The Great Purge or the Great Terror is a period of extreme persecution and oppression in the Soviet Union. For most of Stalin’s reign, he had persecuted mostly civilians (the kulaks, Nepmen, clergymen, and former opposition); however, during the great purge, Stalin also targeted, imprisoned and executed Communist leaders, party members, members of the Red Army, and the Intelligentsia in massive numbers. While the factors can be disputed, according to historian Robert Charles Tucker, the Great Purge was fueled by Stalin’s paranoia. The execution of party members and military officers can be attributed to Stalin’s discontent with the strength and modernization of the Red Army was undertaking; to Stalin’s perspective the Red Army was a political
