Why Did Joseph Stalin Control Russia

1) How did Joseph Stalin control Russia? As the leader of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin utilized totalitarianism, characterized as total centralized control over every aspect of public and private life. He achieved this form of government by means of control of the media, religious and ethnic persecution and police terror. To eliminate all information that held him in a negative light, and instead glorify his lead and support of his policies, Stalin controlled the media through censorship of the press, propaganda and indoctrination. Additionally, he unified Russia by blaming “enemies of the state”, members of religious and ethnic groups other than what was accepted, subjecting them to violence and campaigns of terror. Stalin also maintained his power by creating secret police to eliminate anyone who posed a threat or sending them to the Gulag.

Lenin’s actions are a prime example of a Bolshevik doing whatever it took for the sake of their country including fleeing to Switzerland, putting aside his beliefs for the sake of progress, and looking out for the future USSR from his deathbed. Lenin’s plan to save Russia would have been considered criminal, so he fled the country, his home, to avoid arrest from the czar’s secret police, still keeping in contact and working from a distance. When he returned from exile and gained power, given the ruined economy, trade, and production, Lenin put aside his plan for state-control and allowed a little capitalism in the New Economic Policy which recovered the country by 1928. Even after suffering a stroke Lenin voiced his opinion on Stalin as a successor, fearing the mishandling of power and his country’s fate. Lenin was a deserved leader of the Bolsheviks because he was willing to give everything to his