Stalin rose to power in Soviet Russia after developing his Socialism in One Country theory, which was more appealing among the communists than Trotsky’s permanent revolution. After Stalin became dictator of Soviet Russia, he killed anyone who he thought would be a threat to his power, including Trotsky. However, there was one group that Stalin was especially concerned about: the peasants. He believed that they held a legitimate political threat, so he had to figure out ways to remove them immediately. First, Stalin forced them to give up all of their land; then, he sent them off the collectivization farms, where they would work for Stalin. In the farms, the living conditions of the peasants were inhumane. They had little food and anything that …show more content…
In Volume 2 of The Great Famine in Ukraine in 1932-1933, it writes that peasants were denied opportunities to travel in quest of food. They are intentionally not allowing the peasants to acquire food and forcing them to starve. This is bringing about physical destruction of the peasants because Communists are not allowing the peasants to seek or receive help, even though they know that the peasants are suffering. By not allowing the peasants to get food, they are knowingly starving them. They also prohibited peasants from special places of employment that would allow them produce food. In the book, it also writes that a special law was enacted “to establish a commercial blockade of the Ukrainian villages”, which would prevent peasants in Ukraine from getting access to food. Furthermore, it prevented outside regions from helping the famine in Ukraine. Not only could the peasants not ask for help because they were restricted, but also they could not receive help from other areas. This action is also intentionally hurting the peasants who are starving and bringing about physical destruction to them. Stalin strictly prohibiting peasants from getting help is clearly an intentional act that will physically hurt the peasants even