The Life and Times of Stalin – Stalin, the Red Terror Full Documentary
Stalin, The Red Terror is an expository documentary that explores the life and times of Joseph Stalin, highlighting the transformation of the Soviet Union under his tyrannical rule. While the USSR became a nuclear superpower, approximately 6 to 9 million people died as a direct result of Stalin’s brutal reign 1The estimate that 20 million people died as a result of Joseph Stalin’s rule is subject to debate among historians. Early estimates suggested death tolls as high as 20 million or more. However, post-1991 archival evidence presents a more nuanced picture, estimating 6 to 9 million deaths Wikipedia . Through a combination of voice-over narration, historic footage, and expert interviews, the film charts the legacy of Stalin’s rule on world history along the following timeline:
Born December 18, 1878, Stalin was the son of a poor cobbler in the provincial Georgian town of Gori in the Caucasus, then an imperial Russian colony. The drunken father savagely beat his son. Speaking only Georgian at home, Joseph learned Russian—which he always spoke with a guttural Georgian accent—while attending the church school at Gori (1888–94). He then moved to the Tiflis Theological Seminary, where he secretly read Karl Marx, the chief theoretician of international Communism, and other forbidden texts.
While this documentary explores Stalin's political career, another documentary on DocsOnline, "Stalin, Inside the Terror," explores his mind and private life.
Stalin (Joseph Dzhugashvili) met Lenin in 1905, and over the years, he became a committed Bolshevik, participating in revolutionary activities.
During the October Revolution in 1917, Stalin played a key role as a member of the Bolshevik Central Committee. He supported Lenin’s policies and became an essential part of the Bolshevik leadership.
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By the early 1920s, Stalin was the General Secretary of the Communist Party, a role that allowed him to build a power base by controlling party appointments and administration.
In his final years, Lenin became increasingly concerned about Stalin’s growing power and his harsh methods. In his Testament (dictated in late 1922 and early 1923), Lenin famously recommended that Stalin be removed from his position as General Secretary, describing him as "too rude" and suggesting he was unfit to wield such power.
After Lenin's death in 1924, Leon Trotsky was the most prominent critic of Joseph Stalin, but was outmaneuvered by him and lost his positions: he was expelled from the Politburo in 1926 and the party in 1927, internally exiled to Alma Ata in 1928, and deported in 1929.
Stalin's policy to consolidate individual peasant farms into large, state-controlled enterprises led to widespread resistance from peasants, which in turn led to brutal repression. Kulaks (wealthier peasants) were targeted, resulting in mass deportations, executions, and widespread suffering.
Also, Stalin's Five-Year Plan, which aimed to rapidly industrialize the Soviet Union, was failing due to a lack of realistic targets, poor planning, forced collectivization, harsh labor conditions, and widespread repression
The Holodomor, occurring between 1932 and 1933, was a man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine caused by Joseph Stalin's forced collectivization policies and grain requisitioning. The Soviet government's confiscation of grain and other foodstuffs from Ukrainian peasants led to widespread starvation, resulting in the deaths of millions. The famine devastated the Ukrainian population, leading to severe demographic losses and long-term social and economic damage, while also being a tool for suppressing Ukrainian nationalism and resistance to Soviet policies.
Lady Edwina Mountbatten, an English aristocrat and well-known humanitarian worker, visited the Soviet Union in the summer of 1934. Accompanied by her husband, Lord Louis Mountbatten, they spent several weeks touring the country and documenting the impact of Stalin's policies, including collectivization and industrialization
This still image is taken from a Stalinist propaganda film intended to illustrate farm life in Ukraine during the Holodomor. The image stands in stark contrast to the grim reality of the time.
Although Stalin had been transforming the Soviet Union into a police state since he took power, by 1935 he had become one of the most lethal dictators in history, permeating every aspect of society with horrific propaganda and repression.
This still image from the film illustrates the widespread distribution of Gulags across the Soviet Union. The map highlights the numerous locations of these labor camps, indicating their extensive presence throughout the country.
During the Great Purge (1936-1938), Stalin intensified the use of Gulags. These labor camps were designed to discipline and punish anyone who contradicted his reign. According to Wikipedia, scholars estimate the death toll in these camps reached 700,000-1.2 million, highlighting the extreme brutality of Stalin's regime. .
Hitler had made no secret of his intention to create 'lebensraum' (living space) for the Aryan race in the east by defeating the Soviet Union, eradicating Communism, and removing the 'inferior' Slavic peoples. But, in 1938, the USSR wasn't ready for a conflict. Its weapons were outdated, and its staff was decimated. During the purge, Stalin had executed 20,000 officers, leaving just a few generals who understood modern warfare. Because Stalin wanted to buy time, he negotiated with German Foreign Minister Ribbentrop and signed the Molotov-Ribbentrop non-aggression pact just days before the official start of the war in September 1939.
This still image from the film shows a scene from Operation Barbarossa, the code name for Nazi Germany's invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. This particular moment shows a German soldier setting fire to a structure, which was a common practice during the campaign to destroy infrastructure and spread terror among the civilian population.
Operation Barbarossa began on June 22, 1941, and marked a significant and brutal phase of the Eastern Front in World War II.
The Battle of Stalingrad was a gruesome, close-quarters, block-by-block urban combat in the icy cold Russian winter, eventually resulting in 1,2 million deaths and breaking the back of the German army.
The Battle of Stalingrad occurred at the height of the German worldwide offensive, encompassing both the Eastern and Western fronts, as well as the Northern and Southern fronts. This brought Hitler to a state of complete overconfidence. Against the wishes of his generals, Hitler ordered a series of strategies that later proved unwise. Stalin, on the other hand, was in a desperate position on the eve of the battle. Losing Stalingrad could have meant the collapse of the Soviet Union. Fully aware of the stakes, Stalin gave significant control to his most capable generals, including Georgy Zhukov and Vasily Chuikov.
Supplementary Content: Secrets of Stalingrad
In this film still, you see field marshal Paulus walking in to sign the surrender of the German 6th Army in January 1943. It was the first time a Nazi field marshal was captured. Of the initial 700,000 German soldiers that went into the battle, only 90,000 survived and were captured. The German defeat at Stalingrad launched a Soviet counteroffensive that, within two years, would bring the Red Army to Berlin. This victory was a turning point in World War II and set the stage for the Cold War.
It is important to note that while allies in the fight against Nazism, the US and most European countries saw Stalinist communism as an emerging threat post-war.
Above are the Big Three—Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin—at the Yalta Conference, which was organized to shape the post-World War II order.
In the months following the Soviet victory at Stalingrad, Stalin became an unavoidable figure on the world stage. Both Roosevelt and Churchill realized that the race for Berlin and European dominance between democratic capitalism and dictatorial communism was on.
When the Allied armies were closing in on Berlin, the Big Three—Roosevelt, Churchill, and Stalin—came together at the Yalta Conference. They discussed the division of Germany into four occupation zones, the reconstruction of Europe, the establishment of democratic governments in the countries liberated from Nazi occupation, and the formation of the United Nations.
In front of overwhelming fire power and horrific Allied bombardments, Hitler committed suicide and Nazi Germany capitulated.
In follow up on the successful Yalta Conference, 6 months earlier, the Potsdam Conference was marked by a high level of distrust among the Allied leaders due to the following:.
Differing world views: Stalin believed the West had relied on the Soviet Union's sacrifices for victory in Europe and expected compensation, while the Western Allies saw the Soviet Union as a growing threat to the balance of power in Europe.
Repatriations: The Soviets wanted harsh measures to punish Germany, while the U.S. and Britain wanted to avoid the debacle of the Treaty of Versailles after WWI, favoring more lenient policies to ensure Germany's economic stability and to avoid future conflict.
The fate of Eastern Europe: Although it had been agreed at the Yalta Conference to allow free elections in Eastern European countries, it became clear that Stalin wanted to install communist vassal dictators, beginning with Poland.
US Nuclear Capabilities: Truman's disclosure to Stalin about the successful detonation of the first atomic bomb created additional tension, as it was seen as an attempt to leverage bargaining power
After the war, Stalin imposed colonial control over Eastern Europe through nominally independent but subservient Communist regimes, increasing his subjects by about a hundred million. In 1948, Titoist Yugoslavia's defection from the Soviet camp weakened Stalin's control over world Communism.
To prevent similar defections, Stalin orchestrated show trials reminiscent of the 1930s Great Purge, leading to the execution of many satellite Communist leaders.
Instead of continuing alliances with the United States and Great Britain, Stalin now viewed these countries, especially the U.S., as arch-enemies. Domestically, Marxist ideology was harshly enforced. Andrey Zhdanov, Stalin's chief ideological enforcer, began a terror campaign in the Soviet artistic and intellectual circles, promoting Russian achievements and denouncing foreign ones. Consequently, wartime hopes for domestic relaxation were disappointed.
Stalin lay dead for two days in his room because no one dared to enter without his permission. Stalin had become a victim of his own terror.
This intriguing fact is the subject and central question of the documentary "Stalin: Inside the Terror." This fascinating BBC documentary delves into the mind of Stalin, exploring how he grew into the most ruthless dictator in history, eventually dying alone amidst 300 million subjugates.