Was terror the main reason why Stalin kept power in the Soviet Union?

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History Stalin Coursework                Edward Mathews

Centre No: 65129                ARW Set 3

Was terror the main reason why Stalin kept power in the Soviet Union?

Stalin used a variety of methods while he was ruling Russia to get the people to do what he wanted and to create an effective working force. He also used these methods as a way to keep power in the Soviet Union. Terror played a major role in his method of keeping power. This essay will show the significance of it and sort the terror from the persuasion.        

In 1934 outside congress Sergei Kirov a leading communist was murdered. This was the beginning of what became know as the Great Purges. The murder, ordered by Stalin was planned because Stalin thought that many of the people in his party were getting to close to power and he did not want any one who could cause influence in the party. Of course Stalin said that Kirov was murdered by a conspiracy out of his control. The purges meant that anyone who Stalin thought could cause influence would be arrested and killed. This meant that Stalin killed politicians but he also killed musicians and singers and artists. Stalin thought that an artist, for example, could cause trouble by painting a picture. Therefore any one who could potentially bring together a conspiracy against Stalin was killed. An example of his paranoia is when Stalin was giving a speech to the factory workers. After the speech the workers clapped for eleven minutes because they were afraid that if they stopped they would be seen as traitors. They were right; when the first person stopped and sat down he was arrested and killed.

A major event in the Purges was when Trotsky was murdered in Mexico. In 1940 Trotsky was killed by one of Stalin’s agents. This was because Stalin did not want Trotsky spreading things in other countries and stirring up trouble. Stalin knew that if Stalin managed this war was inevitable. Trotsky had been a big influence in Russia before Stalin and many people thought that he had good ideas; it was surprising that such a big influence in Russia lost popularity so quickly.

        Stalin also used the Purges in a long term effect. He suppressed the people so much that they were working harder than ever because they knew if they didn’t that they too would be arrested or killed. In the short term he was getting rid of people who he thought could defy him, in the long term he was opening the way for his power. Even if they had wanted to no one dared to speak out against Stalin, no one was allowed any independent ideas. It was almost blackmail as Stalin was telling the people through his violence if they did speak out they would be killed.

        Stalin also used the purges to gain popularity. For example, he killed thousands of officer and men from the Army and for a while the Russian Army was very poor, made up of poorly trained men and little weaponry. Stalin killed these men because most of them had fought under the Tsar and knew that if troops were left on the front popularity would drop. Stalin’s idea was to replace these people with newly trained men who had a great support for the Soviet Union and would keep on fighting for the Russia even if morale was low and would always support Stalin. If left under the old Tsar’s troops if morale dropped they could undermine Stalin and kick him out of power.

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        Another tactic that Stalin employed was getting rid of the “Kulaks” or richer peasants. Stalin did this so that collectivisation would work. He needed to make all the peasants equal. Russia did not have the money to help the poorer peasants so the Kulaks were disbanded. Many of them were killed but a few were starved to death as they did not want to join the collective farming. Collectivisation meant that the farmers had to give everything they owned to the government who were running the farms. The Kulaks did not like this so they refused to work, instead they ...

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