Cold War Leader: Joseph Stalin (By David and Dhinesh)

Biography:

·  Dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929- 1953

·  Born: December 18th, 1878, Died: March 5th, 1953

·  Born into a peasant (poor) family

·  Nationality: Soviet

·  In 1899 after dropping out of school Stalin devoted himself to the revolutionary movement

·  One of this first Politburo founded in 1917 in order to manage the Bolshevik Revolution

·  Appointed General Secretary of the Communist Party in 1922

·  After Lennon’s death in 1924, Stalin began to take control of the Communist Party and win the power struggle for control (Smear Campaign against Trotsky, Propaganda, etc.) and by late 1929 Stalin won this power struggle and became the leader/dictator of the USSR

Ideology:

Believed in the political ideology of communism and incorporated his totalitarian ideologies to create his personal form of government referred to as: Stalinism

Policies

Internal:

·  5 Year Plan(s) → Series of nationalized plans for the economic development of the Soviet Union and to overall modernise the Soviet Union by turning it from a peasant country into an industrialized nation through state terror, rapid industrialization, implementing the Theory of Socialism in one country, creating a centralized state collectivization of agriculture, and cult of personality

Foreign:

·  Molotov Plan → Similar to the Marshall Plan imposed by the US, the difference is that the Soviet Union would aid to rebuild countries in Eastern Europe that were politically and economically aligned to the Soviet Union

Significant Actions

·  Berlin Blockade → closed Berlin off (no access for people to go out or in) and put the US in a position where they had to fly in supplies, lasted from 1948-1949

·  Soviet Union detonated its first atomic bomb in late August 1949

International Influence and Diplomacy

·  Support to the North Korea in Korean War (1950-1953)

Legacy

·  Overall escalated Cold War tensions between the US and the Soviet Union

·  Ultimately achieved his goal of transforming the Soviet Union from a peasant country into an industrialized nation

Bibliography

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Radosh, Ronald. “The Soviet Dictator, All By Himself, Was The Cause.” The Magazine. Date

Published October 7, 2013. http://www.weeklystandard.com/stalins-cold-war/article/757205.

Roberts, Geoffrey. Stalin’s War. Padstow: TJ International LTD, 2006.

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http://spartacus-educational.com/RUSfive.htm.

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