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 were also permitted to rent additional land and to hire labor. Lenin's political policies included dissolving the constituent assembly after just one session. Lenin also organized a secret police force, know as the Cheka, to combat counterrevolutionary activity. 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. In 1924, Lenin died from stroke and was replaced by Stalin.
             Like Lenin, Stalin's social policies were to get rid of religion. In 1929, the government again struck at religion. Many churches, synagogues, and mosques were closed or put to other uses. Schools, w...