Kirov's Murder
On February 20, 1934, the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (NKVD), or the secret police, was created to purge Stalin's political enemies. "Everywhere, and in everything, he saw enemies, double dealers, and spies."- Nikita Kruschev, Stalin's successor
"In the early 1930's, [Sergei Kirov] ... began to assume a position nearly rivaling that of Stalin." Source: Sergey MIronovich Kirov, 2014
On December 1, 1934, Kirov was murdered by Leonid Nikolaev, a former Party member, and recent evidence suggests that Stalin was implicated.
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The Accused
While in exile, "he [Trotsky] remained the leader of an anti-Stalinist opposition." Source: Leon Trotsky, 2013 Many Soviets blamed him for Kirov's death. |
"Stalin used Kirov's murder as the pretext for the immediate introduction of a series of... anti-terrorist measures and an extensive purge of those suspected of complicity in the affair." -Allen Wood, author
Stalin issued the Kirov decree, giving the NKVD the power to carry out death sentences. This stripped the accused of the right to a trial "with.... participation by other parties." Source: Joseph Stalin, 2006 "I am destroying his [Trotsky's] organization, annihilating his followers." -Joseph Stalin
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