Stalin (1928-1953)
The Great Purge
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Almost all original party members disappeared or executed.
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Army generals and officers removed and murdered. (Morale of red army?)
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Secret police (NKVD) - Yagoda, Yezhov, Beria
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Stalin was driven by paranoia, had a desire to be seen as the savour of the nation.
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Cleansed army and part in readiness for war.
Show Trials
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Enemies: Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev.
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Trotsky escaped, many saw him as a hero and wanted his return.
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Stalin sought to destroy them, (Accusations of plotting against Russia / against Stalin and working with fascists).
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Trials were to destroy their reputations forever.
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Carried out by the NKVD
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First in charge of the NKVD: Yagoda (1934-1936)
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Later Yezhov (nicknamed "The Poison Dwarf") (1932-1938)
◦ Later part of the policy against ordinary citizens known as the Yezhovshcina.
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Then Beria after the arrest of Yezhov.
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Three main show trials.
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Senior Communist party leaders were tried in public.
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These trials were part of Stalin's efforts to ensure greater power for himself.
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Even though Trotsky was in exile, he was as much on trial as they were.
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They were branded as terrorist groups of Trotskyites.
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They were also accused of conspiring with Nazi Germany.
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Zinoviev broke first, he was used to get a confession from Kamenev.
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Once the confessions were signed, the defendants had to memorize their lines for the trial.
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Stalin used the Show Trials to discipline the Soviet Population.
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He eliminated the old Bolsheviks.
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Used the trials as propaganda.
"Our beloved leader and teacher - The great Stalin" - Vyshinsky (Prosecutor)
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Show Trials created a veneer of justice.
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Many foreign observers believed the trials were legal and that there was a conspiracy against the soviet union.
The Purges
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By 1938, 1 in 8 citizens has been arrested at some point in the purges.
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Almost every family had lost at least one member as a victim of the terror.
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The fear and suspicion generated by the purges in society had secured Stalins hold on power but now threatened to cripple the USSR.
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The purges that secured Stalins hold on power generated more labour within the gulags.
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The purges caused immense damage to the operational capacity of the USSR armed forces.
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In 1938 the Red Army was in an appalling state on the eve of WWII.
◦ This was highlighted by their poor performance in the Winter War (1939-1940) with Finland.
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Morale within the USSR was poor.
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Stalin was still popular but in great danger; he was perhaps saved by the unifying force of Nazism.