Stalinism: A Betrayal and Fulfillment of the Russian Revolution

Stalinism was both a fulfillment and betrayal of the revolution, initially it was a fulfillment because it gave the Russian people a taste of freedom that they had never had, it became a betrayal though with the inhuman methods that Stalin implemented in order to maintain the “freedom” that was given to the Russian people. Many things are to blame for the fulfillment and betrayal of the Russian people by their leader, including Stalin’s barbaric tactics of suppression, the policies of Collectivization that resurrected the Mir commune, and also the ignorance of the Russian people in regards to the freedom that they had never before experienced. While the first two were responsible for the rise and growth of the betrayal, the last was the reason that Stalin was able to continue the betrayal. Had the Russian people realized what Stalin was doing when he first began the Purges and the Terror, it is plausible that they would have stood up and put a stop to the brutal suppression that was placed on them, unfortunately it was too late for the Russian people when they realized what was happening, as is well illustrated by Eugenia Semyonovna Ginzburg’s account of the Reign of Terror, Journey Into the Whirlwind.

Initially, Stalinism fulfilled the Revolution that it followed. After the chaos and violence of the Revolution and the Civil War that followed, the security supplied by Stalin’s government was a welcome relief to the beleaguered Russian people. The new regime also offered freedom to the Russian people. The Russian people had never before known or experienced freedom before. Stalin was also convinced that his policies were for the betterment of the party. This is illustrated when; writing on Lenin’s death in his History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Stalin writes ”The reaction to Lenin’s death demonstrated how close are our Party’s ties with the masses….’ (Stalin, 268). While this may not be completely true, it shows that Stalin was convinced that his Party and policies were in the best interests of the people it ruled over. Even though the Russian people had never experienced this freedom, it was not to last long; Stalin would curb their freedoms in the Terror and the Purges that began in the mid-1930s.

Industrialization was another factor of Stalin’s policies that can be counted as a fulfillment of the Russian Revolution. In his History of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Stalin describes in detail how after the Civil War both agriculture and industry had sunk to levels that were far below that of prewar levels. For example, “The total output of pig-iron in 1921 was only 116, 300 tons, or about 3 percent of the total pre-war outcome.” (Stalin, 248). In later years the output of pig-iron, among other areas of industry would increase exponentially. From 1932-1937 there was a two hundred thirty five percent increase in the production of pig-iron, and a three hundred percent increase in the amount of tons of steel that was produced. The possible effects of not industrializing were realized by Stalin and quantified in his speech Industrialize Rapidly or Be Crushed. In the speech, Stalin explained how Russia’s industrial backwardness had been a cause of major defeats of the past, and would prove deadly in the war that was sure to come. Even though Stalin’s Industrialization policies were meant for the best and were initially a fulfillment, it would become a betrayal of the Russian people with the policies used to help speed it along.