The Great Purge

• •In August 1936, a show trial took place involving Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 other leading communists.•They were accused of being part of a Trotsky-led plot to murder Stalin and other members of the Politburo.•All of them were found guilty and were executed, along with 160 “accomplices”.•These were the first executions of people who had been on the Party Central Committee.•After the trial, Yagoda was replaced as Head of the NKVD because it was believed he hadn’t been active enough in uncovering the “conspiracy”. 


  Start of purges
• A second show trial took place in January 1937. This included 17 prominent communists, including Radek (who had helped write the 1936 Constitution). They were again accused of plotting with Trotsky and after giving their “confessions”, 13 were sentenced to death.

  Yezhov (the Dwarf) accused Bukharin of knowing about the conspiracy and he was arrested.

  2nd show tiral
• •The third and largest show trial was held in March 1938.•21 Bolsheviks were accused of conspiring with Trotsky in a “Trotsky-Zinoviev terrorist organisation”.•Bukharin tried to defend himself and even though he ultimately “confesses”, he added the words “whether or not I knew”.•A British diplomat was at the trial and saw that Stalin was watching the whole thing through the black glass of a small window high up in the courtroom.•Bukharin made a last plea to Stalin not to be shot.•Stalin made him watch everyone else’s execution before shooting him last.


  3rd show tiral
• •In May/June 1937, 8 senior military commanders, all of whom were “heroes” of the Civil War were arrested, tortured and made to sign false confessions.•This included a famous war hero, Mikhail Tukhachevsky.•They were tried in secret military tribunals and convicted of espionage and being part of a “Trotskyite-Rightist anti-Soviet conspiracy”.•They were tortured for sustained periods of time and Tukhacevsky’s “confession” was covered in bloodstains. All of the accused were executed.


  Purges in the army
• •Of the 767 members of army High Command, 512 were executed, 29 died in prison, 13 committed suicide and 59 were placed in jail.


  Stats of purges in the army
• •In 1937-38, Stalin’s Purge became the Yezhovshchina, named after Yezhov was was the Head of the NKVD.•July 1937 saw the release of NKVD Order 00447. This established a “quota” system and every region of the USSR was expected to arrest a set number of “oppositionists”.


  The creation of the Yezhovshchina
• •Opponents were split into two categories. Category 1 opponents would be immediately arrested and shot, Category 2 would be confined for between 8-10 years.


  Oppononets in the Yezhovshchina
• •One of Stalin’s biggest fears was of a “Fifth Column” (an opposition group within a country which is at war) which might try to bring down the USSR from within.•The NKVD had surveillance everywhere and the terror spread down from the Party hierarchy, into Soviet institutions and then into every town and village.•Stalin also introduced a law to say that children aged 12 and over would face the same punishments as adults. This was used as leverage to get confessions.


  Stalin and the Yezhovshchina
• •Purges continued into WW2 but the pace slowed significantly in 1938.•The Yezhovshchina was threatening to destabilise the State and industry.•Stalin blamed the excesses on Yezhov and in November 1938, replaced him with his deputy, Lavrenty Beria.


  The end of Yezhov
• The 17th Party Congress (which had voted negatively towards Stalin and favoured Kirov) was battered. Of the 1,996 delegates, 1,108 were arrested and 848 were executed. Of the 139 Central Committee members elected at that Congress, 98 were shot.

  •The 18th Party Congress claimed the “mass cleansings” were no longer needed and accused Yezhov of using excess force.•1.5 million cases were reviewed, 450,000 convictions quashed, 128,000 cases closed, 30,000 released from jail and 327,000 released from the gulags.


  Impact of purges
• •Yezhov himself was arrested and shot in February 1940. The assassination of Trotsky took place in 1940.•Almost all the old Bolsheviks who could have opposed Stalin were now gone.


  Opposition wiped out by 1940
• • The Summer of 1937 saw denunciation of loyal Stalinists who were the highest officials below Politburo level. Them, and their “family circles” (patronage networks) were swept away. The leadership in every field and every organisation like planning agencies, trade unions, Komsomol and education was hit.
  • Stalin coined a phrase in a letter to Molotov: “inspecting and checking up by punching people in the face”. This gave scapegoats for the economic crises by placing the blame firmly on Party leadership at republican, regional and district level. 


  Denunciations
• In July 1937, a Politburo resolution condemned “anti-Soviet elements” in Russian society and an arrest list of over 250,000 was drawn up, including artists, musicians, scientists, writers, managers and administrators.


  Who did Stalin condemn
• National minorities were purged from August 1937 because they were feared to be a Fifth Column which might support an outside invader. During the “Polish Operation” resulted in the arrest of around 140,000 people, a staggering 111,000 of whom were shot.


  Purge of national minorities
• Surveillance was everywhere and ordinary citizens were encourage to root out “hidden enemies”, even amongst their own friends and family. The NKVD employed “reliables” in offices, universities and factories.


  Surveillance