USSR-Stalin

The Creation and Duration of the USSR World War I was officially declared over on November 11, 1918, but for Russia, it ended much sooner, and devastation collapsed on the entire country. Coming out of the Russian Revolution of 1917 there was only one man who could lead the country from peril; Vladimir Lenin, who took control Russia in 1917. By 1922 the soviets within Russia united to form the USSR, which was under the control of Lenin and his Communist Party. The devastation from World War I left the country with no supplies for it’s people, therefore the Communist Party had to confiscate many of the peasant farmer’s crops to sustain the lives of most Russians; this lead Lenin to install the New Economic Plan, which introduced the USSR to socialism.

In 1922 Joseph Stalin was placed in the Communist Party as a successor of Lenin and a general secretary for the government. He was an angry and aggressive man who spent the next four years strategically gaining power and support throughout the Communist Party. Lenin fell too ill to maintain power in 1924 thus allowing Stalin and Trotsky, his two successors, battle each other for total control. Unfortunately Trotsky was too weak, and Stalin gained total control of the USSR by 1927. His first act was to turn the USSR into a totalitarian state followed by exiling Trotsky in 1929. Stalin abolished any form of socialism by enforcing a radical and supreme communist economy. In 1928 the first of many 5 year plans (plans designed by Stalin to lead the USSR into a rapid industrial growth and economic advancement) was enforced to achieve rapid industrial growth and military strength. Next collectivization, or [-the-] Stalin's policy to collect crops, and collective farms were installed, and they were greatly resisted by the peasants who became somewhat wealthy during the socialistic rule of Lenin, named kulaks. This resistance was met with terror and death. Many resistors were subject to starvation and sentenced to gulags, or forced work/labor camps. During the Stalin’s gaining of power he also annexed and took control of many nationalistic countries who desired independence. The most prominent was Ukraine, which was quickly silenced through the Ukrainian genocide, called Holodomor. Stalin could begin to see the uprisings causing a serious problem for his reign of totalitarianism; therefore in 1934 he launched the Great Purge, a campaign of terror used to exodise (exercise? exodus?) and kill any who threatened Stalin’s power. These people were tried for crimes “against the Soviet Union” and murdered without question. With this campaign of terror Stalin took control of everything throughout the USSR from censoring radio stations, propaganda, education, and religion. By 1934 the USSR had joined the League of Nations, and thus marks the beginning of Russia involvement in international affairs. That loyalty didn’t last long after the Munich Agreement, and in order to ensure it’s own protection, the USSR signed a non-aggression pact with Germany (1939).

Interestingly enough, Stalin saved the USSR from the devastating effects of the Great Depression because of the command economy he installed. This rendered the USSR virtually unaffected by the Great Depression of 1929.