Moscow Show Trials (jul 1, 1936 – aug 31, 1938)

Description:

As assault on the leadership of the party (old Bolsheviks) that were intended to provide a dramatic, emotional show for the largely uneducated masses. The first trials (summer 1936) executed 6 old Bolsheviks, the second (late-1936) discovers an "anti-Soviety Trotskyist" circle, the 2.5 (1937) trials purge the military, and the third (1938) purges former members of the Right Opposition.