The Great Purge (1h 44min, jan 1, 1936 y – 9h 3min, jan 1, 1938 y)

Description:

Although Joseph Stalin had secured his place as sole leader of the Soviet Union, he feared possible plots against him. He was especially scared about a rebellion from the Red Army. To kill off his enemies, real or fake, he initiated a purge. Thousands of Red Army men or Communist Party officials were arrested, executed, or exiled into Siberian labor camps. Stalin and his secret police used fear to pressure people into denouncing each other, in hope of hunting down anyone who expressed even the slightest opposition to Stalin. In the end, the Great Purge caused millions of deaths, sent Soviet society into a state of panic, and fully established a regime which based its authority on fear and force. Stalin's purges also left the Red Army crippled, causing the Soviets to be ill-prepared for the German invasion in 1941 and almost leading them to near complete defeat.