The purges of the 1930s

Why was the main aim of Stalin’s purges?

To remove Stalin’s rivals from positions of power and increase his personal power

How did the Party Secretariat act as an instrument of terror?

They collected information on Party members that could be used to condemn them as enemies of the people

What had the secret police become? How did the Secret Police act as an instrument of terror?

They had evolved into the NKVD by 1934 and carried out surveillance, arrests and executions.

Arrested people were taken to the Lubyanka building in Moscow where they were subjected to torture until they confessed

High profile victims would have a show trial where the accused would admit their crimes before being sentenced to death. This public confession would save the victims family from prison but this promise was not always kept. The other deal was naming associates in plots to undermine the state.

What were the 4 main reasons for the purges?

• Stalin’s paranoia

• To deal with people criticising/standing in the way of economic policy

• To eliminate rivals and suppress critics

• To establish personal dictatorship

Why was Stalin’s paranoia a reason for the purges? Give 3 examples of Stalin’s paranoia

Stalin told Khrushchev: ‘I trust nobody, not even myself’

Accusations in the purges included: working with Trotsky, spying for capitalist powers, plotting to assassinate Stalin.

Stalin would read the lists of those to be arrested, adding more names on occasion or adding the comment that more victims were needed→ A quota system was used whereby each party branch had its own target to meet.

How did people criticise the five year plans and collectivisation?

Party officials were critical of the unrealistic targets.

At the 17th Party conference in 1934 moderates within the party put pressure on Kirov (the Leningrad Party Secretary) to present these criticisms and he received a wave of support

Stalin’s wife Nadezhda Alliluyeva committed suicide in 1932 in protest against his use of violence to enforce collectivisation.

Why was eliminating rivals and suppressing critics a reason for the purges?

There was increasing criticism of Stalin’s policies by 1932 e.g. Ryutin issued a document to members of the Central Committee that was highly critical of Stalin

Sergei Kirov, head of the Communist Party in Leningrad, had emerged as a popular figure within the Party.

How did Stalin use the purges to help establish a personal dictatorship?

Stalin wanted to appoint a new generation of Party leaders who owed their positions to him and who therefore were loyal to Stalin alone

When was the Chistka?

1932-35

Who was targeted during the Chistka and why?

Local party officials because they were standing in the way of/criticising the Five Year Plans and collectivisation of agriculture. They had ignored orders from Moscow.

What happened during the Chistka? What was its impact?

By 1935, 22% of the Party had been removed from their posts, but it was mostly a non-violent process. It showed that opposition to Stalin’s policies was growing.

When was Kirov murdered?

1st of December 1934 by Leonid Nikolayev who had a personal grudge against Kirov as he thought he was sleeping with his wife.

It has been suggested that the murder of Kirov was carried out on Stalin’s orders as the circumstances were suspicious since the NKVD had been training Nikolayev to use a gun

How did Stalin use Kirov’s murder to remove opposition?

The official explanation was that Kirov’s assassin was member of an opposition group led by Zinoviev and Kamenev who were then arrested, put on trial and sentenced to long prison terms in January 1935.

What were show trials?

Public trials of leading enemies of the state which were filmed and used as propaganda.

When was the trial of the sixteen? Who was target in this trial?

August 1936, Leaders of the left including Zinoviev and Kamenev

What happened to Zinoviev and Kamenev during the trial of the sixteen?

They were dragged from prison and accused of working as agents of Trotsky to undermine the state. Under pressure for the NKVD they confessed to crimes they could have not possibly committed including the murder of Kirov.

When was the Trial of the Seventeen? Who was targeted? What were they accused of?

1937→ Party officials were targeted and accused of working for Trotsky and foreign governments to undermine the Soviet economy but their real crime was probably criticising the Five-Year Plans

When was the Trial of the Twenty-one? Who was targeted? What were they accused of?

1938→ Purge of the Right, more specifically Bukharin and Rykov who were accused of forming a ‘Trotskyite-Rightist Bloc’ a crime to which they bother confessed.

What was the purpose and impact of these show trials?

They intimidated party members by showing the power of the state so they would not rise against Stalin. The proceedings were relayed to the Soviet population via radio and film footage to install fear and thus control.

When did purges take place in the Red Army?

1937-1938

Why were the armed forces targeted in these purges?

They had been critical of the demoralising impact of collectivisation on the peasantry who made up the bulk of soldiers which was concerning to Stalin due to the growth in the army’s importance alongside the increase in defence resources in the 1930s.

The power of the army leaders had to be cut down and their loyalty enforced.

What was the impact of these Red Army purges on numbers?

• 3 out of 5 marshals were purged

• 14 out of 16 army commanders and 35,000 officers were either shot or imprisoned

When was the secret police purged?

1936-38

Why were the secret police targeted?

The influence of the secret police was growing with the purges and therefore to ensure the secret police posed no threat to Stalin the purgers were themselves purged.

What happened during the purge of the secret police?

In 1936 Yagoda the head of the NKVD was replaced by Yezhov who oversaw the purging of over 3,000 of his own personnel in his first 6 months this was known as the ‘Yezhovschina’

When was Yezhov dismissed and why?

He was arrested in early 1939 because Stalin needed a scapegoat for the excesses of the purges which were coming to an end.