The Irreversible Damage Caused By Joseph Stalin

“Death is the solution to all problems. No man - no problem.” -Joseph Stalin. In the early 1900’s Russia was on the verge of a revolution. For decades the country had been in an immense struggle between the Czars (otherwise known as the rulers of Russia) and the people. Corrupt leadership and inequalities throughout the Russian society eventually lead to a revolution. Nevertheless when Russia started fighting in World War One it was evident that the spark had been ignited and the insurgency had begun. And as Europe approached the end of the war, Russia further advanced into chaos. Vladimir Lenin, a revolutionary leader, lead the Russians into a rebellion to seize the Russian government. Lenin …show more content…
Totalitarianism engulfed the Soviet Union into a western nightmare. Individual’s private and public lives were dominated by the government and the tyrannical dictator Joseph Stalin. Stalin controlled the economy, the people, the military and everything associated with the country. The population’s individual rights became limited, almost as if the whole country were slaves. People were forced to do as the government instructed, working eating and doing however informed to. This lack of individualism lead to the loss of creativity and uniqueness, other European countries possessed. “[There is] no room in our ranks for whimpers and cowards, people must [be] selfless…” (Document 6). No longer did one person matters, but each individual was just another Soviet, working for the government. Through the loss of individualism, there was also the loss of religion. Religion focuses on the individual, which communism and the Soviets wanted nothing to do with. Stalin forced the population to abandon religion, proposing it was fake and unworthy of people’s belief. Soviets tore down churches, killed church clergymen and religious leaders and commanded the church officials to elucidate everything the church taught was wrong. “[People] cannot be neutral towards religion...religion is opposed to science. The party cannot be neutral …show more content…
The lack of individual needs generated famine, starvation, and adversity which consumed millions of the Soviet population. Suffering was extremely common among individuals, having to experience intense cold, inadequate rations and countless working hours. Individuals would work for hours upon hours in bitter cold only to receive a portion of the food and nutrition needed. Consumer goods were scarce throughout the Soviet Union and having, soap, extra clothes and food was extremely uncommon. “Villagers tried to go out in the fields to look for grain left behind by the harvest; the communists would arrest them and shoot at them…(Document 3). People were forced to live in deficient, substandard conditions that ultimately induced death and suffering. The lack of individual needs resulted in mass famines across the Soviet Union. Over seven million people died in the region of Ukraine alone, and millions more perished from inadequate conditions. People died by the thousand, from starvation, and intense cold. Death became so common that instead of digging individual graves the officials dug mass graves to compete with the rapid death rate. “People ate leaves, nettles, and milkweed… Danylo Huklib, died… [and his family] cut him up and ate him…”(Document 3) People ate anything to try and survive even eating