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'''Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin''' was a Georgian and [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet]] revolutionary and political leader who was the paramount leader of the USSR from 1927 to his death in 1953. Stalin synthesized the ideology of [[Marxism-Leninism]] from the works of [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]] and [[Vladimir Lenin]], which has become the standard for communist parties internationally and the basis for numerous successful proletarian revolutions following. Stalin is a controversial figure in today's political climate, hailed by many in the West as a murderous dictator but celebrated by many in the East as a revolutionary hero. | |||
'''Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin''' was a Georgian and [[Union of Soviet Socialist Republics|Soviet]] revolutionary and political leader who was the paramount leader of the USSR from 1927 to his death in 1953. Stalin synthesized the ideology of [[Marxism-Leninism]] from the works of [[Karl Marx]], [[Friedrich Engels]] and [[Vladimir Lenin]], which has become the standard for communist parties internationally and the basis for numerous successful proletarian revolutions following. Stalin is a controversial figure in today's political climate, celebrated in the East as a revolutionary hero | |||
==Stalin's Leadership== | ==Stalin's Leadership== | ||
When the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917 succeeded and the [[Bolshevik Party]] took power, led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], Russia was in shambles. The Russian Empire had not fared well during [[World War I]], allocating a large amount of their limited national budget to fighting this incredibly unpopular war. Lenin implemented the [[New Economic Policy]], the temporary establish of state capitalism, to help get the economy back on track. By the time of Lenin's death in 1924, though the new Soviet Union struggled economically, there was now a paved road to the path of [[socialism]]. | When the [[Russian Revolution]] of 1917 succeeded and the [[Bolshevik Party]] took power, led by [[Vladimir Lenin]], Russia was in shambles. The Russian Empire had not fared well during [[World War I]], allocating a large amount of their limited national budget to fighting this incredibly unpopular war. Lenin implemented the [[New Economic Policy]], the temporary establish of state capitalism, to help get the economy back on track. By the time of Lenin's death in 1924, though the new Soviet Union struggled economically, there was now a paved road to the path of [[socialism]]. | ||
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Stalin implemented [[central planning|5 year plans]] to get the Soviet economy back on track with the rest of the world and further industrialize the Soviet Union. These 5 year plans worked, bringing the Soviet economy up to speed with the rest of the world and transforming the Soviet Union from an agrarian peasant state to a fully industrialized world superpower. The USSR was also one of the few countries unaffected by the Great Depression in the 1930s, both due to the efficiency of their economy and their isolation from the West. | Stalin implemented [[central planning|5 year plans]] to get the Soviet economy back on track with the rest of the world and further industrialize the Soviet Union. These 5 year plans worked, bringing the Soviet economy up to speed with the rest of the world and transforming the Soviet Union from an agrarian peasant state to a fully industrialized world superpower. The USSR was also one of the few countries unaffected by the Great Depression in the 1930s, both due to the efficiency of their economy and their isolation from the West. | ||
His economic policies, like Industrialization - were immensely popular among the people. The Bolsheviks under the leadership of Stalin managed to mobilize the entirety of the workers & peasants for the transformation of their country, bringing them into the fold of building their new society and securing a brighter future. The masses were imbued with a sense of “quasi-religious enthusiasm”<ref>https://archive.org/details/sovietcommunismn02webb</ref> Soviet Communism: A New Civilization, IBSN: 9781473311374] and gave them a real sense of purpose, with hard work and sacrifice (by means of initial low wages etc.), they were successful in this transformation. If the masses of people didn’t support such policies, if they “didn’t want” industrialization or opposed the way in which it was carried out, the achievements | His economic policies, like Industrialization - were immensely popular among the people. The Bolsheviks under the leadership of Stalin managed to mobilize the entirety of the workers & peasants for the transformation of their country, bringing them into the fold of building their new society and securing a brighter future. The masses were imbued with a sense of “quasi-religious enthusiasm”<ref>https://archive.org/details/sovietcommunismn02webb</ref> Soviet Communism: A New Civilization, IBSN: 9781473311374] and gave them a real sense of purpose, with hard work and sacrifice (by means of initial low wages etc.), they were successful in this transformation. If the masses of people didn’t support such policies, if they “didn’t want” industrialization or opposed the way in which it was carried out, the achievements & the speed at which they were achieved would’ve been impossible, The mobilization of the masses of people would’ve been impossible, an innumerable of issues would’ve arose which did not. The work they put in wasn’t in vain, its benefits were immediate and ever-increasing.<ref>https://archive.org/details/stalinera0000unse Anna Strong, The Stalin Era, IBSN: 9781460969922</ref> This also allowed for the modernization of the Red Army, the capacity of Soviet industry to produce war materials, the huge reserve of educated and fit men to call into battle, and Collectivization allowed for the stockpiling of foodstuffs to prevent paralysis in the town and country. This was incredibly crucial to the survival of the Soviet State in the coming Nazi onslaught.<ref>https://archive.org/details/stalinmanofhistory Ian Grey, Stalin: Man of History. IBSN: 9781640190566]</ref> | ||
In 1936, Stalin implemented a constitution<ref>https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1936/12/05.htm%7Cnew</ref>, officially establishing the unique Soviet system that we are familiar with. This system was a brilliant innovation, largely by Stalin personally - who thought that free, secret, and universal elections would give the section of the leadership that had succumbed to the disease of bureaucratism a good drubbing and have them casted from their positions. In the book by Wendy Z. Goldman titled "Terror & Democracy in the age of Stalin" it states: | In 1936, Stalin implemented a constitution<ref>https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1936/12/05.htm%7Cnew</ref>, officially establishing the unique Soviet system that we are familiar with. This system was a brilliant innovation, largely by Stalin personally - who thought that free, secret, and universal elections would give the section of the leadership that had succumbed to the disease of bureaucratism a good drubbing and have them casted from their positions. In the book by Wendy Z. Goldman titled "Terror & Democracy in the age of Stalin" it states: | ||
“Alongside the discussion of former oppositionists, party leaders introduced two new concepts: democracy (demokratiia) and criticism of authority. | “Alongside the discussion of former oppositionists, party leaders introduced two new concepts: democracy (demokratiia) and criticism of authority. | ||
"... Stalin, Zhdanov, and N. M. Shvernik, the head of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, emphasized the need for multicandidate, secret-ballot elections for posts within the Party, the soviets, and the unions. Contending that the political culture had become increasingly ossified, self-serving, and bureaucratic, they invited the rank and file to reinvigorate their governing institutions, ... The plenum strongly urged not only rank-and-file party and union members but also ordinary citizens to challenge their local and regional leaders and rebuild democracy from below.” | "... Stalin, Zhdanov, and N. M. Shvernik, the head of the All-Union Central Council of Trade Unions, emphasized the need for multicandidate, secret-ballot elections for posts within the Party, the soviets, and the unions. Contending that the political culture had become increasingly ossified, self-serving, and bureaucratic, they invited the rank and file to reinvigorate their governing institutions, ... The plenum strongly urged not only rank-and-file party and union members but also ordinary citizens to challenge their local and regional leaders and rebuild democracy from below.” | ||
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During the [[Great Patriotic War]], Stalin led with great valiance in the fight against the [[Fascism|Fascists]] alongside U.S. president [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]]. Roosevelt was an admirer of Stalin's leadership, and advanced US-Soviet relations in a very positive way during this time. | During the [[Great Patriotic War]], Stalin led with great valiance in the fight against the [[Fascism|Fascists]] alongside U.S. president [[Franklin D. Roosevelt]] and British Prime Minister [[Winston Churchill]]. Roosevelt was an admirer of Stalin's leadership, and advanced US-Soviet relations in a very positive way during this time. | ||
The policy of freedom of religion was first declared immediately following the October Revolution, in the Decree “Freedom of Conscience” in 1918 [ | The policy of freedom of religion was first declared immediately following the October Revolution, in the Decree “Freedom of Conscience” in 1918 [Freedom of Religious Conscience – Seventeen Moments in Soviet History | Freedom of Religious Conscience], further in the 1924 Constitution, then again in 1936 Constitution. Believers in any religion were never repressed for their beliefs, had the right to worship. | ||
Stalin had this to say to anyone who infringed on people's right to freedom of religion: | Stalin had this to say to anyone who infringed on people's right to freedom of religion: | ||
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The repression of the Church in the years of the Revolution & subsequent Civil War, was both a result of the almost universal joining or supporting of the White Army by the clergy who had just lost all their privileges and benefits from their place in society under Tsardom, and a bottom-up phenomena on behalf of the masses of people, mainly the peasants, who had been exploited to the hilt by the Church all the years before. Resentment on behalf of the peasantry towards the Church had begun before the Bolsheviks or Stalin had anything to do with it. | The repression of the Church in the years of the Revolution & subsequent Civil War, was both a result of the almost universal joining or supporting of the White Army by the clergy who had just lost all their privileges and benefits from their place in society under Tsardom, and a bottom-up phenomena on behalf of the masses of people, mainly the peasants, who had been exploited to the hilt by the Church all the years before. Resentment on behalf of the peasantry towards the Church had begun before the Bolsheviks or Stalin had anything to do with it. | ||
Repression after the Revolution and Civil War again mainly targeted the clergy of the heavily corrupted Church, that was only freed of its corruption after the October Revolution after the corrupt clergy were purged | Repression after the Revolution and Civil War again mainly targeted the clergy of the heavily corrupted Church, that was only freed of its corruption after the October Revolution after the corrupt clergy and were purged, the church had not only been co-opted by modern capitalism but also infiltrated by foreign elements. The Church also played a role in cleansing itself of these elements, especially after establishing official ties with the Soviet State. | ||
The Church first declared loyalty to the Soviet State in 1923, under Patriarch Tikhon. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Tikhon_of_Moscow] Following just four years later, in 1927, under the famous Patriarch Sergius, the Church declared unquestionable loyalty to and gained official relations with the Soviet State.<ref>[https://istmat.org/node/34541 Message to the flock of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) and members of the Patriarchal Holy Synod. July 16/29, 1927.]/</ref> | The Church first declared loyalty to the Soviet State in 1923, under Patriarch Tikhon. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patriarch_Tikhon_of_Moscow] Following just four years later, in 1927, under the famous Patriarch Sergius, the Church declared unquestionable loyalty to and gained official relations with the Soviet State.<ref>[https://istmat.org/node/34541 Message to the flock of Metropolitan Sergius (Stragorodsky) and members of the Patriarchal Holy Synod. July 16/29, 1927.]/</ref> | ||
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“In the period from 20-30, 150 churches were completely destroyed in Moscow and on the territory of the surrounding areas. 300 of them (the remaining) were converted into factory workshops, clubs, dormitories, prisons, detention centers and colonies for teenagers and street children. Architectural plans provide for the demolition of more than 500 remaining buildings of temples and churches.” | “In the period from 20-30, 150 churches were completely destroyed in Moscow and on the territory of the surrounding areas. 300 of them (the remaining) were converted into factory workshops, clubs, dormitories, prisons, detention centers and colonies for teenagers and street children. Architectural plans provide for the demolition of more than 500 remaining buildings of temples and churches.” | ||
“On the basis of the above, the Central Committee considers it impossible to design buildings due to the destruction of churches, which should be considered architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture.” | “On the basis of the above, the Central Committee considers it impossible to design buildings due to the destruction of churches and churches, which should be considered architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture.” | ||
“The bodies of Soviet power and the workers' and peasants' militia are obliged to take measures up to disciplinary and party responsibility for the protection of architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture.”<ref>[https://stalinism.ru/stalin-i-tserkov/on-byil-veruyuschim.html “He was a Believer” by Dmitry Dudko]</ref> | “The bodies of Soviet power and the workers' and peasants' militia are obliged to take measures up to disciplinary and party responsibility for the protection of architectural monuments of ancient Russian architecture.”<ref>[https://stalinism.ru/stalin-i-tserkov/on-byil-veruyuschim.html “He was a Believer” by Dmitry Dudko]</ref> | ||
When Stalin assumed power, there were only 780 Churches in the Soviet Union. When he died, there were 22,000.<ref>[https://ruskline.ru/analitika/2016/03/17/bogodannyj_vozhd/ Dmitry Yazov, “God-given leader”]</ref> | When Stalin assumed power, there were only 780 Churches in the Soviet Union. When he died, there were 22,000.<ref>[https://ruskline.ru/analitika/2016/03/17/bogodannyj_vozhd/ Dmitry Yazov, “God-given leader”]</ref> | ||
== Notable Works== | == Notable Works == | ||
*''Anarchism or Socialism?'' (1907) | * ''Anarchism or Socialism?'' (1907) | ||
*''Marxism and the National Question'' (1913) | * ''Marxism and the National Question'' (1913) | ||
*''Foundations of Leninism'' (1924) | * ''Foundations of Leninism'' (1924) | ||
*''Trotskyism or Leninism?'' (1924) | * ''Trotskyism or Leninism?'' (1924) | ||
*''The Results of the First Five-Year Plan'' <u>(</u>1933) | * ''The Results of the First Five-Year Plan'' <u>(</u>1933) | ||
*''Dialectical and Historical Materialism'' (1938) | * ''Dialectical and Historical Materialism'' (1938) | ||
*''Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR'' (1952) | * ''Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR'' (1952) | ||
==Further Reading== | == Further Reading == | ||
*[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1936/12/05.htm Constitution (Fundamental law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics] - Joseph Stalin, 1936 | * [https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/1936/12/05.htm Constitution (Fundamental law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics] - Joseph Stalin, 1936 | ||
*[https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/decades-index.htm Marxists.org Stalin Archive] | * [https://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/stalin/works/decades-index.htm Marxists.org Stalin Archive] | ||
*[[ | * [[Marxism-Leninism]] | ||