- How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
- How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
- To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
- Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
- Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
- How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
- How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
Thursday, January 15, 2015
Joseph Stalin (Part 2)
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1. How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin’s rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
ReplyDeleteStalin’s opponents were Lenin and Trotsky. Lenin didn’t want Stalin to be the leader of Russia because he was too risky to be in charge of a whole country. Everyone was against Stalin becoming dictator. With all of the negativity going around about Stalin, he needed to do something to impress Lenin. Stalin wrote a letter to Lenin stating that the Mensheviks will always oppose the Bolsheviks and that they will find a way to defeat them. Stalin also wrote that they needed to do whatever it takes to defeat them and to repulse them. Stain did the work of 3 people all by himself and created Plans to keep the Mensheviks away as far as possible. Lenin was very impressed with Stalin’s determination and this was how Stalin rose to supreme power.
2.How accurate is to talk about the “Stalin Revolution” in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941?
The biggest turning point in the economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941 is the Stalin Revolution. In Stalin’s Revolution 5 million people was deported, more than millions of peasants were disrespected and treated harshly. The families were all broken up. During the collectivization 5 million people died in the famine. However, during Stalin’s Revolution the 5 year plan was created to help improve the industrialization. I think that if there wasn’t a Stalin Revolution then Russia would be completely different then how Stalin left it.
3.To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin’s policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
The lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve as a result of Stalin’s policies during the period 1928 to 1941. The unemployment rate went down a lot, women were treated equally as men in the same work place, the quality of education was way better, there was free health care provide this led to the life expectancy higher, and the transportation was improved. However, people building the rail roads were in server danger because it was dangerous building the rail roads. Stalin made it clear that there were supposed to be no religion in Russia. He closed all of the churches and didn’t let anyone practice their religion.
4.Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
The Soviet economy always struggled with the collectivization of agriculture. Because of this the agriculture wasn’t able to produce enough money to help the industrialization. Stalin tried to kill the Kulaks because he thought he would kill the richest farmers this was be steps to improve the agriculture. However his idea was not efficient and didn’t recover the agriculture.
5.Stalin’s power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
I agree with this view 100%. If people in Russia opposed Stalin’s wishes and demands he would have then executed or torture them. For example, Stalin wanted the Kulaks to unite and have one big farm. However, they didn’t want to share their earnings and wanted the money that they earned to themselves. Stalin was very frustrated because they didn’t follow his order. Stalin sent the kulaks to a labor camp and replaced them with other farmers. If Stalin doesn’t get what he wants, he will find a way to get it one way or another.
6.How effective were the five year plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
ReplyDeleteThe five year plans were somewhat successful when it came to creating a Successful economy in the USSR up to 1941. Some of the outcomes of the five year plan are: increase of the production of raw material, the transportation improved, the pay for the workers increased, and farmers were able to have their own small lands to farm instead of having to share a big land with other farmers. However, the five year plans weren’t that successful. The peasant’s houses were sill poor quality and there was very limited water. There was also very limited consumer goods. The five year plan was improving Russia but very slowly.
7.How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
I don’t that that Stalinism was a continuation of Leninism. The only thing that they have in common is that both Lenin and Stalin want to rule with terror and that they both wanted to help improve Russia’s economy. The way Lenin wanted to help improve the Russia’s economy was by giving peasant farmers grain each year, and giving factories back to their owners and letting the owner receive a profit. However, Lenin’s plan resulted in high unemployment rate, high crime rate and more and more peasants were poor. When Stalin notice what was going on, he came in and became the leader of Russia and created the 5 year plan which was to create a rapid industrialization. Stalin did not continue the Leninism. He created his own, Stalinism.
Work Cited
-Long Live the Great Stalin Packet
Dinia Clairveaux
ReplyDeleteMs. Noce
IB History
1/19/15
Joseph Stalin (Part 2)
How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
The division among Stalin’s important because if he had all his opponents allied together than Stalin would have never gain the power and the influence he had in Russia. He would had been crushed before he even made it to the top. But when his enemies are divided he could go and take them out one but one at a time before they themselves know that they had lost.
2. How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
As accurate as the facts that Stalin’s economic policies cause a famine and many Russian peasants died of starvation, malnutrition and fatigue of overworking. He had also created the Gulags and the collective farm system. But even with this hard treatment of the peasants Stalin had still managed to modernize Russia with the Five Year Plans that he created to help Russia catch up with the other industrialized countries. Then Stalin’s political affairs set the fear int the citizens. if one would to disagree or go against his words that person would face charges for crimes that they did not commit and be tortured and sentenced to death.
3. To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
To the extent that Stalin’s policies worsen the lives of ordinary people, the system of collective farm he created led to a famine. Stalin had taken the peasants food supply away and they ended up suffering from starvation and malnutrition , while working working in the factors he established to produce the products of steel, iron, electrical devices and etc. As the journalist said in the Stalin packet, “peasants had bodies swollen from hunger, all-pervading sight and smell of death.”
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
During the years Stalin was in power, Stalin had many peasants work in factories and and the collective farm he had to produce food. ut the thing is the peasants were starving and dying. they were too weak and unhealthy to work which brought the countries agricultural status down.not to mention that farming is a back breaking job which requires work a lot of commitment and work. But how can one commit and work there to their capability when one is unhealthy and starved. Stalin was asking too much of the workers and he maliciously wanted 111% increased in coal production, 200% increase in iron, 335%in electrical power. It was just impossible to complete in five years top.
5. Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
I would agree with this view to the extent that Stalin was very period of everyone around him. He would execute anyone that stood in his way or posed as a threat. he had liquidated the kulaks, executed Martemyan Ryutian, wiped out the majority of the Red Army because he had suspicions they were planning to overthrow him and to cover his tracks he killed all the witness. when people were accused of the crime. A method used by Stalin was threaten that person’s family to take the punishment that they were to serve, at times the families got get executed on because the person did not confess. It was either you were with Stalin or you die.
6. How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
ReplyDeleteThe Five Year plans were successful in the aspect that they did modernize the economy, but wasn't because they were asking to much of the workers and the factory owners they worked for to get the achievements reached. for example when the first Five Year Plan failed Stalin blamed Nickolai Buharin. and demand that factories that failed to reach targets would be publicly criticized and humiliated and also if the factory did poor he they were accused of trying to sabotage the Five Year plan and the persons in charged would get executed.
7. How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism
I wouldn’t agree because leninism did not produce as much violence and terror as Stalinism did. Stalinism was hardcore if you did one thing wrong you were viewed as the enemy and you had to be executed. While leninism was more persuading the public and getting supporters without violence but with allies and a government that was fair in the eyes of the people.
Work cited: Stalin packet
Victor Harris
ReplyDeleteMs.Noce
I.B History 12
January 19,2015
How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
-The reason that Stalin rose to power is by deceiving his opponents. Even if he did call somebody an ally, deep down to Stalin he knew maybe they could trample over him in the future so just kill them off now. If they weren't together they wouldn't target Stalin all at once because that would crush him and he wouldn't have no hope. The division was important because with this Stalin can focus on going to the top without stumbling.
How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
-This was a major turning point because this is when the Five-Year plan started to come into play. But during this time 5 million innocent civilians were killed through this. Peasants were getting treated poorly and Stalin made sure that his theme of fear was controlling everybody in Russia. But, even so the Five-Year was meant to increase the industry so there can be a better flow in Russia.
To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
-The extent of improvement or making matters worse, is in the middle. The improvement of education went up and also the health care to the people in Russia. This was a improvement because the condtions was bad and for Stalin to improve this, says that he really cares for Russia and wants to make it better. The down side was Stalin wouldn't no religious views, so he dismounted all the Churches..which I don't know why. So I would say that it's a slight improvement but can be better.
Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
-This was the weakness of Russia, that tore them apart. The reason was money because without money flowing in and out your nation won't function. Also small farmers wasn't able to make ends meat to help Russia up so that's when Stalin announced he was going to do the Five-Year plan. The Five-Year plan was suppose to help the nation of Russia out but Stalin was asking for to much of workers, reason why the Five-Year settlement didn't work and went to Ten-Years.
Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
ReplyDelete-I agree with this because if Stalin wasnt ruthless on people in Russia he would of got ran over but some other whacko would of took over. Stalin is said to be more ruthless than Hitler because he killed people with his own hands. The people in Russia knew that there life was on the line if they would of crossed his path. Even though sometimes he would help Russia because he cared but he would KILL anyone that stood in his way to try to make that happen.
How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
-I compare the Five-Year plan to the League of Nations. People thought it was going to work put your all into to it and than nothing. Yes, the Five-Year plan was good at first there was improvements gradually coming but the Five-Year plan didn't fulfill the Five years it had. It settled all the way to Ten-Years and which than it started to improve more. I wouldn't call this a failed plan only if the Five-Year plan actual worked in the five years that it had. Just like the League of Nations you had the people in high hopes and than you failed them.
How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
-I would agree to the extent that they both did terror on the people of Russia and also wanted to help Russia, which is weird because how are you trying help a nation but at the same time hurt it. But with Stalinism his plan started to work with the Five and Ten Year plan. He wanted to improve the industry in Russia in which Lenin couldn't do because when he was the leader improvements were low and jobs were hard to get.
Work Citied:
History Packet about Stalin
How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin’s rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
ReplyDelete- The division that Stalin’s opponents were important for his rise to power in 1920. If Stalin did not get rid of them as quickly as he did, then his opponents would join forces and take Stalin out of politics just as he did others. Just like Dinia said, if his enemies are together then they are much stronger but divided they are weak. So it was important for Stalin to separate his opponents or else he would not have gotten to where he was.
How accurate is it to talk about the “Stalin Revolution” in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941?
- A lot of things happened during the Stalin Revolution from the Famine to collectivization. Many people died and were not treated with the most care. Stalin focused mainly on the industrialization of Russia and the speed of modernizing the economy. Without him doing this I still think Russia would be many years behind other countries today!
To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin’s policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
- I could say their lives improved to an extent where a lot more people became employed and worked in factories. So people were able to bring in an income for their family. Stalin also improved education in Russia with also a few health care improvements. On the other hand, I would say it worsened a little to an extent because if they spoke to freely of their own opinion then they would be purged by Stalin’s private police because they could be seen as a “terrorist”. So they were stripped of their freedom of speech to a certain extent.
Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
- I would say this was one of the major problems to the economy of the Soviet Union. Stalin wanted to combine the small farm because the kulaks were not supporting enough food for the industrial workers and without them then steel, oil and other product could not be produced and this slowed down the modernizing of the country. Agriculture was the basic weakness for reasons like that, trying to prevent famine when small farms don’t want to combine land and become a bigger farm. This was one reason the Five-Year plan went into another Five-year plan after.
Stalin’s power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
ReplyDelete- I would agree with this view completely. Since Stalin had came up with this idea of purging, where he would get rid of anyone who seemed to oppose him I would believe everyone became fearful of him. If you were put into a society where your own voiced opinions could get you killed, would you still speak? No, right? So since everyone was scared to speak their own opinions and had no one to be a voice for them, Stalin then has power because no one is voicing against him out of fear that if they do say something they could possibly end up dead. This is why Stalin’s power was based mostly because of terror.
How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
- I would say that Stalin helped Russia advance into a modernized economy and that his Five year plan was effective to industrializing the economy and successfully catching up to the other countries. By getting rid of the kulaks, Stalin was able to make collective farms to feed the workers in the factories and give more people jobs. But after time the Five Year plan started to seem not so successful. Not everything was so great for the people of Russia, like the housing quality. The Five Year plan up to 1941 was successful in small ways, which is why Stalin needed to create another Five Year plan.
How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
- I would find it hard to agree that Stalinism was a continuation of Leninism because they had very different methods to industrializing Russia. Stalin went on a path of violence and manipulation to advance the economy of Russia. He got rid of opponents instead if beating them politically. Lenin on the other hand was more political and was a good person as a whole. He didn’t go down a path of violent upholds, getting rid of people who were seen as going against him. So I would argue that Stalinism is was not a continuation of Leninism.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteWilliam Portorreal
ReplyDeleteIB History 12
Ms. Noce
1. Stalin rose to power by outsmarting his opponents and taking over. Lenin and Trotsky the two main leaders did not want Stalin to be in charge because they feared that Stalin would make a disaster out of Russia. So Stalin had to rise to the top somehow and he did it by showing Lenin that he was a man of his word and accomplished what he promised. Once Stalin rose to the top he got rid of his opponents one by one until he eventually became the leader of Russia.
2. I think it is very accurate to talk about the “Stalin Revolution” because Stalin had really improved the economy of Russia and strengthened it as well. Stalin got rid of farms and replaced it with factories and really improved agricultural work in order to catch up with other countries. Stalin made Russia an industrialized country and got the Russian army well trained; so it is right to be called the “Stalin revolution” because he really did revolutionize Russia overall and prepared it for the future.
3. The lives of ordinary people had improved because of Stalin’s policies. For example since Russia was more industrialized then there was more jobs and better access to things. People had better access to medical care and medicine, more job opportunities, more hospitals, schools, etc. Even women got the chance to work under Stalin, this meant that the economy would be doing better and there would be more production in food and other things because the industrialization.
4. “Agriculture was the basic weakness of the soviet economy.” I think this is true and it was the whole reason why Stalin made the five year plan because he believed that Russia was way behind other countries in agriculture work. Russia really relied on farming because that was there only way of producing food but when Stalin came he replaced these farmers with factories in order to make Russia more industrialized and improve agriculture work through these factories. The agriculture was slow and not as effective meaning that there wasn’t a lot of production compared to the other countries which meant the economy wasn’t so great, this is why agriculture was the weakness of the Soviet Union before Stalin.
5. I agree with the statement because Stalin didn’t care who you were, if you disobeyed him then you would be killed or punished. Stalin was a really harsh guy who got rid of anyone who got in his way, it was either you agreed with him or your life was over. Many farmers didn’t want to give up farming and there were some people who didn’t like Stalin as well which is why there were so many people killed under Stalin. Stalin didn’t take any chances of being overthrown or killed which is why he was so strict and really didn’t care about killing anyone who wasn’t any good to him.
ReplyDelete6. I think the five years plans was very effective and successful because it made Russia more industrialized, it strengthen the soviet army, and also made the economy much better. Construction, transportation and industries grew a lot, which also gave more job opportunities to people. Production was increased meaning that the economy got much better because of it and there were more hospitals, schools, etc.
7. I would say that Stalinism was a continuation of Leninism because of them knew how to be a leader and both just wanted what was best for Russia. I would say that Stalin was more harsh and more of a dictator but it was just his method to make Russia stronger overall and make it into a better economy and it worked. Lenin was more of a political leader and I he wanted to make Russia better as well but it would have taken him longer than Stalin because Stalin was more aggressive and didn’t anything he could to make it possible.
Works Cited: Stalin packet
William Reis
ReplyDeleteIB History
Ms.Noce
1/16/15
1. How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
When Lenin died, Russia thought that Trotsky was gonna be the new leader, Lenin always thought that Stalin was too much of a barbaric man. Stalin became a Bolsheviks after Lenin was surprised by his achievements, Stalin was now working and committed to working with Lenin. Once Stalin was finally settled in Baku, he made friendships with Lenin and other of his friends. After a while with them he was put in jail because he got caught by the “Okhrana”. When he was finally out of jail, Lenin supported Stalin and fought against the Bolsheviks for their support of “Provisional Government”. Stalin had supporters from many sides, people were supporting his views and this caused for people to generate such a respect for him.
2. How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
- Between 1928 and 1941 there were some big changes to Russia. The introduction of the five year plan and the ending of the Kulaks. The five year plans were so that Russia would go through a industrial revolution, making Russia become a world power like the other countries who were already of them. At the same time the first Year wasn’t such a good thing for the Kulaks. The first year plan was planned for the Kulaks to be deported back to Siberia. Kulaks were not happy with this so they striked back.
3. To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
- I think lives for the people in Russia both improved and worse. When Stalin first became the leader of Russia, his goal was to industrialize it, make it a industrial world power, and what did this mean? It meant it would generate millions of Jobs. Millions of jobs were created for both the people who worked on Farms (the introduction of Collective Farms as a part of the first five year plan). Numerous jobs were also created in the industries it self, though workers were actually put to a lot of pressure and this caused them to quit their jobs and cause madness. The government was more hard on people than before, this could of improve or worsen your life depending on the choices you made. People who were against Stalin or the government itself, this wasn't such a good thing to do, Stalin didn't like people who stood against him.
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
- The agriculture in Russia was always the weakness towards enforcing the economy in Russia. If you wanted to rely on agriculture to help Russia through the hard times, you would have a hard time your self! Since Russia was a big country, that means that the population count is not normal, adding on that you need more source of food available. With this being said, we can also mention the Great Famine, lack of food missing for people causing millions of beings to die of hunger. The first Five year plan was to help change the Agriculture field in Russia, making big changes to how things work and then they were introduced with the collective farms and the ending of the Kulaks, things didn't go as planned.
5. Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
ReplyDelete- During the 1930s, I do agree with the statement of Stalin’s power based on terror. Stalin and the Kulaks. It seemed like Stalin didn’t appreciate the Kulaks, he divided them into divisions: "The first category… to be immediately eliminated; the second to be imprisoned in camps; the third, 150,000 households, to be deported.” (Spartacus Educational). On top of that, many Kulaks were put to forced labour camps. This was almost like the Holocaust for the Kulaks. Millions of Kulaks were deported back to Siberia and thousands of them were executed. With this being said, the kulaks fought back by killing their own livestock. The ending of the Kulaks was a part of the First Five Year Plan.
6. How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
- The infamous Five Year plan was a way to industrialize Russia, to make the country move forward. The first five year plan was extremely successful in terms of enriching the Russian economy, the first year was to grow the idea of collective farms, and the Kulaks and private traders, the government would be more harder on people and so on. After a while, Stalin stated that the majority of the Russia were working on farms and Industrial jobs were also dramatically increased. The third five year plans, at the end, not even the end because the plan was only on for 3 years, it had a dramatic failure into creating the economy better because Germany invaded Russia during the start of World War 2. Of course, this made it harder for Russia to move forward now.
7. How far would agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
- I don't agree with the statement of Stalinism was a continuation of Leninism. Yes, both leaders wanted a better Russia for its people but at the same time, they both had different perspectives on how to make Russia a world power country. Stalinism, we can bring up the Five Year plans that were targeted to industrialize the country yet, a lot of violence were caused by Stalin in terms of people opposing his ideas. Leninism was more of getting the public involved, getting different ideas from people, no violence involved.
WORK CITED:
Joseph Stalin Packet
Germairy Roman
ReplyDeleteMs. Noce
IB History 12
1/19/15
1. How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
I would say that the divisions among Stalin's opponents is significant in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s. If Julius Martov and Lenin never went against each other, then the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks would have never been created. The creation of the Bolsheviks was something of a platform for Stalin and his rise to power.
2. How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
The "Stalin Revolution" was both positive and negative. It was positive in the sense that Russia become stronger not only as a nation, but also economy wise. Stalin wanted Russia to stray from becoming weaker. The "Stalin Revolution" was also negative because his political affairs were not always fair due to him being a dictator.
3. To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
The lives of ordinary people in the USSR were changed for better and for worse. The unemployment rate in Russia became lower because Stalin employed people to advance Russia's economy and industry. Even though citizens became employed, it did not mean that everything was great. People were over worked and they also had to witness purges which is something that worsened the USSR as a result of Stalin's policies.
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
I agree with statement. Stalin wanted to advance Russia in the agricultural aspect since that was not the nation's strongest suit. Stalin wanted to create larger farms and in order to do that he had to eliminate the kulaks. It is not a great thing that he wanted to eliminate a group of people, but he thought it was for the better. The only way for Russia to move foward in the agricultural area, the kulaks had to be eliminated.
5. Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
I would fully agree with this view. Stalin was a dictator so that means that terror would be involved under his regime. Stalin would plan the killings of thousands of people. He was able to successfully carry out his plans in the form of purges.
6. How effective were the Five Year Plans in
creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
I would say that the Five Year Plans did help create a successful economy in the USSR. Many people became employed which helped advance Russia's economy. Russia also became one of the strongest powers in the world and was able to advance instead of going backwards.
7. How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
I wouldn't complete agree that Stalinism was a continuation of Leninism. What they both have in common is that they were both allies and wanted to change the face of Russia. Stalin was more of an aggressive and violent figure than Lenin was. They are similar in the sense that they wanted to strengthen Russia as a nation, but their attitudes and the way they carried out their plans were different.
Work Cited - Stalin Packet
1. How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
ReplyDeleteAs the old saying goes, divide and conquer. If Stalin stood against a unified Communist movement, he would have never risen to power. However, the Communist Party was divided between the Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Through this divide, he would get his first foot in; he took advantage of the Bolsheviks’ “The enemy of my enemy is my friend” mentality when he became one of Lenin’s select Bolsheviks. This division gave Stalin his entry point to the Communist Party, which would then lead him to becoming general secretary and finally shifting power to himself.
2. How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
The Stalin Revolution was the full shift of Bolshevism into Stalinism. It began with purging any remaining Old Bolsheviks and replacing them with Stalinized individuals. Policies, especially towards the peasant class shifted greatly. While the Bolsheviks gave land back to the peasants, Stalin took it from them again and had them all collectivized under the Soviet government. Stalin, on a slightly more positive note, began an industrial revolution in the Soviet Union, initiating thousands of projects for construction of factories, smelters, mines, railroads, etc. However, the workforce behind these projects was mainly forced workers, many of them innocent of their charges.
3. To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
Ordinary lives improved slightly, men and women acquired more equality in the workplace and unemployment reduced greatly. Unemployment however, was reduced not necessarily by offering more employment, but by forcing employment. Education was more widely available and of higher quality in order to advance the USSR, however large amounts of propaganda and misinformation seeped in for political purposes.
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
Stalin improved the USSR’s economy greatly, however the majority of this improvement was attributed to industrialization and the secondary and tertiary products that resulted from this. Agriculture was collectivized, although the improvement was not as noticeable. The improvement was mainly due to rationing, the majority of product was confiscated from peasants and the remainder rationed for peasants, meaning that the gross product remained relatively the same but more was destined for commercial use than for subsistence.
5. Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
I agree with such view, Stalin kept order in the Soviet Union through purging. Anyone who would dare say anything against him, question his authority or policies, or pose a threat to his power would be captured by the secret police and either sent to a GULAG (and never heard from again), tortured, or executed.
6. How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
ReplyDeleteThe Five Year Plans, beyond bringing famine to the ordinary people, managed to level Russia up with the leading industrial powers. Unemployment was almost inexistent (employment was forced sometimes however) and industrial production increased greatly. Agriculture improved although marginally.
7. How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
Although both Leninism and Stalinism both had plans for a great Russia, I would not call Stalinism a continuation of Leninism, simply a brutish, dictatorial version of Leninism. While Leninism relied more on returning power to the common people and taking it away from the rich, Stalinism took power away from the people and killed the rich while enforcing government policies with an iron fist. Both would have improved Russia, one more violent than the other.
SOURCES:
Stalin Packet.
Samantha Foster
ReplyDeleteIB History
Ms. Noce
1-18-15
The divisions among his opponents is significant in Stalin’s rise to power because it was easier for Stalin to eliminate them. Because his enemies were divided, Stalin managed to take them down one by one so that he could gain more power.
2. It is important to talk about the “Stalin revolution” in the USSR during 1928 to 1941 because it led to many political changes. To make sure his power was absolute, Stalin made sure he got rid of individuals belonging to the old Bolshevik party. Those individuals were replaced with those who were unconditionally loyal to Stalin. Because of Stalin, the outlook on peasants and in his Five Year Plan, Stalin used collectivization on peasant farms which led to the peasants suffering from famine.
3. There were some positive from the policies Stalin established but for the most part, Stalin’s policies did more harm than good for the lives of ordinary people. The peasants in particular, had been affected drastically due to Stalin forcing famine upon them. The forced famine was caused by Stalin’s Five Year Plan policy. The situation was hardly looked on because Stalin put in the effort to keep the forced famine a secret from the rest of the world. It tool non-Russian reporters such as Malcolm Muggeridge and Gareth Jones to shed light upon the situation through their journaling reports that would appear in the news paper.
4. The Soviet Union had always struggled when it came to agriculture. This struggle can be seen through Stalin’s forced famine upon the peasants. The is a quote that reads "the Five Year Plan had destroyed the breads-supplier of Russia"(spartacus-educational.com). This quote is saying how Stalin ruined Russia's agricultural growth by enforcing famine on peasants. It was the peasants who looked after the collective farms but without food, they had no energy work which meant slow agricultural growth.
5. I absolutely agree that Stalin’s power was based almost entirely on terror. Instilling fear in the general public was his way of making sure that everyone’s loyalty to him was absolute. It was also the reason why many people were afraid to criticize his actions because Stalin threatened to send them to the Balks as labor workers. Stalin’s use of terror was not only limited to the innocent citizens of Russia. He underwent a series of purges within the red army to eliminate all possible threats to him which meant officers Stalin thought capable of pulling off a military coup which would result to him losing his power.
6. There were some positive outcomes when it came to the Five Year Plan. Because of the Five Year Plan, Russia's industrial system grew rapidly and Stalin managed to get Russia caught up with the rest of the world. However in terms of agriculture, many people did not like the collectivization that the Five Year Plan enforced. Stalin never mentioned how the Red army tried to suppress workers who tried to rebel against collectivization which resulted in slow productivity.
7. I do not completely agree with the statement that Stalinism is a continuation of Leninism. In some ways it can be seen that way considering how Stalin’s time in prison led him to become a devoted Bolshevik. He sided with the ideals of Leninism created by Vladimir Lenin himself which set up the basic fundamentals of Stalinism. What differentiates Stalinism from Leninism is the means in which they were enforced. Stalin used threats and terrorism on ordinary civilians to get his ideals across while Lenin did not threaten the people. Some critics believed that Stalin had branched off from Leninism and acted on his own accord. He defied the ideals of Leninism and created new ones in their place in what would later become known as Stalinism.
Works Cited:
Deletehttp://spartacus-educational.com/RUSstalin.htm
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ReplyDeleteMu Ying Yu
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Ms. Noce
January 19, 2015
1. How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
--The divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin’s rise to supreme power were important during the 1920s because if not, Stalin would never gain the power he had and such great influence in Russia. During the time, if Martov and Lenin allied together there will no Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. The creation of these two things had set up great foundation for Stalin’s rise to power.
2. How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
-- The “Stalin Revolution” in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941 had both good and bad impact. The good impact are Stalin helped rise Russia’s economic to reach Europe top one and which help Russia became more powerful and stronger country in the world also showed the world that Russia is no more weak. The bad impact happened in political because Stalin is a dictator therefore rules and government is no more equal and fair.
3. To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
-- The lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve and worsen as a result of Stalin’s policies during the period 1928 to 1941. The improved part are under Stalin’s Five-Year Plan factories/companies had increase and therefore created more job opportunities for people to improve their living and help country’s economy. The worsen part was people eyewitnessed the purges, it was a nightmare to the people.
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
-- I agree with “ Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy” because at the time Stalin wanted to move forward agriculture to help rise economy. At the time, Stalin created collectivization and the purpose was to created larger farms to removed kulaks. From Stalin’s perspective, he think that it would be better if kulaks had removed from agriculture.
5. Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
-- I agree with this view because as we all know that Stalin was a dictator and a dictator can do anything that no matter how bad it is just to accomplished his goal. Therefore, there is no surprise why there are terror happened in Russia. The terror happened in 1930 caused thousands of people died and the purpose was to carry out his plan.
6. How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
-- The Five Year Plan were effective in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941 because the Plan rapidly improved Russia’s economy and created job opportunities for people. Because of the Plan created Russia to became the most strong and powerful country, no more weak.
7. How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?
-- I disagree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism because they both had in similar was to changed Russia to become better. When compare Leninism to Stalinism, Leninism created less terror to the country than Stalinism did. Under Stalinism rules are strict because if a person did something bad than other people under Stalinism will all view against that person. Instead, Leninism is more public, no violence and showed people that they had fairness.
Work Cited:
-- Joseph Stalin Packet
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ReplyDeleteNaomie Bourdeau
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Ms.Noce
January,19,2015
Joseph Stalin: Part Two
1.)How important were the divisions among his opponents in explaining Stalin's rise to supreme power during the 1920s?
- His division among his opponents were important towards the explanation of his rise to supreme power because at that time the party conference was happening and Lenin gave a suggestion to stalin that a “ new post of General Secretary should of been made”. His choice for the post was to put Stalin in that position.Stalin made and manipulated fully the power he had as General Secretary. Stalins main opponents for the subsequent leadership of the party did not see “ General Secretary as being no more than Lenin’s mouthpiece”. Ever since that Lenin went to the hospital because he was injured from a bullet due to the Kaplans Assassination attempt.He was not restored and he got paralyzed. So very soon, Stalin as “Lenin’s mouthpiece” became very important ,that's when his rising of supreme powers happened.
2.)How accurate is it to talk about the "Stalin Revolution" in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the period 1928 to 1941.
-Its very accurate to talk about stalin's revolution in economics and political affairs in USSR during the period 1928 to 1941, because Joseph Stalin created a new economic policy after he formed an alliance with Nikolay Bukharin.Where he limited farmers freedom towards selling their produce.For example the farmers were allowed to sell food on “the open market”but were not allowed to “employ people to work for them”.As supposed to collective farms, the soviet union where short in “grain supplies”during 1927.Then the first five year plan was introduced shortly after that, to work on the development of steel and iron ,and etc.. He wanted the economy to be better. Now for political affairs in that time period, stalin began building upon his ideology of destroying anything that was in his way, that tried to stop him. For example the elimination of the soviet agents happened, and also the excutution of several people that was within the soviet union who plotted and were involved of killing stalin ,during 1937.
3.)To what extent did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improve or worsen as a result of Stalin's policies during the period 1928 to 1941?
-Not very far,did the lives of ordinary people in the USSR improved as a result of stalin's policies during that time period. I say that because, some people would get arrested for admitting that they have been opposed to stalin's policies, Sometimes ,they would get killed in prison. Many complaints happened due to the“soviet union being industrialized too fast”. His policies was not fair,so based on these conditions people were not well treated.
4.)Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy. Assess the validity to this view of the Soviet economy during the Stalin years.
-During Stalin's years,the agriculture was poor stalins himself blamed Nikolai Bukharin and the new economic policy for these failures of agriculture. That also led the death of the Kulaks. The economy was bad,so stalin tries to promote the five year plan to better the economy. “ Peasants were putting their own welfare before that the soviet union”. That made stalins furious ,also collective farms had small farmers join together because there was not enough jobs.
5.)Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
-I agree very far with this because, stalin demanded everything to be done in his way otherwise it was death for whoever tried to stop him. For example he destroyed the whole red army because he felt that they were a threat to him. Also, he declared war on the kulaks. Stalin was very brutal and hard core he had his mindset on one thing and that was to get his goals reached.
ReplyDelete5.)Stalin's power during the 1930s was based almost entirely on terror. How far would you agree with this view?
-I agree very far with this because, stalin demanded everything to be done in his way otherwise it was death for whoever tried to stop him. For example he destroyed the whole red army because he felt that they were a threat to him. Also, he declared war on the kulaks. Stalin was very brutal and hard core he had his mindset on one thing and that was to get his goals reached.
6.)How effective were the Five Year Plans in creating a successful economy in the USSR up to 1941?
-The five year plan year plan concentrated on the development of iron and steel, and etc.. some of it was successful but then there were failures of some of it to. Overall, it was successful because it increased 111% within the coal production. Also increases happened in iron production by 335%. These claims happened rapidly because stalin justified them with terror
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7.)How far would you agree that Stalinism was just a continuation of Leninism?-
-I wouldn't agree ,because Lenin’s approach on Stalin being the General Secretary his rise to supreme power would of never happened .That's when Stalin had every eye drop for every conversation of communist leaders,then he gained that ideology and thats what he ruled with. Leninism, “took shape under the conditions of imperialism.” Thats exactly what stalin did not did,he took matters into his own hands and ruled vulgarly and cruelty.
Works Cited
Joseph Stalin Packet
Erick Volquez
ReplyDeleteIB History 12
Ms. Noce
Stalin (Part 2)
1. The Importance to the divisions among Stalin’s opponents in explaining his rise to power during the 1920 is tremendously significant. Being Leader of the Soviet Union, Lenin worked himself to the point that his goal was to simply put not only the soviet but Russia as a great power in the world. Lenin began to seek power among his leaders and saw many with potential; specially his successor, Trotsky. Trotsky was under Lenin’s rule as successor because he had determination and was always seeking a way to show Lenin that he had what it took to be the leader of the Soviet. Stalin, being secretary of the Soviet Union also wanted to seek this power and he presented “what he had as determination” to Lenin but Lenin saw things different in Stalin. Stalin was now looked as a possible traitor and non controlled person to take over the Soviet in Lenin’s eyes; this was also in Trotsky’s eyes but they did nothing but start an inner revolution in Stalin’s heart. When Lenin died, Trotsky was bound to take over the soviet but making his way up to power, Stalin exiled him and then had soviet agents kill him so that he could become the leader and the potential dictator that we know of. This was Lenin’s issue about having Stalin is in power; unfortunately, this did come true for the worst of Russia.
2. When speaking about Stalin’s revolution in economic and political affairs in the USSR during the 1920’s through the 1940’s, it is safe to say that this information had accuracy. Stalin’s plans (I believe) didn’t have any negative effects; the only thing that made it negative was the fact that he proclaimed himself a dictator and over pushed his people to work way to hard. I can understand that he wanted the country at its best but wanting 330% on something like electrical improvements was just too much. This was information that was spread all over Europe including the USA; this was information even analyzed by people like the soviet author who analyzed a part of Stalin’s revolution, the 5 year plan. I think that having a person like Stalin as a dictator and putting himself out there, things were going to be crystal clear to everyone around the world.
3. Ordinary, working, and social societies in the cities of USSR were greatly affected by Stalin’s revolutionary act through his reign. Because of the strong implementations of the Five year plan and those who were beginning to weak the economy (in Stalin’s eyes) made factories close that needed to be open to feed the people. Bread began to be missed in the Tables of Russia, Hunger began to spread and it was all because the Stalin didn’t want to let go of his ego. Now, In the beginning of the 5 year plan, people did get a lot of money especially those workers who Stalin saw that were being grateful for his work but this was only for a while before the Slovakia massacre which was the time that Stalin was at the peak of his power and showed total totalitarianism.
4. Agriculture was always the basic weakness of the Soviet economy because this was only working those who worked it. There needed to be some form of movement that would help the country and not feel behind. Although before the global economy was based on agriculture, the world began to look at things in a industrial way and Stalin being in power did not want to stay behind. This didn’t mean that agriculture wasn’t needed of course it was but, Industrialism was essential for the growth of the USSR. During Stalin’s five year plan, agriculture was looked down upon simply because Stalin wanted the country to run into a power that the world recognized.
5. I can only partially agree with this comment because Stalin’s plans were not made for terror, they were made for improvement; unfortunately, he over did himself and that is what was brought down as considered terror. Now, the five year plan for example was to increase the economy form the USSR and move away from the agriculture economy that USSR had. This was a success later in time because it really did help the economy but terror played a big role on this because of his actions. Asking for more than 100% of work from factory workers was just too much, things such as 330% of electrical movement and advancement was too much for people to handle and since this was holding the country back, Stalin began to implement terror but this was after.
ReplyDelete6. The Five Year plan of Stalin and during the USSR ruling, there was a mayor increase in coal and metal products. Having these increased products, there was a mayor effect in how things were going to run in the country. Stalin only implemented his cruelty when people didn’t mean his expectations and were lacking sufficiency of productivity. Even though this began to lower the rate of production, there wasn’t a mayor drop that could potentially hurt the country but something that it is clear enough is that Stalin really didn’t mess around with his policies as his vision was a vision that not even Lenin had for the country.
7. I totally disagree. Leninism was a form of government that of course derived from Lenin when taking over the Soviet Union. Lenin’s vision was to implement a form of economical system that could help farmers grow in their agriculture. He thought that this would potentially help the economy but those who refused to contribute to this economy process would be persecuted; this was Lenin’s strong hand. Stalinism derived from dictator Stalin. Stalin wanted to take Russia out of this agriculture economy and fix up a quick way to catch up to the world as the world was moving into the economic movement of industrialism. Stalin moved into terror because he didn’t want people to move away from the vision. Stalinism was so different from Leninism; although they had similarities like ruling the soviet with a strong hand, there was not a near similarity in the way they ruled and their vision of the USSR.
WORK CITED:
-Packet of Stalin