5h 10min, jan 1, 1929 y - Stalin becomes dictator
Description:
In 1922, Lenin suffered a stroke, triggering fierce power struggles for the next leader of the party, of which Leon Trotsky and Joseph Stalin were the two most marked competitors. As general secretary of the Communist Party, Stalin began to move his supporters into positions, strengthening his grip on power. Before he died in 1924, Lenin left a warning in his Testament, saying “I am not sure that [Stalin] always knows how to use [his] power with sufficient caution.” His warning became vindicated as Stalin became a dictator by 1929 after he outmaneuvered his competitors, forcing them into exile. Stalin’s way of ruling provoked fear throughout the nation. In order to ensure he had total power, he eliminated every person who might oppose him by exiling or killing them. Such action was known as the Great Purge, a campaign of terror which Stalin eliminated any threats. With the expansion of his secret police, he encouraged citizens to spy on one another, including friends and families, stimulating widespread terror and distrust. In his totalitarian state, newspaper, art, radio broadcasts, and motion pictures were all used to glorify communism and Stalin. Controlling all aspects of the nation, Stalin’s regime became a textbook example of totalitarian rule, turning the Soviet Union into a superpower at the cost.
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