How Does Stalin Deserve The Great Purges

Control of all the media allows this to happen. Without the permission of the state, no publication, film, art, or music is allowed to exist. Those who suggest the information is incorrect are considered to have committed an act of treason and are severely punished. In fig. 1(Stalin Approving a USSR Model of the Pavilion by Aleksandr Pavlovich Bubnov) the central figure, Communist leader Joseph Stalin, is greeted enthusiastically. The expressions of the happy crowd imply not only that Stalin has broad support, but that he is worshiped as well. In a totalitarian state, not only is the media supervised but the police serves to enforce the central government’s

Joseph Stalin used his intellect, and power, to outmanoeuvre his rivals to become leader of the Soviet Union. Using carefully planned propaganda including, painting, statues, and a series of cultivated posters Stalin immortalised and glorified his leadership. These state-manufactured images created a ‘cult of personality' around him, subsequently, creating an image of a heroic worshipped figure, who was associated with every aspect of soviet society. Stalin controlled the media and according to the historian Moshe Lewin, Stalin single handily, ‘become the system,’ (Lewin in Pittaway, 2008, p.137.)

Part of what helped Stalin attain so much power and therefore get so corrupt was all of this taking advantage of not completely set rules. But why did he want to take advantage of this for power? He did this because of his power-hungry personality.

This highlighted not only Stalin’s fear of being subsided as leader of the USSR, but his ruthlessness in the face of opposition. Then followed the 1936 Show Trials, in which there were many arrests of party members, ex-opponents, military figures and non-party members. The first involved Zinoviev, Kamanev and their allies, who confessed under force for falsified crimes of being responsible for attempts to wreck Soviet industry and to kill Soviet leaders, and subsequently were shot after being convicted. The second followed in January 1937, in which Karl Radek, a well known Trotskyite and Pyatakov was shot, again on falsified crimes. In March 1938, Bukharin and 20 members of the old Right Deviation were tried, and found guilty of working with Trotsky and foreign governments against the USSR. All confessed and were shot, with Tomsky being so crippled by fear that he committed suicide. The Show Trials were a grotesque sham by which Stalin cast immense fear into the hearts and minds of Russia’s political clout, ensuring total control over any opposition through fear alone. Removal of any potential opposition was extended in July 1937 when Yezhov (Stalin’s head of the secret police from 1936) drew up a list of over 250,000 ‘Anti-Soviet elements’, which included intelligentsia such as artists, writers, musicians, priests and so forth. This became known as the Anti-Soviet List, ad anyone unfortunate enough to be found on it was arrested,

The purges not only impacted those openly opposed to Stalin and party members, but had devastating effects on ordinary people too, also resulting in the prevention of progress in the Soviet community, impacting it’s future. During Stalin's rule of the country over 20 million people were sent to labor camps of the Gulag, where nearly half of them died. Fear of losing his power and dictatorship led Stalin to believe that the educated would be most likely to challenge his authority. The origins of Stalin’s lower class background are rumoured to have left him feeling inferior towards the educated class, also leading to obsessive determination to remove the threat. Subsequently, scientists, doctors and engineers, became targets, and were also imprisoned and killed. As a consequence, the execution of Russia’s educated during the Terror, stopped the social development and growth in the Soviet initiated after the revolution, predominantly in the area of science and technology. Many people in Russia believed everything Stalin said, with most blinded by the vision of a father figure of authority who would do them no harm. If anyone

Stalin used the media in order to convince the Russian citizens that there were saboteurs and spies within Russian population. Stalin used the secret police and military forces to carry out the arrests of so called

The Great Terror was a horrific time for the Soviet’s people. They suffered so much and everyone, not just the Soviet students, should remember this. During the late 1930’s, Joseph Stalin basically went mad and was out of control. His actions took forms of mass arrests, forced labor, show trials, and executions. According to document C, during 1937 to 1938, the NKVD detained 1,548,366 victims and 681,692 of those were killed by a shot. Also from document C, on an average at least one thousand executions took place. The people of the Soviet Union suffered greatly and all generations should take note of this so that it could never occur

Stalin’s cult of personality, derived through propaganda, censorship and education, was an essential element of Stalinism which had a significant impact on the society and culture of the Soviet State between until 1941. Stalin’s 50th birthday on 21 December 1929 initiated the moment in Stalin’s dictatorship in which the leader became an object of worship. Millions of party member came to compare Stalin to Lenin, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. Eventually the cult of Stalin saw him as a political, military, scientific and philosophical genius. While the people feared Stalin, they were still drawn to his patriotism and love for the Motherland.

Why was Joseph Stalin a dictator? If he wasn't a dictator, nobody has ever been. He had total control of the country, where people worked, where they lived, even what crops were planted and what was sold, and anybody who spoke out against the Communist party, or Stalin could be imprisoned or killed. Millions were killed under Stalin, some say even more than under Hitler, mainly because the Soviet Union was such a vast country. So, Joseph Stalin (1878-1953) was the dictator of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) from 1929 to 1953. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower. However, he ruled by terror, and millions of his own citizens died during his brutal reign. Born into poverty, Stalin became involved in revolutionary politics, as well as criminal activities, as a young man."( Robert Service, A History of 20th Century Russia (1997))"

The concept of Stalinism, being the ideologies and policies adopted by Stalin, including centralization, totalitarianism and communism, impacted, to an extent, on the soviet state until 1941. After competing with prominent Bolshevik party members Stalin emerged as the sole leader of the party in 1929. From this moment, Stalinism pervaded every level of society. Despite the hindrance caused by the bureaucracy, the impact of Stalinism was achieved through the implementation of collectivization and the 5-year plans, Stalin’s Political domination and Cultural influence, including the ‘Cult of the Personality’. This therefore depicts the influence of Stalinism over the Soviet State in the period up to 1941.

Thus, the “Cult of Personality” was flourishing. Propaganda glorifying Stalin and Soviet ideals brainwashed the minds of Russian people. Stalin successfully impressed his socialist philosophies on millions of workers and peasants. Over time, socialism transformed into Stalinism, and it took hold. Stalin was able to hypnotize people towards one belief, the love of Stalin. When they saw Stalin being portrayed heroically everyday in the news or on posters, they began to idolize him. Stalin is like Big Brother; he was the main focus and had total power over the people and their actions.

The NKVD was relentless on seeking and punishing those who threatened the stability of the Soviet Union, per the direction and management of Stalin. While the majority of the NKVD activity included ordinary police work and public safety, there were also secret assassinations and political cover ups done by the secret police department. In a book written by Richard Pipes in 2001, he gave the statistics that, “...during 1937 and 1938, the NKVD detained 1,548,366 victims, of whom 681,692 were shot”. These shocking numbers were only addressing the arrests and deaths by the NKVD, which in the grand amount of total atrocities of the USSR during the Cold War. All of these deaths and arrests separated families and loved ones and created a country divided in fear and

The purges also saw a huge loss of original Bolshevik party members who had taken part in the original revolutions of February and October. It could be argued that the replacement of these individuals, among others, strengthened the party as it reduced threats to Stalin by removing prominent leading members and therefore potential rallying points for other dissidents. Lionel Kochan is of the opinion that `Stalin's purges did of course reveal the existence of widespread dissatisfaction and opportunist sentiment'. If this is true and there was real factional threat in the Communist party, then the purging of dissidents at a time when disunity could be fatal could be seen as strengthening the party and government and through them, the country. Repressed by the ideas of denouncement and the threat of arrest the party was united by fear, this had the added, beneficial effect of deterring outbreaks of resentment at the violence. This is perhaps not the best unifying factor, however, it insured obedience. This effect and the now open positions at the top would have been a strengthening factor for Stalin's position as he could select the individuals who would suit him; he

Joseph Stalin built up this love with the "Cult of Personality". He was glorified with giant statues and monuments. Stalin appeared daily on the cover of Soviet newspapers; he was in every facet of Soviet life. Daily visual imagery of Stalin portrayed him as a Georgian peasant, which emphasized socialist principles of power from the people. In addition, people called him “father and teacher of the peoples” (Runyan 66) and a deity, because he replaced the Czar and the Church. These daily images were engraved in the minds of the people. Thus, the “Cult of Personality” was flourishing. Propaganda glorifying Stalin and Soviet ideals brainwashed the minds of Russian people. Stalin successfully impressed his socialist philosophies on millions of workers and peasants. Over time, socialism transformed into Stalinism, and it took hold. Stalin was able to hypnotize people towards one belief, the love of Stalin. A simple cause and effect: they saw imagery of Stalin portrayed heroically everyday in the news or on posters and they began to idolize him. Stalin is like Big Brother; he was the focus and with the love and loyalty of his people, he had total power over them and their actions.

I do not concur with your statement that Article 112 of Stalin’s 1936 constitution was a factor for the Great Purge. In fact most of the executions and exiles orders were done by only one person, the head of the NKVD. There was a ‘trial’ to proof if the person was an enemy of the people and to deliver the punishment for such person; however, it was technically done by the judicial system of the USSR. In another point, I believe that Article 127 was a factor for the great purge. Article 127 states, “Citizens of the U.S.S.R. are guaranteed inviolability of the person. No person may be placed under arrest except by decision of a court or with the sanction of a procurator.” Article 127 was used during the persecution of the peasants, leaders of