Consolidation and maintenance: Stalin's use of force Notes

Consolidation and maintenance: Use of force

Purges

1. After becoming the Soviet Union’s supreme leader (vozhd) in 1929, Stalin began consolidating his power using purges, a method with Leninist precedents.
2. Stalin’s purges formally began in 1932, with the trial of the Ryutin group, who openly opposed him.
3. The Ryutin affair culminated in a massive purge of the Communist Party membership: between 1933 and 1934, over a third of members (about one million people) were expelled for suspected disloyalty.

From Administrative Purges to Systematic Terror

1. Early purges were administrative, non-violent: party card inspections expelled “suspicious” members
2. Loss of membership meant loss of jobs, housing, rations, enforcing compliance through pressure
3. 1934 turning point: purges escalated into systematic terror
4. Targets expanded to political enemies, colleagues, and Party members
5. Escalation driven by complex factors (see historiography)

The NKVD

1. 1933–34: Stalin centralized security under the NKVD (People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs), uniting police, secret police, border guards, and labour camps
2. NKVD reported directly to Stalin, controlling surveillance, arrests, and enforcement
3. Special military tribunals bypassed normal legal processes
4. Vague crimes like “counter-revolutionary activity” enabled arbitrary arrests
5. Labels such as “enemy of the people” created constant insecurity
6. Reign of fear: suspicion and fabricated charges suppressed opposition
7. Families of the accused faced isolation, job loss, ration cuts, reinforcing obedience

The Kirov Murder and the Great Purge

1. 1 Dec 1934: Sergei Kirov assassinated by Leonid Nikolaev
2. Official story: crime of passion, but many suspected Stalin’s involvement
3. Kirov seen as a rival: charismatic, respected, critical of Stalin
4. His death provided the pretext for the Great Purge
5. Removal of Kirov eliminated a potential rallying point for opposition
6. Within hours of Kirov’s death, Stalin enacted the Decree Against Terrorist Acts, which gave the NKVD sweeping powers to execute “enemies” without standard trials.
7. Thousands were arrested or executed, including prominent old Bolsheviks like Zinoviev and Kamenev.
8. Stalin claimed these were Trotskyite conspirators, but the real objective was eliminating all potential dissent and consolidating absolute authority.

The Great Purge/The Great Terror (1936-1938)

1. After Kirov’s death: purges reached unprecedented scale
2. Of 1,996 delegates (17th Party Congress, 1934), 1,108 executed within 3 years
3. Of 139 Central Committee members, all but 41 executed