The scale of Stalin's repressions - exact numbers
At the liar's contest
In an accusatory rage, the writers of anti-Stalin horror stories seem to be competing to see who can tell the biggest lies, vying with each other to name the astronomical numbers of those killed at the hands of the “bloody tyrant.” Against their background, a dissident Roy Medvedev, who limited himself to a “modest” figure of 40 million, looks like some kind of black sheep, a model of moderation and conscientiousness:
"Thus, total number According to my calculations, the victims of Stalinism reach approximately 40 million people».
And in fact, it is undignified. Another dissident, son of a repressed Trotskyist revolutionary A. V. Antonov-Ovseenko, without a shadow of embarrassment, names twice the figure:
“These calculations are very, very approximate, but I am sure of one thing: the Stalinist regime bled the people, destroying more than 80 million his best sons."
Professional “rehabilitators” led by a former member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee A. N. Yakovlev are already talking about 100 million:
“According to the most conservative estimates of the specialists of the rehabilitation commission, our country lost about 100 million Human. This number includes not only the repressed themselves, but also members of their families doomed to death and even children who could have been born, but were never born.”
However, according to version Yakovleva the notorious 100 million includes not only direct “victims of the regime”, but also unborn children. But the writer Igor Bunich without hesitation claims that all these “100 million people were mercilessly exterminated.”
However, this is not the limit. The absolute record was set by Boris Nemtsov, who announced on November 7, 2003 in the “Freedom of Speech” program on the NTV channel about 150 million people allegedly lost by the Russian state after 1917.
Who are these fantastically ridiculous figures, eagerly replicated by Russian and foreign media, intended for? mass media? For those who have forgotten how to think for themselves, who are accustomed to uncritically accepting on faith any nonsense coming from television screens.
It’s easy to see the absurdity of the multimillion-dollar numbers of “victims of repression.” It is enough to open any demographic directory and, picking up a calculator, make simple calculations. For those who are too lazy to do this, I will give a small illustrative example.
According to the population census conducted in January 1959, the population of the USSR was 208,827 thousand people. By the end of 1913, 159,153 thousand people lived within the same borders. It is easy to calculate that the average annual population growth of our country in the period from 1914 to 1959 was 0.60%.
Now let's see how the population of England, France and Germany grew in the same years - countries that also took an active part in both world wars.
So, the rate of population growth in the Stalinist USSR turned out to be almost one and a half times higher than in Western “democracies,” although for these states we excluded the extremely unfavorable demographic years of the 1st World War. Could this have happened if the “bloody Stalinist regime” had destroyed 150 million or at least 40 million residents of our country? Of course no!
They say archival documents
To find out true number executed at Stalin, it is absolutely not necessary to engage in fortune telling on coffee grounds. It is enough to familiarize yourself with the declassified documents. The most famous of them is the memo addressed to N. S. Khrushcheva dated February 1, 1954:
Comrade Khrushchev N.S.
In connection with signals received by the CPSU Central Committee from a number of individuals about illegal convictions for counter-revolutionary crimes in past years by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, and the Special Meeting. By the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals and in accordance with your instructions on the need to review the cases of persons convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes and currently held in camps and prisons, we report:
According to data available from the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the period from 1921 to the present time, people were convicted for counter-revolutionary crimes by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, the Special Meeting, the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals. 3 777 380 people, including:
to VMN – 642 980 Human,
Of the total number of those arrested, approximately the following were convicted: 2 900 000 people - the Collegium of the OGPU, the troikas of the NKVD and the Special Meeting and 877 000 people – courts, military tribunals, the Special Board and the Military Board.
Prosecutor General R. Rudenko
Minister of Internal Affairs S. Kruglov
Minister of Justice K. Gorshenin"
As is clear from the document, in total from 1921 to the beginning of 1954, people were sentenced to death on political charges. 642 980 person, to imprisonment - 2 369 220 , to link – 765 180 .
However, there are more detailed data on the number of those sentenced to death for counter-revolutionary and other especially dangerous state crimes
Thus, for the years 1921-1953 they were sentenced to death 815 639 Human. In total, in the years 1918-1953, people were brought to criminal liability in cases of state security agencies 4 308 487 person of whom 835 194 sentenced to death.
So, there were slightly more “repressed” than indicated in the report dated February 1, 1954. However, the difference is not too great - the numbers are of the same order.
In addition, it is quite possible that among those who received sentences on political charges there were a fair number of criminals. On one of the certificates stored in the archives, on the basis of which the above table was compiled, there is a pencil note:
“Total convicts for 1921-1938. – 2 944 879 people, of which 30 % (1062 thousand) – criminals»
In this case, the total number of “victims of repression” does not exceed three million. However, to finally clarify this issue, it is necessary extra work with sources.
It should also be borne in mind that not all sentences were carried out. For example, of the 76 death sentences handed down by the Tyumen District Court in the first half of 1929, by January 1930, 46 had been changed or overturned by higher authorities, and of the remaining, only nine were carried out.
From July 15, 1939 to April 20, 1940 for disorganization camp life and production, 201 prisoners were sentenced to capital punishment. However, then some of them the death penalty was replaced by imprisonment for terms of 10 to 15 years.
In 1934, there were 3,849 prisoners in NKVD camps who were sentenced to death and commuted to imprisonment. In 1935 there were 5671 such prisoners, in 1936 – 7303, in 1937 – 6239, in 1938 – 5926, in 1939 – 3425, in 1940 – 4037 people.
Number of prisoners
At first, the number of prisoners in forced labor camps (ITL) was relatively small. So, on January 1, 1930, it amounted to 179,000 people, on January 1, 1931 - 212,000, on January 1, 1932 - 268,700, on January 1, 1933 - 334,300, on January 1, 1934 - 510 307 people.
In addition to the ITL, there were correctional labor colonies (CLCs), where those sentenced to short terms were sent. Until the fall of 1938, the penitentiary complexes, together with the prisons, were subordinate to the Department of Places of Detention (OMP) of the NKVD of the USSR. Therefore, for the years 1935-1938, only joint statistics have been found so far. Since 1939, penal colonies were under the jurisdiction of the Gulag, and prisons were under the jurisdiction of the Main Prison Directorate (GTU) of the NKVD of the USSR.
How much can you trust these numbers? All of them are taken from the internal reports of the NKVD - secret documents not intended for publication. In addition, these summary figures are quite consistent with the initial reports; they can be broken down monthly, as well as by individual camps:
Let us now calculate the number of prisoners per capita. On January 1, 1941, as can be seen from the table above, the total number of prisoners in the USSR was 2 400 422 person. The exact population of the USSR at this time is unknown, but is usually estimated at 190-195 million.
Thus, we get from 1230 to 1260 prisoners for every 100 thousand population. On January 1, 1950, the number of prisoners in the USSR was 2 760 095 Human - maximum rate during the entire reign of Stalin. The population of the USSR at this time numbered 178 million 547 thousand. We get 1546 prisoners per 100 thousand population, 1.54%. This is the highest figure ever.
Let's calculate a similar indicator for the modern United States. Currently, there are two types of places of deprivation of liberty: jail - an approximate analogue of our temporary detention centers, in which those under investigation are kept, as well as those sentenced to short terms, serve their sentences, and prison - the prison itself. At the end of 1999, there were 1,366,721 people in prisons and 687,973 in jails (see the website of the Bureau of Legal Statistics of the US Department of Justice), for a total of 2,054,694. The population of the United States at the end of 1999 was approximately 275 million Therefore, we get 747 prisoners per 100 thousand population.
Yes, half as much as Stalin, but not ten times. It’s somehow undignified for a power that has taken upon itself the protection of “human rights” on a global scale.
Moreover, this is a comparison of the peak number of prisoners in the Stalinist USSR, which was also caused first by the civil and then by the Great Patriotic War. And among the so-called “victims of political repression” there will be a fair share of supporters white movement, collaborators, Hitler's accomplices, members of the ROA, policemen, not to mention ordinary criminals.
There are calculations that compare the average number of prisoners over a period of several years.
Data on the number of prisoners in Stalin's USSR exactly coincide with the above. According to these data, it turns out that on average for the period from 1930 to 1940, there were 583 prisoners per 100,000 people, or 0.58%. Which is significantly less than the same figure in Russia and the USA in the 90s.
What is the total number of people who were imprisoned under Stalin? Of course, if you take a table with the annual number of prisoners and sum up the rows, as many anti-Sovietists do, the result will be incorrect, since most of them were sentenced to more than a year. Therefore, it should be assessed not by the amount of those imprisoned, but by the amount of those convicted, which was given above.
How many of the prisoners were “political”?
As we see, until 1942, the “repressed” made up no more than a third of the prisoners held in the Gulag camps. And only then their share increased, receiving a worthy “replenishment” in the person of Vlasovites, policemen, elders and other “fighters against communist tyranny.” The percentage of “political” in correctional labor colonies was even smaller.
Prisoner mortality
Available archival documents make it possible to illuminate this issue. In 1931, 7,283 people died in the ITL (3.03% of the average annual number), in 1932 - 13,197 (4.38%), in 1933 - 67,297 (15.94%), in 1934 – 26,295 prisoners (4.26%).
For 1953, data is provided for the first three months.
As we see, mortality in places of detention (especially in prisons) did not reach those fantastic values that denouncers like to talk about. But still its level is quite high. It increases especially strongly in the first years of the war. As was stated in the certificate of mortality according to the NKVD OITK for 1941, compiled by the acting. Head of the Sanitary Department of the Gulag NKVD I. K. Zitserman:
Basically, mortality began to increase sharply from September 1941, mainly due to the transfer of convicts from units located in the front-line areas: from the BBK and Vytegorlag to the OITK of the Vologda and Omsk regions, from OITK of the Moldavian SSR, Ukrainian SSR and Leningrad region. in OITK Kirov, Molotov and Sverdlovsk regions. As a rule, a significant part of the journey of several hundred kilometers before loading into wagons was carried out on foot. Along the route there was absolutely no minimum provision necessary products food (they did not receive all the bread and even water), as a result of this confinement, the prisoners suffered severe exhaustion, a very high % of vitamin deficiencies, in particular pellagra, which caused significant mortality along the way and upon arrival at the corresponding OITK, which were not prepared to accept a significant number of replenishments. At the same time, the introduction of reduced food standards by 25–30% (order No. 648 and 0437) with an extended working day to 12 hours, and often the absence of basic food products, even at reduced standards, could not but affect the increase in morbidity and mortality
However, since 1944, mortality has decreased significantly. By the beginning of the 1950s, in camps and colonies it fell below 1%, and in prisons - below 0.5% per year.
Special camps
Let's say a few words about the notorious Special Camps (special camps), created in accordance with Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 416-159ss of February 21, 1948. These camps (as well as the Special Prisons that already existed by that time) were supposed to concentrate all those sentenced to imprisonment for espionage, sabotage, terrorism, as well as Trotskyists, right-wingers, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists, white emigrants, members of anti-Soviet organizations and groups and “individuals who pose a danger due to their anti-Soviet connections.” Prisoners of special prisons should have been used for heavy physical work.
As we see, the mortality rate of prisoners in special detention centers was only slightly higher than the mortality rate in ordinary correctional labor camps. Contrary to conventional wisdom, the special camps were not “death camps” in which the elite of the dissident intelligentsia were supposedly exterminated; moreover, the most numerous contingent of their inhabitants were “nationalists” - the forest brothers and their accomplices.
1937 "Stalin's repressions" The Great Lie of the 20th Century.
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One of the darkest pages in the history of everything post-Soviet space were the years from 1928 to 1952, when Stalin was in power. Biographers for a long time They kept silent or tried to distort some facts from the tyrant’s past, but it turned out to be quite possible to restore them. The fact is that the country was ruled by a repeat offender who had been in prison 7 times. Violence and terror forceful methods solutions to the problem were familiar to him from his early youth. They were also reflected in his policies.
Officially, the course was taken in July 1928 by the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. It was there that Stalin spoke, who stated that the further advancement of communism would encounter increasing resistance from hostile, anti-Soviet elements, and they must be fought harshly. Many researchers believe that the repressions of 30 were a continuation of the policy of Red Terror, adopted back in 1918. It is worth noting that the number of victims of repression does not include those who suffered during the Civil War from 1917 to 1922, because after the First World War a population census was not conducted. And it is unclear how to establish the cause of death.
The beginning of Stalin's repressions was aimed at political opponents, officially - at saboteurs, terrorists, spies conducting subversive activities, and anti-Soviet elements. However, in practice there was a struggle with wealthy peasants and entrepreneurs, as well as with certain peoples who did not want to sacrifice national identity for the sake of dubious ideas. Many people were dispossessed and forced into resettlement, but usually this meant not only the loss of their home, but also the threat of death.
The fact is that such settlers were not provided with food and medicine. The authorities did not take into account the time of year, so if it happened in winter, people often froze and died of hunger. The exact number of victims is still being established. There are still debates about this in society. Some defenders of the Stalinist regime believe that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of “everything.” Others point to millions of forcibly resettled people, and of these, about 1/5 to half died due to the complete lack of any living conditions.
In 1929, the authorities decided to abandon conventional forms of imprisonment and move to new ones, reform the system in this direction, and introduce correctional labor. Preparations began for the creation of the Gulag, which many quite rightly compare with the German death camps. It is characteristic that the Soviet authorities often used various events, for example, the murder of the plenipotentiary representative Voikov in Poland, to deal with political opponents and simply unwanted people. In particular, Stalin responded to this by demanding the immediate liquidation of the monarchists by any means. At the same time, no connection was even established between the victim and those to whom such measures were applied. As a result, 20 representatives of the former Russian nobility, about 9 thousand people were arrested and subjected to repression. The exact number of victims has not yet been established.
Sabotage
It should be noted that the Soviet regime was completely dependent on specialists trained in Russian Empire. Firstly, at the time of the 30s, not much time had passed, and our own specialists, in fact, were absent or were too young and inexperienced. And all scientists, without exception, received training in monarchist educational institutions. Secondly, very often science openly contradicted what the Soviet government was doing. The latter, for example, rejected genetics as such, considering it too bourgeois. There was no study of the human psyche; psychiatry had a punitive function, that is, in fact, it did not fulfill its main task.
As a result, the Soviet authorities began to accuse many specialists of sabotage. The USSR did not recognize such concepts as incompetence, including those that arose in connection with poor preparation or incorrect assignment, mistake, or miscalculation. The real physical condition of employees of a number of enterprises was ignored, which is why common mistakes were sometimes made. In addition, mass repressions could arise on the basis of suspiciously frequent, according to the authorities, contacts with foreigners, publication of works in the Western press. A striking example– The Pulkovo case, when a huge number of astronomers, mathematicians, engineers and other scientists suffered. Moreover, in the end, only a small number were rehabilitated: many were shot, some died during interrogations or in prison.
The Pulkovo case very clearly demonstrates another terrible moment of Stalin’s repressions: the threat to loved ones, as well as the slander of others under torture. Not only the scientists suffered, but also the wives who supported them.
Grain procurement
Constant pressure on peasants, half-starvation, grain weaning, shortage work force had a negative impact on the pace of grain procurement. However, Stalin did not know how to admit mistakes, which became official government policy. By the way, it is for this reason that any rehabilitation, even of those who were convicted by accident, by mistake or instead of a namesake, took place after the death of the tyrant.
But let's return to the topic of grain procurements. By objective reasons It was not always possible and not everywhere to fulfill the quota. And in connection with this, the “culprits” were punished. Moreover, in some places entire villages were repressed. Soviet power also fell on the heads of those who simply allowed the peasants to keep their grain as an insurance fund or for sowing the next year.
There were things to suit almost every taste. Cases of the Geological Committee and the Academy of Sciences, "Vesna", the Siberian Brigade... A complete and detailed description can take many volumes. And this despite the fact that all the details have not yet been disclosed; many NKVD documents continue to remain classified.
Historians attribute some relaxation that occurred in 1933–1934 primarily to the fact that the prisons were overcrowded. In addition, it was necessary to reform the punitive system, which was not aimed at such mass participation. This is how the Gulag came into being.
Great Terror
The main terror occurred in 1937-1938, when, according to various sources, up to 1.5 million people suffered, more than 800 thousand of them were shot or killed in other ways. However, exact number It is still being established; there are quite active debates on this matter.
Characteristic was the NKVD order No. 00447, which officially launched the mechanism of mass repression against former kulaks, Socialist Revolutionaries, monarchists, re-emigrants and so on. At the same time, everyone was divided into 2 categories: more and less dangerous. Both groups were subject to arrest, the first had to be shot, the second had to be given a sentence of 8 to 10 years on average.
Among the victims of Stalin's repressions there were quite a few relatives taken into custody. Even if family members could not be convicted of anything, they were still automatically registered, and sometimes forcibly relocated. If the father and (or) mother were declared “enemies of the people,” then this put an end to the opportunity to make a career, often to getting an education. Such people often found themselves surrounded by an atmosphere of horror and were subjected to boycott.
The Soviet authorities could also persecute on the basis of nationality and previous citizenship of certain countries. So, in 1937 alone, 25 thousand Germans, 84.5 thousand Poles, almost 5.5 thousand Romanians, 16.5 thousand Latvians, 10.5 thousand Greeks, 9 thousand 735 Estonians, 9 thousand Finns, 2 thousand Iranians, 400 Afghans. At the same time, persons of the nationality against which repression was carried out were dismissed from industry. And from the army - persons belonging to a nationality not represented on the territory of the USSR. All this happened under the leadership of Yezhov, but, which does not even require separate evidence, without a doubt, had a direct relation to Stalin, and was constantly personally controlled by him. Under many execution lists are worth his signature. And we're talking about, in total, hundreds of thousands of people.
It's ironic that recent stalkers have often become victims. Thus, one of the leaders of the described repressions, Yezhov, was shot in 1940. The sentence was put into effect the very next day after the trial. Beria became the head of the NKVD.
Stalin's repressions spread to new territories along with the Soviet regime itself. Cleanings were ongoing; they were mandatory elements of control. And with the onset of the 40s they did not stop.
Repressive mechanism during the Great Patriotic War
Even the Great Patriotic War could not stop the repressive machine, although it partially extinguished the scale, because the USSR needed people at the front. However, now there is great way getting rid of unwanted people - sending them to the front line. It is unknown exactly how many died while carrying out such orders.
At the same time, the military situation became much tougher. Suspicion alone was enough to shoot even without the appearance of a trial. This practice was called “prison decongestion.” It was especially widely used in Karelia, the Baltic states, and Western Ukraine.
The tyranny of the NKVD intensified. Thus, execution became possible not even by a court verdict or some extrajudicial body, but simply by order of Beria, whose powers began to increase. They don’t like to publicize this point widely, but the NKVD did not stop its activities even in Leningrad during the siege. Then they arrested up to 300 higher education students on trumped-up charges. educational institutions. 4 were shot, many died in isolation wards or in prisons.
Everyone is able to say unequivocally whether the detachments can be considered a form of repression, but they definitely made it possible to get rid of unwanted people, and quite effectively. However, the authorities continued to persecute even more traditional forms. Filtration detachments awaited everyone who was captured. Moreover, if an ordinary soldier could still prove his innocence, especially if he was captured wounded, unconscious, sick or frostbitten, then the officers, as a rule, were waiting for the Gulag. Some were shot.
As Soviet power spread throughout Europe, intelligence was involved in the return and trial of emigrants by force. In Czechoslovakia alone, according to some sources, 400 people suffered from its actions. Quite serious damage in this regard was caused to Poland. Often, the repressive mechanism affected not only Russian citizens, but also Poles, some of whom were extrajudicially executed for resisting Soviet power. Thus, the USSR broke the promises it made to its allies.
Post-war events
After the war, the repressive apparatus was deployed again. Overly influential military men, especially those close to Zhukov, doctors who were in contact with the allies (and scientists) were under threat. The NKVD could also arrest the Germans in Soviet zone responsibility for attempting to contact residents of other regions under Western control. The ongoing campaign against people of Jewish nationality looks like black irony. Last loud process became the so-called “Doctors’ Plot,” which collapsed only in connection with the death of Stalin.
Use of torture
Later, during the Khrushchev Thaw, the Soviet prosecutor's office itself investigated the cases. The facts of mass falsification and obtaining confessions under torture, which were used very widely, were recognized. Marshal Blucher was killed as a result of numerous beatings, and in the process of extracting testimony from Eikhe, his spine was broken. There are cases when Stalin personally demanded that certain prisoners be beaten.
In addition to beatings, sleep deprivation, placement in too cold or, on the contrary, too hot room without clothes, and hunger strike were also practiced. The handcuffs were periodically not removed for days, and sometimes for months. Correspondence and any contact with the outside world were prohibited. Some were “forgotten”, that is, they were arrested, and then the case was not considered and no sentence was passed specific solution until Stalin's death. This, in particular, is indicated by the order signed by Beria, which ordered an amnesty for those who were arrested before 1938 and for whom a decision had not yet been made. We are talking about people who have been waiting for their fate to be decided for at least 14 years! This can also be considered a kind of torture.
Stalinist statements
Understanding the very essence of Stalin's repressions in the present is of fundamental importance, if only because some still consider Stalin to be an impressive leader who saved the country and the world from fascism, without which the USSR would have been doomed. Many try to justify his actions by saying that in this way he boosted the economy, ensured industrialization, or protected the country. In addition, some are trying to downplay the number of victims. In general, the exact number of victims is one of the most disputed issues today.
However, in fact, to assess the personality of this person, as well as everyone who carried out his criminal orders, even the recognized minimum of those convicted and executed is sufficient. During fascist regime In total, 4.5 thousand people were subjected to repression by Mussolini in Italy. His political enemies were either expelled from the country or placed in prisons, where they were given the opportunity to write books. Of course, no one is saying that Mussolini is getting better from this. Fascism cannot be justified.
But what assessment can be given to Stalinism at the same time? And taking into account the repressions that were carried out on ethnic grounds, it at least has one of the signs of fascism - racism.
Characteristic signs of repression
Stalin's repressions have several characteristic features, which only emphasize what they were. This:
- Mass character. The exact data depends heavily on estimates, whether relatives are taken into account or not, internally displaced persons or not. Depending on the method of calculation, it ranges from 5 to 40 million.
- Cruelty. The repressive mechanism did not spare anyone, people were subjected to cruel, inhumane treatment, starved, tortured, relatives were killed in front of their eyes, loved ones were threatened, and forced to abandon family members.
- Focus on protecting party power and against the interests of the people. In fact, we can talk about genocide. Neither Stalin nor his other henchmen were at all interested in how the constantly diminishing peasantry should provide everyone with bread, what is actually beneficial to the production sector, how science will move forward with the arrest and execution of prominent figures. This clearly demonstrates that the real interests of the people were ignored.
- Injustice. People could suffer simply because they had property in the past. Wealthy peasants and the poor who took their side, supported them, and somehow protected them. Persons of “suspicious” nationality. Relatives who returned from abroad. Sometimes academicians and prominent scientific figures who contacted their foreign colleagues to publish data about invented drugs after they received official permission from the authorities for such actions could be punished.
- Connection with Stalin. The extent to which everything was tied to this figure can be eloquently seen from the cessation of a number of cases immediately after his death. Lavrentiy Beria was quite rightly accused by many of cruelty and inappropriate behavior, but even he, by his actions, recognized the false nature of many cases, the unjustified cruelty used by the NKVD officers. And it was he who banned physical measures towards prisoners. Again, as in the case of Mussolini, there is no question of justification here. It’s just about emphasizing.
- Illegality. Some of the executions were carried out not only without trial, but also without the participation of judicial authorities as such. But even when there was a trial, it was exclusively about the so-called “simplified” mechanism. This meant that the trial was carried out without a defense, exclusively with the prosecution and the accused being heard. There was no practice of reviewing cases; the court's decision was final, often carried out the next day. At the same time, there were widespread violations even of the legislation of the USSR itself, which was in force at that time.
- Inhumanity. The repressive apparatus violated the basic human rights and freedoms that had been proclaimed in the civilized world for several centuries at that time. Researchers see no difference between the treatment of prisoners in the dungeons of the NKVD and how the Nazis behaved towards prisoners.
- Unfounded. Despite the attempts of the Stalinists to demonstrate the presence of some kind of underlying reason, there is not the slightest reason to believe that anything was aimed at any good goal or helped to achieve it. Indeed, a lot was built by the GULAG prisoners, but it was the forced labor of people who were greatly weakened due to the conditions of their detention and the constant lack of food. Consequently, errors in production, defects and in general are very low level qualities - all this inevitably arose. This situation also could not but affect the pace of construction. Taking into account the expenses that the Soviet government incurred to create the Gulag, its maintenance, as well as such a large-scale apparatus as a whole, it would be much more rational to simply pay for the same labor.
The assessment of Stalin's repressions has not yet been definitively made. However, it is beyond any doubt clear that this is one of the worst pages in world history.
The history of Russia, as well as other former post-Soviet republics in the period from 1928 to 1953, called the “era of Stalin”. He is positioned as a wise ruler, a brilliant statesman, acting on the basis of “expediency.” In reality, he was driven by completely different motives.
Talking about the beginning political career leader who became a tyrant, such authors bashfully hush up one indisputable fact: Stalin was a repeat offender with seven “walks.” Robbery and violence were his main form social activity in young age. Repression became an integral part of the government course he pursued.
Lenin received a worthy successor in his person. “Having creatively developed his teaching,” Joseph Vissarionovich came to the conclusion that the country should be ruled by methods of terror, constantly instilling fear in his fellow citizens.
A generation of people whose lips can speak the truth about Stalin’s repressions is leaving... Are not newfangled articles whitening the dictator a spit on their suffering, on their broken lives...
The leader who sanctioned torture
As you know, Joseph Vissarionovich personally signed execution lists for 400,000 people. In addition, Stalin tightened the repression as much as possible, authorizing the use of torture during interrogations. It was they who were given green light complete chaos in the dungeons. He was directly related to the notorious telegram of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated January 10, 1939, in literally freed the hands of the punitive authorities.
Creativity in introducing torture
Let us recall excerpts from a letter from Corps Commander Lisovsky, a leader bullied by the satraps...
"...A ten-day assembly-line interrogation with a brutal, vicious beating and no opportunity to sleep. Then - a twenty-day punishment cell. Next - forced to sit with your hands raised up, and also stand bent over with your head hidden under the table, for 7-8 hours..."
The detainees' desire to prove their innocence and their failure to sign fabricated charges led to increased torture and beatings. Social status the detainees did not play a role. Let us remember that Robert Eiche, a candidate member of the Central Committee, had his spine broken during interrogation, and Marshal Blucher in Lefortovo prison died from beatings during interrogation.
Leader's motivation
The number of victims of Stalin's repressions was calculated not in tens or hundreds of thousands, but in seven million who died of hunger and four million arrested ( general Statistics will be presented below). The number of those executed alone was about 800 thousand people...
How did Stalin motivate his actions, immensely striving for the Olympus of power?
What does Anatoly Rybakov write about this in “Children of Arbat”? Analyzing Stalin's personality, he shares his judgments with us. “The ruler whom the people love is weak because his power is based on the emotions of other people. It's another matter when people are afraid of him! Then the power of the ruler depends on himself. This is a strong ruler! Hence the leader’s credo - to inspire love through fear!
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin took steps adequate to this idea. Repression became his main competitive tool in his political career.
The beginning of revolutionary activity
Joseph Vissarionovich became interested in revolutionary ideas at the age of 26 after meeting V.I. Lenin. He was engaged in robbery Money for the party treasury. Fate sent him 7 exiles to Siberia. Stalin was distinguished by pragmatism, prudence, unscrupulousness in means, harshness towards people, and egocentrism from a young age. Repressions against financial institutions - robberies and violence - were his. Then future leader party participated in the Civil War.
Stalin in the Central Committee
In 1922, Joseph Vissarionovich received a long-awaited opportunity for career growth. The ill and weakening Vladimir Ilyich introduces him, along with Kamenev and Zinoviev, to the Central Committee of the party. In this way, Lenin creates a political counterbalance to Leon Trotsky, who really aspires to leadership.
Stalin simultaneously heads two party structures: the Organizing Bureau of the Central Committee and the Secretariat. In this post, he brilliantly studied the art of party behind-the-scenes intrigue, which later came in handy in his fight against competitors.
Positioning of Stalin in the system of red terror
The machine of red terror was launched even before Stalin came to the Central Committee.
09/05/1918 Council People's Commissars issues the Decree “On Red Terror”. The body for its implementation, called the All-Russian Extraordinary Commission (VChK), operated under the Council of People's Commissars from December 7, 1917.
The reason for such radicalization domestic policy was the murder of M. Uritsky, chairman of the St. Petersburg Cheka, and the attempt on V. Lenin by Fanny Kaplan, acting from the Socialist Revolutionary Party. Both events occurred on August 30, 1918. Already this year, the Cheka launched a wave of repression.
According to statistical information, 21,988 people were arrested and imprisoned; 3061 hostages taken; 5544 were shot, 1791 were imprisoned in concentration camps.
By the time Stalin came to the Central Committee, gendarmes, police officers, tsarist officials, entrepreneurs, and landowners had already been repressed. First of all there was struck classes that are the support of the monarchical structure of society. However, having “creatively developed the teachings of Lenin,” Joseph Vissarionovich outlined new main directions of terror. In particular, a course was taken to destroy the social base of the village - agricultural entrepreneurs.
Stalin since 1928 - ideologist of violence
It was Stalin who turned repression into the main instrument of domestic policy, which he justified theoretically.
His concept of intensifying the class struggle formally becomes the theoretical basis for the constant escalation of violence by the authorities state power. The country shuddered when it was first voiced by Joseph Vissarionovich at the July Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in 1928. From that time on, he actually became the leader of the Party, the inspirer and ideologist of violence. The tyrant declared war on his own people.
Hidden by slogans, the real meaning of Stalinism manifests itself in the unrestrained pursuit of power. Its essence is shown by the classic - George Orwell. The Englishman made it very clear that power for this ruler was not a means, but a goal. Dictatorship was no longer perceived by him as a defense of the revolution. The revolution became a means to establish a personal, unlimited dictatorship.
Joseph Vissarionovich in 1928-1930. began by initiating the fabrication by the OGPU of a number of public trials that plunged the country into an atmosphere of shock and fear. Thus, the cult of Stalin’s personality began its formation with trials and the instillation of terror throughout society... Mass repressions were accompanied by public recognition of those who committed non-existent crimes as “enemies of the people.” Of people brutal torture forced to sign charges fabricated by the investigation. A brutal dictatorship imitated class struggle, cynically violating the Constitution and all norms of universal morality...
Three global ones were falsified trial: “The Case of the Union Bureau” (putting managers at risk); “The Case of the Industrial Party” (the sabotage of the Western powers regarding the economy of the USSR was imitated); “The Case of the Labor Peasant Party” (obvious falsification of damage to the seed fund and delays in mechanization). Moreover, they were all united into a single cause in order to create the appearance of a single conspiracy against Soviet power and provide scope for further falsifications of the OGPU - NKVD organs.
As a result, the entire economic management was replaced national economy from old “specialists” to “new personnel” ready to work according to the instructions of the “leader”.
Through the lips of Stalin, who ensured that the state apparatus was loyal to repression through the trials, the Party’s unshakable determination was further expressed: to displace and ruin thousands of entrepreneurs - industrialists, traders, small and medium-sized ones; to ruin the basis of agricultural production - the wealthy peasantry (indiscriminately calling them “kulaks”). At the same time, the new voluntarist party position was masked by “the will of the poorest strata of workers and peasants.”
Behind the scenes, parallel to this “general line,” the “father of peoples” consistently, with the help of provocations and false testimony, began to implement the line of eliminating his party competitors for supreme state power (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev).
Forced collectivization
The truth about Stalin's repressions of the period 1928-1932. indicates that the main object of repression was the main social base of the village - an effective agricultural producer. The goal is clear: the entire peasant country (and in fact at that time these were Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Baltic and Transcaucasian republics) was supposed to, under the pressure of repression, turn from a self-sufficient economic complex into an obedient donor for the implementation of Stalin’s plans for industrialization and maintaining hypertrophied security forces.
In order to clearly identify the object of his repressions, Stalin resorted to an obvious ideological forgery. Economically and socially unjustifiably, he achieved that party ideologists obedient to him singled out a normal self-supporting (profit-making) producer into a separate “class of kulaks” - the target of a new blow. Under the ideological leadership of Joseph Vissarionovich, a plan was developed for the destruction of centuries-old social foundations villages, destruction of the rural community - Resolution “On the liquidation of ... kulak farms” of January 30, 1930.
The Red Terror has come to the village. Peasants who fundamentally disagreed with collectivization were subjected to Stalin's “troika” trials, which in most cases ended with executions. Less active “kulaks”, as well as “kulak families” (the category of which could include any persons subjectively defined as a “rural asset”) were subjected to forcible confiscation of property and eviction. A body for permanent operational management of the eviction was created - a secret operational department under the leadership of Efim Evdokimov.
Migrants to the extreme regions of the North, victims of Stalin's repressions, were previously identified on a list in the Volga region, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Siberia, and the Urals.
In 1930-1931 1.8 million were evicted, and in 1932-1940. - 0.49 million people.
Organization of hunger
However, executions, ruin and eviction in the 30s of the last century are not all of Stalin’s repressions. A brief listing of them should be supplemented by the organization of famine. Its real reason was the inadequate approach of Joseph Vissarionovich personally to insufficient grain procurements in 1932. Why was the plan fulfilled by only 15-20%? The main reason there was a bad harvest.
His subjectively developed plan for industrialization was under threat. It would be reasonable to reduce the plans by 30%, postpone them, and first stimulate the agricultural producer and wait for a harvest year... Stalin did not want to wait, he demanded immediate provision of food to the bloated security forces and new gigantic construction projects - Donbass, Kuzbass. The leader made a decision to confiscate grain intended for sowing and consumption from the peasants.
On October 22, 1932, two emergency commissions under the leadership of the odious personalities Lazar Kaganovich and Vyacheslav Molotov launched a misanthropic campaign of “fight against the fists” to confiscate grain, which was accompanied by violence, quick-to-death troika courts and the eviction of wealthy agricultural producers to the Far North. It was genocide...
It is noteworthy that the cruelty of the satraps was actually initiated and not stopped by Joseph Vissarionovich himself.
Well-known fact: correspondence between Sholokhov and Stalin
Mass repressions of Stalin in 1932 -1933. have documentary evidence. M. A. Sholokhov, author “ Quiet Don", addressed the leader, defending his fellow countrymen, with letters exposing the lawlessness during the confiscation of grain. The famous resident of the village of Veshenskaya presented the facts in detail, indicating the villages, the names of the victims and their tormentors. The abuse and violence against the peasants is horrifying: brutal beatings, breaking out joints, partial strangulation, mock executions, eviction from houses... In his response Letter, Joseph Vissarionovich only partially agreed with Sholokhov. The real position of the leader is visible in the lines where he calls the peasants saboteurs, “secretly” trying to disrupt the food supply...
This voluntaristic approach caused famine in the Volga region, Ukraine, the North Caucasus, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Siberia, and the Urals. A special Statement of the Russian State Duma published in April 2008 revealed previously classified statistics to the public (previously, propaganda did its best to hide these repressions of Stalin.)
How many people died from hunger in the above regions? The figure established by the State Duma commission is terrifying: more than 7 million.
Other areas of pre-war Stalinist terror
Let's also consider three more areas of Stalin's terror, and in the table below we present each of them in more detail.
With the sanctions of Joseph Vissarionovich, a policy was also pursued to suppress freedom of conscience. A citizen of the Land of Soviets had to read the newspaper Pravda, and not go to church...
Hundreds of thousands of families of previously productive peasants, fearing dispossession and exile to the North, became an army supporting the country's gigantic construction projects. In order to limit their rights and make them manipulable, it was at that time that passporting of the population in cities was carried out. Only 27 million people received passports. The peasants (still the majority of the population) remained without passports, did not enjoy the full scope of civil rights (freedom to choose a place of residence, freedom to choose a job) and were “tied” to the collective farm at their place of residence with prerequisite fulfillment of workday norms.
Antisocial policies were accompanied by the destruction of families and an increase in the number of street children. This phenomenon has become so widespread that the state was forced to respond to it. With Stalin's sanction, the Politburo of the Country of Soviets issued one of the most inhumane regulations - punitive towards children.
The anti-religious offensive as of 04/01/1936 led to a reduction Orthodox churches up to 28%, mosques - up to 32% of their pre-revolutionary number. The number of clergy decreased from 112.6 thousand to 17.8 thousand.
For repressive purposes, passportization of the urban population was carried out. More than 385 thousand people did not receive passports and were forced to leave the cities. 22.7 thousand people were arrested.
One of the most cynical crimes of Stalin is his authorization of the secret Politburo resolution of 04/07/1935, which allows teenagers from 12 years of age to be brought to trial and determines their punishment up to capital punishment. In 1936 alone, 125 thousand children were placed in NKVD colonies. As of April 1, 1939, 10 thousand children were exiled to the Gulag system.
Great Terror
The state flywheel of terror was gaining momentum... The power of Joseph Vissarionovich, starting in 1937, as a result of repressions over the entire society, became comprehensive. However, their biggest leap was just ahead. In addition to the final and already physical reprisal against former colleagues According to the party - Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev - mass “cleansing of the state apparatus” was carried out.
Terror has reached unprecedented proportions. The OGPU (from 1938 - the NKVD) responded to all complaints and anonymous letters. A person's life was ruined for one carelessly dropped word... Even the Stalinist elite - statesmen: Kosior, Eikhe, Postyshev, Goloshchekin, Vareikis - were repressed; military leaders Blucher, Tukhachevsky; security officers Yagoda, Yezhov.
On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, leading military personnel were shot on trumped-up cases “under an anti-Soviet conspiracy”: 19 qualified corps-level commanders - divisions with combat experience. The cadres who replaced them did not adequately master operational and tactical art.
Not only showcase facades Soviet cities characterized by Stalin's personality cult. The repressions of the “leader of the peoples” gave rise to a monstrous system of Gulag camps, providing the Land of Soviets with free labor, mercilessly exploited labor resource for the extraction of wealth from underdeveloped regions of the Far North and Central Asia.
The dynamics of the increase in those kept in camps and labor colonies is impressive: in 1932 there were 140 thousand prisoners, and in 1941 - about 1.9 million.
In particular, ironically, the prisoners of Kolyma mined 35% of the Union's gold, while living in terrible conditions. Let us list the main camps included in the Gulag system: Solovetsky (45 thousand prisoners), logging camps - Svirlag and Temnikovo (43 and 35 thousand, respectively); oil and coal production - Ukhtapechlag (51 thousand); chemical industry- Bereznyakov and Solikamsk (63 thousand); development of the steppes - Karaganda camp (30 thousand); construction of the Volga-Moscow canal (196 thousand); construction of the BAM (260 thousand); gold mining in Kolyma (138 thousand); Nickel mining in Norilsk (70 thousand).
Basically, people arrived in the Gulag system in a typical way: after a night arrest and an unfair, biased trial. And although this system was created under Lenin, it was under Stalin that political prisoners began to enter it en masse after mass trials: “enemies of the people” - kulaks (essentially effective agricultural producers), and even entire evicted nationalities. The majority served sentences from 10 to 25 years under Article 58. The investigation process involved torture and the breaking of the will of the convicted person.
In the event of the resettlement of kulaks and small nations, the train with prisoners stopped right in the taiga or in the steppe and the convicts built a camp and prison for themselves special purpose(TONE). Since 1930, the labor of prisoners was mercilessly exploited to fulfill five-year plans - 12-14 hours a day. Tens of thousands of people died from overwork, poor nutrition, and poor medical care.
Instead of a conclusion
The years of Stalin's repressions - from 1928 to 1953. - changed the atmosphere in a society that has ceased to believe in justice and is under pressure constant fear. Since 1918, people were accused and shot by revolutionary military tribunals. The inhumane system developed... The Tribunal became the Cheka, then the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, then the OGPU, then the NKVD. Executions under Article 58 were in effect until 1947, and then Stalin replaced them with 25 years in camps.
In total, about 800 thousand people were shot.
Moral and physical torture of the entire population of the country, essentially lawlessness and arbitrariness, was carried out in the name of the workers' and peasants' power, the revolution.
The disenfranchised people were terrorized Stalinist system constantly and methodically. The process of restoring justice began with the 20th Congress of the CPSU.
Due to the fact that the world Once again a memo to Khrushchev surfaced about the number of people convicted from 1921 to 1953, I can’t ignore the topic of repression.
The memo itself and, most importantly, the information it contains, became known to many people interested in politics for quite a long time. The note contains absolutely accurate numbers of repressed citizens. Of course, these numbers are not small and they will frighten and terrify a person who knows the topic. But as you know, everything is learned by comparison. This is what we will do, we will compare.
Those who have not yet managed to remember the exact numbers of repressions by heart - you now have such an opportunity.
So, from 1921 to 1953, 642,980 people were executed; 765,180 people were exiled
Placed in detention - 2,369,220 people.
Total - 3,777,380
Anyone who dares to say a figure even somewhat large about the scale of repression is blatantly and shamelessly lying. Many people have questions: why are the numbers so large? Well, let's figure it out.
Amnesty of the Provisional Government.
One of the reasons why so many people were repressed by the Soviet government was the general amnesty of the provisional government. And to be more precise, Kerensky. You don’t have to go far to find this data, you don’t have to rummage through the archives, just open Wikipedia and type “Provisional Government”:
A general political amnesty has been declared in Russia, and the prison terms of persons held in custody under court sentences for general criminal offenses have been reduced by half. About 90 thousand prisoners were released, among whom were thousands of thieves and raiders, popularly nicknamed “Kerensky’s chicks” (Wiki).
On March 6, the Provisional Government adopted a Decree on political amnesty. In total, as a result of the amnesty, more than 88 thousand prisoners were released, of which 67.8 thousand were convicted of criminal offenses. As a result of the amnesty, the total number of prisoners from March 1 to April 1, 1917 was reduced by 75%.
On March 17, 1917, the Provisional Government issued a Resolution “On easing the fate of persons who have committed criminal offenses,” i.e. on amnesty for those convicted of ordinary crimes. However, only those convicts who expressed their readiness to serve their Motherland on the battlefield were subject to amnesty.
The Provisional Government's hopes of recruiting prisoners into the army did not materialize, and many of those released fled from their units when possible. - Source
Thus, a huge number of criminals, thieves, murderers and other asocial elements were released, with whom the Soviet government would have to fight directly in the future. What can we say about the fact that all the exiled people who were not in prison quickly fled all over Russia after the amnesty.
Civil War.
There is nothing more terrible in the History of people and civilization than civil war.
A war in which brother goes against brother and son against father. When citizens of one country, subjects of one state kill each other on the basis of political and ideological differences.
We still haven't recovered from this civil war, let alone the state of society right after the civil war ended. And the realities of such events are such that after a civil war, in any democratic country peace - the winning side will repress the losing one.
For the simple reason that in order for society to continue to develop, it must be holistic, unified, it must look forward to a bright future, and not engage in self-destruction. It is for this reason that those who did not accept defeat, those who did not accept new order, those who continue direct or hidden confrontation, those who continue to incite hatred and encourage people to fight, are subject to destruction.
Here you have political repression and persecution of the church. But not because pluralism of opinions is impermissible, but because these people actively participated in the civil war and did not stop their “struggle” after its end. This is another reason why so many people ended up in the Gulags.
Relative numbers.
And now we come to the most interesting thing, to comparison and transition from absolute numbers, to relative numbers.
Population of the USSR in 1920 - 137,727,000 people Population of the USSR in 1951 - 182,321,000 people
An increase of 44,594,000 people despite the civil and second world war, which were taken away more lives than repression.
On average, we get that the population of the USSR in the period from 1921 to 1951 was 160 million people.
In total, 3,777,380 people were convicted in the USSR, which is two percent (2%) of the total average population of the country, 2% - in 30 years!!! Divide 2 by 30, it turns out that per year, 0.06% percent of general population. This is despite the civil war and the fight against fascist collaborators (collaborators, traitors and traitors who sided with Hitler) after the Great Patriotic War.
This means that every year 99.94% of law-abiding citizens of our Motherland quietly worked, worked, studied, received treatment, gave birth to children, invented, rested, and so on. In general, we lived the most normal human life.
Half the country was sitting. Half the country was guarded.
Well, the last and most important thing. Many people like to say that we supposedly sat half a third of the country, guarded a third of the country, and knocked on a third of the country. And the fact that in the memo only counter-revolutionary fighters are indicated, but if you add up the number of those who were imprisoned for political reasons and those who were imprisoned for criminal reasons, the numbers will be generally terrible.
Yes, the numbers are scary until you compare them with anything. Here is a table that shows the total number of prisoners, both repressed and criminals, both in prisons and in camps. And their comparison with the total number of prisoners in other countries
According to this table, it turns out that on average, in the Stalinist USSR there were 583 prisoners (both criminal and repressive) per 100,000 free people.
In the early 90s, at the height of crime in our country, only in criminal cases, without political repression, there were 647 prisoners per 100,000 free people.
The table shows the United States during the Clinton era. Quite calm years even before the global financial crisis, and even then, it turned out that in the United States there were 626 people imprisoned per 100 available.
I decided to do a little digging into modern numbers. According to WikiNews, there are currently 2,085,620 prisoners in the United States, which is 714 prisoners per 100,000.
And in Putin’s stable Russia, the number of prisoners has sharply decreased compared to the dashing 90s, and now we have 532 prisoners per 100,000.
Stalin's repressions occupy one of the central places in the study of the history of the Soviet period.
Briefly characterizing this period we can say that it was a cruel time, accompanied by mass repressions and dispossession.
What is repression - definition
Repression is a punitive measure that was used by government authorities against people trying to “shatter” the established regime. IN to a greater extent is a method of political violence.
During the Stalinist repressions, even those who had nothing to do with politics or the political system were destroyed. All those who were displeasing to the ruler were punished.
Lists of those repressed in the 30s
The period of 1937-1938 was the peak of repression. Historians called it the “Great Terror.” Regardless of origin, field of activity, during the 1930s, a huge number of people were arrested, deported, shot, and their property was confiscated in favor of the state.
All instructions on a particular “crime” were given personally to I.V. Stalin. It was he who decided where a person was going and what he could take with him.
Until 1991 in Russia, information on the number of repressed and executed people, in in full did not have. But then the period of perestroika began, and this is the time when everything secret became clear. After the lists were declassified, after historians great job in the archives and data calculations, truthful information was provided to the public - the numbers were simply terrifying.
Do you know that: According to official statistics, more than 3 million people were repressed.
Thanks to the help of volunteers, lists of victims in 1937 were prepared. Only after this did the relatives find out where their loved one was and what happened to him. But for the most part, they did not find anything comforting, since almost every life of a repressed person ended in execution.
If you need to clarify information about a repressed relative, you can use the website http://lists.memo.ru/index2.htm. On it you can find all the information you need by name. Almost all of those repressed were rehabilitated posthumously; this has always been a great joy for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The number of victims of Stalin's repressions according to official data
On February 1, 1954, a memo was prepared addressed to N.S. Khrushchev, which contained the exact data of the dead and injured. The number is simply shocking - 3,777,380 people.
The number of those repressed and executed is striking in its scale. So there are officially confirmed data that were announced during the “ Khrushchev's thaw». Article 58 was political, and under it alone about 700 thousand people were sentenced to death.
And how many people died in the Gulag camps, where not only political prisoners were exiled, but also everyone who was not pleasing to the Stalin government.
In 1937-1938 alone, more than 1,200,000 people were sent to the Gulag (according to Academician Sakharov). And only about 50 thousand were able to return home during the “thaw”.
Victims of political repression - who are they?
Anyone could become a victim of political repression during Stalin's time.
The following categories of citizens were most often subjected to repression:
- Peasants. Those who were participants in the “green movement” were especially punished. Kulaks who did not want to join collective farms and who wanted to achieve everything on their own farm on their own were sent into exile, and all their acquired property was confiscated from them in full. And now wealthy peasants became poor.
- The military is a separate layer of society. Ever since the Civil War, Stalin did not treat them very well. Fearing a military coup, the leader of the country repressed talented military leaders, thereby protecting himself and his regime. But, despite the fact that he protected himself, Stalin quickly reduced the country's defense capability, depriving it of talented military personnel.
- All sentences were carried out by NKVD officers. But their repressions were not spared either. Among the workers of the People's Commissariat who followed all the instructions were those who were shot. Such people's commissars as Yezhov and Yagoda became some of the victims of Stalin's instructions.
- Even those who had something to do with religion were subjected to repression. There was no God at that time and faith in him “shaken” the established regime.
In addition to the listed categories of citizens, residents living on the territory of the Union republics suffered. Entire nations were repressed. So, Chechens were simply imprisoned freight cars and sent into exile. At the same time, no one thought about the safety of the family. The father could be dropped off in one place, the mother in another, and the children in a third. No one knew about their family and their whereabouts.
Reasons for the repressions of the 30s
By the time Stalin came to power, a difficult economic situation had developed in the country.
The reasons for the start of repression are considered to be:
- To save money on a national scale, it was necessary to force the population to work for free. There was a lot of work, but there was nothing to pay for it.
- After Lenin was killed, the leader's place was vacant. The people needed a leader whom the population would follow unquestioningly.
- It was necessary to create a totalitarian society in which the word of the leader should be law. At the same time, the measures used by the leader were cruel, but they did not allow organizing a new revolution.
How did the repressions take place in the USSR?
Stalin's repressions - terrible time, when everyone was ready to testify against their neighbor, even fictitiously, as long as nothing happened to his family.
The entire horror of the process is captured in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s work “The Gulag Archipelago”: “A sharp night call, a knock on the door, and several operatives enter the apartment. And behind them stands a frightened neighbor who had to become a witness. He sits all night, and only in the morning puts his signature on terrible and untruthful testimony.”
The procedure is terrible, treacherous, but by doing so, he will probably save his family, but no, the next person they will come to on the new night is him.
Most often, all testimony given by political prisoners was falsified. People were brutally beaten, thereby obtaining the information that was necessary. Moreover, torture was sanctioned personally by Stalin.
The most famous cases about which there is a huge amount of information:
- Pulkovo case. In the summer of 1936, there should have been solar eclipse. The observatory proposed using foreign equipment in order to capture a natural phenomenon. As a result, all members Pulkovo Observatory were accused of having relations with foreigners. Until now, information about the victims and repressed people is classified.
- The case of the industrial party - the Soviet bourgeoisie received the accusation. They were accused of disrupting industrialization processes.
- It's the doctors' business. Doctors who allegedly killed Soviet leaders received charges.
The actions taken by the authorities were brutal. Nobody understood the guilt. If a person was on the list, then he was guilty and no proof was required.
The results of Stalin's repressions
Stalinism and its repressions are probably one of the most scary pages in the history of our state. The repression lasted almost 20 years, and during this time a huge number of innocent people suffered. Even after the Second World War, repressive measures did not stop.
Stalin's repressions did not benefit society, but only helped the authorities establish a totalitarian regime, which our country could not get rid of for a long time. And residents were afraid to express their opinions. There were no people who didn't like anything. I liked everything - even working for the good of the country for practically nothing.
The totalitarian regime made it possible to build such objects as: BAM, the construction of which was carried out by the GULAG forces.
A terrible time, but it cannot be erased from history, since it was during these years that the country survived the Second World War and was able to restore the destroyed cities.