Download In what ways did Stalin consolidate his totalitarian rule up to 1939

In what ways did Stalin consolidate his totalitarian rule up to 1939?
By 1928, Stalin had ousted his rivals to establish a dominant position in the ruling
Politbureau. However, it was not until the late 1930s that he had consolidated his
power and established a totalitarian regime within the USSR. He did this through a
combination of propaganda, terror, political skill and his ability to win support as a
result of the perceived success of his industrialisation program.
1. Propaganda:
 The cult of personality.
 The Short Course – 1935; sold 42 million copies.
2. Collectivisation:
 Gave Stalin control over the peasantry.
 Created a group of people who were ready to kill for him.
 Accustomed the Party to mass murder.
3. Industrialisation: This delivered benefits to the nation and many of its people, and
Stalin took the credit.
4. Terror: Stalin needed enemies for the people to hate and scapegoats on which to
blame his failures.
 Trials were held of ‘wreckers’ in factories.
 The kulaks took the blame for the failures of collectivisation. This wiped out
potential enemies and trained up a group of killers
 The murder to Kirov and the elimination of his allies in Leningrad.
 The purge of the oppositionists.
 The purge of the Stalinists.
 The Great Purge, to eliminate any possible opposition in the nation’s major
economic, political and cultural institutions.
5. Stalin’s political skills: he was ruthless, patient and determined.
Hence it can be seen that Stalin's consolidation of totalitarian power was the result of
a combination of factors – in particular, his use of propaganda, terror, political skill
and his ability to win support among key sectors of Soviet society.