Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev
In contrasting the social, economic, and political policies of Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, and Nikita Khrushchev, it can be seen that Lenin and Stalin's policies were alike in many ways, although Stalin's were a bit harsher, and that Khrushchev's policies differed from those of both Lenin and Stalin. Mainly, Lenin's social policies dealt with the church and religious affairs. Regarding the Russian Orthodox Church as a reactionary institution, the Bolsheviks sought to destroy it. Church and state were separated, church property was seized, and many churches, monasteries, and convents were closed. Religious instruction was prohibited, and only civil marriage ceremonies had legal recognition. Also, the Bolsheviks replaced the Julian calendar with the Gregorian calendar and abolished titles of nobility. In economics, Lenin recognized the need for changes and introduced the New Economic Policy. Under the NEP, the state retained ownership and control of large industries. The state also controlled transportation and foreign trade. A tax in kind, payable in grain, was levied on the peasants, who could then sell their surplus produce on the market, which provided the peasants with an incentive to produce more. Peasants wer
Lenin also organized a secret police force, know as the Cheka, to combat counterrevolutionary activity. Thus, it can be seen that in contrasting the social, economic, and political policies of Lenin, Stalin, and Khrushchev, Lenin and Stalin were very much alike, and Khrushchev differed from both Lenin and Stalin. Instead, investment was mad in state-owned mines, heavy industry, railroads, and energy resources. In 1928, Stalin outlined his Five Year Plan, which called for a command economy, which is one in which all economic decisions are made by the government. Like Lenin, Stalin's social policies were to get rid of religion. Intellectuals and artists were permitted greater freedom of expression. Because of these policies, Stalin was able to stop rebellion. Again, Khrushchev differed from these two in that he encouraged the production of consumer goods. By dissolving the constituent assembly and establishing a secret police, Lenin began the process of creating a Bolshevik dictatorship to replace the autocracy of the tsars. Stalin's political policies consisted of a totalitarian state, a country in which a dictator controls every part of the lives of its citizens. Stalin's agricultural revolution, which was also based on centralized planning, was as complete and far more brutal than his industrial revolution. The rapid industrialization under Stalin's Five Year Plan was achieved in part by limiting production of consumer goods. In 1924, Lenin died from stroke and was replaced by Stalin. The peasants resisted fiercely, but Stalin showed no mercy and millions of peasants died. Many churches, synagogues, and mosques were closed or put to other uses.
Common topics in this essay:
Five Plan,
Lenin Stalin's,
Policy NEP,
Soviet Union's,
Orthodox Church,
Lenin Stalin,
Thaw Khrushchev,
Party Khrushchev,
Mainly Lenin's,
political policies,
,
lenin stalin,
secret police,
social policies,
lenin stalin's,
production consumer,
policies alike,
khrushchev differed,
lenin stalin alike,
stalin's social,
five plan,
relaxed political controls,
political controls loosened,
differed lenin stalin,
dictatorship relaxed political,
|