Stalin Purges Rivals: Moscow Show Trial of 17
Seventeen top Soviet officials face execution after confessing under duress to a fabricated conspiracy with Leon Trotsky to topple Stalin. These show trials purge the Communist Party leadership, securing Stalin's absolute control and triggering years of terror across the USSR.
January 23, 1937
89 years ago
Key Figures & Places
What Else Happened on January 23
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