17.2.4

The USSR Police State

Test yourself

The NKVD (Secret Police)

In 1934 AD, the OGPU was reorganized to create a new secret police force known as the NKVD. The job of the NKVD was to continue to stamp out any opposition to communist rule.

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Enemies of the people

  • A common crime pursued by the NKVD was being an ‘enemy of the people’.
  • Such crimes were tried by 3-person troikas of NKVD officers, often on the basis of minimal evidence.
    • People were tried for contact with foreigners, not cutting pictures of Trotsky from textbooks.
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Techniques

  • The NKVD used extreme techniques, including mass arrests, forced confessions, and informants. Many political prisoners were executed.
  • From 1935 AD, the NKVD had quotas for how many arrests it needed to make.
    • This meant that citizens were often arrested for no crime at all.
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The GULAGS

  • A system of camps, known as ‘GULAGS’ were set up. They housed 8 million prisoners by 1941 AD.
  • Many were political prisoners, but there were also peasants, workers convicted of wrecking (disrupting factory work) and those who had been arrested just to meet quotas.
  • The USSR was an atheist country. This meant that everything was centred around political expediency and the State, and lacked Christian values.
  • The GULAGS provided huge amounts of slave labour for industry and the railroads. They were particularly prevalent in the east, particularly in Siberia.

Jump to other topics

1Empires East & West: 1000 AD

1.1The Rise & Fall of Ancient China’s Empire

1.2The Medieval Greatness of the Byzantine Empire

1.3The Golden Age of the Islamic Empire

1.4The Politics & Power of the Holy Roman Empire

1.5Medieval Religion

1.6The Influence of the Church in Medieval Times

1.7How Religion Tested the Power of Kings

1.8Dynastic Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.9Challenges to Medieval Monarchs

1.10Revolts, Rebellions & Rights

1.11Medieval England & Her Neighbours

1.12European Renaissance

1.13Norman Conquest & Control

1.14Historical Skills

2The Medieval World: 450-1450 AD

2.1Anglo-Saxon England

2.2The Contest for the English Throne

2.3Conquering the Holy Land, 10-96-1396 AD

2.4King John

2.5The Magna Carta & Parliament

2.6The Black Death

3Worldviews

4The Empire of Mali: 1076-1670 AD

5The Renaissance & Reformations: 1500-1598 AD

6The British Empire: 1583-1960 AD

7The Peasants' Revolt: 1381 AD

8Religion in the Middle Ages

9Slavery: 1619-1833 AD

10The English Civil War: 1642-1660 AD

11The Industrial Revolution: 1750-1840 AD

12US Independence: 1775-1783 AD

13The French Revolution: 1789-1815 AD

14The British Empire: 1857–1930 AD

15Suffrage: 1840-1928 AD

16World War 1: 1914-1918 AD

17The Inter-War Years: 1919-1939 AD

18World War 2: 1939-1945 AD

19The Cold War: 1947-1962 AD

20Civil Rights in the USA: 1954-1975 AD

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