The Secret Police under Yezhov (1936 - 38) Flashcards
What doctrine did Stalin introduce in order to justify more extensive terror?
sharpening class struggle - idea that as socialism advanced, class struggle would intensify - Capitalists fought harder as socialism succeeded
Accelerating terror - targets?
Stalin set targets for arrests, executions and deportations
Accelerating terror - purge - When? Who? Why?
1937
NKVD purged - old agents removed
because they were sometimes loyal to Stalin’s opponents and were ideologically opposed to terror in a socialist society
Accelerating terror - new agents?
no loyalty to the party and no ideological opposition to the terror
What system for getting confessions did Yezhov introduce?
‘conveyer belt system’ - agents worked in shifts around the clock - torture + interrogation continued without break until confession
Yezhovshchina Who did the terror attack overall? Which groups to a greater extent? Which groups were less likely to be targeted Why?
all groups of people in Soviet Society
urban educated men with positions in govt
manual workers and women
those who were most likely to be opposed to Stalin and be a threat to him targeted most
What did NKVD agents demand?
higher targets
What was done at a local level by peasants and workers?
Example?
organised their own show trials
In Kazan, Communist officials publicly tried for misusing govt funds, found guilty, handed over to NKVD
Yezhovshchina
How is is described by Donald Rayfield?
‘Yezhov’s bloodbath’
Yezhovshchina
Approx how many people were arrested?
What % approx was this of the male adult population?
Of these, approx how many were deported?
Where were they often deported to?
Approx how many of those arrested were executed?
1.5 million arrested 10% of male adult population 635, 000 deported Siberia over 680, 000 executed
Yezhovshchina
What % of those targeted were men?
95%
