-
Fall in standard of living
This picture shows Stalin's establishment of the Five-Year Plans. I chose this source as it shows how the five-year plan affected the standard of living. The workers were pushed very hard in order to achieve the ambitious targets set by the Five-Year Plans. This meant that workers often worked long hours, with little time off , under poor conditions. The workers were overworked and not fairly paid for their efforts. The shortage of housing and the long working hours thus led to a steady fall in the standard of living. Thus, this shows Stalin's rule was not beneficial as the workers were not treated fairly.
i.ytimg.com -
Famine
This picture shows a newspaper article that talks about the peasants in the country who are in famine. I chose this source as it really speaks a lot about how Stalin treats his people. As the farms are owned by the state, farmers are not allowed to keep the produce that they have harvested themselves as Stalin planned to sell them to other countries to earn more to develop his factories. Thus, this shows that Stalin's rule was not beneficial as he did not allow farmers to keep the produce for themselves and just let them starve to death.
studyingthehumanities.files.wordpress.com -
Women's entry into the workforce
This picture shows a few women who are doing hard labour such as shovelling mud. I chose this source as it shows the equality during the USSR as women don't usually have to do this kind jobs. Stalin allowed women to have more control over their own lives and not have the husbands make decisions all the time thus Stalin allows this equality as he encourages women to enter the workforce and be productive members of the community. Thus, this shows that Stalin's rule was beneficial as he was encouraging women to make their own decisions.
blogs.bu.edu -
The Secret Police
This source shows how he secret police worked to sift out those who opposed Stalin's rule. I chose this source as it shows how dominating Stalin was, if anyone tried to go against him, he would kill that person immediately or send them forced labour camps where they would be worked to death. Thus, this shows that Stalin's rule was not beneficial as he was killing people.
biography.com -
Propaganda
This source shows students pinning up a picture of Stalin on a wall. I chose this source as it shows how he used propaganda extensively to build up his own profile. All offices, factories and classrooms in the Soviet Union were required to have a picture of Stalin. All the achievements and successes of the Soviet Union were credited to Stalin's leadership. Thus, this shows that Stalin's rule was not beneficial as he was indoctrinating the people to show how great he was as a leader.
r.search.yahoo.com -
Purges and show trials
This source shows a few people of higher ranks who are confessing to crimes they did not commit. I chose this source as it shows how cruel Stalin was that people started to confess to things that they did not even do so as to avoid being tortured and having their families threatened. Thus, this shows that Stalin's rule was not beneficial as he is torturing and killing innocent people.
ssthumanities.weebly.com -
Conclusion
In conclusion, Stalin was not a saviour of the USSR. Although he helped USSR to progress a lot faster and made it stronger, many people were killed in the process, 20 million to be exact. It included workers, civilians, officials and more. He caused many people to die due to overworking them and starving people. He was also very sly and did many cruel things to others to sabotage them.
sg.images.search.yahoo.com
