Joseph Stalin Politics Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Joseph Stalin Politics - Research Paper Example He became a Marxist revolutionary. For that he was persecuted, arrested, even exiled to Siberia. Yet he always escaped and continued his work underground. He organized strikes, protests, was spreading propaganda, etc. He quickly gained popularity with the Bolsheviks and was personally working together with Lenin. During the Bolshevik’s seize of power in 1917 Stalin’s involvement was not of any significance. (Kuromiya 34) However, he quickly raised ranks in the Communist party and was assigned to the position of general secretary of the Communist Party in 1922. (54) This title was not considered high-ranking, but it gave him the opportunity to build a base of support.   In 1924, after the death of Lenin, Stalin announced himself his official heir. He managed to outmaneuver other party leaders in the fight for the top political seat of the USSR. (Service 3) In effect, by the late 20’s he became the dictator of the Soviet Union. Stalin implemented a system of forc ed collectivization and industrialization of agriculture. Millions of people had to pay for it with their very lives. He also created a new program of rapid industrialization and as the result economy reached colossal increases in the productivity, albeit at a great cost. The Great Terror started in the 1930’s when Stalin decided to â€Å"purge the party of enemies of the people†; thousands of suspected citizens were executed and millions exiled to slave labor camps, of which the whole network, known as gulag, was created.