Terror in the 1930s Flashcards
When did the purges begin and what was their purpose?
- They started in 1932
- They became extremely violent in 1934
- The millions of people who opposed, criticised, or stood in the way of collectivisation or industrialisation faced deportation, imprisonment or death
List the 8 main dates of the purges.
- 1928; first victims: 55 engineers at Shakhty mines in Donbas were accused of sabotage. 5 were shot and 49 were imprisoned.
- 1932: Ryutin, an important member of the Party, criticised Stalin’s economic policies and was exiled.
- 1934; Kirov dies: thousands are purged from the party- 40,000 in Leningrad (Petrograd) alone.
- 1935: Senior Communists are arrested and the rest of the party are told to root out Trotsky supporters, resulting in thousands of expulsions.
- 1936; show trials of old left-wing Bolsheviks including Kamenev and Zinoviev: after torture and brainwashing, they confess to plotting.
- 1937; Red Army is purged: Stalin did this to stop them from overthrowing him, ensure their obedience and to reduce their power. (By 1941 Stalin had purged almost 90% of Soviet generals)
- 1938; NKVD is purged: Stalin blamed the NKVD for the purges getting out of control and purged them to remove all knowledge.
- 1940; Trotsky’s murder: Stalin had an assassin kill Trotsky who had been writing articles against him in Mexico.
Give 4 reasons why the purges became as intense as they were.
- Stalin believed his position was threatened and had a ‘persecution complex’; he thought that everyone was plotting against him
- Stalin was wary of spies and believed that the armed forces were full of them
- A benefit to the purges was that intense labour was done with very little given in return
- Locals utilised the purges to get coveted jobs
Who was Sergei Kirov and what political importance did he have?
- Was the Party Secretary in Leningrad
- He was a popular and powerful speaker
- In early 1934 he publicly disagreed with Stalin in front of the Party and received more support
When was Kirov killed and what happened to the main witness?
- He was shot and killed in December 1934
- The main witness was Kirov’s bodyguard who was later ran over by a truck of NKVD men who were uninjured but later all died
What did Stalin do to prove that he did not kill Kirov?
- He himself interrogated the murderer
- He played an active role in the funeral
- He had propaganda made showcasing his devastation
How did Stalin capitalise off of Kirov’s death?
He issued the ‘Decree Against Terrorist Acts’:
- The secret police was expanded
- It had increased powers
- People could be executed without trial
When and to what did the secret police change their name?
- 1923: OGPU
- 1934: NKVD
Describe the 2 heads of the secret police from 1936.
Yezhov (1936-8):
- Gave his name to the purging in that period; Yezhovschina
- Was purged himself in 1938
Beria:
- Was Yezhov’s assistant and replaced him
- Immediately purged the NKVD and filled in vacancies with his friends
- Stalin made him Deputy Prime Minister in 1941
What were gulags, their purpose (example) and who ran them?
- Labour camps (some were in the Arctic Circle)
- Prisoners were forced to do hard manual work such as building the Belomor Canal with little to no tools
- They were ran by the secret police
How many people were imprisoned in gulags in 1928? 1938?
- 30,000
- 7 million
How many people died in gulags and from what causes?
- 13 million
- Cold, starvation and ill-treatment
What were show trials?
- They publicised confessions from Stalin’s enemies
When and why did Stalin start using show trials?
- 1936
- Stalin had begun to purge the Party; old Bolsheviks in particular
- They portrayed Stalin to be justified and right
Which high-profile case took place in 1936 and what for?
- Kamenev, Zinoviev and 14 others were put on trial for plotting to kill Lenin, Stalin and Kirov, as directed by Trotsky
