How did Stalin use propaganda and terror to remain in power?
#625Lab – History. You may also like: Leaving Cert History Guide (€).
Essay 1
Credit: Brian Ronayne.
Feedback:
This is a really good essay, and I don’t have much to add really. It’s a good length, answers the question well and is full of relevant information and quotation. The one thing I would say is that in the introduction, it’d probably be better to avoiding using “I” and to instead say something like “this essay aims to show.. “. I would also recommend removing the (1), (2), (3), (4) from the breakdown of the essay in the introduction as it breaks the flow of the paragraph. Otherwise this is a great essay that reads like a historical piece of writing.
Throughout his reign as leader and dictator of Russia, Joseph Stalin employed the use of both propaganda & terror to consolidate his power.
He used propaganda, the art of spreading information to convince people of a particular point of view, to indoctrinate Russian citizens and to influence them to support and even worship him. Terror’s purpose was to rid Russia of any of Stalin’s opponents and to force loyalty to Russia’s “Man of Steel”.
In this essay, I will examine how the ruthless dictator used propaganda to (1) create a cult of personality and (2) to promote the 5-Year Plans; and how he used terror, in the form of the (3) NKVD and the (4) Show Trials, to remove all opponents & solidify his power.
Stalin made effective use of propaganda to create a cult of personality for himself. To achieve this, statues of him were erected in every town & village. Posters & photographs of him were placed extensively. Streets & cities were renamed after him. The arts – music, poetry, art – were used to glorify him. Stalin became so ubiquitous in everyday life that people were easily indoctrinated. He was portrayed as a god-like figure and this influenced people to worship him almost religiously.
Teachers were forced to teach children to worship Stalin as the “fount of all wisdom”. History books were re-written to exaggerate his role in the 1917 October Revolution while any enemies who posed a threat to his power, such as military leader Leon Trotsky, were removed from history. The media was cleverly manipulated to promote Stalin as a great leader. Radios, loudspeakers & newspapers were used to share his message with the masses. Meanwhile, by stage-managing predecessor Lenin’s funeral, he was viewed as Lenin’s “truest comrade in arms”. This was a defining example of how he used the cult of Lenin, an extremely powerful leader who had brought Russia out of the turmoil of WWI, to further his own agenda. To conclude, the use of propaganda was successful in creating a cult of personality for the merciless Stalin. To many Russians, he became the fabric of Russian life. In turn, this meant that his policies were unchallenged by the majority, meaning that he had consolidated his power.
However, to heavily influence citizens to adhere to his policies, Stalin once again used propaganda as a tool. In particular, propaganda played a pivotal role in the promotion of his ambitious industrial 5-Year Plans which sought to transform Russia from a heavily agricultural-dependent country to a booming, industrial world power. Stalin made use of powerful rhetoric to convince people that he was acting for their good. He constantly claimed,
“We are 50 to 100 years behind the advanced countries. Either we make good this difference in 10 years or they will crush us.”
These powerful speeches persuaded the population that Stalin’s leadership would bring great benefits to them, unlike the leadership of Tsar Nicholas II & the Provisional Government who inflicted both economic & social hardship on ordinary citizens by their decision to have Russia participate in WWI. Stalin’s power was secure as the people were on his side. Propaganda was used to push people to their productivity limit. The myth of Stakhanov – Russia’s “greatest miner” — was used to do this. He supposedly mined 100 tons of coal in 6hrs. Therefore, people worked tirelessly to meet and even exceed targets to be viewed as a hero by Stalin. He labelled those who opposed industrialisation & those who failed to reach targets “wreckers”, “saboteurs” & “enemies of the state”.
This was successful as it ensured the success of the 5-Year Plans, turned workers against opponents of the Communist Regime, thus keeping Stalin in power.
In addition to propaganda, Stalin consistently used terror as a power consolidation tactic. Terror was used to inflict a sense of fear upon the population & to encourage loyalty to him. The Great Terror of the 1930s was a period of unprecedented cruelty directed at all levels of society. The historian Orlando Figes estimates that 1,500 people were shot each day at the height of the Terror in 1937-38 (Source: “Revolutionary Russia”, 2014, Penguin Books).
During the Terror, sparked by the murder of Leningrad Communist leader Kirov, the NKVD (secret police) brutally dealt with any opponents or even suspected opponents of Stalin. This showed the extent of Stalin’s paranoia. Members of this police force were anonymous and therefore people feared that they were surrounded by them. It was common for parents and siblings to turn each other into the NKVD, which illustrates the extent to which citizens were terrified, proving Stalin’s use of terror to be effective. Even NKVD members were afraid of falling victim themselves or facing punishment if they failed to reach the arrest quota. Yezhov, the head of the NKVD said, “Better too far than not far enough. If an extra thousand people will be shot, that is not such a big deal”.
Many suspects were sent to gulags (labour camps) where they faced long working hours to contribute to industrialisation. The largest gulag was Kolyma which was 6x the size of France, showing how large-scale Stalin’s terror was. The Terror was essentially a social holocaust which tightened Stalin’s hold over Russia.
Finally, Stalin combined both propaganda and terror to consolidate his power in the Show Trials of 1936-38 which were the centre-piece of the Terror. Before the Trials began, Stalin ensured that an atmosphere of superstition pervaded Russia, constantly claiming that spies & traitors were trying to hinder Russia’s progress. This essentially deflected the blame of collectivisation failure from him. Soviet newspapers contained details of the charges brought against the defendants. The Trials were attended by foreign journalists. This brought communism to the world stage. This was the element of propaganda associated with the Trials.
The terror element saw the accused & their families being tortured by the NKVD until the defendant agreed to confess to the crimes using a pre-prepared script. Among the accusations were plotting against Stalin, attempted murder, conspiracy & espionage. The Trials were highly successful both domestically & internationally. They brought the success of the communist regime to the world’s attention. Domestically, no-one remained to challenge Stalin’s power. Only two of the original 15-man government remained – Stalin and the exiled Trotsky. Stalin had more power over Russia than he had ever had.
In conclusion, Stalin “acted not through persuasion, explanation, and patient co-operation with people, but by imposing his concepts & demanding absolute submission to his opinion” to consolidate his power. (Khrushchev, successor). Stalin was a mastermind of propaganda and terror, a trait which kept him in power for almost 3 decades.
Essay 2
Another essay by the same title, marked 72/100. Credit: Shaun McBride
Stalin came into power after Lenin’s death in 1924. Lenin the previous leader suffered strokes in 1922 and 1923. After Lenin’s death in Jan 1924, there was a power struggle within the Politburo. This was the communist parliament. Stalin teamed up with Kamenev and Zinoviev. They believed communism should first be established in Russia first and than the world. They faced off Trotsky. Trotsky was a popular figure, he was the commissioner of war and lead the Reds to victory against the Whites during the Russian civil war. Trotsky also believed in the global rise of workers. Trotsky also held other prominent roles like the minister of foreign affairs. This made Trotsky an experienced and powerful figure.
Stalin was able to take advantage of position as general secretary of the party. He was able to appoint his supporters to powerful positions in the party. He also took advantage of Kamenev and Zinoviev. Prior to Lenin’s death he wrote a letter warning people about Stalin. With Kamenev and Zinovievs help he was to prevent it from becoming public and damaging his image. The letter also criticised Trotsky as being egotistical and overconfident. Stalin also took advantage of mistakes made by Trotsky. Trotsky opposed the New Economic Policies (NEP) which made him unpopular with the Kulaks. The Kulaks were the rich peasant class who prospered due to the NEPs. Stalin however supported the NEPs. Trotsky was also unable to attend Lenin’s funeral. Stalin took this opportunity to present himself as Lenin’s right hand man and successor. He also crated a cult of Lenin, which painted him as a savior. This was Stalin’s earliest use of propaganda.
When Stalin when gained enough power he betrayed Kamenev and Zinoviev and allied himself with Bukharin, editor of the Pravda, the communist newspaper. He voted Kamenev, Zinoviev and Trotsky out of the party. In 1931 he also exiled Trotsky from Russia. This was because Trotsky was his biggest threat.
In 1933 Stalin introduced three, five year plans. To allow a fast growth of industrialisation. He also introduced collectivism to feed these industrial cities. Collectivism brought all farms under government control, creating large collective farms. This upset many Kulaks who refused to cooperate. Stalin ordered the to have wiped out. Three to five million were shot or sent to gulags. This was known as the great purge.
In Dec 1934, Kirov head of the communist party in Leningrad was assassinated. Many historians believe that this was Stalin’s doing. After Kirov’s death, 13 close colleagues were shot in connection to his death 100 unconnected were also shot. This was Stalin’s way of consolidating power early on. Stalin than used his death to imprison key figures inside the party and put them on trial. These would be know as then Show Trials.
The first show trial began in 1936 and was known as the Trail of the Sixteen. Kamenev and Zinoviev were put on trial alongside 14 others. They were charged with the death of Kirov and plotting to assassinate Stalin. The NKVD, Stalin’s secret police and led by Yogoda tortured the accused to make them confess. Kamenev was the first to break after the NKVD threatened to harm his children. Zinoviev quickly confessed after learning Kamenev had. They were forced to learn off lines in their confession. The next day they were taken to court and confessed. Vishinsky the Judge said “I demand each one of these mad dogs be shot – every last one”. All 16 were found guilty and were shot the next morning.
The second trial took place in 1937 and was called the Trial of the Seventeen. Radek, Pytakov were put on trial alongside 15 others. Radek contributed to the drafting of the Soviet constitution and Pytakov was deputy of heavy industry and the 5 year plans. They were described as being members as members of the anti soviet trotskyite centre, and were charged with conspiring with the Japs and Germans and impairing industry. After they confessed after torture they were found guilty. |13 were shot including Pytakov and 3 were sent to Gulags. Radek was one of the 3 and later died there in the hands of the NKVD.
The third show trial was the Trial of the 21 or the Great Show Trial, in 1938. Here Bukharin, Rykov and Yagoda were put on trial. They were charged with conspiring with germans and damaging the economy. The real reason was that they were part of Lenin’s cabinet and last of the old bolchevicks. The show trial was also used to get rid of evidence, Yagoda was NKVD and knew as much as Stalin about them. He was replaced by Yezhov as head of the NKVD. After they all confessed they were found and shot.
Stalin kept a close eye on the show trials to make them seem legal and fair. He invited international observers to legitimise this. The show trials were also used to push off the blame of the shortcomings of the 5 year plans.The 5 year plans replaced the NEPs. However they did not meet their targets. Yagoda was blamed with this in the second show trial. There were 3 5 year plans. The first between 1928 and 1932. This focused on industry. The second plan (1933 to 38) focused on steelworks and the construction of many transport links in Russia like the Moscow Metro. The final one (1938 to 41) was cut short due to operation barbarossa , the German invasion of Russia in 1941. Stalin was able to turn a mainly agricultural country into an industrial powerhouse through these plans.
Stalin also had a secret purge in his army in which 35,000 officers were jailed or shot. This prevented a coup from the army if the need ever arose. Stalin was also able to buy time by signing the Molotov-Ribbentrop pact, which was a non aggression pact with Germany in 1939. This allowed Stalin to rebuild his army and Russia split Poland with Germany. This allowed Russia to take back land it lost in the Treaty of Riga in 1921. Stalin also used this as propaganda in Russia at the time.
Stalin also introduced a cult of Stalin. Here he used propaganda through daily life and education to paint himself as a god and above Lenin.
Stalin was effective in his use of terror and propaganda. Through the this he was able to rule to his death in 1952. He also made sure all loose ends were tied. This was seen in the show trials. It could also be seen with Trotsky’s assassination in Mexico by a NKVD agent in his office at his home.The show trials were also an extremely effective use of propaganda and terror as it was seen as fair. It also eliminated any opposition to Stalin.
Feedback: This essay answers the question, but you could be more direct in addressing the question – in every paragraph you should clearly say how the information you’ve mentioned helped Stalin to maintain power. Try to use some quotations from historians or historical figures to further prove your points. The essay is a good length with plenty of good-length paragraphs. The 2 sentences just before the conclusion wouldn’t count as a paragraph, so try to flesh out this point some more to make it count. Make sure in the exam to spell out months and numbers under 100 fully (apart from years).
Cumulative mark: This would probably get about 50/60 for its cumulative mark – if you added a stronger analysis in each paragraph, or fleshed out that last paragraph, you could bring this up to 60.
Overall evaluation: For overall evaluation, this would get about 22/40 – this is a good mark, but you can bring it up by making your commentary clearer and linking your paragraphs back to the question regularly.
Total: 72/100