TOPIC 9 - The Soviet Union and Eastern Europe 1924-2000
The Great Purges
After establishing himself, Stalin ruthlessly extended his power and pushed ahead with his policies. The result was an extreme totalitarian dictatorship. Stalin went further than Lenin in imposing his own stamp on Russia. He exerted greater personal control over the Communist Party and, to ensure its permanence, he unleashed a flood of coercion and terror which was unprecedented and unparalleled. His use of the NKVD and the purges caused the deaths of many millions of Soviet people. This eliminated any serious threat to his position and enabled him to proceed to major economic changes in the form of forced collectivization and industrialization through three Five Year Plans (see previous section). He was also responsible for some major social and cultural changes under the collective description of Socialist Realism, which in turn, played a vital role in augmenting Stalin's own personality cult (next section).
After establishing himself, Stalin ruthlessly extended his power and pushed ahead with his policies. The result was an extreme totalitarian dictatorship. Stalin went further than Lenin in imposing his own stamp on Russia. He exerted greater personal control over the Communist Party and, to ensure its permanence, he unleashed a flood of coercion and terror which was unprecedented and unparalleled. His use of the NKVD and the purges caused the deaths of many millions of Soviet people. This eliminated any serious threat to his position and enabled him to proceed to major economic changes in the form of forced collectivization and industrialization through three Five Year Plans (see previous section). He was also responsible for some major social and cultural changes under the collective description of Socialist Realism, which in turn, played a vital role in augmenting Stalin's own personality cult (next section).
Task 1: The Great Purges
Instructions
1. Read the scanned text "Corin & Fiehn - 203-229.pdf" and "The Terror.pdf"
2. This task has four sections to complete.
3. Section A – answer the question.
4. Section B – Read the sources (particularly the primary sources from both scanned texts) and complete the table (see below).
5. Section C – Draw up a large spider-diagram (see example) addressing the following issue:
Why did Stalin order the purges?
6. Section D – Historical Interpretation: How far was Stalin responsible for the purges?
Totalitarian View vs. Revisionist View
1. Read the scanned text "Corin & Fiehn - 203-229.pdf" and "The Terror.pdf"
2. This task has four sections to complete.
3. Section A – answer the question.
4. Section B – Read the sources (particularly the primary sources from both scanned texts) and complete the table (see below).
5. Section C – Draw up a large spider-diagram (see example) addressing the following issue:
Why did Stalin order the purges?
6. Section D – Historical Interpretation: How far was Stalin responsible for the purges?
Totalitarian View vs. Revisionist View
Section A - Answer the following question:
What were the "purges"?
Section B - Complete the table: How Important was the Kirov murder of 1934?
Section C - Draw up a large spider-diagram (see example) addressing the following issue:
Why did Stalin order the purges?
Make sure you provide specific details for each cause and do not hesitate to add more branches into your spider-diagram.
Why did Stalin order the purges?
Make sure you provide specific details for each cause and do not hesitate to add more branches into your spider-diagram.
Section D - Historical Interpretation: How far was Stalin responsible for the purges?
Totalitarian View vs. Revisionist View
Totalitarian View vs. Revisionist View
Mark Scheme
Exam Questions
Paper 3 Questions
Paper 3 Questions
- Compare and contrast the repressive policies of Hitler and Stalin. (May 2009)
- “Stalin’s domestic and foreign policies between 1945 and 1953 lacked consistent aims.” To what extent do you agree with this statement? (Nov 2009)