The history of the Soviet Union would not be complete without a discussion of Stalin's Purges. Stalin's Purges represented state-sponsored terror at its height. While Lenin set the precedent for terror, Stalin created a culture of terror that pervaded every aspect of a Soviet citizen's life.
What Were Stalin's Purges?
Stalin's Purges were the systematic removal of individuals from society. Stalin's Purges embodied state-sponsored terror in the Soviet Union of the 1930s. The Great Purge, which lasted from 1934-1938 saw an escalation in purges and an increase in the violence that underscored the purges.
How Did the Purges Work?
The purges worked in the manner of “trials,” but these trials often disregarded an individual's actual guilt or innocence. Individuals who were suspected of failing to uphold their duties as Party members or as workers were investigated by officials. Confessions were often extracted through torture. If found guilty, individuals could have their ration cards confiscated (resulting in starvation), lose their jobs and their houses (resulting in homelessness and destitution), be sent to a labor camp, or executed. If one family member was found guilty and arrested, other family members might follow.
Who Was Found Guilty During the Purges?
Anyone could be found guilty during Stalin's Purges. Workers could be found guilty by being late or absent to work. If a worker broke a piece of a equipment, he could be tried as a saboteur and purged. Acts of disloyalty to the Party – either real or imagined – could result in an individual being purged. During the Great Purges, even trivial matters, like political jokes, anti-Party intentions, or disloyal thoughts, could be considered purge-worthy. During the purges, informing on another individual was rewarded, but this did not act as a protective device; someone else could always inform on that informer.
Some individuals were purged because of who they were. Kulaks, or prosperous peasants, were purged. The original Bolsheviks (those who had joined the Bolshevik Party prior to 1917), were purged. Members of the nobility who had not had the foresight to leave the country when the Bolsheviks came to power, were purged.
The reach of state terror during Stalin's reign of the Soviet Union was limitless. Millions of people died during Stalin's Purges, either from being executed outright, or as a result of starvation or exposure to the elements in in labor camps or on the streets.
References
Dziewanowski, M.K. A History of Soviet Russia. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1989.
Kenez, Peter. A History of the Soviet Union from the Beginning to the End. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999.
