Rule of Stalin- The use of Terror Flashcards
Stalin's use of Terror throughout his reign
Between what years was the Moscow Show Trial Phase
1936-38
What were the three different Show Trials
The Trial of the Sixteen
The Trial of the Seventeen/ Secret Trials
The Trial of the Twenty One
Who were the key defendants in the Trial of the Sixteen and when did it take place
Zinoviev and Kamenev
1936
What were the details involving the Trial of the Sixteen
Zinoviev and Kamenev were charged with the murder of Kirov
Z & K confessed believing that Stalin would pardon them
Z & K were charged with working with capitalists
The judge concluded the trial with the words ‘Shoot the mad dogs, every last one of them’
When was the Trial of the Seventeen /Secret trials and who were the Key Defendants
Trotsky
Army Officers were put to Trial
1937
When was the Trial of the Twenty One and who were the key defendants involved
Bukharin and Yagoda
1938
What were the details involving the Trial of the Seventeen
Trotsky and his supporters were tried with the same crimes as Kamenev and Zinoviev
Trotsky was in exile so his sentence of death could not be carried out
Piatokov and Radek were tried.
The defendants all confessed with the use of totrture
However, the NKVD made many mistakes with their confessions. For example one man confessed to murdering Kirov despite being in NKVD prison at the time
What were the details involving the Trial of the twenty one
Bukharin was charged with plotting to kill Lenin
Bukharin confessed as there was the threat to execute his wife
Once again, the defendants were charged with the same crimes as Zinoviev and Kamenev
The Secret Trials of 1937
The trial of eight generals was kept top secret.
The eight generals were accused of plotting against Stalin which was With brutal torture at the hands of the NKVD, they confessed.
Over the next 18 months, 34,000 soldiers were purged from the army
These trials were done in secret as Stalin did not trust the leadership of the Red Army, but did not want to alarm the public by announcing these trials publicly.
What was the significance of the show trials
They finally removed Stalin’s rivals from the 1920s
It silenced all of the people who knew the truth about Lenin’s Testament and Lenin’s critical judgement of Stalin
They removed power from people who been appointed by Lenin; and consequently, giving them authority independently from Stalin
They acted as a form of propaganda ‘proving’ to Russian people that Stalin alone could be trusted with the future of Russia.
The name of the man who was murdered because Stalin feared him as Secretary of Equal Rank
Kirov
Who was the Chief Prosecutor at the Moscow Show Trials
Vyshinsky
What was Yezhovschina
The Yezhovshchina (named after Nikolai Yezhov, head of the Soviet secret police, the NKVD) refers to the period of intense political repression and mass purges in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938, during the height of Stalin’s Great Terror
When did Yezhov die?
1940
When did Yezhov become leader of the NKVD
1936
