Was Stalin's Reign a Success

Economic
Stalin had transformed Russia from poor backward country into a modern, powerful industrial nation capable of rivalling superpowers like the USA, indicating the progress Russia had made economically since Stalin took over.   First and foremost, Stalin recognised the need for a strong industrial base for USSR that can reach the level of capitalist countries in the west, to prevent them from being beaten in another possible war. Stalin first came up with a series of plans, drawn up by approved by the state planning commission which set incredibly high goals and targets the various industries and agriculture had to achieve.   Though it was a failure on Stalin part as Russia narrowly missed out on hitting these targets set, however, the marked improvement, in terms the increase in output in these various industries and agriculture, as compared to the beginning of Stalin’s reign indicated the growth of Russia’s economy meaning that it can be still considered a success. This success was brought about by Stalin’s efficient policies. Firstly collectivisation. Drawn up in the first 5 years plans, collectivization was seen as the way to efficient agriculture that would supplement rapid industrialisation.   Despite setbacks during the initial phase, these problems were eventually ironed out by various methods, collectivization brought about huge returns for Russia’s economy, by 1937, most farms had tractors, production output were significantly higher. This means more food to sustain the workforce for the industry, and also the exportation of the products would raise funds for further industrialisation. In industrialisation, most peasants were forced to become factory workers, in order to increase industrial outputs. Stalin had high demands of the workers, making them work long hours. Stalin had used various means to motivate such as rewards for better workers, like higher wages, or punishment for the slacker ones like denial of food ration , to ensure workers remain...