Yagoda In The 1938 Trial Of The Twenty-One: An Analysis

By the 1930s, Stalin’s inherent paranoia combined with his ruthless nature had culminated in several key Leftist purges, purges that set the course for his definitive preservation of power. Through the 1938 Trial of the Twenty-One, he would solidify this notion by purging the Rightist political opposition, as well as key diplomatic and domestic leaders of the Bolshevik party. Historian Robert Service argues that “while believing in communism, he did not trust or respect communists” , hence the reason for his intensive purge of the opposition – there existed “personal insecurities” in the strength of his power and leadership, a position he fought to further preserve through the 1938 trial. The elimination of Yagoda played on his “exceptional

[and] would never overcome his pious inhibitions when faced with the Leninist old guard,” obstacles that would pose a problem in the delivery of Stalin’s wishes, and thus barriers to Stalin’s exertion and preservation of power. In contrast to the dogmatism of Yagoda, his replacement, Yezhov was instead “a man of limited intelligence and narrow mind who epitomized a breed of sycophant [that could be] ruthlessly and uncompromisingly used by Stalin, whom he idolised.” The elimination of Yagoda through the Trial of the Twenty-One was the elimination of a veritable threat to the perpetuation of Stalinist ideals, an effective vehicle for Stalin’s preservation of leadership. More notably in the trial, however, was the conviction and subsequent execution of Stalin’s key Rightist rival, the universally well-liked Bukharin, who was tried on the basis of several murders, including Lenin’s in

Two specific factors were considered – Stalin’s removal of political opposition through the trial, and the injection of fear, perpetuated from the trial’s blatant terrorism, into society. These factors effectively enabled Stalin’s preservation of power, preserving his rule as despot of the USSR. The removal of key political figures, reduced the possibility of usurpation, and concentrated party support for him alone, while the injection of fear prevented further uprising against his rule. As Conquest asserts, the trial “brought together publicly every type of opposition, terror, sabotage, treachery, and espionage, and turned them into branches of one single great conspiracy” with the sole purpose of maintaining his autocratic