Purges, Terror and Show Trials

After reading the two pages of material, answer the following questions.

1.What is the significance of Kirov's murder? (This is what I went over in class.)
His murder gave Stalin an excuse to execute all of his political enemies. Kirov's murder was the beggining of the Great Purges.
2. According to Stalin, who had Nikolayev been working for when he assassinated Kirov? Why is this significant?
The Leningrad Opposition Center which had connections with the Old Left opposition. This gave Stalin a reason to arrest Zinoviev and Kamenev and give them long prison sentences.
3. What is a Trotskyite?
Someone who supposedly supports Trotsky. People would accuse each other of being "trotskyites," and you could be arrested by the NKVD
4. There are three major "show trials." List them and a brief description of their significance.
The "trial of the sixteen" included Zinoviev and Kamenev, and were found to be involved with a conspiracy to overthrow the governement. In the "trial of the seventeen" they were accused of having connections with Trotsky. In the "trial of 21" Bukharin and Rykov were killed. The trials are significant because it was Stalin's excuse to kill the remaining opposition.
5. During the Great Terror, there were three stages to the purges, staring with members of the Communist party. What were the next two stages and what type of people were purged?
The next two stages were the purges of the military, and the civilians. All of the admirals were purged and 3/5 Red Army Marshals. Many citizens were also purged, anyone who was accused as being a "Trotskyite" could be purged. Someone could be purged if they did not denounce enough people.