Propaganda, Purges

1
Stalins Show Trials

• Propaganda, Purges The Totalitarian State

2
Stalins Route to Power

• A marginal figure in the October Revolution
  (1917)
• General Secretary of the Communist Party (1922),
  allowing him to control key appointments
  throughout the Party.
• Trotsky, Kamenev, Zinoviev Stalin were all
  possible successors to Lenin after his death in
  1924
• He conspired with Kamenev Zinoviev to
  marginalise the favourite Trotsky before
  subsequently outmaneuvering both Kamenev
  Zinoviev to assume total power by the late 1920s.
  

3
Factors in Stalins Show Trials

• Collectivisation An agricultural revolution with
  enormous human political costs
• Economic Modernisation A miracle of
  modernisation over 10 years requiring rigorous
  planning, central authority absolute obedience.
  
• Leon Trotsky the heir-apparent to Lenin a
  target of Stalins personal political paranoia.
  Trotskys alleged treachery would be used as a
  scapegoat for much of the Purges.
• The Old Bolsheviks Participants of the October
  Revolution (1917) who could undermine Stalins
  revisionist role and oppose his dictatorial
  plans.
• Sergei Kirov Kirovs murder would be the pretext
  for a state-wide purge of opponents dissidents

4
The Old Bolsheviks

• The original, surviving members of the October
  Revolution of 1917, including Lenin Stalin.
• Would present an obstacle to Stalins revisionism
  of his minor role in the October Revolution of
  1917.
• Stalin targeted these Old Bolsheviks as traitors
  who sought to undermine the Communist Revolution.
  
• Most of these, particularly Trotsky, advocated
  International Communism, while Stalin advocated
  Socialism in One Country.

• Grigory Zinoviev
• Lev Kamenev
• Nikolai Bukharin
• Genrikh Yagoda
• Karl Radek
• Sergey Kirov
• Vyacheslav Molotov

5
Leon TrotskyShadow of the Revolutionary

• Commander of Red Guards in October Revolution
  1917
• Founder of the Red Army
• Very capable organiser public orator
• Considered the natural successor to Lenin

The end may justify the means as long as there
is something that justifies the end.
6
Collectivisationan Ideological Economic
Imperative

• Due to opposition to collectivisation, Stalin
  introduced forced collectivisation by 1929.
• Kulaks slaughtered their animals in protest and
  in some cases burnt their grain. Famines resulted
  in 1932-33. Roughly five million people died.
• In response, Stalin attempted to eradicate the
  Kulaks, sending out requisition squads who either
  killed the Kulaks or sent them to prison in the
  Gulags.
• Roughly five million Kulaks had been dispossessed
  and/ or imprisoned by 1935.

• An attempt to end private ownership of land by
  peasants and introduce large, collectively-owned
  farms in which machinery, labour profits were
  shared. In some cases, collective farms were
  state-owned, where farmers were paid a wage
  similar to workers in a factory.
• Opposed bitterly by the Kulaks peasant land
  owners.
• Kulaks were an inconsistency with Communism a
  wealthy, land-owning class in a Communist State.
  They were created by Lenins New Economic Policy
  of 1921. Many communists supported the forced
  eradication of these private land owners.

7
The Five - Year Plans GOSPLAN

• GOSPLAN Central Planning Commission now planned
  all economic industrial activity
• Set targets quotas for all industries
• First Five-Year Plan concentrated on developing
  fuel production for heavy indiustries e.g. coal,
  iron, gas electricity-producing stations
• Workers who exceeded their quotas were rewarded
  the Order of Lenin medal as an incentive

8
The Five - Year Plans GOSPLAN

• The 1st Five-Year Plan 1928 - 1932

• The 2nd Five-Year Plan1933 - 1938

3rd Five-Year Plan1938 - 1941

• HEAVY INDUSTRY INFRASTRUCTURE
• New metalworking industries
• Transport, especially railways
• Moscow Underground
• Consumer goods
• Some armament production

• HEAVY INDUSTRY
• Machinery Production ( x 4)
• Oil production ( x 2)
• Electricity ( x 3)
• New townsMagnitogorsk

• ARMAMENTS
• Massively increased armament production
• (interrupted by German invasion in 1941)

9
SERGEI KIROV

• Leader of the Communist Party in Leningrad
• Loyal supporter of Stalin
• Supported Stalins policies of Collectivisation
  and even the readication of the Kulaks.
• Very popular member of the Communist Party who
  was elected to the Central Committee in 1934.
• Crucially, Kirov was in favour of a more relaxed
  style of Communism, even including certain
  dissidents in the Politburo.

Assassinated in 1934, probably by order of
Stalin, who feared his growing popularity
influence throughout the Communist movement.
10
N.k.v.d.Peoples Commissariat for internal
affairs

• Origin The Cheka (1917 Revolution)
• State police founded in 1934 from reorganisation
  by Stalin to be both regular police force and
  state security apparatus
• The NKVD, from 1934 onwards, were given a wide
  mandate enormous power, including control of
  fire services, security of borders, civil acts
  responsibily for the operation of Gulags
• Chief state instrument of Stalins purges and the
  Show Trials
• Prominent leaders of the NKVD Yagoda, Yezhov
  Beria

11
Genrikh YagodaDirector of NKVD (1934-1936)

• Director of the NKVD, 1934 1936
• Responsible for the deaths of 7 10 million
  Ukranians during forced seizures of grain
  supplies under the regulations of
  Collectivisation
• Organised the Trial of the Sixteen (1936),
  including the arrest, detention and interrogation
  of the Old Bolsheviks e.g. Kamenev, Zinoviev.
• Replaced by Yezhov in September 1936 when Stalin
  accused him of being unable to expose the
  true extent of the Trotskyite conspiracy.
• Was put on Trial in 1938 (Trial of the
  Twenty-One), found guilty and shot.

12
ANDREI VYSHINSKYProsecutor-General
13
The Show Trials1936 - 1938

• The 1st Show Trial(1936)

• The 2nd Show Trial (1937)

The 3rd Show Trial(1938)

• Trial of
• The
• Anti-Soviet
• Trotskyite Centre

• Trial of
• The
• Trotskyite-Zinovievite
• Terrorist Centre

Trial of The Anti-Soviet Bloc of Rightists
Trotskyites
14
The 1st Show TrialThe Trial of the
sixteen(1936)

• Trial of the
• Trotskyite-Zinovievite Terrorist Centre

15
Trial of the Sixteen(1936)

• Charges

• The Accused

• Zinoviev
• Kamenev
• 14 other leading Old Bolsheviks

• Accused of murdering Sergei Kirov
• Accused of plotting to murder Stalin
• Accused of working with Trotskyites in an effort
  to undermine Communism in USSR

Verdict All guilty sentenced to be shot
16
Trial of the SixteenThe Influence of Trotsky

• Each of the Sixteen defendants took turns to
  denounce themselves, pleading guilty,
  incriminating themselves under the false pretense
  that their lives would be spared once they had
  publicised Trotskys anti-Soviet conspiracy.
• I am guilty of this that after Trotsky, I was
  the second organizer of the Trotsky-Zinoviev bloc
  which set itself the aim of murdering Stalin,
  Voroshilov and a number of other leaders of the
  party and the government.
• - Grigory Zinoviev (1936)

17
The 2nd Show TrialThe Trial of the
seventeen(1937)

• Trial of
• Anti-Soviet Trotskyite Centre

18
Trial of the Seventeen(1937)

• Charges

• The Accused

• Radek
• Pyatakov
• 15 others

• Accused of conspiring with Germany Japan
• Accused of plotting with Trotsky
• Accused of wrecking sabotage of the economy

Verdict All guilty sentenced to be shot
19
The 3rd Show TrialThe Trial of the
twenty-one(1938)

• Trial of
• Anti-Soviet Bloc of Rightists Trotskyites

20
Trial of the Twenty-one(1938)

• Charges

• The Accused

• Bukharin
• Rykov
• Yagoda
• 18 others

• Accused of plotting to murder Stalin
• Accused of wrecking sabotage of the economy

Verdict All guilty sentenced to be shot