Question

Can somebody help me answer questions about Joseph Stalin and the Brutal Dictatorship? Will medal/fan.

Answer 1

1.) How did the leaders responsible for the event explain their involvement? What was the purpose of their actions?

2.) What impact did the decisions and actions have on the leaders responsible? Did their power increase or decrease as a result? Did they face repercussions for their actions? Explain. Consider both the long and short-term impacts.

3.) . How did the event impact the group(s) targeted? Consider the long and short-term impacts.

4.) How did the event affect the rest of the nation? How did the event affect the international community? Consider the long and short-term impacts.

Answer 2

@leonardo0430 @rational @iGreen

Answer 3

1. When Stalin bothered to explain his actions, which was infrequent, he typically asserted that those who were jailed or executed were enemies of the state, or of the revolution. His purpose in the many purges he carried out was to eliminate potential rivals for power, or to subjugate minorities within the Soviet Union, sometimes for economic purposes. An example of this was when he sold Ukrainian grain production on the world market to raise funds for war preparations against Germany, leaving the Ukrainians to starve.

2. Stalin became increasingly isolated and suspicious of those around him, often sending fellow members of the Politburo to the gulags or the firing squad on little pretext. This revolving door in leadership undermined continuity in governance, making the government appear arbitrary and capricious to those it ruled.

3. Because Stalin was ruthless and efficient at disposing of his perceived enemies, the impact upon them was immediate and Draconian. Whole branches of his military were purged in the 1930s and on into WWII, which cost the military a generation of experienced leaders that it could have sorely used when Germany invaded.

4. There is little question that the lack of experienced leaders in the military wildly escalated the casualties the Red Army endured when Germany invaded. Frequent imprisonment of engineers set back aircraft design and production as well. And there were a host of other actions and consequences that imperiled the Soviet war effort. These actions also served to make Russia's allies extremely suspicious of her motives, impacting cooperation adversely throughout the war, and leading to the Cold War.

Answer 4

Wow! Thank you! :D @love-a-good-story

Answer 5

My pleasure :)