Man of Steel - Myth and Critique of Joseph Stalin

Myth #1 Myth/Thesis: Stalin was equivalent to, if not worse than Hitler  Critique/anti-thesis: The equation of Stalin with Hitler is a crude tool of bourgeois propaganda. Hitler and Stalin differed profoundly in their declared ultimate aims-for one, the supremacy of a master race; for the other, universal equality. Also, if anti-communists want to play the numbers game, Hitler killed waaaaaay more...

Myth #1 Myth: The terror was carefully planned by Stalin to crush the nation and to consolidate his totalitarian control.  Critique: The initiative for the mass operations during the terror actually came from the regional chiefs (the middle level leadership) and were launched following negotiations with Stalin over the numbers to be arrested, executed, etc. Stalin agreed to the mass operations to...

This episode discusses with some of the most controversial policies of the Stalin era from the ban on abortions to the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact.  Myth #1 Myth: in the 1930s socialism the Soviet Union took a right-wing turn or regressed. Historians accuse Stalin betraying socialism, embracing nationalism and conservatism, etc.  Critique: The commitment to build socialism remained, but the material r...

In this short bonus episode, Pearse provides an overview of the Soviet Union's economic growth up until 1950, and contrasts it against Western Europe, East Asia and other parts of the world. Far from being a failure, the Soviet Union had unprecedented levels of GDP growth per capita, far outpacing its nearest comparators in the early 20th century.  Drawing on Robert C Allen's 'From Farm to Factory...

Myth #1 Myth/Thesis: Rapid industrialisation was completely unnecessary and ultimately failed. “Socialism doesn’t work”, “Socialism is good in theory but in practice it is bad.”  Critique/anti-thesis: The Tsar did not lay the groundwork for rapid, capitalist development. The use of state planning drove growth in an economy that would have stagnated if left to its own devices. Conclusion/synthesis:...

In this episode we cover the death of Lenin and the ensuing struggle for succession. In covering the history, we address the following myths: Myth #1 Myth/Thesis: Stalin used his power as general secretary and control over appointments to build a following in the party apparatus, stacking it with his allies, and they then voted for him to be leader. In other words, it was fixed. Critique/anti-thes...

In this episode we discuss Stalin's early life, focussing on how his material conditions shaped his world view and his path to radicalisation. We attempt to dispel popular myths that Stalin was a power hungry cynic, seeking only to further his personal interests. Instead, we present evidence that Stalin was from his early years a stalwart anti-imperialist and committed revolutionary marxist. We ar...

For the first episode, we thought it would be helpful to provide a brief historiography (a history of the history) of Stalin and Stalinism, to show how perceptions of Stalin have changed over time, and contextualise these different perceptions within their respective material conditions.