20.2 The revival of terror and the destruction of 'supposed opposition' Flashcards
What brought the revival of Terror after the GPW?
High- Stalinism as he has an ‘obsessive fear of ideological contamination’
- As there has been mixing with the outside world there was a fear Socialist ideology could have been diluted
What did Stalin’s new regime of Terror force people to do after the GPW?
Made people turn against each other and all acted as spies that could force condemnation to the Gulags
What law was passed in February 1947?
- Russian people couldn’t marry foreigners
- Restaurants and embassies were also watched
Who was in charge for the extension of the gulags?
++What other positions did he hold
Lavrenty Beria
++ Head of State Security. PM and Politburo member
What does the NKVD stand for and what two branches did it split into?
People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs
- MVD: Ministry of Internal Affairs = Controlled domestic security and the gulags
- MGB: Ministry of State Affairs = Counterintelligence and espionage
Under the revival of the Terror after the GPW how many people were arrested annually?
++ What for
+++ Was this worse than in the 1930’s
10k / year
++ ‘counter-revolutionary activities’
+++ Purge’s were not as large as they had been in the 1930’s
How many wartime survivors had been sent to labour camps?
++ What were the conditions of these camps
12m
++ Poor and strenuous
What did Stalin do to those that had fallen from favour?
Removed them from history by airbrushing photos
What was the Leningrad Case 1949 and its outcome?
- Stalin opposed the Leningrad party who had shown autonomy and members had been given senior positions under Zhdanov
- False evidence was used to arrest officials like the Head of the Gosplan and economic reformer in the Politburo (4 of those arrested killed)
When was the Leningrad Case?
1949
What was Anti-Semitism like after the GPW?
- Stalin initially favoured creation of Jewish state in Palestine but reverted once allegiance to USA was clear. Golda Meir (Israeli ambassador) arrived in 1948 –cheered by Soviet Jews and Stalin did not like how popular she had been
- Suddenly Moscow’s Jewish Theatre director died in a car accident – MVD involvement?!
Jewish wives of Politburo members were arrested in 1949
What was the Mingrelian Case in 1951-52 and its outcome?
- 1951 purge vs followers of Lavrenty Beria (head of NKVD) accused of associating with the West
- Purge still happening during Stalin’s death aimed to weaken Beria’s power
When was the Mingrelian case?
1951-52
What was the Doctors’ Plot in 1951 and its outcome?
- Lydia Timashuk doctor in the Kremlin and MGB informer wrote to Stalin stating that doctors had failed to diagnose Zhdanov and other leaders. Stalin suggested that it was at the fault of Jews who had used their positions to harm the USSR.
- Stalin threatened the Head of State with execution if he did not get a confession. Thousands of Jews rounded up and deported to labour camps. The press helped to create an anti-Jewish hysteria. 9 doctors to be executed but Stalin died before this happened.
Who discovered the doctors plot?
Lydia Timashuk doctor in the Kremlin and MGB informer
