Totalitarianism is a form of government in which the national government takes control of all aspects of both public and private life. Totalitarianism occurred after the Czars ended their reign, bringing new leaders with new ideas. These ideas led to the USSR becoming a communist country. Joseph Stalin won the election against Leon Trotsky and was the dictator of Russia during that time, and eliminated any form of freedom in Russia. He abused his power as ruler and caused chaos among Russian citizens. It is important to acknowledge this incident as it led to many casualties and reforms throughout Russia and the lasting effects from the time. Stalin used his power to manipulate his people using fear, censorship, and the persecution involved with the police. Fear was one of the main ways that Stalin used to control the …show more content…
In Russia, one never dared to speak against Stalin because they never knew who they could trust to tell it. Stalin's secret police were always there, even if they didn't know they were there watching. He forced the NKVD to stay in schools to make sure they were getting taught the right things, and even so far children started telling their parents if they said anything bad about Stalin. They spied and intimidated citizens and if anyone dared say anything about it they would murder them to achieve their goals. In document 6, Nikita Krushchev mentioned in his speech how Stalin abused his power and that instead of improving his political correctness he resorted to killing, not only bad people but also people that did not do anything. This is important because it shows he did not care about the people of Russia; he cared that he was still ruler. He killed people whether they did anything or not; he eliminated anyone that got in the way. To conclude, Joseph Stalin played a pivotal role in the rise of Totalitarianism in Russia in many
During Stalin’s rule, he has been the sole responsibility for killing many of the USSR citizens trying to reach his expectations on his view of the country. The horrible tragedies that have occurred during Stalin’s rule was to create a totalitarian government, that would create an unjust view on society, and make the people of the USSR not be seen as the most important aspect of the country. The people had to face the Famine and be at risk of getting killed if they opposed the rule of Stalin, which resulted in the Great Purge. Stalin would gain profit from collective farms and was seen as a betrayal to the people. The methods taken by Stalin resulted in people of the USSR to be uneasy and lose the trust of the citizens.
Stalin used the media in order to convince the Russian citizens that there were saboteurs and spies within Russian population. Stalin used the secret police and military forces to carry out the arrests of so called
Totalitarianism is a form of government in which the national government takes control of all aspects of both public and private life. Totalitarianism occurred after the Czars ended their reign, bringing new leaders with new ideas. These ideas led to the USSR becoming a communist country. Joseph Stalin won the election against Leon Trotsky and was the dictator of Russia during that time, and eliminated any form of freedom in Russia. He abused his power as ruler and caused chaos among Russian citizens.
Thus, the “Cult of Personality” was flourishing. Propaganda glorifying Stalin and Soviet ideals brainwashed the minds of Russian people. Stalin successfully impressed his socialist philosophies on millions of workers and peasants. Over time, socialism transformed into Stalinism, and it took hold. Stalin was able to hypnotize people towards one belief, the love of Stalin. When they saw Stalin being portrayed heroically everyday in the news or on posters, they began to idolize him. Stalin is like Big Brother; he was the main focus and had total power over the people and their actions.
Joseph Stalin led the Socialist Soviet Union in the “Revolution from Above,” a movement to centralize the government and transform society without popular participation . Because Stalin’s radical goals were destructive for the populace to attain, his legitimacy was based on the credibility of his ideological authority . In protection of that conviction, Stalin was in constant fear of competitive initiative and philosophy. Stalin subjected society and culture to strict party surveillance and control, issuing pro-socialist, xenophobic propaganda, censoring literature, art, and media, and launching anti-religious campaigns . In addition to his confiscation of religious property and denunciation of belief, Stalin was
He controlled all the media of the USSR, including books, music, art, etc. He literally controlled all entertainment, as he wanted it all to glorify him. “Stalin could not allow a challenge to his position and anybody who worshipped God was a challenge as the ‘personality cult’ was meant for people to worship Stalin.” (Trueman) This basically means that he wanted his citizens to worship him.
The times with a totalitarian state led by a despot with absolute power, Stalin, was a dark time for many Russians. Since the establishment of the secret police, people had to live in constant fear about the words they say and the actions they commit, in order not to “disappear” into thin air. During the Great Purge or the Great Terror from 1936 – 1938 in the Soviet Union (Gellately, 2007), an approximated amount of 600,000 to 1.2 million people died (Ellman, 2002). These numbers did not conclude all the people that died, since a lot of them went missing and bodies were never found. All sectors of the society were purged, including political parties that were against Stalin. He was always suspicious of betrayals, and therefore under the
When the Commissariat of Nationalities was formed, this was when the problems begun. Stalin had so much power he abused it and put people to death. In the 1930s some famous people known in “show trials” were put to death by Stalin. This was dictatorship at its finest.
Shortly after Lenin died, there was no one chosen to be the leader and the Communist Party got to choose his own successor. It was the choices of between Trotsky and Stalin for control of the Communist Party, but Stalin later exiled Trotsky to Mexico and had him assassinated. After that, Stalin have become a dictator and ruled the Soviet people. Stalin had to face difficulties of controlling a nation and many lives were under Stalin’s rule. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial production and military strength. I will show a variety of impact and changes that Stalin made and conclude on whether ‘Stalin’s
“It is here that Stalin showed in a whole series of cases his intolerance, his brutality, and his abuse of power ... he often chose the path of repression and physical annihilation, not only against actual enemies, but also against individuals who had not committed any crimes against the party or the Soviet Government”
Totalitarianism is a political system in which the state holds total authority over the society and seeks to control all aspects of life. Totalitarian governments in the early 20th century had three traits, which involved: being ruled by a single ruler with unlimited power, they used violence in many situations, and the people of the country were not given political freedom. The totalitarian governments that existed around the time World War II began were Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy, the Empire of Japan, and the USSR. The hunger for dictators such as Hitler and Stalin increased at the time as the great depression hit, and people were looking for someone to take full control and give them a false sense of security.
Totalitarianism is the political concept that the citizen should be totally subject to an absolute state authority. Totalitarianism was common in the world subsequent to World War I and led many countries such as Germany, Russia and Italy to be taken over by powerful leaders. Through totalitarianism, dictators arose and became ruthless leaders, often not stopping until taken down by outside forces. Unstable political and economic conditions lead to the rise of totalitarian governments such as those of Germany, Russia, and Italy and those countries used many methods consolidate their power. Political instability is a major factor which enables extremist parties to take total control of government.
Joseph Stalin used his intellect, and power, to outmanoeuvre his rivals to become leader of the Soviet Union. Using carefully planned propaganda including, painting, statues, and a series of cultivated posters Stalin immortalised and glorified his leadership. These state-manufactured images created a ‘cult of personality' around him, subsequently, creating an image of a heroic worshipped figure, who was associated with every aspect of soviet society. Stalin controlled the media and according to the historian Moshe Lewin, Stalin single handily, ‘become the system,’ (Lewin in Pittaway, 2008, p.137.)
Totalitarianism is a political system in which the state holds total control over the society and seeks to control all aspects of public and private life. To be considered as a totalitarian state, the country must have several characteristics. However the totalitarian states have different characteristics from each other. All the totalitarian states have two things in common with each other. They must have an ideology that applies to all aspects of life and outlines mean to attain a final goal, which is to create a utopian society. They must also have a single mass party (Encyclopedia 2012). The dictator controls the governmental systems. They will get rid of other political parties in that country. They do not like alternate views so they
Stalin started to come to real power after the October Revolution and started to have influence in Russia. Once the Bolsheviks had seized power Stalin was promoted to General Secretary of the Party. Lenin (the leader of the Bolsheviks) was very concerned with the brutal