Total Control Of The Soviet Union example essay topic

Why was Stalin able to secure his hold on power in the Soviet Union in the years 1928-1941? (15) Between the years 1928 and 1941 Stalin achieved total control of the Soviet Union. His use of terror was an important factor in this control, as was Stalin's use of propaganda and the fact that the Soviet Union was transformed into an industrial superpower Terror was certainly extremely important. The brutal enforcement of Collectivisation and the Purges ensured that any potential opposition to Stalin was stifled. Fear was certainly important in enforcing conformity. The NKVD were Stalin's agents of terror and Soviet citizens preferred not to question the regime for fear of being arrested, imprisoned and either being shot or sent to the gulag.

Stalin also imposed rule from Moscow by a ruthless policy of Russification. Russian language and culture became compulsory subjects in all schools and the traditions of member states of the Soviet Union such as the Ukraine and Georgia were all stamped out. Almost all educated Chechens were arrested and when in 1939 the Baltic states were taken over the inhabitants were ruthlessly forced into conformity with the rest of the Soviet Union. However there was also a great deal of very effective propaganda and censorship, which provided a rosy view of the Soviet Union.

Pravda praised the achievements of Stalin and condemned those wicked counter revolutionaries whose subversive activities had been exposed in the Show Trials. Literature was controlled by the communist writers guild and continually praised the achievements of the new Soviet Union. Socialist realism was an art form which portrayed the heroic new ideal of the working man and woman in as realistic a setting as possible. Many Soviet citizens were thrilled by Stakhanovite propaganda and were eager to emulate the great worker. The media also united society in support of Stalin by concentrating on certain hate figures such Kulaks, priests, trotskyite's and fascists who needed to be stopped for fear that they would destroy the new communist utopia. Young people were also taught to obey the regime at school and in communist youth groups such as Komsomol.

This naturally ensured obedience to the regime from a very young age. However there is no doubt that some people supported the regime because they genuinely believed that it was the best for Russia. The Five Year Plans had made Russia into an industrial superpower when the capitalist world was suffering from the dreadful after effects of the wall street crash. Under Stalin education (especially in the sciences) was improved, more children attended school and for the first time medical health care was open to all. For many people, there really was a sense of progress which they could now feel a part of. In the final analysis Stalin succeeded in controlling the Soviet Union so successfully since during his rule no aspect of Soviet life was left untouched.

His attention to detail and capacity for sheer hard work ensured that the Soviet Union was a total dictatorship.