Snowball And Stalin

Ken Blanchard recognizes leadership in today’s society by a person’s influence. He said, “the key to to successful leadership today is influence, not authority,” though this wasn’t exactly the case during the Russian Revolution. Joseph Stalin and Leon Trotsky are the most well-known rival leaders during the Russian Revolution. Both engaged in a long power struggle after Vladimir Lenin’s health problems and popularity decline. In the historical context Animal Farm by George Orwell, Napoleon is representative of Stalin and Snowball is representative of Trotsky. Stalin and Napoleon were both manipulative, controlling and forceful, and used methods of terror while Trotsky and Snowball were intelligent, good military leaders, and had a more liberal

Stalin controlled everything: the government, the media, education and religion. For education, they forced all students to believe the Communist Party’s virtues and that it is the their ways are the only thing that will help them succeed in life. As for religion, it’s a whole different perspective. Stalin and his followers of communists intended to replace all religious teachings with the ideals of communism. According to historical claims, “The Russian Orthodox Church was the main target”--many of its followers refused to accept that “religious beliefs were mere superstitions” (Beck 877). Not only did Stalin target religion but also the agricultural industry. In 1928, Stalin and the Soviet government began to seize over 25 million privately owned farms; then combined them into collective farms--large, government-owned farms--and forced all peasants and farming families to work on them to help increase food production, and at the same time, decrease the number of workers. During this time, Stalin and his government forced over 1,000 peasants and families to work on collective farms and by 1938, more than 90% of all peasants lived on the farms. Stalin also forced Trotsky into exile in 1929, which was one of the most important actions Stalin took to gain total power. For Napoleon, he forced the animals to learn how to read and

Stalin’s use of it was essential if he wanted to rise and remain in power. His plan to create a perfect Communist state in Russia was to transform the Soviet Union into a totalitarian state. He began doing this by destroying all of his enemies. Stalin created a secret police who monitored everything to make sure no one was a threat. Children were even telling authorities “about disloyal remarks they heard” (Beck 876). When reported, Stalin’s police ended up arresting and executing millions of “traitors” (Beck 876). Stalin launched the Great Purge in 1937--a campaign of terror which killed anyone who threatened Stalin’s power. By 1938, the purge ended and Stalin had been responsible for 8 to 13 million deaths. Even before this, Stalin had what were called “The First Purges,” where anyone who opposed collective farms (the kulaks) and industrialization were executed (Solzhenitsyn). Like Stalin, Napoleon had a secret police. On one Sunday meeting, all of the animals gathered and Snowball and Napoleon to make the decision of whether or not to build the windmill. Snowball was announcing all of the advantages of constructing a windmill and how it would immensely help out the farm, “by the time he had finished speaking, there was no doubt as to which way the vote would go” (Orwell 37). Right at that moment, an unexpected piercing squeal came Napoleon while staring down Snowball and nine huge dogs suddenly came