How did Stalin control Russia from 1924-1953?

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How did Stalin control Russia from 1924-1953?

Stalin was in control of Russia for nearly 30 years, from 1924, after the death of the Bolshevik leader, Lenin, to 1953, when Stalin, himself, died. He was incredibly brutal, and sent many innocent people to their deaths, or to "gulags" (Russian concentration camps). He had his critics tortured, or removed and was the cause for around 20 million deaths, and even this figure is not exact, as many people simply disappeared from society and were never seen again. He had Russian citizens living in fear and not knowing whom to trust, not even their close family or friends. Yet he stayed in power for nearly three decades, but he only managed to achieve this by using clever tactics to remove his enemies and promote himself as the wonderful, caring leader Russia wanted.

Purges.

One of these tactics was what was known as the Purges. The word "purge" comes from the Greek word Kathairei, which means "to cleanse". Stalin said he was "cleansing" the Communist party of all the traitors to Russia. The truth was that this was just Stalin's new campaign of political terror against the Communist Party