Source Material: Radio Address

It is particularly important for Stalin, when making a speech as powerful as this, to start by making it clear that what he is saying is for the benefit of the country, and that he understands that what he is to say will not be easy for them to carry out should the need arise: After all, he is asking the Russian people to destroy almost everything they own and have worked for all of their lives in the event of a forced retreat. Therefore, Stalin begins his speech by calling to the people

“Comrades! Citizens! Brothers and Sisters! Men of our Army and Navy!
I am addressing you, my friends!”

By referring to the people as “Brothers and Sisters” and “my friends” he is making it clear that what he is about to say, however nonsensical and damaging to them it may seem, he is doing this in their best interests. As we would not expect someone to give bad advice to the brother, sister or friends, so we expect that Stalin will be advising the people of their best interests in this speech, as this is how he is referring to them. The use of short exclamations helps to convey a feeling of urgency and importance about what Stalin is about to say, as well as communicating the idea that he is addressing each person within the country individually.

Also, by referring to the people as “Comrades” and “Citizens”, as well as by calling Hitler’s attack “perfidious”, Stalin is attempting to stir up the Russian’s patriotism, to show them that, ironically, destroying many of the physical structures within the country, they will be helping to fight off the attack upon the country and help to save Russia.

Again, to help stir up patriotism, Stalin refers to the resistance attempt by the Red Army “heroic”. This will succeed in both encouraging the troops, as well as appealing directly to the troops’ families who are listening to the broadcast on the radio: this helps to get the very people to whom he is appealing on his side from the very start of the speech. For a similar reason, he also makes it clear that it is the “enemy’s finest” who have been beating them, and also that his Red Army have “smashed” some of these already.

The different adjectives used to describe each army’s taking of land are of particular note: Whilst the Red Army has “smashed” the Germans, Stalin uses the far less emotive word “captured” for the German Army’s success. This makes it seem as if the Red Army is actually doing more than Hitler’s Army, despite the fact that it is the Germans who have taken much of Russia, and not the other way around. In this way, Stalin seems to be attempting to make the people feel that their army is far stronger than Hitler’s, and that the Germans will not be able to continue capturing parts of Russia for much longer.

However, shortly afterwards, Stalin introduces the idea that there is a possibility that the Red Army may not hold up much longer, by stating that “A grave danger hangs over our country.”. This marks a changing point in the speech. The introduction to the speech, where it almost seems as if Stalin is not even considering the possibility of losing the war is very much over, and the main topicality of the speech – what the people must do if their region is captured – is addressed.

At the same time, however, he quotes examples from history to show the Fascist Army is not invincible. These historical examples give weight to Stalin’s argument, as they almost seem to serve as proof that since Russia has overcome her enemies in the past, so they are able to this time. Despite the fact that this argument is fundamentally flawed, it still somehow gives weight to Stalin’s argument. Here again, Stalin uses emotive language to communicate the ideas of the successes of the army in the past: Words such as “smashed”, and “beaten successively” communicate the idea that the Red Army did not just win the war, but seemingly eradicated the enemy. Stalin goes on to say that there is no reason why this cannot happen again, and uses similar emotive adjectives: The Fascist Army have made what can be considered only a “short-lived military gain”, whilst the Red Army will make “decisive military successes”.

When Stalin describes the actual acting that must be taken, he chooses to emphasise the scale of destruction that must take place by saying that not a “single engine, a single railway car, not a single pound of grain” must be left to the enemy. Stalin could have chosen to say “any engines, any railway cars, not any grain”, but this would not have been nearly as effective in communicating the utter scale of the destruction which must take place for this action to be successful.

Furthermore, Stalin goes on to say that this is a “war of liberation”, and this statement will not only stir up the patriotism of the people, it will also evoke a feeling that the Germans will take away their basic right to freedom, and that this war must be won at any cost: even the destruction of everything they own. He emphasises how all kinds of people, from “farmers” to “intellectuals”, are rising to help fight the Fascist Army, so that every single person who is listening to the broadcast feels that they too can play a part in the defence of their country.

Stalin finishes his speech with an exclamation “All the forces of the people – for the demolition of the enemy!”. This is clearly an extremely motivating exclamation, telling the all of the people how they have a part to play, not just in beating the enemy, but in the “demolition” of the enemy.

Overall, this very effective speech by Stalin evokes patriotism to the Russians who are hearing it, and very much achieves its aim of convincing them that they may have to destroy much of their country in order to save the country’s identity.