Joseph Stalin

==Consolidation of power==
{{Main|Joseph Stalin's rise to power}}

=== 1924–1927: Succeeding Lenin ===
[[File:Stalin Rykov Kamenev Zinoviev 1925.jpg|thumb|right|(From left to right) Stalin, [[Alexei Rykov]], [[Lev Kamenev]], and [[Grigori Zinoviev]] in 1925. The latter three later all fell out with Stalin and were executed during the [[Great Purge]]]]

Lenin died in January 1924.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=104|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=30|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=219|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=534|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=79}} Stalin took charge of the funeral and was one of its pallbearers; against the wishes of Lenin's widow, the Politburo embalmed his corpse and placed it within a [[Lenin's Mausoleum|mausoleum]] in Moscow's [[Red Square]].{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=110|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=30|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=219|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=542–543}} It was incorporated into a growing [[personality cult]] devoted to Lenin, with Petrograd being renamed "Leningrad" that year.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=130|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=30|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=221|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=540}} To bolster his image as a devoted Leninist, Stalin gave nine lectures at [[Sverdlov University]] on the ''[[Foundations of Leninism]]'', later published in book form.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=111–112|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=117–118|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=221|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=544}} During the [[13th Congress of the Russian Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|13th Party Congress]] in May 1924, Lenin's Testament was read only to the leaders of the provincial delegations.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=222–224|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=79}} Embarrassed by its contents, Stalin offered his resignation as General Secretary; this act of humility saved him, and he was retained in the position.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=111|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=93–94|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=222–224|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=546–548|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=79}} According to Stalin's secretary, [[Boris Bazhanov]], Stalin was jubilant over Lenin's death while "publicly putting on the mask of grief".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Kuromiya |first1=Hiroaki |title=Stalin |date=16 August 2013 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-86780-7 |page=60 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=BRV4AAAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+swearing+Lenin+testament&pg=PA59 |access-date=10 July 2023 |archive-date=19 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230719203558/https://books.google.com/books?id=BRV4AAAAQBAJ&dq=Stalin+swearing+Lenin+testament&pg=PA59 |url-status=live }}</ref>

As General Secretary, Stalin had a free hand in making appointments to his own staff, implanting his loyalists throughout the party and administration.{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=426}} Favouring new Communist Party members from proletarian backgrounds to the "[[Old Bolsheviks]]" who tended to be middle class university graduates,{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=453}} he ensured he had loyalists dispersed across the country's regions.{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=455}} Stalin had much contact with young party functionaries,{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=469}} and the desire for promotion led many provincial figures to seek to impress Stalin and gain his favour.{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|p=432}} Stalin also developed close relations with the trio at the heart of the secret police (first the Cheka and then its replacement, the [[State Political Directorate]]): [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]], [[Genrikh Yagoda]], and [[Vyacheslav Menzhinsky]].{{sfn|Kotkin|2014|pp=495–496}} In his private life, he divided his time between his Kremlin apartment and a [[dacha]] at Zubalova;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=127|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=235}} his wife gave birth to a daughter, [[Svetlana Alliluyeva|Svetlana]], in February 1926.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=127|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=238}}

In the wake of Lenin's death, various protagonists emerged in the struggle to become his successor: alongside Stalin was Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, Bukharin, [[Alexei Rykov]], and [[Mikhail Tomsky]].{{sfn|Fainsod|Hough|1979|p=111}} Stalin saw Trotsky — whom he personally despised{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=136}} — as the main obstacle to his dominance within the party.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=27}} While Lenin had been ill Stalin with Kamenev and Zinoviev had formed an unofficial [[Triumvirate]] (also known by its Russian name ''[[List of leaders of the Soviet Union#List of troikas|Troika]]''), a political alliance aimed at Trotsky.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=98|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=474|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=52}} Although Zinoviev was concerned about Stalin's growing authority, he rallied behind him at the 13th Congress as a counterweight to Trotsky, who now led a party faction known as the [[Left Opposition]].{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=214–215, 217}} The Left Opposition believed the NEP conceded too much to capitalism; Stalin was called a "rightist" for his support of the policy.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=87}} Stalin built up a retinue of his supporters in the Central Committee,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=225}} while the Left Opposition were gradually removed from their positions of influence.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=227}} He was supported in this by Bukharin, who, like Stalin, believed that the Left Opposition's proposals would plunge the Soviet Union into instability.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=228}}

[[File:Ordzhonikidze, Stalin and Mikoyan, 1925.jpg|thumb|left|Stalin and his close associates [[Anastas Mikoyan]] and [[Sergo Ordzhonikidze]] in [[Tbilisi]], 1925]]

In late 1924, Stalin moved against Kamenev and Zinoviev, removing their supporters from key positions.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=228|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=563}} In 1925, the two moved into open opposition to Stalin and Bukharin.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=240}} At the [[14th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|14th Party Congress]] in December, they launched an attack against Stalin's faction, but it was unsuccessful.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=240–243|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=82–83}} Stalin in turn accused Kamenev and Zinoviev of reintroducing factionalism — and thus instability — into the party.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=240–243|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=82–83}} In mid-1926, Kamenev and Zinoviev joined with Trotsky's supporters to form the [[United Opposition (Soviet Union)|United Opposition]] against Stalin;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=126|2a1=Conquest|2y=2008|2p=11|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=614|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=83}} in October they agreed to stop factional activity under threat of expulsion, and later publicly recanted their views under Stalin's command.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=137, 138|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=614}} The factionalist arguments continued, with Stalin threatening to resign in October and then December 1926 and again in December 1927.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=247|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2pp=614, 618|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=91}} In October 1927, Zinoviev and Trotsky were removed from the Central Committee;{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=85}} the latter was exiled to Kazakhstan and later deported from the country in 1929.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=139, 151|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=282–283|3a1=Conquest|3y=2008|3pp=11–12|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4pp=676–677|5a1=Khlevniuk|5y=2015|5p=85}} Some of those United Opposition members who were repentant were later rehabilitated and returned to government.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=164|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=282}}

Stalin was now the party's supreme leader,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=276}} although he was not the [[head of government]], a task he entrusted to his key ally [[Vyacheslav Molotov]].{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=277–278}} Other important supporters on the Politburo were Voroshilov, [[Lazar Kaganovich]], and [[Sergo Ordzhonikidze]],{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=277, 280|2a1=Conquest|2y=2008|2pp=12–13}} with Stalin ensuring his allies ran the various state institutions.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=278}} According to Montefiore, at this point "Stalin was the leader of the oligarchs but he was far from a dictator".{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=39}} His growing influence was reflected in naming of various locations after him; in June 1924 the Ukrainian mining town of [[Yuzovka]] became Stalino,{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=130}} and in April 1925, Tsaritsyn was renamed Stalingrad on the order of [[Mikhail Kalinin]] and [[Avel Enukidze]].{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=130|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=160|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=689}}

In 1926, Stalin published ''On Questions of Leninism''.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=244}} Here, he argued for the concept of "[[socialism in one country]]", which he presented as an orthodox Leninist perspective. It nevertheless clashed with established Bolshevik views that socialism could not be established in one country but could only be achieved globally through the process of [[world revolution]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=244}} 
{{clear|left}}

=== 1927–1931: Dekulakisation, collectivisation, and industrialisation ===

====Economic policy====
{{Quote box|width=25em|align=right|quote=We have fallen behind the advanced countries by fifty to a hundred years. We must close that gap in ten years. Either we do this or we'll be crushed.

This is what our obligations before the workers and peasants of the USSR dictate to us.|source= — Stalin, February 1931{{sfn|Service|2004|p=273}} }}

The Soviet Union lagged behind the industrial development of Western countries,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=256}} and there had been a shortfall of grain; 1927 produced only 70% of grain produced in 1926.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=254}} Stalin's government feared attack from Japan, France, the United Kingdom, Poland, and Romania.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=172–173|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=256|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=638–639}} Many communists, including in [[Komsomol]], [[OGPU]], and the Red Army, were eager to be rid of the NEP and its market-oriented approach;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=144, 146|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=258}} they had concerns about those who profited from the policy: affluent peasants known as "[[kulak]]s" and small business owners or "[[NEPmen]]".{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=256|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=571}} At this point, Stalin turned against the NEP, which put him on a course to the "left" even of Trotsky or Zinoviev.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=253|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=101}}

In early 1928, Stalin travelled to [[Novosibirsk]], where he alleged that kulaks were hoarding their grain and ordered that the kulaks be arrested and their grain confiscated, with Stalin bringing much of the area's grain back to Moscow with him in February.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=147–148|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=257–258|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=661, 668–669, 679–684|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=102–103}} At his command, grain procurement squads surfaced across Western Siberia and the Urals, with violence breaking out between these squads and the peasantry.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=103}} Stalin announced that both kulaks and the "middle peasants" must be coerced into releasing their harvest.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=258}} Bukharin and several other Central Committee members were angry that they had not been consulted about this measure, which they deemed rash.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=258|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=105}} In January 1930, the Politburo approved the liquidation of the kulak class; accused kulaks were rounded up and exiled to other parts of the country or to concentration camps.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=267}} Large numbers died during the journey.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=160|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2p=166}} By July 1930, over 320,000 households had been affected by the de-kulakisation policy.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=267}} According to Stalin biographer [[Dmitri Volkogonov]], de-kulakisation was "the first mass terror applied by Stalin in his own country."{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=167}}

[[File:Stakhanov.JPG|thumb|left|[[Aleksei Grigorievich Stakhanov]] with a fellow miner; Stalin's government initiated the [[Stakhanovite movement]] to encourage hard work.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=231}}]]

In 1929, the Politburo announced the [[Collectivization in the Soviet Union|mass collectivisation of agriculture]],{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=265–266|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=110–111}} establishing both ''[[kolkhozy]]'' collective farms and ''[[sovkhoz]]'' state farms.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=234}} Stalin barred kulaks from joining these collectives.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=266|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=112}} Although officially voluntary, many peasants joined the collectives out of fear they would face the fate of the kulaks; others joined amid intimidation and violence from party loyalists.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=113}} By 1932, about 62% of households involved in agriculture were part of collectives, and by 1936 this had risen to 90%.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=271}} Many of the collectivised peasants resented the loss of their private farmland,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=270}} and productivity slumped.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=270|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=116}} Famine broke out in many areas,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=272|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=116}} with the Politburo frequently ordering distribution of emergency food relief to these regions.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=272}}

Armed peasant uprisings against dekulakisation and collectivisation broke out in Ukraine, the [[North Caucasus]], Southern Russia, and Central Asia, reaching their apex in March 1930; these were suppressed by the Red Army.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=270|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=113–114}} Stalin responded to the uprisings with [[Dizzy with Success|an article]] insisting that collectivisation was voluntary and blaming any violence and other excesses on local officials.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=160|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=114}} Although he and Stalin had been close for many years,{{sfn|Volkogonov|1991|p=174}} Bukharin expressed concerns about these policies; he regarded them as a return to Lenin's old "[[war communism]]" policy and believed that it would fail. By mid-1928 he was unable to rally sufficient support in the party to oppose the reforms.{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1p=172|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=260|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3p=708}} In November 1929 Stalin removed him from the Politburo.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=158|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=266|3a1=Conquest|3y=2008|3p=18}}

Officially, the Soviet Union had replaced the "irrationality" and "wastefulness" of a [[market economy]] with a [[planned economy]] organised along a long-term, precise, and scientific framework; in reality, Soviet economics were based on ''ad hoc'' commandments issued from the centre, often to make short-term targets.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=227, 229}} In 1928, the [[first five-year plan]] was launched, its main focus on boosting heavy industry;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=259}} it was finished a year ahead of schedule, in 1932.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=274}} The USSR underwent a massive economic transformation.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=265}} New mines were opened, new cities like [[Magnitogorsk]] constructed, and work on the [[White Sea–Baltic Canal]] began.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=265}} Millions of peasants moved to the cities, although urban house building could not keep up with the demand.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=265}} Large debts were accrued purchasing foreign-made machinery.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=118}}

Many of major construction projects, including the White Sea–Baltic Canal and the [[Moscow Metro]], were constructed largely through forced labour.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|pp=186, 190}} The last elements of workers' control over industry were removed, with factory managers increasing their authority and receiving privileges and perks;{{sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=231–233}} Stalin defended wage disparity by pointing to Marx's argument that it was necessary during the lower stages of socialism.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=241–242}} To promote intensification of labour, a series of medals and awards as well as the [[Stakhanovite movement]] were introduced.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|p=231}} Stalin's message was that socialism was being established in the USSR while capitalism was crumbling amid the [[Wall Street crash]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=269}} His speeches and articles reflected his [[utopian]] vision of the Soviet Union rising to unparalleled heights of human development, creating a "[[new Soviet person]]".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=300}}
{{clear|left}}

====Cultural and foreign policy====
In 1928, Stalin declared that class war between the proletariat and their enemies would intensify as socialism developed.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=152–153|2a1=Sandle|2y=1999|2p=214|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3pp=107–108}} He warned of a "danger from the right", including in the Communist Party itself.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=108}} The first major [[show trial]] in the USSR was the [[Shakhty Trial]] of 1928, in which several middle-class "industrial specialists" were convicted of sabotage.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=152–155|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=259|3a1=Kotkin|3y=2014|3pp=687, 702–704, 709|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=107}} From 1929 to 1930, further show trials were held to intimidate opposition:{{sfn|Service|2004|p=268}} these included the [[Industrial Party Trial]], [[Menshevik Trial]], and [[Metro-Vickers Trial]].{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=155}} Aware that the ethnic Russian majority may have concerns about being ruled by a Georgian,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=324}} he promoted ethnic Russians throughout the state hierarchy and made the Russian language compulsory throughout schools and offices, albeit to be used in tandem with local languages in areas with non-Russian majorities.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=326}} Nationalist sentiment among ethnic minorities was suppressed.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=301}} [[Social conservatism|Conservative social policies]] were promoted to enhance social discipline and boost population growth; this included a focus on strong family units and motherhood, [[LGBT rights in the Soviet Union|re-criminalisation of homosexuality]], restrictions placed on abortion and divorce, and abolition of the ''[[Zhenotdel]]'' women's department.{{sfn|Sandle|1999|pp=244, 246}}

[[File:Christ saviour explosion.jpg|thumb|left|Photograph taken of the 1931 demolition of the [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]] in Moscow in order to make way for the planned [[Palace of the Soviets]]]]

Stalin desired a "[[Cultural Revolution in the Soviet Union|cultural revolution]]",{{sfn|Service|2004|p=299}} entailing both creation of [[Culture of the Soviet Union|a culture]] for the "masses" and wider dissemination of previously elite culture.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=304}} He oversaw proliferation of schools, newspapers, and libraries, as well as advancement of literacy and [[numeracy]].{{sfnm|1a1=Volkogonov|1y=1991|1pp=111, 127|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=308}} [[Socialist realism]] was promoted throughout arts,{{sfnm|1a1=Sandle|1y=1999|1p=246|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=85}} while Stalin personally wooed prominent writers, namely [[Maxim Gorky]], [[Mikhail Sholokhov]], and [[Aleksey Nikolayevich Tolstoy]].{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=302–303}} He also expressed patronage for scientists whose research fitted within his preconceived interpretation of Marxism; for instance, he endorsed research of an agrobiologist [[Trofim Lysenko]] despite the fact that it was rejected by the majority of Lysenko's scientific peers as [[pseudo-scientific]].{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1pp=211, 276–277|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=307}} The government's anti-religious campaign was re-intensified,{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=157}} with increased funding given to the [[League of Militant Atheists]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=301}} [[Persecution of Christians in the Soviet Union|Priests]], [[Islam in the Soviet Union|imams]], and [[Buddhism in Russia|Buddhist]] monks faced persecution.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=268}} Many religious buildings were demolished, most notably Moscow's [[Cathedral of Christ the Saviour]], destroyed in 1931 to make way for the (never completed) [[Palace of the Soviets]].{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=191}} Religion retained an influence over much of the population; in the [[Soviet Census (1937)|1937 census]], 57% of respondents were willing to admit to being religious.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=325}}

Throughout the 1920s and beyond, Stalin placed a high priority on foreign policy.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=379}} He personally met with a range of Western visitors, including [[George Bernard Shaw]] and [[H. G. Wells]], both of whom were impressed with him.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|pp=183–184}} Through the Communist International, Stalin's government exerted a strong influence over Marxist parties elsewhere in the world;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=282}} initially, Stalin left the running of the organisation largely to Bukharin.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=261}} At its 6th Congress in July 1928, Stalin informed delegates that the main threat to socialism came not from the right but from non-Marxist socialists and [[social democrats]], whom he called "[[social fascists]]";{{sfnm|1a1=McDermott|1y=1995|1pp=410–411|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=176|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=261, 383|4a1=Kotkin|4y=2014|4p=720}} Stalin recognised that in many countries, the social democrats were the Marxist-Leninists' main rivals for working-class support.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=173}} This preoccupation with opposing rival leftists concerned Bukharin, who regarded the growth of [[fascism]] and the far right across Europe as a far greater threat.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=261}} After Bukharin's departure, Stalin placed the Communist International under the administration of [[Dmitry Manuilsky]] and [[Osip Piatnitsky]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=282}}

Stalin faced problems in his family life. In 1929, his son Yakov unsuccessfully attempted suicide; his failure earned Stalin's contempt.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=289|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=595}} His relationship with Nadezhda was also strained amid their arguments and her mental health problems.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=289}} In November 1932, after a group dinner in the Kremlin in which Stalin flirted with other women, Nadezhda shot herself.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=169|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=90|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3pp=291–292}}
Publicly, the cause of death was given as [[appendicitis]]; Stalin also concealed the real cause of death from his children.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=94, 95|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=292, 294}} Stalin's friends noted that he underwent a significant change following her suicide, becoming emotionally harder.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=297}}
{{clear|left}}

=== 1932–1939: Major crises ===

====Famine====
{{Further|Soviet famine of 1930–1933|Holodomor|Kazakh famine of 1930–1933}}

[[File:Famine en URSS 1933.jpg|thumb|right|[[Soviet famine of 1930–1933|Soviet famine of 1930–33]]. Areas of most disastrous famine marked with black.]]
Within the Soviet Union, there was widespread civic disgruntlement against Stalin's government.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=316}} Social unrest, previously restricted largely to the countryside, was increasingly evident in urban areas, prompting Stalin to ease on some of his economic policies in 1932.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=310}} In May 1932, he introduced a system of kolkhoz markets where peasants could trade their surplus produce.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=310|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2p=627}} At the same time, penal sanctions became more severe; at Stalin's instigation, in August 1932 a decree was introduced wherein the theft of even a handful of grain could be a capital offence.{{sfnm|1a1=Davies|1a2=Wheatcroft|1y=2006|1p=628}} The second five-year plan had its production quotas reduced from that of the first, with the main emphasis now being on improving living conditions.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=310}} It therefore emphasised the expansion of housing space and the production of consumer goods.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=310}} Like its predecessor, this plan was repeatedly amended to meet changing situations; there was for instance an increasing emphasis placed on armament production after [[Adolf Hitler]] became [[German chancellor]] in 1933.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=318}}

The Soviet Union experienced a [[Soviet famine of 1930–1933|major famine which peaked in the winter of 1932–33]];{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=312|2a1=Conquest|2y=2008|2pp=19–20|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=117}} between five and seven million people died.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=117}} The worst affected areas were Ukraine and the North Caucasus, although the famine also affected Kazakhstan and several Russian provinces.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=119}} Historians have long debated whether Stalin's government had intended the famine to occur or not;{{sfn|Ellman|2005|p=823}} there are no known documents in which Stalin or his government explicitly called for starvation to be used against the population.{{sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1p=824|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2pp=628, 631}} The 1931 and 1932 harvests had been poor ones because of weather conditions{{sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1pp=823–824|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2p=626|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=117}} and had followed several years in which lower productivity had resulted in a gradual decline in output.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=117}} Government policies—including the focus on rapid industrialisation, the socialisation of livestock, and the emphasis on sown areas over [[crop rotation]]—exacerbated the problem;{{sfn|Ellman|2005|p=834}} the state had also failed to build reserve grain stocks for such an emergency.{{sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=626}} Stalin blamed the famine on hostile elements and sabotage within the peasantry;{{sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1p=824|2a1=Davies|2a2=Wheatcroft|2y=2006|2pp=627–628|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=120}} his government provided small amounts of food to famine-struck rural areas, although this was wholly insufficient to deal with the levels of starvation.{{sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=627}} The Soviet government believed that food supplies should be prioritised for the urban workforce;{{sfnm|1a1=Ellman|1y=2005|1p=833|2a1=Kuromiya|2y=2008|2p=665}} for Stalin, the fate of Soviet industrialisation was far more important than the lives of the peasantry.{{sfnm|1a1=Davies|1a2=Wheatcroft|1y=2006|1p=628|2a1=Ellman|2y=2007|2p=664}} Grain exports, which were a major means of Soviet payment for machinery, declined heavily.{{sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=627}} Stalin would not acknowledge that his policies had contributed to the famine,{{sfn|Davies|Wheatcroft|2006|p=628}} the existence of which was kept secret from foreign observers.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=164|2a1=Kotkin|2y=2014|2p=724}}

====Ideological and foreign affairs====
{{see also|1931 Prussian Landtag referendum||Moscow Trials|Stalin's cult of personality}}
In 1935–36, Stalin oversaw a new constitution; its dramatic liberal features were designed as propaganda weapons, for all power rested in the hands of Stalin and his Politburo.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=319}} He declared that "socialism, which is the first phase of communism, has basically been achieved in this country".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=319}} In 1938, ''[[The History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (Bolsheviks)]]'', colloquially known as the ''Short Course'', was released;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=212|2a1=Volkogonov|2y=1991|2pp=552–443|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=361}} biographer Robert Conquest later referred to it as the "central text of Stalinism".{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=212}} A number of authorised Stalin biographies were also published,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=361}} although Stalin generally wanted to be portrayed as the embodiment of the Communist Party rather than have his life story explored.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=362}} During the later 1930s, Stalin placed "a few limits on the worship of his own greatness".{{sfn|Service|2004|p=362}} By 1938, Stalin's inner circle had gained a degree of stability, containing the personalities who would remain there until Stalin's death.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=216}}

[[File:Soviet armor in the spanish civil war.png|thumb|Review of Soviet armoured fighting vehicles used to equip the [[Republican People's Army]] during the [[Spanish Civil War]]]]
Seeking improved international relations, in 1934 the Soviet Union secured membership of the [[League of Nations]], from which it had previously been excluded.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=386}} Stalin initiated confidential communications with Hitler in October 1933, shortly after the latter came to power in Germany.{{sfn|Conquest|1991|p=217}} Stalin admired Hitler, particularly his manoeuvres to remove rivals within the [[Nazi Party]] in the [[Night of the Long Knives]].{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=176|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2p=116|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=340}} Stalin nevertheless recognised the threat posed by fascism and sought to establish better links with the [[liberal democracies]] of Western Europe;{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=218|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=123, 135}} in May 1935, the Soviets signed a [[Franco-Soviet Treaty of Mutual Assistance|treaty of mutual assistance]] with France and Czechoslovakia.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=135}} At the Communist International's [[Seventh World Congress of the Comintern|7th Congress]], held in July–August 1935, the Soviet government encouraged Marxist-Leninists to unite with other leftists as part of a [[popular front]] against fascism.{{sfnm|1a1=Haslam|1y=1979|1pp=682–683|2a1=Conquest|2y=1991|2p=218|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=385|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=135}} In turn, the anti-communist governments of [[Nazi Germany]], [[Kingdom of Italy|Fascist Italy]], and [[Imperial Japan]] signed the [[Anti-Comintern Pact]] of 1936.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=392|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2p=154}}

When the [[Spanish Civil War]] broke out in July 1936, the Soviets sent 648 aircraft and 407 tanks to the left-wing [[Republican faction (Spanish Civil War)|Republican faction]]; these were accompanied by 3,000 Soviet troops and 42,000 members of the [[International Brigades]] set up by the Communist International.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=219|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=387}} Stalin took a strong personal involvement in the Spanish situation.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=154}} Germany and Italy backed the [[Nationalist faction]], which was ultimately victorious in March 1939.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=387, 389}} With the outbreak of the [[Second Sino-Japanese War]] in July 1937, the Soviet Union and China signed a [[Sino-Soviet Non-Aggression Pact|non-aggression pact]] the following August.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=156}} Stalin aided the [[Chinese Communist Party]] as they had suspended their [[Chinese civil war|civil war]] with the [[National Revolutionary Army|Kuomintang]] (KMT) nationalists and formed the desired [[Second United Front|United Front]] against Japanese aggression.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=392}}

====The Great Terror====
{{main|Great Purge}}
[[File:Vinnycia16.jpg|thumb|right|Exhumed mass grave of the [[Vinnitsia massacre]]]]
Stalin often gave conflicting signals regarding state repression.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=126}} In May 1933, he released from prison many convicted of minor offences, ordering the security services not to enact further mass arrests and deportations.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=125}} In September 1934, he launched a commission to investigate false imprisonments; that same month he called for the execution of workers at the Stalin Metallurgical Factory accused of spying for Japan.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=126}} This mixed approach began to change in December 1934, after prominent party member [[Sergey Kirov]] was murdered.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=179|2a1=Montefiore|2y=2003|2pp=126–127|3a1=Service|3y=2004|3p=314|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4pp=128–129}} After the murder, Stalin became increasingly concerned by the threat of assassination, improved his personal security, and rarely went out in public.{{sfn|Overy|2004|p=327}} State repression intensified after Kirov's death;{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=128, 137}} Stalin instigated this, reflecting his prioritisation of security above other considerations.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=347}} Stalin issued a decree establishing [[NKVD troika]]s which could mete out rulings without involving the courts.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=315}} In 1935, he ordered the NKVD to expel suspected counterrevolutionaries from urban areas;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=318}} in early 1935, over 11,000 were expelled from Leningrad.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=318}} In 1936, [[Nikolai Yezhov]] became head of the NKVD.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=139}}

{{multiple image |align=left |direction=vertical |width=230
|image1= |caption1 =In this well-known image, [[Nikolai Yezhov]] is shown with Voroshilov, Molotov, and Stalin inspecting the White Sea Canal
|image2= |caption2=The image was later altered to remove Yezhov completely
}}

Stalin orchestrated the arrest of many former opponents in the Communist Party [[Central Committee elected by the 17th Congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)|as well as sitting members of the Central Committee]]: denounced as Western-backed mercenaries, many were imprisoned or exiled internally.{{sfn|Service|2004|pp=314–317}} The first [[Moscow Trials|Moscow Trial]] took place in August 1936; Kamenev and Zinoviev were among those accused of plotting assassinations, found guilty in a show trial, and executed.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=139, 154–155, 164–172, 175–176|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=320|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=139}} The second Moscow Show Trial took place in January 1937,{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=139–140}} and the third in March 1938, in which Bukharin and Rykov were accused of involvement in the alleged Trotskyite-Zinovievite terrorist plot and sentenced to death.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=192–193|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=346|3a1=Conquest|3y=2008|3p=24 |4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=140}} By late 1937, all remnants of collective leadership were gone from the Politburo, which was controlled entirely by Stalin.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=176–177}} There were mass expulsions from the party,{{sfn|Service|2004|p=349}} with Stalin commanding foreign communist parties to also purge anti-Stalinist elements.{{sfn|Service|2004|p=391}}

[[File:RIAN archive 910794 Memorial events in Bykovnya Graves reserve.jpg|thumb|right|Victims of Stalin's [[Great Purge|Great Terror]] in the [[Bykivnia graves|Bykivnia mass graves]]]]
Repressions further intensified in December 1936 and remained at a high level until November 1938, a period known as the [[Great Purge]].{{sfn|Service|2004|p=347}} In May 1937, this was followed by the [[Case of the Trotskyist Anti-Soviet Military Organization|arrest]] of most members of the military Supreme Command and mass arrests throughout the military, often on fabricated charges.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=201|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=349|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=140}}  By the latter part of 1937, the purges had moved beyond the party and were affecting the wider population.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=141, 150}} In July 1937, the Politburo ordered a purge of "anti-Soviet elements" in society, targeting anti-Stalin Bolsheviks, former Mensheviks and Socialist Revolutionaries, priests, ex-White Army soldiers, and common criminals.{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1p=350|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=150–151}} That month, Stalin and Yezhov signed [[NKVD Order No. 00447|Order No. 00447]], listing 268,950 people for arrest, of whom 75,950 were executed.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1pp=203–204|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=350–351|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=150}} He also initiated "national operations", the [[ethnic cleansing]] of non-Soviet ethnic groups—among them Poles, Germans, Latvians, Finns, Greeks, Koreans, and Chinese—through internal or external exile.{{sfnm|1a1=Montefiore|1y=2003|1p=204|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2pp=351, 390|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=151}} During these years, approximately 1.6&nbsp;million people were arrested, 700,000 were shot, and an unknown number died under NKVD torture.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=151}}

During the 1930s and 1940s, NKVD groups assassinated defectors and opponents abroad;{{sfn|Service|2004|p=394}} in August 1940, Trotsky was assassinated in Mexico, eliminating the last of Stalin's opponents among the former Party leadership.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=230|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=394|3a1=Overy|3y=2004|3p=338|4a1=Khlevniuk|4y=2015|4p=174}}  These purges replaced most of the party's old guard with younger officials who did not remember a time before Stalin's leadership and who were regarded as more personally loyal to him.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=137–138, 147}} Party functionaries readily carried out their commands and sought to ingratiate themselves with Stalin to avoid becoming the victim of the purge.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=140}} Such functionaries often carried out a greater number of arrests and executions than their quotas set by Stalin's central government.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=204}}

Stalin initiated all key decisions during the Terror, personally directing many of its operations and taking an interest in their implementation.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=151, 159}} His motives in doing so have been much debated by historians.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=151}} His personal writings from the period were — according to Khlevniuk — "unusually convoluted and incoherent", filled with claims about enemies encircling him.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=152}} He was particularly concerned at the success that right-wing forces had in overthrowing the leftist Spanish government,{{sfnm|1a1=Service|1y=2004|1pp=347–248|2a1=Khlevniuk|2y=2015|2pp=125, 156–157}} fearing a domestic [[fifth column]] in the event of future war with Japan and Germany.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|pp=153, 156–157}} The Great Terror ended when Yezhov was removed as the head of the NKVD, to be replaced by [[Lavrentiy Beria]],{{sfn|Service|2004|p=367}} a man totally devoted to Stalin.{{sfn|Montefiore|2003|p=245}} Yezhov was arrested in April 1939 and executed in 1940.{{sfnm|1a1=Conquest|1y=1991|1p=209|2a1=Service|2y=2004|2p=369|3a1=Khlevniuk|3y=2015|3p=160}} The Terror damaged the Soviet Union's reputation abroad, particularly among sympathetic leftists.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=162}} As it wound down, Stalin sought to deflect responsibility from himself,{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=157}} blaming its "excesses" and "violations of law" on Yezhov.{{sfn|Khlevniuk|2015|p=159}} According to historian James Harris, contemporary archival research shows that the motivation behind the purges was not Stalin attempting to establish his own personal dictatorship; evidence suggests he was committed to building the socialist state envisioned by Lenin. The real motivation for the terror, according to Harris, was an excessive fear of counterrevolution.{{sfn|Harris|2017|pp=1–5, 16}}