;s promised non-aggression against Soviet territory. On the 7th of November 1928, Stalin instituted the ‘Great Turn’, The three main aims of which were: Expropriate the kulak, institute widespread use of collective farms and abolish the private sector in the rural economy. By 1930, 50% of peasant households had joined the collectives, by July 1936 this figure had risen to 90% and by 1936 collectivization was effectively complete, and rural capitalism in the countryside had been virtually destroyed. Stalin achieved collectivization through the divisions of peasants. At village meetings, Poorer peasant households were encouraged to help in the extermination of the kulaks by seizing land and property for the collectives. Religion was also attacked. By 1938, 80% of village churches were destroyed. Stalin claimed collectivization to be a complete success, that it had the support of most poor and middle peasants. In reality collectivization was resisted, not only by the kulaks, but by the majority of the peasants. During the 1930s, particularly while the purges were occurring, Communist propaganda portrayed Stalin as a Messiah. Pictures of him appeared on billboards and all over public places, portraying him as a friend of the worker, with children, or with Lenin. He became the source of all wisdom and authority in Soviet society. Such propaganda had created a cult around his personality. Stalin consolidated his totalitarian rule through his effective use of terror and coercive methods. Stalin combined with the control of the secret police over the civilian population, the creation of an atmosphere of public paranoia, and the increase in party loyalty due to purges to consolidate totalitarian control over Soviet Russia by 1939. Stalin’s revolution, spanning over the years of 1928-1932, changed society as well as Russian government profoundly. The sanctions and policies Stalin imposed led to the revolution and the undeniabl...
