Stalin's Power Techniques
This period of time in which although Russia’s economy was improving and starting to grow, there was massive oppression, censorship, death and propaganda that spread around the people. The cause of this was Stalin’s extreme control and need to stay in complete power. The main way in which Stalin stayed in power was through terror, which worked out extremely well for him, because he used this terror to instill an obedience but also respect in the people - so even though they feared him, they still wanted him to be their leader.
Stalin's Way of Instilling Terror : The First and Second Purges
After he had climbed his way into his state of dictatorship, he discovered that executing and killing people who opposed the views of the Communist party, or in which case, Stalin’s views, was an extremely effective way to keep his power. This killing of mass amounts of people at the same time became known as the First and Second Purges, which went on from around 1930-1939. The first Purge took place from 1930-1933, in which Stalin effectively got rid of all of those who opposed industrialization or collectivization, in which case were the farmers and peasants who did not like the idea of handing over their crops to the government. The second Purge took place from 1934 to 1939, in which Stalin got rid of his political opponents who were arrested based on charges of treason, military opposition, religious leaders, other ethnic groups, and just ordinary people who were shipped off to gulags, or work camps (as pictured in the picture on the side). Although brutal, this method of staying in power certainly worked for Stalin because it created an illusion of terror among the people, who were terrified but at the same time strangely loyal and respectful toward their leader. People watched Stalin’s opponents die one-by-one and their opinions became oppressed because they didn’t want to be the next ones.