Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and his Crimes against Humanity Essay

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and his Crimes against Humanity - Essay Example From the essay "Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin and his Crimes against Humanity", it is clear that the theme of perfect loyalty is one of the integral themes perpetuated through all his crimes. In 1924, only 25% of the Russian population was located in cities, the rest of the country lived in agriculture villages. Stalin realized that the power was in the hands of those who owned the land. Power meant financial gain. He set out a plan to manipulate the people in believing that he was their new god by replacing the Orthodox Church. He also demanded perfect loyalty from the kulack in the Centralization plan. When Lenin came to power in 1917, he offered territory to the peasants (kulak). It was Stalin's plan to take back the territory and rid them of all power. There are three things that bound each family: faith, the Tsar and the fatherland. Ridding each family of these three icons and creating new images would give Stalin ultimate power. Stalin banned religion, replaced icons with photos of himself. He had to change the outlook of the fatherland. He understood the power of the media. Every time he made a speech, he had it recorded on a vinyl record. He made sure each village had a gramophone and received records of each of his speeches. Villagers were impregnated with Stalin. He became their faith and their Tsar. In 1924 Russia was a poor country with an abundance of natural resources. These resources could be exchanged for technology and other goods which would assist Russia in becoming an industrialized country. Within three years of power, Stalin initiated his 5 year plan: A peasant society to a World Power. Historian John Brent from Harvard University (Man 2008) and Historian Mark Kramer from Yale University (Stalin 2007) explain the reasons backing centralization. Technology was expensive. One way to pay for it was to centralize the agricultural fields of Russia and use the goods as an export commodity. "Centralization was an answer to the Bolshevik revolution and the chaos that followed. It was rationalized that it was the only way to meet the economic and structural needs of the economy". (Gouldner 1978) The last reasoning behind centralization was the simple fact