How+did+Stalin+Control+the+USSR?

**1. Why did many of those who attended the Seventeeth Party Congress did not survive?** One of the main topics of the Seventeeth Party Congress was to promote the idea of removing Stalin as the leader of the USSR. Stalin recognized this hidden agenda and his paranoia drove him to deem anyone who gave thought to the idea as guilty. Since Stalin saw each individual as a threat to his power, he decided upon having them killed so as to protect his posistion. **2. Why were the crimes that the prisoners were accused of surprising and rather strange?** The accusations consisted of all types of treason and sabotage, to point of being ridiculous; especially since many of the men on trial were in fact supporters of Communism and had helped build the nation that Stalin now commanded. **3. Why was it so important for Stalin to get confessions from old Bolsheviks that he had placed on trial?** By obtaining confessions, Stalin created himself a safety net. Now when anyone questioned his unfair judgment or doubted the ridiculous charges he sometimes presented, Stalin would be able to point to their confessions as the ultimate testament to their guilt. In addition, confessions helped strengthen the Communist party by creating a more succinct unit of governing power.
 * HOW DID STALIN CONTROL THE USSR? - QUESTIONS**

1**a. Why were the purges necessary according to this version?** According to //A Short History of the USSR//, the purges were necessary to restore order to Russia and to protect the homeland from treason. Stalin effectively made his enemies, enemies of the entire state which made the purges crucial for the USSR’s survival. **1b. How useful is //A Short History of the USSR// to historians studying Soviet history?** The Soviet history book isn’t useful in the sense of historical facts but it gives insight into Stalin’s propoganda campaign and how he effectively turned the country against his own enemies, further showing his control over the country while he was in power.