was stalin successful in creating a totalitarian state?
Did Stalin Succeed In Setting Up A Totalitarian State?
Overall, Stalin did not create a totalitarian state, the very definition of which suggests the state’s complete control and authority over every aspect of society; the economy, politics, religion and culture; as, despite all of the action Stalin took to gain this, he was constantly facing opposition.
Many would argue that the wide range of economic measures used to enforce control over the population allowed Stalin to succeed in gaining total control over the state. This was evident in Gosplan’s expectation of meeting basic targets and the setting of much higher, optimum targets, for increasing production, prices, wages and allocated manpower/ resources, which ensured there would be no chance of a relationship between worker and employee, with the hopes of improving loyalty to the state as the state had become their employer.
The introduction of collective farming was also an important factor in Stalin’s supposed success because, through the use of Machine Tractor Stations, which provided grain and machinery for peasants to use in their work, also acting as a proletariat base that was staffed by members of the NKVD, Bolshevik party officials and army units, as well as agricultural productivity increasing, the state also became more successful in collecting grain from the 90% of peasants who worked on them, reinstating their control over the farmers, destroying any form of individualism they may have had in their work and views on it. Any peasant who may have accumulated private wealth for themselves were named Kulaks and were often exiled to Siberia in labour camps called Gulags, because they were seen to have supported capitalism, which went against the party ideology. Between 1930 and 1931, the number of exiled kulak families had risen from 115,000 to 265,800, effectively destroying any opposing viewpoints.
On the other hand, it can be argued that Stalin was not, in fact, totally authoritative over the
Overall, Stalin did not create a totalitarian state, the very definition of which suggests the state’s complete control and authority over every aspect of society; the economy, politics, religion and culture; as, despite all of the action Stalin took to gain this, he was constantly facing opposition.
Many would argue that the wide range of economic measures used to enforce control over the population allowed Stalin to succeed in gaining total control over the state. This was evident in Gosplan’s expectation of meeting basic targets and the setting of much higher, optimum targets, for increasing production, prices, wages and allocated manpower/ resources, which ensured there would be no chance of a relationship between worker and employee, with the hopes of improving loyalty to the state as the state had become their employer.
The introduction of collective farming was also an important factor in Stalin’s supposed success because, through the use of Machine Tractor Stations, which provided grain and machinery for peasants to use in their work, also acting as a proletariat base that was staffed by members of the NKVD, Bolshevik party officials and army units, as well as agricultural productivity increasing, the state also became more successful in collecting grain from the 90% of peasants who worked on them, reinstating their control over the farmers, destroying any form of individualism they may have had in their work and views on it. Any peasant who may have accumulated private wealth for themselves were named Kulaks and were often exiled to Siberia in labour camps called Gulags, because they were seen to have supported capitalism, which went against the party ideology. Between 1930 and 1931, the number of exiled kulak families had risen from 115,000 to 265,800, effectively destroying any opposing viewpoints.
On the other hand, it can be argued that Stalin was not, in fact, totally authoritative over the