Stalin's Terror & Purges Flashcards
JAN MOCK
when was kirov assassinated and by whom?
1934 by nikolayev who had a grudge against the party, however, suggestion that it was ordered by stalin because kirov had no bodyguard & NKVD had trained the assassin to fire a pistol
what did kirov’s death lead to?
many more purges & show trials
when did yagoda become head of the secret police?
1934
when did yagoda launch the great purge and who did he target?
1936 - party members who were alleged to have links to trotskyite opposition
example of slave labour under yagoda
the white sea canal was built by 180,000 slave labourers digging by hand - 141 miles long & cost 10,000 lives but it was only 12ft deep so pretty useless
why was yagoda removed as head of the secret police?
accused of not pursuing the opposition with sufficient enthusiasm & seen as a threat to stalin - removed from office & shot by order of stalin in 1938
tell me about the show trials of 1935-36
arrests of the left opposition members who were still at large, accused of anti-soviet activities, always ended in death, stage to ensure that other members were intimidated by the state’s power, delayed to the public through radio & film footage
who was targeted in the trial of the 16?
leaders of the left including zinoviev & kamenev - under severe pressure they confessed to crimes they couldn’t have possibly carried out like kirov’s murder
when was the trial of the 17 & who did it target?
1937 - party officials such as radek & pyatakov who were accused of working for trotsky & foreign governments to undermine the economy through sabotage
when was the trial of the 21 & who did it target?
1938 - the right including bukharin & rykov (tomsky had already committed suicide) they were accused of forming a ‘trotskyite-rightist bloc’ and both confessed - no solid evidence but bukharin’s ‘notes of an economist’ made clear his criticisms which stalin saw as a threat
who were the congress of victors/victims?
members of the 17th party congress who criticised stalin’s 5 year plans were put on show trial in 1937 & executed - examples include radek & pyatakov
what brought yezhov to stalin’s attention?
his enthusiasm for personally torturing suspects
what was yezhov known as?
‘the bloody dwarf’
how many prisoners did yezhov process in sept 1937
231 prisoners each day
what were yezhov’s quotas?
they were given a certain number of people to kill/send to the gulag so picked people randomly to meet these quotas
what happened to NKVD officers who carried out executions for yezhov?
awarded medals but often executed a few months later to meet quotas
how did yezhov keep an eye on the general public?
by increasing the NKVD surveillance of the public - plain clothes officers & a system of informers from the general public
who were considered opponents in yezhov’s time?
everyone from before but widened to include anyone who didn’t show sufficient commitment to the communist cause
when & why was yezhov dismissed?
1938 for his frenetic work rate & excessive drinking
when was the extensive purge of the red army?
1937 & 38
stats of the red army purge 1937-8
3/5 marshals, 14/16 army commanders & 35,000 officers
why did stalin purge the red army in 1937-8?
their criticism of collectivisation impacts concerned him as the armed forces were becoming more and more important
why did stalin purge the secret police?
purges generated more work for them, causing their influence to grow, so stalin purged the purgers to ensure there was no threat to himself
what did yezhov do in the first 6 months of being head?
purged 3,000 of his own personnel
what brought beria to stalin’s attention?
his impressive organisational skills & unsavoury characteristics, even though he was annoyed by his excessive flattery
why were the public somewhat relieved when beria came into power?
he was presented as an uncle-like figure which was slightly true because he thought indiscriminate arrests were inefficient & a waste of manpower
which important murder did beria oversee and when?
trotsky was murdered by a stalinist agent in mexico in 1940
what main changes did beria make?
he reintroduced more conventional methods of procedure & public trials were only held when there was solid evidence, surveillance only led to arrests when evidence was found
what did beria change in the gulag and why?
in 1939 rations for inmates were improved to get maximum work out of prisoners - done because beria wanted to make the gulag profitable
did the changes beria made involving the gulag make a difference?
there was a growth in gulag economic activity from 2 billion to 4.5 billion roubles and by the 1950s, over 1/3 of russia’s gold was produced through the gulag
