Stalin's Great Purge

Definition

The Stalin's Great Purge refers to a period of intense political repression and persecution in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s. It involved mass arrests, executions, and imprisonments aimed at eliminating perceived threats to Joseph Stalin's regime.

Related terms

Gulag: Forced labor camps where millions of people were sent during the Great Purge as a form of punishment or political suppression.

NKVD: The Soviet secret police organization responsible for carrying out many of the arrests and executions during the Great Purge.

Show Trials: Public trials held during the Great Purge that were heavily scripted and designed to incriminate individuals based on false confessions or fabricated evidence.