
Stalin in Many Faces
From the prosperous leader to the ruthless dictator
Stalin was a revolutionary figure who played a prominent role in the Bolshevik Revolution between 1917 and 1921. From 1922 he was General Secretary of the Bolshevik Party, a power base that Stalin exploited to by-pass more prominent party leaders, such as Trotsky, and to achieve bureaucratic and political dominance for himself. By 1929, Stalin was the unchallenged leader of the USSR as successor to Lenin. Throughout the 1930s Stalin strengthened his grip on power through ruthless purges of potential opponents. As well as the Terror, he launched the ‘Stalin Revolution’, transforming the Soviet Union, at great human cost, by the collectivization of agriculture and rapid industrialization.
Stalin hoped to keep the USSR out of foreign entanglements until the ‘Stalin Revolution’ was complete. In 1939 he made a non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany. In June 1941, however, Hitler launched a sudden invasion of the USSR. Stalin was plunged into a war of survival , the Great Fatherland War.. After a shaky start as war leader, Stalin came to be seen Generalissimo and Hero of the Nation. The war made the USSR a military and industrial superpower;. Victory also strengthened Stalin’s cult of personality. In 1953 Stalin died after a stroke. Nikita Khrushchev emerged as leader. In 1956, Khrushchev’s ’secret speech’ to the party congress launched ‘de-Stalinisation’ an attempt to deal with the difficult legacy of Stalin and Stalinism. This process is still not yet complete. Until today his role in many places carrying the Soviet legacy remains debatable.
This source collection could serve as a complimentary material to teachers who look into the role of Stalin in Bolshevik Russia, October Revolution, years following the creation of Soviet Union, his role in WW II and legacy following his death. This collection aims to provide teachers and students with more insight on controversial role of Stalin before, during and after WWII and his legacy which remains to be contested up to present day. As sources in this collection suggests, the image of Stalin has never stopped been controversial. Stalin left a difficult legacy. His acts and decisions lead him being perceived as a ruthless tyrant causing death and torture of millions of people. By 1953 he had dominated the lives of Soviet citizens for thirty years. Yet, many regarded him as the Great Leader who had transformed the country, defeated Fascism and made the USSR into a world power. Opposite to this, many others remembered the Terror and still feared to challenge Stalin even after he was dead. Within this context, teachers and students can critically analyse different images of Stalin in a multi-perspective way and link it to the bigger picture and debate Stalin’s legacy in post-soviet era.
Acknowledgements: This source collection has been developed by Aysel Gojayeva with the support of Laura Steenbrink. The source collection makes use of sources provided by the Stadtgeschichtliches Museum Leipzig, Athena Plus, Museon, Public Library Varna, Kulturarvsstyrelsen, National Library of Denmark, Istituto Conestabile Piastrelli, Stiftelsen Nordiska Museet, Kadriorg Art Museum, The European Library, Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz and the Lithuanian Art Museum.


















