Overall, Stalin’s use of show trials and ‘the Terror’ created immense fear within society and had significant impacts on every facet of society.
Through the 1936 political purges, Stalin successfully shaped the Communist party to a significant extent through eliminating possible rivals through the use of fear and punishment. The post Kiriv purges from 1934 had significant impacts on the Communist party, through the use of three highly publicised show trials involving the execution of many political rivals such as Grigory Yevseyevich Zinovyev, Lev Kamenev, and Ivan Smirno, Stalin was able to replace those in the party with conflicting views with those of unwavering personal loyalty to him, leading to Stalin having