History 328
History of the Soviet Union since 1917
October 23, 2002
The Great Terror II: Theories and Explanations
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Leaders of the NKVD 1934-1941
(from the Memorial Society Webpage) |
I. What Motivated the Terror?
A. Traditional explanations: all by design
1. political expediency and rationality
- economic necessities (gold for imports)
- political necessities (fear of war)
- interests of state (and party) are served
2. Personal ambition
- Stalin's measureless ambition
- Stalin's psychosis
B. Conspiracy theories
C. Chaos theories
D. Economic scarcity
E. Populism
II. Why Did the Party and People Submit?
A. Cultural explanations
1. cult of the leader
2. Russian soul: meshchanstvo
3. Russian soul: masochism
4. culture of force and militancy
5. belief system reinforced by discourse
B. Chaos theory
C. Fear and terror: atomization
D. Populism
Music: Vladimir Vissotskii, "Condemned to Life," Le Monument (Chant du Monde)
