How Did Stalin Transform The Soviet Union

Joseph Stalin was born December 18th, 1878. He grew up a poor and only child with an abusive father. While he was in school he began reading the works of Karl Marx and became intensely interested in the movement against the Russian monarchy. After he was expelled from school he became very involved in politics, protesting and even taking part in criminal activities. He married twice and had several children in and out of wedlock having little time or interest in domestic life. Stalin was appointed by Vladimir Lenin to work on the Bolshevik Party which took power in Russia in 1917. Later, in 1922, the Soviet Union was officially founded with Lenin as its leader. Two years later Lenin died and Stalin took over. By the end of the decade he would be dictator of the Soviet
Stalin wanted to transform the Soviet Union, “his development plan was centered on government control of the economy and included the forced collectivization of Soviet agriculture, in which the government took control of farms. Millions of farmers refused to cooperate with Stalin’s orders and were shot or exiled as punishment. The forced collectivization also led to widespread famine across the Soviet Union that killed millions.”[1] Joseph Stalin was a politician to his core and ruled with a totalitarian spirit, he increased secret police forces and encouraged people to spy on one another. Anyone suspected of being a threat was either sent to a forced labor camp or killed. In addition, “Stalin built a cult of personality around himself in the Soviet Union. Cities were renamed in his honor. Soviet history books were rewritten to give him a more prominent role in the revolution and mythologize other aspects of his life. He was the subject of flattering artwork, literature and music, and his name became part of the Soviet national anthem. His government also controlled the Soviet