Joseph Stalin is a polarizing figure. Decades after his death, his legacy still continues to spark debate over his tumultuous years as leader of the Soviet Union. This is evident in all four documents, while some praise Stalin as impeccable, others criticize his policies and the lack of political, economic and social progress during his regime. Even though Stalin was behind various human rights abuses, he was able to maintain the Soviet Union during a time of turmoil both domestically and internationally, as a result he gained notoriety as a great leader and supporter of Marxist ideology. Among the first policies implemented towards economic prosperity and industrialization were the Five Year Plans. The first five-year plan called for rapid collectivization of villages in the countryside in order to obtain sufficient agricultural profits to finance industrialization efforts. This period was plagued by violence, unattainable production goals, and the destruction of traditional village life. The Second Five Year Plan began in 1933, by 1935 the term workaholic began to be used to identify those workers who developed new innovations that allowed them to far exceed average production. The term is named after Aleksei Stakhanov who was a miner. (Fitzpatrick and Slezkine 2000) “Speech of the Stakhanovites” includes several speeches given at national Stakhanovite meetings that included members of the Politburo and Stalin himself. From these speeches it is clear that there was a very positive image of Stalin among the workaholics. They all begin and end by praising Stalin and the party. This shows that they clearly supported the policies of the Five Year Plans even though they called for overly optimistic production targets... middle of paper... a change in this image into an awareness that Stalin's repression of dissidents and dissidents l he opposition had real effects on Soviet society and cannot be justified by Marxist and Leninist ideology, instead they were just Stalin trying to maintain his autocracy. Works Cited Fitzpatrick, Sheila and Yuri Slezkine. "NI Slavnikova et al. "Speech of the Stakhanovites"" In the Shadow of the Revolution: Life Stories of Russian Women from 1917 to World War II. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 2000. 331-41. Print."From autocracy to oligarchy." The structure of Soviet history: essays and documents. Ed. Ronald Grigor. Sun. New York: Oxford UP, 2003. 340-50. Press."International seminar 'Stalin Today'" Magazine of revolutionary democracy. Np, 1994. Web. 12 December 2013. .A. Solzhenitsyn, excerpt from Gulag Archipelago. 1973