Stalinism

Prior to 1941, the Stalinist regime, promoting a policy of “socialism in one country,” encouraged its citizens to believe that it was constructing a utopian socialist welfare state. One means to this end was state control of the entire political apparatus and suppression of domestic opposition, even potential opposition. Stalin, for instance, on November 7, 1937, declared: “We will mercilessly destroy anyone who, by his deeds or his thoughts—yes, his thoughts!—threatens the unity of the socialist state. To the complete destruction of all enemies, themselves and their kin!” Repression of dissent and enforced obedience reached a peak during an extended period of mass terror in the late 1930s. The majority of those accused of being “enemies of the people” were so-called kulaks returning home from exile, suspect “White Army” officers, ordinary Russians with relatives living abroad, and religious believers.