Terror in the 1930s

Question 1

Why was Stalin criticised by the party and his former allies?

Answer 1

Because his policies in farming and industry caused big problems in Soviet Union.

Question 2

Why did Stalin assassinate Kirov?

Answer 2

• Kirov was a former ally,
• begun to call for a policy change
• Stalin began to suspect that Kirov wanted to take the leadership from him
• Assassinated in December 1934

Question 3

What was Stalin’s coverup for Kirov’s assassination?

Answer 3

That the murder was a huge convoluted conspiracy that led back to Trotsky.

Question 4

What were the four main reasons for the purges?

Answer 4

• Economic problems - accidents + economic under-performance –> blamed n imaginary ‘wreckers’
• Stalin’s paranoia - any potential rivals being eliminated
• Stalin’s fear of Kirov - Kirov became very popular, Stalin might have order’s Kirov’s assassination to use to remove rivals
• Following Lenin’s example - The Red Terror was a predecessor.

Question 5

What four elements made up the nature of the purges?

Answer 5

• Attack on the party and government: after purges linked to Kirov –> arrests focused on party member + government staff accused of not following orders
• Forced confessions: beaten until confessed to any accused crime, mostly made up
• Mass Terror (Yezhov) - NKVD targeted arrests –> denunciation of others
• Use of Gulags: state system of labour camps
  
  • by 1941: 8 million in camps with further millions in prison

Question 6

What were the main consequences of the purges?

Answer 6

1. Stalin dominance : Stalin’s purges instilled fear + obedience. –> No one dared question his leadership
2. “Old Leninists” destroyed: the original Bolsheviks who had built the Communist party with Lenin were all dead –> New members all owed positions to Stalin
   - Chaos in government + economy : loss of many experience managers, administrators, specialists –> government + industry with serious shortage of skill
   - Weakened armed forces : purges of military killed most of Stalin’s experienced officers + arrested soldiers often accused officers –> loss of military leadership seriously weakened armed forces –> significant setback when Germany invades Russia in 1941

Question 7

what was the NKVD

Answer 7

secret police who received quotas for no. of enemies of people to be arrested

Question 8

What were the three main systems enforcing the purges?

Answer 8

• Secret Police investigations: OPGU –> NKVD –> FGB
• Gulags: labour camps for torture, family torture, sleep deprivation –> until confess made-up crimes
• Terror + Mistrust : ordinary people denouncing each other.

Question 9

what were the conditions of Gulags

Answer 9

• prisoners used as slave labourers (‘white coal’) to extract resources + build infrastructure
• Mixes of people from all areas of Soviet society
• Very high death toll: ~2 million thin uniforms, bad food + shacks, long hrs of physical labour
• Spread to distant corners of USSR, some fairly inhospitable, winters severe

Question 10

What were show trials and what were they for?

Answer 10

• Only high-profile figures had show trials (Z+K)
• They were public declarations of guilt.
• Designed to make the people believe that county was really under attack by enemies of the people
• show trials became scapegoats for all Soviet Union problems

Question 11

Who was the head of the NKVD for the majority of the purges?

Answer 11

Yezhov - who had the purges named after him almost to excuse Stalin, making it seem like one evil NKVD leader caused all the purges.

Question 12

What was the Russian name for the purges from 1936 - 1938?

Answer 12

Yezhovshchina