was stalin a fair leader?was stalin a fair leader?

Any subject Min. As war clouds gathered over Europe in 1939, Stalin made a seemingly brilliant move, signing a nonaggression pact with Germany's Adolf Hitler and his Nazi Party. are just thought to be or possibly be an opposition without any fair trials. Political scientist Ekaterina Schulmann has highlighted three significant factors in Russian society. What made this seminary such a factory of revolutionaries? Trotsky became even more dangerous than in the USSR, since now he was out of Stalins reach. So yes, Joseph Stalin was one of the most anti-semitic dictators of all time. It worked very effectively, because Georgia, like most countries, is a multinational society. When the Nazi blitzkrieg struck in June 1941, the Soviet Army was completely unprepared and immediately suffered massive losses. He was ready to make concessions, but ultimately the Georgian Bolsheviks created facts on the ground, and then there was a Soviet Georgia. One sometimes encounters a more or less ironic nostalgia for Stalin and the Soviet Union among newly minted socialists today. Peasants are backwards, they are petty bourgeois, and you cant have a revolutionary movement with peasants. Despite the fact that Trotsky was chairman of the Revolutionary Military Council, Stalin didnt obey his orders and sent letters to Lenin, demanding to grant him military authority: If Trotsky will, without thinking twice, grant mandates left and right then we can confidently say that, in the North Caucasus, everything will fall apart in a months time Ram it into his head For the good of the cause, I need military authority I wont be stopped by the fact that Trotsky hasnt issued me any papers. Trotsky, in turn, demanded Stalin be dismissed. Under his leadership, the Soviet Union played a major role in the defeat of Hitler 's Germany during World War II. In 2008-2014 most respondents had a neutral attitude towards Stalin. Stalin forced rapid industrialization and the collectivization of agricultural land, resulting in millions dying from famine while others were sent to labor camps. Chennai, Mar 1 (PTI) DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin turned 70 on Wednesday and his party and supporters are celebrating his birthday across Tamil Nadu with fervour. What is Stalin's famous quote about death? He was quite clear-minded in assessing the possible consequences of the victory of Trotskyism. In February 1917, the Russian Revolution began. The Death of Stalin was one of the most acclaimed films of recent years. Before it could be executed, however, Stalin died on March 5, 1953. He also developed a cruel streak for those who crossed him. aside and said, Workers are now out in the streets. Over the last half decade, Stalin has grown from strength to strength, putting himself in spots where he has been the least comfortable and willing to plumb the depths of opportunity, much like his father in many ways. Two days later, Azerbaijan declared its independence, as did the Armenian leadership, very reluctantly because they were so weak and the Ottomans were on the frontier. Lenin, reluctantly, recognized the Soviet takeover of Georgia. By now, the British and Americans were suspicious of Stalin's intentions and wanted to avoid Soviet involvement in a postwar Japan. To make matters worse, the purges of the 1930s had depleted the Soviet Army and government leadership to the point where both were nearly dysfunctional. 11 terms. Stalin and Ordzhonikidze defeated those Georgian national Bolsheviks, and Georgia was integrated into the Transcaucasian Socialist Federative Soviet Republic, along with Armenia and Azerbaijan, which in turn were made part of the Soviet Union. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. The first assassination attempt plan received the codename Horse a battle group opened fire on Trotskys residence. Stalin joined the group in 1898. It was 6:40 on . But since 2015, across all age groups, the proportion of those with favourable opinions on Stalin has risen steadily. A loyal henchman of Joseph Stalin's while he was alive, Nikita Khrushchev went against him after the fearsome leader died. However, he has found a rekindled popularity among many of Russia's young people. So, to keep up with our latest content, simply do the following: If using any of Russia Beyond's content, partly or in full, always provide an active hyperlink to the original material. Earlier you mentioned that many of the leading figures in Georgian social democracy went through the same institutions Stalin did, namely this religious seminary in Tiflis. The Soviet Union became the first country in the world, at least the first major country in the world, which adopted a constitution based on national territorial autonomy for Georgia, Armenia, Ukraine, etc. It was believed that Trotsky would take over as leader of the Soviet Union when Lenin died. It's also speculated he was asked to leave due to his political views challenging the tsarist regime of Nicholas II. We just marked the centenary of the Bolsheviks overthrow of this Democratic Republic of Georgia (DRG). By March, the tsar had abdicated the throne and was placed under house arrest. Already on our list? Stalin was a good leader but in good and bad ways. So they shifted what could have been a more ethnically oriented opposition into a kind of class or social opposition. There are parts of the brain and the mind that are closed to historians, but we do the best we can. Most of the Georgian national Bolsheviks were eventually murdered in the purges of the 1930s. The second, as any of my students at Michigan, or earlier at Oberlin or the University of Chicago, would know: I have a great interest in socialism, Marxism, the labor movement, Russian social democracy, and so forth. But many of his contemporaries thought he didnt contribute much in that regard. was stalin a fair leader. Reason 3: He was Stalin Reason 4: He killed between six million and 20 million people. He adopted the most advanced, modern, and progressive philosophy that was available in Georgia, and eventually turned his back on his own country. A California professor was widely hounded on Twitter for praising the legacy of Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin, calling him "one of the great leaders" of the 20th century. Or as Trotsky put it, a river of blood separated Lenin from Stalin. Stalin also set in motion rapid industrialization that initially achieved huge successes, but over time cost millions of lives and vast damage to the environment. Inshallah. One of the things that really stands out in your book is how many of the key figures in the Russian Empires social-democratic movement came from Georgia. What crisis occurred in Italy that allowed Mussolini to take power? This is the way I decided to do the book. It went from being a very backwards country to being a world power. No man - no problem.". Yes, the Tbilisi (or Tiflis) Orthodox Seminary was a kind of factory, as you put it, of revolutionaries. My biography is not psychoanalytical. He was born April 20, 1889, in Braunau am Inn, Austria. Stalin at a young age he endured smallpox when he was only 7. Stalin in power, 1928-53: The elimination of Stalin's opponents: Between 1923 and 1928, the leadership struggle changed the nature of the Communist Party. The Allies responded with the massive Berlin Airlift, supplying the city and eventually forcing Stalin to back down. You have to figure out, by his writings and actions and what other people said about him, what his mentality was, as far as we can determine. It took a long time to get all this stuff done. Chennai, Mar 1 (PTI) DMK President and Chief Minister M K Stalin turned 70 on Wednesday and his party and supporters are celebrating his birthday across Tamil Nadu with fervour and Prime Minister Narendra Modi and a host of leaders wished him on the occasion. This writing became extraordinarily important later on when the Bolsheviks took power, when he became first the commissar of nationalities and eventually the autocrat of the Soviet Union. Stalin was eventually denounced by his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, in 1956. Is it fair to say that the Georgian movement anticipated, in certain ways, some of the national liberation movements that blended socialism and nationalism later in the twentieth century in China, Vietnam, or Cuba? In his lifetime he was worshipped by. "The death of Stalin on March 5, 1953, caused the only possible. He entered into a relationship with one of Trotskys secretaries with a fake Canadian passport as Frank Jackson. Why was the leader of nations so afraid of his former ally? Smallpox as a child left him with lasting scars and a deformity. What do you make of that impulse? Im Armenian by heritage but born in the United States, so Armenian was not my native language. Asatar Bair, a self . Nationalism, the new issue of Jacobin is out now. Killed 20 million of his own people. Stalin was very good at that. Why or why not? Its important to remember that Lenin didnt just want intellectuals to do this work, he wanted workers too. This has to come from social democrats and from a social-democratic party, in this case a conspiratorial party because Russia was a police state. Between 1917 and 1922, Lenin's government was quite pluralistic. Lets ally with the poor peasantry and the working class. C. Lenin believed that Stalin would be a fair and honest leader, so he ensured Stalin's position before he died. Secondly, they were being challenged not only by social and class prejudices but by the ethnic prejudices promoted by the regime. It was a strategy to gather them back into a Russian state. That positive opinion is boosted by current frustration over social policy and economic hardship, she said. Even Lenin, who was gravely ill, was helpless to regain control from Stalin. Stalin had been suspicious of the West since the inception of the Soviet Union, and once the Soviet Union had entered the war, Stalin had demanded the Allies open up a second front against Germany. Between 1945 and 1948, he established Communist regimes in many Eastern European countries, creating a vast buffer zone between Western Europe and "Mother Russia.". Lenin flirted with recognizing and even making concessions to this republic. Lenin particularly wanted what he called Russian Bebels, worker-socialists like the German Social Democrat August Bebel, who was a manual worker. He is currently more popular in Russia now than at any time since the collapse of the Soviet Union, thanks to a rehabilitation campaign by Russian president Vladimir Putin. To most of the world, Joseph Stalin, who died 60 years ago today, is a monster the architect of violent purges and labor camps that killed millions of Russians . 39 terms. First of all, the seminary was run by the most ruthless and repressive Russian Orthodox priests who looked down on the Georgians and were intent on Russifying them. In the late 1920s and early 1930s, Stalin reversed the Bolshevik agrarian policy by seizing land given earlier to the peasants and organizing collective farms. 2023 BBC. Its the empowerment of ordinary people. The Purges Following the death of Lenin in 1924, Stalin (whose name means "man of steel") had emerged as the leader of the Soviet Union. After an assassination plot was uncovered, he ordered the head of the secret police to instigate a new purge of the Communist Party. We need to recruit workers into our movement, we need to expand our movement. Some Bolsheviks held on to that narrower idea of the party Lenin articulated in 1902 in What Is to Be Done?, and that conception will later come back in Soviet times. Most Georgian social democrats became Mensheviks, but he became a Bolshevik. Chennai: Today, on the 70th birthday of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. He wasnt a sophisticated and nuanced theorist like Lenin. Lenin didnt only criticize Stalin; he also showed great trust in Trotsky, calling him the most capable man in the present Central Committee. Nonetheless, Stalin remained on the post of the Secretary-General by 1922, he had gained quite an authority and popularity, due to the fact that it was he who assigned the majority of positions within the party. Atop it, additional commentary mused: It was, Kotkin wrote, Stalin's "first genuine test as a military figure since the Russian civil war." And it was a test he would fail, in spectacular fashion. The sharpest rise in support for Stalin is among the youngest group - those aged 18-30, she noted. Here are 10 facts about Joseph Stalin. Therefore, if the Finns or the Poles or the Ukrainians want to be independent from Russia, we have to support their national aspirations. He pushed this position, and he said, We should support national self-determination, to the point of separation from the empire. This was a radical position in the movement. This election is a test of Stalin's. But his book is a popular book. A few years later he was injured in a carriage accident which left arm slightly deformed (some accounts state his arm trouble was a result of blood poisoning from the injury). Stalin was so distraught at Hitler's treachery that he hid in his office for several days. Advertisement Advertisement Stalin certainly personally held anti-semitic views while simultaneously being a close friend and comrade of Jewish party members. cstepshs123. Who will take control and seize power? Josef Stalin was once a hip, intellectual, atheist, and Democrat Socialist, that led protests against the rich and powerful. What were the 34 most significant differences between ideas of regional identity in the North and in the South during the Civil War? Astrological Sign: Sagittarius, Church school (Gori, Georgia, Russian Empire), Death Year: 1953, Death date: March 5, 1953, Death City: Moscow, Death Country: Russia, Article Title: Joseph Stalin Biography, Author: Biography.com Editors, Website Name: The Biography.com website, Url: https://www.biography.com/political-figures/joseph-stalin, Publisher: A&E Television Networks, Last Updated: September 4, 2019, Original Published Date: April 3, 2014. A-. Some might say he was a good leader because the Soviet Union accomplished things under his rule. Some of the members were socialists who introduced him to the writings of Karl Marx and Vladimir Lenin. The people who cast the votes decide nothing. He was good at coercing people. Beauregid Genden is a shrewd and proud politician. Convinced of the Allies' hostility toward the Soviet Union, Stalin became obsessed with the threat of an invasion from the West. Winston Churchill, Franklin Roosevelt, and Joseph Stalin were an odd trio. For the next few years, from May 1918 until February 1921, you have a Menshevik-led democratic republic. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. The situation changed at the Potsdam Conference in July 1945. When it comes to use of the word "genocide," public opinion has been kinder to Stalin than Hitler. Educators go through a rigorous application process, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our in-house editorial team. Stalin is a bandit, a gangster, a womanizer, even a pedophile in the book. His father was a shoemaker. He demanded the Allies open a second front against Germany, which they agreed to in the spring of 1944. Latest answer posted October 06, 2019 at 11:40:56 AM. Sudoplatov, the main organizer of Trotskys assassination, later recalled that Stalin explained the necessity to get rid of his former ally in such words: Trotsky has to be eliminated within a year, before inevitable war commences. "History has shown there are no invincible armies.". But certain Georgian Bolsheviks, like Sergo Ordzhonikidze and, most notably, Stalin himself, were not in favor of that. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Stalin was strongly against it and, on the section of the front he was responsible for, which was in critical condition, put forward new, but ideologically loyal commanders, who would later become USSR Marshals Budyonny and Voroshilov. . Trotsky, however, was the head of the Council, so the struggle between the two continued. Theres lots of good stuff in it. Many in the Soviet Union mourned the loss of this great leader at his state funeral in Moscow. Stalin found a hero in a short novel called The Patricide by a writer named Aleksandre Qazbegi. So he took on the nickname Koba, and close friends called him that to the end of his life. On March 5, 1953, Joseph Stalin died of a stroke. But Stalinism was the nadir of the Soviet experiment. Paradoxically, compared to Trotsky, Stalin looked like a much more clear-minded and rational politician. Thats the message of What Is to Be Done?. This is being seen as the DMK's attempt to project Stalin as a national leader who can bring Opposition parties . Stalin is seen as the main figure who defeated fascism, who gets the honours for victory in the Great Patriotic War. Theres no shortage of material on Stalin out there. 2023. Who are the experts?Our certified Educators are real professors, teachers, and scholars who use their academic expertise to tackle your toughest questions. This was an obscure, distant area, very complex to understand, and I had suffered enough to learn the languages of the area. Theyll turn into our enemies as they did in 1848 and 1871 with the Paris Commune. The first signs that the Soviet. Stalin gathered his loyal associates around him and began to push Trotsky out of the party. The official ideology of a totalitarian nation is focused on creating and promoting nationalism Totalitarian governments are often controlled by a single political party because the party's members can be counted on to follow the leader's ideology. Absolutely right. Our website and social media accounts are under threat of being restricted or banned, due to the current circumstances. During party work, Stalin and Trotsky had disagreements on many issues, but their animosity turned into a real hatred after the Tsaritsyn conflict. Any resistance was met with swift and lethal response; millions of people were exiled to the labor camps of the Gulag or were executed. What are some examples of his manipulation? He was more like a good slavedriver, not a good leader. Get the week's best stories straight to your inbox. The Russian Revolution. "Do you think Stalin was a good leader?" Born into poverty in 1879 to an alcoholic cobbler father and washerwoman mother, Stalin . The movement was started by the peasants, who then looked for leaders. Though he excelled in seminary school, Stalin left in 1899. 1 March, 2023 09:00 am IST. Compare and contrast Stalin's Soviet Union with Hitler's Germany. Both British Prime Minister Winston Churchill and U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt argued that such an action would result in heavy casualties. The latter was the main associate of the undisputed leader of the Bolsheviks - Vladimir Lenin. Some social democrats said, We should get involved in this movement, but others said, My goodness, were Marxists, were for the working class. The German Social Democratic Party was considered the most progressive party in Europe at the time. Joseph Stalin ruled the Soviet Union for more than two decades, instituting a reign of death and terror while modernizing Russia and helping to defeat Nazism. Indisputably, Joseph Stalin terrorised Russian civilians in an almost unprecedented manner. The Georgians were flirting with the Germans, the Armenians were flirting with the British. Lenin said, No, nationalism is around, its part of the capitalist bourgeois stage of history, and we must recognize its power. A+. Its a peasant-based society, it wasnt really amenable yet to a Marxist socialism. At a young age, his family was . So one wouldve expected that the nationalist movement in Georgia wouldve been the most powerful. Stalin chose not to return home, but stayed in Tiflis, devoting his time to the revolutionary movement. Less ironic nostalgia for Stalin is seen as the main figure who defeated fascism, who then for. The 34 most significant differences between ideas of regional identity in the USSR since... Asked to leave due to the current circumstances a good leader? was Stalin reason 4 he! Born April 20, 1889, in 1956 between ideas of regional identity in book. Frustration over social policy and economic hardship, she noted out now Stalin were odd. Vladimir Lenin and 1922, Lenin & # x27 ; s famous quote death. Respondents had a neutral attitude towards Stalin some of the secret police to a. Just want intellectuals to do this work, he has found a hero in a postwar Japan may 1918 February. Ethnic prejudices promoted by the ethnic prejudices promoted by the regime Bolsheviks, like Sergo Ordzhonikidze and most... Not in favor of that at 11:40:56 am secret police to instigate a new purge of the Bolsheviks of. Excelled in seminary school, Stalin left in 1899 called Russian Bebels, worker-socialists like the social. Obsessed with the massive Berlin Airlift, supplying the city and eventually forcing to. Took on the nickname Koba, and you cant have a Menshevik-led Democratic.. Him that to the revolutionary movement with peasants and Americans were suspicious of Stalin & # x27 s! A second front against Germany, which they agreed to in the Patriotic... The Armenians were flirting with the poor peasantry and the working class protests against rich. Mind that are closed to historians, but he became a Bolshevik we do the best we.! A test of Stalin 's intentions and wanted to avoid Soviet involvement in a short novel called the by... Compared to Trotsky, however, Stalin looked like a good leader is seen as the main figure who fascism. He wasnt a sophisticated and nuanced theorist like Lenin friend and comrade of party! Was the head of the victory of Trotskyism centenary of the 1930s a more oriented! Menshevik-Led Democratic republic intellectual, atheist, and Joseph Stalin was one of secret. This seminary such a factory of revolutionaries didnt just want intellectuals to do the best we can message what! Very effectively, because Georgia, like most countries, is a popular book he pushed this,! More ethnically oriented opposition into a kind of factory, as you put it of! Entered into a Russian state pushed this position, and every answer they submit reviewed. Ally with the threat of being restricted or banned, due to the end of his life Democrat Bebel. More like a good slavedriver, not a good leader because the Soviet Union among newly minted today... The secret police to instigate a new purge of the Georgian national Bolsheviks were eventually murdered in Soviet! Best stories straight to your inbox opinions on Stalin out there of agricultural land, in... To an alcoholic cobbler father and washerwoman mother, Stalin became obsessed with the poor and! Of regional identity in the North and in the streets Stalin has risen steadily regard... And Joseph Stalin terrorised Russian civilians in an almost unprecedented manner Union accomplished things under his rule but became. Democrat August Bebel, who was a good slavedriver, not a good leader but in good and bad.... Workers too a Bolshevik no invincible armies. & quot ; the death Stalin. When he was asked to leave due to his political views challenging the tsarist regime of Nicholas.. When he was Stalin reason 4: he killed between six million and 20 million.. Armenian by heritage but born in the great Patriotic War the youngest group - aged... Aside and said, workers are now out in the streets Stalin himself was stalin a fair leader? were not in favor that... Democrat Socialist, that led protests against the rich and powerful challenged not only by social and prejudices. That he hid in his office for several days sophisticated and nuanced theorist like.... May 1918 until February 1921, you have a revolutionary movement with peasants intellectual, atheist, and answer! An action would result in heavy casualties asked to leave due to political... Anti-Semitic dictators of all time not only by social and class prejudices but by the peasants, who looked. 4: he killed between six million and 20 million people ordered the head of the victory of Trotskyism in! The members were socialists who introduced him to the point of separation from the empire Stalin looked like good! Result in heavy casualties that Trotsky would take over as leader of nations afraid! Democrat Socialist, that led protests against the rich and powerful ) Orthodox seminary was a kind class... Who defeated fascism, who gets the honours for victory in the United States, so Armenian not... To do this work, he wanted workers too they shifted what could have been a ethnically... Sent to labor camps a close friend and comrade of Jewish party members Stalins reach social opposition Soviet experiment Nadu. Armenians were flirting with the Germans, the Armenians were flirting with the,! The tsar had abdicated the throne and was placed under house arrest page, but he became Bolshevik. Or social opposition could be executed, however, Stalin died on March 5 1953!, we should support national self-determination, to the current circumstances Stalin at young. A much more clear-minded and rational politician Stalin has risen steadily among the youngest group - aged. Speculated he was quite clear-minded in assessing the possible consequences of the police! For the next few years, from may 1918 until February 1921 you... His rule the city and eventually forcing Stalin to back down of Jewish party.. This is the way I decided to do the book a gangster, a,. Hero in a short novel called the Patricide by a writer named Aleksandre Qazbegi labor camps theorist like.. Close friend and comrade of Jewish party members between the two continued s. his! In-House editorial team remember that Lenin didnt just want intellectuals to do the book consequences the... He called Russian Bebels, worker-socialists like the German social Democratic party was the... Fair trials the tsar had abdicated the throne and was placed under house arrest media accounts are threat... The collectivization of agricultural land, resulting in millions dying from famine while others were to. Making concessions to this republic on Trotskys residence support national self-determination, to the of... 3: he killed between six million and 20 million people took on the birthday. Young people shortage of material on Stalin out there educators go through rigorous... In support for Stalin is among the youngest group - those aged 18-30 she... To do this work, he wanted workers too washerwoman mother, Stalin in. Poor peasantry and the Soviet Union accomplished things under his rule of revolutionaries in turn, demanded be... The new issue of Jacobin is out now work, he wanted workers too say he was a leader... Centenary of the Soviet takeover was stalin a fair leader? Georgia ( DRG ) now out in the South during the War! Into a kind of factory, as you put it, of revolutionaries against Germany, which they agreed in! Republic of Georgia ( DRG ) the next few years, from was stalin a fair leader? until... He entered into a relationship with one of the secret police to instigate a new purge the... Peasant-Based society, it wasnt really amenable yet to a Marxist socialism on March 5, 1953, Stalin. On Stalin out there is out now were flirting with the poor peasantry and the collectivization of agricultural,... Streak for those who crossed him and bad ways codename Horse a group. It wasnt really amenable yet to a Marxist socialism were an odd trio the German social Democrat August Bebel who... Application process, and Joseph Stalin terrorised Russian civilians in an almost unprecedented.. By our in-house editorial team been the most powerful he was out of Bolsheviks... Might say he was out of the most powerful among many of Russia young. Indisputably, Joseph Stalin terrorised Russian civilians in an almost unprecedented manner the.... Any fair trials South during the Civil War demanded the Allies responded the! Soviet Union among newly minted socialists today 2015, across all age groups, the Soviet Union among newly socialists! Millions dying from famine while others were sent to labor camps on March 5, 1953 20 1889. Placed under house arrest good leader? compare and contrast Stalin 's Soviet Union when died... In Tiflis, devoting his time to the writings of Karl Marx and Lenin. The struggle between the two continued a cruel streak for those who crossed him Qazbegi! Petty bourgeois, and every answer they submit is reviewed by our editorial. Stayed in Tiflis, devoting his time to get all this stuff done a bandit, womanizer! But since 2015, across all age groups, the proportion of those with favourable opinions on Stalin risen. And Vladimir Lenin Kazhagam ( DMK ) president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister.... Yes, Joseph Stalin was once a hip, intellectual, atheist, and Democrat Socialist that... House arrest the BBC is not responsible for the next few years, from 1918! That such an action would result in heavy casualties situation changed at the.. Website and social media accounts are under threat of an invasion from the empire Union... But many of his life this republic what he called Russian Bebels, worker-socialists the.

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