Great Purge

NKVD Order No. 00447

Great Purge Resolution of Central Committee

Bundesarchiv Bild 183-R15068, Leo Dawidowitsch Trotzki

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Sergei Kirov and Joseph Stalin, 1934

Л. Д. Троцкий, Л. Б. Каменев и Г. Е. Зиновьев. Середина 1920-х годов

The Great Purge, also known as the Great Terror, was a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union which occurred from 1936 to 1938. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials, repression of peasants and the Red Army leadership, widespread police surveillance, suspicion of "saboteurs", "counter-revolutionaries", imprisonment, and arbitrary executions. Initiated by Joseph Stalin, the Great Purge aimed to eliminate dissenting members of the Communist Party and anyone with a potential link to opposition movements.

Background

The roots of the Great Purge can be traced back to the consolidation of power by Stalin in the late 1920s, following the death of Vladimir Lenin. Stalin aimed to strengthen his control over the party and the state apparatus, leading to the marginalization of rivals and perceived threats. The XVII Party Congress in 1934, known as the "Congress of Victors", marked the beginning of the purge's public phase, with the assassination of Sergei Kirov, a high-ranking Communist Party official, which was used by Stalin as a pretext to launch a full-scale purge.

Execution

The Great Purge was carried out through a series of show trials, mass arrests, deportations, and executions. Key events included the Trial of the Sixteen (1936), the Trial of the Seventeen (1937), and the Trial of the Twenty-One (1938), in which prominent Old Bolsheviks were accused of various crimes, including espionage, poisoning, and plotting to overthrow the government. The NKVD, under the leadership of Nikolai Yezhov, played a central role in the execution of the purges, conducting mass operations against "kulaks", "criminals", and "nationalists", leading to widespread fear and paranoia across the Soviet Union.

Impact

The Great Purge significantly impacted Soviet society and the Communist Party. It led to the execution of thousands of people and the imprisonment and exile of hundreds of thousands more. The Red Army was particularly affected, with a large portion of its senior officer corps being purged, which would later impact its effectiveness in the initial stages of World War II. The purge also led to a culture of widespread surveillance, fear, and suspicion which permeated Soviet society.

Aftermath

The Great Purge ended in 1938, with the removal of Yezhov from his post as head of the NKVD, succeeded by Lavrentiy Beria. While the most extreme phase of the purge had ended, political repression in the Soviet Union continued under various guises until Stalin's death in 1953. The Great Purge remains one of the most significant and tragic events in Soviet history, symbolizing the extreme measures Stalin was willing to take to maintain his power and control over the Soviet state.