Interpretations of the purges

Question 1

Process that led to purges unclear bcs…

Answer 1

Few documents released under Soviet regime.

Key archives e.g. KGB not opened

Question 2

Historians debate over…

Answer 2

1) role of Stalin and the extent of his personal control

2) effect of Stalin’s personality on nature of purges

Question 3

When was the totalitarian view predominant?

Answer 3

Cold war
Western historians wanted to demonstrate: USSR’s system inferior
Personal dictatorship , imposed on unwilling pop

Question 4

When did totalitarian view start to be challenged?

Answer 4

1970s / 1980s

USA less anti-Soviet

Question 5

WHY DO HISTORIANS DISAGREE ABOUT TERROR?

Answer 5

1. Nature of terror - scale / definitions of ‘terror’
2. Sources - oral accounts / memoirs / archaeology
3. Context - Stalinist / Cold War / Glasnot
4. Different political opinions
5. Writing controversially just to make a name for themselves

Question 6

NOTE: variation between revisionist views!

Answer 6

Some think Stalin’s personality on the terror = big, others not so much

Question 7

TOTALITARIAN VIEW SUMMARY

Answer 7

1. Stalin exercised lots of personal control over purges. ARCHITECT, PLANNER.
2. Stalin’s personality - directly affected nature of purges
3. Stalin sought out old Bolsheviks - get rid of them, threat to leadership
4. Terror as a method of controlling pop
5. Terror as a method of controlling party
6. NKVD as an instrument of Stalin’s, follow his orders

Question 8

REVISIONIST VIEW

Terror as a result of decisions made by leadership responding to a series of crises in mid 1930s

Some responsibility for purges taken away from Stalin - focusing on Stalin alone = too simple / convenient

Answer 8

1. Stalin alone = insufficient reason for scale / form of purges
2. NKVD - units often acted on their own iniative
3. State of USSR = chaotic. Conflict between Moscow & rest of USSR, purges gained a momentum of their own
4. Stalin didn’t exercise the amount of personal control often ascribed to him - sometimes unaware
5. MACHINERY OF TERROR = NOT WELL ORGANISED. Terror from below as well as above. Ppl selected randomly.
6. Stalin had no masterplan for purges

Question 9

Stalin’s sayings:

Answer 9

“no person, no problem”

“one death is a tragedy, a million is a statistic”

Question 10

Stalin’s personality

Answer 10

vindictive, vengeful. Paranoid, deeply suspicious.
Wife died by suicide - Stalin feared being ‘betrayed’ again, kill or be killed. Held grudges.

Paranoia + vengeful - explains why he humiliated & executed Bolsheviks who had previously opposed him., instead of disgracing / demoting / exiling them as Lenin had done