Lenin Coercion Under The Soviet Union Essay

Arbitrary coercion and terror existed in varying degrees in the Soviet Union. Lenin’s sense of responsibility to guide the world to a socialist future combined with the people’s dissatisfaction with the recent years of war and temporary government allowed him to step in as a leader. The party under Lenin was taciturn with regards to its inner workings. While the discretion allowed communism to establish itself, such opacity could not have gone without moments of distrust from the Russian public about the agendas of this new covert government.

Whatever distress existed under the clandestine operations of Lenin’s government is minor when juxtaposed with the governance of his successor, Stalin. Stalin’s dictatorship was the most notable period of terror and coercion under the Soviet Union. He believed that revolution could not be accomplished without violence. He reigned terror on the Soviet Union with forced labor as a means of the rise of his idea of socialism. He was not deterred by the suffering and loss of human life. While such suffering and loss cannot be excused, Stalin was responsible in taking a primarily agrarian society, and putting into

Within a few years, he denounced Stalin’s Terror and the excess suffering he cost the Soviet Union under World War II. Khrushchev’s decision to de-Stalinize was a breaking point for countries like Poland and Hungary. In Hungary, there was an uprising that was suppressed by the Soviet government. This sent the message to the people of the Soviet Union that it was not acceptable to challenge the ideals or actions of current or past governments of the Soviet Union. Thus, continuing the coercing of the Soviet population to remain silent and operate under a government that they may or may not agree with. It is important to note that the KGB, an organization which, among other things, policed political dissent, was established shortly after Khrushchev took