Joseph Stalin

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian and 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.

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.

Following the death of Lenin, political turmoil ensued. There was a struggle for the control of the Bolshevik Party, primarily between a young revolutionary who was known as the "Man of Steel" and a respected military commander named Leon Trotsky. After three years of political disorganization, Stalin was finally able to take control of the Bolshevik Party, and, henceforth, the Soviet Union.

Stalin implemented 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.

In 1936, Stalin implemented a constitution, officially establishing the unique Soviet system that we are familiar with. This system was a variation on the republican system applied in the west, working off of party councils that centralize further and further.

During the Great Patriotic War, Stalin led with great valiance in the fight against the 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.

Stalin's rule was not without it's flaws; repression of Christianity was brutal and aggressive, characterized by executions such as that of Seraphim Chichagov in 1937, a Metropolitan bishop of the Russian Orthodox Church. His economic policies were quite unpopular despite their success as well.

Notable Works

• Anarchism or Socialism? (1907)
• Marxism and the National Question (1913)
• Foundations of Leninism (1924)
• Trotskyism or Leninism? (1924)
• The Results of the First Five-Year Plan (1933)
• Dialectical and Historical Materialism (1938)
• Economic Problems of Socialism in the USSR (1952)

Further Reading

• Constitution (Fundamental law) of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics - Joseph Stalin, 1936
• Marxists.org Stalin Archive
• Marxism-Leninism