Lesson 9-What happened during the Great Terror of 1936-38? Flashcards
What is totalitarianism?
A form of government in which all areas of life are brought under government control.
What was the Congress of Victors intended to be?
A celebration of Stalin’s economic achievements.
Who had more votes than Stalin in a vote in the Central Committee?
Kirov
What is the English name for the NKVD?
People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs
What was the NKVD?
The public and secret police organisation of the Soviet Union.
What did the NKVD?
Directly executed the rule of power of the Soviets, including political repression, during the era of Joseph Stalin.
What is the Great Terror?
A wave of political terror against the Communist Party.
Define political terror.
Term used to describe describe the violent acts of the government against its people which are designed to discourage and eliminate opposition.
What is a purge?
The process by which a ruling party cleanses itself of unwanted members.
[UNDER STALIN, THE PROCESS BECAME MORE BLOODY.]
What is a purge?
The process by which a ruling party cleanses itself of unwanted members.
[UNDER STALIN, THE PROCESS BECAME MORE BLOODY.]
Define paranoia.
Suspicion and mistrust of people or their actions without evidence or justification.
Define the term ‘terror economics’.
Blaming economic problems on political enemies.
Based on purges, what does terror economics produce?
Cheap labour force of people who are sent to prison camps.
What are the Moscow Show Trials?
Public trials which removed the older high-profile (a position attracting much attention or publicity) Communists.
Who were the participants of The Trial of the Sixteen?
Zinoviev and Kamenev.
Along with 14 other comrades.
Who did the Trial of the Seventeen deal with?
Trotsky’s former allies
What does Stalin argue about the doctrine of sharpening class struggle?
As Socialism advanced, the class struggle (conflict between different social classes) intensified.
What was the Trial of the Twenty-one?
The last of the great Moscow show trials.
Who did the Trial of the Twenty-one deal with?
Bukharin, Rykov and their ‘accomplices’.
Who was the People’s Commisar for Internal Affairs also known as?
Head of the NKVD
What was the Yezhovshchina?
An expression which means that the methods of Yezhov and the NKVD had taken over all aspects of Russian life.
Define the term ‘mass murder’.
Murder of large numbers of people
What happened during the Politburo resolution on anti-Soviet elements?
The NKVD produced a list of over 250,000 people who were believed to be involved in anti-Soviet activity.
Therefore, the Politburo issued order 00447, demanding the removal of anti-Soviet elements.
Totalitarianism is a form of dictatorship but what does it demand from its citizens?
Enthusiasm and commitment.
What did a traditional dictatorship merely expect?
A lack of opposition
In the 1930s, what did the government extend its influence over?
Economy
Censorship
Control of artists
In the 1930s, what did the government unleash?
A reign of terror against its citizens.
What did all Communists believe political terror was essential for?
The survival of the revolutionary regime.
What happened to the Cheka-OGPU-as Stalin’s power increased?
Their role increased.
What did the OGPU begin being concerned with?
Opposition members in the Communist Party
Who were some of the opposition members in the Communist Party who the OGPU were beginning to be concerned with?
Zinoviev
Kamenev
Bukharin
What happened to Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin after they were found by they concerned the OGPU by being opposition members in the Communist Party?
Zinoviev and Kamenev=House arrest
Bukharin=Spied on
What were the OGPU nicknamed by Party members and why?
‘The dry guillotine’
They did not really do anything.
What things did the OGPU organise in 1928?
Dekulakisation
Prison labour camps
Spied on workers and peasants
Organised show trials of ‘saboteurs’
At the end of 1934, how many lives had been claimed by Stalin’s launch of a wave of political terror?
1 million
At the end of 1934, how many people had been sent to forced-labour camps because of Stalin’s launch of a wave of political terror?
12 million
When was the Great Terror and when did it end?
1936-1938
What was Stalin’s reasons to launch The Great Terror?
- Believed many of his ‘comrades’ could not be trusted.
- His paranoia was fed by the secret police, now renamed the NKVD.
- The purges were bound up his economic goals.
- Purges allowed Stalin to remove his political rivals.
What is the 1st reason the Congress of Victors worried Stalin?
- When Congress voted to elect the Central Committee, Kirov topped the poll.
What is the 2nd reason the Congress of Victors worried Stalin?
- Results showed Kirov (1225 votes) was more popular thank Stalin (927 votes).
What is the 3rd reason the Congress of Victors worried Stalin?
- Group of old Bolsheviks tried to persuade Kirov to stand as General Secretary-Kirov refused.
What is the 4th reason the Congress of Victors worried Stalin?
- Had to purge Party as could not be no longer trusted.
What is considered the main reason for the Great Terror?
Stalin’s paranoia
How much votes did Kirov have in the Congress of Victors?
1225
How much votes did Stalin have in the Congress of Victors?
927
What was one thing which fuelled Stalin’s paranoia?
The Party
Name the 1st reason Stalin was paranoid because of the Party.
Powerful people, such as Bukharin, had lost their position in the Party and Stalin feared the same fate.
Name the 2nd reason Stalin was paranoid because of the Party.
Distrusted his former rivals and did not believe they were truly converted to his form of socialism.
Name the 3rd reason Stalin was paranoid because of the Party.
Fearful of old Communists-they knew how he rose to power and what Lenin had really thought about him.
Name another thing which fuelled Stalin’s paranoia.
The Red Army and Secret police
Why did the Red Army and Secret Police fuel Stalin’s paranoia?
Believed they had too much power
He lacked control over these organisations
What were the 3 Moscow show trials?
Sixteen
Seventeen
Twenty-one
During the Great Terror, who was included as victims of the mass murder?
Party, the army and then society more generally.
What 3 phases of the Great Terror were achieved?
- Show trials
- Purges
- Minority groups
Who did the show trials wipe out?
The previous generation of the Communist Party.
When were the Purges during the Great Terror?
1937
Between what dates was the Great Terror?
1936-38
Who did the Purges of 1937 wipe out?
Younger members of the Party.
Dealt with unreliable elements of the Party.
What was this period of purges of 1937 also known as?
‘Yezhovshchina’
Who did the final phase target?
Minority groups
Between what years was the final phase, which targeted minority groups, carried out?
1937-39
Who were the 3 heads of the NKVD during the Great Terror, in order?
Yagoda
Yezhov
Beria
Between what years was Yagoda Head of the NKVD?
July 1934-September 1936
Between what years was Yezhov Head of the NKVD?
September 1936-January 1937
Between what years was Beria Head of the NKVD?
November 1938-December 1945
When was the Trial of the Sixteen?
August 1936
When was Yagoda replaced by Nicolai Yezhov as Head of the NKVD?
September 1936
When was the Trial of the Seventeen?
January 1937
When was the significant Central Committee Meeting?
February-March 1937
What happened in the February-March 1937 Central Committee Meeting?
The doctrine of ‘sharpening class struggle’ accepted.
Stalin set targets for NKVD.
When did the purge of the Red Army begin?
June 1937
When was the Politburo resolution on anti-Soviet elements (order no.00447)?
July 1937
What order did the Politburo issue demanding the removal of anti-Soviet elements?
order 00447
When was the Trial of the Twenty-one?
March 1938
When did Yezhov resign as Head of the NKVD and was replaced by Beria?
December 1938
When was Yezhov arrested?
April 1939
What did Stalin use the Show Trials to create?
Fear
What else did Stalin use the Show Trials to do?
Assert his authority
What happened during the Show Trials?
Carefully scripted public trials where defendants were forced to make confessions.
Outcome of the trials was already decided.
Broadcast on radio and reported in newspapers.
Apart from the Moscow show trials, what other 3 Show Trials took place between 1928-33, in order?
- Shakhty Trial
- Menshevik Trial
- Metropolitan-Vickers Trial
When was the Shakhty Trial?
1928
When was the Menshevik Trial?
1931
When was the Metropolitan-Vickers Trial?
1933
What happened during the Shakhty Trial 1928?
53 engineers from Donbass region accused of industrial sabotage and conspiring with Germany.
In the Shakhty Trial, how many engineers were convicted and executed?
49 were convicted
5 were executed
What happened in the Menshevik Trial 1931?
Former members of the Mensheviks, who were working as economists for the government, were accused of undermining (sabotaging) the First Five-Year Plan.
What happened during the Metropolitan-Vickers Trial 1933?
6 British engineers working in Russia for Metropolitan-Vickers were arrested and charged with spying and sabotaging
What was Generikh Yagoda in the early 1930s?
Second in command of the OGPU
How did Yagoda attempt to win Stalin’s favour but what happened instead?
Attempted to win Stalin’s favour by fuelling his suspicions.
Due to this, his paranoia was deepened.
How did Generikh Yagoda deepen Stalin’s paranoia?
OGPU compiled extensive reports on discontent with the collectivisation and intelligence.
What did the OGPU compiling extensive reports on discontent with the collectivisation and intelligence suggest?
Many Communist officials questioned the wisdom of Stalin’s policies.
This fuelled Stalin’s paranoia.
Name the 1st important economic function the Great Terror served in Terror economics.
Allowed Stalin to blame economic problems on political enemies.
What is the term used to describe how Stalin used the Great Terror for economic functions?
Terror economics
How did Stalin blame economic problems on political enemies?
Able to explain the difficulties of the Five-Year Plans on ‘wreckers’ who were deliberately sabotaging Russia’s economy.
Name the 2nd economic function the Great Terror served in Terror economics.
The purges provided a huge reservoir of cheap labour.
How did the purges provide a huge reservoir of cheap labour?
The majority of people who were purged were sent to prison camps.
Prisoners in Soviet gulags were effectively slave labour.
When was the Chistika?
1932-5
In what year was a new purge of party members carried out?
1932
Why was the new purge of party members carried out in 1932?
It was the response of the Party to the First FYP and collectivisation.
What was the Chistika designed to do?
Remove the Party officials who saw a concern with the speed at which the policies of the First FYP and collectivisation.
Party officials were ignoring orders from Moscow
This was done to speed up the implementation of economic policy.
By 1935 (at the end of the Chistika) , how much of the Party had been remove from their post?
22%
Although it was a non-violent process, what did the Chistika show?
Opposition to Stalin and his policies was mounting.
What did Kirov replace Zinoviev as in 1927?
Chairman of the Leningrad Communist Party 1927
In what opposition did Kirov side with Stalin against Bukharin?
The Right Opposition.
How did Kirov react to the First FYP and collectivisation?
He was a committed supporter of these policies.
When was Kirov a leader of a group of moderates in the Politburo?
Early 1934
What was the aim of this group of moderates in the Politburo?
To modify Stalin’s Five-Year Plans
How was Kirov amongst the Party and the people?
Very popular
Following the ‘Congress of Victors’, what did Stalin to do Kirov and how?
Exclude Kirov from the Politburo.
By insisting that he stayed in Leningrad to supervise the local Party.
What type of document did Mikhail Ryutin issue?
One which was highly critical of Stalin’s policies.
What had Kirov done in 1932 in regards to Mikhail Ryutin’s issued document?
Defeated Stalin on this issue
How did Kirov defeat Stalin on the issue of Mikhail Ryutin’s document?
After Ryutin issued the document, Stalin wanted him executed but Kirov refused to order this.
Stalin felt he had been betrayed.
What happened to Kirov in December 1934?
Murdered by a lone gunman in his Leningrad office.
Who was blamed for the murder of Kirov?
Leonid Nikolayev
Who did Stalin say Leonid Nikolayev worked for (it was fake)?
A secret ‘Trotskyite-Zinovievite’ terror group.
Who was quickly arrested for the conspiracy to murder after Kirov’s murder?
Zinoviev and Kamenev
What did some historians argue about Kirov’s murder?
Stalin and the NKVD were behind it
What was Kirov’s death used as an excuse for?
To launch a wave of political terror
Within hours of Kirov’s death, what did Stalin issue a decree authorising?
The swift execution of political opponents.
Who did Stalin appoint to investigate the murder of Kirov?
Yagoda
Who was personally interrogated by Stalin regarding Kirov’s murder?
Nikolayev
What was the ‘Confession’ after Kirov’s murder?
100 political prisoners in NKVD custody were shot.
Whose orders did Nikolayev say he had been working on?
Trotsky, Zinoviev and foreign powers.
After Kirov’s murder, who did Stalin sent a secret letter?
Communist Party secretaries.
What was the secret letter, which Stalin sent to Communist Party secretaries, about?
‘Lessons of the events connected with the evil murder of Comrade Kirov.
In his secret letter, who did Stalin call to all his Party organisations to root out?
Trotskyists wherever they may be.
After the Kirov’s death, and Stalin’s secret letter to his Communist Party Secretaries, which area of Russia was the purge focused on?
Leningrad
How much people were exiled for political crimes after the murder of Kirov, in Leningrad?
30-40 thousand
What was Yagoda known as?
Dry guillotine
Why was Yagoda known as the dry guillotine?
Put many people in prison but did not kill many people.
What was Yagoda responsible for?
Implementing Stalin’s wave of political terror
What things did Yagoda oversee?
The arrest, interrogation and trial of Zinoviev and Kamenev.
As well as show trials, also oversaw arrest of junior Party members.
What was the scale of political terror like during Yagoda’s time as head of NKVD?
Not unusual but this was the first time that it had been used against the Party itself.
What year was the Trial of the Sixteen?
1936
Who did the Trial of the Sixteen target?
Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 other comrades
For how long had Zinoviev, Kamenev and the 14 other comrades been in prison before the Trial of the Sixteen?
Over a year
What were the victims of the Trial of the Sixteen charged with?
Kirov’s murder
Plotting to disrupt the Five-Year Plans
Conspiring with foreign powers to overthrow the government
How did Zinoviev and Kamenev plead in the Trial of the Sixteen but what happened?
Pleaded their innocence but they were ‘persuaded’ to confess.
What did Stalin promise Zinoviev and Kamenev but what happened?
It is thought that Stalin promised to pardon them following a full confession.
Stalin broke his promise and neither were pardoned
What did Zinoviev say in the Trial of the Sixteen?
‘In no way, in no way, in no way, am I guilty before the Party, before the Central Committee, or before you personally…I beseech you to believe my honest word.’
Who was the trial judge at the Trial of the Sixteen?
Andrei Vyshinsky
What did Andrei Vyshinsky say in conclusion to the Trial of the Sixteen?
‘Shoot the mad dogs, every last one of them!’
What happened to both Zinoviev and Kamenev as a result of the Trial of the Sixteen?
They were both shot.
What had to be done to Zinoviev on the way to his execution?
He had to be carried to his execution weeping.
How much other high-ranking officials disappeared around the time of the Trial of the Sixteen, without trial?
43
What year was the Trial of the Seventeen?
1937
Who did the Trial of the Seventeen target?
Trotsky’s former allies
What were the targets of the Trial of the Seventeen targeted with?
Plotting with foreign powers
Terrorism
Sabotage
Contact with Trotsky
What was the Trial of the Seventeen the first product of?
Yezhov’s ‘conveyor belt system’
What was Yezhov’s ‘conveyor belt system’ ?
A system used to speed up the process of getting confessions from the NKVD victims.
What did Yezhov’s ‘conveyor belt system’ include?
Torture
Sleep deprivation
Then, relentless questioning until the defendants confess
How many of the seventeen were executed in the Trial of the Seventeen?
13
What happened to the 4 remaining targets of the Trial of the Seventeen?
Sent to gulags where they soon died.
[NOT VERY IMPORTANT/DON’T RLLY KNOW WHAT IT MEANS] What did one defendant of the Trial of the Seventeen do?
Using forged evidence, at the time he was in prison, he confessed to Kirov’s murder.
What was evidence like in the Trial of the Seventeen?
Forged
Who was reluctant to try Zinoviev and Kamenev?
Senior figures in the Central Committee
The Politburo
Why did the Senior figures in the Central Committee and Politburo turn to outright opposition?
It was rumoured that Bukharin was the next victim of the trials, after Trial of the Seventeen.
In the February-March meeting of the Central Committee, what did Stalin persuade his opponents?
Bukharin would not be a defendant at a show trial.
What happened on 10th September, 1937?
Pravda stated that Vyshinsky had closed the investigation into Bukharin.
At the February-March meeting of the Central Committee, what did Stalin do to persuade the Party that further terror was a necessity?
Proposed a bold new theory.
What was Stalin’s theory at the February-March meeting of the Central Committee which was used to persuade the Party that further terror was a necessity?
Doctrine of ‘sharpening class struggle’.
Stalin argued: As socialism advanced, the class struggle intensified.
When did the Communist Party officially adopt the doctrine of ‘sharpening class struggle’?
In the February-March Central Committee meeting 1937.
In spite of the loyalty, what percentage of the people who were present in the meeting were executed within 3 months?
70%
What year was the Trial of the Twenty-one?
1938
Who did the Trial of the Twenty-one target?
Bukharin,
Rykov
Their ‘accomplices’ including: Yagoda and Tukhachevsky
What was the last of the great Moscow show trials?
Trial of the Twenty-One 1938
What were the defendants of the Trial of the Twenty-One accused of?
Attempting to overthrow socialism
The murder of Kirov
What was Bukharin personally charged with in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
Attempting to assassinate Lenin
Bukharin was never tortured-what happened to him instead?
Stalin threatened to execute his wife and new born baby.
What was the Trial of the Twenty-One like?
Extraordinarily dramatic
What did Bukharin confess to in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
‘Political responsibility’ for the crimes.
What did Bukharin refuse to acknowledge in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
Refused to acknowledge guilt for any of the events that happened.
What did Bukharin never confess to in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
Trying to assassinate Lenin.
What did Bukharin never confess to in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
Trying to assassinate Lenin.
What did Vyshinsky accuse Bukharin and his co-defendants of being?
A ‘foul-smelling damnable cross of a fox and a swine’.
What was Bukharin sentenced to in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
Death
What was Bukharin sentenced to in the Trial of the Twenty-One?
Death
Name the 1st 6 people (NOT ACTUALLY TARGETED IN THIS ORDER-JUST TO SIMPLIFY LIST INTO SMALLER SECTIONS) who were put on trial in the Trial of the Twenty-One.
- Nikolai Bukharin
- Alexei Rykov
- Nikolai Krestinsky
- Christian Rakovsky
- Genrikh Yagoda
- Arkady Rosengoltz
Name the 2nd set of 5 people who were put on trial in the Trial of the Twenty-One.
- Vladimir Ivanov
- Mikhail Alexandrovich Charnov
- Grigori Grinko
- Isaac Zelensky
- Sergei Bessonov
Name the 3rd set of 5 people who were put on trial in the Trial of Twenty-One.
- Akmal Ikramov
- Fayzulla Khodzhayev
- Vasily Sharangovich
- Prokopy Zubarev
- Pavel Bulanov
Name the 4th/last set of 5 people who were put on trial in the Trial of the Twenty-One.
- Lev Levin
- Dmitry Pletnev
- Ignaty Kazakov
- Ventyamin Maximov-Dikovsky
- Peotr Kryuchkov
Who was Nikolai Bukharin?
Marxist theoretician
Former Head of Communist International
Member of Politburo
Who was Alexei Rykov?
Former premier (chief)
Member of Politburo
Who was Nikolai Krestinsky?
Former member of Politburo
Ambassador to Germany
Who was Christian Rakovsky?
Former ambassador to Great Britain and France
Who was Genrikh Yagoda?
Former head of the NKVD
Who was Arkady Rosengoltz?
Former People’s Commissar for Foreign Trade
Who was Vladimir Ivanov?
Former People’s Commissar for Timber Industry
Who was Mikhail Alexandrovich Chernov?
Former People’s Commissar for Agriculture
Who was Grigori Grinko?
Former People’s Commissar for Finance
Who was Isaac Zelensky?
Former Secretary of Central Committtee
Who was Akmal Ikramov?
Uzbek leader
Who was Fayzulla Khodzhayev?
Uzbek leader
Who was Vasily Sharangovich?
Former First Secretary in Byelorussia
Who was Pavel Bulanov?
NKVD officer
Who was Lev Levin?
Kremlin doctor (i think this is a doctor who was victim of Doctor’s Plot).
Who was Dmitry Pletnev?
Kremlin doctor
Who was Ignaty Kazakov?
Kremlin doctor
