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Russia, 1917–91: From Lenin to Yeltsin

Stalin in power, 1928–53

  • 3 things to know
  • Paper 1

Overview

Recall questions on the defeat of Trotsky and Bukharin, the Kirov murder, the show trials, the scale of the Great Terror, and the purge of the Red Army.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started
Key term

What term describes Stalin's mass repression of the later 1930s?

Numbers

What was the significance of the Ryutin affair?

Numbers

Who suffered in the Great Terror besides party leaders?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    How did Stalin defeat rivals such as Trotsky, Zinoviev and Bukharin?

    Model answer

    Through political manoeuvring, expulsion from the party, exile and eventually execution.

  2. 2

    What term describes Stalin's mass repression of the later 1930s?

    Model answer

    The Great Terror (the Purges).

  3. 3

    Why was Stalin's position as General Secretary so useful to him?

    Model answer

    It gave him control of appointments, membership records and the agenda, so he could pack party bodies with clients and outvote more prominent rivals.

  4. 4

    How did Stalin use policy shifts to defeat his rivals?

    Model answer

    He allied with Zinoviev and Kamenev against Trotsky, then with Bukharin against them, then turned on Bukharin, adopting rapid industrialisation once the left had been destroyed.

  5. 5

    What was the significance of the Ryutin affair?

    Model answer

    Ryutin's 1932 platform calling for Stalin's removal showed opposition survived within the party, and Stalin's failure to have him shot then is often seen as a spur to the later terror.

  6. 6

    What was the significance of the murder of Kirov in 1934?

    Model answer

    It was used as the pretext for emergency measures against terrorism and for the first show trials, and Stalin's own possible involvement remains debated.

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