Stalin and The Betrayal of Leningrad part 2/5

Part 2/5

Stalin was always suspicious of Russia's former capital. Its huge cultural, scientific and economic importance, its historical role as the cradle of the 1917 Revolution, its pre-eminent position in the history of the Russian intelligentsia - all produced a dangerous spirit of independence when viewed from the Kremlin.

From 1918 to 1926, moreover, it was the power base of Grigorii Zinoviev, one of Stalin's main rivals to succeed Lenin.

After Zinoviev's downfall Stalin installed Sergei Kirov as first secretary of the Leningrad party, and Trotsky's and Zinoviev's followers were ruthlessly purged. Though a loyal Stalinist, Kirov may well also, in turn, have come to be seen as a threat.

A popular figure and - unlike Stalin - a Russian, by the early 1930s he was certainly seen by some in the Party as preferable to Stalin as leader. His assassination in December 1934 has often been attributed to Stalin, though official investigations under Khrushchev, Gorbachev and Yeltsin failed to unearth conclusive evidence of this.

What is certain is that Stalin seized the opportunity presented by Kirov's death to purge Leningrad of former oppositionists and members of the old ruling and professional classes - and also to appoint one of the rising generation of Stalinist cadres, Andrei Zhdanov, as ruler of the USSR's second city.

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• leningrad
• lenin
• Joseph
• Stalin
• communist
• crimes
• USSR
• soviet
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• purge

[jaggavan]

i dont know why vbut everytime i see a hitler speech and people salut makes me angry

[NadineDanilchenko]

@swbf2fan2510 your school's retarded



[chickenwretch]

@trupoed10 Foreign fool, you don't know what you're talking about. Mind you own business and don't forget to wipe your ass....Hole.

[trupoed10]

@chickenwretch American idiots, please stop shit at Obama. perhaps he was the best president of America which you had and will have

[chickenwretch]

Stalin: never waste a crisis. Obama: never waste a crisis. Connect the dots. Fascism, historically, is a Bolshevik-coined phrase to describe socialists that desired autonomomy from Moscow. Those leaving the "reservation" that is, Stalins iconic grip, were branded fascist. The same arbitrary glossary where the words "counterrevolutionary" and "reactionary" are defined. Defined by literal gangsters and robbers, pseudointellectuals bored with life- deficiencies. Great legacy, let's do it again!

[sheemsheem]

@swbf2fan2510 Stalin and Hitler are on the same l3oat as phar as I'm concerned...evil mother phuckers that killed lots and lots oph people....

[swbf2fan2510]

@sheemsheem what? he did everything good that he can for hes people that what theyr saying at school?

[sheemsheem]

@swbf2fan2510 LOL i hope your joking...

[girocraz]

@patsyd80 Well, if the Reds continue their invasion, the whole Europe, probably even Britain would be occupied and America could just continue with bombing Japan without needing to concern about Europe

[casperado666]

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