Stalinism Essay ⋆ Political Science Essay Examples ⋆ EssayEmpire

Stalinism refers primarily to the set of policies adopted in the Soviet Union during the leadership of Joseph Stalin (1929–1953). While helping to modernize the country, Stalinism also included political terror and repression, which resulted in millions of deaths and the creation of a totalitarian state. Other communist states such as China and Cuba copied some of his policies and methods. Overcoming the negative legacy of Stalinism would be a major concern of Soviet leaders after Stalin.

In 1917, the Bolshevik (Communist) Party seized power in Russia. Whereas Karl Marx had predicted that the communist revolution would occur in an advanced industrialized state, Russia was overwhelmingly agricultural and had a low standard of economic development. Thus, in addition to solidifying their hold on power, a major preoccupation of early Soviet leaders was to develop the country in order to “build socialism.”

Initially, Vladimir Lenin, leader of the Bolshevik Party, adopted a policy of War Communism (1918–1921), which was designed to move Russia rapidly to communism by eliminating private property, establishing state planning, and repressing anti-Bolshevik actors. Realizing this was not a viable strategy, in 1921 Lenin adopted the New Economic Policy (NEP), which was a more gradual move to communism, in which the state would control most of the economy but small-scale private property and market forces would be allowed to exist. The state, while still led by a single party, also would allow more social and cultural freedoms.

Lenin died in 1924, and a struggle for power ensued among his erstwhile allies. Stalin, who in 1922 was named General Secretary of the Communist Party, maneuvered first against Leon Trotsky, who favored a more radical and global approach. Stalin declared that the Soviet Union would build “socialism in one country” and favored the NEP. By the late 1920s, he turned against the NEP, arguing it was too gradual and too procapitalist. By 1929, he had consolidated his power within the party and steered the country onto a new course.

Stalinism had several components. Economically, it harkened back to War Communism, calling for the elimination of private property, state planning of the economy, and rapid industrialization. In order to develop large industrial enterprises such as steel and chemical factories, mines, and power plants, large numbers of peasants were forced off the land and pushed into cities that sprang up all over the country. To pay for the necessary capital equipment and ensure political control over the countryside, all farms were collectivized, meaning that individual farmers lost their property and had to work on large farms owned, in essence, by the state. Prices for grain were set by the state, and surplus grain was exported to earn money for the industrialization program.

These economic aspects were accompanied by repression and political terror. The secret police rooted out real and imaginary enemies. Various groups were targeted: priests, business owners, non-Russian minorities, more wealthy peasants (kulaks) and, eventually, even officers in the military and high-ranking party officials. Some of the latter were forced to confess to fictitious conspiracies in well-publicized “show trials.” People were encouraged to report any suspicious behavior. Children who reported on their parents were considered model citizens. Ultimately, several million were arrested and sent to harsh labor camps, where they often perished. Many were simply executed. Grain requisition by Soviet authorities led to famine in large parts of the country. The total death toll is unknown, but estimates are as high as twenty million.

To preserve his own support, Stalin also cultivated a cult of personality. He was worshipped as a godlike figure, an infallible ruler. The media were tightly controlled to ensure that only a positive image of Stalin was portrayed. Art and architecture also were used to support Stalin and the construction of communism.

Stalinism did help modernize the country. Economic growth in the energy and industrial sectors was high. Stalinist policies arguably helped create a military-industrial complex that allowed the Soviets to win World War II (1939–1945). By the time of his death, the Soviet Union was a superpower.

The costs, however, were high. Millions had perished. Civil society was completely destroyed. Basic freedoms had been squashed. Economically, the agricultural and consumer sectors fared poorly.

The new leadership realized that Stalinism had to be reformed to be more economically successful and win the support of the people. Nikita Khrushchev (1955–1964) launched de-Stalinization, attacking Stalin’s purges of the party leadership and cult of personality for being un-Marxist and un-Leninist. Under Mao Zedong, the Chinese Communist Party continued to adhere to Stalinist principles. Information about Stalin’s crimes began to circulate after Mikhail Gorbachev became the Soviet leader in 1985. But even then some segments of the Russian population remained nostalgic for Stalin’s “iron hand.” Stalinism’s relationship to Marxism-Leninism and its role in Russia’s historical development remain hotly debated topics.

Bibliography:

d’Encausse, Helene Carrère. Stalin: Order through Terror. New York: Longman, 1981.
Medvedev, Roy. Let History Judge: The Origins and Consequences of Stalinism. New York: Knopf, 1971.
Tucker, Robert. Stalinism: Essays in Historical Interpretation. New York: Norton, 1977.
Volkogonov, Dmitrii. Stalin:Triumph and Tragedy. New York: Grove Weidenfeld, 1991.

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