The totalitarian regime in the USSR had its own characteristics. This system primarily implied the omnipotence of one ruling party, repressive methods. Signs of totalitarianism were also manifested in the desire for absolute nationalization of the economy, as well as in the suppression of individual freedoms.
As the main factors determining the formation of this political system in the country, historians call socio-cultural, political and economic.
Accelerated economic development provoked a tightening of political power in the state. The accelerated strategy assumed a significant and sharp weakening (if not absolute destruction) of the commodity-money leverage of the economy against the background of the complete predominance of the administrative structure. Discipline in economic activity, devoid of mechanisms of economic interests, could be easily achieved, relying on state sanction, political apparatus, as well as administrative coercion.
In the political system, preference was also given to forms of unquestioning submission to the directive. Totalitarianism in the USSR also developed against the background of a rather low level of material well-being of the country's population. To overcome economic backwardness and accelerate industrialization, the enthusiasm of the advanced layers alone was not enough. In this case, “inspiration” should also be supported by other organizational and political factors, regulation of consumption and labor measures (harsh penalties for theft of property, lateness, absenteeism, etc.). Of course, totalitarianism in the USSR, using these measures, did not contribute to democratization.
Of particular importance in establishing a centralized state system was a special political culture. The submissiveness of the bulk of the citizens of power was combined with a neglect of the law. This type of political culture was expressed in the framework of the Bolshevik Party, which was formed mainly by "natives of the people."
Totalitarianism in the USSR developed without encountering resistance. First of all, a new political system was adopted within the apparatus of power. In the complex of cultural, political and economic factors, by the 30s a new regime of the Stalinist dictatorship had formed.
The main functions of regulation and management were undertaken by extraordinary, punitive bodies. Along with this, the role of the party apparatus began to strengthen, which received the authority to engage in economic and public administration. Unlimited freedom was given to senior management, and ordinary communists were obliged to strictly obey the control centers.
Totalitarianism in the USSR assumed, together with executive committees in the agricultural, industrial, cultural, scientific sphere, the functioning of party committees, whose role was in reality a decisive one.
The penetration of power into the economy and other spheres of life from that moment became a characteristic feature of the political system of the USSR.
As a result, with the establishment of the system, a certain pyramid was formed, on top of which Stalin was located as Secretary General of the Central Committee of the CPSU (B.)
Along with the assertion of power, the country's power structures and repressive bodies rose and strengthened. So, by 1929, the so-called "troika" were formed in each district, conducting extrajudicial proceedings and passing their sentences.
Thus, the Stalinist regime strengthened the repressive system, which, according to some modern historians, pursued three main goals:
- The elimination of social tension by identifying and punishing enemies.
- Suppression of the beginnings of separatist, departmental, opposition and other sentiments while ensuring the absolute power of the center.
- The actual elimination of functionaries who "decomposed" from their uncontrolled power.