Show trials and the great purges
Stalin Feared being overthrown or having a counter-revolution
He formed a secret police called the NKVD to remove threats
Old heroes of the revolution or anyone with popular support charged with treason (seen as threats)
1 in 5 officers of the army executed
Often put on trial "show trials" forced to admit they had done it (under duress)
He formed a secret police called the NKVD to remove threats
Old heroes of the revolution or anyone with popular support charged with treason (seen as threats)
1 in 5 officers of the army executed
Often put on trial "show trials" forced to admit they had done it (under duress)
Death solves all problems - no man, no problem Stalin quote.
The Great Purge was a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union orchestrated byJoseph Stalin from 1936 to 1939. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials, repression of peasants and the Red Army leadership, and widespread police surveillance, suspicion of "saboteurs", imprisonment, and arbitrary executions.