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Cambridge A-Level History Sample Essay: “The main reason why Stalin remained in power was because of his use of terror.’ Discuss this view.”R93,34
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An A* standard essay for Cambridge A-Level History (9489) Paper 4: Hitler’s Germany entitled: “The main reason why Stalin remained in power was because of his use of terror.’ Discuss this view.”
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the main reason why stalin remained in power was because of his use of terror’ discuss this view
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By Sonia A. Sanjay (printsbysonia)
The main reason why Stalin remained in power was because of his use of
terror.’ Discuss this view.
After rising to power, Stalin sought to consolidate his position as the leader of the
USSR. He did so in a ruthless manner that involved the comprehensive use of
propaganda, extreme terror, and establishing a cult of personality. These factors
were also helped by the fact that there was little opposition. However, the most
significant factor in Stalin's remaining in power was his use of terror, as it physically
eliminated any actual or potential threats to Stalin’s regime.
Firstly, terror was a considerably significant tool as it created an atmosphere of fear
and encouraged loyalty to Stalin. The Great Terror of the 1930s saw the NKVD (the
secret police) actively carrying out mass killings and sending millions to the gulags.
Many were killed or imprisoned for what they might have done or simply as
deterrents, which inflicted fear amongst the people. It was common for family
members to turn each other into the NKVD, which illustrates the extent to which
people were terrified. Stalin was also successful at crushing potential or perceived
opposition amongst the "kulak" class of peasants and the bourgeoisie middle-upper
class which prevented a class uprising. Civilians weren’t the only ones who were
subject to the purges. Stalin was also successful in purging the military and secret
police of any potential opposition. The armed forces were heavily purged, with even
high-ranking marshals and generals being arrested and the head of the NKVD,
Yagoda, being removed from his post and shot in 1936. This resulted in what was
left of the army being completely devoted to Stalin (thereby reducing the risk of a
military coup). However, the armed forces were seriously undermanned and staffed
by inexperienced or incompetent replacements, thereby crippling the military. This
proves that through the use of terror, Stalin was able to remove the threat of a
military coup and ensure that civilians were loyal to his regime, thereby allowing him
to remain in power.
Moreover, Stalin was also successful in crushing internal party opposition, which
meant that party opposition was kept to a minimum and restricted to isolated cases.
The assassination of leading communist Sergei Kirov marked the beginning of the
Great Terror. Show Trials are another method of terror used primarily against
political opponents. He eliminated his old rivals who were members of the Politburo
(such as Kamenev, Zinoviev, and Bukharin) by executing them. Show trials were
held before the execution for propaganda purposes and had the sole aim of
presenting the accusation and verdict to the public. The judicial authorities would
have already determined the guilt of the defendant and there would be no lawyers
present to defend them. In these trials, many confessed to crimes they didn’t commit
due to the torture and threats to their families, which demonstrates the amount of
pain inflicted on the defendants. Show trials proved that, whatever their status was,
no party member was safe. This was demonstrated in the 1934 Party Congress. Of
the 1996 delegates in attendance, 1108 were executed during the next 3 years.
By Sonia A. Sanjay (printsbysonia)
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