Phases of Terror Under Stalin

Russia – Stalin's Terror, 1929-1953

In this course, Professor David Shearer (University of Delaware) discusses Stalin’s terror from 1929-1953. In the first lecture we examine an overview of what terror was under Stalin, the different phases of terror campaigns, and who orchestrated the campaigns of mass violence and repression. In the second lecture we explore the first wave of terror from 1929 to 1933, including dekulakization and the famine of 1921-1922. In the third lecture we inquire into the second wave of terror from 1937-1938, looking at the Show trials, purge of state and cultural institutions, and the purge of the military. Fourth, we highlight the third phase of terror from 1939-1945, looking at the impact of the Second World War on Stalin’s use of terror and oppression, exemplified in the 1940 Katyn Massacre and the oppression of ethnic groups. Finally, in the fifth lecture, we conclude with a view of Stalin’s final years, from 1945-1953, and particularly at the antisemitic violence and oppression that lasted until his death in 1953.

Phases of Terror Under Stalin

In this lecture we think about an overview of terror under Stalin, focussing on: (i) terror through political persecution, social repression, and ethnic deportations, targeting individuals, marginalised groups, and minorities under the guise of preserving state security; (ii) the human impact of terror as millions of people were executed, imprisoned in GULAG camps, or deported to penal settlements, with peak repression during collectivisation, the Great Terror, and World War II; (iii) the final wave of repression that focused on Soviet Jews, culminating in the unfulfilled "Doctor's Plot" just before Stalin's death in 1953.