Campaigns and Show Trials: The Great Purge was carried out through a series of orchestrated political campaigns led by Stalin and the Communist Party. Arrests and executions were often based on fabricated or exaggerated charges of treason, sabotage, espionage, and counterrevolutionary activities.
Arbitrary Arrests and Quotas: The purges were guided by arrest quotas assigned to government agencies, including the secret police (NKVD). Local officials and the NKVD were given targets for the number of people to be arrested, resulting in widespread abuses of power and the indiscriminate arrest of innocent individuals.
Confessions Under Torture: Many individuals were forced to confess to crimes under intense torture and duress. These false confessions were used to implicate others in conspiracy networks, leading to the arrest and prosecution of innocent people.
Mass Executions: Millions of people were executed during the Great Purge. Executions were often carried out in secret and on an industrial scale, especially during the height of the purges in 1937.
Targeted Groups: Specific groups, such as members of the Communist Party, government officials, military officers, intellectuals, peasants, and ethnic minorities, were targeted in the purges. Stalin aimed to eliminate anyone perceived as a threat to his power or the Soviet system.
Internal Dissent and Purging of Loyalists: The purges also included the elimination of party leaders and officials who were perceived as potential rivals to Stalin. Even high-ranking officials and loyal communists could find themselves denounced, arrested, and sentenced to death.
Social Impact and Trauma: The Great Purge instilled fear, anxiety, and suspicion among the Soviet population. It led to widespread social and psychological trauma as families and communities were torn apart. Many people lived in constant dread of arrest, and trust and loyalty were severely eroded.
The Great Purge had a devastating impact on Soviet society, decimating the intellectual and cultural elite, weakening the country's institutions, and undermining trust in the Communist Party and the state.