Stalin: Criminal Or Hero

3 Pages 734 Words

Few would argue that Joseph Stalin came to power in the Soviet Union at a very turbulent time. The Soviet Union, as well as most of the Western World was facing economic problems. In The USSR, these problems took more extreme forms. The country was backward, the population was uneducated and, infinitely worse, the leadership lacked any sort of direction. To make the situation even bleaker, it was painfully obvious that one way or another, the world was heading towards war. Stalin faced an uphill battle to industrialize, educate, and prepare for war. Some would argue, and not completely without merit, that Stalin succeeded in achieving all these goals and that whatever means he used to do so, including the sacrifice of millions of lives, are more than justified. A close examination of the facts, however, paints a slightly different picture.
Industrialization in the Soviet Union was achieved at amazing rates and is considered to be one of the most impressive achievements of the Stalin Era. Across the board, production numbers indicate an astonishing rise in output, especially that of heavy industry. However, the policies undertaken by Stalin during the industrialization drive were not prudent by any measure. The social measures introduced in conjunction with the industrialization initiative did more harm than good. In the midst of a dire shortage of technical experts, Stalin allowed and encouraged the arrest and execution of educated individuals merely because of social background and former (sometimes suspected) party affiliation. Aside from the needless loss of life, this did nothing more that throw the effort off course.
A corollary of the purges that took place among the technical experts was the rapid education and promotion of members of the working class to white collared positions. During the first Five Year Plan, as many as one and a half million workers were moved to white collared positions (Fitzpatrick, 144). Therefore, ...