Use of force (DP IB History: SL): Revision Note

Summary

• Stalin relied on terror, violence and coercion to eliminate opposition and maintain complete control over the Soviet Union

• The NKVD, Great Purge, Gulag system and mass executions created a climate of fear that discouraged resistance

• Purges targeted both real and perceived enemies, including Communist Party members, military leaders and ordinary citizens

• Forced collectivisation was enforced through violence, deportations and famine, demonstrating the regime's willingness to use force to achieve its objectives

The NKVD

• The NKVD (People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs) became Stalin's main instrument of repression

  • Genrikh Yagoda, Nikolai Yezhov and Lavrenty Beria were the successive heads of the NKVD

  • They oversaw the Great Purge

• The NKVD was responsible for:

  • Surveillance

  • Arrests

  • Interrogations

  • Executions

  • Administering the Gulag system

• The NKVD used informers and widespread surveillance to identify real and perceived opponents of the regime

  • Torture and intimidation were commonly used to obtain confessions during investigations

• The constant threat of arrest created a climate of fear that discouraged opposition and strengthened Stalin's authority

The Great Purge (1936–38)

• The Great Purge (1936–38) aimed to eliminate real and perceived opponents within the Communist Party, military and wider Soviet society

  • Approximately 1.5 million people were arrested, with around 680,000 executed

  • Victims included

    • Old Bolsheviks

    • Red Army officers

    • Government officials

    • Intellectuals

    • Ordinary citizens

• The Red Army was severely weakened, with around 35,000 officers removed, including Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky

• The purge removed potential rivals while creating fear and unquestioning obedience throughout Soviet society

The Gulag system

• The Gulag was a network of forced labour camps administered by the NKVD

  • Millions of prisoners, including political opponents and alleged counter-revolutionaries, were imprisoned in harsh conditions

• Prisoners were used as forced labour on major projects, including:

  • The White Sea–Baltic Canal

  • Mining

  • Railway construction

• Disease, starvation, exhaustion and brutal treatment resulted in high death rates

• The threat of imprisonment deterred dissent and reinforced Stalin's control over society

Forced collectivisation

• Collectivisation (from 1929) was enforced through intimidation, violence and mass deportations

  • Wealthier peasants (kulaks) were labelled 'class enemies' and subjected to dekulakisation

    • Millions of kulaks were executed, imprisoned or deported to Siberia and the Gulags

• Resistance was crushed by the NKVD, with grain seizures contributing to the Soviet Famine (1932–33), particularly the Holodomor in Ukraine

• The use of force ensured state control over agriculture while demonstrating the consequences of resisting the regime

Mass deportations and repression

• Entire ethnic groups were forcibly deported during the 1930s and 1940s on suspicion of disloyalty

• Groups including Chechens, Crimean Tatars, Volga Germans and Ingush were relocated to Central Asia and Siberia

  • Deportees faced overcrowded transport, disease, starvation and high mortality rates

• Collective punishment reinforced Stalin's control over minority populations and discouraged resistance

• Mass deportations strengthened the regime through fear and intimidation

Overall significance of force

• Force was the most immediate method Stalin used to maintain control, as it eliminated opponents and prevented organised resistance

  • The Great Purge was particularly significant because it removed alternative centres of power within the Communist Party, military and state

• However, force alone could not explain Stalin's long-term survival, as repression depended on legal justification, propaganda and ideological control

  • Stalin maintained power most effectively through the combination of coercion, legitimacy and control over institutions

Historiography

Orthodox interpretation

Orthodox historians, such as Robert Conquest, argue that terror and force were the foundations of Stalin's dictatorship, with repression deliberately used to eliminate opposition and maintain personal power.

Revisionist interpretation

Revisionist historians, such as J. Arch Getty, argue that repression was shaped not only by Stalin's intentions but also by bureaucratic competition, local initiatives and institutional weaknesses.

Post-revisionist interpretation

Post-revisionist historians, such as Sheila Fitzpatrick, argue that force was essential to maintaining Stalin's rule but worked alongside propaganda, ideology and legal methods to secure long-term control.