Communist Control & Terror Flashcards
What three types of opposition did the Bolshevik’s face?
other political groups,
former tsarist officers & tsarist supporters,
ideological ‘opposition.’
When did the Bolsheviks ban the opposition press?
27th October 1917.
When did the Bolshevik’s order the arrests of Kadet, Menshevik & SR Leaders?
27th October 1917.
How did the Bolsheviks make room in the gaols for their many political prisoners?
Criminals were released.
Why did the Bolsheviks see fit to expand the Red Army?
To deal with rebels in the Civil War and general opposition.
What years are referred to as the Red Terror?
1918-21
What year was the first attempt on Lenin’s life?
1918
What event did the Bolshevik’s use to excuse the attack on the bourgeois?
The 1918 attempt on Lenin’s life.
How were confessions and the identities of suspects obtained?
through torture.
What date was the Tsar and his family executed?
17th July 1918
How many priests were executed in 1921?
8000
How many were shot between 1918-21?
500,000
What was the affect of Lenin’s ban on Factions?
All party members had to accept the decisions of the central committee.
What year was the Shakhty Show Trial?
1928
How many engineers were accused at the Shakhty Show Trial?
53
How many were executed at the Shakhty Show Trial?
5
What year were the Gulags introduced?
1929
What was the name of the most famous Gulag project?
The White Sea Canal
How many prisoners were employed on the task of building the White Sea Canal?
100,000
How many died during the winter of building the White Sea Canal?
25,000
When did Stalin’s wife commit suicide?
November 1932
What year was there famine in the countryside?
1932
What two opposition groups emerged in 1932?
The ‘old Bolsheviks’ and the ‘Ryutin Platform’
How did Stalin react to the ‘Ryutin Platform?’
He ordered their execution.
Which famous member of the Politburo opposed the execution of the ‘Ryutin Platform.’
Kirov.
Which famous members of the ‘old Bolsheviks’ were exiled and banned from the party?’
Zinoviev & Kamenev.
How long was Ryutin’s prison sentence?
10 years
On what year was Ryutin shot?
1937
When was the general purge of the party announced?
April 1933
What percentage of the party was purged after 1933?
18%
What events led to the murder of Kirov?
Kirov’s opposition to maintaining the pace of industrialization & the abolition of the general secretary role which put Stalin at equal rank to the others.
When was Kirov murdered?
December 1934
Who was blamed for Kirov’s murder?
Trotsky and Zinovievites.
When were Zinoviev & Kamenev arrested?
January 1935
How many former associates of Zinoviev and Kamenev were also arrested?
843
How many party members were expelled as ‘anti-Leninists?’
250,000
What years were ‘The Great Purges?’
1936-38
When was the Show Trial involving Zinoviev & Kamenev?
1936
How many were executed at Zinoviev & Kameven’s show trial?
all, including 160 accomplices.
How many Bolsheviks were interrogated at the 1938 Show Trial?
21
How many were sentenced to be shot at the 1938 Show Trial?
16
Which famous Bolsheviks were executed after the 1938 Show Trial?
Bukharin, Rykov & Yagodha.
What was Yezhovschina?
The purge of ordinary citizens.
What years did Yezhovschina take place?
1937-38
How many people were on the initial arrest list of the yezhovschina movement?
250,000
How did Stalin avoid the backlash of the Yezhovschina?
He used Yezhov as a scapegoat; the man who introduced the idea of Yezhovschina.
When was it declared the the ‘mass-cleansings’ were no longer needed?
During the 18th Party Congress.
How many were allowed home from the Gulags after the 18th Party Congress?
327,000
How many cases were closed after the 18th Party Congress?
128,000
What position was Stalin in at the end of ‘The Great Purges?’
A position of supreme power; having released many from the gulags, he was seen as the saviour of the people.
When was Yezhov executed?
February 1940.
