1934-1938 - Kirov + Purges

• February 1934

  • Kirov stars at the 17th Party Conference.
• 1 December 1934

  • Kirov is murdered by Leonid Nikolayev.
  • Kirov's bodyguards and some NKVD men die in a car accident.
  • Some NKVD men receive light sentences for failing to protect Kirov.
• January 1935

  • Zinoviev, Kamenev and 17 others are arrested.
• 1935

  • 11,000 are arrested and 250,000 Party members are expelled.
• August 1936

  • The show trial of Zinoviev, Kamenev and 14 others takes place.
• September 1936

  • Yagoda is replaced by Yezhov as head of the NKVD.
• 1938

  • Yakoda pleads guilty to letting Nikolayev get to Kirov.