History of Josef Stalin
Bel Camus
Prof. Slivanare
HIST359
30 Jan 2014
The Roots of the Great Turn
The death of Lenin on 21 January 1924 heralded the beginning of a new era in the history of the Soviet Union. The changes did not come immediately, but the power struggle initiated by
Lenin's death, accompanied by the recurring economic and international crises of the fledgling state, would soon lead the country into what essentially amounted to another revolution. By the end of the decade the Soviet Union had an entirely new political and economic system and was embarking on one of the most ambitious industrialization drives the world has ever seen.
Collective leadership of the party, in place from the moment of Lenin's death, was replaced by authoritarian and dictatorial rule. The economic policies of NEP, that had taken a softer line on the peasantry and abolished forced grain requisitions, had successfully brought the Soviet Union from the brink of collapse in the aftermath of the Civil War, but were abandoned in favor of the complete destruction of the private market and a path to development dictated by “plans” from above. Josef Stalin, after years of presenting himself as a voice of moderation in the party, presided over these enormous changes from his position as General Secretary of the Communist party. In hindsight, Stalin's rise to power seems almost preordained. Lenin, as early as 1922 in his famous “Last Testament,” warned that “Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary-General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be
capable of using that authority with sufficient caution.”1 In another letter a few days later, Lenin expressed in no uncertain terms that Stalin should be immediately removed from his post as
General Secretary, yet the plea fell on deaf ears at the Congress in which it was read. One would figure the party would follow a directive from the leader of the revolution itself, but the matter
Prof. Slivanare
HIST359
30 Jan 2014
The Roots of the Great Turn
The death of Lenin on 21 January 1924 heralded the beginning of a new era in the history of the Soviet Union. The changes did not come immediately, but the power struggle initiated by
Lenin's death, accompanied by the recurring economic and international crises of the fledgling state, would soon lead the country into what essentially amounted to another revolution. By the end of the decade the Soviet Union had an entirely new political and economic system and was embarking on one of the most ambitious industrialization drives the world has ever seen.
Collective leadership of the party, in place from the moment of Lenin's death, was replaced by authoritarian and dictatorial rule. The economic policies of NEP, that had taken a softer line on the peasantry and abolished forced grain requisitions, had successfully brought the Soviet Union from the brink of collapse in the aftermath of the Civil War, but were abandoned in favor of the complete destruction of the private market and a path to development dictated by “plans” from above. Josef Stalin, after years of presenting himself as a voice of moderation in the party, presided over these enormous changes from his position as General Secretary of the Communist party. In hindsight, Stalin's rise to power seems almost preordained. Lenin, as early as 1922 in his famous “Last Testament,” warned that “Comrade Stalin, having become Secretary-General, has unlimited authority concentrated in his hands, and I am not sure whether he will always be
capable of using that authority with sufficient caution.”1 In another letter a few days later, Lenin expressed in no uncertain terms that Stalin should be immediately removed from his post as
General Secretary, yet the plea fell on deaf ears at the Congress in which it was read. One would figure the party would follow a directive from the leader of the revolution itself, but the matter