H/W 3rd October 2016
How far do Stalin’s fears and suspicions account for the extent of the terror in the
USSR in the years 1936-1939?
Stalin had many fears and suspicions that had caused a great amount of terror in the USSR.
This was due to his increasing paranoia that had cornered him into thinking that many wanted
to kill him for his power; therefore, his fears and suspicions were accountable for the extent of
the terror in the USSR to a greater degree.
Stalin’s fears and suspicions led to one of the main sources of terror was the murder of Kirov.
This allowed him to arrest Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were his most important rivals, and
blame them for plotng acts of terror against the state along with the Kirov’s murder. The
murder of Kirov also allowed Stalin to fnd scapegoats for his actons, making sure that he could
keep in power. This led on to the Show Trials (Trial of the Sixteen, Trial of the Seventeen, Trial
on the Twenty-one), where many were either executed or sent to Labour Camps at the end of
their trial – this allowed Stalin to get rid of any oppositon or people who were not one hundred
percent with his cause; By creatng the Show Trials and making them public, he showed Russian
citiens what their fate would be if they were to go against his regime. Conseuuently, people
were either too afraid to voice their opinions for fear of being tortured and imprisoned and any
Bolsheviks who were against Stalin’s ideas or knew of Lenin’s testament were silenced. This
gave him a great opportunity to terrorise his rivals and critcs within the party also.
Not only that, but Stalin’s fears and suspicions meant the Purges showed that he was
incredibly weary of most people, partcularly within the Red Army – who Stalin believed was
stll loyal to Trotsky – and the party itself. During the years 1937-3,, three ffhs of the marshals
were purged, thirty-fve thousand ofcers were shot or imprisoned, and the navy had lost all
admirals; the lack of successes within the army during the beginning of the war angered Stalin.
Around this tme, the party was also purged and 330,000 members were convicted for not
being completely loyal to him. Stalin then proceeded to purge the Cheka, by replacing Yagoda
with Yeihov as he was seen as too sof. This led to the purge of the NKVD (formerly the Cheka),
where the lower, uneducated class of people were recruited – they were happier to use
violence and were more willing to obey orders from above.
However, Stalin’s paranoia was not the only cause of extensive terror in the USSR. The
Russian people were brought together through common enemies such as the Jewish, and other
ethnic groups. This was due to Stalin being convinced that these groups were more faithful to
their religion than him, so to have complete control he felt that it was necessary to get rid of
them. He was also able to control the party through his use of intmidaton, which allowed him
to ensure that people would be fully supportve – if they weren’t Stalin’s use of terror was too
How far do Stalin’s fears and suspicions account for the extent of the terror in the
USSR in the years 1936-1939?
Stalin had many fears and suspicions that had caused a great amount of terror in the USSR.
This was due to his increasing paranoia that had cornered him into thinking that many wanted
to kill him for his power; therefore, his fears and suspicions were accountable for the extent of
the terror in the USSR to a greater degree.
Stalin’s fears and suspicions led to one of the main sources of terror was the murder of Kirov.
This allowed him to arrest Zinoviev and Kamenev, who were his most important rivals, and
blame them for plotng acts of terror against the state along with the Kirov’s murder. The
murder of Kirov also allowed Stalin to fnd scapegoats for his actons, making sure that he could
keep in power. This led on to the Show Trials (Trial of the Sixteen, Trial of the Seventeen, Trial
on the Twenty-one), where many were either executed or sent to Labour Camps at the end of
their trial – this allowed Stalin to get rid of any oppositon or people who were not one hundred
percent with his cause; By creatng the Show Trials and making them public, he showed Russian
citiens what their fate would be if they were to go against his regime. Conseuuently, people
were either too afraid to voice their opinions for fear of being tortured and imprisoned and any
Bolsheviks who were against Stalin’s ideas or knew of Lenin’s testament were silenced. This
gave him a great opportunity to terrorise his rivals and critcs within the party also.
Not only that, but Stalin’s fears and suspicions meant the Purges showed that he was
incredibly weary of most people, partcularly within the Red Army – who Stalin believed was
stll loyal to Trotsky – and the party itself. During the years 1937-3,, three ffhs of the marshals
were purged, thirty-fve thousand ofcers were shot or imprisoned, and the navy had lost all
admirals; the lack of successes within the army during the beginning of the war angered Stalin.
Around this tme, the party was also purged and 330,000 members were convicted for not
being completely loyal to him. Stalin then proceeded to purge the Cheka, by replacing Yagoda
with Yeihov as he was seen as too sof. This led to the purge of the NKVD (formerly the Cheka),
where the lower, uneducated class of people were recruited – they were happier to use
violence and were more willing to obey orders from above.
However, Stalin’s paranoia was not the only cause of extensive terror in the USSR. The
Russian people were brought together through common enemies such as the Jewish, and other
ethnic groups. This was due to Stalin being convinced that these groups were more faithful to
their religion than him, so to have complete control he felt that it was necessary to get rid of
them. He was also able to control the party through his use of intmidaton, which allowed him
to ensure that people would be fully supportve – if they weren’t Stalin’s use of terror was too
