Totalitarianism in the USSR

The totalitarian regime in the USSR had its own peculiarities. This system implied first and foremost the omnipotence of one ruling party, repressive methods. Signs of totalitarianism were manifested in the striving for the absolute nationalization of the economy, as well as in suppressing the freedoms of the individual.

Historians call socio-cultural, political and economic factors the main factors that conditioned the formation of this political system in the country.

Accelerated economic development provoked a tightening of political power in the state. Forced strategy presupposed a significant and sharp weakening (if not absolute destruction) of commodity-money levers of the economy against the background of a complete predominance of the administrative and economic structure. Discipline in economic activity, devoid of mechanisms of economic interests, could easily be achieved by relying on state sanction, a political apparatus, and also administrative coercion.

In the political system, preference was also given to forms of unquestioning obedience to the directive. Totalitarianism in the USSR developed and against the background of a rather low level of the material well-being of the population of the country. To overcome economic backwardness, acceleration of industrialization of one enthusiasm of the advanced layers was not enough. In this case, the "inspiration" was to be reinforced by other organizational and political factors, regulation of consumption and labor measures (severe penalties for theft of property, delays, absenteeism, etc.). Of course, totalitarianism in the USSR, using these measures, did not contribute to democratization.

An important political culture played an important role in establishing a centralized state system. The obedience of the bulk of the citizens of power was combined with a disdainful attitude towards the law. This type of political culture was expressed in the framework of the Bolshevik Party, which was formed primarily by "people from the people."

Totalitarianism in the USSR developed without meeting resistance. First of all, the new political system was adopted within the apparatus of power itself. In the complex of cultural, political and economic factors, by the 1930s a new regime of Stalin's dictatorship had been formed.

The main functions of regulation and management were taken over by emergency, punitive bodies. Along with this, the role of the party apparatus, which received the authority to engage in economic and state administration, began to strengthen. Unlimited freedom was vested with top management, and rank-and-file communists were obliged to strictly obey the control centers.

Totalitarianism in the USSR assumed, together with the executive committees in the agricultural, industrial, cultural, scientific sphere, the functioning of party committees, whose role was in fact decisive.

The penetration of power into the economy and other spheres of life since that moment has become a characteristic feature of the political system of the USSR.

As a result, with the establishment of the system, a certain pyramid was formed, on top of which was Stalin as General Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B.).

Together with the assertion of power, the country's power structures and repressive bodies were raised and strengthened. So, by 1929, the so-called "troika", which carried out extrajudicial proceedings and delivered their sentences, were being formed in each district.

Thus, the Stalinist regime strengthened the repressive system, which, according to some historians of our time, pursued three main goals:

1. Elimination of social tension through the definition and punishment of enemies.
2. Suppression of the rudiments of separatist, departmental, opposition and other sentiments while ensuring the absolute power of the center.
3. Actual elimination of functionaries, "decayed" from their uncontrolled power.