Was Stalin’s industrialisation programme the main reason for the purges in the Soviet Union in the 1930s?

What is this essay mainly the same as?

Was Stalin’s personality the main reason for the purges of the 1930s in the Soviet Union?

How did Stalin’s industrialisation programme contribute to the purges?

by creating pressure, failures and scapegoats within the Soviet system

Why was industrialisation a secondary trigger rather than the central cause?

The purges were primarily driven by Stalin’s desire to eliminate political opposition and consolidate personal dictatorship, supported by events such as the Kirov assassination and the use of the NKVD

What type of process was the scale and nature of the Great Purge?

fundamentally a political process rather than an economic one

How did Industrialisation contribute to the Purges?

contributed to early accusations of sabotage and the scapegoating of industrial managers

However, what type of cause was it, instead of the main driver?

secondary cause

When were the FYPs introduced?

1928

What did the Early FYPs focus on?

rapid expansion of heavy industry:

• coal, steel, iron, railways

What did the FYPs put an emphasis on?

meeting unrealistic production quotas - really hard to meet

What were Economic failures blamed on?

deliberate sabotage (“wreckers”)

Who was targeted as scapegoats?

Managers, engineers, and technical specialists targeted

What did State propaganda linked inefficiency to?

“enemies of socialism”

Shakhty Trial?

53 engineers and managers from Shakhty were arrested after being accused of conspiring to sabotage the Soviet economy with the former owners of the coal mines

Shakhty Trial - when were they arrested?

1928

Shakhty Trial - what idea did it strengthen?

industrial failure = political crime

Who was held personally responsible for meeting targets?

Factory managers held personally responsible for meeting targets - Local officials vulnerable to accusation if targets not met

What did fear of punishment encourage?

Fear of punishment encouraged false reporting and overproduction

What can’t industrialisation explain about the purges (3)?

• mass political purges of Communist Party elites

• execution of senior Bolsheviks

• military purges in 1937–38

What did industrialisation create a climate of fear in?

economic management

What did industrialisation provide early justification for?

repression of technical experts

But what did later purges expand far beyond economic targets into?

political elimination

Why is industrialisation only a supporting factor?

it does not explain the wider political purge of Party elites and military leaders.