The following were all equally important reasons why Stalin was able to hold on to power in the Soviet Union: the purges and show trials the secret police propaganda and the cult of personality Stalin’s economic Explain how far you agree with this statement. Stalin was the dictator of the Soviet Union from 1928 until his death in 1953. There are several factors which help us to explain how he held on to power for so long. One reason was the purges, commonly connected to the show trials he held. The terror first started in 1928 when Stalin accused a number of engineers of sabotage, without much evidence, in the Donbas mining. Again in 1931 a number of former Mensheviks were put on trial with charges that were clearly false. The purges began in 1934 when Kirov, the leader of Leningrad Communist Party, was murdered. Stalin used Kirov’s murder as an excuse to clear out his opponents. This was known as purging. In great ‘’show trials’’ loyal Bolsheviks such as Kamenev, Bukharin and Zinoviev confessed to being traitors to the state. But not only leading figures were purged. It is estimated that around 500 000 party members were arrested on charges of anti-soviet activities. The purges scared the people of Russia. They were too afraid to stand up against Stalin, or to say a bad word about him. With no opposition, Stalin held on to his power. Another reason for Stalin’s long reign over Russia was the secret police. The Secret Police (NKVD) grew in size and was used to hunt down and destroy Stalin’s opponents, and scare ordinary people in to obedience. They used intense interrogation to break prisoners down so they would confess to the fake crimes they were accused of. The NKVD not only carried out intelligence, counter intelligence, special operations, and partisan operations, but it was also the major protector of the soviet police state for decades. Again, the people of Russia were too scared of the NKVD to speak out against Stalin. A...