Soviet Society in 1936–1938: Attitudes towards Terror

Student: Vtyurina Maria

Educational Programme: History (Bachelor)

Year of Graduation: 2019

Terror and repressions were integral to Stalin’s period of Soviet history. However, in the second part of 1930s they assumed horrific proportions. This paper focuses on the period of terror between 1936 and 1938: from the first Moscow trial also known as the Trial of the Sixteen, which took place in August 1936 till the end of “the Great Terror” in autumn 1938. “Attitude towards terror” is perceived here as people’s reactions in Moscow (show) trials and also their response to famous politicians’ and cultural workers’ arrests or expulsion from the party, from the one hand, as well as that of their relatives, friends, acquaintances, on the other hand. The models of behavior of citizens affected by terror are also considered. In sum, the research focuses on a broad array of sources from official documents of NKVD to diaries and memoirs.

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