Question: Evaluate the rule of Stalin in the Soviet Union, taking into consideration the changes made and the methods used.
Russia’s turbulent start in the 20th century was characterized by their involvement in the first world war, being the critical factor in the Bolsheviks seize for power in the October Revolution in 1917. Vladimir Lenin rose into power and lead Russia toward a communist nation with extreme centralization and doctrinaire socialism but the Kronstadt Rebellion of March 1921 forced Vladimir Lenin to begin the New Economic Party in order to stay in power. The policy allowed private ownership and management of agriculture, trade, and small businesses. However, upon Lenin’s death in 1924, rose Joseph Stalin as the leader of
…show more content…
As seen in document 8, this poster of Joseph Stalin makes him appear as a dignified leader with the people of Russia in peace and order. However this is clearly synthesized to make him appear like a good leader because the truth of his rule can been seen in the high death toll and immediately after his death began the de-Stalinization process throughout Soviet society showing that Russia wished to be rid of his presence in history. The Great Purge was to remove dissenters from Stalin's rule and the public trails show that Stalin wished to be viewed as a justified leader. In document 7, a French ambassador to the Soviet Union describing the public trails states, “ I personally attended the second and third Moscow trials, those of 1937 and 1938…. Pyatakov arose… confessed to a number of crimes. Did these “confessions” carry any share of truth? It is possible that the accused were hostile to Stalin’s regime… But the lessons they recited must have been forced from them…. It is also probable that the accused gave in to some form of pressure…” This document describes the trails that occurred may have been fabricated so that the accused stood guilty of something which justified his execution by Stalin’s secret police. By justifying his killing, Stalin isn’t viewed as a murderous leader. This description is fairly credible because it is written by a French Ambassador so his job is to develop a good relationship between the two nations but it can also be unreliable since the French and the Soviet Union are at