26 - Faction, Terror And The Purges Flashcards
What did Bolsheviks face from day one in power? What happened to thousands of “Anti-Bolsheviks”?
Opposition
Sent to labour camps
What did the Cheka implement during the Civil War? Who was this meant to eliminate?
Red Terror
“Enemies of the people”
What did Lenin issue a ban on in 1921? What was this meant to curb?
“Ban on factions”
Criticism
Whose methods did Stalin exploit? What in particular did he intensify?
Lenin’s
Terror
Who else did Stalin eliminate other than actual opposition? From which Committee did this include members of?
Potential opposition
Central Committee
What 2 things made Stalin fear his colleagues would betray him?
Wife’s suicide
Criticism of collectivisation
How many members of the Communist Party were excluded from 1932-33? What took place after that was systematic?
A million
Purges on senior members
What potential rival to Stalin was killed in 1934? How did Stalin use this as a pretext with Trotskyite, Zinoviev-Kamenev members?
Kirov
He arrested multiple factions of the party
What 2 factions existed in the Communist Party at the time of Kirov’s murder?
Trotskyites
Zinoview-Kamenev faction
Which 2 key figures were shot at a “show trial” in 1936? How many Bolsheviks were also killed?
Zinoviev and Kamenev
14
What happened to key Bolshevik leaders and military high commanders in 1937?
Executed
Which 3 key figures were shot in 1938?
Bukharin
Rykov
Yagoda - former head of NKVD
Where was Trotsky assassinated? What year?
Mexico
1940
Who was Stalin’s terror increasingly aimed at from 1938 onwards? What were the public encouraged to inform the government about?
Citizens
“Hidden enemies”
What was the planning of arresting citizens similar to? Around how many people were executed or died in prison?
Planning industrial production targets
Hundreds of thousands
How much of the population was arrested during the purges?
1 in 18
What is one lesser known element of the purges? Who are 2 examples of this?
Deportation of national minorities
Poles and Germans
Why did Stalin deport national minorities during the purges? How many Poles were shot during the campaign?
Fear they would join an invading army
100,000
When did Stalin call a halt to the terror? Why?
November 1938
The population were frightened
What did Stalin achieve as a result of the purges? Who did he replace these people with?
Eliminated all opponents
Stalinists
What 2 things did Stalin obtain control of post-purges?
Party
People
What does Historian Martin Sixsmith state happened to “class enemies” after the 1918 Lenin assassination attempt?
“Class enemies were rounded up and executed for their social origin”
What does Historian D. Volkogonov say about why Stalin began the purges?
“Stalin was driven by a powerful need to win”
What does Historian Orlando Figes say the “Great Terror” was “an amalgam” of?
“The Great Terror was an amalgam of Party purging and great show trials”
