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Stalin Use Terror

Lenin used terror from 1918-1924 as a short-term tool during the Russian Civil War to consolidate power and control opposition from rival groups that threatened the new Bolshevik nation. Stalin, on the other hand, used endless terror throughout his reign from the 1930s onwards to consolidate power for himself, killing millions of Soviet citizens through quotas and purges even when there was no external threat. While Lenin targeted opponents of the revolution, Stalin turned the secret police inward and implemented mass terror against members of the Bolshevik party and general population. Therefore, while Lenin and Stalin both used terror, Stalin's use was fundamentally different as it was endless, self-serving, and resulted in genocide rather than defending an emerging nation.

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Mona Sarah
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152 views

Stalin Use Terror

Lenin used terror from 1918-1924 as a short-term tool during the Russian Civil War to consolidate power and control opposition from rival groups that threatened the new Bolshevik nation. Stalin, on the other hand, used endless terror throughout his reign from the 1930s onwards to consolidate power for himself, killing millions of Soviet citizens through quotas and purges even when there was no external threat. While Lenin targeted opponents of the revolution, Stalin turned the secret police inward and implemented mass terror against members of the Bolshevik party and general population. Therefore, while Lenin and Stalin both used terror, Stalin's use was fundamentally different as it was endless, self-serving, and resulted in genocide rather than defending an emerging nation.

Uploaded by

Mona Sarah
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© © All Rights Reserved
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Download as ODT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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How accurate is it to say that Stalin’s use of terror in the 1930s was fundamentally

similar to Lenin’s use of terror in the years 1918–24?

To state that the use of terror under Stalin was fundamentally similar would be a gross
misinterpretation of the revolutionary terror Lenin used to establish a new nation and the terror
used by Stalin in the 1930s that established terror. While they had their similarities there are
instrumental differences in intention and outcome of both their use of terror.

First we must establish why and when terror was used and the reasoning behind it. Lenin having
studied previous revolutions ,such as the French revolution, among with Trotsky; understood that
revolutionary terror was a vital part of revolutions such as the use of guillotines during the French
revolution, it established control of the French nation by implying what would happen if you sided
against the revolution, assuring the new political power will not be under threat of coups after
establishing revolution. Though Lenin did not want to use terror to the extent of the French
revolution weather he did or not is questionable. With so much opposition against the Bolsheviks
during the Russian civil war of 1918-1921 including: monarchists and the previous Russian upper-
class, rival communist parties such as the Mensheviks , anarchists , liberals, and capitalist nations
such as Britain, France , Japan, America sending troops to intervene against the Bolsheviks.

So while Lenin and Dzerzhinsky (head of Cheka during the civil war) did commit tremendous amount
of terror such as the freezing of enemy soldiers into ice statues that were put on display on the
border of enemy lines. Clearly the terror used by Lenin was a vital repellent against the vast amount
of forces serving to undermine the emerging nation. Unlike other exiled monarchy’s such as Germany
whos new Governments faced many coups at the time, it is shocking to find that after the civil war
Lenin’s use of terror, the Ussr did not face any coups. This is especially impressive when we consider
that the Ussr by 1922 is the biggest country in the world taking over 1/6 th of land mass. This shows it
terror was vital method of establishing power and control over the USSR in order to implement
change to the region without having to constantly worry about it being subdued by a rivalling power
source. Lenin had successfully secured his revolution through terror.

This however completely contradicts with Stalin philosophy on terror. Stalin (which some historians
argue is paranoid in nature) believed that as the USSR progressed capitalistic entities would try
harder to subdued communist strong holds and thus we must maintain terror in order to prevent
this. Where as Lenin only saw terror as a short-term tool to win war fair and consolidate a revolution.
Stalin used terror endlessly throughout his reign. This can be especially seen in the great purge of
1936-1938 when 10 per cent of the male population is executed in the Ussr by the NKVD now under
Yagoda. This was for two main reasons: one as many of these deaths were citizens targeted for
resembled the previous upper to middle, meaning kulaks, independent farmers, intellectuals, Clergy
men, and high paid specialists. Though as Khruschev would later recall many were often “innocent”
and had no ties to the previous upper classes but were simply killed to fulfil the quotas Stalin had set
for his secret police. Resulting in the genocide of 20 millions Russians and the Holodomor of
Ukraine’s. So while Lenin and Stalin both used terror to deter capitalist enemies from overtaking.
Lenin’s secret police implemented individual acts of sadistic terror such as the spiking of church
leaders during warfare, Stalin implemented mass terror that killed millions and lasted over a larger
amount of time.

But the largest difference between Lenin’s use of terror And Stalin is the way that Lenin used to
terror to solidate power and control of the Bolsheviks revolution and Stalin used terror to consolidate
power and control for himself. Terror goes from being used to protect the Bolsheviks to being
implemented on the party itself under Stalin. As Stalin uses Kirov’s death as a stepping stone for
power by eliminating all his political rivals during the show trials of 1936,37 and 38. Though Yagoda
dies in trial of the 21 in 1938 among with Bukharin. Stalin and Yagoda essentially change the essence
of the secret police by implementing the NKVD against the Government and political party itself
rather than to protect it. Showing the extent Stalin went to gain power and control over the
Bolshevik party. Though it could be argued that Lenin did the same thing. There was no need for the
Bolsheviks to be a one state party or the only communist party. other than Lenin exerting his power
over his political rivals: the Mensheviks and socialist revolutionaries.

Overall the way Stalin used terror against the Bolshevik party to consolidate his power where as
Lenin used power to defend it , is what historians showcase as the stark difference between Lenin’s
use of terror and Stalin’s. The manner Stalin also implemented terror on his own citizens rather then
focusing on external enemy forces is also what creates a fundamental difference between the two
and while Lenin did sometimes use the Checka to crack down on internal enemies citizens such as
Nep men it was not to the extent of Stalin great terror from 1936-1938.

Point one the dynamics of obtaining power, but first I must dive in to the time terror was sued and
why it was used

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