УДК 94(47).084.6

EDN RNDGZQ

 

Original article

 

Entering 1937: the beginning of the “Great Terror” in the Kirov region and Fight Against Trotskism

Bakulin V. I., Chemodanov P. A.

 

Abstract

Introduction. The article examines the legal framework, prerequisites and essence of mass political repressions carried out throughout the Kirov region in the first half of 1937.

Materials and methods. The source base for the study was the funds of the Central State Archives of the Kirov Region, primarily, the personal files of leaders at various levels, examined by the bureau of the Kirov Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks during the specified period. The methodology of the article is based on the application of the theory of elites, developed by Italian scientists V. Pareto and G. Mosca. The article uses such special methods of historical science as: historical-genetic, historical-comparative and historical-biographical.

Results and discussion. During the first half of 1937, at meetings of the bureau of the Kirov Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, dozens of personal files of the leaders of party and government structures, enterprises and institutions were considered. Most of them concerned the production sector. Against the background of the ongoing industrialization in the country, any failures in the economy were perceived extremely painfully by the authorities, so personal affairs were often artificially given political content. Their defendants were accused not just of negligence or corruption, but of deliberate sabotage, espionage, propaganda of Trotskyism, connections with “enemies of the people” and other acts directed against the existing political system. Often such cases resulted in criminal prosecution with subsequent reprisals against the accused.

Conclusion. Analyzed sources indicate that most of the personal cases considered at the bureau of the Kirov Regional Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks in the first half of 1937 did not arise out of nowhere. As a rule, they were based on real misconduct in the economic and administrative spheres, but giving these cases a political overtone seems entirely artificial and far-fetched due to the lack of a clear evidence base. Additional confirmation of this is the facts of the subsequent rehabilitation of many defendants in such cases, a significant part of which were able to justify themselves even before the start of the Great Patriotic War.

Keywords: stalinism, repression, “Great Terror”, Trotskyism

For citation: Bakulin VI, Chemodanov PA. Entering 1937: the beginning of the “Great Terror” in the Kirov region and Fight Against Trotskism. Bulletin of the Research Institute of the Humanities by the Government of the Republic of Mordovia. 2024;16(3):121—136. EDN RNDGZQ

 

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The article was submitted 20.02.2024; approved after reviewing 04.04.2024; accepted for publication 11.04.2024.

 

Information about the authors:

Vladimir I. Bakulin, Doctor of Historical Sciences, retired professor, vla20190220@yandex.ru

Pavel A. Chemodanov, senior lecturer of the Department of Theory and History of State and Law of the Volgo-Vyatka Institute (branch) of the University. O. E. Kutafina (MSAL) (99 Lenin Str., Kirov 610002, Russia), Candidate of Historical Sciences, pavelche1492@mail.ru

 

Contribution of the authors:

Bakulin V. I. — concept development, text writing;

Chemodanov P. A. — collecting material, text writing.

 

Conflict of interests: the authors declare no conflict of interests.

 

The authors have read and approved the final version of the manuscript.