Why Is Stalin's Purges Successful

Joseph Stalin’s Purges were successful in the murder of over 20 million Russian citizens, including, one-third of the Communist party as well as 90% of all generals and 80% of all colonels in the Red Army. The NKVD was a major force during the Purges, they were the ones who rounded up and executed those who were determined to be enemies of the people. One of the reasons that the NKVD was so successful was their ability to infiltrate regular Russian society, children in schools were encouraged by their teachers to turn in their parents if they heard any negative talk of Stalin or the Russian government. They also infiltrated many of the workplaces in Russia and encouraged the workers to report their coworkers to the NKVD for any possible negative talk of the Russian government. The NKVD created a culture of fear amongst all Russian citizens, the citizens felt that they would only be safe if they reported their fellow citizens, whether they be coworkers, neighbors or even their own families. The Purges were also a time where many people reported other to the NKVD solely out of spite and hope that the people they reported would be arrested. Stalin and the NKVD also perpetrated show trials which only …show more content…
The NKVD used that fear to find citizens that may or may not have had a negative perception of the Russian government and quickly found them and persecuted them. This fear tore apart families and pitted citizens against one another because everyone was trying to protect themselves from persecution and felt that if they turned in those around them they would be safe from the wrath of the Russian government. The ability of the NKVD to create fear and pit Russian citizens against one another was the major factor behind their success during Stalin’s