Question

How did Stalin become the dictator of all the USSR?

He used propaganda to help win an election and best his political rivals.
He led a group that marched on several cities and overthrew their governments.
He organized the assassination of the country’s leader and took over when he died.
He put political allies in power throughout the country and exiled his political rivals.

Answer 1

Stalin became the dictator of the USSR through a combination of political maneuvering, manipulation, and violence. When Vladimir Lenin, the leader of the Soviet Union, died in 1924, a power struggle ensued among the Communist Party leadership over who would succeed him. Stalin, who was one of the party's most prominent members, managed to outmaneuver his rivals, including Leon Trotsky and Grigory Zinoviev, to become the General Secretary of the Communist Party.

Stalin then began consolidating his power within the party by promoting his own supporters to key positions and purging his rivals from the party through show trials, imprisonment, and execution. This period of repression, known as the Great Purge, resulted in the deaths of millions of people and cemented Stalin's power as the leader of the Soviet Union.

Stalin also used propaganda to create a cult of personality around himself, portraying himself as a hero of the people and the embodiment of the Communist ideal. He controlled the media and censored any dissenting voices, effectively silencing opposition to his rule.

Overall, Stalin's rise to power was a combination of political maneuvering, repression, propaganda, and violence, which allowed him to become the dictator of the USSR and maintain his grip on power for nearly 30 years.