The following are equally important reasons why Stalin was...

The following are equally important reasons why Stalin was able to hold onto power in the Soviet Union: The purges and show trials The secret police Propaganda and the cult of personality Stalin’s economic policies. Explain how far you agree with this statement. Stalin used to methods to hold onto power in the Soviet Union these were fear / coercion and persuasion / consent. If people were not persuaded by Stalin’s personality and economic policies they would be scared into supporting him. From the outset Stalin was particularly aware of his image and the importance and power of propaganda. He came to power partly as a result of his creation of a cult of ‘Leninism’ and by†¦show more content†¦An example was the first of the great show trials where sixteen ‘old Bolsheviks’ and hero’s of the civil war including Kamenev and Zinoveiv were but on trial accused of being directly responsible for the assassination of Kirov, a popular leading Communist, in 1934. Although Historians believe it is more likely that Stalin was responsible for the murder and extremely unlikely that Zinoveiv or Kamenev had anything to do with it. They all confessed to their crimes. Stalin propagated an image of himself as the father / protector of the nation with posters and statues of himself in many Russian town and cities. He also ruthlessly controlled the media to ensure that the Russian people were only given such information as he saw fit. An example of this is the fact that Trotsky’s vehement criticisms of Stalin from the various countries he lived in abroad were kept from the Russia people and indeed Trotsky who had been true hero of the revolution was blamed by Stalin for much of Russia’s problems at the time. Trotsky is also a good example of Stalin’s use of terror when propaganda alone would not succeed since ultimately unable to silence Trotsky in another way Stalin had him assassinated. In the same way Stalin could not bear any challenges to his authority andShow MoreRelatedOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pagesseveral points both before the year 2000 (the collapse of the Soviet Union, the reunification of Germany, the surge of globalization from the mid-1990s) and afterward (9/11, or the global recession of 2008) when one could quite plausibly argue that a new era had begun. A compelling case can be made for viewing the decades of the global scramble for colonies after 1870 as a predictable culmination of the long nineteenth century, which was ushered in by the industrial and political revolutions of