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Before the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the archival revelations, some historians estimated that the numbers killed by Stalin's regime were 20 million or higher. [5] [6] [7] After the Soviet Union dissolved, evidence from the Soviet archives was declassified and researchers were allowed to study it.
During the mass killing events, in addition to the people who were killed, many others were victimized but did not die. The crimes against them have been described as crimes against humanity . [ 173 ] [ 174 ] [ 175 ] For instance, the 2008 Prague Declaration on European Conscience and Communism stated that crimes which were committed in the ...
Joseph Stalin's health had begun to deteriorate towards the end of the Second World War. He had atherosclerosis as a result of heavy smoking, a mild stroke around the time of the Victory Parade in May 1945, and a severe heart attack in October 1945.
The assassination, in December 1934, led to an investigation that revealed a network of party members supposedly working against Stalin, including several of Stalin's rivals. [31] Many of those arrested after Kirov's murder, high-ranking party officials among them, also confessed plans to kill Stalin themselves, albeit often under duress. [32]
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.
On 1 December 1934, after the results of the 17th Party Congress, Sergei Kirov was shot and killed by Leonid Nikolaev. The assassination of Kirov following the Congress would be a bellwether for the Great Purge of 1937–1938, and some theorize that Stalin himself orchestrated Kirov's murder.
Having left his role as Pravda editor, [127] Stalin was appointed the People's Commissar for Nationalities. [128] He appointed Nadezhda Alliluyeva as his secretary, [ 129 ] and married her in early 1919. [ 130 ]
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.