Great Purge Facts for Kids

The Great Purge (also known as the Great Terror) was a terrible time in the Soviet Union from 1936 to 1938. During this period, the government, led by Joseph Stalin, arrested and punished many people. They targeted members of the Communist Party, government workers, and leaders of the Red Army (the Soviet military). Many ordinary people, including wealthy farmers called kulaks, were also affected.

The government used a lot of police to watch people. They looked for anyone they thought was against them, like "saboteurs" (people who secretly damaged things) or "counter-revolutionaries" (people who wanted to overthrow the government). Many people were put in prison or even executed without a fair trial. Experts believe that between 680,000 and 1,200,000 people died because of these actions by Stalin's government.

In the Western world, a book called The Great Terror by Robert Conquest helped people learn about this time. The name "Great Terror" reminds us of a similar period called the Reign of Terror during the French Revolution.

What Was the Great Purge?
Impact of the Great Purge
Images for kids
See also

What Was the Great Purge?

The Great Purge was a period when the Soviet government used extreme force against its own people. It was a way for Joseph Stalin to get rid of anyone he saw as a threat. This included people who disagreed with him or those he simply didn't trust.

Who Was Targeted?

Many different groups of people were targeted during the Great Purge.

Communist Party Members: Even people high up in the Communist Party were arrested. Stalin wanted to make sure everyone was completely loyal to him.
Government Officials: Many people working for the government were also removed from their jobs and punished.
Red Army Leaders: Important military commanders were arrested and executed. This weakened the Soviet army.
Kulaks: These were farmers who owned more land or animals than others. The government saw them as a threat to their plans for farming.
Ordinary Citizens: Anyone suspected of being against the government could be arrested. This led to a lot of fear among regular people.

How Did It Happen?

The government used its secret police, known as the NKVD, to carry out the purges.

Surveillance: The NKVD watched people closely and listened to their conversations.
False Accusations: Many people were accused of crimes they didn't commit, like being spies or traitors.
Show Trials: Some famous people were put on public trials. These trials were often fake, and the accused were forced to confess to crimes.
Imprisonment and Execution: People were sent to harsh labor camps called Gulags, or they were executed.

Why Did Stalin Do This?

Historians believe Stalin carried out the Great Purge for several reasons:

To Gain Absolute Power: He wanted to remove anyone who might challenge his leadership.
To Create Fear: By making people afraid, he could control them more easily.
To Blame Others: He could blame "enemies of the people" for problems in the country.

Impact of the Great Purge

The Great Purge had a huge impact on the Soviet Union.

Loss of Life: Hundreds of thousands of people died or disappeared.
Weakened Military: The loss of experienced military leaders made the Soviet army weaker.
Fear and Mistrust: People lived in constant fear of being arrested. Families and friends became suspicious of each other.
Changes in Society: The purges changed Soviet society deeply, affecting politics, culture, and daily life.

Images for kids

Excerpt of NKVD Order No. 00447
Politburo decision to extend the time limits of the "national line" (ethnic-based) purge operations signed by Stalin, Molotov, Kaganovich, Voroshilov, Mikoyan, and Chubar.
Leon Trotsky, in 1929, shortly before being driven out of the Soviet Union.
Leningrad party leader Sergei Kirov with Stalin (and his daughter Svetlana) in 1934.
Bolshevik revolutionaries Leon Trotsky, Lev Kamenev and Grigory Zinoviev
NKVD chiefs responsible for conducting mass repressions (left to right): Yakov Agranov; Genrikh Yagoda; unknown; Stanislav Redens. All three were themselves eventually arrested and executed.
Nikolai Bukharin, Russian Bolshevik revolutionary executed in 1938
Yevgeny-Ludvig Karlovich Miller, one of the remaining leaders of the White movement, was kidnapped by the NKVD in 1937 and executed 19 months later.
Israil Pliner; (1896–1939) chief of Gulag NKVD (1937–1938), later arrested and executed in 1939
The first five Marshals of the Soviet Union in November 1935. (l-r): Mikhail Tukhachevsky, Semyon Budyonny, Kliment Voroshilov, Vasily Blyukher, Aleksandr Yegorov. Only Budyonny and Voroshilov survived the Great Purge.
1938 NKVD arrest photo of the poet Osip Mandelstam, who died in a labor camp.
The NKVD photo of writer Isaac Babel made after his arrest.
Theatre director Vsevolod Meyerhold at the time of his arrest.
Botanist Nikolai Vavilov's photo, taken at the time of his arrest.
Pianist Khadija Gayibova, executed in 1938.
Aino Forsten; (1885–1937) Finnish educator and Social Democratic politician, later arrested and executed.
Paleontologist and geologist Dmitrii Mushketov, executed in 1938.
Polish-born Soviet politician Stanislav Kosior, a contributor to the 1932–33 famine in Ukraine, was executed in 1939.
Posthumously rehabilitated, Tukhachevsky on a 1963 postage stamp of the Soviet Union
Memorial events in Bykovnya Graves reserve.
A list from the Great Purge signed by Molotov, Stalin, Voroshilov, Kaganovich, and Zhdanov
Kuropaty mass grave site near Minsk, Belarus
Memorial cemetery Krasny Bor near Petrozavodsk, Russia
The monumental slab at the entrance to the Sandarmokh burial grounds reads: "People! do not kill one another", Russia

Great Purge facts for kids

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