Stalin and His Five Year Plan free essay sample

Compare and contrast the roles of education and propaganda in Stalinist Russia. Intro: Education and Propaganda were tools used by Stalin to maintain and consolidate his power in Russia. The exact year as to when Stalin was in power is controversial. For the purpose of this paper, Stalin will be recognized as in power of Russia in 1929, the year when most of his oppositions were defeat, especially Trosky. Education Though Stalin always addressed himself as the follower of Lenin, and all what he is doing is a continuation of Lenin. However, he prove himself wrong when he reversed the trends of education initiated by the Boshelviks after 1917. When Lenin and the Bosheviks were in power, young people were encouraged to learn trades and engage in activities that were of practical value. However, Stalin went on a different approach: he wanted his people to be literate. Stalin started to build up his own system of education, some of the terms include: †¢10 years of compulsory schooling for all children Core curriculum include: reading , writing, math, science , history , geography, Russian, Marxist theory †¢State prescribed text books to be used †¢Fees to be charged for the last three years of non compulsory secondary His educational plan did worked and as a result of these education policies: Between 1929 and 1940, the number of children attending school rose from 12 million to 35 million and literacy rate for the population over age of nine increased from 51% to 88%. We will write a custom essay sample on Stalin and His Five Year Plan or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page However, as much as Stalin want to promote communism, the introduction of fees for the last there years of schooling may appear to challenge the notion of an egalitarian education system. The party had the right to nominate those who were to receive the higher grade training that would give them access to university, and in this case, party members’ children would have the first claim on the best places. Between 1928 and 32 a third of all undergraduates were party nominee. Propaganda In contrast the Communist Party controlled all the main forms of information, newspapers cinema and radio. Roy Medvedev, a soviet historian, who lived through Stalinism, later explained: â€Å"Stalin did not rely on terror alone, but also on other support of the majority of the people; effectively deceived by cunning propaganda, they gave Stalin credit for the successes of others and even for achievements that were in fact totally fictitious† Stalin’s wiseom and brilliance were extolled daily in Pravda. Children at school learned from their earliest moments to venerate Stalin as the provider of all good things. no text books in any subject that did not praise the virtues of stalin. †lynch A particularly usefull instrument for the spread of Stalinist propaganda was Komsomol, a youth movement which had begun in Lenin’s time, Stalin continued it . It was an program open to age 14-28 basically assisting the party for various events like stalin’s birthday which in 1929 named as the greatest celebration in the soviet calendar. Stahanovite movement: The Stakhano vite movement began in August 1936. It was officially announced that Alexei Stakhanov single handedly â€Å"harvested over 100 tons of coal in one five-hour shift, more than 14 times his required quota. † It was a false claim by the party to encourage peasants and workers to work harder. The use of propaganda was a tool for Stalin to maintain power since it spreads over all ages of people, the youth, the adults, and the older people; he appears on newspapers; almost all places had a picture of him hanging on the wall; his birthday became a national celebration day; books contain only words that praise how Stalin was good for Russia. Through propaganda, Stalin was able to establish a dominant figure in the heart of Russians, rather they dislike him or not, his presence was everywhere. In comparison, education similarily helped stalin to maintain power. Since children of party domineer can gets the first priority, and going on to universities became professionals, this educational and promotional process had an important political aspect. It enhaced Stalin’s power by creating a class of â€Å"privileged administrators who had every motive for supporting him since they were his creatures. lynch Evaluate the methods Stalin used to maintain power. Intro: †¢For the purpose of this paper, Stalin’s date in power will be consider as 1929. Reason being that all of his oppositions were gone, more importantly, Trotsky, whom Stalin believed to be the great threat was exiled. Purges: According to Lynch the Purges â€Å"were Stalin’s principal weapon† for him to consolidate and extend his auth ority. In the beginning, the party purges were not as violent as they later became. Children at school learned from their earliest moments to venerate Stalin as the provider of all good things. â€Å"no text books in any subject that did not praise the virtues of stalin. †lynch A particularly usefull instrument for the spread of Stalinist propaganda was Komsomol, a youth movement which had begun in Lenin’s time, Stalin continued it . It was an program open to age 14-28 basically assisting the party for various events like stalin’s birthday which in 1929 was named to be the greatest celebration in the soviet calendar. The use of propaganda was a tool for Stalin to maintain power since it spreads over all ages of people, the youth, the adults, and the older people; he appears on newspapers; almost all places had a picture of him hanging on the wall; his birthday became a national celebration day; books contain only words that praise how Stalin was good for Russia. Through propaganda, Stalin was able to establish a dominant figure in the heart of Russians, rather they liked or disliked him, his presence was everywhere. Five year plans The five year plans began in October 1928 until December 1955 as a mean to fasten the paste of industrialization. Undoubtedly the result at the end of the five year plans were impressive and had great improvements considering the condition that Russia was in before Stalin came in power. Industrial output during the first three FYPS: Steel had a 600% increase, Coal, electricity and Oil also have 200-300% increase overall. These 4 key products provided the basis for the military economy which enabled the USSR to survive four years of German occupation and eventually won the war, though some would argue that German loses were due to Germans’ unpreparedness and not the capability of Russia. The five year plans that Stalin put forward maintain if not further extended his power. Many people were seeing the dramatically changes in Russia under Stalin; in the 1920s 80-90% of Russians were peasants however, even just about 10 years after Stalin was in power, Russia became a heavy industrial country. Stalin, though did took violent measures to speed up his industrialization plans like the purges, but he surely did improve Russia’s economic condition. Stalin’s contribution to Russia was further recognized when Russia won WWII. Hence together the seemingly great results from industrialization and the defeat of Germany allow Stalin to futher consolidate and maintain his power in Russia. Surely there are other methods that Stalin used to maintain his power. THe three discussed in this essay perhaps are the keys to consider. Of the 3, perhaps THe Great Purge 36-39 was the most responsible for Stain to maintain power: the fact that there was a sense of fear, uncertainty and oppression going on, allow no one to go against Stalin. However, this may not be the only method Stalin was able to maintain power for more than 20 years. The Great Purge, responsible to keep oppositions out of the way; the great results of the five year plans ; his faces being review everyway, in additing, every news about Stalin glorifies him: together, these methods Stalin used help maintaini his power in Russia.