Large-scale purges struck the country, targeting all levels of society--including children: Stalin reasoned that parents were more likely to confess to trumped-up charges of subversion and disloyalty if they knew their children's lives were at risk. Then, in August of 1936, Stalin engineered the first of what came to be known as the Show Trials, in which he accused Zinoviev, Kamenev and their associates of conspiring (with the exiled Trotsky) against Stalin and the government. In an amazing scene that was broadcast around the world--and which played a large role in exposing the true natu...

• Word Count: 5151
• Approx Pages: 21
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: Undergraduate