Causes of the Great Terror - Stalin's Russia - Mindmap in A Level and IB History

Created by: Maddie
Created on: 20-02-14 10:34

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Causes of the Great Terror
- Congress of Victors
  - When it voted to elect CC, Kirov not Stalin came out on top
    - A group of ex-Bolsheviks tried to convince Kirov to run as General Secretary
  - Reason Stalin had to purge the party as it could no longer be trusted
- Paranoia
  - Stalin believed he had many enemies
  - He feared he would have the same fate as Trotsky, Zinoviev + Bukarin who all fell from power
  - Stalin feared the Red Army and secret police had too much power
  - Stalin felt unable to trust many in the party + acted to remove those he saw as a threat.
- Terror Economics
  - Allowed Stalin to blame political enemies for economic problems
  - Ongoing 5YP difficulties could be blamed on "wreckers" in the workforce by Stalin
    - scapegoat
    - seen to be working to sabotage Russia's economy
  - The purges provided cheap labour
    - most purged sent to prison camps
      - Form of slave labour
      - large amount of labour in 5YP done by prison workers
- The Murder of Kirov
  - Stalin attempted to exclude Kirov from the Politburo
    - In 1932, Kirov helped defeat Stalin on an important issue relating to a document that was highly critical of Stalin
  - Dec 1943, Kirov murdered by lone gunman in Leningrad
    - Soviet pinned murder on Leonid Nikolayev.
      - Claimed to be working for a secret 'Trotskyite-Zinovievite' group
        Wanted to overthrow government
        
        Zinoviev and Kamenev arrested for conspiracy to murder Kirov.
  - Rid Stalin of main opponent and imprison two old ones.
    - Gave a reason to hunt down 'secret terror group'
    - Could show that people were plotting acts of terror.
      - Justified the execution of party members that opposed to policies.

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Causes of the Great Terror - Stalin's Russia

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