In order to conclude the extent to which the Great Terror strengthened or weakened the USSR the question is essentially whether totalitarianism strengthened or weakened the Soviet Union? Perhaps under the circumstances of the 1930s in the approach to war a dictatorship may have benefited the country in some way through strong leadership, the unifying effect of reintroducing Russian nationalism and increased party obedience.
The effects of the purges on the political structure and community of the USSR can be described (as Peter Kenez asserts) as an overall change from a party led dictatorship to the dictatorship of a single individual; Stalin. Overall power was centred in Stalin, under whom an increasingly bureaucratic hierarchy of party officials worked. During the purges Stalin's personal power can be seen to increase at the cost of the party's. It could be argued that this increasing power for the single leader drawn from his party was due to the need for fast, decisive and unquestioned leadership of the type needed in battle. After all Russia was portrayed by the Soviet propaganda machine as being at war with its own industrial backwardness as workers were urged to industrial `fronts'. If the period of the 1930s is considered, it was a time of crisis. The building tension due to the rise of Nazi Germany making European foreign politics a risky place to navigate, the economic onslaught at home in Russia and the economic depression in the rest of the world making the times harsh. This change then could be argued as being beneficial to the USSR as only a single individual can provide the strong leadership needed, amongst a large group of individuals disputes would hinder the decision making process. However, the idea of the...
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...sful from the Second World War, despite its problems. It could not have done this without the achievements and developments of the industrial 1930s. An industrial decade underpinned by the violence of the Great Terror. Without this motivating fear neither the Five Year Plans nor collectivisation could have succeeded to the extent that they did and as a consequence the Soviet Union would have been defeated. Politically, dictatorship and the purging of factions created unity and brought tighter control over the party. This must have been a benefit during the war. It is the social cost that is difficult to justify and indeed it can not be. The huge human and psychological cost to the people could not have helped morale during the war years. However, politically and economically the purges strengthened the Soviet Union despite the undesirable nature of the technique.
Around the early 1920’s, Stalin took power and became leader of Russia. As a result Russians either became fond of Stalin’s policies or absolutely despised them. Stalin’s five-year plans lured many into focusing on the thriving economy rather than the fact that the five year plan hurt the military. The experience of many lives lost, forced labor camps, little supply of food, influenced the Russians negative opinion about Stalin. Having different classes in society, many Russians had different points of views. For the Peasants, times were rough mainly because of the famine, so they were not in favor of Stalin and his policies; where as the upper classes had a more optimistic view of everything that was occurring. Stalin’s policies affected the Russian people and the Soviet Union positively and also had a negative affect causing famine for the Russian people.
I know you 've heard of a terrible and cruel dictator taking over and killing anything and everything that gets in his way of what he wants, but you might not have heard of this tragic and historic event. The Great Terror, also known as The Blood Purges of 1936 to 1938, was a series of horrific and barbaric assassinations based on the actions of Joseph Stalin. The purges began in October 1936 and ended in November 1938. The Great Terror occurred in the Soviet Union, but mainly in the city of Moscow. The purges were killings that were directly towards government officials, political leaders, leading cultural figures, followers of those figures, and even civilians. The many men and women Joseph Stalin killed or had killed were because they either
When Stalin became leader of the USSR the quality of life and standard of living dropped considerably. For instance the people had no personal freedom. Meaning that they had to worship Stalin as all other religions had been abolished and most churches had been demolished. The people who went into those churches that were left standing were arrested or punished otherwise. Soon there were food shortages. Somewhere between 1932 and 1933 over 6 million people died of starvation. This was the greatest man made famine in history. The famine came as a result of Stalin’s unrealistic goals . Also, people had poor family lives. Abortions came a dime a dozen as did divorces. Wedding rings were banned. There was insufficient housing, as some people had to live in tents. This may be because of workers not working hard enough. Maybe if the workers worked harder they could have received better housing.
Originally platformed by Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin took control of the communist party in 1924 when Lenin died of a stroke. Communist ideals were heavily in opposition to classical liberal values; Whereas Liberalism stressed the importance of the individual, Communism sought to better the greater good of society by stripping many of the individual rights and freedoms of citizens. Communism revoked the class structure of society and created a universal equality for all. This equality came with a price however. Any who opposed the communist rule were assassinated in order to keep order within society. Joseph Stalin took this matter to the extreme during an event known as the Great Purge. The Great Purge, also known as The Great Terror, began in 1936 and concluded in 1938. During these two years, millions of people were murdered and sent to labour camps in Siberia for opposing the Communist party and the ultimate dictator, Stalin himself. In some cases, even those who did not oppose the regime were killed. Sergey Kirov was a very popular member of the communist party and Stalin saw this as a possible threat to his ultimate power. As a result, Stalin order Kirov to be executed. Stalin furthered his violation of individual rights by introducing the NKVD who worked closely with the russian secret police force. One of the primary goals of the secret police was to search out dissidents who were not entirely faithful to the communist regime. This violation of privacy caused histeria en mass in the Soviet Union and millions were killed as a result. The Soviet union resisted liberalism to such an extreme that it resulted in the deaths of millions of people, leading to some of the darkest days in russian
Stalin’s hunger for power and paranoia impacted the Soviet society severely, having devastating effects on the Communist Party, leaving it weak and shattering the framework of the party, the people of Russia, by stunting the growth of technology and progress through the purges of many educated civilians, as well as affecting The Red Army, a powerful military depleted of it’s force. The impact of the purges, ‘show trials’ and the Terror on Soviet society were rigorously negative. By purging all his challengers and opponents, Stalin created a blanket of fear over the whole society, and therefore, was able to stay in power, creating an empire that he could find more dependable.
Stalin’s leadership of the Soviet Union can be best described as a period of terror and censorship. In other words, he was very strict, considering the fact that he created the totalitarian government. In order to create this type of government, Stalin used fear and propaganda. He took part in The Great Purge, which was a campaign of terror that was supposed to eliminate anyone who threatened Stalin’s power. He also relied on secret police, who would arrest and execute any traitors. The online blog, “The Reasons For the Failure of The Russian Revolution”, brings up information on how Stalin planned to rule as dictator of Russia. It has been noted, “This ‘reshaping’ had three main aspects: the elimination of all dissent; the liquidation of all forms of democracy and of working class organisation; the slashing of the living standards of the working class and the physical annihilation of millions of peasants” (Text 5). This quote explains how Stalin wanted to industrialize Russia, which includes the deaths of several peasants of Russia. The Russians did not just die from The Great Purge, but also from Stalin’s Five-Year Plan. The Five-Year Plan was an attempt to industrialize the Soviet Union. It was also a plan for increasing the output of steel, coal, oil, and electricity. He had control over economic resources, including farms and
The cold war was failed by the Soviet Union for many reasons, including the sudden collapse of communism (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) This sudden collapse of communism was brought on ultimately by internal factors. The soviet unions president Gorbachev’s reforms: glasnost (openness) and perestroika (political reconstructering) ultimately caused the collapse of the Soviet Empire. Gorbachev’s basics for glasnost were the promotion of principles of freedom to criticize; the loosening of controls on media and publishing; and the freedom of worship. His essentials of perestroika were, a new legislature; creation of an executive presidency; ending of the ‘leading role’ of the communist party; allowing state enterprises to sell part of their product on the open market; lastly, allowing foreign companies to own Soviet enterprises (Baylis & Smith, 2001.) Gorbachev believed his reforms would benefit his country, but the Soviet Union was ultimately held together by the soviet tradition he was trying to change. The Soviet Union was none the less held together by “…powerful central institutions, pressure for ideological conformity, and the threat of force.
When most people hear the name Joseph Stalin, they usually associate the name with a man who was part of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and was responsible for the deaths of millions of people. He was willingly to do anything to improve the power of the Soviet Union’s economy and military, even if it meant executing tens of millions of innocent people (Frankforter, A. Daniel., and W. M. Spellman 655). In chapter three of Sheila Fitzpatrick’s book, Everyday Stalinism, she argues that since citizens believed the propaganda of “a radiant future” (67), they were able to be manipulated by the Party in the transformation of the Soviet Union. This allowed the Soviet government to expand its power, which ultimately was very disastrous for the people.
One of the worst nations to suffer from Stalin’s great purges in the Soviet Union was not the Russians. Fascist sought to rejuvenate their nation based on commitment to the national community as an organic entity which individuals are bound together by ancestry, culture, and blood which are all super personal connections. However, even though Stalin did enforce Russia of the Soviet Union the main enemies of his were the political opponents and their followers. His most ferocious acts of terror “The Great Purges” took place between 1934 and 1939.
Following the death of Josef Stalin in 1953, the harsh policies he implemented in not only the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, but also its many satellite nations began to break down. There was a movement to distance all of the socialist nations from Stalin?s sadistic rule. In the Peoples? Republic of Hungary, there was much disillusionment with this Stalinist absolutism (Felkay 50). This disillusionment with the Soviet ideal of socialism lead the people of the fledgeling socialist state of Hungary to rise up in revolt, but ill-preparedness and the strength of the Soviet Red Army put down the insurrection within several days.
The Great Terror that occurred from 1934 to 1940 greatly impacted Soviet society due to the enforcement of the Stalinist policy by the NKVD. The implementation of the policy through the purges of innocent individuals and government members, the forced convictions of the innocent during the show trials from 1936 to 1938 and the effects this all had on groups in society such as the intelligentsia, greatly affected the lives of Soviet people making them fearful for their safety and their future. The Terror not only removed dissent from society but also made people fearful.
Stalin started the purge trials to get rid of anyone who didn’t agree with him. The purge lasted from 1936 to 1938. “The purge came as a reaction to dissatisfied Communist Party members who saw Stalin as an undemocratic bureaucrat with an appetite for corruption” (“Stalin’s Great Purge”, 1). Stalin used it as a way to strike fear into citizens and anyone who opposed him. He was able to rule his country with an iron hand. (“Stalin’s Great Purge”, 1)
In conclusion, many soviets citizens appeared to believe that Stalin’s positive contributions to the U.S.S.R. far outweigh his monstrous acts. These crimes have been down played by many of Stalin’s successors as they stress his achievements as collectivizer, industrializer, and war leader. Among those citizens who harbor feelings of nostalgia, Stalin’s strength, authority , and achievement contrast sharply with the pain and suffering of post-revolutionary Russia.
Through the late 1920's when the rest of the world was living it up as the roaring 20's came to an end, Joseph Stalin was setting the stage for gaining absolute power by employing secret police repression against opposing political and social elements within his own Communist Party and throughout society. This power had only been previosly used on groups against the new power of Communism but here it was now leveled against party members and citizen themselves. This was to be the following trend for the next two decades and the start of the "Great Purges."
One impact of Stalin’s autocratic style was his ability to use violence and to create fear within the people to show everyone that he will do anything to rule as long as he can. For instance, Stalin created a young savage military group known as the Red Army. The purpose of the Red Army was to patrol neighborhoods and to see if anyone was planning against Stalin. If they were the individuals were shot dead and executed. They, however, also fought wars with the other western countries. Furthermore, “The Red Army was successful in perpetuating a brutal totalitarian system at home and in Eastern Europe” (“Red Army” 1). Clearly, Stalin became obsessed with power and wanted to rule as long as he could; anyone who tried to overthrow him was shot dead immediately because he did not want a revolution to happen and cause another civil war. Additionally, Stalin achieved that by creating the Red Army he could kill anyone who even thinks about overthrowing him and the government. By creating the Red Army, Stalin was able to become a brutal dictator that ruled for so long, and he was also able to completely suppress the people so he can carry on the communist ideology. The concept of the Soviet Gulag was another effect of Stalin’s leadership style. It was consisted of systems of labor camps, to which millions of people during Stalin’s reign were exiled to. “Approximately, 50 million people from all over the Soviet Union perished in the gulag during Stalin’s reign, succumbing to starvation, exposure, execution, and mistreatment. Anyone who Stalin considered to be a threat or potentially subversive was sent to Siberia” (Catherwood 1). Clearly, Stalin wanted to achieve his goals of making the Soviet Union to slowly become a superpower. In process of achieving his goal, Stalin eliminated anyone that he considered might be a threat to him. Furthermore, Stalin