The traditional approach to the Soviet history emphasized the importance of totalitarian system , including the personality cult and the almost unlimited powers of the " great leader " . These ideas were challenged later by revisionist historians , one of whom was Arch Getty . In his book , '' Origins of Great Purges '' published in 1985 , Arch Getty argued that the Soviet political system was not completely controlled from the center , and that Stalin only responded to political events as they arose . The book was a challenge to works by Robert Conquest . In an appendix to the book , Getty also questioned the previously published findings that Stalin organized himself the murder of Sergey Kirov to justify his campaign of Great Terror
Great Terror
Great Purge
J. Arch Getty