The Darkest Page in Soviet History: How Did Stalin’s Great Purge Destroy the USSR?

A Historical Movement that Profoundly Impacted the Entire Soviet Society

In the 1930s, the Great Purge, orchestrated by Stalin, marked the darkest page in Soviet history.

Under Stalin’s leadership, the young Soviet Union initiated a vigorous campaign of purges.

This campaign of cleansing and suppression, targeting all strata of Soviet society, not only influenced the USSR’s performance in World War II but also played a role in its eventual dissolution.

So, why did Stalin initiate this purge? How many people were affected by the Soviet purging movement, and how did it profoundly affect Soviet society as a whole?

On July 29, 1936, the Central Committee of the Communist Party issued a secret letter to party organizations across the country.

The core content of this secret letter concerned the terrorist activities of anti-revolutionary groups led by Trotsky, thus unfolding the darkest chapter in Soviet history — the onset of the Great Purge of the 1930s.

Before the release of this secret letter, the Soviet leadership had obtained confessions of conspiracy with the exiled Trotsky through torture and interrogation of some party elites.