Control and Terror Flashcards
What were Lenins first actions upon taking control in regards to opposition
Banning opposition press and arresting opposition members
Who was the first leader of the Cheka
‘Iron’ Felix Dzerzhinsky
What provided the justification for the red terror
An attempt on Lenins life in 1918
What was the red terror`
A wave of ‘retaliation’ against enemies of the state
All Mensheviks and remainging SRs were branded terrorists and 500 were shot in St petersburg alone
Huge backlash against ‘bourgeois’ elements of society
Tsar+family executed
8000 priests killed in 1921 for failing to hand over church valuables
est. around 500,000-1 million died in this period
What is an example of an early Stalinist Show trial
Shakhty Show trial 1928- 53 engineers from the North caucas accused of anti-revolutionary activity after a decline in production. 5 executed
When were the Gulags placed under the control of the NKVD, replacing the OGPU, and how many did they house at this point
1934-1 million
Who were the heads of the USSR secret police, in order, adn what happened to them
Iron felix dzerzhinsky-1917-34-naturla causes
Yagodah-34-36-executed 1938
Yezhov-36-38-executed- 1940
Beria-38-53-executed-1953
What was the White Sea canal
An effort using forced labour to create an canal to join baltic and white seas. Poor working coniditons lead to 25,000 deaths during the project. Opened in 1933 to much publicity but wasnt large enough for actual ships
What was the crisis of 1932
- Stalins wife killed herself, leaving a letter criticsing him and supporting his enemies
- 2 opposition groups were found within the communist party. A group of Old Bolsheviks lead by Smirnov, and the Ryutin platform (associsted with stalins wife).
- Stalin called for Ryutin and his collaborators immediate execution but was overruled by Kirov. Nevertheless, many were expelled from the party, incl Zin+Kam
When was a general purge of the party announced and how many were removed
1933-18% of the party branded Ryutinists and removed
What was the Kirov affair
in 1934, at the 17th party congress, Kirov, secretary to Leningrad party, gave a speech against some of STalins policies such as forced grain seizure, and recieved a standing ovation. Stalin also received negative c150 votes in the central committee elections, although only 3 were recorded. The title of general secretary was abolished and STalins power was, nominally, split between himself, and 3 others, incl Kirov
Kirov was murdered at the end of 1934 in suspicious circumstances. The NKVD are then given a decree to arrest anyone involved in terrorist plotting and 6500 are.
When did the great purge take place
1936-38
What began the great purge
A show trial of Zinoviev, Kamenev, and 14 other prominent communists
Out of all the Soviet Military high command personal, how many were killed in the great purge
512/767 executed, with a few more dying in prison or committing suicide, incl Tukhachevsky, nicknamed the red napoleon
When did the largest show trial of the great purge take place and who did it include
1938-Bukharin, Yagodah and Rykov all executed for conspiring with trotskyite-zinoviev terrorist organisations
