Joseph Stalin

Joseph Stalin was maybe the biggest mass murderers of the twentieth century. From the purges in the Red Army to forced relocations, Stalin had the blood of millions on his hands. This essay is not going to debate the fact that this was indeed a brutal and power hungry individual, because he was indeed just that. I will on the other hand show you that through his way of governing the Soviet Union, he actually saved mother Russia from the German invasion in World War Two through he cunning and ruthlessness. Joseph Stalin was a very industrious person and used every means possible to better prepare his country for the coming war that he believed was inevitable. Wether it was diplomatic plotting, economic maneuvering, or just plain brute force, Stalin used every tool in his vast arsenal. The following are some of the more important decisions and methods that Stalin employed. Stalin was forced to consolidate his power through harsh means to better rule the Soviet Union. He ordered the five year plans to industrialize the nation and ordered one of the largest military build up plans ever. Stalin attempted many times to reach a diplomatic solution and ways to delay war with the Axis powers while at the same time trying to guarantee security from the West. Stalin wanted nothing less than to rule the Soviet Union and make her the greatest country in the world and he would stop at nothing to reach those goals. In his quest for leadership Stalin wished to consolidate his power in only himself, thus enabling him to better rule the Soviet Union. Stalin's roots in politics go all the way back to him being expelled from the theological seminary in Tiflis, Georgia in 1899. This was where Stalin got his first real taste for politics and from that point on his political ambitions grew greater and greater. Stalin soon joined up with the Social Democratic Party and after the party split over ideological differences in 1903, Stalin joined the Bolshevik party under Vladimir Lenin. From 1903 to 1912 Stalin was arrested, and managed to escape, several times. He was exiled to Siberia from 1913 to 1917, returning only after the fall of the Tsar. With the fall of the Tzar and the country in the hands of the revolutionaries Stalin believed it to be the perfect time to come back and renew his political ambitions. Stalin was appointed Commissar of Nationalities after the Bolsheviks came to power in 1917. After Lenin's death in 1924 the country was ruled by a triumvirate consisting of Stalin, G. E. Zinoviev and L. B. Kamenev. From this point on Stalin simply concentrated more and more power into his own hands. In 1925 Stalin made a turn to the right, got rid of his two companions and established a coalition with moderate leaders Burkharin, Rykov, and Tomsky, which lasted until 1928, when collectivization of agriculture and the forced industrialization came about. Stalin now followed a simple pattern, he simply systematically replaced all those who were not his absolute followers. By 1930 his rule was absolute. Stalin was now free to go ahead and pursue his plans to industrialize and arm the Soviet Union. The only other obstacle in his path was the army leadership. Stalin viewed the army as a threat to his power and took steps to remove that threat. He organized all of his followers to delve into the lives of the military leadership and find out if they were traitors. Many of Stalin's followers used this as a way of getting back at old rivals and enemies. All kinds of false evidence was manufactured. Stalin took all of this at face value and a great number of the army leadership was either killed or exiled. There were also several show trials put on to demonstrate to the Soviet people that all of the killing was being done for a reason and that there really were conspirators and spies among them. Several accused openly confessed to active membership of a plot to murder the Soviet leadership. With the Army purges done, Stalin had not only control over the country but the military as well. With Stalin's iron fisted rule things were able to happen much more quickly then they would have under a large bureaucracy. Indeed the great advances in industrialization and defense would almost definitely not have as high as they were at the outbreak of war if not for Stalin rule. Stalin instituted the Five year Plans to boost Soviet society and industry. In 1928 Stalin put into effect the first Five Year industrial and economic development plan for the Soviet Union which forced the country to develop as an industrial nation. The plan called for the industrial output to rise by over 20 percent annually. The optimum variant of the plan assumed: a) a significant expansion of connections with the world economy, both as a result of greater exports and especially as a result of greater long-term credits for equipment and technical aid. The problem with this plan was that it depended upon to many variables and the depression in the West plus low crop yield hampered the project. Yet during the first Five Year Plan, 1,500 big enterprises were built. New sectors of industry were established, which had not existed in tsarist Russia-machine tool production, automobile and tractor manufacturing, a chemical industry, motor works, airplane factories, the production of powerful turbines and generators, production of high grade steel, ferrous alloys, synthetic rubber artificial fibers. Construction was begun of thousands of kilometers of new railroads and canals, the eastern part of the country became the second metallurgical and oil center of industry. With Stalin's push towards industrialization the Soviet Union was well on its way to create a formidable defense industry. All of the infrastructure was being laid that had previously not existed 10 years ago. The second Five Year Plan was in many ways just like the first but thought through more. This time the government took more of a direct control over everything from budgetary discipline to reorganization of the state- supervised collective-farm markets. In just a very short time, the Soviet Union had managed to pass nations that had been markedly ahead of them in terms of industrialization. The third Five Year Plan was that of complete military armament. The military budget was vastly increased and training of men was also increased greatly. Through Stalin's direction the Soviet Union went from a backwards country to a first rate industrial and military power. This would not have been possible without the concentrated power that Stalin had amassed. Although industrialization had occurred much still remained to be done in the defense sector. With all the turmoil in Europe and the thunder heads of war gathering Stalin turned his attention towards modernizing the Red Army. Stalin ordered one of the largest military build ups and defensive programs that the world had ever seen. During the 1930s, Stalin ordered a 1,200-kilometer-long line of strong