| Date | November 2016 | Marks available | 20 | Reference code | 16N.3op5a.HL.TZ0.17 |
| Level | Higher level only | Paper | Paper 3 (Aspects of the history of Europe and the Middle East) - last exams 2016) | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Discuss | Question number | 17 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Discuss the impact of the purges in the Soviet Union.
Markscheme
Candidates are required to offer a considered and balanced review of the consequences of the purges. They may address impact on society or on society and institutions for example. There is no prescribed response; however, while there may be some limited discussion of aims in order to frame the argument, the bulk of the response must be focused on impact.
Indicative content
- Candidates could comment on the Kirov Affair, 1934, and the purge of the “Congress of Victors”, whose members appeared to favour a change of leadership. The three great show trials of the 1930s removed potential rivals within the party such as Kamenev, Zinoviev and Bukharin as well as Yezhov (head of the People’s Commissariat for Internal Affairs, NKVD), who Stalin blamed for the excesses of the purges. They could argue that the main impact was the total domination of politics and the Party by Stalin.
- Detail on the armed forces could include the purge of the army high command and key leaders such as Tukachevsky. The purge of between a third and a half of the officer corps is also a key area for discussion. The impact was that the Russian military was weakened and unprepared for the German invasion in 1941.
- Detail of the impact on society of the Yezhovschina or Great Purge could include the scale of arbitrary arrests by the secret police (the NKVD) and the expansion of the Gulag system. Estimates of prisoner numbers in the Gulags vary from 8 to 15 million but there is little debate that the NKVD were set targets for arrest and some warrants contained thousands of names. The impact was the creation of a climate of fear with a population that was unwilling and/or unable to question Stalin’s policies for fear of the consequences.
The above material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. However, the list is not exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Examiners are reminded of the need to apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and to award credit wherever it is possible to do so.
[20 marks]
