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History Optional PYQ Master Pack · Model answer

‘Stalinist Russia was a despotic regime.’ Critically examine the view.

  • UPSC 1999
  • Revolution and Counter-Revolution

Joseph Stalin's rule over the USSR from the late 1920s to 1953 is routinely summed up in a single word — despotism — yet the label, while capturing something real, risks flattening a far more systemic and ideologically driven phenomenon into mere personal tyranny.

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What the full answer covers

  • The Case for Reading Stalinism as Despotism
  • Why "Despotism" Undersells Stalinism
  • Weighing the Verdict

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