Stalin's Popularity

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Stalin as Wartime Leader

Stalin took on a new role in 1941 when Russia entered the Second World War. He was now the leader of a country at war.

Nazi-Soviet Pact

Stalin entered an agreement with Nazi Germany in August 1939 to try to avoid conflict with Hitler.
- The pact said that Germany and the USSR would not attack one another. Stalin stuck to the agreement stubbornly.
The Nazis broke the pact in June 1941 when they invaded the Soviet Union.
The Soviet Union was now at war.

War Leader

Stalin became an incredibly successful and popular war leader.
He was very pragmatic (practical) - he relaxed his ideology to support the war effort.
He opened the Orthodox churches again, which was very popular.
He used the radio for speaking to the people about heroes from Russian history.

Weaknesses

Stalin made a number of mistakes as leader.
- He tried to hold territory he was losing for too long and refused to retreat.

1944

Stalin turned everything around in 1944.
He was able to bring about the almost total destruction of the German army groups in Russia.

1The Leadership Struggle, 1924-1929

1.1Struggle for Power 1924-28

1.1.1Stalin & his Rivals

1.1.2The End of Lenin & Stalin

1.1.3Stalin & the Communist Party

2Five Year Plans & Collectivisation

2.1Changes in Industry

2.1.1Industrialisation & Gosplan

2.2Agriculture & Collectivisation

2.2.1Five Year Plans & Grain Hoarding

2.2.2Collectivisation

2.2.3Kulaks

3Purges, Show Trials & The Cult of Stalin

3.1The Use of Terror in the 1930s

3.1.1Purges

3.1.2NKVD

3.1.3Show Trials

3.1.4Labour Camps

3.2Propaganda & Censorship

3.2.1Art & Religion Under Stalin

3.2.2Media & the Cult of Stalin

3.2.3The Cult of Stalin

3.2.4History

4Life in the Soviet Union, 1924-1941

4.1Life in the Soviet Union

4.1.1Living Conditions & Ethnic Minorities in the USSR

5The Second World War, 1941-1953

5.1USSR in the War

5.1.11941-1942

5.1.21943-1945

5.2Stalin & WW2

5.2.1Stalin's Popularity

5.2.2Post-War Consolidation

5.3Post-War Recovery

5.3.1Economic Recovery

5.3.2The USSR by 1953

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