About a man who went from humble to the pinnacle of power, he is the Soviet leader Stalin, who once made the world admire and fear. Stalin's tortuous life witnessed the turbulence and dawn of an era. As one of the most controversial leaders in Russian history, his decisions and actions provoked strong criticism and repercussions at the time. And when we understand his extraordinary background and growth environment, we can understand the deep reasons behind all kinds of extraordinary actions he made.
However, after the huge wealth he accumulated during his lifetime was once considered irrefutable evidence of his abuse of power, which led to his forced resignation, the new leader Nikita Khrushchev comprehensively belittled and criticized him. It wasn't until the truth about Stalin's legacy was revealed that people began to reflect on whether this demonized leader was a golem or a tragic hero.
When it comes to Stalin's life, we have to start with the environment in which he was born. Georgia, a small town with barren humanity at that time, gave Stalin a hard and tenacious character gene. There, the cold winter is long, alcoholism is common, and rudeness and simplicity are the portrayal of local folk customs. Stalin's father, an alcoholic, was eventually beaten to death by his neighbors, leaving behind a mother and son who were surrounded by four families.
It was this impoverished environment that gave birth to Stalin's unique personality. His mother, despite the fact that the family was in a small area, insisted that he should go to school and study, hoping that her son would get ahead. Sure enough, from an early age, Stalin showed extraordinary talent, not only with excellent grades, but also with excellent literary attainments, and published many popular poems in the press. At the time, it was believed that he would become a poet or a singer.
But fate often plays tricks on people's hearts. Stalin, hailed as a "genius," eventually embarked on a completely different path, beginning his dramatic life course. It was a turbulent time, the countries of Eastern Europe were oppressed, and the seeds of revolution were sprouting in the hearts of the people. Stalin joined the Bolshevik Party and soon became known for his organizational skills and boldness.
In the decades that followed, Stalin endured many hardships and hardships to finally win the struggle within the party and become the undisputed supreme leader of the entire Soviet Union. As a poor child born at the bottom and struggling to study, he is undoubtedly the biggest dark horse. However, at the same time, the dictatorial skills and high-pressure ruling style he displayed after taking office also made the outside world fear and doubt him.
Time flew by until 1953, when Stalin, the leader who had saved the nation from devastating catastrophe on several occasions, finally died. This "father of the people" left only a deposit of 900 roubles, together with the ordinary old clothes he wore before his death, leaving a tragic and contradictory image to the world.
Soon, his successor, Nikita Khrushchev, set out to deny everything about Stalin, distorting his motives for selfless devotion to the Motherland. What's more, in retaliation for Stalin's sentencing of his son to death, Khrushchev completely discredited Stalin's image and demonized him as a corrupt and degenerate tyrant who abused his power.
Stalin's legacy was hyped as "evidence" of corruption, and the people hated it and demanded a thorough investigation. When the truth is revealed, everyone is ashamed of himself - this slandered leader is actually a poor man who has devoted himself to the country.
In fact, if we trace back to the roots, the root cause of Stalin's cruelty and unsympathy lies precisely in his loyalty and sense of responsibility to the country and the people.
It was a turbulent era, after Lenin's death, there were constant party strife at home, and the iron hooves of Germany were approaching with a grinning smile, and the entire border of Soviet Russia was in danger. As an important member of the Bolsheviks, Stalin was well aware that national stability and security were the top priorities. Therefore, he took decisive action to eliminate dissidents, ruthlessly eliminated all kinds of potential reactionary threats, and cleared the way forward for the rise of the Soviet Union.
However, it all comes at a price. Stalin's harshness and arbitrariness, while temporarily preserving the unity of the country, also sowed seeds of unease and fear among the people. What's more, some innocent people have also been swept into the whirlpool in this storm and have been treated unfairly. This is indeed an indelible regret, but we must not give up food because of choking.
History did not give Stalin much choice, and he had no choice but to do everything in his power to defend this country, which had been oppressed and humiliated for a hundred years, at all costs. Only in this way was the Soviet Union able to survive World War II and become the last straw that crushed Nazi Germany.
Without Stalin's resolute leadership and determination to command the whole army, the Soviet-German battlefield would have collapsed long ago, and the whole of Europe would have fallen into the dark abyss of fascist rule. Therefore, Stalin was a double-edged sword for the Soviet Union, both a savior and a cool official.
He brought hope for national independence and liberation, but at the same time, he also caused huge casualties and labor pain. This contradictory image is the key to Stalin's love-hate approach.
In the post-war reconstruction period, Stalin was still grim and devoted all his efforts to the great cause of transforming the Soviet Union from a backward agrarian country into an industrial power. He personally drew up a series of five-year plans for economic development, and was painstakingly determined to catch up with and surpass the European and American powers within a few generations.
To this end, Stalin had to adopt a hard-line centralized approach, imposing strict discipline on the workers, and even a policy of exploitation that went against human nature. During this period, some workers who did not obey orders and were inefficient were unfortunately imprisoned. The whole society was shrouded in depression and fear.
However, it was with Stalin's extraordinary determination and skill that the Soviet Union's industrialization process took off like a rocket, and just a few years after the end of World War II, it had an independent industrial system and became a well-deserved superpower.
Even historians cannot but admire that Stalin, with his unique leadership style, narrowed the development gap between the Soviet Union and Western countries for several hundred years in the shortest possible time, and completely reversed the backward situation that was once ridiculed by the Western powers.
From this point of view, Stalin's personal high-pressure style was not motivated by his own selfish desires, but in fact was a reluctant act for the long-term interests of the country. Without such strenuous efforts, the Soviet Union would not have been able to become one of the world's great powers in a short period of time. Therefore, we have reason to believe that deep down in Stalin's heart, he must have cherished a sense of love and responsibility for the Motherland. #头条首发大赛#