Joseph Stalin Criticism
Joseph Stalin, born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili in 1879, governed the Soviet Union as its authoritarian leader for nearly a quarter-century. Despite transforming the USSR into a global superpower, Stalin's reign is marked by his brutal purges and widespread terror, which shaped his infamous legacy. His rise began with his involvement in the Russian Social Democratic Workers Party, leading to a pivotal role with the Bolsheviks. After the 1917 Revolution, although initially overshadowed by contemporaries like Lenin and Trotsky, Stalin consolidated power, becoming the General Secretary of the Communist Party by 1924.
Stalin's leadership style was marked by paranoia and ruthlessness, exemplified by his policies of collectivization and industrialization, which attempted to modernize the Soviet economy but led to mass famine and the gulag system. The Great Terror of the 1930s further solidified his control through the execution and imprisonment of millions, casting a long shadow over his military decisions during World War II. His reign saw significant events such as the signing and subsequent betrayal of the Non-Aggression Pact with Nazi Germany, and the Soviet Union's emergence as a nuclear power, thus framing the early Cold War dynamics. Critics, like Ake Sandler, have even drawn parallels between Stalin's regime and that of Hitler's Germany.
Stalin's contributions to Soviet ideology, encapsulated in works like Marxism and the National Question and Foundations of Leninism, are often critiqued for their lack of originality. As noted by Michael Karpovich, his theoretical contributions were seen as repetitive interpretations of Leninist thought. Despite this, his ability to meld theory with practice, as Anton Donoso observes, was pivotal in shaping Soviet philosophy. Stalin's image, meticulously crafted through propaganda, established him as a cult figure revered by many, although posthumously, his legacy was officially criticized by successors like Nikita Khrushchev, a shift captured by World Today.
Contents
- Principal Works
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Essays
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A review of 'Leninism'
(summary)
In the following review, Karpovich finds Leninism valuable because of its contemporaneity with Stalin's early years in power but otherwise finds the theories espoused 'monotonous' and unoriginal.
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A review of 'Marxism and the National and Colonial Question'
(summary)
In the following review, Sandelius finds Stalin in Marxism and the National and Colonial Question 'persuasive' and 'orderly.'
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Stalin, Trotsky, and Willi Schlamm
(summary)
In the following essay, which was originally published in the Nation in 1937, Wilson provides a critical examination of the report of the Trotsky Commission.
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A review of The History of the Civil War in the U. S. S. R.
(summary)
In the following review, Oudendyk finds The History of the Civil War in the U.S.S.R. interesting but unfortunately too biased to leave the reader with anything but a distorted picture.
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A review of 'Leninism'
(summary)
In the following review, Burns finds the English translation of Stalin's Leninism a valuable source for Westerners studying the socio-political climate of the Soviet Union.
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Trotsky's Stalin
(summary)
In the following essay, which first appeared in the New Yorker in 1946, Wilson reviews the English translation of Leon Trotsky's biography Stalin, finding it a volume of great historical and political importance.
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Stalin and Hitler: A Lesson in Comparison
(summary)
In the following essay, Sandler argues that Stalin's Soviet Union more closely resembled Hitler's Germany than the socialist society proposed by Karl Marx.
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Stalin as an Economist
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In the following essay, Meek examines Stalin's economic theory.
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Anatomy of Tyranny: Khrushchev's Attack on Stalin
(summary)
In the following essay, the anonymous writer discusses Khrushchev's criticism of Stalin's policies.
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Stalin and the Cold War: A Second Look
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In the following essay, Warth contends that Stalin's notorious personal defects—including vanity, deceit, and brutality—did not necessarily have a negative impact on his political skills or his leadership ability.
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Khrushchev's War with Stalin's Ghost
(summary)
In the following essay, Chamberlin examines the possible motives behind Nikita Khrushchev's decision in the early 1960s to openly denounce Stalin and his tyranny by having Stalin's body exhumed and removed from its exalted spot next to Vladimir Lenin's.
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Stalin's Contribution to Soviet Philosophy
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In the following essay, Donoso traces Stalin's place in the development of Soviet philosophy, arguing that his most significant contribution was "his ability to bring theory in line with practice."
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Dismantling the Cults of Stalin and Khrushchev
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In the following essay, Larson examines the differences in retrospective opinion of the leadership of Stalin and his successor, Nikita Khrushchev.
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Literary Policy in Stalin's Last Year
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In the following essay, Frankel discusses the period of "liberalization" regarding literary activity during Stalin's last year in power.
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Stalin's Archipelago
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In the following essay, Parry discusses changes in the policy of terror instituted by Stalin, most notably the policy of arresting and executing loyal followers of Stalinism in addition to those openly against it.
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The Rise of Stalin's Personality Cult
(summary)
In the following essay, Tucker discusses the reasons behind Stalin's rise to the status of cult figure despite the objections of earlier Soviet leaders, particularly Lenin, to public adulation.
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The Mind of the Tyrant: Tolstoj's Nicholas and Solzenicyn's Stalin
(summary)
In the following essay, Layton finds parallels between Leo Tolstoy's portrayal of Czar Nicholas I in Xadzi-Murat (1912) and Aleksandr Solzenicyn's depiction of Stalin in The First Circle (1968).
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Was Stalin (the Terrible) Really a 'Great Man'?: A Conversation with W. Averell Harriman
(summary)
In the following essay, Urban discusses with Harriman, who was Roosevelt's special ambassador, the complexities of Stalin's wartime leadership, revealing the dynamics of his interactions with Roosevelt and Churchill, and assessing Roosevelt's understanding of Stalin's practical motives and post-war ambitions.
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Mandel'shtam's 'Ode to Stalin': History and Myth
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In the following essay, Freidin examines the mysterious circumstances surrounding the writing and publication of Osip Mandel'shtam's 'Ode to Stalin.'
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The Lure of Stalinism: Bernard Shaw and Company
(summary)
In the following essay, Nickson uses an examination of the adherence of George Bernard Shaw to Soviet-style communism under Stalin as an example of such adherence among many artists and intellectuals of the time.
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The Deranged Birthday Boy: Solzhenitsyn's Portrait of Stalin in The First Circle
(summary)
In the following essay, Rancour-Laferriere attempts a psychoanalytical reading of the character Stalin in Solzenicyn's The First Circle.
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The Image of Stalin in Soviet Literature During Stalin's Lifetime
(summary)
In the following essay, Marsh reviews portrayals of Stalin in Soviet literature written and published during his leadership.
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A Modern Demonology: Some Literary Stalins
(summary)
In the following essay, Ziolkowski examines the depiction of Stalin in literature published both in and out of the Soviet Union, arguing that such literary representations are particularly important in the absence of accurate historical and biographical documents on Stalin.
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On the Crimes of Lenin, Stalin, and Hitler
(summary)
In the following essay, Abel rejects Marxism and national socialism as the moral doctrines they were purported to be by their adherents and focuses the blame for crimes and brutality committed for these causes on those who, Abel believes, mistakenly held them up as rooted in morality.
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Lionel Trilling, 'The Liberal Imagination,' and the Emergence of the Cultural Discourse of Anti-Stalinism
(summary)
In the following essay, Reising investigates the later impact on American cultural studies of the 'discourse of anti-Stalinism' that emerged in the 1950s alongside the study of Soviet communism in the American academy, exemplified by Lionel Trilling's The Liberal Imagination.
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Totalitarian logic: Stalin on linguistics
(summary)
In the following essay, Gray examines Stalin's position on linguistics in Marxism and Problems of Linguistics.
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Stalin's Letters to Molotov, 1925-1936
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In the following review, Genovese finds Stalin's Letters to Molotov an important source to understanding the Soviet ruler's motivations and methods.
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Anna Akhmatova: The Stalin Years
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In the following essay, Reeder examines the poetry, little known outside of Russia, written by Anna Akhmatova during Stalin's years in power.
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A review of 'Leninism'
(summary)
- Further Reading