On the 9th of February 1946, Stalin stated that the next five year plans would focus on heavy industry and claimed wars with imperialism were inevitable. Stalin also made clear divides between capitalism and communism, alarming the US greatly. It is somewhat understandable that the US were alarmed by the speech, as it hinted that Stalin was seeking world reform and revolution. However, being held at an election rally, the speech needed to see Stalin win votes. In order to get elected , Stalin threw rash promises into the ring to satisfy the want and need of his voters. Truman’s personality could therefore be blamed for not recognising this well used political tactic as a bypass for votes, and not as a promise of attack on the…
At the time, Stalin seemed like he was the greatest person on Earth. He made himself seem as if he was above everybody, both physically and mentally. After all of the revolts that were occurring in Russia, he just took over. He went into power right after Lenin had died and took his place, over Trotsky who also wanted to rule over Russia. Well he didn’t and we can’t change that. All we can do is remember Stalin and remember all of the things he did to make people support him and his cause to industrialize Russia.…
Joseph Stalin is one of the most well known dictators. He is known to be the savior of Russia. He was also known to be a cruel leader that didn’t let anyone get in his way. This lead Stalin to be feared by many people in Russia. Stalin was the dictator that ruled over communist Russia in 1928. In his time of leading this totalitarian country, he accomplished many good and terrible things.…
“It has been estimated between 600,000 and 3 million people died at the hands of the Soviet government during the Purge.” This is the estimated number of people that died during Stalin’s Great Terror…
To a certain extent Stalin did meet, in places, the overly optimistic aims for the Five Year Plans yet this was to be at the cost of millions of lives and the livelihoods of many Russian peasants who were to be ruthlessly killed, extradited or simply stripped of their land and possessions. The success of the Five Year Plans can be judged upon the entry of Russia into the Second World War for this was to be the first big test of the newly industrialised state on the world stage. Stalin had aimed to bring about the complete modernisation of Russia as a country and in doing so had hoped that this would mean that Russia could overtake the Capitalist Nations of the West. Stalin himself was the individual who had proposed such plans for he was the one it may be argued, who wished to achieve an historical role for himself as the successor of Lenin. Evidence of this proposal, putting Russian development at the forefront of his ideas, is illustrated by his speeches in which he calls for the need to "create socialism in one country". His objectives were clear for he gave priority to the recovery of the peasant sector and to the financing of industry, which, he argued, were to become possible due to the prospect of the increased prosperity of the Russian peasantry. However one should also argue that they would probably have occurred anyway and another leader may have attained the same end result yet without the terrible effects upon the Russian population and way of life.…
Once in power, Stalin was determined to modernise the USSR as quickly as possible, he wanted to compete with other foreign countries, but also he was afraid of a German invasion hence forth he set about achieving modernisation through a series of five year plans. These plans were set up by the GOSPLAN, the state planning organisation which Lenin had set up in 1921. The GOSPLAN set ambitious targets for the production in the vital industries such as coal and iron. The plans were very complex but by then end of 1928 every worker knew what they had to achieve.…
Before Stalin came to power, Russia was at least fifty years behind in relation to industrialisation, compared to its rivals; the westernised capitalist countries. Stalin had planned to abolish this fifty year gap in just a short ten years. In order to achieve this, Russia had to be less dependent on its Agricultural lifestyle and more reliant on industrialisation. The production rate of Russia was low compared to other countries, and Stalin felt that in order to survive a potential attack against an anti-communist country, the USSR needed to invest in materials such as coal, iron, steel and power in order to defend itself. To achieve the vast production of the USSR, Stalin had created a set of plans called the ‘five year plans’. The first of these plans were aimed at expanding and modernising already existing factories, to establish new factories, and relocate those in the west closer to the east. The workers suffered in result to these plans, and were set unrealistic goals which they needed to achieve. They were given no leave and had to work for over 11 hours of intense labour at a time, though there is no doubt that…
Michael Cox and Caroline Kennedy-Pipe provide a valuable survey of much of the historiography of the Marshall Plan, rightly understood to be a centerpiece of the early Cold War. Their essay raises important questions about post-revisionist accounts and interpretations and makes a useful contribution in discussing the role of the British and French in the events of 1947—a role that the American literature long overlooked but that some corrective literature then overstated. Their article also helpfully summarizes the debates among Soviet leaders about the value and pitfalls of accepting U.S. proposals in the immediate aftermath of George Marshall's speech.1…
“The Five Year Plans were successful in strengthening the Economy before 1941.” Explain why you agree or disagree with this view.…
In 1941, The Nazi Government of Germany put ‘Operation Barbarossa’ into practise. An invasion of Russia’s land for the purpose of Lebensraum. Stalin quickly set into action and a war began on the Eastern front. Some Historians debate on whether Stalin was ready for war by 1941, or not.…
Both sources share the view that the purpose of industrialization was for the making of a war economy, “to prepare for war against the capitalist enemies abroad.” However, for Source B, the view for the Five Year Plans is that, “Essentially the Plan was a huge propaganda project, aimed at convincing the Soviet people that they were engaged in a great industrial enterprise of their own making.” It was a propaganda project promoting industrialization for the purpose of war, but the Soviet people weren't aware of the “war” part, only the industrialization. In Source E, since it is a poster that is used for the purpose of propaganda, it instead puts the Five Year Plan in a better light, showing that the Five Year Plan will be successful in the future, that it will surely benefit the U.S.S.R. in the future, and that the U.S.S.R. will be prepared to defeat its enemies abroad (the capitalist enemies) in case of future wars.…
The Five Year Plans SUCCESSES FAILURES The improvements in production between 1928 and 1937 were phenomenal: Coal - from 36 million tonnes to 130 million tonnes. Iron - from 3 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes. Oil - from 2 million tonnes to 29 million tonnes.…
To what extent did Stalin rise to power because of his cunning personality? Explain your answer. [12m]…
The 5 year plans were successful in transforming Russian industry in the years up to 1941. The 5 year plans were first introduced in 1928 as an attempt by Stalin to massively improve heavy industry and prepare the Soviet Industry for war. These were successful to an extent in terms of transforming Russian industry and they also had numerous social and political effects.…
In 1917, Lenin rewarded Joseph Stalin for his support of the October Revolution by selecting him Commissar of Nationalities. It was a task gave Stalin enormous power for nearly half the country's population. Stalin now had the responsibility of dealing with Ukrainians, Georgians, Byelorussians, Tadzhiks, Buriats, and Yakuts.…