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.