Those who seriously study the history of the formation and development of the Soviet state are faced with the concept of "Stalinism". As the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin left an indelible mark on the history of the country. This was expressed not only in the creation of a totalitarian state, but also in the theory of socialist construction, many features of which were inherited by other countries. What is actually hidden behind the concept of "Stalinism"?
Stalinism as part of the history of the Soviet Union
About the time when Stalin ruled, most often today they write in a negative way. In this light, the period of rule of the "father of nations" appears to be a time of mass repressions and actual lawlessness, a deviation from the Leninist principles of building a party and state. Eyewitnesses who lived in Stalin's time describe with horror the process of dispossession of the peasantry and its collectivization.
Researchers often define Stalinism as the system of views and activities of Joseph Stalin and his inner circle, which dominated the Land of the Soviets from the late twenties of the last century until the death of the leader in 1953. This period is often called the time of the domination of the totalitarian regime, when the natural mechanisms of progress were destroyed, a dead-end economy and the system of barracks socialism were created.
Stalinism is a system of government based on the domination of the party bureaucratic apparatus.
At its core, Stalinism was the result of a distortion of the real theory of building a socialist society, distinguished by the extreme cruelty of methods and barbaric methods of the formation of an industrial economy. The actions of Stalin and his entourage were covered with Marxist and Leninist phraseology. It was believed that Stalin creatively developed the Marxist theory, adapting it to the conditions of the existence of the USSR, which had to fight a hostile environment.
The main thing in Stalinism
Perhaps the main thing in Stalinism is the principles of building a system of power. Its theoretical basis was the doctrine of the dictatorship of the proletariat. But Stalin succeeded in replacing the principles inherent in Marxism and creating a dictatorship of one man who ruled on behalf of the entire class. Such power relied on the party, state structures and the secret police. This power was based on fear, coercion and unquestioning obedience to the will of one person.
The revision of the foundations of Marxism, carried out by Stalin in his theoretical works, concerned the revision of not only the goals, but also the means that must be used to successfully build the first phase of communism. In this case, the goals were subordinated to the means.
During the years of Stalin's rule, the humane essence of socialism, which was created in the form of a society for man and in the name of man, was almost completely lost and emasculated.
Stalin, however, did not use the term "Stalinism" and did not allow those who were ready to please him to do so. The ideological system that existed at that time simply attached the name of Stalin to other leaders of the proletariat - Marx, Engels and Lenin. And yet, historians distinguish Stalin's system of views into a separate ideological trend, calling it Stalinism, since this system had its own characteristic features and characteristics.
