Whether you are new to the world of Stalin and the Soviet Union or if you’re just interested in more in-depth information, Joseph’s Stalin’s Secret Guide to Europelundentechcrunch is sure to prove a valuable addition to your collection. The book covers such topics as Stalin’s response to German expansion in Eastern Europe, Lenin’s authorization of the start of the Red Terror, and the Great Purge.
Lenin authorizes the start of the Red Terror
During the first years of his rule, Joseph Stalin oversaw a brutal political campaign that eliminated certain groups of people. This policy, referred to as the Great Purge, detained millions of people.
In the mid-1930s, some Bolsheviks began questioning Stalin’s legitimacy. They believed that his acts of terror were aimed at maintaining power as a dictator. However, historians disagree on whether Stalin had acted in order to maintain his own authority or to thwart his opponents.
Stalin used police repression against opposition elements within the Communist Party. He also imposed a centralized command economy that helped to industrialize the Soviet Union.
Stalin’s Great Terror was a series of mass killings that occurred in the Soviet Union between 1936 and 1938. It was a brutal political campaign that killed approximately half a million people. Most experts estimate that about 750,000 people were executed during the Great Terror.
During the Great Terror, the Soviet Union’s entire population was terrorized with arrests and executions. Many prisoners died of exhaustion, disease, and starvation. In many cases, political enemies were deported to remote areas of the country.
During the Great Terror, Stalin also threw out many members of the party. He believed that Lenin and the Bolsheviks were a threat to his leadership.
Stalin’s response to German expansion in Eastern Europe
During the Second World War, Joseph Stalin’s response to German expansion in Eastern Europe has perplexed historians for decades. He was the supreme leader of the Soviet Union, and he was unchallenged in both his party and his state.
Stalin’s response to Hitler’s invasion was slow and disorganized. He trusted Hitler, and his policies almost resulted in the Soviet Union’s defeat. In the end, he was forced to change his diplomatic and military policy, which slowed German progress and even halted the German army from reaching Moscow in December 1941.
During the next two years, Stalin adopted new tactics and centralized decision-making at the highest party levels. He sought to build a communist “sphere of influence” in Eastern Europe. He also sought to reorganize the Soviet army.
He introduced forced collectivization, which disrupted agricultural production and created a shortage of consumer goods. He also began to increase dependency on Gulag labor. He executed many Communist Party leaders and government rivals.
Stalin’s First Five-Year Plan called for a rapid industrialization of the economy, with an emphasis on heavy industry. It was an unrealistic plan. It also called for an increase of 250 percent in overall industrial development. The plan was met with resistance by some members of the Communist Party.
Stalin’s actions against political enemies intensified with the Great Purge
During Joseph Stalin’s regime, the Soviet Union underwent a series of terror campaigns that targeted political enemies. Known as the Great Purge, the killings were a result of the dictator’s desire to destroy any person who could challenge his rule. The number of victims is estimated to range from a few million to one hundred million.
The purges were mainly targeted at the Communist Party. The Soviet government seized 25 million privately owned farms and put hundreds of families on Collective Farms. These farms produced food for the state. Anyone who was suspected of hoarding grain could be arrested and deported.
The purges also targeted government bureaucrats and spies. Officially, the purges were explained as eliminating people who were responsible for sabotaging the state’s policies.
The purges also targeted people who were opposed to the Stalin regime, such as writers, artists, and intellectuals. These individuals were often imprisoned or exiled to a remote region of Russia. The Communist Party elite believed that individual interests should be sacrificed to the state.
Conclusion
The purges were carried out in a number of ways, including through famine and disease epidemics. The government also controlled the education system. The state had total control over the public and private lives of people. The NKVD, or Soviet secret police, remained the most powerful institution in the Stalinist regime.
