Why Did Joseph Stalin's Use Of Scare Tactics Essay

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How did Stalin’s use of scare tactics shape the Soviet Union in the early 20th century?
In order to assess the influence of Stalin’s leadership on the developing 20th century Soviet Union, it is necessary to discuss the context of the period. After the elections of 1917, Lenin’s Bolshevik party organized a military coup to take control of the nation.1 Joseph Stalin stood as General Secretary under Lenin, advising him to conduct one of the first and terror tactics under Lenin: The Red Terror.2 After the death of Lenin, Stalin gradually extended his field of influence, eventually becoming the Soviet Union’s sole leader officially in 1924.3 In order to maintain his unchallenged power and control over the population, Stalin utilized multiple terror
Steve Phillips’ Stalinist Russia is a condensed textbook designed for students studying Stalin’s influence over the Soviet Union. Because of its supportive student audience, the text is assumed to be factual, concise, and comprehensive.
After being in published in 2000, the source is relatively new. This is a slight disadvantage because it does not provide information from the perspective of the 1900’s. Because it focuses on matters from this time period, the information is not outdated, even allowing a period to gather all historical evidence to be included in this book. By utilizing this source, I am able to gain objective information regarding Stalin’s rise to power and policies enacted during his time as ultimate leader. While the book is designed to be objective, the author, Steve Phillips, is the subject of natural bias. Like any historical literature or writings, it is not viable to eliminate all traces of bias, as personal opinions can easily leak their way into words. However, this book includes a distinct chapter for Phillips to articulate his analysis of Stalin’s ruling. Here, the author’s interpretations of Stalinist events can be explained separate from the main textual information. This makes the source more reliable, as one can better distinguish facts from

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