The Great Fear

Stalin's Terror of the 1930s

Nonfiction, History, Eastern Europe, Social & Cultural Studies, Political Science
Cover of the book The Great Fear by James Harris, OUP Oxford
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: James Harris ISBN: 9780191017513
Publisher: OUP Oxford Publication: February 25, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford Language: English
Author: James Harris
ISBN: 9780191017513
Publisher: OUP Oxford
Publication: February 25, 2016
Imprint: OUP Oxford
Language: English

Between the winter of 1936 and the autumn of 1938, approximately three quarters of a million Soviet citizens were subject to summary execution. More than a million others were sentenced to lengthy terms in labour camps. Commonly known as 'Stalin's Great Terror', it is also among the most misunderstood moments in the history of the twentieth century. The Terror gutted the ranks of factory directors and engineers after three years in which all major plan targets were met. It raged through the armed forces on the eve of the Nazi invasion. The wholesale slaughter of party and state officials was in danger of making the Soviet state ungovernable. The majority of these victims of state repression in this period were accused of participating in counter-revolutionary conspiracies. Almost without exception, there was no substance to the claims and no material evidence to support them. By the time the terror was brought to a close, most of its victims were ordinary Soviet citizens for whom 'counter-revolution' was an unfathomable abstraction. In short, the Terror was wholly destructive, not merely in terms of the incalculable human cost, but also in terms of the interests of the Soviet leaders, principally Joseph Stalin, who directed and managed it. The Great Fear presents a new and original explanation of Stalin's Terror based on intelligence materials in Russian archives. It shows how Soviet leaders developed a grossly exaggerated fear of conspiracy and foreign invasion and lashed out at enemies largely of their own making.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

Between the winter of 1936 and the autumn of 1938, approximately three quarters of a million Soviet citizens were subject to summary execution. More than a million others were sentenced to lengthy terms in labour camps. Commonly known as 'Stalin's Great Terror', it is also among the most misunderstood moments in the history of the twentieth century. The Terror gutted the ranks of factory directors and engineers after three years in which all major plan targets were met. It raged through the armed forces on the eve of the Nazi invasion. The wholesale slaughter of party and state officials was in danger of making the Soviet state ungovernable. The majority of these victims of state repression in this period were accused of participating in counter-revolutionary conspiracies. Almost without exception, there was no substance to the claims and no material evidence to support them. By the time the terror was brought to a close, most of its victims were ordinary Soviet citizens for whom 'counter-revolution' was an unfathomable abstraction. In short, the Terror was wholly destructive, not merely in terms of the incalculable human cost, but also in terms of the interests of the Soviet leaders, principally Joseph Stalin, who directed and managed it. The Great Fear presents a new and original explanation of Stalin's Terror based on intelligence materials in Russian archives. It shows how Soviet leaders developed a grossly exaggerated fear of conspiracy and foreign invasion and lashed out at enemies largely of their own making.

More books from OUP Oxford

Cover of the book A Dictionary of Human Resource Management by James Harris
Cover of the book Oxford Handbook of ENT and Head and Neck Surgery by James Harris
Cover of the book Employment and Development by James Harris
Cover of the book Patent Enforcement in the US, Germany and Japan by James Harris
Cover of the book The Handbook of International Humanitarian Law by James Harris
Cover of the book Philosophical Foundations of Tax Law by James Harris
Cover of the book Philosophical Foundations of Criminal Law by James Harris
Cover of the book EU Competition Procedure by James Harris
Cover of the book One by James Harris
Cover of the book Philosophical Organization Theory by James Harris
Cover of the book Germany and the Second World War by James Harris
Cover of the book Representing Europeans by James Harris
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of the Abrahamic Religions by James Harris
Cover of the book The Oxford Handbook of Shakespeare by James Harris
Cover of the book Dinosaurs: A Very Short Introduction by James Harris
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy