How Did Lenin and Stalin Transform He Society and Economy of the Ussr?

1405 WordsApr 8, 20116 Pages
How did Lenin and Stalin transform the society and economy of the USSR? After the devastation of World War I, the Revolution, and Civil War, Russia was a total wreck. Factories were in ruins and half the working class gone, either dead or returned to the farms. Millions had died, mainly from the famine and disease accompanying war. Two million more, mostly nobles, middle class, and intellectuals, had emigrated to other countries. Lenin returned to Russia from exile in 1917 and it was up to him to restore some degree of prosperity, order and eventual control of all aspects of Russian economy and society. Lenin’s policy of War Communism proved a disasterous failure. It’s aim was to bring an immediate change to Communist. It involved…show more content…
Rewards were also given to get workers to work harder. Stakhanovite became a role-model for workers. Whole new cities and even lakes appeared where none had existed before, many of them named after Stalin himself. Oil production trebled, while coal and steel production rose by a factor of four times. Stalin also established a massive system of public schools and universities to provide a literate (and more easily brainwashed) work force as well as engineers for his factories. By 1940, the Soviet Union had an 85% literacy rate and was the third largest industrial power in the world behind only the United States and Germany. Industrialisation also brought substantial benefits to Russian society. Life was made bearable for many by the provision of work, a flat, free schooling and basic health care. A greater equality in society meant that careers such as doctors, teachers and engineers were open to women. Creches and day-care centres in factories meant mothers could go to work. Russia changed from a mainly agricultural society to a major industrial power resulting in a massive population transfer from the countryside to the cities where the urban workforce trebled in size. Collectivisation had a huge impact on society and
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