Kirov Assassinated: Stalin's Purges Begin
Sergei Kirov, the popular head of the Leningrad Communist Party, was shot and killed at party headquarters on December 1, 1934, by Leonid Nikolaev, a disgruntled party member. Whether Stalin ordered the assassination has been debated for decades. What is undisputed is that Stalin exploited the killing to justify a massive purge of perceived enemies. Within hours, he signed a decree streamlining the investigation and trial of 'terrorists.' Over the next four years, the Great Terror consumed the Soviet Union: 750,000 people were executed and over a million sent to the Gulag. Three public show trials eliminated almost the entire Old Bolshevik leadership. The Red Army lost 3 of 5 marshals, 13 of 15 army commanders, and 50 of 57 corps commanders. Kirov's murder provided the pretext for Stalin's total consolidation of power.
December 1, 1934
92 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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