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Summary A* essay - was Stalin's Russia totalitarian?
A* level essay - Russia revolution and dictatorship
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To what extent did Stalin lead a totalitarian regime in the years 1945 to 1953? (25 marks)Introduction A ‘totalitarian’ regime is a system of
government that is centralised, dictatorial and
requires complete subservience to the state. Carl
Friedrich’s 1950 political model characterised a
totalitarian state as one with control over the
economy, armed forces, party, ideology, media and
terror. This can be seen in Stalin’s USSR in which he
overwhelmingly had a tight control on every
political, social and economic aspect of life.
Point 1 Political control Point 2 Social control
After 1945 High Stalinism emerged which appeared Stalin had successfully achieved a totalitarian regime
to be a new, more extreme form of dictatorship. throughout society by eliminating cultural
The party and its institutions were constantly expression.
undermined by Stalin - this unchallengeable power In 1946 Zhdanovism was launched which aimed to
symbolised a totalitarian regime. increase Stalin’s cult of personality and reinforce
The military hierarchy was dismantled and socialist ideals.
downgraded with High Commander Zhukov being In this period there was excessive praise for Stalin in
demoted in 1948. In addition, there were no party which giant statues were commissioned and 11
congresses between 1939-52 which ultimately cities were named after him, in honour for his 70 th
increased Stalin’s policy making power. ‘New men’ birthday celebrations (Dec 1949-Aug 1951).
were obedient bureaucrats who avoided ideological Historian Gregory Freeze claims he was elevated to
debates. This further shifting of centralised power a “god-like veneration”
and ideological submission to Stalin, consolidated Over fears of a foreign influence tainting the soviet
his power as leader. people, all western culture and ideas were branded
After the war, Stalin pursued his policies with ease as bourgeois and decadent. Anti-Soviet art and
due to the absence of German threat and constantly literature was banned - for example Boris Pasternak
used purges to satisfy his paranoia. For example, in was condemned for his apolitical poems. Zhdanov
1951-52 the Mingrelian Case occurred where many put a total ban on foreign travel and prisoners of
party officials in Georgia were accused of war were seen as traitors and sent to the gulags –
collaborating with Western powers and imprisoned. there were 2.5million in labour camps by 1953.
Minorities were not seen as equal to other central Soviet society was directly and strongly impacted by
Russians and to achieve his totalitarian regime Stalin Stalin's policies.
needed an identity submerged into one where All fragments of society had to be soviet approved
individual rights and freedoms did not exist. reflecting the social submission needed in a
In addition, Stalin relied on party in fighting, rivalries totalitarian regime.
and petty jealousy to undermine his comrades, Limitation
subsequently consolidating his position as the However, there was not as much social control as
supreme leader. Zhdanov was Stalin’s closest political. It was difficult for one man to exert control
advisor until Malenkov and Beria schemed against over a population of 175m people. Stalin was unable
him and engineered his political downfall in 1948. to eliminate the position of the church as an
Although Stalin did not directly intervene here it authoritative figure. In 1937, 57% still claimed they
nonetheless conveyed Stalin as the rightful leader were religious believers. In addition, in February
due to an unfit, quarrelling party. Stalin used and 1947 a law passed outlawing marriages to
manipulated party disputes to his political foreigners- however this extension of Stalin’s
advantage. After Zhdanov’s death in 1948 (where dictorial power was not as widespread as marriages
there are unfounded rumours Stalin was behind it) to foreigners were not common; this had a limited
thousands of party officials, managers and technical impact on mass society and uneducated people
personnel were imprisoned and replaced by pro- (only knew the Russian language).
Stalin communists - most of whom were associates
and followers of Zhdanov (known as Leningrad affair The atmosphere of repression on genuine creativity
1949). and ideological freedom are common characteristics
Political infighting created a vacuum of power in of a totalitarian state, further supporting the view
which Stalin was able to seize and consolidate his that Stalinism was indeed a form of totalitarianism.
power into a totalitarian regime.
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