Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

From 1929, Stalin forced Soviet peasants to give up their private land and farm together on state-controlled collective

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

Stalin used a series of Five Year Plans to turn the Soviet Union into a major industrial power. A central planning agenc

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

Stalin used art, literature, and mass propaganda to build a cult of personality — a system that portrayed him as an all-

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

By 1941, Stalin's policies had made the Soviet Union a major industrial power. But they had also left millions of people

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

Stalin used a secret police force, staged trials, and political purges to terrorise and eliminate anyone he saw as a thr

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

Between 1936 and 1938, Stalin unleashed a wave of mass arrests, executions, and forced labour that killed or imprisoned

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

Stalin's Rule, 1929–1953

Once Stalin consolidated power after 1929, he set about transforming the Soviet Union through rapid industrialisation an

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

By early 1917, Russia was close to collapse. Tsar Nicholas II had lost control of the war, the economy, and his own peop

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

In February 1917, mass protests and army mutinies forced Tsar Nicholas II from power. Two rival bodies then tried to gov

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

Between February and October 1917, Lenin returned to Russia and pushed the Bolsheviks toward seizing power. A series of

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

In October 1917, the Bolsheviks — a radical socialist party led by Lenin — seized power from Russia's Provisional Govern

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

After seizing power in October 1917, the Bolsheviks took three key steps to lock in their control. They banned rival par

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

From 1918 to 1921, the Bolsheviks fought a brutal civil war to keep power. Trotsky built the Red Army, and the Reds defe

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

Between 1918 and 1921, the Bolsheviks used harsh economic controls to survive the Civil War. When those controls caused

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

Western countries feared and distrusted Bolshevik Russia. Between 1918 and 1924, Lenin's government lurched between open

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

When Lenin died in 1924, no single leader automatically replaced him. Seven senior Bolsheviks competed for control, each

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

After Lenin died, senior Bolsheviks clashed over two big questions: how fast to industrialise Russia, and whether to spr

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

Around 1928–1929, Stalin abandoned the mixed economy and launched a crash programme to industrialise Russia fast. He als

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

By the late 1920s, Stalin used propaganda to build a personal cult around himself. He also shaped Soviet foreign policy

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Russian Revolution and the Rise of Stalin, 1917–1929

Between 1917 and 1929, Russia was transformed from a collapsing Tsarist empire into a one-party Communist state — a syst

Revolution and dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953