Joseph Stalin Research Paper
To what extent was the success of Stalin in retaining power in the USSR through fear?
Section A
It is assumed by most from a Western prospective that Stalin was the sole creator of the Great Purges and his regime was held together by the constant and consistent fear he infiltrated through it. Many historians put Stalin forward as an evil tyrant so much so that he can seem superhuman. My investigation’s aim is to explore to what extent was the success of Stalin in retaining power in the USSR through fear. This argument is still relevant today, as results from recent polls[1] included in my investigation demonstrate that although documents proving Stalin’s terror have been released and studied, a large percentage agree with the opinion …show more content…
The political battles and expulsions he went through in order to place himself in the highest position of power are echoed throughout the rest of his rule. In order to consolidate his power, Stalin made sure the Politburo was filled with members who idealized him and removed any of the Old Bolshevik party. His view was very much that in order to strengthen his party he would have to remove “opportunist elements” [2]which later came to describe anyone who criticized Stalin’s policies. Stalin developed his cult of personality, putting himself forward as autonomous leader who was infallible and who put his country first. Through primary evidence gained by both prose and propaganda posters it is evident that Stalin was not only feared but loved[3][4]. The purges or Great Terror began in the 1930s, after allegedly Stalin ordered Sergei Kirov (a party leader who was becoming more popular) to be killed, this then was followed by a state of emergency purges need to protect the …show more content…
An order signed by Stalin in the 1930s during the height of the purges shows his approval to kill a large mass of people on the basis they were “enemies to the people,”[7] it also extends to killing the innocent wives of the enemies, which would infiltrate fear into society, so that the Russian public would avoid those disliked by Stalin in society in order to ensure their own survival. The propaganda used by Stalin and the NKVD further expresses the threat to opponents, so he could induce compliance as given by the message in the poster translated “We will eradicate Spies, Diversionists, Agents of the Trotskyvite-Bukharinite Fascists!”[8] A piece of poetry from the period critiquing Stalin by O. Mandelstam theorized Stalin felt “every killing is a treat”[9] painting him as madman or ogre who simply pointed his finger at his victims and as documented by his wife, O. Mandelstam was imprisoned in severe circumstances under torture[10]. She also suggests the use of Stalin’s fear society being abused by those who would denounce anyone they
Section A
It is assumed by most from a Western prospective that Stalin was the sole creator of the Great Purges and his regime was held together by the constant and consistent fear he infiltrated through it. Many historians put Stalin forward as an evil tyrant so much so that he can seem superhuman. My investigation’s aim is to explore to what extent was the success of Stalin in retaining power in the USSR through fear. This argument is still relevant today, as results from recent polls[1] included in my investigation demonstrate that although documents proving Stalin’s terror have been released and studied, a large percentage agree with the opinion …show more content…
The political battles and expulsions he went through in order to place himself in the highest position of power are echoed throughout the rest of his rule. In order to consolidate his power, Stalin made sure the Politburo was filled with members who idealized him and removed any of the Old Bolshevik party. His view was very much that in order to strengthen his party he would have to remove “opportunist elements” [2]which later came to describe anyone who criticized Stalin’s policies. Stalin developed his cult of personality, putting himself forward as autonomous leader who was infallible and who put his country first. Through primary evidence gained by both prose and propaganda posters it is evident that Stalin was not only feared but loved[3][4]. The purges or Great Terror began in the 1930s, after allegedly Stalin ordered Sergei Kirov (a party leader who was becoming more popular) to be killed, this then was followed by a state of emergency purges need to protect the …show more content…
An order signed by Stalin in the 1930s during the height of the purges shows his approval to kill a large mass of people on the basis they were “enemies to the people,”[7] it also extends to killing the innocent wives of the enemies, which would infiltrate fear into society, so that the Russian public would avoid those disliked by Stalin in society in order to ensure their own survival. The propaganda used by Stalin and the NKVD further expresses the threat to opponents, so he could induce compliance as given by the message in the poster translated “We will eradicate Spies, Diversionists, Agents of the Trotskyvite-Bukharinite Fascists!”[8] A piece of poetry from the period critiquing Stalin by O. Mandelstam theorized Stalin felt “every killing is a treat”[9] painting him as madman or ogre who simply pointed his finger at his victims and as documented by his wife, O. Mandelstam was imprisoned in severe circumstances under torture[10]. She also suggests the use of Stalin’s fear society being abused by those who would denounce anyone they