ate in the advancement of the "sacred task" of the Socialist revolution. "Stalin inherited a system that resorted to violence and brutality and extended and deepened it." Launched in 1928, Stalin's first Five-year Plan sought to expedite the growth of Socialism through forced collectivization and industrialization. Eager to be rid of the New Economic Policy (NEP), Lenin's benevolent intermediary capitalist economy, Stalin hoped to teleport the Soviet Union to Socialism in a revolutionary movement, instead of the projected evolutionary age. Stalin gained support with impatient, chauvinistic fanatics, but his prematurity had devastating results. Due to the disorganization and exhaustion of peasant farmers, labor productivity in the collective farms was insufficient. With the subsequent shortfall in grain stocks, a catastrophic famine spread through 30 million people. With the ensuing peasant reluctance to collectivize, the party agreed to the use of extreme force. "Collectivization in 1928-1933 cost nine million peasant lives." The disas
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