the 1930's and stalin's political purges
The industrialization of Russia did not stop with the onset of the 30's but only continued to grow with even higher increases in metal production and electrical output. Going forward, however, Stalin's focus shifted to the more important matter of ensuring that his power stayed absolute and unquestioned.
The reason Stalin was able to rule the Union so effectively was because he made such effective use of fear and terror over his citizens. He crushed anyone who posed even a small threat to him by either having them executed, disgraced, or sent to forced labor camps called gulags in unforgiving places like Siberia, sending a clear message to any dissenters that if you tried to rival him, you'd be stomped into the dust and forgotten before you could even say "whoops." Stalin's ruthlessness for obliterating any and all opponents is shown most in his mass offensive against his opposition in the 1930's dubbed "Stalin's Purges."
Between 1934 and 1939, Stalin took any and all political opponents, accused them of being enemies of the state, and put them on "show trials." These trials, as the name may suggest, were merely for show. There was no legitimate basis to be seen or heard of and the defendant was basically guilty from the start. The person at question was (almost always falsely) accused of some ridiculous act of treason and either executed or sent to the gulag system to be subject to years of abuse and forced labor.
All of this was followed with the effective brainwashing of the general Russian public. As Stalin's opponents were sent off and forgotten, everyone else was taught that Stalin was the greatest man that ever lived. Anything that could've made him look bad was censored or destroyed, and educational/historical texts were modified to depict him as the "hero of the revolution. His power was absolute.
The reason Stalin was able to rule the Union so effectively was because he made such effective use of fear and terror over his citizens. He crushed anyone who posed even a small threat to him by either having them executed, disgraced, or sent to forced labor camps called gulags in unforgiving places like Siberia, sending a clear message to any dissenters that if you tried to rival him, you'd be stomped into the dust and forgotten before you could even say "whoops." Stalin's ruthlessness for obliterating any and all opponents is shown most in his mass offensive against his opposition in the 1930's dubbed "Stalin's Purges."
Between 1934 and 1939, Stalin took any and all political opponents, accused them of being enemies of the state, and put them on "show trials." These trials, as the name may suggest, were merely for show. There was no legitimate basis to be seen or heard of and the defendant was basically guilty from the start. The person at question was (almost always falsely) accused of some ridiculous act of treason and either executed or sent to the gulag system to be subject to years of abuse and forced labor.
All of this was followed with the effective brainwashing of the general Russian public. As Stalin's opponents were sent off and forgotten, everyone else was taught that Stalin was the greatest man that ever lived. Anything that could've made him look bad was censored or destroyed, and educational/historical texts were modified to depict him as the "hero of the revolution. His power was absolute.
signifigance
One can imagine what this might have looked like outside of the Soviet Union. Stalin's oppression of freedom and speech and numerous cover-ups to sabotage his opponents was the very antithesis of Western philosophy. One of the things that people in countries such as America value most is their freedom of speech and other civil liberties. Therefore, to see people having theirs taken away in such a widespread and yet unquestioned manner was terrifying.