1. 15 Great Terror and Purges

2. Overview A.Introduction B.Themes C.Four Phases D.The Number Question E.Great Terror of 1937-8 F.Why? G.Why this form and this scale?

3. A. Themes 1.Much historiographical and political mythmaking 2.Archival revolution of 1990s 3.Stalin’s role as instigator, not director 4.Complex social process: multiple terrors at different levels 5.Multiple reasons for the scale and irrationality

4. B. Four Phases 1.Social terror, 1928-32 2.Retreating and retargeting, 1932-36 3.“Ezhovshchina” 1936-38 4.Purging the purgers 1938-39

5. C. Number Question 1.Historiography 2.Newest data CategoryW. Hist. New Archival Data Arrests7 m.1.5 m. Camps7 m.1.9 m. Execu- tions 1-2 m680,000

6. D. Great Terror of 1937-38 1.Bychinskii Case 2.Victimology a.Party, state, military elites b.“Class enemies” c.Suspect ethnic minorities d.Expendables e.Random victims from general population

7. E. Why the Purges and Terror? 1.Dogma: intensification of class struggle 2.Mounting foreign threats 3.Party opposition 4.Economic: mobilizing and scapegoating 5.Social tensions: Stalinists and malcontents

8. F. Why This Form and This Scale? 1.State and police 2.Party’s internal chaos 3.Social conflict (delatology) 4.Stalin: role of the vozhd’

9. G. Conclusions

10. Belomor Canal: Celebratory Volume

11. Ex-Basmachi at Belomor Canal

12. Lavrentii Beria

13. Ezhov

14. NKVD: Ezhov’s Top Staff

15. 1937 Poster: Root out the Spies and Saboteurs

16. Leningrad Pravda: Enemies of Kolkhoz Before Soviet Courts

17. Stalin’s “Album”

18. Stalin Album

19. Stalin Archive List: Reports on the Purges

20. Stalin Archive: List of Gifts

21. Iarsoslavl Victims (1)

22. Iaroslavl Victims (2)

23. Moscow Victims