Stalins accomplishments
He rapidly industrialized the USSR, turning a backward land into a major power in just a few years.
He ruthlessly solidified his rule by eliminating all hint of opposition and independence movements. Transforming the USSR into a monolith was cruel, and involved many needless deaths but was basically vital as national unity under a strong central leader was one of the keys to survival when nazi attack came. Stalin crushed the Japanese at Khalkin Gol in 1939--an indication of how much more proficient the USSR was militarily compared to tsarist russia, which was humiliated by Japan in 1905. Stalin withstood and crushed the nazi invaders from 1941-45, and ultimately established a large sphere of influence or buffer zone in east/central europe. He acquired atomic bombs, essentially making the USSR a superpower second to none on earth. |