How far did soviet government change between 1921-1964:
During the period of 1921 to 1964, there were 3 different leaders of the USSR starting from Lenin
until 1924 in which Stalin seized power until his death in 1953 to which Khrushchev took power.
Despite the similarities between the leaders, their way of ruling over the USSR was arguably radically
different by 1964, this can be measured through the nature of government, use of terror and role of
each leader during their time as head of state.
The nature of government in the Soviet Union changed significantly between 1921 and 1964. In the
early years of the Soviet government, Lenin established a one party state where the power was held
by him as well as members of the Politburo therefore keeping the power centralized within the
party. Lenin used the ban on factions to remove opposition within the party so that his ideas and
policies were implemented unopposed, this was supported by the nomenklatura system that kept
loyal Bolsheviks at top positions in society. From the fundamentals that Lenin had laid down for the
Soviet Union, Stalin seized power from his role as general secretary and shifted the USSR into a more
totalitarian government by moving the power away from the party to state defense, council of
ministers and the politburo all bodies Stalin was apart of. The similarities between the two leaders
are that the communist ideologies remained the same as a one party state however, the structure of
government began to change in which the head of state was now the general secretary as well as
the tightening on power with Stalin seizing power. The nature of government began to change again
when Khrushchev come to power in which he reversed most of policies implemented by Stalin:
destalinization, decentralization, and democratization. These policies ended Stalin’s cult of
personality, gave more power to regions and increased party membership from 6.9 to 11 million,
this nature of government is radically different to Stalin as Khrushchev reversed Stalin’s totalitarian
system. Overall, the nature of government radically changed between the 3 leaders because the
head of state position was superseded by the general secretary as well as the type of government
reverting from authoritarian to slightly relaxed under Khrushchev.
The use of terror was used radically different between the 3 leaders. Lenin used terror through the
use of the secret police force, the Cheka, in order to root out and kill opposition to the Bolshevik
regime such as the 200,000 socialist revolutionaries and Mensheviks in the red terror by 1923 as well
as using the red army to brutally ending the Tambov rising and Kronstadt mutiny uprisings. Although
both Lenin and Stalin used the secret police to enforce terror, Stalin used terror in a different way to
Lenin as he expanded from executing opposition to anyone he believed was a threat. In the rule of
Stalin around a million were executed during the Great purge furthermore, he showcased and
humiliated his opposition during show trials in which Trotsky and Bukharin were victims of. It is
evident that although both leaders used terror, Stalin took it to a more extreme level killing more
people. Khrushchev radically changed how the USSR used terror in which during the secret speech
where he announced destalinization, he ended the use of terror and released prisoners put in the
gulag by Stalin. Overall, the fact that all leaders have a secret police suggests that terror remained
the same throughout to create fear amongst the population however, the use of terror significantly
changed through the rule of the 3 leaders in which it was originally meant to eliminate the
opposition to the party in which it later was removed under Khrushchev.
As well as the radical change of terror usage and the nature of government between the 3 leaders,
the role that each leader had was also radically different. Lenin was seen as a revolutionary
therefore he never gained a cult of personality while he was the head of state moreover, he was the
head of the politburo, this differed from Stalin because he gave himself more power so that he could
During the period of 1921 to 1964, there were 3 different leaders of the USSR starting from Lenin
until 1924 in which Stalin seized power until his death in 1953 to which Khrushchev took power.
Despite the similarities between the leaders, their way of ruling over the USSR was arguably radically
different by 1964, this can be measured through the nature of government, use of terror and role of
each leader during their time as head of state.
The nature of government in the Soviet Union changed significantly between 1921 and 1964. In the
early years of the Soviet government, Lenin established a one party state where the power was held
by him as well as members of the Politburo therefore keeping the power centralized within the
party. Lenin used the ban on factions to remove opposition within the party so that his ideas and
policies were implemented unopposed, this was supported by the nomenklatura system that kept
loyal Bolsheviks at top positions in society. From the fundamentals that Lenin had laid down for the
Soviet Union, Stalin seized power from his role as general secretary and shifted the USSR into a more
totalitarian government by moving the power away from the party to state defense, council of
ministers and the politburo all bodies Stalin was apart of. The similarities between the two leaders
are that the communist ideologies remained the same as a one party state however, the structure of
government began to change in which the head of state was now the general secretary as well as
the tightening on power with Stalin seizing power. The nature of government began to change again
when Khrushchev come to power in which he reversed most of policies implemented by Stalin:
destalinization, decentralization, and democratization. These policies ended Stalin’s cult of
personality, gave more power to regions and increased party membership from 6.9 to 11 million,
this nature of government is radically different to Stalin as Khrushchev reversed Stalin’s totalitarian
system. Overall, the nature of government radically changed between the 3 leaders because the
head of state position was superseded by the general secretary as well as the type of government
reverting from authoritarian to slightly relaxed under Khrushchev.
The use of terror was used radically different between the 3 leaders. Lenin used terror through the
use of the secret police force, the Cheka, in order to root out and kill opposition to the Bolshevik
regime such as the 200,000 socialist revolutionaries and Mensheviks in the red terror by 1923 as well
as using the red army to brutally ending the Tambov rising and Kronstadt mutiny uprisings. Although
both Lenin and Stalin used the secret police to enforce terror, Stalin used terror in a different way to
Lenin as he expanded from executing opposition to anyone he believed was a threat. In the rule of
Stalin around a million were executed during the Great purge furthermore, he showcased and
humiliated his opposition during show trials in which Trotsky and Bukharin were victims of. It is
evident that although both leaders used terror, Stalin took it to a more extreme level killing more
people. Khrushchev radically changed how the USSR used terror in which during the secret speech
where he announced destalinization, he ended the use of terror and released prisoners put in the
gulag by Stalin. Overall, the fact that all leaders have a secret police suggests that terror remained
the same throughout to create fear amongst the population however, the use of terror significantly
changed through the rule of the 3 leaders in which it was originally meant to eliminate the
opposition to the party in which it later was removed under Khrushchev.
As well as the radical change of terror usage and the nature of government between the 3 leaders,
the role that each leader had was also radically different. Lenin was seen as a revolutionary
therefore he never gained a cult of personality while he was the head of state moreover, he was the
head of the politburo, this differed from Stalin because he gave himself more power so that he could
