Why Did Joseph Stalin Come To Power

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What source one is trying to interpret is what Russia had to go through to get to a classless, Socialist society. First Lenin was in power and wanted to soften the ideas of communism because he believed that socialism had to be changed in order to fit the political, economic and social situations in Russia. So, he made the New economic system which had some capitalist ideas; it gave peasants farmland to own, and they were allowed to decide what to produce. Many didn’t like the idea of capitalism; they wanted a government that would fix all their economic problems fast. So when Lenin died Stalin beat Trotsky and came into power. Stalin wanted absolute control. Which lead to many of his policies and development meaning oppression and fear instead …show more content…

He saw that total collectivization meant taking everything away from peasants. The reason he was helping Stalin and the Soviet Union gain power is because he believed that he was achieving and helping the “necessary transformation” of the farm side. The necessary transformation started in 1932-33, Stalin’s plan was to take independently owned farmlands form wealthy farm owners (Kulak) and give it to the collective. He wanted industrialization, more agriculture and government ownership of land. This lead to collectivization policies, which were designed to put an end to Ukrainian nationalism. Some of these policies were large grain quotas given to farmers that had to be made. If they weren’t meant, farmers would either be killed or they were sent to the gulag. Millions died from starvation. Some were satisfied with these changes because they were given land but most were unhappy. Those who were unhappy destroyed their crops and equipment and killed their animals instead of giving it to the government, which led to a major famine. Stalin saw the famine as a success because if anyone opposed the new policies were killed or sent to the gulag which resulting in everyone seeing that the collective farm was there to stay. This famine represents a rejection of liberalism because it was used as a weapon to try and get rid of Ukrainian nationalism, this is a violation against the civil rights and liberties of the