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Joseph Stalin's Legacy

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Joseph Stalin is the epitome of a failure, both as a leader and as a human being. Throughout his reign over The Soviet Union he implemented many programs that directly led to the death of over 30 million of his people. Many debate about whether the Stalinization of the USSR were in good intentions, or if Joseph Stalin had ulterior motives (such as creating the Ukraine famine to oppress those seeking freedom from his rule). Regardless, many of his movements failed miserably while also destroying his own country and people. It is clear to see that despite any accomplishments that Stalin may have had, his legacy has been tarnished by his blatant disregard for human life.
Stalinism, the set of policies put into place under Stalin’s rule, was based off of socialist and Marxist ideals. Collectivism was one of the first of these movements to affect Soviet Russia in a major way. Under the guise of more efficient agricultural production and a self-reliant union, Joseph Stalin forced his people to turn their individual peasant farms into collective ones. He …show more content…
He believed that the systematic killing and internment of this ‘class’ would help counter any resistance to his policies. He also did not take into account that the kulaks were often the best farmers of the land, which may have played a role in the decreased output of the farms in the following years. Upwards of five million kulaks lost their lives during Stalin’s repressive reign, and peasants and kulaks alike actively resisted this movement. To show disdain for these repressive policies peasants from around the USSR would slaughter their livestock instead of giving it over for collective farms, which massively reduced the amount of food available. The environment that these policies and their responses created led to what I believe is Joseph Stalin’s greatest plunder, the

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