| Publication |
2011.
|
| Summary/Abstract |
The Great Terror was a defining moment of the Stalin era, indeed perhaps the defining moment of 20th century Russian history. The purge of the military is a striking subplot with the potential to unlock the mystery which still surrounds the Terror. Why did Stalin feel the need to decimate his general staff and officer corps on the eve of a world war at the same time as military spending was rising at a breakneck pace? Why destroy with one hand while building with the other? There is no adequate solution to this problem in the existing literature, and recent work does fully not take into account the great wealth of archival materials released in the last 20 years. This historiographical review will seek to evaluate the historiography of the military purge in showing how the literature has evolved, highlighting the diversity of approaches, where there is consensus, where unanswered questions remain, and how it is now possible to advance a more comprehensive explanation of the purge of the military.
|