GCSE History | The Rule of Stalin and the Great Purges in Russia

History Quiz - Russia: 1924-1941 - The Purges And Life In Stalin's Russia (Questions)

Discover how purges, terror and propaganda shaped everyday life in Stalin's USSR, from show trials and secret police to strict control at work and home.

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Fascinating Fact:

Propaganda praised Stalin as a wise and caring “father of the nation”. Portraits, statues, and slogans made his presence part of daily life.

In GCSE History, the purges and life in Stalin's Russia show how a dictatorship can use fear, rewards and tight control to shape society. You study the role of the secret police, show trials, labour camps and propaganda, and consider how these policies affected workers, families and party members across the Soviet Union.

Key Terms

Purge: A campaign of arrests, dismissals and executions used to remove people the regime saw as enemies or rivals.
NKVD: The Soviet secret police responsible for spying, arrests, interrogations and running many of the prisons and labour camps.
Gulag: A system of forced labour camps where prisoners worked in harsh conditions, often with poor food and little medical care.

Frequently Asked Questions (Click to see answers)

What were the Stalinist purges in the 1930s?

The Stalinist purges were campaigns in which the state removed real and imagined opponents through show trials, imprisonment, exile and execution, affecting party members, officers and ordinary citizens.

How did life change for ordinary people under Stalin?

Ordinary people faced stricter work targets, close monitoring by officials and neighbours, regular propaganda in schools and workplaces and a constant fear of denunciation or arrest if suspected of disloyalty.

Why do GCSE History students study the purges and daily life?

GCSE History students study the purges and daily life to understand how totalitarian rule operates in practice and to explain how fear, rewards and propaganda helped Stalin keep power for many years.

Try These Related Quizzes

Who was the author of the 1936 Stalin Constitution?

[ ]	Zinoviev
[ ]	Rykov
[ ]	Bukharin
[ ]	Yagoda

Who took over the leadership of the NKVD in 1939, and continued in this post until Stalin's death?

[ ]	Dherzhinsky
[ ]	Beria
[ ]	Yezhov
[ ]	Yagoda

Which group of academic subjects received special emphasis in Stalin's new universities and technical colleges?

[ ]	Western European languages
[ ]	History, Politics and Philosophy
[ ]	Maths, Science and Technology
[ ]	Engineering

For the USSR's large muslim population these were challenging times, as the government curtailed many of their practices. Which one of the following was curbed?

[ ]	The daily calls to prayer
[ ]	Charitable giving
[ ]	The wearing of the veil by women
[ ]	The study of the Koran

Which classical composer's 5th Symphony (1937) was acceptable to the authorities, and helped him to re-establish his reputation?

[ ]	Rachmaninov
[ ]	Stravinsky
[ ]	Khachaturian
[ ]	Shostakovich

Which of Sergei Eisenstein's films depicts an event from the 1905 Revolution?

[ ]	"October"
[ ]	"And Quiet Flows the Don"
[ ]	"The Battleship Potemkin"
[ ]	"The Tempering of the Steel"

Which politician's violent death in 1934 unleashed four years of purges?

[ ]	Kirov
[ ]	Radek
[ ]	Sokolnikov
[ ]	Litvinov

Tukachevsky was one of the victims of the Show Trials. In what area of Soviet life was he active?

[ ]	Medicine
[ ]	Engineering
[ ]	The army
[ ]	The navy

Which building housed the headquarters of the secret police, where victims of the Purges were routinely tortured and shot?

[ ]	The Kremlin
[ ]	The Lubyanka
[ ]	The GUM Building
[ ]	The Arbat

10.

How did Krestinsky differ from the other accused in the Show Trials?

[ ]	He pleaded not guilty at his first appearance
[ ]	He pleaded guilty, then changed his plea to not guilty
[ ]	He failed to submit a plea
[ ]	He failed to turn up to his hearing

History Quiz - Russia: 1924-1941 - The Purges And Life In Stalin's Russia (Answers)

Who was the author of the 1936 Stalin Constitution?

[ ]	Zinoviev
[ ]	Rykov
[x]	Bukharin
[ ]	Yagoda

The 1936 document replaced the "Lenin" Constitution of 1924, and appeared to enshrine many of the liberal features found in Western constitutions

Who took over the leadership of the NKVD in 1939, and continued in this post until Stalin's death?

[ ]	Dherzhinsky
[x]	Beria
[ ]	Yezhov
[ ]	Yagoda

The NKVD leadership was not immune from being tried, but sometimes it was an advantage to come from Georgia, the same homeland as Stalin himself

Which group of academic subjects received special emphasis in Stalin's new universities and technical colleges?

[ ]	Western European languages
[ ]	History, Politics and Philosophy
[x]	Maths, Science and Technology
[ ]	Engineering

Soviet education was a major success story, with opportunities opening up for women and people from poorer backgrounds. Much of it was free, and of a very high academic standard

For the USSR's large muslim population these were challenging times, as the government curtailed many of their practices. Which one of the following was curbed?

[ ]	The daily calls to prayer
[ ]	Charitable giving
[x]	The wearing of the veil by women
[ ]	The study of the Koran

The USSR had a number of different religions, while Communist Party members had to follow atheism

Which classical composer's 5th Symphony (1937) was acceptable to the authorities, and helped him to re-establish his reputation?

[ ]	Rachmaninov
[ ]	Stravinsky
[ ]	Khachaturian
[x]	Shostakovich

Even composers had to follow the rules of the official artistic style, "Socialist Realism", but it was more difficult for them to show that they were obeying this rule than, say, novelists or film-makers

Which of Sergei Eisenstein's films depicts an event from the 1905 Revolution?

[ ]	"October"
[ ]	"And Quiet Flows the Don"
[x]	"The Battleship Potemkin"
[ ]	"The Tempering of the Steel"

Films also had to stick to the dictates of "Socialist Realism", and most were able to do this, avoiding themes from personal life and picking ones involving groups of people

Which politician's violent death in 1934 unleashed four years of purges?

[x]	Kirov
[ ]	Radek
[ ]	Sokolnikov
[ ]	Litvinov

The victim was one of Stalin's closest associates. But it has been suggested that Stalin could have been responsible for the assassination himself

Tukachevsky was one of the victims of the Show Trials. In what area of Soviet life was he active?

[ ]	Medicine
[ ]	Engineering
[x]	The army
[ ]	The navy

No area of Russian life was safe from the Purges. Even people at a relatively low level of responsibility could be accused