Sunday, March 24, 2013

Only the dictator is allowed to be right

As dictators work to legitimize their power, they must first ensure that any or all ideologies, political systems, or people that oppose them are delegitimized--whether they are silenced, disenfranchised, or even killed.  What were ways that Stalin did this in his early years? Why was it necessary to have Trotsky exiled?  What were some of the liberal reforms established under the provisional government (before Lenin) or during Lenin's leadership that Stalin eliminated?  Why do you think he did this?

13 comments:

  1. Russia's rapid industrialization required all resources to be directed toward the cause, and having any opposition would have distracted and detracted from the cause. If Trotsky wasn't exiled, the ideological war of the 20's would have dragged on and further stalled the 5 year plan.

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  2. Stalin didn't wait a second after Lenin's death to start propagating against Trotsky. It seems as if he was just better prepared than Trotsky for this conflict. When Trotsky began opposing him, Stalin already had that much people on his side that he could easily accuse Trotsky as a traitor against the party. Killing him would propably have been bad because people tend to idolize people that die for their cause. To exile Trotsky had a better effect on the public.

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  3. Stalin didn't show any hesitation after the death of Lenin. He knew he had to act fast, or risk not being able to follow through with the 5 year plan. Stalin wanted to make his name known, and to do this he had to make some swift changes. Exiling Trotsky was more efficient in my opinion because, like Hannah said, the public may have looked up towards Trotsky as a symbol.

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  4. exiling trotsky would have both gotten Trotsky out of the way and it would have made Stalin appear merciful. When you're at the beginning of your rein of power you don't want to be known for having someone many people like killed. everything Stalin did it was to hurry up the process of his own rise to power and to increase the amount of power he had.

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  5. Stalin exiled Trotsky because killing him would've raised suspicions and Trotsky was fairly popular in Russia, he just wasn't as well connected as Stalin was. He had to exile him fairly quickly because otherwise Trotsky could have organized something else and Stalin wouldn't have been able to put his plan into place.

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  6. Stalin wanted industrial production to double and many factories were to be put into operation. Stalin eliminated/advanced Lenin's New Economic Policy by the use of industry. I think he did this so that a socialist economy and to produce more food. Exiling Trotsky was better than killing him because killing him may have looked too negative on Stalin's behalf. It was necessary to exile Trotsky so that he would not compete with Stalin and his policies.

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  7. the ways in which stalin eliminated his opponents were, in the case of Trotsky, play on the fact that he wasn't well liked in the government and Stalin relied on his appointed offices to vote for his deportation/exile. Trotsky needed to be exiled because he stood in the way of Stalins plan of taking over Russia. Stalin knew that he needed and wanted to rule Russia and the only way to do that was to get rid of the one guy that opposed his ideas and actions. The five year plan was Stalin's "New Deal" like programs for Russia. wether He looked at the New deal programs for some ideas is up to debate, but Stalin knew what he was doing. He stopped the wealthy peasantry from causing a civil war. he industrialized Russia in a few months. And he made Russia the Power that all other Countries feared it would become.

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  8. "the ends justify the means" Like machiavelli famously stated, Stalin's would do anything in the means to achieve a particular goal in his country even if it meant purging and eliminating many of the things Lenin set up prior to his rule. Trotsky lead a group that believed the Communist regime should spread all over Europe in a very radical fashion. However, Stalin publicly disagreed with this "dangerous" proposition and swiftly deported Trotsky in the fear that his movement would disrupt his ultimate goal of a a "revolution in one country". Stalin then acted similarly with liberal programs of the country because he feared that the flexibility and freedom within them would hinder the extremely productive and efficient country he envisioned.

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  9. Exiling Trotsky, when you think of it, was quite a smart and productive thing to do for Stalin. It got him out of the way without raising too much suspicion. But it also made him look like a real respectful leader. So in retrospect, I think that Stalin was being very smart when he when through with the exile.

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  10. First of all, according to last night's reading, Stalin was a huge believer of the elimination of unrightful believes or counterrevolutioneers from top to bottom at all time throughout out his entire political career. Start with the scramble for power with the other old school conservatives like Trotsky after Lenin's death, his single minded determination and well prepared people resources to back up his scheme to eliminate his opponents. Ousts Trotsky was a smart move, because few people would remember a political prosoner and a aboard "Trator", what is more is that the other remain old conservatives would appreciate Stalin's mercy and side with him pleasantly to guide the party. Speaking of Stalin's ideology of commnism, it differed itself from Lenin's since Stalin went against trotsky since they are on the same page that they believe they should use international revolution to ensure the success of interior environment, on the country, Stalin wants to put heavy hand on the domestic revolution like manipulated industry and agriculture.

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  11. Industrialization, rapid growth, and more industrialization. This combination mandated that Russia adapt fast or die. It couldn't afford to be held back by opposition. While I don't personally endorse Stalin's actions, i can see some legitimacy to his reasoning given the situation.

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  12. Stalin's exiling of Trotsky solidified Stalin's power as a dictator. Eliminating someone who held great power and clout amongst the Russian people almost gave people faith in Stalin, showing that he was able to crush opposition, even associates. Trotsky would have provided road blocks, and slowed the progress of Stalin's Five Year Plan. Stalin immediately took action in both exiling Trotsky and collecting assets from the people, showing that he was a real dictator, and furthering his reputation as "Man of steel."

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  13. Trotsky was exiled because Stalin labelled the "break in party solidarity" as a "threat to communism". Unlike Zinoviev, Trotsky remained stubborn and did not change his mind based on Stalin's words, which directly resulted in his exile. After Stalin established his dictatorship, he de-legitimatized people by mainly collectivizing agriculture and controlling the expression of opinion of the people. After Lenin's death, communist rule became more "systematically brutal and bloody".

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