Model Answer: How successful

As requested by Alston here is a model answer of what a "how successful" type question will look like. Question: How successful was Stalin's leadership of Russia?

Stalin was a success to a great extent. He effectively modernised Russia through his five-year plans and introduced collectivisation. However, he used terror to make the people obey him and destroyed any politically opponents, drastically reducing the freedom of people in Russia.

He had success in modernising Russia but millions of peasants died in the process of agricultural modernisation.

Stalin took Russia from a backward state to a thriving modern state. His five-year plans increased resource production tremendously and Russia was producing its own iron, oil and steel. New factories like Magnitogorsk and other industries also were constructed. Many, were east of the Ural mountains.This industrialisation enabled it to fight Germany when they attacked. In the 1930s, free education, subsidised health care and leisure facilities like parks and gymnasiums were constructed to improve the lives of the Russians. Collectivisation also enabled Russia to modernise its farms by introducing tractors and machines.

However, there were failings in his leadership policies and decisions. Worker's conditions in the initial years of the five-year plans were horrible with dangerous and unhealthy conditions and long hours imposed. Many workers were also untrained, leading to spoilt machinery that could not be fixed. Furthermore, collectivisation led many farmers to burn or grow less crops causing a massive famine in which 10 million died. Many peasants, especially kulaks, were killed or sent to labor camps. Many of his political opponents were killed in his purges and there was no freedom of speech as anyone suspected of opposing him was arrested by the NKVD, his secret regime. HE also controlled education and culture, art and made sure people saw only positive images of him.

Hence, although Stalin's leadership of Russia was successful in many ways that he industrialised Russia and enabled her to defeat Germany, it was done at the expense of the workers and the killing of many peasants. His rule was brutal and he was responsible for both restricting the freedom of expression and the types of media people received as well as killing millions of peasants as a result of his plans as well as for keeping dissent against him in check.