Stalin era in the context of "Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin"

⭐ In the context of excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin, what significant shift occurred in historical analysis following the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the subsequent declassification of archival materials?

Ad spacer

⭐ Core Definition: Stalin era

The history of the Soviet Union between 1927 and 1953, commonly referred to as the Stalin Era or the Stalinist Era, covers the period in Soviet history from the establishment of Stalinism through victory in the Second World War and down to the death of Joseph Stalin in 1953. Stalin sought to destroy his enemies while transforming Soviet society with central planning, in particular through the forced collectivization of agriculture and rapid development of heavy industry. Stalin consolidated his power within the party and the state and fostered an extensive cult of personality. Soviet secret-police and the mass-mobilization of the Communist Party served as Stalin's major tools in molding Soviet society. Stalin's methods in achieving his goals, which included party purges, ethnic cleansings, political repression of the general population, and forced collectivization, led to millions of deaths: in Gulag labor camps and during famine.

World War II, known as "the Great Patriotic War" by Soviet historians, devastated much of the USSR, with about one out of every three World War II deaths representing a citizen of the Soviet Union. In the course of World War II, the Soviet Union's armies occupied Eastern Europe, where they established or supported Communist puppet governments. By 1949, the Cold War had started between the Western Bloc and the Eastern (Soviet) Bloc, with the Warsaw Pact (created 1955) pitched against NATO (created 1949) in Europe. After 1945, Stalin did not directly engage in any wars, continuing his totalitarian rule until his death in 1953.

↓ Menu

>>>PUT SHARE BUTTONS HERE<<<

👉 Stalin era in the context of Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin

Estimates of the number of deaths attributable to the Soviet revolutionary and dictator Joseph Stalin vary widely. The scholarly consensus affirms that archival materials declassified in 1991 contain irrefutable data far superior to sources used prior to 1991, such as statements from emigres and other informants.

Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the archival revelations, some historians estimated that the numbers killed by Stalin's regime were 20 million or higher. After the Soviet Union dissolved, evidence from the Soviet archives was declassified and researchers were allowed to study it. This contained official records of 799,455 executions (1921–1953), around 1.5 to 1.7 million deaths in the Gulag, some 390,000 deaths during the dekulakization forced resettlement, and up to 400,000 deaths of persons deported during the 1940s, with a total of about 3.3 million officially recorded victims in these categories. According to historian Stephen Wheatcroft, approximately 1 million of these deaths were "purposive" while the rest happened through neglect and irresponsibility. The deaths of at least 5.5 to 6.5 million persons in the Soviet famine of 1932–1933 are sometimes included with the victims of the Stalin era.

↓ Explore More Topics
In this Dossier

Stalin era in the context of Wrecking (Soviet Union)

Wrecking (Russian: вредительство or vreditel'stvo [vrʲɪˈdʲitʲɪlʲstvə], lit. "inflicting damage", "harming") was a crime specified in the criminal code of the Soviet Union in the Stalin era. It is often translated as "sabotage"; however, "wrecking", "diversionist acts", and "counter-revolutionary sabotage" were distinct sub-articles of Article 58 (RSFSR Penal Code) (58-7, 58–9, and 58-14 respectively), and the meaning of "wrecking" is closer to "undermining".

↑ Return to Menu

Stalin era in the context of Magadan

Magadan (Russian: Магадан, IPA: [məɡɐˈdan]) is a port town and the administrative centre of Magadan Oblast, Russia. The city is located on the isthmus of the Staritsky Peninsula by the Nagaev Bay; it serves as a gateway to the Kolyma region.

Magadan, founded in 1929, was a major transit centre for political prisoners during the Stalin era and the administrative centre of the Dalstroy forced-labor gold mining operation. The town later served as a port for exporting gold and other metals. Magadan plays a significant role in transportation with the Port of Magadan and Sokol Airport.

↑ Return to Menu

Stalin era in the context of Sheila Fitzpatrick

Sheila Mary Fitzpatrick (born 4 June 1941) is an Australian historian, whose main subjects are history of the Soviet Union and history of modern Russia, especially the Stalin era and the Great Purges, of which she proposes a "history from below", and is part of the "revisionist school" of Communist historiography. She has also critically reviewed the concept of totalitarianism and highlighted the differences between Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union in debates about comparison of Nazism and Stalinism.

Fitzpatrick is professor at the Australian Catholic University (Melbourne), honorary professor at the University of Sydney, and Distinguished Service Professor Emerita at the University of Chicago. Prior to this, she taught Soviet history at the University of Texas at Austin and was the Bernadotte Everly Schmitt Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago. She is considered a founder of the field of Soviet social history.

↑ Return to Menu
LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin ← Wrecking (Soviet Union) ← Magadan ← Sheila Fitzpatrick ← Wrecking (Soviet crime)
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
History of the Soviet Union → History of Soviet Russia and the Soviet Union (1917–1927) → World War II → Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin → Joseph Stalin → Culture of the Soviet Union → Economic planning → Agriculture in the Soviet Union → Industrialization in the Soviet Union → Stalin's rise to power → Stalin's cult of personality → Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies → Mass mobilization → Communist Party of the Soviet Union → Stalinism → Purges of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union → Ethnic cleansing → Political repression in the Soviet Union → Collectivization in the Soviet Union → Excess mortality in the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin → Gulag → Labor camp → Soviet famine of 1932–1933 → Eastern Front (World War II) → USSR → World War II casualties of the Soviet Union → Eastern Europe → Soviet sphere of influence → Cold War → Western Bloc → Eastern Bloc → Warsaw Pact → NATO → Totalitarian →