Stalin’s Russia – Soviet Union 1938
Stalin’s Russia - Soviet Union 1938
In 1938 Stalin was considered to be the most powerful single human being in the world. He was the undisputed leader of a national state and of a movement, the Communist International, which had roots in all countries. In his words:
“The art of leadership is a serious matter. One must not lag behind a movement, because to do so is to become isolated from the masses. But one must not rush ahead, for to rush ahead is to lose contact with the masses. He who wishes to lead a movement must conduct a fight on two fronts - against those who lag behind and those who rush ahead.” — Stalin
This statement says, he will not allow anyone ahead of him or behind. He was talking about other leaders competing for HIS power.
Stalin thinks (1936) that a communist society will eventually have the following results:
“a. There will be no private ownership of the means of production, but social, collective ownership;
“b. there will be no classes or state, but workers in industry and agriculture managing their economic affairs as a free association of toilers;
“c. national economy will be organized according to plan, and will be based on the highest technique in both industry and agriculture;
“d. science and art will enjoy conditions conductive to their highest development;
“e. the individual, freed from bread and butter cares, and necessity of cringing to the ‘powerful of the earth’, will become really free.” — Stalin
This is the message Stalin sent to his Communist International and, they were sold. As a proletarian, who wouldn’t buy into it? European Governments and England were afraid of Stalin. He controlled a country spanning 11 time zones.
However, Stalin had some major problems to deal with, one of which was FOOD. Feeding Mother Russia was not an easy task and he found this out the hard way.
Russia contained in 1927 almost 25,000,000 peasant holdings (farmers owning small farms). Stalin’s plan was to unite them into socialized collective farms. The peasants would turn over the land and livestock to a farm manager, and work in common on comparatively large holding of land, assisted by tractors furnished by the state. In effect, Stalin confiscated all the farmers’ holdings and turned the farmers into employees.
The farmers, bitterly indignant, resisted. They slaughtered their livestock, rather than turn it over to the collectives (state). By the time this “compassionate” communist government realized the damage they had created, 50% of all livestock was destroyed. Stalin acknowledged his mistake and put a temporary halt on the forced collectivization. By 1932 only sixty-five percent of all the farms were collectivized.
In 1932 the peasants outside the collectives, rebelled again. They were paid miserable prices for their goods by the state and could not get reliable supplies. They harvested only what they thought was needed for their personal use for the winter and spring. They left the rest to rot.
“What was the use of slaving to produce a handsome crop, if the state simply seized it all”
Even the farmers in collectives let their grain rot, mostly due to lack of professional management and resentment of the workers against the state.
Stalin took this as a class uprising of the peasants against his plan. Immediately government grain collectors descended on the farms and confiscated close to 90% of the grain the farmers had on hand. That insured the farmers’ starvation. Millions died. It would take the agriculture industry more than a decade to recover.
Second problem was the execution in 1936 of several army generals and high level vice-commissars charged with treason.
Stalin had no interest in any kind of war at this time. He had no need to wage a war, nor was he prepared for one.
The best reference book I found is Inside Europe by John Gunther, a time capsule, the 1938 edition. 
