This episode examines how Stalin used the murder of Sergei Kirov to justify the Great Terror, a massive purge that executed over a million people, including top Bolsheviks and most of the Red Army's senior leadership. It also covers Stalin's paranoid denial of Hitler's invasion plans, leading to the Soviet Union's near-collapse in 1941.
Summarized by Podsumo
The murder of Sergei Kirov in 1934 triggers the Great Terror, a wave of executions targeting political rivals.
Stalin personally micromanaged execution quotas, signing off lists with exact percentages of victims to be shot.
The purges decimated the Red Army: three of five marshals, 13 of 15 army commanders, and eight of nine navy generals were executed.
Stalin refused to believe intelligence about Hitler's invasion, even as 3 million German troops massed on the border.
Executioner Vasily Blochin, who killed up to 7,000 people in 28 days at Katyn, holds the Guinness World Record as the most prolific executioner in history.
"“Give me the man and I will find the crime.” — Andrey Vyshinsky"
"“The deaths of the vanquished are necessary for the tranquility of the victors.” — Genghis Khan (underlined by Stalin)"
"“Everyone knew… the sparrows were chirping about it at every crossroad.” — Khrushchev, on Stalin’s denial of the Nazi invasion"