To what extent were the forces of reaction successful in using terror to preserve autocracy and dictatorships in Russia and the Soviet Union 1855-1955?.
Ironically, the imperial system of rule tried to preserve autocracy through reform, whereas it is clear that the soviet system relied completely on terror to preserve authority. The irony lies in the fact that reform failed whereas terror sustained the soviet system for seven decades. .
Reforms like the Emancipation of the Serfs in 1861 and Army reform in 1870 under Tsar Alexander II seemed successful in preserving autocracy for a limited time only, as these reforms didn't mean better living standards, this led to the growth of discontent and oppositional threats. The establishment of the secret police, the Okhrana was successful to an extent in preserving autocracy during 1855-1900 as they prevented earlier assassination attempts on the life of Tsar Alexander II but did not achieve complete control on revolutionary movements who used terror. Reforms under the Tsars were used as a method to build consent and preserve autocracy. However under the Soviet rule between 1917-1955, secret police institutions like that of the OGPU, NKVD, Cheka and Red army to an extent, were rather used to inflict terror on the Russian population to suppress opposition and preserve autocracy. .
Anti-communist historian Richard Pipesi highlights the success in the Bolsheviks using terror 1918 to preserve a totalitarian dictatorship Bolsheviks ' were successful in using terror to preserve power during their time in power, simply because apart from terror they only had popular support'. This quote shows the way in which terror alone can preserve autocracy.
It can be argued that terror in the late 19th century was not effective in preserving power, however this view can be challenged when the intensity of terror as such is examined. Under the regimes' of Alexander II, Alexander III and Nicolas II to an extent, terror was not used as extremely as the likes of Lenin and Stalin in the later period of 1900-1950.
