Joseph Stalin and Vladimir Lenin were both Bolsheviks looking to make a communist state in Russia. They both had ideals and methods that brought them to where they got to and what they had achieved. While Lenin was more of a democratic follower, and allowed inter-party discussions, he was also a great theorist of socialism. He was also a communist who focused on the temporary capitalist development of Russia. As for Stalin, he was an opportunist politician, and was also a communist mostly just for his personal benefits and gains. He had and followed socialist policies and didn’t have the best personality and attitude, he was quite rude and disgraceful. These two leaders were mainly shaped into who they were due to their past, by comparing them, it will show if their pasts affected their ideology and methods as how different it was, also seeing how with the similar aims, how with their different attitudes and personality, they were able to …show more content…
They ruled with an iron fist and also had goals to eliminate anyone who was against their ideas. Even thought they had similar intentions, the way they reached their goals were different. Lenin rose to power after Russian society overthrew the czar, allowing him to take control of a democratic republic, while Stalin rose to power after Russian society had already been under a dictatorship for some time now. Also, while Lenin was more focused on socialist ideals to have complete economic control on land and business, Stalin mainly focused on his communist ideology to maintain his power violently, causing Stalin to fall out of his power and leadership quicker than Lenin. Adding on the reasons they had such ways of doing things could have been connected to how their childhood shaped their ideals, personalities and attitude, it was also the surroundings they grew up in that led them to where they
Soso Djugashvili, more commonly known as Joseph Stalin, ‘man of steel’, dictator of the Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) Russia, can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent when features of Stalinism are compared to those of Tsarism and Russia ruled by Nicholas II’s autocratic regime from 1894 to 1917. A ‘Red Tsar’ is a communist leader whom follows similar principles followed under the leadership of a Tsar, that were influenced by few opinions allowing sole leadership and little opposition from others. Stalin can be considered a ‘Red Tsar’ to an extent as he ruled Communist Russia as a somewhat totalitarian state and was considered a ‘God-like’ figure sent to Earth to lead the nation and its people. From Stalin’s reign of terror from 1929 to 1953 there can be similarities seen in his regime to features of Tsarism as well as differences, this is why there are alternative interpretations for Stalin being considered a ‘Red Tsar’.
Between 1924 and 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to emerge as the leader of the USSR and maintain what Kruchev described as “the accumulation of immense and limitless power”. Stalin's rise to power was a combination of his ability to manipulate situations and the failure of others to prevent him from taking power, especially Leon Trotsky. Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, a great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned. During his time of reign, Stalin put into effect two self-proclaimed "five-year
In the 1915s the Western countries had advanced technologies, a better economy and were managed successfully. However, Russia was trying something new, Communism. Lenin believed that Communism would make the country better. Shortly after his death, the man of steal, otherwise known as Stalin took control. He claimed to have the same ambitions; create a strong army, build up the industrial strength in a socialist society (Kreis, 2012). Despite their similar goals the actions they took to achieve them were completely different; Lenin is known to be on of the greatest leaders of Russia and Stalin the worst.
Stalin was frequently captured and sent to Siberia, but, he managed to escape. “Stalin played a key role in the Russian revolution he gained control over the party newspaper Pravda and helped Lenin to escape Finland” (Joseph Stalin Bio, biography.com Editors, bio.com website). Stalin was one of the five Lenin appointed in the Russian civil war against anti-Bolshevik policies. Stalin frequently clashed with Leon Trotsky and Stalin advocated harsh measures to ensure discipline and loyalty. In 1922, Lenin fell ill and Stalin became one of the main links between Lenin and the outside world. Lenin became increasingly distrustful of Stalin, disliking his arrogance and love of power. In Lenin’s testimony he wanted Stalin removed from power. However, with great skill Stalin formed alliance’s with other key Communist party members, he outmaneuvered Trotsky and had him expelled from the Soviet Union. On the death of Lenin, Stalin was able to assume the position as leader of the Soviet Union, He quickly strove to consolidate
Vladimir Lenin was slowly degrading before Stalin took power. Before Lenin died, he spoke out against Stalin by saying, “Stalin has concentrated enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution.” (Document 1). As the main creator of the Communist party and the USSR, Lenin warned the public that Stalin’s power was going to get to his head and he was going to become a selfish ruler. This became true when Stalin becomes a full time dictator. He begins abusing his power by creating a police state that brought terror among the public. He forced obedience and crushed any opposition that came in his way. Secret police arrested and killed off any traitors towards Stalin. Stalin, then, betrayed members of the Communist Party. From there, he lofted the Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror against all of his citizens. He killed off anyone that threatened the power and authority against him. Old Bolsheviks and the police themselves were either arrested or eliminated. It is estimated by the end of the Great Purge, Stalin killed as many as 8 to 13 million people. These were all people who supposedly threatened his regime. Even more people got killed, when Stalin started persecuting religious officials and followers. By Lenin’s warning, the Great Purge, and religious persecution, it is evident on how Stalin frequently abused his power during his reign. It also shows how selfish he is towards his
"According to another side that Joseph Stalin called by Man , Legend and Leader, in case of, he comparing with another person. As Main Political Differences between Stalin & Trotsky. Also, Stalin supported "socialism in one country," looking to strengthen the Soviet Union so that communism could survive there even if it died in other countries. Trotsky believed that he focus should stay on world revolution and that once the rich countries of the world had also
When analyzing the differences between these two figures, it is important to understand their backgrounds and how those backgrounds molded them into the men they later become. Beginning with Stalin, we see a child who was born into poor conditions, rise to become the one of the most powerful figures during World War II and The Cold War. Joseph Stalin was born Josef Vissarionovich Djugashvili on December 18, 1878 in Gori, Georgia, in Russia to a poor family. His father was a shoemaker and his mother was a laundress. Along with being a shoemaker, Stalin’s father was also an alcoholic and often beat his son. Later in Stalin’s life, he left school to become an underground political influence. Thus, was Stalin’s emergence into the life of politics. Later in his life, Stalin became more prevalent in Russian politics though. The Soviet Union was founded in 1922 and by this time, Joseph Stalin was
Furthermore, both leaders entered their reign of power very differently joseph Stalin’s ideas for his country where already widely known prior to his leadership. For that reason, becoming leader of the Soviet Union was not as difficult for joseph Stalin. Stalin gained his power within a month. Adolf Hitler on the other hand had way more difficulties gaining power then joseph Stalin did. Adolf’s fight for power and leader ship lasted almost 20 years. In addition to Adolf’s long fight for power, Adolf started from zero with his political ideas, half of the population did not agree with his views and ideas because they were in humane. In some ways their differences out way there, similarities.
Both Hitler and Stalin were influential men in regards to how they shaped the Eastern world with their views on leadership and individuals. Both used their beliefs in religion to shape how they ruled their country and it also acted as their reason as to how they acted towards individuals. They both had ideologies as to how things were meant to be.
The question of whether or not Stalinism was a logical continuation of Leninism is a difficult one. Stalinism did take significantly more drastic measures than Leninism did. There were differences in policy. But in spite of these, Stalinism still found its basis in Leninism. Even Trotsky, a friend of Lenin and a staunch opponent of Stalin, grudgingly admits that "Stalinism did issue from Bolshevism" (Trotsky). Stalin's policy of socialism in one country, his use of terror to eliminate opposition, and his suppression of democracy and the soviets were all characteristics of Lenin well before they were characteristic of Stalin. Although some of Stalin's policies were different from those of Lenin, what difference Stalinism did
The 1917 Bolshevik Revolution was the seizure of power by the radical Marxists led by Vladimir Lenin and was one of the pivotal moments of the 20th Century. The ramifications of the event, and the subsequent establishment of the world's first Communist regime were immediately obvious, but also had continuing repercussions for decades. This essay will argue that although Lenin and Stalin seemed to have conflicting views, in reality they shared very similar policies; Stalin just took these policies to an extreme.
Compare and contrast the ideologies and the political and economic practice of Lenin and Stalin.
When compared, Nazism and Stalinism are most often debated in terms of totalitarian regimes. Further comparisons can be made however, when looking at how both regimes were able to ascend to totalitarian status and how the aims of Stalinism and Nazism compare. Both Germany and Russia possessed imperialistic ambitions that spilled over into Central and Eastern European countries. Both Nazism and Stalinism sought to build utopic societies by implementing a final and permanent revolution. People that did not fit into to the utopic image created by Stalin and Hitler would be forcibly removed from each society by the use of violence and terroristic tactics. As Nazism and Stalinism rose to power, they implemented a system of inclusion and exclusion by creating an image that all nationals should aspire to. Poland was a victim of both regimes’ attempts at utopia and was nearly completely lost to the annals of history.
Leninism is used to describe the strategy, devised by Lenin (and others), that insisted that a revolution would not come about through the collapse of capitalism under the stress of its own contradictions, and instead, should be brought about by a 'vanguard party' of intellectuals acting on behalf of a proletariat that had not (and might not ever) achieve consciousness. So, it's a major revision of the most austere parts of Marx's prognosis of capitalism, and a theory about how to acquire and retain control of the state. Marxism-Leninism was the term used by apparatchiks and intellectuals in the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to describe the ideology they followed. Of course, this ideology changed all the time, so it was an elastic term. At separate times, different policies would comprise Marxism-Leninism. It wasn't one idea or approach.
Lenin believed that Trotsky was the best suitable to take the Communist party to the next level. Trotsky was not all that popular among party members though and Stalin was in a position as Gen Sek, or General Secretary, to place his people in powerful positions throughout the party. Also, Stalin worked extremely hard at achieving power whereas Trotsky was rather lazy. Because of these reasons along with Stalin's "zero tolerance" attitude towards everyone, he was able to seize control.