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
When was the final major show trial, and whose was it?
- Bukharin’s in March 1938
- He was later shot
List 2 effects of the purges.
- Stalin had complete control after openly removing Bolsheviks
- Huge disruptions were caused; many skilled workers were killed and the army was too weak to face Hitler
