Stalin's reign lasted almost thirty years, from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. His reign profoundly transformed the USSR and de-Stalinization is still not fully completed today. While Stalinism and Nazism are often compared because they were the two totalitarian regimes of the 20th century, the Stalinist regime lasted for decades while Nazism collapsed after 12 years, thus raising several questions regarding the particular nature of Stalinist society. What were the key characteristics of Stalinism, thus differentiating Stalin's policies from the theory of Lenin and Marx? Was Stalinism a logical consequence of Marxist theory or a betrayal of communism? From this perspective, one must analyze Stalin's key policies, collectivization, industrialization and the Cultural Revolution, in comparison with Marxism and Leninism and within the framework of communism in one country. Indeed, unlike Lenin who envisioned spreading socialist revolution throughout the world, Stalin believed that in its primary states, communism should remain confined within the USSR. From 1928, Stalinist economic policy was characterized by a break with Lenin's new quasi-capitalist economic policy. The need to protect the Union from possible capitalist and imperialist wars necessitated the creation of self-sufficient industry and agriculture free from market constraints. Industrial policy resembled that of a war economy focused on heavy industries like steel, armaments, and industrial centers were relocated to remote regions like the Urals and Siberia, rich in natural resources. By 1937 the share of small industries had fallen from a third in 1913 to 6 percent (Davies 1989, 1029). This process proved extremely successful on a macroscopic scale...... middle of paper ......lature in revolutionary Russia. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. Getty, J. Arch and Gabor T. Rittersporn. 1993. “Victims of the Soviet penal system in the pre-war years: a first approach based on archival evidence.” American Historical Review 1017-1049. Holubnychy, Vsevolod. 1984. “Collectivization.” Internet Encyclopedia of Ukraine. Accessed May 12, 2014. http://www.encyclopediaofukraine.com/display.asp?linkpath=pages%5CC%5CO%5CCollectivization.htm.Krushchev, Nikita. 1956. “On the cult of personality and its consequences.” February 24-25. Accessed May 7, 2014. http://www.marxists.org/archive/khrushchev/1956/02/24.htm. Martin, Terry. 1998. “The Origins of Soviet Ethnic Cleansing.” The Journal of Modern History 813-861. Viola, Lynne. 1996. Rebel Peasants under Stalin: Collectivization and the Culture of Peasant Resistance. Oxford: Oxford University Press.