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The Great Purge was denounced by Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev following Stalin's death. In his secret speech to the 20th CPSU congress in February 1956 (which was made public a month later), Khrushchev referred to the purges as an "abuse of power" by Stalin which resulted in enormous harm to the country.
The first Party purge of the Joseph Stalin era took place in 1929–1930 in accordance with a resolution of the XVI Party Conference. [4] Purges became deadly under Stalin. More than 10 percent of the party members were purged. At the same time, a significant number of new industrial workers joined the Party.
Stalin lacked compassion, [645] possibly exacerbated by his repeated imprisonments and exiles, [646] though he occasionally showed kindness to strangers, even during the Great Purge. [647] He could be self-righteous, [ 648 ] resentful, [ 649 ] and vindictive, [ 650 ] often holding grudges for years. [ 651 ]
Joseph Stalin's purges and massacres between 1936 and the invasion of the Soviet Union by Nazi Germany (Great Purge) had about one million victims. This list includes some of the most prominent victims along with the date of their deaths. Except where otherwise stated, the date is that on which the individual was executed by shooting.
The Great Purge ended in 1939. In October 1940 the NKVD (People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs), under its new chief Lavrentiy Beria, started a new purge that initially hit the People's Commissariat of Ammunition, People's Commissariat of Aviation Industry, and People's Commissariat of Armaments. High-level officials admitted guilt ...
The Great Purge of 1936–1938 in the Soviet Union can be roughly divided into four periods: [1] October 1936 - February 1937 Reforming the security organizations, adopting official plans for purging the elites. March 1937 - June 1937 Purging the Elites; The higher powers then started to cut off heads of the poor.
While Khrushchev's Secret Speech denounced Stalin's personality cult and purges as early as 1956, rehabilitation of Old Bolsheviks proceeded at a slow pace. Nikolai Bukharin and 19 other co-defendants were officially completely rehabilitated in February 1988. Yagoda, who was deeply involved in the great purge as the head of NKVD, was not included.
The Great Purge (Russian: Большой террор, transliterated Bolshoy terror, The Great Terror) was a series of campaigns of political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin in 1937–1938.