1. The Great Terror and the Purges

2. StalinStalin was responsible for the deaths of millions of Russians during his ruthless dictatorship. He died in 1953 having been in power for 29 years. His doctor was too scared to take his pulse in case he was still alive! You will learn – How Stalin had all his enemies wiped out What happened to millions of ordinary Russians who were forced into prison camps “one death is a tragedy. A million is just a statistic”one death is a tragedy. A million is just a statistic” “one death is a tragedy. A million is just a statistic”one death is a tragedy. A million is just a statistic”

3. The Murder of Kirov Kirov was a popular member of the Bolsheviks. In 1934 he was mysteriously murdered and Stalin used this to bring about the “great terror” when anybody who could possibly challenge Stalin was put on trial and imprisoned or shot. We now know that Stalin arranged Kirov’s murder. One by one the important Bolsheviks were captured by Stalin’s secret police and given a “show trial”. This was called the Purges.”

4. The Purges One by one Stalin’s old friends were rounded up and put on trial. Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin among many others suffered. They were tortured and confessed to crimes they could not have possibly carried out. Stalin signs a death warrant. It is said that he would spend five hours a day doing this!

5. Source A “Ordinary Russians who spoke up against Stalin, or who were simply in the wrong class made up most of Stalin’s victims. However, Stalin used the secret police against leading Communists. Having defeated his main rival, Trotsky, Stalin wanted to remove all possible rivals.” How fully does the source explain the reasons behind Stalin’s purges?4 You must use evidence from the source and your own knowledge. Source B “All the old Bolsheviks were arrested by the secret police and eliminated as rivals It was not even safe to criticise Stalin in private for fear of ending up in a labour camp.” How far do sources A and B agree about Stalin’s purges?4

6. The Gulags These were giant labour camps set up in Siberia. Prisoners were forced to work as slave labour in temperatures below 40 degrees centigrade. They lived in cramped, overcrowded sheds and were fed rotten meat and vegetables.labour camps Prisoners Watch the film extract very carefully. Write down as many things you see as you can. Source A is a photo of the gulags taken in 1935 How useful is this photograph as evidence of the gulags?3