Historical Study: Eastern Theater of WW2

So now at last I turn to my main focus of this WWII phase, a deep dive on the eastern front of World War II. The past few weeks have been building up to this show down between Hitler vs Stalin; fascism vs communism. As I mentioned before I have made various studies on the western theater (see World War II Summary, Western Front) but know very little about the eastern theater. Obviously as an American we mostly see the western and Pacific War perspective, glorified in films such as Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. It's without question these were very brave men that played an essential role in the defeat of the Axis Powers. However to be fair, the causalities on the western front we're only a fraction compared to the blood loss on the eastern front. 

It's estimated that 60% of the death toll in WW2 occurred on the Eastern front, while 35% in Asia, and only 8% in the western theater. The poor Soviets were especially decimated during the war, losing roughly 25 million soldiers and civilians; next up would be China at 20 million, Germany at 8 million, Poland at 6 million (majority of Holocaust), Japan at 3 million, and the US at 418,000 deaths. These numbers alone sadly show the devaluation of human life especially in Russia and China. I think this aspect of history is often overlooked by the atrocities of the Holocaust. The eastern front was a meat grinder of military but also civilian causalities. 

In this post I basically want to lay out the timeline of Operation Barbarossa (1941) to the final Battle of Berlin (1945). I've been reading the book Stalingrad by Anthony Beevor, which offers great historical insight on both sides. Also I've been watching some great documentaries and the films Stalingrad (1993) and Enemy at the Gates (2001). The questions I'd like to focus on here, is what made Hitler so intent on invading the east? What was Stalin's preparation and reaction? What were the key battles that turned the invasion around? What were the military tactics and the fighting conditions like? I just love studying maps, and this will be a great way to understand the flow of the war while learning more about Eastern Europe. 

Hitler's vision for Lebensraum

In my previous studies on the ideology of Nazism, I learned that Hitler didn't just hate the Jews, but he hated everything about Eastern Europe. He hated communism, and he especially saw the race of Slavs as inferior (which included Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Poland, Czechoslovakia, and the Balkan states). Even though they were white, he saw them as a race of uncivilized sub-human peasants inferior to the Aryan Germans. He also hated communism with a passion, and saw the east as a great threat to his fascist ideology. Therefore he made it quite clear in his Mein Kampf (1924), that the eastern lands were meant for German living space, referred to as Lebensraum.

What's especially odd however is that Stalin and most of Europe were aware of Hitler's deep rooted hatred towards eastern Europe. Surely they knew his radical intentions would come to reality as soon as he took power in the 1930s. So why didn't the Jews or Slavs prepare better? In my last post on Stalin, I learned that he was very paranoid most of his life, and was very aware of the threat Hitler posed. He even ramped up military production throughout the late 1930s. However Stalin also purged his greatest military leaders and in truth it seemed he began to fear the rise of Hitler and the Nazis.

In 1939 Stalin pushed for the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact, which was a non-aggressive pact with Germany. While Stalin hoped this agreement could establish the roots of a long-term partnership, Hitler saw this treaty merely as a temporary truce. Both Hitler and Stalin were able to divide Poland with this agreement, furthermore it allowed the Nazis to focus on the western front. The Soviets had time to rebuild and gain a military advantage over the Nazis while they attacked on the west, however they did not. Instead Stalin was shocked and even subdued by the Nazi's rapid blitzkrieg tactics. Stalin even attempted to join the Axis power, as a means to strengthen his grip on eastern Europe, but surely this was foolhardy. For Hitler the Western front was just the staging ground for his main assault on the East. Stalin was foolish to not see it coming all along. 

Operation Barbarossa

After coming to a stalemate with Britain, Hitler turned his attention to the east towards the end of 1940. He signed off on the final details of Operation Barbosa on December 18, 1940, while Stalin was still considering neutrality talks with Germany. This laid out the plan of the full scale invasion of Eastern Europe to be initiated in the summer of 1941. It was to be the largest invasion in history with 3 million troops, 3600 tanks, and 2700 aircraft spanning across 1800 miles on the Russian border. Throughout the winter and spring of 1941, Stalin had received intelligence on this potential invasion, but was in denial. He felt it made no sense for Hitler to wage a 2-front war. Furthermore Stalin trusted in the pact so much that he decided not to build up the defenses so as to show good faith in Germany. This of course was a fatal mistake at the start of the invasion. 

The preparation and speculation became official on June 22, 1941 at 3:15 am when Operation Barbarossa began. The German army was divided into three groups along the Eastern borders; Army Group North would target Leningrad (General Wilhelm von Leeb); Army Group Center would target Moscow (General Fedor von Bock) ; and Army Group South would target Ukraine and Stalingrad (General Gerd von Rudnstedt). The first stage of the assault was aerial bombardments by the Luftwaffe against Soviet airfields. This included the bombing of Minsk (Belarus), Kiev (Ukraine), Riga (Latvia), Brest (Belarus), Kaunas (Lithuania), and Smolensk (Russia). The next phase was blitzkrieg ground assaults using their panzer tank formations. 

The news of the invasion brought total shock to Stalin, who initially felt it was some sort of misunderstanding. He did not accept the news until later that day where he mobilized the army, and had the premier Vyacheslav Molotov announce it to the nation. Stalin then spent a few days in refuge, until he accepted the reality and met it head on. He addressed the nation on July 3rd, with a fiery call to arms, declaring this as "The Great Patriotic War". He also began a mass relocation effort to move all industry production further inland to the Ural Mountains. This way military production would not be disrupted at the front line cities of Leningrad, Moscow, and Stalingrad.      

Nazi Blitzkrieg in the Borderlands

The Nazis used their same blitzkrieg tactics that had brought them success on the Western front. Since Stalin had not anticipated the invasion, the borderline was not well defended. From The Nazis easily captured the northern Baltic cities of Brest, Kaunas, Riga, and Minsk by July 11th. 300,000 Soviet trips were encircled and captured in Minsk. It's worth mentioning here that many of these rural towns on the eastern borders (especially in Ukraine) welcomed the Nazis as liberators from Soviet repression. However that changed quickly when they discovered the Nazis antisemitic and anti-slav policies. 

The Nazis quickly reached Russia on July 10th, where they were finally met with heavy Soviet resistance at the Battle of Smolensk. This battle waged on for nearly two months until finally the German army under von Bock encircled the Soviets (once again capturing another 300,000 prisoners). Despite another significant victory for the Germans, it put them behind schedule to reach Moscow. The Nazis were racing against the brutal winter of Russia. Furthermore they had used up more resources then anticipated and their supply lines were already beginning to be stretched. 

The Battle of Smolensk is notable as causing the first tactical rift between Hitler and his field generals. While the Center Army wanted to press full on to Moscow, Hitler ordered a detachment be pulled from their army to join the Southern Army in a pincer tactic at Kiev. At the time Hitler felt the Soviets were already defeated and saw more value in the agriculture of Kiev, rather then the capital city of Moscow. This essentially allowed Stalin more time to prepare the defenses of Moscow. The Battle of Kiev was another decisive victory for the Nazis, and they achieved one of the largest encirclements in history (taking 600,000 Soviets prisoner). It was a massive victory for Hitler, just as he had envisioned, however it came at great cost. The full assault on Kiev, delayed the push to Moscow, to late September which made for terrible weather conditions. 

After the victory at Kiev, the southern army was riding high and had the majority of the manpower and resources. The German Army captured the industrial city of Kharkov in October. Meanwhile the Romanian Army joined them to lay siege to Odessa from Aug-Oct as well as in Crimea and the Donbas region. The German Southern Army also achieved a massive victory in the central city of Uman, once again encircling another 100,000 Soviet prisoners. These POWs were put into labor camps to contribute to the war effort. Hitler intended for the southern army to keep pushing towards Stalingrad however by October they ran into very muddy conditions. Similar to the north and central armies, their supply lines had also been far too stretched. By late winter of 1941-1942, the southern army went into a winter pause to prepare for the siege of Sevastopol and Stalingrad. 

Siege of Leningrad

Meanwhile the German northern army had reached Leningrad by September 8th to begin laying siege to the current city of St. Petersburg. To further add injury to insult, the German army was joined by the Finnish resistance seeking to regain lost territory after the Winter War of 1939. Hitler gave orders that the city was to be bombarded, blockaded, systemically starved, and completely erased. He did not seek to capture the city, the same way he did for Kiev or Moscow. Thus the intent was for a long-term siege, not a ground force invasion, which lasted for 872 days. It became the most destructive siege in history, causing 1.5 million Soviet deaths.

Despite this 2 year bombardment however the people of Leningrad showed incredible resilience. Underground facilities were established to continue normal operations such as education or social functions. Meanwhile production in the urban factories continued despite the destroyed roofs or walls. Starvation became the main issue, when their central food hub, the Badaev warehouse was targeted and destroyed by the Nazis. Stalin coordinated air drop shipments as well as a supply line from the frozen Lake Ladoga to bring food into the city. The greatest act of defiance and moral boosting came from Shostakovich who performed his Symphony No. 7 in the city during bombardment. 

Battle of Moscow

As the capital of the Soviet Union, capturing the city of Moscow was a priority for both Hitler and the Central Army. It was referred to as Operation Typhoon. However Hitler made a controversial decision in August of 1941, by pulling a large division from the central army to flank the city of Kiev. While this was a successful maneuver in the south it ultimately weakened the center's manpower. This greatly frustrated the central command, as it delayed their march on Moscow, which meant they would be facing the brutal winter conditions of Russia. The Nazi supply lines had become outstretched, and the terrain was especially difficult due to muddy roads. 

The German Central Army began their assault on Moscow on October 2, 1941. Their army consisted of 2 million men, broken up into two divisions with the intent to encircle the city as they did on Kiev. The Nazis managed to capture 600,000 Soviet troops on the outskirts of the city (in Vyazma and Bryansk). Despite early losses, the city had time to prepare it's defenses and kept sending in new waves of resistance against the German attacks. The conditions grew especially difficult for the Germans in mid October, when they had trouble moving their tanks and aircrafts thru the boggy mud. To encourage morale, Stalin defiantly chose to stay in the city and ordered a military parade on Nov 7th in the Red Square of Moscow. By December when the grounds froze the Nazis resumed their attack still intent on their pincer maneuver to fully encircle the city.

By early December the winter cold dropped down to -30 degrees, which favored the Soviets and led to their counteroffensive. The Soviet army led by General Georgy Zhukov pushed back at the German's pincer divisions, thru reinforced Siberian armies (renown for their white camouflage suits and ski tactics). The Soviets also launched their their superior T-34 tanks, which were better at navigating in the snow then the German tanks. The Germans were not as prepared for the brutal cold weather as the Russians were and quickly caved to the counteroffensive. By January of 1942 the Central German Army retreated from it's assault. This marked the first major military defeat for the Nazis and the end to the Operation Barbosa campaign. 

Case Blue

Following their victory at Moscow, the Soviets launched an offensive winter campaign in 1941-1942. They were able to push the German army further away from Moscow by 150 miles to the west.  They even attempted to reclaim the city of Kharkov in May of 1942 but were pushed back by the Nazis. The Nazis achieved another key victory that summer in the south when Sevastopol, Crimea was finally forced to surrender after a 250 day siege. This paved the way for Hitler's second major offensive in the southern region, known as Case Blue. The primary goal for Hitler was to take possession of the Caucus oilfields near Baku, Azerbaijan which he felt could bring the total collapse of the Soviet Union. 

Part of the offensive consisted of splitting the southern army into two divisions; Operation Edelweiss would target the oil fields of Baku, while Operation Fischreiher would target the industrial city of Stalingrad, along the Volga River. Part of the plan consisted of a major decoy effort to attack Moscow once again, known as Operation Kremlin (effectively fooling the Soviets). Throughout the summer of 1942 the Nazi armies achieved key victories at Kharkov and the Rostov-on-Don. In August of 1942 Operation Edelweiss managed to capture the oilfield of Maikop, however they met heavy resistance in the region of Grozny. Furthermore much of the oil refineries were destroyed by the Soviets as a form of scorched earth tactics. This army would eventually be forced to retreat.       

In response to this offensive by the Nazis, Stalin issues his infamous "Not a Step Back" mandate in July 28th, 1942. This consisted of harsh policy against cowardice, desertion, and surrender. The NKVD oversaw the policy with strict rearguard detachments which would prevent unauthorized retreats. Furthermore anyone caught fleeing, would not only face execution, but their family would also be punished. This instilled an extremist discipline in the Soviets that they were to fight to the death. This mandate helped the Soviets defend the Caucus Region, but would also lead to the staggering high death toll at the Battle of Stalingrad.  

Battle of Stalingrad

The key to capturing the Caucus oilfields, was to secure the city of Stalingrad which was a main transport hub along the Volga river. This was not only a logistical target for Hitler, but also the symbolic aspect to conquering the city named after Stalin. On the flip side Stalin also shared the similar stubbornness to defend this city at all costs, especially since it was named after him. During the Russian Civil War, Stalin organized it's defenses against the White Army, and thus it held a special place for him (which is why it was renamed from Tsaritsyn to Stalingrad in 1925). The city also had major industrial significance with the production of tanks, aircraft, and heavy machinery. Thus it was a crucial target for Hitler; for it's logistics, the propaganda, and to protect the southern Caucus army. 

The Axis army was led by General Friedrich Paulus with a force of 300,000 that consisted of Germans, Romanians, Italians, and Hungarians. They began their assault in August of 1942 with an aerial bombardment from the Luftwaffe. This was one of the most devastating air bombings of the European theater, 1000 tons of high explosives and incendiaries. The city was bombed intensely for most of August-Sept, which leveled many of the buildings and resulted in civilian deaths of 40,000-70,000. However this destruction would later turn as an advantage for the Soviets, who used the rubble as coverage during the urban warfare battles.

Following the bombing campaign, the Nazis began to advance into the city of rubble, where they met heavy Soviet resistance. It was a battle in the streets, the buildings, the sewers, and all throughout the ruined city, later referred to as a "rat war". Machine guns, grenades, flame-throwers, and Molotov cocktails were frequently in use. Snipers played a huge role in the battle, being able to take coverage at high vantage points. The Soviet sniper, Vasily Zaitsev became a hero during this battle after killing 225 Nazi soldiers. Many times the fighting was so close in proximity that soldiers resorted to hand-to-hand combat, bayonets, and knives. This brutal fight in the streets went on day-and-night for nearly 7 weeks.  

By late November as the weather began to cool, the Nazis were running out of supplies, and the Soviets began to take the initiative. General Zhukov organized the counteroffensive known as Operation Uranus which would be a pincer attack on the German army position. They first began their assault on the weaker Romanian, Hungarian, and Italian divisions before flanking the German forces. The entrapment was quickly achieved within a week by Nov 23rd, 1942. However Hitler gave defiant orders that the army was not to surrender at all costs. He even gave a public speech in Munich that the city would still be captured. Throughout December-January conditions quickly worsened for the Nazis who were forced with freezing temperatures, starvation, and very low morale. 

On December 12th, the Nazis made one final push to break thru the encirclement in Operation Winter Storm. Despite making some minimal gains, the Soviets were eventually able to repel the offensive and tighten their encirclement. Throughout Janurary General Paulus was faced with a massive dilemma of watching his soldiers freeze and starve to death, while Hitler would not allow surrender. Even though Hitler knew the battle was loss, he was now invested on making this a propaganda story that would glorify the Nazi courage. Hitler even promoted Paulus to field marshal, expecting him to commit suicide rather then surrender. The following day however on Feb 2nd, 1943 Paulus surrendered to the Soviets with 91,000 Nazi soldier taking prisoner. The Battle of Stalingrad resulted in approximately 1.5-2 million deaths (300,000 Germans and 1.4 million Soviets). It was the deadliest battle in WW2 and human history, especially for the Soviets however a major victory and turning point in the Eastern theater. 

Battle of Kursk

Following the defeat of Stalingrad, the Nazi propaganda began to fear a turn in the tide. The situation was also worsening on the Northern African/Italian theater due to the Allied advances. Goebbels gave his famous "Total War" speech in February of 1943 declaring all citizens to prepare to take arms and fight to the death. Hitler also began to display more indecisiveness when it came to their next move on the eastern theater. The Soviets continued their counterattack from Stalingrad pushing the remaining Axis soldiers out of the Caucus southern territory. The Soviets made another attempt to re-capture Kharkov in March, but were once again repelled by the German occupants. This victory encouraged Hitler to launch another offensive known as Operation Citadel. He appointed Field Marshal Eric von Manstein to lead the next attack in Russia.  

The city of Kursk (near Kharkov) was chosen as Hitler's next target in Operation Citadel, to attempt to regain momentum in the east. The plan was to break the Russian's line at the middle, and encircle it's forward bulge at Kursk (a similar tactic it would later use against the western allies at the Battle of the Bulge). The German army of 900,000 soldiers with 2700 tanks and 2000 aircraft began their open-field assault on July 5, 1943. They were broken up into two main divisions to perform their iconic pincer encirclement movement. The only problem however is the Soviets knew the attack was coming from British intelligence. Thus the Red Army built up their defenses at Kursk with nearly 2 million soldiers, 5000 tanks, 3000 aircraft, trenches, barbwire, and over a million land mines.

The German southern attack made further advancement, then the northern attack which was quickly stalled by Soviet defenses. On July 12 at Prokhorovka the largest battle of machinery ever fought took place with both tank and aerial engagement. 2000 German Luftwaffe aircraft faced off against 3000 Soviet aircrafts seeking to gain air superiority (500 planes destroyed completely). Meanwhile the Germans fielded 700 tanks (Panzers, Panther, and Tigers) against 1200 Soviet tanks (T-34s, KV1s) most of which were also destroyed. Despite this aggressive clash of metal, the Nazis were simply outnumbered and out-machined and could not break thru the Soviet lines. 

By mid July once the German offensive was halted, the Soviets began their own counteroffensive to drive the Germans back. By this point the battle was lost, especially when Hitler decided to start pulling reserves to send to northern Italy. The Nazis fully retreated by August 23rd. It was one of the top 5 bloodiest battles in WWII with over 300,000 deaths. Much of the fighting broke out into nearby villages in house-to-house and hand-to-hand combat. The German defeat at Kursk marked the final turning point in the eastern front, and the beginning of the end for the Nazis. The Soviets continued from Kursk with their Belgorod-Kharkov offensive, to finally capture Kharkov in August 1943.  

The Soviet 1944 Push

Following their victory at Kursk, the Soviets had all the momentum going forward. This was especially aided with Stalin's new Big 3 partnership with the western allies of Britain and the United States. The Soviets followed up their victory at Kharkov with a campaign along the Dnieper River which included liberating Smolensk on Oct 2nd, and Kiev on November 6th. Thru the winter of 1943-1944 they initiated a southern campaign liberating much of the Crimea region which included victories in Odessa and Sevastopol. Also by March of 1944 the Soviets were finally able to end the 2 year siege of Leningrad and drive the Nazis back from the north. 

By the summer of 1944 the Soviets were coordinating multiple offensives across Eastern Europe reclaiming land the Nazis had occupied. The Nazis were in continuous retreat most of the summer destroying all bridges, railways, and any resource the Soviets might use. In the north the Soviets pressed on from Leningrad and liberated the Baltic regions. They began southern offensives in Romania, Bulgaria, and the Balkan regions. They initiated Operation Bagration to encircle the Nazi pockets and liberate regions throughout Belarus. They also cleared western Ukraine and began their offensive into Poland by August of 1944. Also in October of 1944, the city of Belgrade, led by Josef Tito, expelled the Nazi occupiers. Similiar pockets of resistance were spreading all throughout Eastern Europe, such as in Warsaw, Poland.

Invasion of Germany

By June 6, 1944 the Allies landed in Normandy, France and began their western push on the Germans. The Nazis were now faced with an impossible two front war, being squeeezed on both sides. The Soviets continued their advances into Central Europe and Poland by the fall of 1944-1945. They discovered the first Jewish Holocaust camps in Lublin, Poland on July 1944. They then pushed into central and western Poland during the Vistula-Oder campaign where they liberated Warsaw and Lodz. It was here that the Soviets discovered the Auschwitz camp in January 1945. They also made advances into Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, and Czechia during the spring of 1945.     

By this stage in the war the Soviet Union found itself in a race with the western allies for land supremacy. Furthermore it was agreed by the Big 3, that the Soviet Union should be the ones to take down the city of Berlin. The Soviet army led by Zhukov crossed into Germany on January 31st, 1945 via the Oder River where they began preparing their final assault on Berlin. From Feb-April, they strengthened their northern flank in the Baltic coastlines of Germany and Poland. They also led a campaign on south-eastern Germany, which included key battles Halbe, the Vienna offensive, and the Prague offensive. 

By April 16, 1945 the Soviets began their assault on Berlin, positioned from the east, north, and south. This did not fully encircle the city, however the western corridor was facing the oncoming allied armies who were near the Elbe river (about 45 miles away). By April 25th, the Soviets army established a western position so they could properly encircle the city. Hitler however refused to escape from his bunker, and gave defiant orders that every citizen was to fight to the death. The battle was quite similar to the urban warfare of Stalingrad, leveled buildings, street fighting, incoming artillery shells. By April 30th Hitler accepted defeat and committed suicide. The German army surrendered on May 2nd, 1945 to bring an end to this terrible European war. 

Thru this victory over Nazi Germany, the Soviet Union had proclaimed itself as a new global superpower. Whilst it came at an enormous cost of life, they played the pivotal role of defeating the Nazis on the Eastern front. One can't help but wonder how the war may have gone, if Hitler didn't foolishly decide to invade motherland Russia and fight a two-front war. It's quite likely Germany could of held it's western position against the Americans if it didn't sink so much into the eastern theatre. But sooner or later Hitler would be have been consumed by his antisemitic/anti-slav/lebensraum rhetoric to invade Russia. So it's mostly thanks to the good ole Russians that the Jews were freed in Poland, and the wicked Nazis were defeated.    

Historical Study: Stalin's Dictatorship

So in preparation for my deep dive on the Eastern Front Theater of WWII, I need to better understand Stalin's regime. I've already established the basic components of communism, and the variations of Leninism-Trotskyism-Stalinism. One could say however, Stalin completely moved away from Karl Marx's. Rather than building a system that was to be governed by the people, he instead established total authority. In no way was the government to wither away into anarchism yet rather strengthen thru totalitarian socialism. His vision was one of selfishness, not onboard with the communist ideals of equality yet rather strength thru production. 

In this regard, Stalin was very much similar to Hitler when it came to his government and the cult-of-personality. Even though they had completely opposing politics, they were both total authoritarians. Stalin established a one-party system where any political opposition was violently suppressed, just like the Nazi gestapo. He also enforced propaganda and censorship so that all citizens were to fall in line with the state's policy. Furthermore, both economies of the Nazis and the USSR were nationalized socialist systems with state-controlled capitalism. The only major difference was that Stalin's regime was not influenced by fanatical racism the way Hitler and the Nazis were. Nonetheless they were both equally brutal to any enemies of the state. I suppose it seemed only right that these two glorified dictators should decide the fate of WWII.

I already know plenty about Hitler's rise and fall from power, but now I'd like to focus primarily on Stalin. He oversaw the establishment of the USSR after the Russian Revolution. and the death of Vladimir Lenin. He purged many political opponents, such as Trotsky, and established a brutal system. While he did strengthen and modernize Russia's economy, infrastructure, and military it came at enormous human cost. To put it frankly Stalin did not value human lives, and merely saw them as a resource or means of production. While the nation became an industrial power, the living standards became poor with frequent famines and suffering. 

Stalin's Rise to Power

Josef Stalin was born in the nation of Georgia, 1878 which was part of the Russian Empire. He initially studied at religious schools but got involved with Marxist groups at a young age. He joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party in 1901 where he met its key leader Vladimir Lenin. During this time Stalin helped organize bank robberies and political strikes. He was frequently arrested and sent to exile for his political insurrections. Unlike Lenin or Trotsky, Stalin displayed more of a militant approach then a theoretical approach in his early years. While he helped organize demonstrations during the Revolution of 1905, he was hardly considered a key leading figure. However he was also good at administrative and logistical elements. He joined the Bolsheviks in 1912 as a member of the central committee known as the Politburo. 

Following the 1917 October Revolution where the Bolsheviks seized power, Stalin was appointed as Commissar for Nationalities. In this post he oversaw the diverse regions of Georgia, Ukraine, and central Asia while performing administrative duties. He also was involved in the political administration as well as helping Trotsky with the organization of the Red Army. In 1922 he was given the key role as General Secretary of the Communist Party. Thru this position he was able to control the party's membership and promotions. This helped him establish a network of allies that were loyal to him, which he would later use to consolidate power.   

 Vladimir Lenin did not leave a clear successor after his death in 1924 which caused a power vacuum within the Communist Party. However, the most popular choices would have been Josef Stalin or Leon Trotsky. In order to strengthen his cause, Stalin formed a triumvirate political alliance, known as the troikas of key affluential members, which included Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev. Meanwhile despite having control of the Red Army, Trotsky was not as popular within the political party and was quite sick during this key period during 1924. He was thus removed from his military leadership role and eventually exiled in 1927 and assassinated in 1940. Although Stalin was head of the political party, he actually did not become head premier of the Soviet government until 1941. However, he was still the de facto ruler from 1924 until his death. 

Five Year Plan

From 1927 to 1929 Stalin continued to eliminate all political oppositions who he referred to as the "Old Bolsheviks". As mentioned in the previous post on communism, this demonstrated Stalin's political agenda to establish a totalitarian regime, and not the stateless society that Lenin had hoped for. In 1930 Stalin appointed, Vyacheslav Molotov as head of the government, who was ultimately Stalin's puppet. During this time Stalin began a new economic policy known as the Five-Year Plan, with an intent to centralize the government, and turn it into an industrial and military state. He symbolically demolished the iconic Cathedral of Christ the Savior in 1831 to replace it with a monument to communism (which was never completed). 

Stalin saw this project as his "Great Leap Forward" for the nation to boom the economy with mass industrial production in steel, coal, railways, weapons, and power plants. All agriculture was to be filtered thru a system of collectivization thru the government. Stalin had strict laws against lack of production for both industrial and the agriculture sectors. While the industrial production was achieved, the quality of living was significantly reduced. The working class that had fought so hard to establish a working-class government, had it even worse than before. Under Stalin's regime they were now forced labor, completely controlled and exploited for the good of the nation. They were no longer proletariats of the wealthy bourgeois, but now slaves of the government.   

The Great Purge

Despite some early economic success with the industrialization of the nation, Stalin still faced many issues during the 1930s. The most notable crisis was the famine of 1932-1933 primarily in Ukraine. Stalin blamed the issue on poor weather but also peasant sabotage against his policies of agriculture collectivism. While some of this was true, the famine was mostly caused by Stalin's strict policies of unrealistic quotas, and brutal repression against peasant leaders known as kulaks. Furthermore they turned a blind eye to the famine and even sealed off the affected regions from leaving their land to find new food. Approximately 5 to 8 million people died as a result of Stalin's stubborn negligence. Many historians believe Stalin orchestrated the entire affair so to root out Ukrainian nationalism and insurgency.

Stalin faced further setbacks during the 1930s with the rise of fascism across Europe in Italy, Germany, and Spain. Although he did not care for foreign affairs and the spread of communism, the way Trotsky did, he still knew these regimes were very anti-communist. By 1935 he adopted a new popular front campaign to unite left-wing coalitions against the rise of fascism. This was especially relevant during the Spanish Civil War, where Stalin sent weapons and supplies to aid the Spanish Republican Faction. He also sent military aid to Communist China in 1937 as it faced the invasion of imperial Japan. He sought to establish an alliance with the western powers but quickly saw their weakness in the face of Hitler's rise to power. 

During the mid 1930s Stalin began to grow more paranoid from within his nation but also the events happening across Europe. He had already committed various political purges of the Old Bolsheviks during his ascension to power in the 1920s. However, he still felt he had many enemies within his own Communist Party. In 1934 the mysterious assassination of Sergei Kirov, a prominent politician in Leningrad, began a political witch hunt. From 1936 to 1938 Stalin orchestrated the Moscow Show Trials as weed out all past, present, and future enemies of his state. Once again, the intent was to eliminate all political members who still showed loyalty to Lenin's Old Bolshevik ideals.

The interior ministry of secret police, known as the NKVD, conducted brutal investigations to purge all political dissidents. Any prominent political leader or member who criticized Stalin's regime was sent to gulag prisons or executed. This campaign also targeted ethnic minorities such as Polish, German, Finish, and Baltic people whom he considered potential enemies of the state (considering them as fascist or capitalist sympathizers). During this time the Soviet government also conducted fear propaganda, where any dissident of the nation would also be severely persecuted. Nearly 1 million people were executed during this violent political repression also known as the Great Terror.  

Diplomacy with Nazi Germany

By the late 1930s it seemed inevitable that war was approaching and Stalin would need allies. He despised both the western capitalist nations as well as the fascist nations, however he needed time to build up his army. He therefore appointed a new foreign minister, Vyacheslav Molotov to begin negotiations with Nazi Germany. This would eventually result in the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 which was an anti-aggression treaty between both socialist nations. This was not only a non-aggression agreement, but also would divide the land in eastern European. While the Nazis invaded western Poland, the Soviets invaded eastern Poland, the Baltic States, and Romania to expand their USSR territory.

As a result of this pact, the USSR had vastly expanded their territory, adopting 20 million new citizens. They also now had a buffer zone and a closer presence to central Europe.  Finland however put up fierce resistance during the Winter War and managed to maintain their independence despite some territorial loss. The Soviets also committed terrible genocides against resistance such as the Katyn massacre, that killed 22,000 Polish POWs. Both the Soviets and Nazis remained civil from 1939-1940 continuing trade and peace talks, however there was distrust among both sides. Stalin continued to build up his armaments while the Nazis began their blitzkrieg on the western theatre.

However, Stalin did not anticipate the Nazi's western invasion to move so quickly. By the spring of 1940 the Nazis had already occupied much of France, and sent the remaining allied army retreating into Britain. Stalin once again felt ill-prepared at this growing Nazi military threat, and sought to re-strengthen his alliances. In November of 1940 he sent Molotov once again to coordinate a new pact in Berlin and even considered joining the Axis Powers as a 4th member. However Hitler found this request to be unacceptable as it was against his primary vision of invading the eastern Slav lands to establish his German lebensraum. 

By December of 1940, Hitler had already began to plan his Operation Barbarossa. However Stalin and Molotov continued to push for neutrality agreements, and even had the German foreign minister Ribbentrop on their side. In April 13, 1941 the Soviet Union signed a neutrality pact with Japan. However Stalin began receiving various intelligence reports that Nazi Germany was planning to invade Russia. He thus moved from political chairman to the head of government on May 6, 1941 in case war was approaching. Even though he was already a de facto leader, this ultimately gave him the title of dictator, supreme authority. 

Nazi Invasion of Soviet Union

Despite the many warnings, Stalin still refused to believe that Nazi Germany would invade. It's quite reasonable when you consider that Nazi Germany was still at war with Britain in the winter of 1940-1941. The mere notion that Hitler would coordinate war on two fronts, and attempt to invade the massive Russia (after Napoleon's failure) seemed somewhat outlandish. Furthermore, both nations were still conducting crucial trade necessary for their war efforts. Stalin considered the reports as Western counterintelligence as a way to take Germany's attention away from the west. Stalin thus deliberately decided not to build up the eastern defensive lines as a sign of total faith in his non-aggression pact with Germany. This was of course a fatal mistake and led to an early massacre when the Germans began their Operation Barbarossa.

The Nazi invasion of the Soviet Union began on June 22, 1941 with the aerial bombardment of Kiev, Minsk, Riga, and Sevastopol. Stalin was notified almost immediately in Moscow, and reacted with great shock and still refused to believe it. That morning he continued his denial and told his generals not to retaliate as it must be some form of confusion. However by afternoon numerous reports continued to pour in that the Nazis had launched a full ground assault. Stalin thus reluctantly authorized a full scale mobilization and declaration of war later that day. He withdrew to his country house for a few days, simply stunned by the whole affair. Nearly a week later he came to his senses and gave a public radio address on July 3, 1941 declaring the nation was facing a Great Patriotic War against Germany.

The first couple months were devasting for the USSR, as the Germans conducted a similar blitzkrieg approach they had used on the western front. Stalin gave fierce orders, that every citizen was to fight to the death and not surrender. Anyone who surrendered or fled would be considered a traitor and would be executed. This of course led to a terrible death toll for the Soviet peasants, however managed to slow the Nazi's attack while Stalin reorganized the Red Army. When the Nazis arrived to Leningrad and Moscow, the Red Army was finally able to defend their territory and push them back. By this point the fall and winter conditions grew unfavorable for the Germans and they were forced to draw back from their assault. 

By this point Stalin had now received support from the western allies, and they signed an official Anglo-Soviet Agreement in July of 1941. After Pearl Harbor was bombed in December of 1941, the US joined the war and established a Grand Alliance of Britain, the US, and the Soviet Union. That winter of 1941-1942 things had finally turned for the USSR as they began a counteroffensive to push the Nazis away from Moscow and Leningrad. Stalin turned to his communist industry to focus primarily on the war machine, which quickly mass produced military armaments. He also began a cultural campaign to boost patriotism with a new anthem and new policy that was favorably to Jews, Eastern Orthodox, and equality for all Slavs. Dimitri Shostakovich demonstrated these new patriotic ideals of Soviet resilience in his classical music. 

The Germans regained initiative in the spring of 1942 and Hitler organized a 2nd offensive. This time the focus would be more on the southern oil fields, primarily at Stalingrad. Stalin once again gave resilient orders that the city was to be held at all cost, no more the devastation and life toll. The city was completely destroyed; however the Red Army was able to take cover in the rubble and fight in the streets. They eventually pushed the Nazis back in what would become the bloodiest battle in human history, costing approximately 1.5-2 million lives. The Soviets followed this up with another decisive victory at the Battle of Kursk in August of 1943 which marked the turning point of the Nazi invasion in the eastern front. 

From that point on, Stalin had his army take to the offensive driving the Nazis all the way back to Berlin. He had begun to achieve global fame as a key member of the Big 3 partnership with Churchill and Roosevelt. By late 1944 as his Red Army continued to advance on the German border he began post-war discussions with the allied powers. At the Yalta Conference of Feb 1945, the big 3 came to an agreement that the Soviet army would lead the assault on Berlin, and Germany would be divided into occupation zones. Furthermore the Soviet Union was to declare war on Japan, as the United States finished them off in the Pacific War. From April-May of 1945 the Soviets began their assault on Berlin, which led to the downfall of Hitler and Nazi Germany. Japan would surrender a few months later in August. 

Dawn of the Cold War

At the Postdam Conference of August 1945, the USSR received significant territorial gains in eastern Germany, Poland, and the Baltic States. They also established satellite regimes in the former Axis states of Romania, Bulgaria, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary. This region became known as the Eastern Bloc, which was not officially part of the USSR but still considered a buffer zone of Soviet influence. Stalin's aggressive post war policy would trigger a new hostility with the west that would become known as the Cold War. Stalin broke many of his promises with the allies, and even kept Hitler's death a secret so as to use it as political leverage which led to various conspiracy theories. Within a few years after the war, the US and the USSR emerged as superpowers, facing an ideological war of capitalism vs communism. 

Stalin strengthened his alliance with China and Korea and began serious development of the atomic bomb to match the US. The USSR developed it's first atomic bomb in 1949 and many more after. Throughout the 1950s, there was a nuclear arms race between both superpowers, as well as espionage infiltration on both sides. Stalin continued to live in paranoia and felt a war with the west was inevitable thus continued to build up his military. He later launched a more antisemitic approach in his final years (despite being supportive in his early years). This was due to the formation of Israel and their closeness with America. Stalin led various purges on them, with a belief they had western-sympathies and sought to sabotage the USSR from within. 

By 1950, his health began to deteriorate, and he spent more time in his country home outside Moscow. His distrust of everyone increased as he oversaw the reconstruction of the nation and foreign influence in Eastern Europe. He relied more on his secret police rather that his council of political advisors. He commissioned nearly 1000 statues to glorify him throughout his regime. He stubbornly refused proper medical treatment despite his high blood pressure and heart issues. He died of a stroke on March 5, 1953 at the age of 74. His private life was very secret from the public. He did not re-marry after his 2nd wife committed suicide in 1932. He had three children and various affairs, but was always more dedicated to his work over his family. His funeral was attended by millions and his body was buried on display next to Lenin in the Red Square of Moscow. 

Destalinization

Although this is almost an entirely separate topic worthy of its own post, I can't finish a study on Stalin's dictatorship without the aftermath. Following Stalin's death in 1953 there was no clear successor and once again a power vacuum for control (the same as in 1924 after Lenin died). Nikkita Khruschev was able to consolidate power thru political maneuvering (the same way Stalin had) and eventually became the top leader of the nation. During his service at the Battle of Stalingrad, Nikkita saw the horrors of Stalin's oppression and later sought to repeal the extreme elements of that regime. While still adhering to the Marxist-Leninist ideals of government Khruschev intended to remove Stalin's cult-of-personality, a process referred to as Destalinization. 

Khruschev believed in the authoritarian one-party state however not Stalin's repression, police brutality, censorship, and political persecutions. He also decentralized the state's control on industry as well foreign relations. In 1956 Khruschev gave a public speech which essentially condemned Stalin's reign of terror and total abuse of power. This was followed by the removal and renaming of all buildings, cities, and monuments that glorified him as a savior (the city of Stalingrad was renamed to Volgograd in 1961). Stalin's corpse was relocated away from Lenin's preservation in Red Square and entombed away from public view. 

Similar to Denazification, this was all an effort to return to some normalcy. However unlike Germany, the Communist regime was still in full force under Khruschev. While some of Stalin's extreme measures were loosened, there still were many instances of persecutions, purges, and massacres during Khruschev's tenure. The Cold War with the US actually hit its peak during this time from 1953-1964 (most notably the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962). However as stated before this is an entirely separate topic I'll have to dive into some other time. Even though I already did touch upon this a little bit last year (see Nuclear Arms Race). For now I'm still invested in the Eastern Front theater. 

Political Study: Communism

Within this Nazi-WWII phase of mine, I've now started to pivot towards the Eastern Front theatre. This includes documentaries and eventually a book about Stalingrad. This morning I was actually watching a documentary about Josef Stalin, when it occurred to me. I know a lot about Hitler and his fascist-Nazi ideology but very little about Josef Stalin. He had a cult-of-personality to match Hitler, and ultimately was able to deliver the knock out blow to the Nazis. The Soviet government was also a totalitarian regime, rooted in the ideology of communism. I understand the basics of communism, but not it's variations of Leninism, Trotskyism, and Stalinism. I think it's important to understand the Communist ideology before I properly begin this study on the eastern front of WWII. 

I must confess it was during my later years in college and in Chicago, that I began to somewhat like the idea of communism. A classless society where the wealthy are cut down and everyone is equal. Free of capitalism. I know it was the films Reds and Doctor Zhivago that especially inspired me towards this ideal. Naturally I was still young and enjoyed the idea of revolution and intellectualism. That is until I got a decent jobs and began to value the freedom of our market. Now I mostly see communism as another form of extreme totalitarian ideology, on par with fascism. Despite it's left leaning ideals for equality, I consider myself a hard worker who values freedom and would hate to ever be in a system that puts the state above individual liberty. Nor would I want a form of system that seeks to do away with the government. Anarchy in my opinion would lead to sheer chaos. 

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels developed the political theory of Communism in the 1840s, many decades before fascism. However it did not become a political party until the Bolsheviks established one in 1903. Under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, the Bolsheviks overthrew the Russian Tsardom in 1917 to establish the first official communism government. After WWI, Communism began to spread across Europe and Asia like a wildfire, especially reaching Germany and China. Of course each leader developed their own version of communism, which I want to dive into here. I'll later dive deeper into Stalin's regime in a separate post, but I don't think Stalinism is so different from communism, that it would require it's own post (whereas fascism and Nazism were very different). 

Origins of Communism

This notion of communal living has been around since the prehistoric days where all members of a society were expected to contribute for the greater good. Whether that be hunting or gathering, each person (man, woman, or child) was to work for their membership. This is also a standard principle of many Christian denominations, such as the Amish. Not one person is seen as greater or more important than the other, rather a society of equals. To this day there are many rural societies that live like this, driven by their faith. However to be fair, these societies don't value wealth or material possessions. They value the simpler things in life such as nature, spirituality, and community. 

However throughout history humans naturally developed a system of trade that contributed to a class hierarchy. It's been the primary economic system since the prehistoric days, where some had more resources then others. The wealth exchange first began with material trade, to currency, to real estate and banking systems. In a way it's almost primal human nature, that the strong and smart prosper over the weak. The question throughout history was always what was to be government's role in this free market trade. That was best achieved thru the implementation of taxes which helped keep the government above everything. Yet despite these tax systems there were still the private wealthy class who owned many aspects of trade, land, and even slave labor.

During the Age of Enlightenment, the fervor against private property began to catch steam with new political ideals. The French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau laid the early seeds of revolution against the monarchy in his political manifesto, The Social Contract (1762). Although America and France were able to achieve revolution from the monarchy, private property still remained in tact. There was however a failed coup d'état in 1796 known as the Conspiracy of Equals, which sought to establish a true egalitarian society. Led by Francois-Noel "Gracchus" Babeuf, who sought to establish a new ideal of communal wealth and property. Despite his arrest and execution, this could be seen as one of the first forms of communist revolution.

It was during the Industrial Revolution of the mid-1800s where the inequality between the working class and the wealthy became most apparent. This was a time of industrial boom, where the production of factories led to mass urbanization. The working class known as the proletariat struggled with poor living conditions, long hours, hard work, and low pay, while the wealthy class known as the bourgeoisie lived like royalty. It was only a matter of time before the workers united to establish labor unions and strike against the power elite. This fervor ultimately led to political upheaval and a spread of Revolutions across Europe in 1848. These revolutions were led by the working class societies seeking to establish a new form of nationalism and liberty. They were ultimately all brought down, however it was during this time that Karl Marx established a roadmap to achieving a communist government.   

Marxist Political Theory

Karl Marx was a German Jew who studied law and philosophy at the University of Berlin. During this time he also worked as a journalist where he began to develop his revolutionary ideals. He was especially influenced by the philosophy of George Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel. Marx began to develop his own critique of religion, monarchy, authority, the system of capitalism, and the class society. His writings eventually got him in trouble with the Prussian monarchy, which forced him to leave to Paris in 1843-1845. There he synced up with fellow radical socialist thinkers such as Frederick Engels. Marx and Engels began their collaboration at this time which laid the groundwork for their political manifesto. 

Marx was once again expelled from a nation due to his radical political writings, which forced him to move from Paris to Brussels in 1845. It was here that he and Engels published their most famous political writing, The Communist Manifesto (1848). This wasn't just an outline of the political structure of communism, but how to achieve this state of government. It was thus a cry for class revolution, where the proletariat must rise up against the bourgeois. This pamphlet in essence was the creed of Marxism, the revolutionary ideal to achieve communism. Furthermore Karl Marx established a political party in London, known as the Communist League to put these ideas into social practice.

The key components to Marx's theory was action vs idea (historical materialism), and the only way to properly achieve the revolution was not thru idealism but thru a physical uprising. Marx thus laid the theoretical groundwork of the class struggle and that all value came from human labor. The bourgeois are able to achieve their wealthy surplus by exploiting the working class with low pay. They are also able to maintain the social gap by controlling all aspects of society from the law, culture, media, politics, education, and even religion. Therefore according to Marx and Engels the only way to achieve an end to this inequality would be thru a working class revolution. After the revolution there would need to be a transitional period of socialism (a cooperation between the private and public sector), before complete anarchism (where the government withers away). 

So to be clear communism seeks not only a classless society but a stateless society. In this sense it shares the same end-game as that of anarchism. However where communism differs it that it believes it must happen gradually thru transition. First there must be a socialist state where the government oversees the class equality, then a slow transition to a state without a government. Over time the ideal would be embedded in society as one of self-governing and voluntary equality. However I think it's ignorant to think that people could remain fair and balanced without a government. In a way communism is nothing more then a transitional path between socialism and anarchism. Therefore it could be seen as a branch of anarchism (socialist-anarchism). Once again where it differs is the manner on how to get to that end game. Gradual change vs rapid change.   

Unfortunately for Karl Marx, despite his involvement in public speeches and politics, he never got to see his vision come to reality (aside from the brief 2 month Paris Commune of 1871). He was ultimately the theoretical idealist, who laid the groundwork for the actual physical revolution itself. One of his most famous writings came later in his career in 1867 with the publication of Das Kapital. This further laid out the economic components of communism by pointing out all the problems with capitalism. These writings began to gain major momentum throughout the early 1900s, most notably in Germany and Russia. Marx's political ideals would eventually influence key communist parties such as the Social Democratic Party of Germany in 1875 (SDP), the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) in 1898. These parties quickly branched off to more revolutionary ideals such as Vladimir Lenin's Bolsheviks and Rosa Luxembourg's Spartacus League.  

Leninism/Bolshevism

While Karl Marx believed the revolution would first catch fire in the industrial-capitalist countries like Britain, Germany, or the United States it was not quite the case. It was actually in the feudal society of Russia where the working class began to put Marx's communist ideals into action. In 1895 Vladimir Lenin helped organize the first Marxist political group in St. Petersburg, known as the "Union of Struggle for the Emancipation of the Working Class" of which he was later arrested and sent to Siberia for. This group transformed into a socialist political party in 1898, known as the Russia Social Democratic Labor Party. However by 1903 there was a key split among the party of two factions; the Mensheviks favored a moderate diplomatic approach, while the Bolsheviks favored a radical revolutionary approach. 

The RSDLP joined in the 1905 Russian Revolution, which was essentially a mass movement of worker strikes and resistance against the inept Tsar regime. The revolution however lacked proper organization and was easily squashed by the Tsardom. Vladimir Lenin spent most of his time in the early 1900s in exile for his revolutionary writings (Siberia, Germany, Switzerland, and France). However he still played a leadership role within the RSDLP party, and helped steer it into it's own political party in 1912. The key components of Lenin's Bolshevism was to completely overthrow the Tsarist regime and replace it with a working class dictatorship. This dictatorship would essentially be a proletarian government which would redistribute wealth and land to create a classless society.

Lenin's vision was completely on par with Marxism. He first intended to seize power thru revolutionary force and then establish a socialist transition before a complete communist state. The only major difference was Lenin believed in a centralized form of leadership to act on behalf of the proletarian, whereas Marx felt the revolution should be an organic assembly of the working class. Lenin was able to finally coordinate his coup d'état in 1917 thanks to the unpopular opinion of WWI. The February Revolution was a proper Marxist uprising, an organic spontaneous assembly of the working class that overthrew the tsar. However it's only problem was that it lacked proper structure and leadership. Which is why Lenin was able to easily overthrow this people's government a few months later in October.   

By 1917 Vladimir Lenin put the Marxist ideals into practice by establishing the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic. This became the first socialist government that was centralized into one single party that adhered to the ideals of Bolshevism. Mensheviks and any other political or tsarist parties were quickly disbanded from holding any public offices. The land and industry were completely nationalized and redistributed among the peasants. Factory and business owners co-operated with this new state early on, as is necessary for a socialist state. Naturally however this new radical form of government take-over met high opposition, primarily among those loyal to the Tsar. This of course was scene as a counter-revolution, which led to almost three years of Russian Civil War from 1918-1921.      

Trotskyism

It's fair to say that Vladimir Lenin was a dictator, but not of ultimate authority like Hitler, Mussolini, or Stalin. He was essentially overseeing a transitional socialist government and thus relied heavily on support from his inner circle of Bolsheviks. Lenin was not a cult-of-personality, yet saw himself simply as the chief administrator of the proletariat. He was aided by key affluential members such as Leon Trotsky, Josef Stalin, Lev Kamenev, and Grigory Zinoviev. Trotsky was considered Lenin's right hand man, a Jewish political theorist on par with Karl Marx. He was one of the founding members of the RSDLP however was neutral during the Bolshevik/Menshevik split. He eventually got onboard with Lenin's leadership after the 1917 revolution. 

Trotsky oversaw the counterrevolution effort after Lenin's government was established in 1918. This became a multi-faceted effort to purge all political opponents, thru his establishment of a Red Army. Despite being an intellectual, Trotsky would often travel with his red army to instill discipline and high morale. The Red Army faced various political enemies throughout the Russian Civil War, such as the White Army (coalition of monarchists, and anti-Bolsheviks), nationalist movements (Ukraine, Georgia, Poland), anarchist movements, and foreign intervention (Britian, France, US, and Japan). Trotsky was able to crush all capitalist opponent who sought to bring a swift end to this new communist regime.

Despite his glorious victory of the Russian Civil War, Trotsky's greatest enemy was not anti-Bolshevist rather someone internally from his own party; Josef Stalin. After Lenin's health began to quickly deteriorate in 1922, Trotsky and Stalin suddenly found themselves at odds vying for the succession of authority. Trotsky and Stalin's ideals began to differ significantly from Lenin's Marxist structure. One of the major components of Trotskyism was the desire to spread Communism internationally so that it could continue to compete with capitalism. However Stalin sought to establish a nationalized regime, free of any foreign influence. Even though Trotsky was the smarter intellectual with the backing of the Red Army, Stalin was able to outmaneuver him thru political alliances. After Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin succeeded him as leader and quickly had Trotsky expelled shortly after.  

Stalinism

While Trotsky controlled the Red Army, Stalin sat in a key position as General Secretary of the Communist Party. This enabled him to create a network of loyal allies which included a tri-pact with Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev, known as the Troika. Their sole purpose was to ensure that Trotsky would not become successor. By this point Stalin had developed his own ideology quite different from Trotsky's worldly ambitions to spread communism. Stalin preferred to strengthen the nation thru absolute totalitarian authority. While he managed to eliminate private wealth and ownership, a social hierarchy still existed based on the leaders of the Communist Party. By 1927 in order to avoid any civil conflict, Stalin had Trotsky expelled from the party and exiled in 1929. Trotsky went into hiding in Mexico for some time, but was eventually assassinated by Soviet spies in 1940.

Stalin did not continue Marx and Lenin's ideals of transforming the nation from a socialist to a communist self-governed state. Instead he increased his totalitarian power with secret police, propaganda, censorship, and political purges (similar to the Nazis). It was still a socialist economy, where everything was controlled by the state. Industry, labor, and agriculture were funneled into a system of collectivization where everything produced went to the state. The officials would then redistribute the resources as they saw fit. Peasants still remained like slaves, where any underperformance of their crops would be brutally punished.   

During his rise to power, Stalin established an aggressive Five Year Plan to completely overhaul the nations economy. Although this mostly consisted of forced labor, the infrastructure of the state significant improved with better factories, railroads, and modernized cities. The military strength was also modernized to compete with the growing threats of fascism. However Stalin's society was far from the ideal of communal living, yet rather a dystopian industry of slave labor. The nation underwent various bouts of famine, most notably in Ukraine 1932-1933. Stalin also implemented terrible labor camps, known as gulags, and massacred nearly a million political opponents during the Great Purge of 1937.  

Maoism

These communist ideals eventually spread throughout Asia, primarily China during the 1920s-1930s. Mao Zedong became one of the key leaders of the Chinese Communist Party CCP in 1921 seeking better conditions for the peasants. During WWII, China suffered terribly from Imperial Japan and the need for new leadership was greater then ever. Mao was able to establish a guerilla army of peasants and marched thru the mountains gaining support. Following the end of WWII, Mao's communist faction began to defeat it's political opponents and eventually won the Chinese Civil War. Mao then established the People's Republic of China in 1949 while many of his opponents fled to establish the nation of Tawian. Similar to the USSR this was a communist nation on par with the vision of Karl Marx. 

The differing elements of Mao's version of communism was that it was a peasant uprising and not an industrial one. Also he did not intend for the government to "fade away" as Marx intended, yet rather grow stronger similar to Stalin's totalitarian regime. He established a one-party state, with a cult-of-personality, and dealt with political insurgency thru Red Guard police and labor camps (laogai). He was against imperialism, and more concerned with nationalizing the rural nation thru the system of collectivization. Where Mao differed from Stalin's regime, was that he was considered a national hero of China's independence. He essentially reshaped China into a modern industrial nation and thus became a cultural symbol. His ideals would further influence other communist movements such as the Cuban Revolution (Fidel Castro and Che Guevara), and the American Counter-Culture movements.