S09 E17: Stalin’s Iron Fist | Power, Purges & The Soviet Experiment – Norman Lowe

How did Joseph Stalin transform the Soviet Union into a global power at a devastating human cost? In Season 9, Episode 17 of CSS Breakdown: Book by Book, we explore Chapter 17 of Norman Lowe’s Mastering Modern World History to uncover Stalin’s rise, rule, and enduring legacy.

We break down:

• Stalin’s Rise to Power: How he defeated rivals like Trotsky and Bukharin.

• Economic Transformations: The Five-Year Plans, collectivization, and their human toll, including famine and the persecution of kulaks.

• The Great Terror & Purges: Political repression, show trials, and the illusion of the 1936 Constitution.

• Impact on Society & Culture: Everyday Soviet life under totalitarian control and the lasting debate on whether Stalinism was a continuation of Leninism or a new, brutal experiment.

Perfect for CSS aspirants, history enthusiasts, and anyone studying totalitarian regimes and the Soviet experiment.

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