1. Moscow Show Trials
Set up the show trials
for a number of
reasons
1) He was paranoid
2) He was jealous of
other members of the
party
3) He wanted to set an
example to the people
of the Soviet Union
2. Trials Begin
Murder of Kirov used to
begin trials
Stalin may have ordered it.
Why?
Prosecution led by
Vyshinsky the state
prosecutor
NKVD led by Yagoda
extracted confessions
Kamenev and Zinoviev
among the first to go on
trial
3. Guilty or innocent?
All the accused
admitted their guilt.
Why?
Trotsky was on trial
just as much as the
accused
Second show trial
saw a further purge of
party officials
Pyatakav an example
of a scapegoat for
industrial quotas not
being met
4. Army and Yagoda on trial
Stalin then purges the
army
35000 officers shot or
jailed
Marshall
Tukhachevsky the
army commander was
found guilty
Yagoda the former
head of the NKVD put
on trial
Yagoda was replaced
by Yezhov
5. Effects of the Purges
Stalin had eliminated any opposition to his
power
Stalin had established himself as sole dictator
and head of a totalitarian state
Thousands of innocent people found guilty
and sent to labour camps
Red army left weak following the purging of
the officer corp.