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Yezhovschina 1937-1938 - Coggle Diagram
Yezhovschina 1937-1938
Purge of the party
Spring of 1937, Stalin made it clear that he thought traitors and spies had infiltrated into the party and at all levels. The lower-ranking members were encouraged to criticize and denouce higher positions
This resulted in a large number of accusations. Party members were "exposed" by their colleagues for being right-winged or for other reasons which would get them in trouble. They were usually invited to confess before mass meetings and were then arrested. More and more members were dragged in. Many did it to get their position in the party or to settle old scores.
Accusations weren't only limited to the lower ranks. The higher ranking members also accused people in lower ranks to show their loyalty
Why did it end?
Stalin stopped the terror towards the end of 1938. Yezhov had been replaced by Beria. Arrests slowed down however officials from the party and army were still being purged in 1939. Because of the purge, Russian society was destabilised. Administrative systems were falling apart with key personnel missing and the fall of production. Stalin blamed Yezhov and the NKVD for the excessive terror which was probably true. After the assassination of Trotsky in 1940 all the old Bolsheviks were now gone. The purge didn't end even during the war. However, it was much less.
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Arrest and interrogation
Arrests were usually at night around 11pm and 3am. NKVD officers drove around in black vehicles called ravens collecting their unwilling passengers.
Reasons for arrest usually consisted of criticizing Stalin, telling a joke about Stalin, being a friend of someone who was arrested. Arrests were followed by interrogation in which the victims were urged to confess their opposition to Stalin and involvement with counter revolutionary groups.
Confessions were important. They legitimized the arrest and proved that the state was right. It was a good strategy since there was no real evidence that they were guilty. Many Soviets died in prison due to torture or because they were shot. If any survived then they would be sent to the gulag or somewhere equally as bad. Anyone sen to somewhere such as the north they would usually die due to how bad the conditions were.
Other forms of torture include leaving prisoners to stand for days or using the 'Parilka' or the sweat room and also the "conveyor"
Purging the armed forces
In 1937 the armed forces were next on the hit list. Stalin was convinced that he could not count on the army to follow his policies. The leaders of the army were tough and difficult to intimidate. Marshall Tukhachevsky and other generals had been accused of the army planning a revolt. The generals had confessions beaten out of them and were then executed. Then the terror soon followed others in the rank which led to a devastating effect on the armed forces.
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