Stalin, A Dark Time For Many Russians

J.Arch Getty says that “The Great Terror of the 1930s in the Soviet Union was one of the most horrible cases of political violence in modern history”[i] but was this political terror a result of Stalin’s own paranoia or a necessity to maintain control in Soviet Russia? Robert Service argues that “Nowadays, virtually all writers accept that he [Stalin] initiated the Great Terror”[ii] however historians are careful to acknowledge that Stalin’s paranoia is not the only factor in the creation and continuation of the Purges and the Great Terror. Nevertheless, it can be argued that Stalin’s paranoia did play a

Established as one of the most authoritative and intimidating rulers to have ever walked the face of the Earth, Joseph Stalin was the unmatched communist leader of the Soviet Union for nearly three decades. His regime of fear and terror took the lives of millions, and the implementation of harsh commanding methods consolidated his supreme control over the nation. From 1924 to 1940, the key elements involved in Stalin’s dictatorial regime over the Soviet Union were political propaganda and the accumulation of fear. These aspects resulted in additional governing procedures; the acute censorship of the media and education, and use of the secret police. Together, these components of Stalin’s rule enabled him to manipulate Russian society and

One of the most brutal mistakes made by Stalin was the creation of a GULAG. It is difficult to give a precise characterization of its purpose. The aim of this work is to answer the question, “Can we generalize why certain people were able to survive the Gulag more than others?” To survive the Gulag, many prisoners had to fight with others for food, shelter, and simple medical care. Certain prisoners went into religious and intellectual meditations to preserve at least the appearance of intelligence. The survival required willpower, strength of mind, skills, mercilessness, and a lot of luck.

A leader is defined as a guiding or directing head. Stalin was the leader of the party that was in charge of the Soviet Union. He created a totalitarian regime which brought great suffering to the Russian people. The individual Russian played two distinct roles under Stalin. One role would be that of a person who under Stalin’s system was no different than the person who is standing next to them. Everyone was treated equal in all facets. The other role the individual Russian played was that of a victim. We are able to see by many different accounts that an individual had different roles to play and under Stalin, each role came with a price that sometimes lead to death. The role of the individual Russian played a huge role in Stalin’s aim

In 1934, the greatest purge in history started in the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, or the Soviet Union, upon the orders of its dictator Joseph Stalin. At first, the purge, later known as the Great Terror, targeted the upper echelons of the Communist party. Some of the greatest revolutionaries in history, including Leon Trotsky, were erased from all records. Either killed or exiled, these enemies of the state would be forgotten within years as books and photographs were ‘fixed’ by the state. Yet, this was not enough for Stalin. By the end of 1939, an estimated twenty million ordinary citizens were killed or sent to gulags, where they would eventually die. Many never committed any real crimes. It is easy to draw parallels between George

Joseph Stalin was the Soviet leader of Russia for over 25 years. Stalin was very paranoid and executed anyone he deemed to be a threat. In 1934, Kirov, the leader of the Communist Party and also a workplace colleague so to speak, was murdered, probably on Stalin's orders this is widely acknowledged as the even that started the ‘Purges’. Stalin used Kirov’s death as an example to order massive purges in which anybody suspected of being disloyal was murdered, sent to prison camps known as ‘Gulags’ or exiled to Siberia. This example Stalin used at the start of the purges demonstrates the length Stalin was willing to go to achieve his goals and the level of his paranoia.

Stalin was very harsh and strict about his rules as a leader. He went too far when anyone who didn’t agree with his rules were sent away to Siberian ¨work¨ camps, and for the Ukrainians who wouldn't give up their farms they got all of their crops confiscated. Causing the starvation of 10 million Ukrainian people. When the depression hit Japanese exports to the USA and Europe stopped because they had to focus on their own industries. That cost a lot of jobs in Japan, silk farmers suffered and the rice crops also failed and caused famine. People became frustrated and started to blame the government.They were angry and needed to do something about it. Japan went too far when they invaded Manchuria in 1931. Hitler was a very powerful influential

The Second World War saw an unlikely alliance between the Western Democracies of Britain and the United States and the Communist dictatorship of the Soviet Union. The war against Nazi Germany, and its massive military and technological might, necessitated this alliance; but the vast social, government, and political differences between the two side eventually led to decades of hostility and "Cold War." For much of this time there has been division among historians over what, and who, was responsible for the rise of the Cold War, and in the aftermath of the Soviet Union's collapse in the 1990's, this argument has intensified. On one side are the "traditionalists," who view the Soviet Union, and particularly their tyrannical leader Josef Stalin, as being primarily responsible for the onset of more than 50 years of Cold War. The other side is made up of "revisionists," who claim they have taken a more objective look at the facts and come to the conclusion that it was the United States, and particularly its actions concerning the development and use of the atomic bomb, that alarmed the Soviet Union and brought about the Cold War. The question at hand is whether Josef Stalin was responsible for the Cold War, and while many feel that little compromise can be reached on this issue, there is an argument to be made that the Cold War was the responsibility of both Josef Stalin and the Western Democracies.

Union. Joseph Stalin killed thousands of people, arrested many, and even showed how careless he is as well as the Soviet Union was towards people when they, “took away their dignity.” The Soviet Union had so much pride in winning that the percentages of people that died and detained that they were willing to pay whatever the cost necessary, in this case, “interrogate, torture.” The Great Terror should be in Soviet Textbooks because of death rates, shows the Soviet Union and its leader’s personality.

As Khrushchev admitted in 1956 under Stalin ‘Soviet citizens came to fear their own shadows’. Stalin’s betrayal of the principles of the revolution led to what Lynch has described as ‘the replacement of one form of state authoritarianism by

During the Russian Revolution, there have been many things that have plagued the Soviet Union. One of the major things that many citizens of the Soviet Union will never forget are Stalin and the Great Purges. Stalin released this reign of terror not only on the “innocent men, women, and children of the Soviet Union, but also on many members of his political groups and their followers as well” (Dunn). “The great Purges devastated millions in the form of shootings, labor camps, and starvation. At the end of

Lydia Chekovskaya highlighted the transformation Sofia Petrovna had undergone to closely reflect the state of mind and transformation experienced by citizens of the Soviet Union during that time. As people began to suffer from the purges and other hardships due to Stalin’s incompetence, their minds and logic, much like Sofia Petrovna’s, became impaired leading them to attempt their best ability to rationalize Stalin’s actions. They believed in the party wholeheartedly, though when they finally realized the wrongdoing of the party, it was too late.

The silence of not only Stalin but the whole of the Soviet Union highlights how to the communist party this appeared to be traitorous against the fundamental ideals of socialism. This is emphasised by McCauley as to a cause of why Stalin’s Paranoia continued throughout his leadership, and his personality therefore was responsible for the extent in regards to the terror. McCauley further emphasises Stalin’s intention of creating a climate of fear as a result of this growing paranoia. This is evident in McCauley’s emphasis on the idea that there was set targets in regards to the number of people that had to denounced in any given period. This reiterates the idea that Stalin wished to scare the population and work forces in his party into submission. Highlighted in the figures given to back this up, between 1921 to around 53 the political police overfilled their targets similar to many other work forces such as factory workers and owners. The

The Russian Revolution, specifically Joseph Stalin, and Mayas Rasoki a Hungarian Prime Minister, created very similar situations in the ways that they affected the people living in the areas, and how they maintained their power through the fear of the people. The Russian revolution was started from the horrible impacts that World War I had on Russia. Due to the high taxes, dearth of food, and chaos in Russia the workers began a strike. The Czar lost power and two opposite groups formed, the Bolsheviks and the Mensheviks. Due to their differences, a civil war broke out and the Bolsheviks, the communists, won. A Bolshevik by the name of Joseph Stalin took over and wished for Russia to have rapid industrialization. This lead to different forms of violence but Stalin did not care. Then Stalin began the purges which were very similar to what occurred before the Hungarian Revolution. Stalin decided he needed to rid of anyone, including the government, who were not enthralled with his ideas. He even executed Sergei Kirov a popular party Chief and a member of the Politburo. He then arrested hundred of thousands of people, even from the communist party, and sent them away never to be heard of again. Then he began to hold show trials in Moscow, where he put senior advisors of the government on trials and arrested their families and then put them on trial. He said they committed “crimes”, which really were not, and 3,600 were executed. Stalin ruined families and many lives of Russians

Joseph Stalin had been a charming person, a fatherly figure to some and his dictatorship had not been seen as one in the eyes of many that had been under his rule. Some of the people that Stalin had ruled liked him and did not see him as a bad person or leader, “He (Stalin) was a great popular leader. No revelation about what he did will change my mind” (Oleg Koprbalev). This perception of his greatness is still