dec 18, 1878 - Joseph Stalin

Description:

The date is his birthday- Stalin took leadership over Russia following the death of Lenin where he ruled through fear and oppression. Though originally instituted by Lenin, one of the ways he did this was through the GULAG which "reached its peak" under his rule. However one of the main attributes of Stalin's rule is his FIVE YEAR PLANS that he instituted. These plans were an effort made in order to allow Russia to develop more fully in the economic sense. One of his plans was the creation of collective farms where people worked together on the same farm. This plan allowed more industrialization and also eradicated the landowners known as the KULAKS. This collectivization of farms was meant to reduce the amount of food that was being harvested which ultimately lead to many famines like HOLODOMOR.