The assassin--who had been hired by the secret police, the NKVD--was shot, along with all his close relatives (this would become a typical Stalinist tactic). ... This was followed, in January of 1935, by the arrest of Zinoviev and Kamenev themselves, along with a number of their allies; they would be tried in secret, accused of having "inspired" Kirov's assassination, and given long jail terms. ...

• Word Count: 5151
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

Joseph Stalin was the soviet communist leader who's passing molded an era, and whose iron rule determined the lives of millions of people. Considering that he shaped the direction of post-World War II Europe, we may regard him as the most powerful person to live during the 20th century. Joseph Stalin was born Iosif Vissarionovich Dzhugashvili on December 21, 1879, in Gori, Georgia . Both his parents were peasants. His father, Vissarion Dzhugashvili, was a cobbler, hopping that one day his son will be apprenticed in the same trade; his mother, Yekaterina ...

• Word Count: 7507
• Approx Pages: 30
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate

The emperor thwarted any form of opposition by employing the secret police forces and so the freedom of expression was really limited and this included the spread of information through the newspaper, and even books. ...

• Word Count: 3845
• Approx Pages: 15
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate