Emergence of Josef Stalin By Mr. Baker
Upbringing Stalin was born the son of a poor shoe repairer and a washer-woman He learned Russian while attending a church school and attended Tiflis Theological Seminary to become a priest It was there when he first read Karl Marx He was expelled for revolutionary activity
Stalin Rises In Leadership Between 1901 and 1913, he was arrested, imprisoned, and exiled 7 times! His revolutionary activity caught the attention of Lenin, who named him to the board of Pravda, the party newspaper Within two weeks he was given a seat on the Executive Committee of the Soviet, but was exiled to Siberia until 1917
Stalin Rises In Leadership When he learned that the Tsar abdicated, Stalin returned in March 1917 He briefly led the Bolsheviks in July 1917, when Lenin s failed uprising caused him to go into hiding Stalin played little part in the October Revolution that placed the Bolsheviks in power
Stalin Rises In Leadership During the civil war, Stalin was sent to Tsaritsyn (the future Stalingrad) as Director General of food supplies Stalin also reorganized branches of the Cheka and suppressed many plots by simply arresting the accused and having them executed
Stalin Rises In Leadership In 1922, he came General Secretary of the Central Committee. He was also member of the Politburo and of many other committees The same year, Lenin suffered a series of strokes which left him nearly incapacitated
Lenin s Potential Successors Leon Trotsky Trotsky was an intellectual and formerly a member of the Mensheviks (he recently had joined the Bolsheviks) He had led the Red Army and was probably the most able successor, but he was very arrogant and did not have political allies He was prepared to criticize the party for the growth of bureaucraticatization
Lenin s Potential Successors Kamenev and Zinoviev These candidates lost credibility by allying themselves with Trotsky
Lenin s Potential Successors Bukharin Was the editor of Pravda and Secretary of the Comintern He supported Lenin s NEP He was not a viable candidate to succeed Lenin because his belief system was not sufficiently Marxist
Lenin s Potential Successors Josef Stalin Was underestimated and was careful never to criticize the party As General Secretary of the Cabinet, Stalin controlled promotions and ranks in the Soviet Union. He filled the party with those who were personally loyal to him He used the image of Lenin and the Cult of Lenin to present himself as the rightful heir. Stalin presented himself as the only true Leninist The Cheka was used to find information which could be used to discredit his opponents
Lenin s Death Lenin learned of Stalin s actions and began preparing letters and speeches in order to crush Stalin politically However, on March 7, 1923, he suffered his last stroke and lost the power of speech He died on January 21, 1924
Stalin Rises to Power Stalin did not allow Trotsky to attend his funeral, which discredited Trotsky Stalin discredited Lenin s warnings to others of himself because Lenin was a sick man surrounded by womenfolk at the time of his death Stalin ruthlessly discredited or shot his comrades
Rapid Industrialization Stalin wanted rapid industrialization to: Free Russia from dependence on capitalist states for goods Put all national resources under government control, including workers Make Russia economically strong so that she would be able to produce more powerful weapons Prove that the socialist system was more successful than capitalism
Rapid Industrialization Was rapid in the cities due to coercion and strict enforcement of worker discipline Stalin encouraged enthusiasm and that people were part of something new and good Educational programs would replace the bourgeoisie intellectuals with a new Soviet educated class
Five Year Plans Were plans to industrialize Russia with emphasis on heavy industries such as coal, iron, oil, steel, and electricity Capitalist models were used for nearly every project Targets were set which industries had to meet Exaggerated figures were often submitted to demonstrate that a particular factory had exceeded expectations
Gosplan This was a group responsible for administering the Five Year Plans They decided: The amount of every article the country should produce How much of the national effort should go into the formation of capital and how much for consumption The wages all classes of workers should receive The price of all goods exchanged
First Five Year Plan (1928-1932) Aimed to create an industrial base for further development through the rapid expansion of coal and steel production, electrical power, and transport It called for a 20% increase per year, but it was not realistic since peasants had little skill and central planners were inexperienced It met with some success as a result of enthusiastic workers puffed up by propaganda
Second Five Year Plan (1933-1937) The aim was diversification The focus shifted to communication systems such as railways and new industries such as the chemical industry The skilled workforce meant excellent growth in certain areas such as engineering and metal working The rise to power of Hitler demanded that more and more resources be allocated to weapon production
Third Five Year Plan (1938-1941) The aim was weapons production Its goal for growth was 12% It was not successful because: There were labor shortages due to the purges and famines caused by collectivization Stalin s purges led to disorganization in the party
Assessment of the Five Year Plans Russia was transformed into a major industrial power second only to the U.S. The Five Year Plans allowed the USSR to resist the German invasion Living standards declined at first, then improved slowly Russians suffered a lack of consumer goods and daily necessities Communist principles were compromised good workers were rewarded with higher pay and competition between factories was encouraged
Collectivization of Agriculture Industrial development could not occur without sufficient food production Collectivization was pursued as a means of giving the government the food supply needed to support industrial areas
Collectivization of Agriculture Peasants were forced to work on collective farms All their belongings were confiscated and those peasants who resisted were killed or faced starvation The main goal of the revolution from the peasants point of view was land ownership The kulaks resisted strongly by smashing farm tools, burning farm buildings, slaughtering livestock, and setting crops on fire
Collectivization of Agriculture In 1932, a crop failure came which resulted in a famine that killed 5 million By 1939, 95% of Russian farms had been collectivized, but some concessions were made to peasants: Were allowed too keep small plots for their own use Were able to keep their own cattle Were able to sell their extra crops on the open market for profit
Collectivization of Agriculture Results: The workers were guaranteed a supply of cheap food The produce of collectives was sold in overseas markets for big profit the money could be used in industries The government gained greater control over the production and allocation of food, which helped during German s invasion Kulaks were virtually eliminated Had an enormous human cost