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2N Revolution and Dictatorship: Russia, 1917–1953

The Show Trials, the 1936 Constitution and the Yezhovshchina

  • 3 things to know
  • Component 2

Overview

Recall questions on the defendants in the Moscow show trials of 1936 to 1938 and how confessions were obtained, the Stalin Constitution of 1936 and the quotas of the Yezhovshchina.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

Who were the main defendants in the first Moscow show trial of 1936 and what happened to them?

Key term

Who were the main defendants in the third Moscow show trial of 1938?

Key term

What was the Yezhovshchina?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    Who were the main defendants in the first Moscow show trial of 1936 and what happened to them?

    Model answer

    Zinoviev and Kamenev were tried, confessed to involvement in Kirov's murder and plotting against Stalin, and were executed.

  2. 2

    Who were the main defendants in the second Moscow show trial of 1937 and what were they accused of?

    Model answer

    Radek, Pyatakov and others were accused of industrial sabotage and links to Trotsky.

  3. 3

    Who were the main defendants in the third Moscow show trial of 1938?

    Model answer

    Bukharin and Rykov, former Right Opposition leaders, were tried on charges of conspiracy and wrecking.

  4. 4

    How were forced confessions used as part of the machinery of state terror?

    Model answer

    Forced confessions were extracted through torture, psychological pressure, and threats, then used in show trials to publicly condemn defendants and justify the purges.

  5. 5

    How were confessions obtained from defendants at the show trials?

    Model answer

    Through psychological pressure, threats to family members, physical torture, and promises of leniency that were rarely honoured.

  6. 6

    What rights did the Stalin Constitution of 1936 guarantee, and what was their practical significance?

    Model answer

    It guaranteed freedom of speech, press, and assembly, universal suffrage, and the right to work, but these rights existed only on paper and were not enforced in practice.

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