Josef Stalin

Josef Stalin: A study to investigate his most powerful political weapon used to consolidate power between 1917 and 1939

DECLARATION

Title of study: ________________________________________________________________This study is _____________ words in length (plus ____ pages of essential tables and figures), excluding title page, table of contents, summary, acknowledgements, preface, appendices and list of sources but including notes, and is thus equivalent to _____________ standard pages in length (225 words = 1 standard page).

In writing this study, I have cited all published sources used, including Internet sources, as follows:

C Direct quotations are marked as quotations, and the source of each quotation is indicated.

C The sources are also clearly indicated for material summarized or paraphrased from the work of other writers.

I may have discussed the study with others and used advice and suggestions from others in writing it, but the study is my own original work and is neither copied from another source without proper acknowledgement, nor written for me by another person, in whole or in part.

Signed ____________________________________ Date ___________________

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

Writing this thesis has been very demanding, challenging and time-consuming, but also remarkable, informative and above all fun. Nevertheless, it feels great to have finally completed my bachelor's or master's thesis and I am now looking forward to a nice relaxing period for recovering. It has been both advantages and drawbacks with the limited amount of earlier research conducted within this area, even though I faced serious troubles but sometimes the advantages of this research luckily were in my favor and have made this research both challenging and interesting.

I would like to thank my supervisor -------, professor at -------University, who has been great in guiding my through this thesis, helping me through the difficulties I faced during the entire process and motivated me to work hard. Furthermore, I would like to thank all my friends, for their contributions by sharing their perceptions and opinions with me. Above all I would like to thank my family and teachers that provided me with valuable and constructive criticism.

ABSTRACT

In this study we try to explore the role of “Josef Stalin” in a holistic context. The main focus of the research is on the most powerful political powers used by Josef Stalin. The research also analyzes many different elements of strategies and political weapons used by Josef Stalin and try to gauge his different styles and designs, and impact. Finally the research concludes the Stalin's most powerful political weapon to consolidate the power between 1917 and 1939.

TABLE OF CONTENT

DECLARATIONii

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTiii

ABSTRACTiv

INTRODUCTION1

Background1

Problem Statement1

Aim and Objective2

Josef Stalin2

Stalin Emerges As Leader of the USSR3

Stalin in Power in The 1930s4

Stalin's Final Years6

Communist Ideology in Russia and the Soviet Union: Leninism and Stalinism7

FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS16

ECONOMIC VIEW16

POLITICAL VIEW23

SOCIAL VIEW32

CONCLUSION35

Effective Enforcement Measures36

References39

INTRODUCTION

Background

Josef Vissarionovich Stalin, the “Man of Steel” as his name means in Russian, was one of the most important leaders of the twentieth century. He participated in the Russian revolutionary movement that overthrew the three-hundred-year-old Romanov dynasty in 1917 (Hanson, 2003); in the 1920s he emerged as ruler of the Soviet Union (USSR), history's first ...