Stalinism -- a Continuation of Leninism?
Vladimir Lenin was a Russian revolutionary leader and theorist, who ruled the first government of Soviet Russia and then the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) (Encarta, 2004). Lenin was the leader of the radical socialist Bolshevik Party (later renamed the Communist Party), which seized power in the October phase of the Russian Revolution of 1917. After the revolution, Lenin created and led the new Soviet government that formed in Russia. He became the leader of the U.S.S.R. when it was created in 1922. He ruled with terror, and his actions included establishing the secret police to root out opponents of the Bolsheviks. Lenin held the highest post in the Soviet government until his death in 1924, when Joseph Stalin gained power.
Stalin was the despotic ruler who molded the features that characterized the Soviet regime and shaped the direction of Europe after World War II ended in 1945 (Encarta, 2004). Stalin's leadership resulted in the massive killing of Russians through the aid of the secret police and slave labor camps known as gulags.
One of Lenin's biggest projects was designed to improve Russia;s economy (Keep, 1976). His original idea of War Communism, e harsh economic policy adopted during the Russian Civil War, was scrapped in 1921 and the New Economic Policy (NEP) was introduced. The NEP had four key features (Keep, 1976):
1. The Cheka, the Soviet Secret Police, no longer took the people's grain. The peasant farmers gave the government a set amount of grain each year in tax but they could sell their excess in the open market and keep the profits.
2. Traders could buy and sell -- an illegal action under War Communism.
3. Small factories, producing non-necessities, were returned to their original owners, who were allowed to sell goods and make a profit.
4. Larger factories producing necessities remained under the control of the government.
The NEP was not very successful (Keep, 1976). After the Civil War, unemployment was high, crime was high, and while some peasants were rich, more were poor. By 1926, Russia had higher production levels but there were many challenges to the economy. This is where Stalin stepped in.
Stalin believed that rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture would transform Russia into a rich and strong socialist state (Chung, 2004). He conducted a survey of the country's economic resources. Targets were developed for each of the industries and each of the collective farms. The industries and the farms were forced to increase their rates of production according to these targets.
The First Five-Year Plan ran from 1928 to 1932 with a heavy focus on the development of heavy industries (Chung, 2004). The aims of the First Five-Year Plan were achieved in four years. The Second (1933-1937) and the Third (1939-1943) Five-Year Plans focused primarily on the development of the light industries with the production of more consumer goods. As the Plans were carried out, war threat grew. As a result, more attention was shifted to heavy industries again, while light industry was neglected.
As a result of the Five-Year Plans, by the late 1930's, Russia was a major industrial power, falling behind only the United States and Germany (Chung, 2004). However, the Russians paid a high price for their success in rapid industrialization. During Stalin's rule, they were paid very little and suffered from the lack of consumer goods and basic necessities.
Collectivization of agriculture was another key aspect of Stalin's revolution (Chung, 2004). Collectivization meant that private farms were eliminated and large farms replaced them. Many families operated these large farms under the control of government officials. The crops and production were decided by the needs of the district and the state. Machines were used whenever possible to raise productivity of the land.
Collectivization was started mainly because Stalin wanted to increase the agricultural production of the country (Chung, 2004). He believed that when the small farms were grouped together, big farms could be easily created and machines would increase productivity. As a result of the New Economic Policy, rich peasants (kulaks) increased in the countryside. The kulaks would not transport their grains for sale in the cities when the prices were low. As a result, the workers had to pay a lot for their food. If the kulaks were forced to become members of collectives, they were forced to grow and deliver their crops at prices fixed by the government. If the cost of food was low, the wages of the workers could be reduced, and the industrialization of Russia would improve.
Stalin forced the peasants to merge their holdings into collective farms, and confiscated their land and possessions (Chung, 2004). The kulaks resisted strongly and the government used brutality...
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