How Did Joseph Stalin Impact The Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin had a profound and lasting impact on the Soviet Union prior to the start of World War 2 in 1939, however, his impacts came at a detrimental cost with his rule being characterised by his totalitarian regime. Stalin’s policies of collectivisation and industrialisation transformed the Soviet economy so that it could compete with other modern world powers. Stalin’s political approach used repression and purges to consolidate and retain power. Social reforms regarding education and the role of women provided social welfare, however, his cultural impact involved and developed the idea of socialist realism and the cult of personality.

Under Joseph Stalin’s leadership, the Soviet Union's economy was entirely transformed by the start

During the 1920s, the Soviet Union saw a rapid increase in cultural activity through Soviet cinema, however, when Stalin came into leadership in 1924, he implemented the idea of socialist realism. Socialist Realism required all Soviet artists, writers, and influential figures to ensure that all their work that they produced depicted communism and Soviet society in a positive light, whether this be true or not. Stalin also ensured that it was depicted in a realistic style. Writers were not allowed to write fantasy novels but had to write about real things, which became difficult. A poem, called Get off the Stove, ‘was first praised for encouraging production; then Stalin said the poem unfairly criticized workers, and it was banned (Baker and Bassett, 1988).’ This shows that what could be shown to the public was up to Stalin’s interpretation, which changed regularly. This made it hard for creators to work within the guidelines and develop something that was approved. Although there were harsh conditions, according to Trisha Low in her book, Socialist Realism, ‘our tools for escapism usually end up as allegories of what's true. (Low, 2019)’ Low believes that throughout these harsh moments, each piece of creative material that was created under the idea of socialist realism somewhat shows the true reality of life in the Soviet Union. Socialist realism was extremely significant in the development of Stalin’s cult of personality which is where Joesph Stalin was idealized through propaganda and complete flattery and praise. Stalin controlled and manipulated the way that the public viewed him through the media and the arts. Propaganda and censorship placed Stalin at the forefront of newspapers, and artworks as well as pushed him as a positive role model in TV, which shaped the public’s views to believe that Stalin was a man of honour as well