Read Online KILLERS IN COLD BLOOD (True Crime) by Gordon Kerr, Ray Black, Rodney Castleden, Ian Welch, Clare Welch - Free Book Online Page B
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expelled from the Soviet Communist party in 1927 and exiled from Russia in 1929. He died in Mexico in 1937, having been killed by a Stalinist assassin.
Trotsky’s death was part of a depressing period in Soviet history known as the Great Purge or Great Terror: 1937—38. In the late 1930s, Stalin began a systematic campaign of political repression and persecution against anyone who he deemed a potential threat to his omnipotence. All kinds of trumped-up charges were used to arrest, incarcerate, torture and murder people. Ever-present police surveillance was used to ‘find’ reasons to bring people down for ‘counter-revolutionary activities’.
A great many victims were sent to Siberian labour camps known as GULAG, which is an acronym formed from the Russian for ‘The Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies.’ The notion that they served as corrective institutions was misleading though, as the combination of forced labour, extreme cold, poor clothing, insufficient food and rudimentary accommodation meant that vast numbers died from sheer exhaustion.
In addition to this proactive victimisation, Stalin indirectly killed millions of Soviets through intentional neglect. Under his administration, the infrastructure had become hierarchical to such an extent that those at the bottom of the pyramid suffered from extreme poverty and starvation. Waves of famine swept through the Soviet Union, taking untold numbers of peasants to their graves. Stalin displayed blatant disregard for their fate. In fact, he decided it was a good thing as it was a natural way of thinning out the population so that only necessary people would survive to build the Soviet future.
He lived to regret this point of view in the early 1940s however. In June 1941, Adolf Hitler broke a pact with the Soviet Union and began an invasion eastward towards Moscow. Stalin had inadvertently shown Hitler how weak his infrastructure was by the Red Army’s struggle to overpower the Finnish army during the Winter War (1939—40). Seeing his opportunity, Hitler sent his army rampaging its way across the sub-Baltic belt and into Russia itself.
Despite the colossal size of the Red Army, it was so ill-equipped and supplied that the Soviet troops dropped like flies. By December 1941, the Germans were just 16 km (10 miles) from Moscow and things were looking very bad. It was only thanks to the Russian winter that the Germans failed to take Moscow and were eventually forced into retreat. The Red Army then took advantage of their forward momentum and managed to push the Germans all the way back to Berlin by 1945. They paid a heavy price though.
Approximately thirty million Soviets (twenty million civilians, ten million soldiers) died in World War II. At least half might have survived had Stalin paid more attention to his infrastructure before the war. Indeed, Hitler may not have even reneged on his pact with the Soviet Union in the first place if he had seen that its vital functions were healthy. He only went in for the kill because he perceived the Soviet Union to be a weak target. He was right, but ultimately lost the fight only because Stalin had such a large population to throw into the war effort.
To add insult to injury, Stalin treated all troops who had been imprisoned during the war as traitors and deserters. Instead of being returned to their homes, they were sent to special concentration camps for interrogation. Only fifteen per cent or so were released. The remainder were either sentenced to death or condemned to GULAG punishment for between five- and twenty-five-year terms. Of course, many perished before their terms were up.
In the post-war era, the Soviet Union grew considerably in size, due to the addition of Eastern European countries as spoils of war. They included Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany. They became dubbed the ‘Communist Block.’ Stalin had become a hero of the Soviet people for winning the
Trotsky’s death was part of a depressing period in Soviet history known as the Great Purge or Great Terror: 1937—38. In the late 1930s, Stalin began a systematic campaign of political repression and persecution against anyone who he deemed a potential threat to his omnipotence. All kinds of trumped-up charges were used to arrest, incarcerate, torture and murder people. Ever-present police surveillance was used to ‘find’ reasons to bring people down for ‘counter-revolutionary activities’.
A great many victims were sent to Siberian labour camps known as GULAG, which is an acronym formed from the Russian for ‘The Administration of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies.’ The notion that they served as corrective institutions was misleading though, as the combination of forced labour, extreme cold, poor clothing, insufficient food and rudimentary accommodation meant that vast numbers died from sheer exhaustion.
In addition to this proactive victimisation, Stalin indirectly killed millions of Soviets through intentional neglect. Under his administration, the infrastructure had become hierarchical to such an extent that those at the bottom of the pyramid suffered from extreme poverty and starvation. Waves of famine swept through the Soviet Union, taking untold numbers of peasants to their graves. Stalin displayed blatant disregard for their fate. In fact, he decided it was a good thing as it was a natural way of thinning out the population so that only necessary people would survive to build the Soviet future.
He lived to regret this point of view in the early 1940s however. In June 1941, Adolf Hitler broke a pact with the Soviet Union and began an invasion eastward towards Moscow. Stalin had inadvertently shown Hitler how weak his infrastructure was by the Red Army’s struggle to overpower the Finnish army during the Winter War (1939—40). Seeing his opportunity, Hitler sent his army rampaging its way across the sub-Baltic belt and into Russia itself.
Despite the colossal size of the Red Army, it was so ill-equipped and supplied that the Soviet troops dropped like flies. By December 1941, the Germans were just 16 km (10 miles) from Moscow and things were looking very bad. It was only thanks to the Russian winter that the Germans failed to take Moscow and were eventually forced into retreat. The Red Army then took advantage of their forward momentum and managed to push the Germans all the way back to Berlin by 1945. They paid a heavy price though.
Approximately thirty million Soviets (twenty million civilians, ten million soldiers) died in World War II. At least half might have survived had Stalin paid more attention to his infrastructure before the war. Indeed, Hitler may not have even reneged on his pact with the Soviet Union in the first place if he had seen that its vital functions were healthy. He only went in for the kill because he perceived the Soviet Union to be a weak target. He was right, but ultimately lost the fight only because Stalin had such a large population to throw into the war effort.
To add insult to injury, Stalin treated all troops who had been imprisoned during the war as traitors and deserters. Instead of being returned to their homes, they were sent to special concentration camps for interrogation. Only fifteen per cent or so were released. The remainder were either sentenced to death or condemned to GULAG punishment for between five- and twenty-five-year terms. Of course, many perished before their terms were up.
In the post-war era, the Soviet Union grew considerably in size, due to the addition of Eastern European countries as spoils of war. They included Poland, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Romania, Bulgaria and East Germany. They became dubbed the ‘Communist Block.’ Stalin had become a hero of the Soviet people for winning the
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