In 1922, Joseph Stalin rose to ultimate power in the Soviet Union and until his death in 1953 he exercised extreme force to keep control of a revolutionised Soviet Union. He repressed and oppressed his people murdering 26 million Russians. (Bullock, 1998). Stalin was able to maintain power throughout his rule even though he wasn’t always liked by the common people. Nikita Khrushchev, a former Premier of the Soviet Union and immediate successor, spoke of Stalin during a speech to the 20th Party Congress in 1956. “Stalin used extreme methods and mass repression at a time when the revolution was already victorious.” Stalin was a brutal leader who repressed not only groups of people who threatened the ideals of the revolution but also individuals
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“Stalin showed in a whole series of cases his intolerance, his brutality and his abuse of power,” This claim from Khrushchev is clearly vindicated by Stalin’s actions during what is known as the Great Purges. On the 1st of December in 1934, Sergei Kirov, a highly ranked government official who was making his way through the ranks of the communist party at the time was murdered. ("Purge Trials | History & Facts"). This event had a chain reaction, it led to one of the most the extreme methods Stalin used in order to make sure he held onto total power, the Great Purges. The Great Purges of the 1930’s was shown in many form, one of these being ‘the show trials’ or the Moscow Trials, these trials entailed Stalin putting his political opponents on trial for ridiculous crimes of treason. He did this in order to make sure his status as supreme leader stayed. An example of this is the Staff of the recently replaced NKVD chief at the time. 17 co-defendants were accused of forming an “anti-Soviet Trotskyite centre,” which had allegedly collaborated with Trotsky to conduct sabotage, wrecking, and terrorist activities that would ruin the Soviet economy and reduce the defensive capability of the Soviet …show more content…
As is the case in most communist regimes society lose their ability of freedom, they are subdued to living in an environment where anything they read, anything they know might be fake. In the Soviet Union and during Stalin’s reign as leader this can be best seen in his use of Censorship. The soviet state had control of all forms of media, from print to radio and much more. If people were to rebel, they were severely punished and often sent to labour camps. ("Life In USSR Under Stalin - History Learning Site"). A key example of the use of censorship by Joseph Stalin was the personality cult, this is cult was one that artists would paint pictures of Stalin glorifying him, also those who wrote poems and novels had to centre their work around glorifying Stalin. This was an attempt by Stalin to make himself seem more kind, he tried to be seen as the ‘father’ of Russia. ("Life In USSR Under Stalin - History Learning Site"). This endeavour to censor what was actually happening in the Soviet Union led to artists and writers either committing suicide or trying to leave the country in order to get away from their depressed states. A key example of his personality cult was his 70th birthday where a gigantic portrait of Stalin
“Stalin showed in a whole series of cases his intolerance, his brutality and his abuse of power,” This claim from Khrushchev is clearly vindicated by Stalin’s actions during what is known as the Great Purges. On the 1st of December in 1934, Sergei Kirov, a highly ranked government official who was making his way through the ranks of the communist party at the time was murdered. ("Purge Trials | History & Facts"). This event had a chain reaction, it led to one of the most the extreme methods Stalin used in order to make sure he held onto total power, the Great Purges. The Great Purges of the 1930’s was shown in many form, one of these being ‘the show trials’ or the Moscow Trials, these trials entailed Stalin putting his political opponents on trial for ridiculous crimes of treason. He did this in order to make sure his status as supreme leader stayed. An example of this is the Staff of the recently replaced NKVD chief at the time. 17 co-defendants were accused of forming an “anti-Soviet Trotskyite centre,” which had allegedly collaborated with Trotsky to conduct sabotage, wrecking, and terrorist activities that would ruin the Soviet economy and reduce the defensive capability of the Soviet …show more content…
As is the case in most communist regimes society lose their ability of freedom, they are subdued to living in an environment where anything they read, anything they know might be fake. In the Soviet Union and during Stalin’s reign as leader this can be best seen in his use of Censorship. The soviet state had control of all forms of media, from print to radio and much more. If people were to rebel, they were severely punished and often sent to labour camps. ("Life In USSR Under Stalin - History Learning Site"). A key example of the use of censorship by Joseph Stalin was the personality cult, this is cult was one that artists would paint pictures of Stalin glorifying him, also those who wrote poems and novels had to centre their work around glorifying Stalin. This was an attempt by Stalin to make himself seem more kind, he tried to be seen as the ‘father’ of Russia. ("Life In USSR Under Stalin - History Learning Site"). This endeavour to censor what was actually happening in the Soviet Union led to artists and writers either committing suicide or trying to leave the country in order to get away from their depressed states. A key example of his personality cult was his 70th birthday where a gigantic portrait of Stalin