Instruction for paper 2 - Authoritarian regime

  • Social policies → that affect social groups

→ dekulakization

→ deport minorities

→ women in workforce

→ liquidation of illiterary

  • Concepts

→ continuity, change

→ Marxism, totalitarianism, authoritarianism, communism

  • not enough to throw a point and just give an example → need analysis/argumentation

  • Give historians different point of view from time to time

ultimately = finally

  • Include accurate and relevent historical knowledge

  • Can choose example of two sth from… to compare/link them

  • Can use reference to historian - to support or refuse. but remember to analyze it

How to sketch your paper:

  • Select what evidence, facts, reference you want to use

  • Structure:
    - Write 2 body paragraph
    - How many arguments are you going to make

1. Emergence as Leader (1922–1928)

  • Positioning: Stalin utilized his role as General Secretary (appointed in 1922) to control party personnel, filling key positions with loyalists.

  • "Divide and Conquer": Following Lenin's death in 1924, Stalin engaged in shifting alliances to eliminate rivals. He first teamed with Zinoviev and Kamenev to sideline Trotsky (the Left Opposition).

  • Ideology: He promoted the ideology of "Socialism in One Country," which was more popular within the party than Trotsky's "Permanent Revolution".

  • Elimination of Rivals: After weakening the Left, he aligned with the "Right Wing" (Bukharin, Rykov) to remove his former allies, then turned on the Right over economic policies.

    Wikipedia +4

2. Consolidation of Power (1928–1934)

  • "Revolution from Above": By 1928, Stalin abandoned the New Economic Policy (NEP) for a "revolution from above," marked by the first Five-Year Plan.

  • Rapid Industrialization & Collectivization: Stalin pushed forced industrialization to modernize Russia and implemented rapid collectivization, breaking the independence of the peasantry and taking control of the food supply.

  • Removing Final Hurdles: This era saw the total marginalization of his remaining rivals, with Trotsky being exiled in 1929.

    YouTube +4

3. Maintenance of Power (1934–1953)

  • The Great Purge/Terror (1934–1939): Following the assassination of Kirov (1934), Stalin launched massive purges, show trials (e.g., against Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bukharin), and executions to destroy any potential opposition within the party, army, and society.

  • Totalitarian Control: Surveillance, secret police, and strict control mechanisms were established, including the Gulag system.

  • Cult of Personality: Stalin used propaganda to build a cult of personality, casting himself as the infallable leader, which was used alongside terror to maintain power.

  • Post-War Consolidation: After World War II, he maintained power by expanding Soviet influence in Eastern Europe, creating a bloc of satellite states.

    International School History +4

Stalin's power was cemented by 1929, but the regime was fully entrenched through the coercive violence of the 1930s.