7_Dictatorship Stalin

Rise to power (1924–1929):

  • Lenin dies in 1924; Stalin not the obvious successor (Trotsky favored).

  • Trotsky underestimated Stalin and failed to build Party support; Stalin promoted “Socialism in One Country” vs Trotsky’s global revolution.

  • Stalin tricked Trotsky over Lenin’s funeral to appear as his closest ally.

  • Alliances with Kamenev/Zinoviev, later with Bukharin; purged rivals by 1929.

Methods of control:

  • Terror: Secret police, purges, arrests, show trials; ~500,000 Party members arrested/executed or sent to gulags.

  • Purges extended to army officers (25,000 removed), teachers, engineers, miners, factory managers, workers.

  • Propaganda: newspapers, radio, films, statues, Stalin Squares/Avenues, processions, Stakhanovite heroes.

  • Censorship: only state-approved information; churches closed; promoted communism and Stalin instead of religion.

I. Economic policies:

  • Five-Year Plans (heavy industry: coal, iron, steel, oil, electricity).

  • Coal: 35.4m → 128m tons (1927–1937); steel: 4m → 17.7m tons.

  • Over 100 industrial towns and 15,000 factories built.

  • Human cost: long hours, low wages, fines, loss of housing, fear of accusations of sabotage.

II. Collectivisation & peasantry:

  • Farms merged into collectives; land, animals, tools owned by state.

  • Forced participation; opposition punished or sent to gulags.

  • Famine 1932–33 in Ukraine & Kazakhstan killed millions.

III. Social change:

  • Women encouraged to work in factories; crèches/daycare set up. By 1937, 40% of industrial workers were women. Few women politically active.

  • Youth indoctrination: Pioneers (childhood), Komsomol (teenagers, step to Party membership).

  • Education focused on communism, technical skills, industrial training, and rewriting Soviet history (Lenin/Stalin glorified, Trotsky erased).

Results:

  • USSR became modern industrial power; unemployment nearly eliminated.

  • Life extremely harsh for ordinary workers and peasants.

  • Strong state control ensured political stability and loyalty, but at huge human cost.

Paragraph version:

Joseph Stalin was a leading member of the Communist Party in the Soviet Union. After Lenin’s death in 1924, he outmaneuvered rivals, particularly Trotsky, by building strong support within the Party, manipulating key allies, and presenting himself as Lenin’s closest friend during the funeral. By 1929, Stalin had become the undisputed leader. He ruled the USSR through terror, propaganda, and strict control over the economy and society. Political opponents, including Party members, military officers, and ordinary citizens, were purged through arrests, show trials, executions, or sent to labour camps (gulags). Propaganda glorified Stalin and communism, with statues, posters, films, and renamed streets reinforcing loyalty. Economically, Stalin implemented Five-Year Plans, dramatically increasing industrial output and creating over 100 industrial towns, but workers faced long hours, low pay, fines, and harsh conditions. In the countryside, collectivisation of farms caused initial food shortages and a famine in 1932–33 that killed millions in Ukraine and Kazakhstan. Socially, Stalin promoted women in industry, setting up crèches, though many children ended up on the streets. Youth were indoctrinated through the Pioneers and Komsomol, with schools emphasizing technical skills, communism, and rewriting history to glorify Lenin and Stalin. By the late 1930s, the USSR had become a modern industrial power, but at immense human cost.