STALINISM: ORIGIN, CHARACTERISTICS, CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES - HISTORY - 2024

The Stalinism, also known as Stalinism, is the term used to refer to the period of government of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union. Some historians claim that it began in 1922, while others put the date back to 1928. Its end coincided with the death of Stalin in 1953, although in some countries there were rulers who claimed his legacy.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 overthrew the tsarist regime and established a communist government in the country. The first leader was Lenin, although Stalin was already beginning to emerge as one of the strong figures of the regime.

Source: earthstation1.simplenet.com

Lenin's death caused an open confrontation between his possible heirs, especially between Stalin himself and Trotsky. According to many historians, there were ideological differences between Leninism and Stalinism. For some, Stalin moved away from the principles of the revolution to establish a personalist dictatorship.

The consequences of Stalinism were bloody for millions of the inhabitants of the Soviet Union. Stalin did not allow any type of opposition and organized a formidable and effective repressive system. After his death, Soviet leaders denounced his policies and condemned his practices.

Origin

Russia had been one of the few European countries that had hardly noticed the Industrial Revolution. At the beginning of the 19th century, it was still eminently rural, with feudal structures in many cases. To this should be added the government of the tsars, with absolute power over their subjects.

World War I and the country's own economic and social situation led to several popular uprisings. The two main groups opposed to Tsar Nicholas II, the Mensheviks and the Bolsheviks, agreed on their desire to establish socialism.

It was the second, more radical, who led the October 1917 revolution. At the forefront of the group were Lenin, Trotsky and Stalin, although there were certain ideological differences between them.

The Bolshevik Revolution

The triumph of the Revolution brought about an absolute change in the country. After a few years of civil war, the Bolsheviks established themselves in government. In 1922, the Soviet Union was born and a new Constitution based on the Soviets and with three main organs was promulgated.

The first was the Congress of Soviets, which represented the soviets (assembly or Board in Russian) of each district. The second organ was the Congress of Soviets, equivalent to the parliaments. The last was the Council of People's Commissars, which was equivalent to the government of the USSR.

Lenin, as the first leader, soon realized the contradictions of Marxism with the Soviet reality. Marx had developed his theory with industrial, non-agricultural societies in mind. This led him to try to stimulate production, with capitalist ways. The most orthodox, led by Trotsky, felt betrayed.

Already under Stalin, the economy began to improve. This strengthened his power and began to get rid of opponents. Trotsky was forced to go into exile.

Stalin

Stalinism is inseparable from its creator, Iósif Vissariónovich Dzhugashvili, known as Stalin. Born in Gori, now Georgia, in 1878, he participated from the beginning in the Bolshevik revolutionary movements. As early as 1922, he was appointed General Secretary of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Two years later, he tried to leave office at the XII Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. His request was not approved and he remained in the position. From the general secretariat, despite not being formally the most important position in the country, he managed to consolidate his power after the death of Lenin.

Historians claim that Stalin was the least theoretical of the revolutionary leaders. He cared more about practice than ideas. From power he created a nationalist and totalitarian version of Marxism, creating a great cult of personality and ending all opponents, both internal in the party and external.

He emphasized his determination to expand the area of ​​Soviet influence to all surrounding countries, as well as the strengthening of nationalism, especially with the Second World War (the Great Patriotic War in the USSR).

Confrontation with Trotsky

One of Stalin's first steps in gaining power, and even earlier, was to eliminate his rivals. The main one was Trotsky, considered the most brilliant among Lenin's possible heirs.

Trotsky advocated Marxist orthodoxy and advocated permanent international revolution. For him, the Soviet Union could not succeed without the labor movement spreading throughout the world. However, Stalin was a supporter of the so-called socialism in one country.

When he was elected as Lenin's successor, he immediately began a policy of consolidating his power. In 1925, Trotsky lost his positions and Stalin had a free way to establish Stalinism.

Characteristics of the Stalinist ideology

Stalin organized a totalitarian system based on absolute control of the state. The most important purges occurred during the 1930s and the 1936 Constitution enshrined the legal model of Stalinism.

As noted above, Stalin was not a great ideologue. His contributions were not on Marxist-Leninist thought, but focused on practical management.

Totalitarian political system

The political system established by Stalin is classified by historians as totalitarian and as an autocracy. In theory, power in the country was in the hands of the Soviets, but in reality it rested with the Communist Party and, ultimately, with Stalin himself.

Stalin granted considerable power to the military, as well as to the repressive apparatuses of the state. From 1929 on, he did not even respect the legal norms established by Lenin. It monopolized all the powers (judicial, legislative and executive).

Economy

The economic policy of Stalinism has been called by some experts "state capitalism", while others claim that it followed the premises of socialism.

The State prohibited private property and the companies became publicly owned. This happened not only with land, but also with banks and services.

Stalin attached great importance to heavy industry. His policies managed to improve the economic situation, turning the country into a world power and achieving much better figures than those of later leaders.

Agriculture, by contrast, suffered a setback. The fields were collectivized and five-year plans were created to control the crops. There were two types of plans: kolkhoz, land that the owners had to hand over to the state in exchange for a salary, and sovkhoz, socialized farms.

Control of the media

One of the most effective methods of Stalinism to control the population was the use of the media. These were controlled by the government, not allowing free or critical information.

In the case of Stalinism, the authorities even removed characters from photographs when they had fallen from grace. In practice, they tried to show that they had never existed.

Cult of the leader

Using the media and other means of propaganda, the regime built a veritable cult of the leader's personality. There were numerous portraits, photographs or flags with his image and he was described as the Father of the nation. In fact, many of the inhabitants called Stalin "the little father."

One of the best known characteristics of Stalinism was its use of repression and terror to prop up its rule. Already since Stalin came to power, he began to organize the elimination of his political rivals inside and outside the party.

In those first purges, leaders of the revolution, the military, members of the CPSU or intellectuals were assassinated.

The most intense purges occurred between 1933 and 1939. Stalin used the NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) as the body in charge to carry out this arrest. It was a political police and its function was to detect, arrest, interrogate and execute the alleged traitors.

In addition to those killed, thousands of dissidents were locked up in the gulags, "re-education" camps (according to the regime), where they had to perform forced labor.

Causes

The causes of Stalinism are linked to the coming to power of Stalin and his personality. Many historians have pointed out that he developed a real persecution mania and that he was convinced of the existence of conspiracies to assassinate him.

On the other hand, the duration of this period could not be explained without the repressive apparatus set up by the State. Deportations, assassinations, purges, and other methods kept his regime in place until his death.

Propaganda was another reason why his government was so long. Stalin managed to create a cult of his person that made part of the population consider him a true father.

Beware of Stalin

"Beware of Stalin" was the advice given by Lenin before he died. The leader of the revolution knew the character of Stalin and his purpose to achieve power at any cost.

Stalin managed to eliminate all his adversaries. He confronted Trostki, a supporter of the international revolution, and ordered his assassination in his Mexican exile.

On the other hand, Stalinism benefited from the economic improvement in the country. The development of industry made the Soviet Union a world power, something that helped part of the population live better than with the feudalism and absolutism of the tsars.

Moscow processes

The Moscow Trials were other causes of the implantation of Stalinism and its duration in time. Stalin organized a series of trials to purge his internal adversaries, many high-ranking party leaders. The accusation was trying to assassinate the leader and conspire against the Soviet Union.

The Trials took place between 1936 and 1938 and all the accused were found guilty and executed. In this way, Stalin made sure that he would not find powerful opponents of his government.

Second World War

World War II claimed millions of Soviet victims in the fight against the Nazis. Despite this, the victory obtained was used by Stalin with a propaganda weapon.

On the one hand, it served to promote nationalism, calling the conflict the Great Patriotic War. On the other, it allowed him to control a series of satellite countries in Eastern Europe.

This area of ​​influence was very important for the Soviets. Only Tito, the Yugoslav leader, was able to oppose Stalin's command in the internal affairs of the country.

Consequences

Strengthening of the Soviet Union

Stalin, who was never a supporter of the international Revolution like Trostki, dedicated himself to strengthening the Soviet Union. The tsarist structures were dismantled and he created a very solid bureaucratic framework for the new institutions.

Externally, especially after the Second World War, Stalin formed a real empire. Formally, the Eastern European countries maintained their own governments. In practice, with exceptions like Tito's, they all obeyed Moscow's orders.

Economic development

Historians distinguish between the great industrial advance that Stalinist policies achieved and the poverty in which they lived in the countryside. This generated a kind of capitalism, with social classes depending on their work and their place of residence.

In a few years, the macroeconomic data grew to the point that other countries began to speak of a "Soviet miracle." This was helped by military production, which gave a notable boost to heavy industry.

The population was able, in this way, to obtain some comforts. In the 1930s, before the Second World War, there was no unemployment, and no business cycles. Even some intellectuals, officials or engineers were able to amass small fortunes.

Cold War

After the end of World War II, the leaders of the victorious countries held a series of meetings to reorganize the European continent. The main protagonists were Churchill, Roosevelt and Stalin himself.

The Soviet ruler managed to recover some territories lost by his country and, in addition, managed to incorporate the Baltic republics, part of Poland, Bessarabia and the northern half of Prussia.

According to historians, Stalin had been impressed by the atomic bomb and wanted to maintain a bloc between the USSR and Western countries.

Little by little, eastern Europe came under Soviet influence. Stalin's growing paranoia was one of the causes of the beginning of the Cold War, the unarmed conflict between the two geopolitical blocs.

The moments of greatest tension were the blockade of Berlin and the Korean War, but, finally, the dreaded Atomic War did not break out.

Repression and death

The most tragic consequence of Stalinism was the number of deaths it caused in the country. The repression began within the Communist Party itself, which Stalin shaped at his convenience, using it in terror. In this way, he secured full control of the state apparatus and the Soviet Union.

The so-called "great purges" began in 1934, when Kirov, Stalin's henchman, was assassinated. After this, a wave of repression swept across the country. Many of the heroes of the revolution, Lenin's companions, were tried and executed. The confessions were obtained after drugging and torturing the prisoners.

Historians estimate that, by 1939, 70% of the 1924 Central Committee members had been eliminated. 90% of the army generals suffered the same fate or were sent to the gulags.

The repression not only affected those Stalin considered dangerous in the party. All of society suffered its effects. One of the worst years was 1937, when more than 1.7 million people were arrested for alleged political crimes. More than two million lost their jobs and some 700,000 Soviets were executed.

De-stalinization

Despite the economic achievements, the atrocities committed by Stalin were a great burden for the Soviet Union. For this reason, when Stalin died in 1953, the country's new president, Nikita Khrushchev, denounced the crimes committed during Stalinism.

The reforms that the new ruler undertook to try to alleviate the damages of the previous era were to eliminate the gulags, grant sovereignty to the satellite states, change part of the Constitution and proceed to a fairer agrarian reform.

Likewise, he proceeded to free the prisoners for ideological reasons and allowed thousands of political exiles to return to the country.

Stalinism outside the USSR

Although some authors affirm that the leaders of countries like Hungary, Bulgaria or Mongolia practiced Stalinist policies during Stalin's life, most historians point only to Albania as a government purely follower of their policies.

Stalin kept a statue in Tirana until well after his death. The Albanian president, Enver Hoxha, came to break relations with the Soviet Union and with the rest of the eastern bloc, considering that, after Stalin died, they had all become revisionist countries.

References

1. Ocaña, Juan Carlos. Stalinism: a totalitarian dictatorship. Obtained from historiesiglo20.org
2. Hypatia's eyes. Stalinism. Obtained from losojosdehipatia.com.es
3. National Autonomous University of Mexico. Stalinist dictatorship. Obtained from portalacademico.cch.unam.mx
4. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. Stalinism. Retrieved from britannica.com
5. New World Encyclopedia. Stalinism. Retrieved from newworldencyclopedia.org
6. Blunden, Andy. Stalinism: It's Origin and Future. Retrieved from marxists.org
7. International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences. Stalinism. Retrieved from encyclopedia.com
8. Yale University. Stalinism. Recovered from oyc.yale.edu
9. Harrison, Thomas. Stalinism: The Complete Negation of Socialism. Retrieved from newpol.org