“To what extent did Stalin and/or Lenin transform
the USSR, economically & socially, between 1917 &
1939?”
Introduction:
Between 1917 and 1939 Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili, better known as Stalin or
Man of Steel, and Vladimir Ilich Ulyanov, Lenin, transformed the USSR from a
backward agricultural state into a modern industrial power. Following the October
Revolution of 1917 and Russia’s exit from the First World War through the Treaty of
Breast-Litovsk, the Bolsheviks, led by Lenin and Red Army commander Leon
Trotsky, were fighting the ‘White’ forces in the Russian Civil War. During this time,
Lenin introduced ‘War Communism’ in 1918 and the ‘New Economic Policy’ in
1921, which had an economic effect on Russia, known as the USSR from January 1
1924, as the former caused hyperinflation, while the latter stabilised the economy.
Following Fanya Kaplan’s failed attempt to murder Lenin, he unleashed the ‘Red
Terror’, where the Cheka secret police, led by Felix Dzerzhinsky, having replaced the
Tsarist Okhrana police, set about eliminating ‘threats’ to Lenin, essentially the
liberal, free-thinking castes of society, such as noblemen and priests. Socially, this
removed the intelligentsia from opposing Lenin.Following Lenin’s death in January
1924, Stalin assumed leadership over the Communist Party, the Bolsheviks.
Economically, his implementation of the ‘Five-Year Plans’, from 1928-32, 1933-37
and 1938-41, the latter interrupted by the German invasion, turned the USSR into a
‘command economy’, aided by state propaganda, which aided in creating Stalin’s
‘Cult of Personality’, and slave labour from the Gulags.Stalin also changed the social
fabric of the USSR, through the Purges, the NKVD secret police and the Show Trials,
where he eliminated his main political oponnents, such as Lev Kamenev and Victor
Zinoviev, as well as NKVD chief Beryia and several members of STAVKA, the Red
Army high command, such as Chief of Staff and Civil War hero,Marshal
Tukachevsky. (11/12)
Paragraph 1: Lenin’s Social & Economic Policies 1917 - 19124
Following the Bolshevik rise to power in October 1918 and the Treaty of BrestLitovsk, the Red Army, led by Leon Trotsky, found itself fighting in the Russian
Civil War against the ‘White’ forces, namely the Kadets, Mensheviks, Pro-Tsarists,
Moderate Socialists, Octoberists and Rights. In 1918, to aid their campaign, Lenin
introduced ‘War Communism’. This made private businesses illegal,ended worker
control over factories,placed the largest under State control and introduced a strict
code of discipline for workers who could be shot if they striked.It also introduced
forced labour and food and goods rationing, while peasants had to sell their goods to
the government. This was a disaster, as it parlysed domestic and international trade
and caused hyperinflation. Grain production fell from eighty million tons in 1917 to
thirty-seven point six million tons in 1921. In response to this, Lenin introduced the
New Economic Policy in 1921. This lowered the tax on peasant’s harvests and
allowed them to sell their excess products for profit. Small private businesses, such as
shops, were allowed to open,which would account for forty per cent of domestic trade
by 1924. This served to increase trade and reduce inflation. However, some
Bolsheviks were against this policy, as it aided the Kulaks, wealthy peasants who
were seen as the enemies of Marxism. Following Fanya Kaplan’s failed attempt to
murder Lenin, he unleashed the ‘Red Terror’, where the Cheka secret police, led by
Felix Dzerzhinsky, set about eliminating ‘threats’ to Lenin, essentially the liberal,
free-thinking castes of society, such as noblemen and priests,thus destroying the
intelligentsia in society. (10/12)
Paragraph 2: Stalin’s economic transformation of USSR (GOSPLAN)
Following Lenin’s death in January 1924, Stalin seized power by exiling Trotsky,
Lenin’s preferred sucessor, who was later assasinated. In 1928, Stalin began his
‘Five-Year Plan’ which placed heavy emphasis on industry such as coal and iron. The
aims of this Plan, such as a two hundred and fifty per cent increase in industrial
development and a three hundred and thirty per cent increase in heavy industry, were
unrealistic, but the goals were to transform the USSR economically and industrially,
into a complete socialist state, centrally-planned by Gosplan, the main planning
authority. This Plan also introduced the policy of ‘collectivisation’ in agriculture.
This meant state control over the farms, especially over those controlled by wealthy
peasants, called Kulaks. The second ‘Five-Year Plan’ in 1933 concentrated on the
same aims as the first, while the third ‘Five-Year Plan’ concentrated on defence
spending, armament and industrialisation, effectively militirising the economy. These
plans were overall successful as it helped to cement Stalin’s control over the state and
the Communist Party. It also led to huge numbers of industrial successes, such as the
vast ironworks build in Magnitogorsk and the hydro-electric plant built on the River
Dnieper.This was also a staggering economic feat, as Russia had lost much of her
industry in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, and was more successful than Lenin.(9/12)
Paragraph 3: Stalin’s use of Propaganda – Cult of Personlaity
These aims were accomplished through the wide use of propaganda and state terror.
The state media, controlled by the Party, glorified Stalin and his policies creating a
‘cult of personality’, giving Stalin a god-like persona who could do no wrong, similar
to Adolf Hitler in Nazi Germany. Several towns, such as Stalingrad, were renamed
after him, and he was given the title of ‘vozhd’or leader and the successes of the
Five-Year Plans were overexaggerated, through the use of ‘state heroes’, like Alexei
Stakhanov, and awarding those who exceeded their qouta with the Order of Lenin,
who was largly omitted from State history. Following the murder of Sergei Kirov in
December 1934, the NKVD secret police, under orders from Stalin, unleashed the
‘Purges’ or the ‘Great Terror’. Copying Lenin’s ‘Great Terror’, this targeted anyone
Stalin believed was a threat to his power. Among the numerous crimes committed
during this period was the state famine in Ukraine, killing millions and wiping out the
Kulaks.The Purges also targeted many of the ‘Old Bolsheviks’ in the Communist
Party, thereby removing most of Stalin’s political opponents. Several million people
who were arrested were sent to prison camps, called Gulags, who were then used as
slave labour in Stalin’s industrial projects. (9/12)
Paragraph 4: Stalin’s Purges & 1st Show Trial
The ‘Purges’ were marked by three grandiose trials of former Communist Party
members. Stalin’s aim in organising the trails was to establish complete domination
over the Communist Party and to eliminate any potential threats. The first Show
Trial, the Trial of the Sixteen, was held in the October Hall in the House of Unions in
Moscow on August 19th 1936. Most of the spectators were plain clothed NKVD,
foreign journalists and diplomats. The sixteen defendents, including Lev Kamenev
and Gregory Zinoviev, were tried as members of the ‘United Trotskyite-Zinovievite
Centre’, accused of murdering Kirov and attempting to murder Stalin. They were
tried by the prosecutor, Andrei Vyshinsky, and, having been interrograted were
convicted of treason and shot. Soviet newspapers applauded the executions, while
there was a mixed reaction among Western spectators, and served to cement Stalin’s
hold over the Party. (8/12)
Paragraph 5: Stalin’s 2nd & 3rd Show Trial
The second Show Trial, the Trial of the Seventeen, was held in January 1937 and
tried the members of the ‘Parallel Anti-Soviet Trotskyist Centre’. All the defendents
were shot, except for Karl Radek, who was imprisoned but died soon after. The third
Show Trial, the Trial of the Twenty-One, was staged in March 1938, and was know
officially as the ‘Case of the Anti- Soviet Bloc of Rights and Trotskyites’. These men
included Nicholas Bukharin, who was expelled from the Communist Party in 1929
for opposing Stalin, and Genrikh Yagoda, former chief of the NKVD. These men
were accused of treason and espionage, and included the ex- Commissar and the head
of collectives, the state farms, who were scapegoats for the failure of collectivisation.
In between these two trials, Stalin also initiated a purge of the Red Army, arresting
several senior officers, including Civil War hero Marshal Tukhachevsky, the Chief of
the General Staff, STAVKA. This served to remove the threat of a military uprising
against Stalin, and made the Red Army and NKVD pro-Stalinist organisations.This
also served to weaken the Red Army’s Officer Corps prior to the German invasion.
(9/12)
Conclusion:
In conclusion, we see that Lenin and Stalin did indeed transform the Soviet Union,
both economically and socially, between 1917 and 1939. However, it did come at a
huge human cost. Lenin’s ‘War Communism’ of 1918, though reversed by the ‘New
Economic Policy’ of 1921 damaged the economy, while the ‘Great Terror’ removed
intelligentsia in society.Stalin,however, had more of an impact on the USSR, as his
‘Purges’ left him in complete control of the Communist Party and created an
atmosphere of terror and mutual suspicion throughout the USSR. As an added effect,
the purge of the Red Army’s officers left it severally weakened during the German
invasion of 1941. However, the new industrial projects, most notably the munitions
factories in the Ural Mountains which had been built during the Five- Year Plans,
ensured the Soviet Union’s recovery and eventually victory. This supposed foresight
aided Stalin’s persona as a great military commander, at the expense of Lenin, who
was largely forgotten until 1954, when Nikita Khruschev discredited Stalin. (7/12)
CM = 11 + 10 + 9 + 9 + 8 + 9 + 7 = 63/ 60
OE = 28/40 (*Respond consistently to the question & compare Lenin & Stalin’s
transformation from Tsarist Russia up until 1917)
Overall = 88/ 100
1. Excellent work Mark. My only issue is with a consistent response to the
question asked; make it more explicit in each paragraph. How different was
the USSR after Lenin & Stalin compared to that of Tsarist Russia up until
1917? Refer to Tsarist Russia as this is your comparative (in the
introduction & conclusion).
2. The depth and range of supporting evidence is A+. Well done.
3. The Conclusion could also do with a little bit more on the overall impacts,
particularly socially, of both Lenin & Stalin. One other possible weakness is
that the treatment of Lenin is significantly less than that of Stalin. However,
one could argue that that is a reflection of Stalin’s longer period of control,
which is something you could mention to justify the imbalance of treatment.