It can be argued that Stalin established a complete personal dictatorship in the years 1929-39 as he eliminated all those who posed a threat to him to enable him to have complete rule over the USSR. This was done through terror purges, social relativism and the personality of cult. Firstly, through the terror he was able to remove all political opponents through the Moscow show trials. These were carried out between 1934-9 where his political opponents pleaded guilty to impossible charges of treason and then were executed. The key defendants that were removed were Trotsky, Kamenev, Buhkarin, Yagoda and Zinoviev.
Under the term of Pyotr Stolypin as Prime Minister (1906-11), hundreds of opponents were hanged - earning the hangman’s noose the nickname - ‘the Stolypin necktie’. Under high Stalinisim in the 1930s and 1940s, thousands were executed and up to 2.5 million ‘zeks’ sent to the Gulags of Siberia. However, many individual rulers did much to change Russian government, despite the apparent similarities. Khrushchev for example, introduced ‘decentralisation’, which involved the creation of the Sovnarkhozy (regional governments). Alexander II also attempted to bring about some degree of devolution with the creation of the Zemstra (regional councils).
Many historians have said Alexander II was considering the formation of a parliament in Russia. Furthermore, the assassination caused Alexander III to rule in reactionary nature in which many counter-reforms were created to limit the impact of the Great Reforms done by his father. This supports the view that the People’s Will were highly unsuccessful, even in the taking out of Alexander II. It can be said that the only example in this period of effective political opposition was the October 1917 revolution, where, unquestionably, the Bolsheviks took power and let their political vision be known. They were extremely successful in both the short term and the long term.
The climax of the Red Terror is often described as “Yezhovshchina” because of Yezhov’s extreme violence and maliciousness throughout the purges. The period in which the purges were at their peak was the spring of 1938 – the pinnacle of Yezhov’s career[9]. From January 23 to 30, 1937 the trial of Seventeen took place[10]. The key players involved were Karl Radek, Yuri Piatakov and Gregory Sokolnikov, each of whom was accused of plotting against Stalin. Once again, through increased persecution and torture, confessions surfaced[11], 13 out of the 17 defendants were shot, and the rest were put into labor camps and eventually died from the severe conditions.
The answer is Stalin’s effective creation of a “cult of personality”. Stalin manipulated all aspects of Russian life and society. The Russian people were blinded by an unblemished atmosphere Stalin had created around himself. Through propaganda and terror Stalin controlled all of Russia like a cult. After Lenin’s death in 1924, Stalin was not the first choice to take over the leadership of the Soviet Union.
In 1933, the Jewish population of Europe stood at over nine million. Most European Jews lived in countries that Nazi Germany would occupy or influence during World War II. By 1945, the Germans and their collaborators killed nearly two out of every three European Jews as part of the "Final Solution," the Nazi policy to murder the Jews of Europe. During the era of the Holocaust, German authorities also targeted
Joseph Stalin truly strengthened this nation to become a widely known superpower, although he carried out mass genocide and created a murderous dictatorship. Historians have viewed him in many different ways, including a psychotic power-driven killer, a military and communist genius, and also the man who transformed the Soviet Union into an industrial colossus. Joseph Stalin should have never taken the role of the USSR’s leader. Instead, Trotsky should have been the one to take Lenin’s place, which would have saved the lives of millions. Joseph Stalin put forth many positive attributes to the USSR, however; the only reason this was possible was through his brutal intimidation tactics used on the nation’s
Half of the 130,000 ‘bandits and criminals’ that were rounded up were executed. A similar process in Shanghai led to 28,000 deaths. These deaths show a massive rise in violence in order for the CCP to get their way and remove China from the people that they do not want. To maintain control, Mao decided to get rid of a whole class;
By 1929, Joseph Stalin who was one of the members of the ‘collective leadership’, defeated the rest and became the dominant force of the USSR. His success was part of a power struggle which began even before Lenin’s death. Stalin’s victory was not inevitable, nor was it a result of his political skills alone. There was a whole list of factors which combined to assist his victory. When Lenin was alive he made several criticisms about Stalin which were not made public.
They killed the Armenians using several methods. First, those who were in the army were disarmed, placed in labor battalions, and then killed. Second, the Armenian political and intellectual leaders were rounded up on April 24, 1915, and then killed. This date is Armenians all over the world commemorate this great tragedy. And finally, the remaining Armenians were called from their home, thinking that they were going to be relocated, and marched to concentration camps in the middle of the dessert, where they would die from lack of food and water.