Khrushchev's Rise To Power: The Great Terror

Throughout the 1920's and 30's Joseph Stalin was able to rise to power and build a totalitarian state. After Vladimir Lenin died in 1924, Stalin was able to maneuver his way to the top. Stalin was able to rise to power, build a totalitarian state, and was able to disrupt and transform soviet society by using propaganda.

The Great Terror, an outbreak of organised bloodshed that infected the Communist Party and Soviet society in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR), took place in the years 1934 to 1940. The Terror was created by the hegemonic figure, Joseph Stalin, one of the most powerful and lethal dictators in history. His paranoia and yearning to be a complete autocrat was enforced by the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), the communist police. Stalin’s ambition saw his determination to eliminate rivals such as followers of Leon Trotsky, a political enemy. The overall concept and practices of the Terror impacted on the communist party, government officials and the peasants. The NKVD, Stalin’s instrument for carrying out the

By imprisoning and executing members that opposed his views and were potential threats to his position, Stalin was able to keep control over the USSR by using fear. Hence, this raised up a new ruling elite that he found to be more dependable, as no one dared challenge him for fear of their life.

Between 1924 and 1945, Joseph Stalin was able to emerge as the leader of the USSR and maintain what Kruchev described as “the accumulation of immense and limitless power”. Stalin's rise to power was a combination of his ability to manipulate situations and the failure of others to prevent him from taking power, especially Leon Trotsky. Stalin ruled the USSR from 1929 until his death in 1953. His rule was one of tyranny, a great change from the society that his predecessor, Lenin, had envisioned. During his time of reign, Stalin put into effect two self-proclaimed "five-year

Almost everyone knows what a monster Adolf Hitler was, but most people do not know that one of the great ally leader of World War II, Joseph Stalin, had committed even greater atrocities than Hitler. Joseph Stalin was a ruthless and yet diligent dictator of the Soviet Union, whose rise to power influenced a multitude of major events in his country’s history. Due to Stalin’s impactful reign, he made the Soviet Union become a global superpower, underwent difficult hardships such as the Great Famine in the Soviet Union, and after his death, caused the Soviet Union to go through a process known as de-Stalinization.

Joseph Stalin greatly influenced Russia in the years 1924 through 1932. His rise to this power can be explained by the Russian Revolutionary experience that allowed him to gain authority in Russia. Although historians often refer to Stalin as a ruthless, mindless dictator, he redirected the Russian Revolution to major economic development. Stalin’s character in Russia during the Revolution catalyzed the many events that took place during the time period. Because of Stalin’s ability to both appeal to the masses, and take advantage of events, like Lenin’s death, Stalin was able to rise to power. Essentially, the Russian Revolution fostered the development of Stalin’s dictatorship leading the country into a state of economic growth and influence. The Revolution fostered Stalin’s ability to maintain a central leadership, use violence to gain control, and regenerate a previously disconnected economy.

From 1890-1990, America as a nation experienced constant, dynamic forces from a multiplicity of men and women. When one recalls these people, impactful Americans such as FDR, Henry Ford, Walt Disney, and many others come to mind. However, rarely does one look outside the country for people who created a lasting impact, although certain foreigners molded America during their lives. This particularly applies in the case of Nikita Khrushchev, as despite his status as the leader of another nation, he exerted the greatest influence on America during the time period. Nikita Khrushchev, the First Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union from 1953-1964 and the Soviet Premier from 1958-1964, rose to power in the chaos after Stalin’s death. During his time as leader, Khrushchev took part in many events that defined the climate of the Cold War. In the Berlin Crisis, where a significant number of people were leaving East Berlin for West Berlin, Khrushchev played a key role by demanding Kennedy attend a meeting to discuss the problem, and subsequently disrespecting the young president. Later on, in the Cuban Missile Crisis, where an American U-2 Spy Plane discovered offensive nuclear missiles in Cuba, Khrushchev further complicated the dire situation through his refusal to remove the weaponry. Beyond direct conflicts, Khrushchev sponsored the growth of the U.S.S.R.’s space program, leading to the launch of Sputnik I, and furthering the tense relationship between the Soviet

In 1917, Russia was crumbling into pieces. The World War I was draining all of Russia’s resources. There was shortage of food throughout the country, which left people starving. At the battlefront, millions of Russian soldiers were dying, they did not possess many of the powerful weapons that their opponents had. The government under Czar Nicholas II was disintegrating, and a provisional government had been set up. In November of 1917, Lenin and his communist followers known as the Bolsheviks overthrew the provisional government and set a communist government in Russia. However, in 1924, Lenin died and Josef Stalin assumed leadership of the Soviet Union, which was the name for the communist Russia. Stalin was a ruthless leader who brought

Vladimir Lenin was slowly degrading before Stalin took power. Before Lenin died, he spoke out against Stalin by saying, “Stalin has concentrated enormous power in his hands, and I am not sure he always knows how to use that power with sufficient caution.” (Document 1). As the main creator of the Communist party and the USSR, Lenin warned the public that Stalin’s power was going to get to his head and he was going to become a selfish ruler. This became true when Stalin becomes a full time dictator. He begins abusing his power by creating a police state that brought terror among the public. He forced obedience and crushed any opposition that came in his way. Secret police arrested and killed off any traitors towards Stalin. Stalin, then, betrayed members of the Communist Party. From there, he lofted the Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror against all of his citizens. He killed off anyone that threatened the power and authority against him. Old Bolsheviks and the police themselves were either arrested or eliminated. It is estimated by the end of the Great Purge, Stalin killed as many as 8 to 13 million people. These were all people who supposedly threatened his regime. Even more people got killed, when Stalin started persecuting religious officials and followers. By Lenin’s warning, the Great Purge, and religious persecution, it is evident on how Stalin frequently abused his power during his reign. It also shows how selfish he is towards his

Particularly during the Great Terror under Stalin, the oppression and its effects were truly awful. People could be arrested and even killed just for suspicion of opposing the government. This of course made the people extremely fearful. Millions of others died due to famine and disease. Eventually, the Great Terror led to the execution of more than 700,000 soviet citizens. The soviet political system was not only brutal, it was rigged. The political elite feared democracy and arranged elections in which the people were given no real choice. The fact that leonid Brezhnev received 99.99% of the vote tells a thinly veiled story of political corruption. it is crucial to emphasize this political charade if one is to understand the degree of oppression and regulation that the government imposed on its people, whether it was moving them to a camp in Siberia or a ballet school in Moscow. soviet society was not a free

While under Joseph Stalin, the Great Terror was a time in which had caused constant fear of authority through means that were harmful. It contained the cruelest of tortures, interrogations, and the fearful abuse of human dignity. Joseph Stalin was a cruel leader who had applied vast powers of the Soviet government to control the real, and even imagined opposition to his rule (Doc. C), establishing himself as a dictator. The amount of Soviet people believed to have been killed by Stalin’s government between 1937 and 1938 are around 681,692 people. It is said that around 1,000 people were executed each day (Doc. C).

As one of the leaders of the Soviet Union, Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev was a canny and careful Communist Party functionary who sought to make his country the military equal of the United States and promote its political influence around the world through the policy of detente. While Nikita Khrushchev another leader of the Soviet Union during the climax of the cold, largely pursued a policy of peaceful coexistence with the West, he instigated the Cuban Missile Crisis by placing nuclear weapons 90 miles from Florida. At home, he initiated a process of “de-Stalinization” that made Soviet society less repressive. I think it would have been a good idea to keep Khrushchev in power. Because, although he played major roles in things that could of lead to a global tragedies like the Cuban missile crisis or the berlin wall. Khrushchev was the first of the Soviet leaders who begin the trend of liberalization that ultimately peaked with Gorbachev. He also ended the "socialist primitive accumulation" that spanned all of Stalin 's rule. He also abandoned the concept of class struggle. In actual fact, while “revisionistically" breaking from the industrialization-and-purge era of 1929-1941, he ensured continuity with the immediate post-war era of 1946-1953. In 1966, China’s Communist leader Mao Zedong launched what became known as the Cultural Revolution, in order to reassert his authority over the Chinese government. Believing that current Communist leaders were taking the party, and China

Nikita Khrushchev rose to power after the death of Stalin. He was a leader who desperately worked for reform yet his reforms hardly ever accomplished their goals. He was a man who praised Stalin while he was alive but when Stalin died Khrushchev was the first to publicly denounce him. Khrushchev came to power in 1953 and stayed in power until 1964, when he was forced to resign.

This time period was known as the "Great Purge." Stalin systemically executed anyone who stood in his path. Stalin had millions of people arrested and killed. The government once again changed in its economic status. All private ownership was ended. Industrialization commenced, and the strength of the Soviet's Military significantly increased. The only downfall was agriculture production slowly diminished. This eventually led to food shortages. During this time period the Second World War broke out and drained most of what was left of the already impoverished state. However after the war, national unity was improved and the Soviet Union once again became a super power of the world. (" Stalin and World War II," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 99 Encyclopedia) <br><br>Stalin's death in 1953 marked the end of the supreme power for the head of the Soviet party. Stalin's successor, Nikita Khrushev, marked the beginning of the fall of Communism in the Soviet Union. Khrushev became the first Secretary of the Communists party ("Nikita Khrushev," Microsoft(R) Encarta(R) 98 Encyclopedia). He believed Stalin's actions were unnecessary and harmful to the process of moving the Socialist government to its goal of complete Communism. During his period of control the public was given some say in the government. A new policy of economy was brought in known as "New Course." It helped to balance the agriculture and increase food production so there were less food

The Great Purge was a series of campaigns of persecution and political repression orchestrated by Stalin Joseph from 1936 to 1938 in the Soviet Union. It included a large-scale purge of the