Joseph Stalin

=== 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}}
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====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}}
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