Stalin saw the purges as a method of getting rid of anyone in the Communist Party that opposed him or was disloyal to the Party. Sergei Kirov, a leading Communist, put forward the ideas on improving relations with the peasants and slowing down the drive towards industrialisation at the 17th Party Congress. A large group in the Party agreed with this and Kirov’s popularity was increasing. People were talking about removing Stalin and Kirov was the best alternative. Shortly after the Congress, Nikolayev assassinated Kirov, but it was thought Stalin was behind this.
Stalin’s personality was a big factor in the reasons for The Purges. He was very distrustful and paranoid, and thought those around him would betray him. This was why his former comrades were killed rather then disgraced like they would’ve been under Lenin. Stalin’s fascination with violence lead to The Great Terror carried out against party members and people who caused problems for him. He also felt insecure about his educational and peasant background. This made him suspicious of the intelligence of the Party. Stalin was also bitter when his wife committed suicide in 1932. This made him have lot of resentment towards people and increased his lack of trust for people.
There were economic reasons for The Purges. A large group in the Communist Party thought it was time to slow down industrialisation. They thought it was time to improve the relations with the peasants. However, Stalin thought his policy on collectivisation was the only way forward for Russia. Anyone who disagreed was sent to Gulag (a camp) or purged. But if Russia didn’t industrialise they would be unable to protect themselves from Germany.
There were a number of people in the Communist Party who didn’t want Stalin to be leader any longer. Stalin wanted to get rid of these people who opposed him, particularly old Bolsheviks like Kamenev and Zinoviev. This was triggered by Kirov’s death as Stalin felt he couldn’t trust a lot of people. Stalin wanted to get rid of all the people who could form a government to replace him. He felt many Communist were untrustworthy and it was necessary to remove them. If people were disloyal to Stalin, they could be purged.
Stalin had a desire for ideological control. He believed that he should use the ideas of Marxism to enforce terror to control Russia and impose Communism on Russia. Lenin did this and was adored by the public. This was Stalin’s way of controlling Lenin’s policies.
In conclusion, Stalin’s character and desire for ideological control were the two most important factors in the cause for The Purges. He had to enforce terror to get rid of his opponents and had to have full control in order to know every aspect of what was going on in Russia. His paranoia and resentment towards people made him want to purge even more people.
