What if the Great Purge Never Happened?

The Great Purge or the Great Terror (Russian: Большой террор), also known as the Year of '37 (37-ой год, Tridtsat sedmoi god) and the Yezhovschina ('period of Yezhov'),[7] was Joseph Stalin's campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union that occurred from 1936 to 1938.[8] It involved large-scale repression of the peasantry; ethnic cleansing; purges of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, government officials, and the Red Army; widespread police surveillance, suspicion of saboteurs and counter-revolutionaries, imprisonment, and arbitrary executions.[9] Historians estimate the total number of deaths due to Stalinist repression in 1937–38 to be between 950,000 and 1.2 million. It resulted in the deaths of countless civilans, experienced officers, and intelligence sources. Essentially, it crippled the Soviet Union for a few years resulting in their near defeat in the German invasion of the Soviet Union during World War II. However, what would happen if the Great Purge never happened? Would the Soviet Union still nearly lose? Or would they crush the German war machine like that? And how would the Western world react? Would Roosevelt still be soft on the Soviet Union and feel sympathetic for them? Or would he treat them with extreme distrust like Churchill did? Have a listen and find out! And let us know what you thought! Want to discuss this further, or just want to contact us? Reach us on our socials, or join the community on Kloka! Twitter: @BackToThePastP1 https://bit.ly/39ts3CG Instagram: @backtothepastp1 https://bit.ly/34lcwBD Rate this podcast! https://ratethispodcast.com/althistory Check out our website! https://kloka.org/backtothepast Email us if you have any questions or comments! [email protected] Or if you have any ideas for Kloka, including potential future podcasts, coverage, or even a book review, email [email protected] And if you're interested in guesting with us, email the back to the past email, or [email protected]! Check out Kloka, an organization dedicated to providing quality podcasts and other media to you! Come and take a look, and make an account to engage with us and the community! https://kloka.org Podcast Transcript: https://kloka.org/go/althistranscripts More information on the Great Purge: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Purge