Stalin and the Great Purge (Great Terror) Thesis (Research Paper Sample)

Stalin and the Great Purge
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Stalin and the Great Purge
The Great Purge, also referred to as the Great Terror, was a political campaign that was mostly regarded as cold-blooded and led by Joseph Stalin, whom many historians considered a dictator. Stalin's main objective was to eradicate those opposing the communist Party and everyone who seemed a threat to him. The purge is still considered the most horrifying period in the communist society as it marked the time when Bolsheviks accomplished part of their plan. Stalin, however, wanted to ensure that this was a comprehensive strategy. To ensure that the communist system remained stable through the Soviet Union, those who opposed communism and anyone who had a negative idea about it were eradicated. Individuals were forced to like their leader or face the Gulag, the Soviet Prison, or the bullet. Even though the estimates vary, experts indicated that 850,000 individuals were murdered during the Great Purge, which occurred from 1936 to 1938. Over one and a half million people were sent to labor camps. This terrifying operation contributed to terror across the USSR and affected the nation for several years.
The possibility of war was the most critical factor for the Great Terror. The prospect of the internal opposition allying with the external enemies posed too high of a threat in war. Stalin had to fight his way to political succession after the death of the Soviet Union Vladimir Lenin in 1924. However, he officially made it public that he was a dictator in 1929. When Stalin had risen to power, certain members of the Bolshevik party started to question his power. By the mid-1930s, Stalin regarded any member of the Bolshevik party as a significant threat to his regime (Harris, 2016). Some historians argued that Stalin was motivated by his interest to keep authority as a dictator. Other scholars posited that Stalin was motivated to preserve, improve, and unify the Soviet Communist Party. Stalin was also encouraged by the rise of Nazi power in Germany and militarists in Japan, which were great dangers to the USSR (Harris, 2016). Historians also depicted that many internal members who joined hands with oppositions and the fear of the possibility of war in the near future encouraged Stalin to carry out the purge to unite and strengthen his nation.
The frequent propaganda that existed within the Soviet Union changed the perception of the small group of people who became influenced by the western world, which had a different political system that represented the excellent quality of life also challenged Stalin. Stalin did not find it easy to change the viewpoint of these people who were influenced by the western world since they were influential individuals and great-known writers from the eastern world (Harris, 2016). Stalin saw the need to protect the communist system as he thought it might win the Second World War, hence providing the effectiveness of a communist nation. Stalin believed that the people were comfortable with the political system established and their life since it was a fair life though not for Western countries. Thus, Stalin did not wait any longer to initiate planning to do away with those who did not like his perception.
Causes and Motivations of the Great Purge
The Great Purge started with the murder of Sergei Kirov, whose death is suspected to be planned by Stalin. Despite being a faithful Communist, Kirov had great popularity in the party that Stalin considered a threat. Kirov's death prompted three significant publicized show trials of important former Bolsheviks in Moscow and created the climate of terror during the Great Purge (Conquest, 2018). The party started eradicating itself of abominable as tension and suspicion proliferated. It was then that it was realized that the number of enemies had increased, and thus, surveillance was tightened.
Many people were killed in Gulag during this time of oppression. Nikoli Yezhov was released in 1938 as head of NKVD as more of the purge was realized; however, several individuals in Gulag were not released until the end of Stalin's leadership. The approaching World War was one of Stalin's primary motivations for releasing mass oppression. Stalin began to believe that some populations like the Kulaks who came from exile, religious believers, and criminals were members of the fifth column and could turn against his administration during the annexation (Conquest, 2018).
Due to fear for the security of the Soviet Union at the time when war was looming, Stalin decided to instigate a series of mass operations to deal with this potential threat. Hence, the mass operations were a counter-response to the expected danger from untrustworthy personnel when approaching war. After that, the series of mass operations were controlled and administered and brought to a halt after achieving their aim of the population suspected of being a threat.
Another significant cause of the Great Purge was domestic factors. Historians posited that Stalin would have focused on the structures and tensions within the Soviet political systems rather than representing the actions of an assured totalitarian administration and considered his launch of the mass operations as a demonstration of lack of control. Historians also pointed out that Stalin might have launched the mass operations to secure the support of local party leaders who have begun to think that they might lose their positions in the approaching elections to the Supreme Soviet in 1937 (Conquest, 2018). This new judicial body was to be elected on an available sanction. Local party leaders were afraid that they might lose to the anti-Soviet elements that had become very active during the year. Later in the summer, the local party leaders assured Stalin of the danger posed by many anti-Soviet elements, making Stalin sanction a campaign against these internal enemies.
The Fifth Column
Stalin often used phrases like the fifth column, the enemy of the people, and counter-revolutionary to land an individual into prison and have them killed. These phrases typically referred to a wolf in sheep clothing. Stalin started this great paranoia where almost everyone seemed to him as an enemy. Initially, they came to Bolshevik and then to the government leaders and military heads (Smith, 2018). Later, the secret police had their eyes on the wealthy farmers, artists, and academics.
The terror was also directed to the national minorities who stayed in USSR. Besides, Stalin targeted even foreigners like Americans who came to the Soviet Union during the Great Depression searching for a job. Stalin was convinced that the military was plotting a coup and had almost 29,000 members of the Red Army killed (Conquest, 2018). Historians explain that out of 103 general and admirals, 81 were imprisoned. Stalin also signed a command that forced families to be responsible for the crimes committed by a husband or father. This could only imply that kids younger than 12 years were being imprisoned.
The Moscow Trials
Kirov's death led to the widely publicized trials that eradicated several of Stalin's political critics and rivals in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s, where several significant old Bolsheviks were accused of treason and were imprisoned. All the evidence presented in court was obtained from the respondents' preliminary investigations and their confessions (Merleau-Ponty, 2017). It later becomes known that the accused were innocent, and their cases were only fabricated by the secret police (NKVD). They were forced to make confessions through severe intimidation and torture. The trials effectively get rid of actual and suspected rivals and critics of Stalin.
The first trial took place in August 1936 when Genrikh Yagoda was the leader of the secret police. The primary respondents were Ivan Smirnov, Grigory, and Lev, all of whom were significant Bolsheviks during the October Revolution and early times of the Soviet regime (Merleau-Ponty, 2017). The defendants and 13 other correspondents were summoned for having joined forces with Leon Trotsky in 1932 and established a terrorist organization to remove Joseph Stalin from power. The pursuit accused the group of killing Sergei Kirov and suggested that it assassinate Stalin and his vital political allies. The respondents were found guilty and executed by the court on August 24, 1936.
The second trial took place after Yezhoz replaced Yagoda as the head of the secret police in 1937. The prominent respondents were Karl Radek, Serebryakov, Pyatakov, and Sokolnikov, great leaders in the Soviet administration (Merleau-Ponty, 2017). Together with other 17 correspondents, the respondents were summoned to create the anti-Soviet Trotskyite Centre, which joined hands with Trotsky to organize destruction and terrorist activities that would destroy the Soviet economy and lower the strength of the defensive of the Soviet Union. They were blamed for collaborating with German and Japan and planning to eradicate the Soviet regime and bring back capitalism. The defendants were found guilty, and apart from Sokolnkov, Radek, and two others, the rest were jailed for ten years, while some were sentenced to death in January 1937.
The third trial opened in March 1938. The proceedings suggested that Nikolay Bukharin and Aleksey Rykov, the great leaders of the right-wing opposition of Stalin, were also part of the Trotsky plot. Yagoda and the other three great doctors were also summoned to be part of the Trotsky plot (Malia, 2019). Twenty-one respondents were accused of engaging in various acts of sabotage and eradicating the Soviet government, leaving the Soviet U...