Question by ishx360: Did Stalin take from the rich and give to the poor?
I am doing an AP compare/contrast essay and I need to know how stalin created a classless state.
Other help would be nice. Im comparing a democracy and a totalitarian state.
Answers and Views:
Answer by Opinionatedkitten
Well Lenin is more responsible for founding communist Russia than Stalin. They did expropriate the producers to give the state a monopoly of production means, but they did not succeed in creating a classless society. Instead, privilege shifted from the moneyed class to the communist party so that in Lenin, Stalin’s time nd his successor, the best way to profit from communism was to be an active member of the communist party.
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What do you think?
quietranter says
He didn't create a classless state. He created a new oligarchy. Read Diljas' book the "New Class."
Venin_Noir says
Stalin stole from everybody and spread the goods out among the privileged elite of the Communist Party. He created a classless society by ensuring that everyone was impoverished and starving. Of course, it's not really a classless society when the Communist officials were living like kings…
saa932003 says
Stalin took from everyone in the Soviet system, and gave to himself. He didn't do it in the style of the Roman Emperors, but Stalin declared himself
a living god.
To against Stalin, was not only going against country. It was conflicting with the established power. Anytime any individual goes against established power they are crushed.
Stalin was so paranoid that people were out to get him, he had his secret round this people up.
Where they would be questioned, sent to the most hostile exile and in many cases put to death.
This flaw-less god through collectization destroyed Russia'a ability to feed itself. All the
harvest plans that Stalin implemented were totally
failures. His was so jealous of military officers,
he had twenty thousand of them executed.
By the time Hitler had broken the non-agression pact, Russia was without seasoned officers. Thankfully, through the mercy of God, history, and
just damn good luck the Russian People withstood the onslaught of Nazi-Germany. Inspite, of Stalin, not because of him.Like Hitler,
Stalin used fear to run a country. But very often,
he lacked reasoning to govern effectively.
Willie says
No,, there were very few rich left in Russia after the horror of world war I and the Bolshevik revolutions. Stalin built his power off of nationalizing the farms of the Ukraine taking the produce from them and trading it on the world market for military goods. This led to large famines and massive starvation. Stalin was more of a dictator than a Communist leader. He would arrest any person who opposed him charge him with some phony charge hold a public show trial and then execute them.
Philip L says
In forced collectivization he robbed from the peasants and sent the food to the cities. This created a famine in the Ukraine for example in which millions died. Wealthy farmers (Kulaks) which maybe owned one or more horses or cattle had their lands and live stocks confiscated. The Kulaks themselves were either executed or sent to Gulags.
Peasant farmers lost their small lands and livestock to the state and forced to work on collectives in which the farmed for the government and kept only a small amount for themselves.