History Coursework 2, Question 1. In 1928, the newly empowered Stalin embarked on one of the most ambitious industrialisation programs in world history, leading to the establishment of the U.S.S.R as a pinnacle world superpower in less than half a century. Industrialisation was the primary goal of Lenin and Stalin, as well as many communist party members. The Soviet economy had made advances under Lenin's semi-capitalist N.E.P with its slight capitalist elements, but Stalin's five-year plans were far more ambitious and so far riskier. Did the Soviet Union need to industrialise so ...