Would a Russian from Stalin’s time have more in common with Gorbachev’s time or that in Medvedev?

Question

Okay i began my second piece of history coursework this week and on my last piece of work i only got a U and i tried my hardest
I really want to work hard to build this piece of work up and make my grades increase big style.
Unfotunatly i discovered the internet is really awkward to find informatioin on this subject.

Can anyone help me?
I have to compare the life for a russian in stalin's time to Gorbachev and Medvedevs time.
I Have to include Economy,Education industry esc esc.

It's so hard :(
I don't know how i would start it off either :'[
Can anyone help me?!

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

Stalin's time:

Essentially you need to consider the four key elements surrounding the nature of "Stalinism". These are the Culutral, Political, Social and Economic impacts.
Cultural: Cult of personality (banners of Stalin, naming cities after himself), praising the Military, lifting up the "Worker". Workers like Stakhanovites (Alexei Stakhanov), produced fourteen times the required output. Men like these were rewarded with monetary bonuses.

Social: Stalin brought many significant social changes to Russia, both beneficial and oppressive. Some bonuses were that Russians were significantly better educated, and the literacy rate improve ten fold over his reign. Also, those who never considered gaining positions in status in society had the opportunity to do so as demand outstripped supply for factory managers with the extreme economic growth rates. Cons were that; Gulags, Secret Police, Internal Passports, Stalin's war on the "Kulaks" from the days of the New Economic Policy possibly led to the famine of 1932-1933 called Holodmor. Ukrainians have a day of mourning for it.

Political: Great Purges, Show trials, Kirov assassination. This period was characterized by enormous purging of the old party guard left over from the Original Bolsheviks such as Trotsky and Bukharin. What was left was that Stalin, as General Secretary as well as positions in the Ogburo and Politburo was able to control nearly the entire party. With these purges, what was created was the youngest ruling elite in History, yet as I think Pipes contends "they were malluable recruits", meaning that Stalin was able to generate enormous support from these new members.

Economics: Five year plans. Collectivization into "Kolkhozes" reduced the number in farms to Russia to 250,000 making it easier to control. Large scale industrial growth. Industrial towns such as Magnitogorsk and the like flourished in Russia. Also, developments in technology such as the hydroelectric dam. Russia was the only economy to grow during the great depression.

As you can see, Stalin brought a variety of benefits and problems for Soviet Society. Some say he was the only man crazy enough to defeat Hitler. We don't know. What I have given you is a blueprint for your coursework, since I have studied Russia in depth also. My contention was that Stalin used these four elements in unison to create his overall goal of modernizing society - many claim that he was crazy and the like, yet there is a certain "method in his madness" so to speak. For example, look at the Gulag system. I don't have the map here, but each prison camp or Gulag established just so happened to coincide with a resource rich area. Coincidence? No. Calculated planning? Absolutely. What Stalin had created was a system whereby there was no need for the cost of labor for his goals, since the prison labor would do that for him. Figure some of the other stuff out for yourself. There is more to this man than what is often read about in the standard high school textbook.

Gorbachev's reign was characterized always by the two words Glasnost and Perestroika. Some of the reforms of Glasnost included Freedom of Speech and more political freedom such as relaxed censorship of the press. Perestroika had many different aspects, too many to list here. For one, it allowed foreign ownership of state industries, the first time since the New Economic Policy of the 1920s and Lenin. 1980s Russia was the beginning of becoming more westernized and the realisation that Communism would not work. Dig deeper into these two themes and you will find what you need.

Medvedev hasn't been around for too long, I think a year so far. It is too hard at the moment to compare his legacy to Gorbachev's and Stalin's but I will help you out. Medvedev's reign is essentially a continuation of Putin's reign in the New Russia. Putin brought to Russia Economic stability and improved living conditions. Many claim that this is because of Russia's oligarchs and Billionaires attaching themselves to Russia. Whatever they claim, modern day Russia is improving. Living standards are up, Russians are more educated, Foreign investment is enormous. Putin and Medvedev have brought Russia into a period of prosperity. However, it is still an Autocratic society, with freedom of the press questionable. But Russia's history has lent itself this way since the rule of the Tsars. Russians like to be led. Parallels can be drawn between each leader of the Soviet Union and even the new Russia.

That still doesn't answer how they are similar or different. That is for you to draw out as it is part of your research. I am not going to answer this for you as it is far more enriching to come to a conclusion for yourself. As you can see however, there are many key areas to focus your research on. I may have ommitted some as it is a large topic and I hope you can forgive me. What you should aim to look at is the four key areas as I broke down for you. It will then be easier to compare the three leaders

Source(s):

I'm Russian, have studied Russian history for a few years,

Answer 2

i think a russian from Stalin's time would have more in common with britain 2009 than either Gorbachev or medvedev, as both were going into democracy, while britain is slowly slipping into a dictatorship, ( big brother ),