1. SECTION 5 THE TERROR YOU NEED TO KNOW: THE CAUSES OF THE GREAT TERROR THE PURGES AT THEIR HEIGHT 1936-1938 WHAT WERE THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE TERROR? WHY DID STALIN CONTINUE TO USE TERROR IN HIS FINAL YEARS? EXAMPLE EXAM QUESTION: HOW FAR DO YOU AGREE THAT STALIN’S PARANOIA WAS THE MAIN CAUSE OF THE GREAT TERROR? 30 MARKS

2. THE ORIGINS OF THE POLICE STATE During the 1930s the Soviet government extended its influence over the economy, tightened it's censorship and its control of artists, and unleashed a reign of terror against its citizens. Political terror was established before Stalin was leader. Lenin had believed it was essential for the survival of the revolutionary regime. The role of the CHEKA (Russian secret police) expanded as Stalin's power increased. In the 1920's the OGPU (the new name for the Cheka) began to be concerned with opposition within the Communist Party. They put Zinoviev and Kamenev under house arrest and spied on Bukharin. In the first years of Stalin's rule the OGPU changed again. They organised dekulakisation. They organised prison labour camps Spied on workers and peasants Organised SHOW TRIALS of so-called saboteurs who held back production.

3. CAUSES OF THE GREAT TERROR 1.THE CONGRESS OF VICTORS This was intended to be a celebration of Stalin's economic achievements. The Congress worried Stalin for several reasons. When the Congress voted to elect the Central Committee, Kirov, rather than Stalin topped the poll. Kirov (1,225) Stalin (927). The vote indicated that Kirov was more popular than Stalin in the Communist Party. A group of old Bolsheviks approached Kirov following the vote and tried to persuade him to stand as General Secretary. (Kirov refused, but Stalin found out about the plan). These events were evidence that Stalin had to purge the Party.

4. 2. PARANOIA Stalin felt unable to trust many within the Communist Party. He acted to remove those he saw as threats. Although Stalin was the unchallenged leader, he believed that he still had many enemies. Zinoviev, Kamenev and Bukharin all held leading positions but lost their power....was Stalin to be next? He did not trust his rivals and did not believe that they were fully converted to his ideas of socialism. He worried about members of the Party who had been members before the Civil War. They knew the truth about his rise to power and Lenin's view that he did not deserve to be General Secretary. Stalin feared the Red Army and the secret police had too much power. His lack of control over these bodies made Stalin fear assassination attempts. Yagoda, second in command of the OGPU attempted to win Stalin's favour by reporting discontent with collectivisation. (Yagoda played on Stalin's paranoia).

5. 3. TERROR ECONOMICS The Great Terror allowed Stalin to blame economic problems on political enemies. (problems of the Five-Year Plans could be blamed on “wreckers” in the workforce). Stalin claimed the “wreckers” were working for Trotsky, Zinoviev and Kamenev and were working to sabotage Russia's economy. Stalin was able to create scapegoats for economic problems. The purges provided cheap labour. The people sent by Stalin to prison camps were a source of slave labour.

6. THE EARLY PURGES 1932: THE RYUTIN GROUP Ryutin was a Right Communist who had published an attack on Stalin. He described Stalin was “the evil genius who had brought the Revolution to the verge of destruction”. Stalin wanted Ryutin executed. The Central Committee and Politburo refused to order his execution had been involved in the refusal to allow Ryutin's execution. Stalin saw this as betrayal. (Kirov was Chairman of the Leningrad Communist Party). Ryutin and his supporters were brought to trial and publicly expelled from the Party. Between 1933-1934 nearly one million members, over 1/3 of the total membership, were excluded from the Party on the grounds that they were “Ryutinites”. Nature of the early purges Members were obliged to hand in their PARTY CARD (membership) and any suspect individuals would not have their cards returned to them. Without the card members were denied access to the Party and their family lost privileges with regard to matters such as food rations and employment. This made it difficult to mount any opposition to Stalin.

7. KIROV STALIN HAD TRIED TO EXCLUDE KIROV FROM THE POLITBURO BY INSISTING HE STAY IN LENINGRAD TO SUPERVISE THE LOCAL PARTY. 1932 KIROV HAD HELPED DEFEAT STALIN OVER RYUTIN DECEMBER 1934 KIROV WAS MURDERED ZINOVIEV AND KAMENEV WERE ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH THE MURDER THE MURDER RID STALIN OF HIS MOST IMPORTANT RIVAL THIS ENABLED STALIN TO JUSTIFY THE TERROR EVIDENCE POINTS TO STALIN BEING RESPONSIBLE. A WAVE OF TERROR WAS LAUNCED AGAINST THE COMMUNIST PARTY. NIKOLAYEV WAS INTERROGATED BY STALIN PERSONALLY AND “CONFESSED”. IT WAS REVEALED HE WAS WORKING ON THE ORDERS OF TROTSKY. YAGODA BECAME HEAD OF THE NKVD IN 1934. TERROR WAS AN INTEGRAL PART OF STALIN’S ABILITY TO SECURE CONTROL OVER THE PARTY.

8. THE GREAT TERROR 1936-1938 1. The Moscow Show Trials There were three. They removed high profile older Communists. The Trial of the Sixteen (1936): Zinoviev and Kamenev were the main participants. They were charged with Kirov's murder, disrupting the Five Year Plans and conspiracy to overthrow the government. They were “persuaded” to confess. (Stalin had promised to pardon them but broke his promise). They were both shot. The Trial of the Seventeen (1937): This dealt with Trotsky's former allies. Torture, sleep deprivation and questioning were used relentlessly until the person confessed. There was reluctance amongst many within the Communist Party to try Zinoviev and Kamenev. The Trial of the Twenty-One (1938): Bukharin, Rykov and their “accomplices”. They were accused of the same crimes as Zinoviev and Kamenev. BUT Bukharin was also accused of attempting to assassinate Lenin. Bukharin was not tortured (Stalin threatened to execute his wife and baby instead). Bukharin was sentenced to death. Stalin showed there was no mercy for those who opposed his power.

9. 2. Radicalisation of the NKVD Yagoda was replaced by the more radical Yezhov. Yagoda was tried alongside Bukharin and Rykov. Stalin felt Yagoda's handing of the murder of Kirov and the Trial of the Sixteen had not been firm enough. Stalin announced that Yezhov was now in charge. Stalin said the NKVD was “four years behind” and to speed it up set targets for arrests and executions.. In 1937 he purged the NKVD. (older members had loyalty to people such as Bukharin). New recruits were thugs, or careerists who met the targets to get promoted.

10. 3. The Purges of the Party. The show trials dealt with the previous generation of the Party. The 1937 purges wiped out younger members and “unreliable elements”. This period is known as “Yezhovshchina”. It was demanded that Party members root out spies and traitors. 1934- 1938 330,000 Party members were convicted as enemies of the people. 4.The Purges of the Army. Stalin never fully trusted the Army. (the majority of its officers had been appointed by Trotsky). Stalin feared the military might try and seize power. 1937: eight Generals were tortured and confessed to treason. In the next 18 months 34,000 soldiers were purged from the army.

11. 5. Mass Murder The show trials provided “evidence” that there was an anti-Soviet conspiracy. The NKVD issued ORDER NO. 00447 The removal of “anti-Soviet elements” from Russian society. A list of over 250,000 was produced. Many Russians denounced people they knew (reported them to the NKVD). They wanted to show their own loyalty and avoid persecution. Workers sometimes denounced their bosses (hoping for promotion). 6. The arrest of Yezhov He resigned in 1938, but was arrested the following year. In 1940 he was executed. He was replaced by Beria. 7. The arrest of Trotsky The NKVD had been pursuing Trotsky since 1930. In 1940 he was tracked to Mexico. An NKVD agent broke into his house and killed him with an ice-pick. Beria: “when you stop murdering people by the millions, they start to get ideas”.

12. CONSEQUENCES OF THE TERROR 1.SOCIAL THE FOCUS CHANGED. IN 1935 IT WAS ON PARTY MEMBERS, 1937 EXTENDED TO ARMY, NKVD. BY 1938 THE VIOLENCE WAS MORE WIDESPREAD. THE PERSECUTION WAS DIRECTED AGAINST URBAN AND EDUCATED POPULATION MORE THAN MANUAL WORKERS OR PEASANTS. PROFESSIONALS WERE AT RISK. (LINK TO ECONOMY). MEN WERE THE MAIN VICTIMS 95% CERTAIN NATIONALITIES WERE MORE TARGETED. (NKVD HAD TARGETS FOR POLISH, LATVIANS ETC). SOME WHOLE APARTMENT BLOCKS IN MOSCOW WERE DESERTED DURING 1937 CHILDREN OF THOSE ARRESTED WERE EXPECTED TO PUBLICLY DISOWN THEIR PARENTS. FORMAL RENUNCIATIONS BECAME PART OF SCHOOL LIFE IN 1937-1938 WORKERS ACCUSED MANAGERS OF MALPRACTICE. FORMER BOSSES WERE PUT ON TRIAL. THE STAKHONIVITE MOVEMENT WAS ACTIVE IN THIS PROCESS. MANY MANAGERS WERE ACCUSED OF BEING WRECKERS MANY PEOPLE CREATED NEW IDENTITIES FOR THEMSELVES

13. 2. ECONOMIC OFFICIALLY THE TERROR WAS MEANT TO BOOST ECONOMIC PRODUCTION BY ERADICATING “WRECKERS”. IT LED TO HAVOC! FIGURES WERE LIED ABOUT DUE TO FEAR OF NOT MEETING TARGETS. THEREFORE IT WAS IMPOSSIBLE TO PLAN EFFECTIVELY AS THE FIGURES WERE DISTORTED. THE PURGES ELIMINATED MANY PLANNERS WITHIN GOSPLAN. COMPETANT MANAGERS WERE WIPED OUT E.G. THE RATE OF COAL PRODUCTION IN THE DONBAS REGION FELL THERE WAS A SLOWDOWN IN ECONOMIC GROWTH

14. 3. POLITICAL IT SERVED A POLITICAL PURPOSE FOR STALIN THOSE WHO OPPOSED STALIN WERE NOW FOUND GUILTY OF CORRUPTION SCAPEGOATS FOR POPULAR DISCONTENT AT A LOCAL LEVEL THE SHOW TRIALS “PROVED” EVERYONE WHO OPPOSED STALIN WAS CORRUPT. STALIN WAS THEN ABLE TO ELIMINATED THEIR FOLLOWERS LOCAL SHOW TRIALS OF BOSSES. THIS PROVIDED A FOCUS FOR DISCONTENT AWAY FROM STALIN STALIN EMERGED STRONGER THAN EVER BEFORE POTENTIAL THREATS TO HIS POWER WERE NOW REMOVED ESTIMATES VARY: 1,500,000 EXECUTED. 2,000,000 IN CAMPS DIED.

15. THE TERROR 1941-1953 BERIA’S NKVD WAS USED TO POLICE RUSSIAN SOCIETY TO MAKE SURE THEY WERE NOT HAMPERING THE WAR EFFORT. A PURGE OF THE RED ARMY WAS ORDERED IN RESPONSE TO DEFEATS AT THE EARLY STAGES OF THE WAR. MILITARY INTELLIGENCE WAS ALSO PURGED. STALIN BLAMED THEM FOR NOT INFORMING HIM OF GERMANY’S PLAN TO INVADE RUSSIA. THIS POLICY ENDED AS STALIN CAME TO NEED GENERALS/OFFICERS FOR THE WAR EFFORT. THE NKVD DREW UP A LIST OF POTENTIAL GERMAN SYMPATHISERS. (POLITCAL PRISONERS FOR EXAMPLE). ENTIRE GROUPS OF PEOPLE WERE EXILED TO SIBERIA. E.G. CHECHEN PEOPLE SOLDIERS RETURNING TO RUSSIA WHO WERE GERMAN PRISONERS WERE NOT WELCOME. THEY WERE INTERROGATED AND EXILED. SOME WERE PUT IN PRISON CAMPS IN SIBERIA. PRISONERS OF WAR PROVIDED SLAVE LABOUR. JEWS WERE PURGED FROM DIPLOMACY AND MILITARY. STALIN FEARED THEY WERE NOT LOYAL TO RUSSIA STALIN SACKED LENINGRAD PARTY OFFICIALS IN 1949. LENINGRAD STALIN CALLED “AN ISLAND IN THE PACIFIC” AS HE FELT HIS AUTHORITY WAS NOT FIRMLY STAMPED ON THE CITY CONFESSIONS WERE EXTRACTED USING THE NKVD “CONVEYER BELT SYSTEM” MANY OF STALIN’S DOCTORS WERE ARRESTED. THEY WERE RELEASED AFTER STALIN’S DEATH 1953 STALIN DIED. BERIA WAS EXECUTED

16. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ajqk875 Xu0&feature=relatedhttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ajqk875 Xu0&feature=related SUFFERING UNDER STALIN 5 MIN 30