Up to 1936 Stalin and his deputies were bound together by shared ideology, common experiences and aspiration. Stalin was not omnipotent or omniscient and had to depend on his lieutenants, but during the Great Terror he compelled his deputies to carry out his will. Collective responsibility, but not collective decision making, operated in the most binding way. This marked a profound transformation of the Soviet party-state. This involved huge institutional changes, and the transition of a system of dictatorship into something qualitatively different, which we might label a despotism or tyranny. Terror became a permanent part of the system of rule. This changed Stalin's relations with his deputies and wrought a huge change in the mental and moral outlook of these people. Kaganovich's biography provides an insight into this transformation. It offers an insight into the way Stalin's deputies become his accomplices in mass murder, how they rationalized their actions, and how they reflected on their role in these events, insofar as they were capable of undertaking such reflective assessment and possessed sufficient self-knowledge to do this.

The Culture of Stalinism

The ‘revolution from above’ profoundly changed the Soviet state and its relations with society. It saw the consolidation of the Stalin's group's power. The culture of Bolshevism underwent a profound change whilst the cultic, messianic, quasi-religious aspect of the Stalinist political system became pronounced. The state came to rely ever more on coercion to maintain its position and enforce its policies. Legal norms and restraints were swept aside.