The Great Terror Flashcards
What were the three stages of the Purges?
Cleansing of the party, the show trials and the mass terror.
When was the cleansing of the party?
1932-35 the cleansing of the party
What were the show trails?
They removed the old Bolsheviks from the party as they were publically tried and executed
When was the period of mass terror?
1937 – 1938
What was the period of mass terror?
Led by Yezhov, the head of the NKVD, saw thousands of party members, state officials, members of the armed forces, industrial directors and other sections of society were arrested and imprisoned.
Many were executed or died in Soviet labour camps
What sparked the beginning of the purges?
1st December, 1934 – The murder of Kirov
Why was the murder of Kirov so significant?
This was engineered by Stalin so he had an excuse to introduce the Decree against Terrorist Acts
This gave the NKVD limitless powers in pursuing the enemies of the state and Party
Who were murdered in show trials?
Anyone deemed to be a Trotskyite was said to be involve in the murder of Kirov
When and how were Kamenev and Zinoviev trialled?
January 1935
There was no direct evidence against them
Physical and mental torture by the NKVD
Pleaded guilty and given prison sentences
What were show trials?
Show trails were trials with pre-determined fixed outcomes, that were mainly used on innocent, yet powerful people who, in his paranoia, Stalin believed may challenge his leadership.
What did show trails mean for Stalin?
The show trial stage of the purges allowed him to remove anyone powerful that could either challenge him directly or would see through his later plans, such as the Cult of Personality
They created an atmosphere of intimidation and danger, and that enemies and spies were all around
This meant that, no one spoke a bad word against Stalin or the state
Statistics for the purges.
70% of members in the Central Committee were shot
The number of victims:
Arrests – 7-8 million
Executions – 1-1.5 million
Population of camps – 7-8 million
Famine – 7 million
Total deaths between 1929 – 1953 : 20 million
What was Stalin’s personality like?
Very suspicious of others
Very vindictive and vengeful, and took revenge on those who had belittled him in the past
Cruel and brutal even for a Bolshevik
Resorted to violence as a solution for his problems
Limited abilities, but unlimited ambitions
