
How were people punished in the Great Purge?
Great Purge, three widely publicized show trials and a series of closed, unpublicized trials held in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s, in which many prominent Old Bolsheviks were found guilty of treason and executed or imprisoned. Learn more about the Great Purge in this article.
What were the causes and effects of the Great Purge?
a. Cause: to terminate anyone he considered a rival or a threat. What were the causes and effects of the Great Purge? b. Effects: (1) Millions died during this purge. (2) His power became absolute because everyone feared to speak out against him.
How many people died in the Great Purge?
Scholars estimate the death toll for the Great Purge (1936–1938) to be roughly 700,000. The term great purge itself was popularized by the historian Robert Conquest in his 1968 book The Great Terror. Conquest's title itself was an allusion to the period from the French Revolution known as the Reign of Terror.
What was the Great Purge and who was targeted?
The Great Purge, also known as the “Great Terror,” was a brutal political campaign led by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to eliminate dissenting members of the Communist Party and anyone else he considered a threat.
See more

What was the great purge quizlet?
The Great Purge was form 1934-1936. Stalin used his secret police to spy on the people who disagreed with him. Then the police would arrest them and sent them to labor camps in Siberia or kill them. Around 8 million people died.
What was the purge in history?
The term "purge" is often associated with Stalinism. While leading the USSR, Joseph Stalin imprisoned in Gulag-labor camps and executed rival communists, military officers, ethnic minorities, wreckers, and citizens accused of plotting against Communism.
What Purge is the scariest?
The Purge: Every Movie in the Horror Franchise, Ranked5/5 The First Purge (2018)4/5 The Forever Purge (2021)3/5 The Purge (2013)2/5 The Purge: Election Year (2016)1/5 The Purge: Anarchy (2014)
Who was blamed for the Great Purge?
The political purge was primarily an effort by Stalin to eliminate challenge from past and potential opposition groups, including the left and right wings led by Leon Trotsky and Nikolai Bukharin, respectively.
Is The Purge based on a real life event?
As per Looper, Purge did happen in real life and the activities inspired the movie as well. However, it happened centuries ago when Roman Pagans celebrated a festival called Saturnalia.
Why did The Purge exist?
In response to rising crime rates, unemployment and social unrest, the New Founding Fathers created an annual holiday called The Purge. For one night every year, American citizens are given 12 hours of complete freedom to commit whatever crimes they please.
When was the first real purge?
The First Purge was released on July 4, 2018, by Universal Pictures. It has grossed over $137 million worldwide, becoming the highest-grossing entry in the franchise, but received mixed reviews from critics like its predecessors....The First PurgeBox office$137.1 million15 more rows
Why did they stop The Purge?
Why The Purge Was Canceled After Season 2. The primary reason for canceling The Purge season 3 was a shift in USA's approach to content. According to the network, they intend to focus more on unscripted programming and other live shows rather than original, scripted series.
What was the legacy of the Great Purge?
Surprisingly, the legacy of the Great Purge, and Stalin himself, is lined with mixed reactions. While most Russians regard the event as a horrific incident in history, others believe Stalin helped strengthen and propel the Soviet Union to greatness, despite his barbaric tactics.
When did the Great Purge start?
The first event of the Great Purge took place in 1934 with the assassination of Sergei Kirov, a prominent Bolshevik leader.
What was the 5th column of the Great Purge?
Fifth Column. Gulag Labor Camps. Leon Trotsky. Legacy of the Great Purge. Sources. The Great Purge, also known as the “Great Terror,” was a brutal political campaign led by Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin to eliminate dissenting members of the Communist Party and anyone else he considered a threat. Although estimates vary, most experts believe ...
What did Stalin do after Kirov's death?
After Kirov’s death, Stalin launched his purge, claiming that he had uncovered a dangerous conspiracy of anti-Stalinist Communists. The dictator began killing or imprisoning any suspected party dissenters, eventually eliminating all the original Bolsheviks that participated in the Russian Revolution of 1917.
Why did Stalin start the Great Purge?
The exact motives for the Great Purge are debated among historians. Some claim the actions of Stalin were prompted by his desire to maintain authority as dictator. Others see it as his way to preserve, enhance and unify the Soviet Communist Party.
What did Khrushchev call the purges?
In a 1956 secret speech, Khrushchev called the purges “an abuse of power” and acknowledged that many of the victims were, in fact, innocent. Stalin’s acts of terror and torture broke the Soviet people’s spirits and effectively eliminated certain groups of citizens, such as intellectuals and artists.
What did Stalin use to describe the people during the Great Purge?
Stalin used terms, such as “fifth column,” “enemy of the people” and “saboteurs” to describe those who were sought out during the Great Purge.
How many periods were there during the Great Purge?
The Great Purge of 1936–1938 can be roughly divided into four periods:
What was the purge of the Soviet Union?
The term " purge " in Soviet political slang was an abbreviation of the expression purge of the Party ranks. In 1933, for example, the Party expelled some 400,000 people.
What was the reason for the purge of the NKVD?
Another justification for the purge was to remove any possible "fifth column" in case of a war.
What does purge mean in Soviet slang?
The term " purge " in Soviet political slang was an abbreviation of the expression purge of the Party ranks. In 1933, for example, the Party expelled some 400,000 people. But from 1936 until 1953, the term changed its meaning, because being expelled from the Party came to mean almost certain arrest, imprisonment, and often execution.
What were the victims of the Great Depression?
Victims of the terror included American immigrants to the Soviet Union who had emigrated at the height of the Great Depression to find work. At the height of the Terror, American immigrants besieged the US embassy, begging for passports so they could leave the Soviet Union. They were turned away by embassy officials, only to be arrested on the pavement outside by lurking NKVD agents. Many were subsequently shot dead at Butovo firing range. In addition, 141 American Communists of Finnish origin were executed and buried at Sandarmokh. 127 Finnish Canadians were also shot and buried there.
How many army commanders were removed during the Red Army?
The purge of the Red Army and Military Maritime Fleet removed three of five marshals (then equivalent to four-star generals), 13 of 15 army commanders ( then equivalent to three-star generals), eight of nine admirals (the purge fell heavily on the Navy, who were suspected of exploiting their opportunities for foreign contacts), 50 of 57 army corps commanders, 154 out of 186 division commanders, 16 of 16 army commissars, and 25 of 28 army corps commissars.
How many people were executed in 1968?
The lower figure did roughly confirm Conquest's original 1968 estimate of 700,000 "legal" executions and in the preface to the 40th anniversary edition of The Great Terror, Conquest claimed that he had been "correct on the vital matter—the numbers put to death: about one million".
What were the main events of the Great Purge?
There were 7 key events during the Great Purge : ❖ There were mass arrests, forced confessions and people were either executed or imprisoned in a Gulag . ❖ The show trials of 1936 to 1938. ❖ The NKVD relied on ordinary people to inform on their neighbours. ❖ Between 1936 and 1938, the terror escalated under the NKVD leader, Yezhov.
When did the Great Purge take place?
The Great Purge, also known as the Great Terror, took place between 1936 and 1938 .

Overview
Further reading
• A. Artizov, Yu. Sigachev, I. Shevchuk, V. Khlopov under editorship of acad. A. N. Yakovlev. Rehabilitation: As It Happened. Documents of the CPSU CC Presidium and Other Materials. Vol. 2, February 1956–Early 1980s. Moscow, 2003.
• Chase, William J. (2001). Enemies within the Gates?: The Comintern and the Stalinist Repression, 1934–1939. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press. ISBN 978-0-300-08242-5.
Introduction
The term repression was officially used by the leader of the Soviet Union at the time, Soviet general secretary Joseph Stalin, to describe the prosecution of people considered counter-revolutionaries and enemies of the people. Historians debate the causes of the purge, such as Stalin's paranoia, or his desire to remove dissenters from the Communist Party or to consolidate his authority. T…
Background
From 1930 onwards, the Party and police officials feared the "social disorder" caused by the upheavals of forced collectivization of peasants and the resulting famine of 1932–1933, as well as the massive and uncontrolled migration of millions of peasants into cities. The threat of war heightened Stalin's and generally Soviet perception of marginal and politically suspect populations as …
Moscow Trials
Between 1936 and 1938, three very large Moscow Trials of former senior Communist Party leaders were held, in which they were accused of conspiring with fascist and capitalist powers to assassinate Stalin and other Soviet leaders, dismember the Soviet Union and restore capitalism. These trials were highly publicized and extensively covered by the outside world, which was mesmeriz…
"Ex-kulaks" and other "anti-Soviet elements"
On 2 July 1937, in a top secret order to regional Party and NKVD chiefs Stalin instructed them to produce the estimated number of "kulaks" and "criminals" in their districts. These individuals were to be arrested and executed, or sent to the gulag camps. The party chiefs complied and produced these lists within days, with figures which roughly corresponded to the individuals who were already u…
Campaigns targeting nationalities
A series of mass operations of the NKVD was carried out from 1937 through 1938 targeting specific nationalities within the Soviet Union, on the order of Nikolai Yezhov.
The Polish operation of the NKVD was the largest of this kind. The Polish operation claimed the largest number of the NKVD victims: 143,810 arrests an…
Purge of the army
The purge of the Red Army and Military Maritime Fleet removed three of five marshals (then equivalent to four-star generals), 13 of 15 army commanders (then equivalent to three-star generals), eight of nine admirals (the purge fell heavily on the Navy, who were suspected of exploiting their opportunities for foreign contacts), 50 of 57 army corps commanders, 154 out of 186 division co…