Stalinism

Stalinism ‘Stalinism’ is a word often used to describe a particular style of communism and it is associated with the leadership style, policies and practices adopted by Joseph Stalin It places a heavy emphasis on the need to obey the hierarchy, denounce internal debate and strictly adhere to the communist party line in any policy. From his rise to power until his death, Stalin maintained an iron grip on all aspects of Soviet life. Following World War One, Eastern Europe saw a revival of traditional authoritarian regimes. This was especially so in Russia. Following Lenin’s death in 1924, the future course of Communist policies and the dominance of the party in the Soviet Union were cast into uncertainty as two conflicting ideologies (the Left Wing Militants and the Right Wing Communists) competed for power. Joseph Stalin emerged as the new leader of the Russians in 1928 and under his leadership Communist economic policies were renewed along with the goals of the party. He pursued a doctrine of ‘Socialism in one Country’ in place of Lenin’s New Economic Policy (NEP). In subsequent years, the effects of these policies had a profound effect not only on the people of Russia but also the entire Soviet Republic. During the years of Stalin’s leadership, the Soviet Union emerged from being an economically backward nation into a superpower that rivaled the United States for global supremacy. When Stalin assumed power in Russia he quickly realised that the Soviet nation was far behind the West and that the economy would have to modernise very quickly if the nation was to survive. He felt that a strong economy would lead to a strong military, which he believed was necessary if the Soviet Union was to endure threats from external forces. Stalin also believed that a modernised country would also lead to the development of industry that could provide farmers with the necessary equipment to modernise farms and revolutionise agriculture. (During this period roughly 80% of Russia’s population was peasant farmers and Stalin felt that industrialisation would only increase and strengthen the proletariat – the natural supporters of communism and in turn this would increase the stability of his communist government. ) Yet the cost of this change was enormous: between twenty and forty million Soviet citizens are believed to have died under Stalin’s push for modernisation and control; nearly ten million people were interred in Soviet prison camps and it has been estimated that one in five citizens was an informer on their fellow countrymen and women. Stalin’s first Five year Plan (1928 -1932) called for rapid industrialisation and had an emphasis on heavy industry. All industry and services were nationalised, managers were given unrealistic quotas by central planners and trade unions were converted into propaganda mechanisms for increasing productivity. It also called for transforming Soviet agriculture from mainly individual farms into a system of State collective farms. Stalin believed that the collectivisation of farms would improve agricultural productivity and would result in grain surpluses that would be large enough to feed a growing labour force and used to pay for industrialisation. Stalin also thought that collectivisation would free up many peasants to participate in industrial work in the cities. Stalin’s Second Five year Plan (1933 – 1937) continued to emphasise the development of industry and aimed to triple coal, iron and steel output but there was also an emphasis on the development of communication systems such as railways and new industries such as the chemical industry . The third Five year Plan was from 1938 – 1941 when the war interrupted it. This plan saw an emphasis on weapon production and heavy industry. There were many achievements during the period of the Five Year Plans. Unemployment was almost non-existent during industrialisation. (In contrast, during the same period unemployment in the United States of America reached 15 million .) Education became free and compulsory and there were many more doctors in Russia. (By 1939 the Soviets had more doctors per head of population than Britain) . Overall, industrial production increased by around 400% during the 1930s . For all the apparent success of the Five Year Plans, there were serious failings. Production figures were often exaggerated to make it look as if targets had been met. Some of the goods were unusable because they had been turned out so quickly by unskilled workers. The workers often worked in terrible conditions and their quality of life was poor – some even died in the freezing conditions. There were many industrial accidents and deaths due to industrialisation. Millions of Soviet citizens were displaced or killed under Stalin’s leadership. Under Stalin’s rule family life changed dramatically. Stalin’s regime attempted to change the role of women and saw women participating just as male workers did in the factories. A number of new laws were introduced to ‘free’ women. These included the banning of wearing wedding rings, legalisation of abortions and more easily obtained divorces . The laws were designed to allow women more control over their lives and to work as equals in the new Soviet society. The concept of empowering women did not work as well as the government had hoped. Birth rates fell and divorces occurred more quickly than weddings occurred. Stalin was forced to change back many of his laws back to reduce divorce and abortion rates. Incentives were given for young couples as a means of increasing the birth rate. Stalin’s interference in the lives of Soviet citizens is another example of the control he held over Soviet society. Stalin introduced a system of labour camps, called Gulags as a means of dealing with the Soviet citizens who resisted him during the difficult period of industrialisation. People who were identified as ‘anti-communist’ were sentenced to be worked to death in camps. During the first Five year Plan there were around 30 000 prisoners in camps . Five years later more than 8 000 000 people were interred in camps for resisting Stalin’s plans . The concept of resistance was very broad, even families and acquaintances of an ‘enemy of the people’ could be arrested . The result was that Stalin had an almost endless supply of ‘unpaid labourers’ and ‘could carry out the most incredible projects at the lowest possible cost’ . To convince the Soviet people that he was the best choice of leader, Stalin began an intense campaign to have the people recognise him. Movies were made about his life, poems and books were written about him, posters and portraits of him were placed all over the country and every store had a small statue of him on display. Stalin was made to appear as if he was ‘Lenin’s disciple’ . Although Stalin’s presence was everywhere the truth about the atrocities he had ordered remained well hidden. (This is known as ‘cult of personality’ and comes about when political leaders of countries use the mass media to create a positive public image resulting in unquestioning flattery, praise and even hero worship. Often you can find cults of personalities in dictatorships. Stalin is often credited with possessing the most extensive cult of personality of all times) . Stalin regarded education as being vital to the success and growth of the new society he planned. He believed that children were the future workers of the nation and that it was much easier to influence them than their adult counterparts. Schools changed under Stalin’s regime. They became much stricter and courses were introduced to develop children into potential skilled workers. Discipline was harsh as it was thought that this best prepared the students for life in the factories. Producing a loyal Soviet Citizen who was intensely proud of their country’s history and able to contribute to Stalin’s new regime was the ultimate goal of the education system. This led to an educational policy which saw a backward nation raise the literacy rate of rural areas rise to 86% . During the early period of Stalin’s leadership, Stalin was somewhat fearful that his position as leader was under threat. He bore grudges and wanted revenge on anyone who had opposed him in the past. He was concerned about finding scapegoats for economic and social problems and he wanted to consolidate his control over the army and the party. Many of his policies, especially the speed and brutality of Collectivism, had led to considerable opposition and many in the Communist party wanted to build better relationships with the people. Under Stalin’s leadership, Russia and the Soviet Union saw many changes. Some of these were positive: by 1939 the country had become a major industrial nation and her progress was unmatched during the Great Depression when millions of Europeans and Americans were unemployed; workers who did not offend the State were better off than under the reign of the Tsar; industrial growth benefitted military forces; government was stable; and the population had access to much better health care than in many Western nations. However, a lot of this progress was made at considerable cost to the Russian people: millions died of famine in the failed experiment of collectivisation, Russia’s agriculture was at the same level in 1939 as it had been in 1928 but the population had increased; many of Russia’s most talented people had been murdered during the Purges of the 1930s; the population lived in fear of the secret police and were encouraged to inform on each other; the huge Soviet army had become ‘a body without a brain’ as most of its senior officers had been arrested and murdered during the Purges and Stalin’s control over Russia meant that freedom was the main thing people lost. Russian life was never the same again. Bibliography Betea, L. (2006) The woman in the communist regime. Meta-analysis about a gender study. [Online] Available www.jsri.ro/new/'download=jsri_14_articol_02_lavinia_betea.pdf [Accessed: 21 March 2009] Clark, K. (2000) The Soviet Novel: History as Ritual. 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