“Terror and Democracy at the Age of Stalin” by Goldman

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Exploring the factors that led to the further promotion of the Great Terror is a rather complicated task because of the necessity to distinguish between facts and myths. Seeing that a lot of information has been buried under the sands of time, it becomes especially difficult to evaluate the events that took place at the times of the Great Purge. Goldman, however, manages to grasp the essence of the problem by defining the events that served as the prerequisites to the further development of the terror regime. For instance, one must admit that the author did an excellent job at stressing the effects that the support of the public has had on the activation of the repression regime.

Therefore, what makes Goldman’s book compelling is the addition of the social dimension to the overall analysis of the problem. By stressing the importance of mass psychology as the tool for gaining power within a state and creating a tool for consistent and rigid control over every aspect of people’s lives, Goldman encapsulates the very essence of Stalin’s policy. As a result, the foundation for a profound exploration of the subject matter is created.

What makes Goldman’s argument especially compelling is the author’s ability to link the elements that might seem detached from each other to create a complete map of the situation and restore the chain of events that led to the enactment of the Great Terror regime. For instance, the emphasis that the author places on the Stakhanovism movement might seem somewhat odd at first. However, a closer look at the inspiration that the movement caused among the residents of the USSR, particularly the working class, allows for an accurate explanation of how mass repressions were introduced into the Soviet society without a massive outcry against the ludicrous system from the vulnerable population.¹

It should be noted, though, that some of the arguments made by Goldman could have been worded in a different way. For example, although one must admit that the study of the special factors, particularly the propensity toward showing workers glorified “happy life” that they were supposed to reach at a certain point as shown in a very convincing and memorable way, a greater emphasis on the statistical data and numerical evidence could have been made. Thus, the effects of the Stalinist regime would have been exposed to the audience in an even more explicit fashion.

Nevertheless, the string of arguments that Goldman provides to support her claim seems quite coherent. Therefore, the overall argument that Goldman makes remains coherent. For example, the emphasis on the effects that the role of the organization that was defined as the “anti-soviet parallel Trotskyism center.”² It deserves to be listed among the primary steps made toward the enhancement of the regime and the following reinforcement of the totalitarian policy. The persecution of dissidents reached a statewide scale, leading to mass repressions.

Furthermore, it should be noted that Goldman addresses the atrocities of the regime and the violent policy very objectively, thus, allowing the readers to make their own conclusions and preventing any ambiguities from occurring. For example, the events such as the hunt for wreckers, which took place in 1936, need to be regarded as a crucial advantage of the book. The specified clarifications serve as the pieces of a puzzle that, when put together, help one view the entire picture.

Particularly, the hunt for wreckers, while ostensibly being another pointless persecution of dissidents, turned out to be the product of the focus on industry enhancement, which was viewed as a crucial strategic step in the enhancement of the USSR’s influence in the global economy: “’I speak mainly about the heavy industry,’ Molotov explained.”³ Therefore, the level of detail and the ability to guide the audience through the labyrinth of facts are the primary strengths of Goldman’s book.

The discussion of the controversy surrounding the new constitution and the election process that occurred at the time of the Great Purge should also be viewed as one of the strongest points of Goldman’s article. The author does an excellent job at outlining the increasingly high levels of tension within the totalitarian system of the USSR. By labeling the acceptance of the new constitutional law under the aegis of Stalin as the “turning point in the political life of the country,”⁴ Goldman points to the fact that the adoption of the new constitution contributed to the reinforcement of the totalitarian principles in the state. Consequently, the opportunities for restoring democracy were reduced nearly to zero.

The issue of democracy is, in fact, central to Goldman’s discussion of the problems that the residents of the USSR faced at the time of Stalin’s reign. Goldman’s concept of democracy is more complex than a list of rights to which people are entitled, e.g., the right to vote. For example, at a certain point, Goldman mentions that to reinforce its position in the environment of the USSR and subjugate an even greater number of citizens, the Party considered the idea of providing the citizens with an opportunity to vote in the upcoming elections: “The new emphasis on democracy in the Party was prompted not only by the hunt for the enemies but also by the upcoming elections to the Soviets.”⁵

The combination of the contradictory elements in this statement (i.e., the aggression toward dissidents and the notion of democracy) creates the sense of the surreal, thus, stressing the absurdity of the situation. Despite the fact that voting is typically associated with democracy, Goldman makes it very clear that the specified decision of the ruling party was only a screen behind which a more sinister plan for enhancing the totalitarian regime was conjured.

Thus, Goldman provides a detailed explanation of how the idea of mass repressions gained tremendous support among the residents of the USSR. Goldman does an excellent job at depicting the gradual and intricate process of promoting the personality cult of Stalin. Thus, the scenario that might seem absurd became apparent despite the controversies that surrounded it from the beginning.

Bibliography

Goldman, Wendy. Terror and Democracy at the Age of Stalin. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007.

Footnotes

Wendy Goldman, Terror, and Democracy at the Age of Stalin (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2007), 95.
Ibid., 105.
Ibid., 113.
Ibid., 114.
Ibid., 115.

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“Terror and Democracy at the Age of Stalin” by Goldman

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