What were Stalins political and economic successes and failures 1928 1953
“Stalin’s purges were a failure because they broke the backbone and brain of the soviet army” (Moshe Lewin) “The building of new industrial cities contributed to the overall economic success of soviet Russia” (Planner for FYP) To ascertain the validity of the above statements, it is necessary to identify the actual political and economic policies followed by Stalin and the Bolsheviks in the Soviet Union. It will then be necessary to conclude as to whether these policies should be classed as political or economic successes or failures. It has been argued that the purges, which lasted from 1934 until Stalin’s death in 1953, were a great political success as well as of great significance. ... All “suspicious political officials” were removed to leave a Bolshevik party that was cleansed of all opposition to Stalin. ... Kirov, a powerful political figure, was the leader of the Leningrad party. ... It has been argued that Stalin ordered his murder because he had become too powerful and so a political threat to Stalin. As a result of the purges, widespread terror was present in the USSR and this has also been seen as a political success for Stalin. The terror was also of great significance when one assesses the successes of Stalin’s political policies. ... Stalin’s Russia also enjoyed a number of economic successes concerning the collectivisation programs that were put into action in 1928. ... The most important economic success for Stalin concerning collectivisation, was the sale of grain to other countries. ... Through the Five Year Plans, the USSR also experienced a variety of economic successes. ... Also of great significance when assessing the Soviet Union’s economic successes, is the fact that the Stalinist Russia was successfully put on a war footing. ... It has been argued that the huge increase in cities across the Soviet Union, particularly large industrial cities like Magnitogorsk should be seen as one of the more important economic successes of Russia. The increase in soviet infrastructure was of equal economic importance. ... Despite the wide range of successes enjoyed by Stalin’s Bolshevik party, there were also a significant number of failures.