About this course: The course presents the life and deeds of Joseph Stalin, the leader of the Soviet Union from 1924 till 1953. It analyses the reasons for his actions and their results, as well as the causes of his popularity in Russia today. It offers an analysis of the phenomenon of Stalinism and of its significance for Russia and beyond. In the late 1920s – early 1930s Stalin directed the massive and rapid industrialisation of the country and the forced collectivisation of its agriculture. The industrialisation was based on forced labour, and collectivisation on repression, but both helped to create the material base for the Soviet defence industry. In the late 1930s Stalin unleashed mass terror against the Soviet people, in which millions perished. In his view this helped to rid the country of any potential internal enemies on the eve of the coming war. The USSR, together with its allies, won the Second World War, but at the cost of dozens of millions of lives. Stalin was instrumental in creating the post-war order. The system which he created in the 1930s shaped the USSR as it was during his lifetime and for decades after his death. It also influenced the lives of millions of people beyond the Soviet borders. The course will enable those who take it to develop an informed understanding of the Stalin era and of the phenomenon of Stalinism.
Who is this class for: General non–specialist audience
Created by: Higher School of Economics
Taught by: Irina Filatova, Professor
Faculty of Humanities / School of History
| Level | Beginner |
| Commitment | 10 weeks of study |
| Language | English |
| How To Pass | Pass all graded assignments to complete the course. |
| User Ratings |
Syllabus
WEEK 1
Stalin and Stalinism in Russian History. About this Course.
The first lecture introduces students to the course and to imperial Russia, the country in which Stalin was born. It describes social and economic condition and the political situation in the Russian Empire in the late 19th - early 20th century. The last part of the lecture describes Stalin’s childhood and discusses his personality and the reasons for his turn to radical revolution.
8 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 1.1. Introduction
- Video: 1.2.The Structure of this Course
- Video: 1.2.1. The Russian Empire: the society, part 1.
- Video: 1.2.2. The Russian Empire: the society, part 2
- Video: 1.2.3. The Russian Empire: regional differences
- Video: 1.2.4.Revolutionary Movements in the Late 19th and Early 20th Century
- Video: 1.3.1.Stalin’s Childhood
- Video: 1.3.2. Becoming a Revolutionary
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 1.
WEEK 2
Between the Two Revolutions
Lecture 2 describes Russian revolutions of 1905 and 1917 and the place and role of the Bolsheviks in them. It follows Stalin’s career in the Bolshevik party and describes his activities during both revolutions.
7 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 2.4.1. Bloody Sunday and the 17th October Manifesto
- Video: 2.4.2. The Aftermath of the Revolution
- Video: 2.5.1. Bolsheviks and Mensheviks. Stalin Meets Lenin. Stalin’s First Marriage
- Video: 2.5.2. Stalin’s Revolutionary Activities. In Prison and in Exile
- Video: 2.6.1. The 1917 February Revolution
- Video: 2.6.2. Stalin in the February Revolution
- Video: 2.6.3. The Bolsheviks’ Push for Power
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 2
WEEK 3
The Leader
Lecture 3 describes the creation of the Soviet state by the Bolsheviks, the Civil War that followed, War Communism and Lenin’s turn to the New Economic Policy. It analyses Stalin’s role in the Soviet government and in the Civil War, his crushing of his political rivals and opponents and his route to power in the Bolshevik party and in the Soviet state.
6 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 3.7.1. The First Steps of Soviet Power
- Video: 3.7.2. The Intervention and the Civil War
- Video: 3.7.3. Stalin in the Civil War
- Video: 3.7.4. The New Economic Policy (NEP) and the 10th Party Congress
- Video: 3.8.1. Lenin against Stalin
- Video: 3.8.2. Stalin’s Triumph
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 3.
WEEK 4
Stalin's Revolution from Above
Lecture 4 analyses Stalin’s ‘revolution from above’ and the new social and economic order created by Stalin. It outlines Stalin’s reasons for collectivisation and industrialisation and the way in which they were implemented. It analyses the human and economic costs of Stalin’s radical transformation to the country and its people.
4 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 4.9.1. Stalin’s Abrupt Turn to Collectivisation
- Video: 4.9.2. Collectivisation Begins
- Video: 4.10.1. Industrialisation: the advance
- Video: 4.10.2. Industrialisation: the retreat
- Reading: Creative Art during the Stalin Era
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 4
WEEK 5
The Dictator
Lecture 5 describes the establishment of Stalin’s unchallenged and unchallengeable dictatorship. It gives an outline of Stalin’s terror campaigns and analyses their effect on Soviet society. It also looks in the creation of the new generation of Soviet elite, moulded by Stalin.
5 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 5.11.1. The First Show Trials
- Video: 5.11.2. The Horror Years: the beginning
- Video: 5.11.3. The Horror Years: the end
- Video: 5.12.1. The New Elite
- Video: 5.13.1.The External Danger
- Reading: Everyday life in the Gulag
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 5.
WEEK 6
Stalin's War
Lecture 6 is devoted to political developments before World War II and during its first years. It follows Stalin’s reasons for his Pact with Nazi Germany and its consequences. The second part of the lecture describes the retreat of the Red Army after the German invasion of the USSR (1941-1942) and Stalin’s policy during this period.
7 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 6.14.1.The Nazi-Soviet Pact, Poland and the Baltics
- Video: 6.15.1. The Winter War. The Last Months before the German Invasion
- Video: 6.16.1.The War Begins
- Video: 6.16.2. Soviet Early Losses. Stalin’s Reaction to the Defeats
- Video: 6.16.3.The Siege of Leningrad and the German Advance to Moscow
- Video: 6.17.1.The Battle of Moscow
- Video: 6.18.1. The German Summer Offensive, 1942
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 6.
WEEK 7
Stalin's Victory
Lecture 7 covers the period from the 1943 offensives and victories to the Red Army’s final dash to Berlin. It analyses Stalin’s military tactics and assesses his role in the war and in the making of the post-war order.
7 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 7.19.1.From Stalingrad to Leningrad
- Video: 7.19.2.The 1943 Offensive and Relations with the Western Allies
- Video: 7.20.1. The Home Front
- Video: 7. 21. 1. Stalin’s Army Abroad
- Video: 7.22.1.The Warsaw Uprisings and the Polish Question. The Yalta Conference
- Video: 7.22.2.The Dash to Berlin and the Potsdam Conference
- Video: 7.22.3. Soviet Policy in Eastern Europe and Berlin. The Final Split
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 7.
WEEK 8
The Last Years of the Dictatorship
Lecture 8 is devoted to the post-war period, the last years of Stalin’s life. It describes the beginning of the Cold War, Stalin’s policy in Eastern Europe and Stalin’s relations with China. It analyses the Soviet post-war economy and Stalin’s attempt to return to the old order and to rule by terror.
7 videos, 2 readings
- Video: 8.23.1. The Shake-up Begins
- Video: 8.23.2. The Leningrad Affair
- Video: 8.23.3. The Shake-up Continues
- Video: 8.24.1. The Post-War Soviet Economy
- Video: 8.24.2. The Cold War
- Video: 8. 24.3. The New Mobilisation
- Video: 8.25.1.The End and the Heirs
- Reading: Glossaries
- Reading: Soviet Architecture during the Stalin Era
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 8
WEEK 9
Модуль без названия
Lecture 9 analyses Stalinism as a phenomenon, its roots and its character. It gives a survey of literature about the Stalin era, Stalin and Stalinism. It also contains an interview with Oleg Khlevniuk, the top Russian authority on Stalin and Stalinism, author of Stalin: New Biography of a Dictator.
5 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 9.26.1. Is there a Definition of Stalinism? The Roots of Stalinism
- Video: 9.27.1. Why Did the Soviet People Tolerate this System? Why Did They Participate in It?
- Video: 9.28.1. A Long History of Writing about Stalinism.
- Video: 9.28.2. The Archival Revolution
- Video: 9.29.1. Interview with Professor Oleg Khlevniuk
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 9.
WEEK 10
Stalinism after Stalin
The last lecture describes the long process of de-Stalinisation in Russia. It looks into the phenomenon of Stalinism abroad and analyses the reasons for the revival of the Stalin cult in today’s Russia.
9 videos, 1 reading
- Video: 10.30.1. The Beginning of De-Stalinisation. The 20th Party Congress
- Video: 10.30.2. ‘The Anti-Party Group’
- Video: 10.30.3. Khrushchev’s Retreat
- Video: 10.31.1. Kosygin’s Reform
- Video: 10.32.1. Perestroika and the End of the USSR
- Video: 10.33.1. The Early Projects
- Video: 10.33.2. The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution
- Video: 10.34.1. The De-Stalinisation of the Early 1990s and the Reasons for the Revival of Stalin’s Cult in the 2000s.
- Video: 10.34.2. Russian Society and Re-Stalinisation
- Reading: Glossaries
Graded: Test for mutual assessment 10.
Graded: Final Test
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Higher School of Economics
National Research University - Higher School of Economics (HSE) is one of the top research universities in Russia. Established in 1992 to promote new research and teaching in economics and related disciplines, it now offers programs at all levels of university education across an extraordinary range of fields of study including business, sociology, cultural studies, philosophy, political science, international relations, law, Asian studies, media and communications, IT, mathematics, engineering, and more.
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Ratings and Reviews
Very good course for interested persons that covers a large part of 20th century Russia.
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MV
The best course to understand the Russian History for 20th Century.
Really nice and interesting video lectures for each chapter.
I really like the friendly atmosphere form other students who check your weekly "homework".
100% recommend.