KADY HO (10) 3E1 3/9/12 Stalins rule brought more harm than good to the country.

How far do you agree? Explain your answer. (Impact)

I agree that Stalins rule brought more harm than good to the country. Stalin decided that the only way for effective industrialisation programme to succeed was if the government took full control. Private individuals would have no role to play, the government would determine what should be produced, how it will be produced and also when and where it will be produced. The people had no freedom at all. The government would also determine the prices of good and wages of the workers. The people had very low wages and the government made the people sell their products to the government at a very low price. This would cause the peoples profit to decrease a lot and thus they would not be able to afford basic necessities such as food. The people had to pay a terrible price for the industrialisation plan to work, workers led difficult lives in the 1930s under the Five-Year Plans. Their wages were very low and they also had to endure food shortages. They had to work for very long hours under the most appalling working conditions yet they are given low wages. They also had no proper homes as most of the houses were substandard and lacked basic amenities. The people felt tired and over-exhausted as the industrialisation plan was too rushed. This causes the peoples standard of living and quality of living to decrease. Also, under the Agriculture collectivisation plan, people were forced to give up their individual plots of land together to form a collective farm. All their tools and animals had to also be used collectively. Party officials and volunteers forced the peasants to sign documents to agree to the formation of collective farms. The kulaks fields, livestock, farming tools and buildings were taken away to form the basis of collective farms. Peasants who resisted were either shot or sent to labour camps. About seven million kulaks and their families were killed. In certain areas, there were riots and armed resistance, so much disruption that severe food shortages resulted. Millions died from starvation. Despite have severe famines, Stalin did not acknowledge the famines and did not get international aid for the people starving. Instead, he even sold food to other countries to raise funds for his industries while people in USSR were starving. The people were unhappy and lived their lives feeling like they were working as Stalins slaves. People had no freedom as they did not dare to oppose Stalin knowing that if they opposed Stalin, they would either be shot or sent to labour camps. People lived their lives in fear as there were arbitrary arrests and people could not expect justice as the whole judicial system was under Stalins country. The people had no freedom at all; Stalin had absolute control over the people. Millions died under Stalins rule, Stalin brought harm to the people socially, and economically and also politically therefore I agree that Stalins rule brought more harm than good to the country. I disagree that Stalins rule brought more harm than good to the country. Stalin improved USSR by industrialisation and also improved USSR militarily. It was necessary for the Soviet Union to industrialise so that it would be able to protect itself from any invasion from the Capitalist countries. If not for Stalin, USSR would not have survived the Nazis invasion in 1941. By 1940, the USSR was a major industrial power on par with many Western countries and did not have to fear invasion as much as they did before Stalins rule. Under Stalins industrialisation plans, there was a tremendous increase in output in all areas. More than 1500 industrial plants and more than 100 new industrial cities were built. Outputs in coal, iron, steel and oil saw significant increases. In the 1930s during the Great Depression, there were millions of unemployed people in the Western Capitalist countries. However, there was full employment in the USSR. This ensures that the people in USSR would have money to buy food to eat from their wages and need not worry about losing their jobs unlike others in the Western Capitalist countries. The people would then feel blessed to live in USSR. Stalin helped USSR farms to be mechanised increasing agriculture productivity. More food can be produced and distributed to the people in USSR and also sold to other countries for funds for industrialising. With secured jobs and stable food supply, I disagree that Stalins rule brought more harm than good to the country. Compared to the days of Tsarist rule before Stalins peoples lives improved, therefore Stalins rule brought more good than harm. Stalins dictatorship had harmed his people, people did not have basic freedoms or necessities and lead a life of fear, however, there were also many whos life improved after Stalins rule. These included the workers whose lives improved somewhat after Stalins dictatorship, when compared with their lives during the Tsars rule. In the long run, Stalins policies helped to transform a very backward USSR into a modern industrial and military power on part with the other Western Capitalist countries. Therefore, I think that Stalins rule brought more good than harm to the country in the long run.