What were the distinctive features of the Soviet theory of the state?

How does communism differ from democratic socialism?

What was Stalin's appeal to the communist party bureaucracy in his contest with Trotsky?

Why did Stalin believe it was necessary to use large scale violence in order to collectivize Soviet agriculture?

Why were so many people in Western Europe and North America attracted to Stalin's achievements in the 1930s?

Trotsky and his followers argued that Stalin betrayed the revolution, and fundamentally deviated from the principles of Marx and Lenin. Do you agree? Why?