Rise to Power Stalin first became interested in politics when as a theology student; he began reading illegal the works of political philosopher Karl Marx. He eventually gave up his religious education to devote his time to the revolutionary movement against the Russian monarchy. After becoming involved in the movement, Stalin joined the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party. When the Russian Social Democratic Labor Party split into the Menshevik and Bolshevik factions, Stalin was drawn …showed first 75 words of 680 total…

…showed last 75 words of 680 total…of rapid industrialization, which began with the first Five-Year Plan in 1928. Stalin believed the Soviet Union had to industrialize rapidly in order to strengthen the Communist regime and enable the country to defend itself against foreign enemies. The plan, which was financed by exploiting resources in the countryside, resulted in the near collapse of Soviet agriculture and the deaths of millions of peasants from famine. In the end, industrialization was achieved, but at great cost.