The Ideological Content And Violent Practices Of Stalinism...

To what extent were the ideological content and violent practices of Stalinism consisted with Leninist principles? This essay will examine the extent to which the political phenomena know as Stalinism was a derivative of Leninist principle. Stalinism being defined as the governing polices implemented under the leadership of Joseph Stalin, particularly during the period between the end of the New Economic Policy in 1929 and the death of Stalin 1953. These policies were characterised by the use of extreme violence in the form of persistent State terror in order to achieve social and political ends. Specific examples such as the collectivisation of agriculture and the Great purge of the communist party have all been attributed to the Stalinist system. Stalinism also places greater priority on the creation of ‘socialism in one country’ rather than the spreading of revolution abroad through communist internationalism. The extent to which the Stalinist system was a product of or a degeneration of Leninism has been intensely debated by historians. Leninism being defined as a form of Marxis m where the Bolshevik party would seize power and maintain a dictatorship through the use of violence, in order for socialism and eventually communism to be created. This essay will seek to explore whether the violent policies associated with Stalinism where the result of the continuation by Stalin of the processes initiation by Vladimir Lenin under his direction and whether the intentions of