Discuss Stalin’s policies and their impact on everyday life in the Soviet Union.
Joseph Stalin came into power in mid 1920’s and ruled the Soviet Union until his death in 1953. When the Bolsheviks party had gained political power it contained the concept of what is known as Marxist-Leninist ideology. In the power struggle that followed Vladimir Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin’s remarkable qualities and charisma was no match for his rivals. By 1929 his biggest threats to power were demolished and Stalin’s policies, which had withstood many occasions at the time of the power struggle eventually stabilised. The system under Stalin did not deprive the revolutionary ideals or abandon the new social and political order but, Stalinism embodied both of them. The leader of the Soviet Union claimed that if there economy does not improve within ten years then capitalist countries would invade and take over.In order to create an industrialised Soviet Union, Stalin initiated The First Five Year Plan from 1928-1933. The main aims of this plan was to rapidly increase rapid production of the industry, enforce the concept of collectivisation among the labourers and demolish the power of the kulaks that they received by the Stolypin reform in 1906.
The first policy I will discuss is Industrialisation which created a very positive impact on the Soviet Union’s economy as a whole. During a period of struggle, production of coal, steel, oil and gas fell to 14% which indicated the same percentage as level of production prewar. Steel produce fell to a shocking 5% and Stalin quickly planned a solution to resolve the issue. Firstly, dams, roads, canals and hydroelectric plants were built to provide energy needed for industries and make it easier for workers to travel. Unfortunately, many workers died on Belomor kanal due to extreme harsh working conditions.Gosplan was the State Planning Committee regarding the economy in the Soviet Union. This committee set targets for each industry, region, factory, and even for every worker to achieve. It was essential to work towards their targets as quick as possible, quantity was important not quality therefore, safety standards were ignored. Failure to comply with the restrictions results in a wage cut,less hours of work or potentially fired if the worker arrives late or doesn’t appear for work at all. This campaign was urged by the use of propaganda all throughout.
Between the years 1928-1933, coal production shot up to a total of 35.4 million tons and almost doubling in the final two years. The steel industry improved from 4 million to 18 million tons per year which caused the Soviet Union to overtake Britain and Germany in terms of industrial output in 1938.
Towns began to expand, stretching to as small as Magnitogorsle in the Ural Mountains with an increased population of 250,000. However, the housing did not suffice to the number of people living there and citizens were squattingg. The main goal was achieved and Stalin announced that the plan was completed a year early and the next one was underway.
The policy of collectivisation within the agriculture world occurred during and was part of the First Five Year plan when the country was remaining a predominately farming based society. By the year 1928, the amount of grain in the USSR was 20 million tons short which was a problem because Stalin’s priority was to feed the industrial work force. His aim was to raise the revenue which meant exporting more grain abroad. The traditional farming techniques were fairly poor in efficiency, horse drawn ploughs were still being used until new methods were introduced that maximised the production of grain. Since the New Economic Policy (NEP) the richer peasants ,who were known as kulaks, controlled the price of the grain which resulted in high prices due to a low supply but a high demand. Stalin needed to destroy their power also because ‘agricultural capitalists’ don’t exactly fit into a communist regime. The small farms that were joined into huge collectives were later known as ‘kolkhozy’. The farming machinery was supplied by the state known as MTS (machine-tractor station) and the farmers pooled their tools and animals together to achieve productivity. These workers were paid a standard wage by the state and 90% of the grain was sold in return at a cheap price. The other 10% was kept to feed the kolkhozy. No profit was allowed to be made which included no private selling of goods however, land for their own houses was not forbidden. These rash decisions were not enforced but rather promoted and encouraged through propaganda. The kulaks resisted this policy to the stage that the Red Army were forced to take action and seized land, grain and sent most to labour camps to be disciplined in a manner corresponding to the new collectivisation policies. Many farmers burned their crops and killed their animals as a sign of protest but were overruled.
The impact of this policy caused chaos in the everyday lives of the people in the Soviet Union as they were very unpressed with the enforced system. Anyone who opposed it was sent Siberia which resulted in extra anguish and controversy. Unfortunately, the famine that lasted a year, 1932-1933, caused an approximation of 10 million deaths due to starvation. However, the standard of living improved immensely despite the suffering the citizens experienced. Education within the agricultural sector was encouraged through propaganda which led to many more educated workers which meant more products were being produced. The amount of grain produce increased to 10.8 million tons in 1928 and rose to 22.8 million in 1933.
The Great Terror was a policy so gruesome it scared citizens into being propagandise in order to create mass production in all spheres and respect all enforcements. Stalin’s Show Trials took place between 1936-1938 in the USSR and had a very specific purpose for the leader. The show trials were very public events and held in the open attended by journalists from different countries. It was to prove to those in the Soviet Union that, any peasant, labourer, or political leader who appeared to be an ‘enemy of the state’ would be severely punished. Many people who were accused of being guilty in the show trials we’re most likely not guilty. They sufficed Stalin’s wish – to abolish of anyone who is potentially a threat to him as leader. Another purpose for these public executions was to ensure his containment of opponents was successful along with the fact that his handling of Industrialisation and collectivisation were not criticised. He created scapegoats to point his finger to as a way to protect his policies and reassure their effectiveness.
The defendants that were accused of treason were forced to plead guilty, write their own confessions, families were threatened, tortured both mentally and physically and worst of all, robbed of their choice of committing suicide. In 1937, many Red Army chiefs were executed along with 7 highly respected generals. In 1938–39, almost half of the Army’s officers were shot or sent to prison camps including all of his admirals causing them to be very limited when the war broke out which is ironic considering this terror that was depicted was to produce weapons, as well as other goods, because of a feared German invasion. Fortunately, after much more difficult and challenging training the army was once again reshaped into an indestructible force that was eager to take on the other superpowers of the world.
According to Stalin’s personal archive he signed around 3,000 executions on a productive working day in his office. It is clear that he had no regard for human lives. This leader believed that violence and terror was essential and he used it as a universal means for his regime. The Moscow-Volga Canal is an example of how Stalin took advantage of his Gulag prisoners, terrified labourers and even priests. It was built in order to equip Moscow with fresh water, gain access to five seas by port, hydroelectric power and factory territory. These captives were forced to manufacture this canal which was the biggest government project in the world at the time of 1932 to 1937. An arm of terror emerged who were trained by the military in order to control the situation. If they were disobeyed they were given an option of starving to death or working until death and most people chose the first option. Unfortunately, these dispossessed prisoners were exploited to a power so ruthless, a life lost was insignificant. Maxim Gorky stated that “On the biggest building site of the country, we are transforming social misfits into honest workers”. This can be argued against because the purges and everything that accompany it strongly impacted citizens emotionally, mentally and physically. To those accomplishing their work quotas were allowed 600 grams of rye bread per working day whereas, dawdles were given 400 grams and those who were misbehaving received 300 grams. The conditions that these hostages were working in were horrendous and resembled a Nazi concentration camp except during winter it was unbearable.
The purges did not exclusively affect those of political power, but ordinary USSR citizens too. During Stalin’s rule of the country approximately 20 million ‘traitors’ were sent to labour camps and over half of them died there. During the Second World War a discovery was made in Ukraine at a place called Vinnytsia, of an enormous amount of muted bodies approximating to 10,000 residents of the town who were murmured during the Purges. It is difficult to determine the exact amount of human loses during Stalin’s terror scheme due to a lack of completed data. In the Soviet Union it has been concluded that, roughly 500,000 were executed or imprisoned between 1937-1939 and up to 12 million were dispatched to labor camps.
In conclusion, Stalin’s policies had both positive and negative impacts on the superpower as well as on the citizens of the Soviet Union. All thirteen Five Year Plans ,that ended in 1991, definitely gained international recognition and significance for the results they produced despite, the heavy losses. It wasn’t solely a private development of technology, farming methods and the industry however, immeasurably concerned the whole world. The brutal dictator considered the great terror inevitable in order for him to attain his goals.
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