rothstein (2012) , it is estimated that some 20 million soldiers lost their lives in military expeditions while Stalin was in power-most died between 19942 and 1945. Another 20 million civilians were estimated dead due to the economic strain caused by war and some of Stalin’s unpopular projects such as collectivist agriculture and forced participation in industrialization projects ( Snyder, 2012) . Despite the seemingly appalling picture of the situation, Stalin’s economic and military tactics bore relatively better results than that of other developed nations.
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The attack of Russia by Germany in 1941 was the catalyst for Stalin joining the war fully in 1942. Before 1941 Germany and Russia were relying on a nonaggression pact that they had signed. In this manner, Stalin never viewed Nazi Germany as a threat. However, on June 22, 1941, invade the Soviet Union, and by August, they had captured about 872,000 prisoners ( Ferguson, 2005) . This situation hit Stalin so hard that he reclined into hiding to formulate an appropriate strategy. By the end of 1941, he had found a plan of how to keep away Germany and also protect its borders from other probable foreign aggression.
Various factors worked in Stalin’ favor to facilitate the military triumphs that followed. First, Stalin's government had set spies in multiple countries that had high stakes in World War II. Toye (2012) gives an account of Krivitsky who was a Russian spy that defected to the West. Krivitsky revealed how Russia had agents up to the highest echelons of the British government. He enumerated that 93 agents were stationed around the world while 61 were in Britain. Secondly, Stalin had little opposition from within his government as he had successfully exiled his closest rival, Leon Trotsky ( Rhodes, 2005) . Therefore, the leader had the free space to rule with a heavy hand since those who did not follow his demands were killed. His extensive networks resulted in the assassination of Leon Trotsky as well as Krivistky.
1942 was the year that the Soviet Union joined wholeheartedly in the war with Britain and America as its allies with the aim of pushing Germany back from its borders. However, the two partners did not take much heed to Stalin’s demands to open an additional front against Germany (Ferguson, 2005). The situation resulted in Russia being the most afflicted of the three countries. Therefore, Stalin resorted to dealing with Germany solely. He used most of the country’s resources entirely into the war until Germany was contained in 1943 in the Battle of Stalingrad 1943 ( Oshinsky, 2013) . Further, Russia extended its grip on countries around it such as Poland and Ukraine. In this manner, it felt much more protected from the outsiders.
Russia’s victory over Germany gave Stalin a considerable bargaining power among the allies of World War II. However, this position came with a significant sacrifice in other countries that were not directly involved in the war. For instance, ( Toye, 2012 ) states that in 1943, German soldiers found thousands of bodies of Polish soldiers in mass graves in Katyn, Poland. There was sufficient evidence to prove that, but Stalin distanced himself from the allegations ( McFADDEN, 2004) . During the first meeting between Russia and Britain and America, Stalin used his bargaining power to repeat his call for another front against Germany. The demand was met in 1944.
1944 and 1945 witnessed the increasing prominence of Stalin as compared to the other two allies. Russia was liberating more countries from Germany’s grip in 1944, even before the other two countries could open an additional front against Germany ( Faison, 2003) . The situation gave Stalin more power; thus America and Britain planned on removing Russia from the postwar arrangements. The dropping of the bombs in Hiroshima and Nagasaki was appropriate enough to keep of Stalin. Thus, the war in Japan ended before he could join in. Stalin felt sidelined thus the relationship between Russia and the two countries soured.
The period between 1942 and 1945 was essential in cementing Stalin as Russia’s symbol of military power. With little help from Britain and America, he was able to stop Germany, occupy several Eastern Europe Countries and register considerable industrial growth at home. Though his military successes were marred by scores of deaths, horror, and infringement on human rights, many in Russia still applauded his firm hand in helping boost Russia’s image in the global military scene.
References
Dobbs, M. (2010, May 09). If you build it. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/1458385514?accountid=26342
Faison, S. (2003, Oct 25). Madame chiang kai-shek, a power in husband's china and abroad, dies at 105. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/92616143?accountid=26342
McFADDEN, R. D. (2004, Nov 12). Harry schwartz, 85, times editorial writer. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/92748604?accountid=26342
Oshinsky, D. (2013, Apr 07). Congress disposes. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/1815062621?accountid=26342
Rhodes, R. (2005, May 15). Nuclear options. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/92997494?accountid=26342
Rothstein, E. (2012, Oct 05). Over there, and here as well. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/1705814865?accountid=26342
Snyder, T. (2012, Jun 24). 'Were we all people?'. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/1705859872?accountid=26342
Toye, R. (2012, Sep 09). Many wars in one. New York Times (1923-Current File) Retrieved from http://ezproxy.latech.edu:2048/docview/1705907146?accountid=26342
