In 1928 Stalin inherited a nation that was huge but backward and weak. He was determined to industrialize the USSR and so he began one of fastest and most dramatic transformations and so he began one of fastest and most dramatic transformations of a country's economy that the world had ever seen. By the time he died in 1953 the USSR could claim to be one of the most powerful nations in the world. It was for this achievement that many people admired him but what were the costs?

At the First Conference of Workers in 1931, Stalin delivered a passionate speech. He commanded the workers of the USSR to play their crucial role in the industrialization of their nation. He said:

"We are fifty or a hundred years behind the advanced countries. We must make up this gap in ten years. Either we do it or they will crush us."

There are many different reasons why Stalin wanted to industrialize the USSR.

The First World War had devastated the USSR. Towns, factories, roads and railways were destroyed. Profitable farmland was ruined or lost to Germany in the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. Millions of men lost their lives. The Bolshevik Revolution itself wreaked more havoc and if that was not bad enough revolution turned to Civil War.

The USSR had a large population, but the majority of the people worked in agriculture not industry.

He needed to change peasants into Industrial Workers. The amount of industry in the USSR was very small. The industry that existed was located in the west of the country. Stalin needed to create more industry in the east. Added to this, transport links between all the regions had to be improved.

Stalin knew that capitalist countries were very suspicious of this new communist nation. The race to industrialize was spurred on by the fear that capitalists would try at every opportunity to destroy communism.In 1928 Stalin was aware that he had to assert his leadership upon the USSR. One way he could do this would be to make a success of his policies, especially by making the USSR strong through industrialization.

What the Russian Royal Family could not do, Stalin would do in 25 years. This would bring him personal glory.

How did Stalin industrialize Russia?