Alexander II had the Okrana and Stalin had the NKVD. Anyone who was seen as being a threat or suspicious to the state were either imprisoned in Gulags, exiled, or
The genocide that Stalin inflicted on the Ukrainians began in 1929 with massive deportations of the most successful farmers of Ukraine. All farmers were forced to give up their land to the government. These farms would then be state owned and factory ran. If farmers and families would refuse to leave their homes, they would be drug out of their houses and forced onto freight trains that would then take them to remote areas. To add on, the Soviet Union sharply increased Ukraine 's’ production quotas, to make it near impossible to fill, which eventually led to the widespread starvation all across Ukraine.
Post WWl, Russia was still not industrialized, suffering economically and politically and in no doubt in need of a leader after Lenin’s death. “His successor, Joseph Stalin, a ruthless dictator, seized power and turned Russia into a totalitarian state where the government controls all aspects of private and public life.” Stalin showed these traits by using methods of enforcement, state control of individuals and state control of society. The journey of Stalin begins now.
The Soviet Union was once the most powerful country on Earth and I believe that textbooks should emphasize their amazing accomplishments they had when they were at their prime. The Soviet Union arose after the Russian Revolution and even though it only lasted until 1991 a total of 69 years they had many amazing accomplishments. The only key term that needs to be defined to answer this question is the word emphasize which Merriam Webster defines to be “give special importance to something in speaking or writing.” You can see how successful the Soviet Union was and I believe that textbooks should emphasize these three topics which are Stalin’s Great Terror, Military, and their Soviet elections.
This is why the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. Many assassinations are talked about such as the assassination of Abraham Lincoln, Malcolm X and so on, but one assassination that is barely touched is the assassination of Alexander Litvinenko. Alexander was a secret officer who stopped crime. He also knew
In a repressive regime, many people cannot conclude whether it was the fault of the people or the fault of the ruler. Without taking the people into consideration, new rulers come into the government, knowing how they want things to go, regardless of how the people feel. Stalin used his power, and fear to be sure that they were going to do what he wanted. Although while Stalin was getting power, the people were not aware of what was going on. The people were at fault because they sat back and watched the events unfold.
The man that was killed was on record as a person of interest, he had been recorded as abnormal to society so it had turned out for the government that he was out walking at night. An innocent man was killed as a political stunt. Stalin at the end of WWII and during the Cold War had lied to his people about how amazing communism is. Anyone who had opposed Stalin’s way of life was sent to a place called the “Gulag” a forced labor camp where
The policy of Great Terror, culminating in the 1937 show trials, demonstrates weaknesses on the part of the Soviet Leadership. During the policy of the Great Terror, the Soviet leadership ruled the citizens and its members through threats and executions. These threats and executions created fear among the citizens and the members of the Union. As a leader, Stalin seem to fear being toppled out of his position by other Soviet members. In 1934, it is believed that he ordered the assassination of his comrade, Sergei Kirov, the leader of the Leningrad party organization who would work alongside him as secretary general.
Although Russia won, many Russian civilians and soldiers died (“Joseph Stalin – Powerful Communist Ruler”). After World War 2, Stalin continued to dictate. Various examples of this were the initiation of purges, executions and exiles to labour camps to rid him of any opposition or other influences (“Joseph
Joseph Stalin embarked absolute power over the USSR upon the death of Vladimir Lenin in 1924. Stalin’s primary goal as ruler of the nation was to launch a revolution from above. In order to achieve this, Stalin emphasised on rapid industrialization and collectivization of agriculture. With the growth of these two economic factors, Stalin hoped for the USSR to gain superiority amongst the world. Joseph Stalin and the Five Year Plan developed a beneficial impact to the USSR due to the industrial advancements and collectivization of agriculture, the nation obtained throughout Stalin's position in power.
Everything was controlled and having an opinion was not allowed unless it was a good one about Stalin. Research says about “an average of 1,000 executions happened in a
It was true, of course, that in the monstrous accusations which the newspapers daily hurled at “enemy of the people” there was something clearly exaggerated, not quite real…” (Eugenia, pg.31). Kirov’s murder was work of the activists’ group
Introduction Joseph Stalin is perhaps one of the most important and discussed people in Russian history. He was arguably a feared tyrant cursed and despised by many. At the same time, one finds sufficient evidence for the adoration and worship of Stalin that used to exist in the minds of the citizens of the Soviet Union. One reason for this worship was the existence of the so called ‘Cult of Personality’ where Stalin was celebrated as a wise leader, father of all people, and the architect of victory of the Second World War. In his book, The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power, Jan Plamper states that Stalin’s cult of personality was largely a visual phenomenon.
Besides beating, sleep deprivation and psychological torment, the NKVD interrogators employed other barbaric and hideous techniques to squeeze out the desirable testimonies from the arrested “enemies of the people.” In the exceptional cases they utilized air pumps, hot rods, bottles (which were shoved into the anus or vagina), rats (which were, for example, placed in the heated can, upon which the inmates were sited; I heard also that the rats could have been sewn-in to the abdomen of the inmate). Pinching of the testicles was also a tool in their arsenal. Merely mentioning of a potentiality to use any of these techniques was sufficient to retrieve self-incriminating testimonials from the prisoners, whatever phantasmagorical they could have
The Russians did not hate the Tsar at first as they blamed their troubles on the government, however an event called Bloody Sunday changed their minds. Citizens began to protest outside of Tsar’s palace where many were shot and killed by soldiers. This turned them against the man they once trusted. World War I also occurred during Tsar’s reign and ultimately killed many unskilled and unequipped Russian soldiers. This caused the citizens to dislike Tsar even
