Mass Terror and Repression at Central Level (AQA A-Level History): Revision Notes
Mass Terror and Repression at Central Level
The Yezhovshchina witnessed an unprecedented assault on the Communist Party's own leadership and the Soviet Union's most senior officials. Between 1936 and 1940, a series of orchestrated show trials and military purges eliminated much of the central elite. These events were designed not merely to remove individuals Stalin considered threatening, but to demonstrate his absolute power and instil terror throughout the party apparatus.
The term "Yezhovshchina" refers to the period of the Great Purge named after NKVD chief Nikolai Yezhov, who oversaw the mass arrests, executions, and deportations during 1937-1938. This represented the height of Stalin's Terror.
The Trial of 17, January 1937
In January 1937, 17 senior communists faced public prosecution in what became known as the Trial of 17. The accused included prominent figures such as Grigorii Pyatakov (blamed for causing explosions in Siberian mines), Karl Radek (editor of Izvestiya and one of the framers of the 1936 Soviet constitution), and Grigorii Sokolnikov (Commissar of Finance). Prosecutors charged them with conspiracy, specifically with plotting alongside Trotsky to sabotage Soviet industry, engage in espionage abroad, and undermine socialism. They were labelled 'vipers, liars, clowns and insignificant pygmies' in the trial proceedings.
Following coerced confessions, 13 defendants received death sentences. Radek and Sokolnikov were sentenced to ten years' imprisonment, though Radek died in prison in 1939, almost certainly murdered by an NKVD officer. His colleague, Grigorii Ordzhonikidze (Commissar of Heavy Industry), took his own life in 1937, although his death was officially recorded as a heart attack.
The show trials were carefully orchestrated public spectacles designed to legitimize Stalin's purges. Confessions were extracted through torture, threats against family members, and psychological pressure. The absurd nature of the charges—such as sabotage by the very people who built Soviet industry—revealed the fabricated nature of these proceedings.
Trotsky's response from exile
Leon Trotsky, living in exile in Mexico, reacted with fury to the trial's proceedings. He wrote a scathing response intended for publication, which highlighted the absurdity of the accusations:
How could these Old Bolsheviks, who went through the jails and exiles of Tsarism, who were the heroes of the civil war, the leaders of industry, the builders of the party, diplomats, turn out at the moment of the 'the complete victory of socialism' to be saboteurs, allies of fascism, organisers of espionage, agents of capitalist restoration?
Trotsky argued that the show trials revealed the regime's deep insecurity. He asserted that the degree of repression was proportional to the magnitude of danger the rulers felt they faced. In his view, the "unremitting repressions" served the purpose of preventing the masses from pursuing genuine Trotskyism, which advocated greater equality and freedom.
Military purge, May-June 1937
Stalin moved swiftly against the Red Army's leadership when he suspected potential opposition. Some officers had been implicated in the 1936 and 1937 show trials, raising fears they might attempt a military coup. In May 1937, Stalin ordered the arrests of Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky (Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissar for Defence) and Yan Gamarnik (Head of the Red Army's political commissars). They faced accusations of espionage and conspiring with Trotsky. Along with six other top military commanders, they were executed in June 1937.
This action initiated a comprehensive purge of the Red Army. The purge ultimately consumed two additional Marshals of the Soviet Union (a rank created in 1935 as the highest military honour), 11 war commissars, all but one of the senior air force commanders, and every admiral. Approximately 50 per cent of the officer corps across all three services faced execution or imprisonment, though around a quarter of those imprisoned were reinstated by the middle of 1940. Military intelligence personnel were particularly affected.
Impact on Military Capability
The military purge had devastating consequences for Soviet military readiness. By eliminating half of the officer corps, including the most experienced and skilled commanders, Stalin severely weakened the Red Army at a critical time. This purge would have profound implications for the Soviet Union's ability to defend itself when Nazi Germany invaded in 1941, as the military lacked experienced leadership and coherent command structures.
Marshal Tukhachevsky and his family
The repression extended beyond Tukhachevsky himself. His wife was jailed and executed in 1941. His mother and one sister died in prison. Three other sisters managed to survive incarceration, but their husbands were executed, as were Tukhachevsky's two brothers. The comprehensive destruction of his family exemplified the regime's ruthlessness towards those it considered enemies.
Pattern of Family Persecution
The Tukhachevsky case demonstrates how Stalin's Terror extended beyond the accused to encompass their entire families. This practice served multiple purposes: it eliminated potential sources of opposition, prevented the creation of martyrs, and instilled fear throughout society by showing that association with a "enemy of the people" could be fatal.
The military purge left the Red Army severely weakened. The subsequent executions of Marshals Vasily Blyukher, Semyon Budyonny, and Kliment Voroshilov, as well as Alexander Yegorov (Chief of the General Staff), further depleted military leadership in the years following 1937-8.
The Trial of 21, March 1938
The third major show trial took place in March 1938, when 21 prominent communists stood accused of belonging to a rightist and Trotskyite bloc. The defendants included Nikolai Bukharin and Andrei Rykov (both of whom had been rearrested in February 1937) and Genrikh Yagoda (former head of the secret police). Mikhail Tomsky was also meant to face trial, but he committed suicide beforehand.
The prosecution presented wild and fabricated allegations. Charges included plotting to kill Lenin in 1918, conspiring with Germans and Japanese to dismember the USSR, and engaging in espionage. Bukharin proved a formidable opponent for the NKVD interrogators during his three months of questioning. He sent 34 personal letters to Stalin, but threats directed at his young wife and infant son eventually broke his resistance.
Bukharin's statement
At the trial, Bukharin delivered a carefully worded confession that admitted to a 'sum total of crimes' whilst refusing to confess to specific allegations. He maintained his loyalty throughout, stating:
I am perhaps speaking for the last time in my life. I am explaining how I came to realise the necessity of capitulating. I refute the accusation of having plotted against the life of Lenin, but my counter-revolutionary confederates, and I at their head, endeavoured to murder Lenin's cause, which is being carried on with such tremendous success by Stalin.
Bukharin continued by acknowledging the charges in general terms, expressing remorse, and declaring his submission to Stalin's authority. He concluded by noting that the trial should serve as a lesson, and suggested that the USSR's international importance mattered more than individual feelings.
Bukharin's confession is notable for its careful wording. While appearing to admit guilt, he actually denied specific charges and only confessed to vague "crimes" in general terms. His statement can be read as a coded message to future generations that the charges were false, while superficially satisfying his interrogators' demands for a confession.
All 17 defendants who survived to the verdict were executed. Yagoda was tried and executed in 1938, possibly by his own successor Yezhov. Yagoda's family members were shot, imprisoned or exiled, and his removal ensured Stalin had complete control of the NKVD.
Patterns of central-level purges
Few individuals dared to voice concerns about the trials and purges. In June 1937, Osip Pyatnitsky (a Comintern official and Central Committee member) spoke out. The following morning, Yezhov presented fabricated evidence claiming Pyatnitsky had been an agent of the tsarist secret police. He was immediately removed from the Central Committee, stripped of party membership, arrested, imprisoned for a year, and executed in October 1938.
It later emerged that during 1937 to 1938, approximately 74 million officials were shot for refusing to approve the execution of people whom the officials believed innocent. This statistic illustrates both the scale of resistance within the bureaucracy and the regime's determination to crush any opposition.
The Culture of Denunciation
The purges created a climate of fear and suspicion throughout Soviet society. The system encouraged denunciations for multiple reasons:
- To settle old scores and personal grievances
- To remove rivals and advance one's career
- To demonstrate loyalty to Stalin and avoid suspicion
- To deflect attention from oneself by accusing others
This toxic atmosphere meant that no one was safe, regardless of rank or previous service to the regime.
Similar trials occurred throughout the USSR, where party members were often denounced by colleagues. The purges provided opportunities to settle old scores, remove rivals, demonstrate devotion to Stalin, or secure promotion. Following orders issued in July 1937 against 'anti-Soviet elements', lower-ranking party members were instructed to denounce those above them, whilst higher officials accused those below. By the end of 1938, a third of all party members had been purged, with many accused of 'Trotskyite conspiracy'.
Key Points to Remember:
- The Great Purges targeted the Communist Party's central leadership through orchestrated show trials in January 1937 (Trial of 17), May-June 1937 (military purge), and March 1938 (Trial of 21).
- Prominent Old Bolsheviks including Radek, Pyatakov, Sokolnikov, Bukharin, and Rykov were executed following forced confessions to fabricated charges of conspiracy with Trotsky.
- The military purge eliminated Marshal Tukhachevsky and approximately 50 per cent of the Red Army officer corps, severely weakening Soviet military capability.
- Repression extended to families of the accused, as demonstrated by the execution of Tukhachevsky's wife, brothers, and other relatives.