Doctor’s Plot Stalin’s rise to power can be attributed to his extreme paranoia and willingness to cut down anyone that poses even the smallest threat to his station. This combined with his utter disregard for human life culminated in the deaths of millions of Russians under his regime. To maintain his firm grasp on power, Stalin utilized scare tactics involving show trials, executions, and mass purges. These were effective in eliminating dissent and ensuring Stalin’s unshakable position as leader of the Soviet Union. The alleged doctor’s plot and its intended results were among Stalin’s final acts of paranoia and anti-Semitism, intended to kickstart a massive party surge as Stalin wished to further consolidate his power. The doctor’s plot was an alleged conspiracy involving nine Soviet medical specialists plotting to murder prominent Soviet leaders. Six of them were Jewish. The arrest of these so called “terrorists” was first announced in the Russian newspaper Pravda. The article used incriminating and derisive language, calling them “saboteur-doctors” that were “in the service of foreign agents” as “paid agents.” According to the article the doctors were bought by American intelligence and were described as being the “filthy face” of a Zionist spy organization. This language sought to stir up hysteria within …show more content…
The newspapers that circulated the lies surrounding the case against the doctors are indicative of the USSR’s immense propaganda machine and its effectiveness in generating mass hysteria. Stalin’s paranoia was evident in his plans for massive purges that touched everyone, from his own doctors to members of the Politburo and the Russian peasantry. It is clear that Stalin’s skillful grasp of power over his party and his people was a result of incredible deceit, paranoia, and a capacity to trample anyone who bore the slightest threat to him or his