Purges, Terror and Show Trials

1.What is the significance of Kirov's murder? (This is what I went over in class.)
The significance was that as soon as Kirov was murdered, it gave Stalin a reason to start the Purges.

2. According to Stalin, who had Nikolayev been working for when he assassinated Kirov? Why is this significant?
Nikolayev had been working for the NKVD.

3. What is a Trotskyite?
Anyone who was or is a supporter of Trotsky.

4. There are three major "show trials." List them and a brief description of their significance.
The three major show trials were 'Trial of the Sixteen', 'The Trial of the Seventeen', and 'Trial of the Twenty one'. As the years went on the number of defendants were increasing and they were all accused of doing something that had to do with Trotsky. The show trials also started with the people who were against Stalin, so it was his chance to get rid of them.

5. During the Great Terror, there were three stages to the purges, staring with members of the Communist party. What were the next two stages and what type of people were purged?

One stage was the armed forces which Marshal Tuchachevsky, Russia's most famous General, and other Red Army generals were purged. The other stage was the ordinary citizens, and anyone who was overheard talking bad about Stalin, was denounced as a Trotskyite to the NKVD.

Kirov Murder Myster

Examine the two pages of evidence in the Kirov Murder Mystery reading. After reviewing the evidence, make your own judgments by answer the following questions.

1. In what circumstances did the assassin carry out the murder?

He hid in the shadows and waited for Kirov to walk by and when Kirov did he shot him in the back of the head.

2. What strange coincidences surround the murder?

Kirov left his bodyguard downstairs this time, and the usual guards were absent from the corridors.

3. Is there any evidence to link Stalin to the murder?

Kirov was more popular than Stalin and had opposed Stalin
over the Ryutin affair and over the pace of industrialisation.

4. Is there any evidence to suggest that the NKVD was involved in the murder?

key witness was going to be Borisov, Kirov's bodyguard. But on the way to
be questioned at the Smolny Institute, in a truck with several KVDmen,
there was an accident in which he was killed and nobody else was hurt. Leading Leningrad NKVD men were accused of not protecting Kirov

5. Who had the best motive for the murder?

I'm thinking either Stalin or the NKVD

6. What theories can you suggest about who was responsible - was it the assassin alone or were others involved?

I think that someone did help the assassin because it said that someone had practiced shooting a revovler with him before the murder and how the whole murder went down was just too well planned. Also it was like Kirov's bodyguard was killed so no one would figure anything out and when everyone was being questioned, the assassin told Stalin to ask the NKVD.

Gulags and the Purges

Read pages 14 - 17 in "Stalin & the Soviet Union - III,"

The Gulag System

1. What type of construction projects were built using the Gulag system?

The White Sea-Baltic Canal, Dnieper Hydroelectric Station, Moscow Metro system, and the Magnitogorsk

2. What were the conditions of the work camps?

• Very bad
• zeks were made to work hard by a system of rationing food
• Kolyma Camps: dark, temp can drop to about 60 degrees C, soil never thaws (even in summer)

3. Why do you think slave labor was used in the projects rather than paid laborers?

Slave laborers were cheaper and the secret police had control over them. Plus they knew that the prisoners didn't want to be there and wanted to be free, so telling them that they'll be free once the canal was finished made the slave laborers work faster.

Purges, Show Trails and Terror

4. What were the issues surrounding Kirov's murder? Why do you think he had been murdered?

The murderer, Nikolayev, was found a few days before with a revolver and a plan of Kirov's movements in his pockets, but the secret police let him go. Also, Kirov's bodyguard, Borisov, was nowhere to be found the day it happened and he always follows Kirov everywhere. But Borisov had died in a car crash the next day. I think that Stalin saw Kirov as a threat because Kirov was just like him, maybe even better.

5. What was the Great Purge? What specific group did it target?

When the members accused each other for being Trotskyites or Zinovievites therefore denunciating them from the party.

6. What was the purpose of the Show Trials?
To basically get rid of those who supported and worked with Trotsky

7. What was the Great Terror?

The great terror is when the great purge started to involve the people outside of the party and spread to the armed forces. Russia's most famous general and other red army generals were arrested and shot. And is you criticised Stalin, you were likely to be denounced to the NKVD as a Trotskyite