Question

On the 1st of December 1934, Kirov was shot by a man called Nikolayev, whose wife Kirov may have been having an affair with. What was Stalin able to use this opportunity to do?

a) Consolidate his power within the party
b) Rekindle his friendship with Kirov
c) Launch an investigation into Kirov's murder
d) Exonerate Nikolayev from any wrongdoing

Answer 1

Stalin used the assassination of Sergei Kirov to consolidate his power within the Communist Party through the Great Purge, targeting thousands of party members and solidifying his authoritarian regime.

Step-by-step explanation:

On the 1st of December 1934, the assassination of Sergei Kirov, a prominent figure in the Communist Party, was a critical event that Joseph Stalin exploited. Stalin used this event as a pretext to consolidate his power within the party through a series of purges known as the Great Purge.

Leveraging the atmosphere of fear and the accusation of a broad conspiracy against the Soviet state, Stalin targeted thousands of party members, military leaders, and anyone he deemed a threat to his authority. This period saw severe repression and the elimination of many individuals who were part of the Old Bolsheviks and others who had significant roles during the revolution and early years of the Soviet regime. The assassination of Kirov, thus, provided Stalin with an opportunity to engage in a wide-scale purge to reinforce his absolute control over the Communist Party and the Soviet Union.