Lenin & Stalin

1. Lenin & Stalin Presentation created by Robert Martinez Primary Content Source: Prentice Hall World History Images as cited. historicalwallpapers.blogspot.com

2. Lenin’s first years as leader of Russia had been occupied in putting down civil war. Once the communist victory and his personal power secure, he turned to the enormous problem of rebuilding a state and an economy that had been shattered by World War I, two revolutions, and years of civil war. russiapedia.rt.com

3. In 1922, the Communists produced a constitution that seemed democratic and socialist. It set up an elected legislature, later called the Supreme Soviet, and gave all citizens over 18 the right to vote. All political power, resources, and means of production would belong to workers and peasants. The new government united much of the old Russian empire in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or Soviet Union. www.gettyimages.com

4. The Soviet Union was a multinational state made up of European and Asian peoples. In theory, all the member republics shared certain equal rights. Reality, however, differed greatly from theory in the Soviet Union. The Communist party, not the people, reigned supreme. Like the Russian czars, the party used the army and secret police to enforce its will. Russia, which was the largest republic, dominated the other republics. www.departments.bucknell.edu

5. On the economic front, Lenin retreated from his policy of “war communism,” which had brought the economy to near collapse. Under party control, factory and mine output had fallen. Peasants stopped producing gain, knowing it would only be seized by the government. www.dipity.com

6. In 1921, Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy. It allowed some capitalist ventures. Although the state kept control of banks, foreign trade, and large industries, small businesses were allowed to reopen for private profit. The government also stopped squeezing peasants for grain. Under the NEP, peasants held on to small plots of land and freely sold their surplus crops. community.middlebury.edu

7. Lenin’s compromise with capitalism helped the Soviet economy recover and ended armed resistance to the new government. By 1928, food and industrial production climbed back to prewar levels. The standard of living improved, too. But Lenin always saw the NEP as just a temporary retreat from communism. His successor would soon put the Soviet Union back on the road to “pure” communism. www.soviethistory.org

8. Lenin’s sudden death in 1924 set off a power struggle among Communist leaders. The chief contenders were Trotsky and Joseph Stalin. Trotsky was a brilliant Marxist thinker, a skillful speaker, and an architect of the Bolshevik Revolution. www.ebay.com

9. Stalin, by contrast, was neither a scholar nor an orator. He was, however, a shrewd political operator and behind-the-scenes organizer. history1900s.about.com

10. Stalin was born Joseph Djugashvili to a poor family in Georgia, a region in the Caucasus Mountains. As a boy, he studied for the priesthood. But his growing interest in revolution brought him under the seminary’s harsh discipline. Once, he was confined to a punishment cell for reading a novel about the French Revolution. commons.wikimedia.org

11. By 1900, Djugashvili had joined the Bolshevik underground and had taken the name Stalin, meaning “man of steel.” He organized robberies to get money for the party and spent time in prison and in Siberian exile. He played a far less important role in the revolution and the civil war than did Trotsky. But in the 1920s, he became general secretary of the party. He used that position to build a loyal group of Communist officials who owed their jobs to him. commons.wikimedia.org

12. As early as 1922, Lenin had expressed grave doubts about Stalin’s ambitious nature: “Comrade Stalin…has concentrated an enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure that he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution.” To Lenin, Stalin was “too rude.” Lenin urged the party to choose a successor “more tolerant, more loyal, more polite, and more considerate to comrades.” www.history.com

13. At Lenin’s death, Trotsky and Stalin jockeyed for position. They differed on most issues, including the future of communism. Trotsky, a firm Marxist, urged support for a worldwide revolution against capitalism. Stalin took a more cautious view. Efforts to foster Marxist revolutions in Europe after World War I had failed. Instead, he wanted to concentrate on building socialism at home first. www.guardian.co.uk

14. With political cunning, Stalin put his own supporters into top jobs and isolated Trotsky within the party. Stripped of party membership, Trotsky fled the country in 1929. Still, he continued to criticize Stalin. In 1940, Trotsky was murdered in Mexico by a Stalinist agent. www.chinaworker.info

15. Once in power, Stalin set out to make the Soviet Union into a modern industrial power. In the past, said Stalin, Russia had suffered defeats because of its economic backwardness. In 1928, he proposed the first of several “five-year plans” aimed at building heavy industry, improving transportation, and increasing farm output. /isemodernworldhistorygrade9.wikispaces.com

16. To achieve this growth, he brought all economic activity under government control. The Soviet Union developed a command economy, in which government officials made all basic economic decisions. Under Stalin, the government owned all businesses and allocated financial and other resources. By contrast, in a capitalist economy, the free market controls most economic decisions. Businesses are privately owned and operated by individuals for profits. shsstalinandredarmy.wikispaces.com

17. Stalin’s five-year plans set high production goals, especially for heavy industry and transportation. The government pushed workers and managers to meet these goals by giving bonuses to those who succeeded, and by punishing those who did not. Between 1928 and 1939, large factories, hydroelectric power stations, and huge industrial complexes rose across the Soviet Union. Oil, coal, and steel production grew. Mining expanded, and new railroads were built. www.soviethistory.org

18. Despite the impressive progress in some areas, Soviet workers had little to show for their sacrifices. Some former peasants did improve their lives, becoming skilled factory workers or managers. Overall, standards of living remained poor. Wages were low, and consumer goods were scarce. Also, central planning was often inefficient, causing shortages in several areas and surpluses in others. brokenworld.wikispaces.com

19. Many managers, concerned only with meeting production quotas, turned out large quantities of low-quality goods. During and after the Stalin era, the Soviet Union continued to do well in heavy industry, such as the production of farm machinery. However, its planned economy failed to match that of the capitalist world in making consumer goods such as clothing, cars, and refrigerators. www.artic.edu

20. Stalin also brought agriculture under government control. Under the NEP, peasants had held on to small plots of land. But Stalin saw that system as being inefficient and a threat to state power. He forced peasants to give up their private plots and live on either state-owned farms or collectives, large farms owned and operated by peasants as a group. www.artic.edu

21. Peasants were permitted to keep their houses and personal belongings, but all farm animals and implements were to be turned over to the collective. The state set all prices and controlled access to farm supplies. theredphoenixapl.org

22. On collectives, the government planned to provide tractors, fertilizers, and better seed, and to teach peasants modern farm methods. The government needed increased grain output to feed workers in the cities. Surplus grain would also be sold abroad to earn money to invest in industry. www.allrussias.com

23. Peasants resisted collectivization by killing farm animals, destroying tools, and burning crops. The government responded with brutal force. www.xtimeline.com

24. Stalin sought to destroy the kulaks, or wealthy peasants. The government confiscated kulaks’ land and sent them to labor camps. Thousands were killed or died from overwork. www.mahalo.com

25. Collectivization took a horrendous toll. Angry peasants often grew just enough to feed themselves. In response, the government seized all the grain, leaving the peasants to starve. This ruthless policy, combined with poor harvests, led to a terrible famine. Between five and eight million people died in Ukraine alone. www.thepeoplesvoice.org

26. Although collectivization increased Stalin’s control, it did not improve farm output. During the 1930s, grain production inched upward, but meat, vegetables, and fruits remained in short supply. Feeding the population would remain a major problem in the Soviet Union. kcmeesha.com

27. Even though Stalin’s power was absolute, he harbored obsessive fears that rival party leaders were plotting against him. In 1934, he launched the Great Purge. In this reign of terror, Stalin and his secret police cracked down especially on Old Bolsheviks. His net soon widened to target army heroes, industrial managers, writers, and ordinary citizens. They were charged with a wide range of crimes, from counterrevolutionary plots to failure to meet production quotas. www.sharpe-online.com

28. Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin staged a series of spectacular public “show trials” in Moscow. Former Communist leaders confessed to all kinds of crimes after officials tortured them or threatened their families or friends. Many purged party members were never tried but were sent to force-labor camps in Siberia and elsewhere. Others were executed. Secret police files reveal that at least four million people were purged during the Stalin years. www.tumblr.com

29. The purges increased Stalin’s power. Old revolutionaries were replaced by young party members who owed absolute loyalty to him. All Soviet citizens were now well aware of the consequences of disloyalty. www.rferl.org

30. However, Stalin also paid a price. The victims of the purges included most of the nation’s military officers. This loss of military leadership would weigh heavily on Stalin in 1941, when Germany invaded the Soviet Union. www.ushmm.org

31. Between 1917 and 1939, the Soviet Union pursued two very different goals in foreign policy. As Communists, both Lenin and Stalin wanted to bring about the worldwide revolution that Marx had predicted. But as Russians, they wanted to guarantee their nation’s security by winning the support of other countries. The result of pursuing two different goals was a contradictory and generally unsuccessful foreign policy. library.thinkquest.org

32. Lenin formed the Communist International, or Comintern. It aided revolutionary groups around the world and urged colonial peoples to rise up against imperialist powers. Yet the Soviet Union also sought to join the League of Nations and to improve relations with western governments. links.org.au

33. The Comintern’s propaganda against capitalism made western powers highly suspicious of the Soviet Union. In the United States, fear of Bolshevik plots led to the “Red Scare” in the early 1920s. Britain broke off relations with the Soviet Union when evidence revealed Soviet schemes to turn a 1926 strike into a revolution.

34. Even so, the Soviet Union slowly won recognition from western powers and increased trade with capitalist countries. It also joined the League of Nations. However, mistrust still poisoned relations, especially after the Great Purge. skepticism.org

35. Historians often compare the Russian, French, and American revolutions. The American Revolution was in many ways the least radical of the three. American leaders did not order mass executions or seize property. bicycle2011.com

36. French revolutionaries executed thousands and nationalized the lands of the Church and the aristocracy. www.sinj.com

37. In Russia, Stalin seized even the lands of the peasant masses. His policies caused millions of deaths. www.urbantitan.com

38. All three revolutions had a worldwide impact. The Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution served as models of democratic government. The French Revolution inspired revolts across Europe. www.blueridge.edu

39. The Soviet Union would support revolts in many lands and become a model for other communist governments. Yet today, Russia and most of its allies have abandoned the goals of Lenin and Stalin. Democratic nations continue to build on the principles preached during the American and French revolutions. molinaopinion.blogspot.com