Aims
This course aims to:
• examine the post-revolutionary era and show why Stalin came to power
• introduce you to the life and politics of Stalin’s Russia
• foster an understanding of Stalinism and the Soviet dictatorship
Content
This course will take you through the main characteristics of the Soviet dictatorship that was built by Josef Stalin and the Communist Party after Vladimir Lenin’s death in 1924. You will learn about Stalin’s rise to power, from his origins in Georgia, to Party General Secretary, and then leader of the Soviet Union. You will explore the economic changes introduced by Stalin during his Revolution From Above and the turn towards industrialisation and collectivisation in the 1930s, and you will examine the consequences of these changes for the Soviet people and the country. You will discuss Stalinist society and politics and consider the ways in which the purges and Great Terror shaped the Soviet Union in the late 1930s. You will learn about how the country defended itself after the Nazis invaded in 1941, assess Stalin’s role as a war leader, and examine the ways in which the war shaped the system between 1945 and 1953. Overall, you will consider the nature of the Stalinist dictatorship which still casts its shadow today.
Presentation of the course
This course will be taught through a mixture of lectures and seminar discussions.
Course sessions
1. Who was Stalin? From Gori to Moscow: this session looks at where Stalin came from and how he came to power
2. Stalin as creator: the Soviet economy: this class explores the economic reform to the Soviet Union and considers their impact on the Soviet people
3. Stalin as dictator: Stalinist politics and society: this class discusses what living in the Stalinist dictatorship meant for the citizens of Stalin’s dictatorship
4. Stalin as war leader: the Great Patriotic War and its consequences: this session examines the Soviet Union at war and the period of High Stalinism
5. Stalin’s legacy: this class discusses the system that Stalin left behind and the role of Stalin in Russia today
Learning outcomes
You are expected to gain from this series of classroom sessions a greater understanding of the subject and of the core issues and arguments central to the course.
The learning outcomes for this course are:
• an ability to critically assess the rise of Stalin
• an appreciation of the development of the Stalinist system
• an understanding of Stalin’s legacy
Required reading
Fitzpatrick, Sheila, Everyday Stalinism (Oxford University Press, 1999)
Read, Christopher, Stalin: From the Caucasus to the Kremlin (Routledge, 2017)
