Purges Stuff
NKVD
Work of Yezhov
Show trials and Gulag
Formed in 1934 and replaced the Cheka
Used to invoke fear into people who would be forced to bey Stalin
Gulags were run by NKVD and the following were sent:
Obtains false confessions via torture/intimidation
It censored every aspect of life
Informant were used: children were encouraged to denounce their parents. and neighbours informed on each other
Common criminals
5 year plan criminals
Communist party officials guilty of plotting against government
Stalin also purged the ranks of the NKVD in 1938 to ensure loyalty
Foreign communists who went to live in the Soviet Union but were accused of spying
Purge of the Armed Forces
Red army offiicers and leaders of ethnic groups and artists whose loyalty was doubted
12 million died from cold, hunger and ill treatment
in charge of thee NKVD in purges
Gets purged himself
Stalin feared the armed forces as they were too independent
People feared being sent to them almost as much as being shot. One such camp employed 250k prisoners building the Belomor Canal to link the White Sea to the Baltic
They were the only group with the weapons and manpower to forcibly remove Stalin
Many had been appointed by Trotsky
Peasants made up a lot of the army and were demoralised due to collectivisation.
The army was increasing due to the focus on the defense of the nation.
Stalin had the Commander in Chief and other generals shot to ensure loyalty. He accused them of plotting with Japan.
Prisoners were forced to do hard construction work of construction and mining projects
All navy admirals were shot. Many other high ranking officials were killed.
25000 Red Army officers were executed : or imprisoned as they began to oppose collectivisation.
There were Women and children camps. USSR needed millions of people to work on the 5 year plans.. Secret Police set up a network of labour camps across the USSR, organised by a government department called Gulag.
Stalin used communist party's secret police NKVD to carry out the purges.
On April 29th, 1933 he was named a member of the newly made central Purge Commission which conducted bloodless purge that ejected more than a million members from the party. September 26th 1936 he became chief of NKVD
In these roles he perpetrated the grand excesses known as the Yezovshchina, cruel elimination/repression of Stalin's alleged en ememies in the Great Purge. From party leaders to general population
By Summer 19387, Yezhov became the object of Stalin's suspicions. In December Beria replaced huim as the head of NKVD and Yezhov was arrested in April 1939. During Interrogation, he denounced lots of family members and others and 100's were killed in the purge. In February 1940, Yezhov became a victim of the trial he helped to create
Purge of the people.
Operation odrer 00447 provided a list of 250,000 people to be arrested.
The whole population was involved in 1936-38
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