The Great Purge: History Matters (Short Animated Documentary)

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  • Опубліковано 2 бер 2019
  • Twitter: / tenminhistory
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    Chris Fatta
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    Matthew
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    Spencer Smith
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    Andrew Keeling
    João Santos
    This episode covers the Stalin's purges in the wake of Sergei Kirov's murder which swept the USSR over the course of 1936-1938 which saw loads of people either shot or sent to the Gulag. It's also a ridiculous 210-day focus.
    Recommended Reading/ Sources:
    The Stalinist Era by David L. Hoffman. This is a pretty new book and as far as broad overviews go it's certainly one of the best. Some things it can be a bit brief on (Gulags being one of them) but in terms of broad trends and politics it's extremely good.
    Scorched Earth: Stalin's Reign of Terror by Jörg Baberowski. A very in-depth look into the purges and the motivations behind the terror. Does well to demonstrate how it also affected normal everyday people and not just the politicians at the top.
    Also, anything by Sheila Fitzpatrick is also recommended (On Stalin's Team is a good one).

КОМЕНТАРІ • 2,7 тис.

  • @812gingerable
    @812gingerable 4 роки тому +3605

    Secret police: we killed 70,000 traitors.
    Stalin: but I only asked for 65,000.
    Secret police: yes but we rounded them up.

  • @TheTeKuZa
    @TheTeKuZa 4 роки тому +6304

    French Revolution: Chop, chop, chop!
    Stalin: Shot, shot, shot!

    • @fraserdavies3697
      @fraserdavies3697 4 роки тому +18

      0

    • @ionitaghiran
      @ionitaghiran 4 роки тому +19

      Funni

    • @marzuqahmed218
      @marzuqahmed218 4 роки тому +85

      "I'd leave your neck in a noose, in a trench, and shot!"

    • @marcmarc8524
      @marcmarc8524 4 роки тому +46

      Yeah. You’re right. The Revolutionaries call that: freedom.

    • @Khajiidaro
      @Khajiidaro 4 роки тому +21

      Oh my, would you look at the time, welp gotta do some purging.

  • @mercurysorbit5138
    @mercurysorbit5138 3 роки тому +4901

    “Which was much better” perfect delivery.

    • @BradyPostma
      @BradyPostma 3 роки тому +84

      1:34

    • @billmacdonald1837
      @billmacdonald1837 3 роки тому +23

      Always is with this guys

    • @ryshow9118
      @ryshow9118 3 роки тому +92

      @@billmacdonald1837 Seriously, his absolute flat delivery no matter what he's recounting always makes me laugh

    • @r2zdena
      @r2zdena 3 роки тому +16

      @mark houghton offcourse, dying is scary, death not so much

    • @jackdanila9893
      @jackdanila9893 3 роки тому +5

      @mark houghton better dead than red

  • @robertnelson8599
    @robertnelson8599 3 роки тому +2917

    "When Stalin killed everyone"
    Me: Do you have the slightest idea how little that narrows it down?

    • @SilverKnight16
      @SilverKnight16 3 роки тому +34

      Eyyy, Batman Beyond reference.

    • @aikslf
      @aikslf 3 роки тому +33

      It narrows it down quite a lot actually. Not many remained after the purge. (this comment is a joke, I get the original post)

    • @rustite180
      @rustite180 3 роки тому +4

      Yeah he kills

    • @sid2112
      @sid2112 3 роки тому +9

      Stalin: No (has you shot)

    • @belland_dog8235
      @belland_dog8235 3 роки тому +9

      @Stellvia Hoenheim oh the irony

  • @mjr_schneider
    @mjr_schneider 5 років тому +2128

    "I got an urge (puts on shades) to purge!" ~ Stalin, 1936

  • @radspencer8187
    @radspencer8187 4 роки тому +5065

    3 out of 5 Marshals,
    13 out of 15 army commanders,
    8 out of 9 admirals,
    50 out of 57 corps commanders,
    154 out of 186 division commanders,
    All of the 16 army commissars,
    25 out of 28 corps commissars.
    No wonder Red Army put such an "impressive" display of skill during the beginning of the war with Germany. This is a heavy cost. (Well, maybe except commissars. They suck.)

    • @livinglifeform7974
      @livinglifeform7974 4 роки тому +223

      Because they weren't a mobilised army and they were expecting germany to attack in 1942? In the first 6 weeks, despite not being mobilised nor being considered the world's greatest army, did a hundred times more damage to the Nazis then france.

    • @antiglassesgang
      @antiglassesgang 4 роки тому +1383

      @@livinglifeform7974 >communist emblemate on the profile
      Yup, it's defending communism time!

    • @livinglifeform7974
      @livinglifeform7974 4 роки тому +165

      @@antiglassesgang
      >Anarchist ball as profile
      Yep, it's being a buffoon time.

    • @antiglassesgang
      @antiglassesgang 4 роки тому +981

      @@livinglifeform7974 > A literal meme ball on the profile instead of a symbol of more than 60 milion people killed
      Seriously, go fuck yourself shithead

    • @tmm9464
      @tmm9464 4 роки тому +278

      well, even without the purge, the soviets wouldn't have performed that well at the beggining of the war, the red army grew so quickly that they didnt have enough commanders, purge or not, it made the situation worse, but it's not the single factor that led to heavy soviet losses

  • @MolnarPohdap
    @MolnarPohdap 3 роки тому +2439

    To give an idea of how pervasive, bizarre and horrifying the Great Purge was, two stories from documentaries about the composer Dmitri Shostokovitch:
    He was so worried about the possibility of being arrested in the middle of the night, that for much of this time he slept in the stairwell outside his apartment, so that his family wouldn't be disturbed if he were arrested. (Source: UA-cam video documentary _Keeping Score: Shostakovich Symphony no. 5_)
    In 1937, one day he was summoned to KGB headquarters [per the video from which I got this anecdote, the one telling the story called it the KGB, even though many posting here insist that it had to be the NKDV; I have posted elsewhere in these comments a link to the video from which the story comes; I refer readers to that video, and if you have a problem with his version of this story, please take it up with him, not with me] .He was questioned by an officer, who asked if Shostakovitch knew a particular person. When he answered yes, the officer asked "what do you know about his involvement in the plot to assassinate Comrade Stalin?" Shostakovitch was dumbstruck: of course, he knew nothing of such a plot, but he also knew that literally anything he said could be construed as his being complicit. The officer then said that Shostakovitch should go and think about it, then return in two days. When that day came, Shostakovitch said good-bye to his wife and children, believing it to be the last time he would ever see them. He arrived at the KGB [or NKVD, or WXYZ, or whatever...] office, only to find a soldier guarding the door, who asked "why are you here?" Shostakovitch said that he had an appointment, and gave the name of the officer. The soldier then went to check a roster, finally informing Shostakovitch "he is not here." Shostakovitch later found out that, in the intervening two days, the officer who had questioned him had himself been arrested! (Source: UA-cam video _Shostakovitch Versus Stalin: The War Symphonies_. Unfortunately, I can no longer find the version with English language subtitles on UA-cam, only in Spanish -- though the Russian host of the documentary still speaks English throughout. The anecdote I cited is told in Russian).

    • @canthi109
      @canthi109 2 роки тому +160

      LOL

    • @itsblitz4437
      @itsblitz4437 2 роки тому +249

      What a tense situation 😬 and scary.

    • @OALM
      @OALM 2 роки тому +252

      Sounds like a bad monty python sketch lol

    • @FALL-LAFF-7477
      @FALL-LAFF-7477 2 роки тому +142

      Imagine the conversation between the composer and the other KGB officer in the next day:
      "sir, i have an appointment for interrogation..."
      "i'm sorry sir, the officer has been arrested. you can find another next time if you want to."
      "but he's the one who interrogated me!"
      "well, then you lucky he didn't sent you to gulag or shot in the head. last time he interrogated someone, he beaten me for being doofus and Trotskyte."

    • @nicolasderra3888
      @nicolasderra3888 2 роки тому +4

      The KGB didn't exist when the great purge happened.

  • @rafaelcanovas3921
    @rafaelcanovas3921 5 років тому +3741

    Oh boy I sure love opposing Stalin in 1936!

  • @pingas6941
    @pingas6941 4 роки тому +3893

    Stalin after having millions of innocent people killed or sent to the gulags: I did it. I saved the world.

    • @absentmindedshirokuma8539
      @absentmindedshirokuma8539 4 роки тому +257

      @@ratscoot curchill start a war with hitler? you have to be joking right?

    • @jaydengray4015
      @jaydengray4015 4 роки тому +9

      Pingas 69 innocent? I don’t think so

    • @ratscoot
      @ratscoot 4 роки тому +66

      @@absentmindedshirokuma8539 The uk declared war on Germany when they and the USSR invaded Poland. They didn't declared war on the USSR, neither when Stalin invaded Finland in 1939 and 1940 or when he annexated the Baltic states. When Hess fles to the UK for peace tanks in 1941 he was imprisoned for life.

    • @filzhut6234
      @filzhut6234 4 роки тому +169

      @@ratscoot Churchill wasn't even the head of the state in 1939 you dumbo and the contract with Poland clearly states, that they will ONLY attack Germany if they attack Poland and not the USSR, probably because they couldn't handle both.

    • @ratscoot
      @ratscoot 4 роки тому +33

      @Filzhut The Polish-British common defence pact stated oficially that Britain would aid" If Poland was "engaged in hostilities with a European Power". The Polish ambassador in London, Raczyński, contacted the British Foreign Office pointing out that clause of the agreement which concerned an "aggression by a European power" on Poland, should apply to the Soviet invasion. The Foreign Secretary Lord Halifax responded that the obligation of British Government towards Poland arising out of the Anglo-Polish Agreement, was restricted to Germany, according to the first clause of a secret protocol. Chrurchil wasn't prime minister in 1939 but the in House of Commons he sparred frequently with Charmberlain over his peace talks with Germany, demanding hard action since 1938.

  • @gctzx
    @gctzx 3 роки тому +952

    A man in the USSR is sentenced to ten years in the gulag.
    Upon his arrival, he is asked by another prisoner, “How did you get ten years?”
    He responds, “I did nothing!”
    The prisoner says to him, “Don’t lie to me Comrade! Everyone knows that nothing gets you five years!”

    • @kemarisite
      @kemarisite 2 роки тому +77

      And 10 years is still a child's sentence anyway. Real political prisoners get a quarter (25 years) or longer.

    • @nomedocanal8496
      @nomedocanal8496 2 роки тому +23

      "child's sentence"

    • @mortified776
      @mortified776 Рік тому +93

      He was convicted of two separate counts of nothing.

    • @deleted-something
      @deleted-something Рік тому +4

      Lol

    • @ruturajshiralkar5566
      @ruturajshiralkar5566 Рік тому +9

      Man to KGB Officer, "Is the GULAG sentance really hard?"
      KGB Officer, "Only the First 10 Years. Its easy later on."

  • @petartoshkov2076
    @petartoshkov2076 4 роки тому +1121

    Genrich Yagoda: *gets purged*
    Nikolai Yezhov: *gets purged*
    Lavrentiy Beria: *nervous sweating*

    • @tomasziskierka9557
      @tomasziskierka9557 4 роки тому +157

      There is a theory that Beria "helped" Stalin to die because he knew that next great purge is coming and he will be next target .

    • @dlxmarks
      @dlxmarks 4 роки тому +143

      @@tomasziskierka9557 And then he got purged.

    • @tomasziskierka9557
      @tomasziskierka9557 4 роки тому +74

      @@dlxmarks We call it horror in USSR they called it tuesday

    • @yigitalpalakoc
      @yigitalpalakoc 4 роки тому +140

      Still got purged, not by Stalin tho. No one expects the Zhukov Inquisition

    • @Zo-hc2fn
      @Zo-hc2fn 3 роки тому +7

      Beria was georgian just like Stalin

  • @xeanderman6688
    @xeanderman6688 3 роки тому +272

    "By a CERTAIN SOMEONE"
    I love that line so much

    • @AuroraBoost
      @AuroraBoost 2 роки тому +3

      Me too hahha fucking Stalin was the madman

    • @branflakes12341
      @branflakes12341 2 роки тому +2

      @@AuroraBoost hahaha this comment also gave me the giggles

    • @branflakes12341
      @branflakes12341 2 роки тому +1

      It's my favourite, I'm gonna use it at work

  • @The_Call_Up
    @The_Call_Up 5 років тому +1102

    Sergei Korolev also developed the kidney disease that later contributed to his untimely demise in the gulags as a result of this purge, so Stalin is also indirectly responsible for the failure of the later Soviet space program, as well.
    Truly his myopia knew no bounds.

    • @veovis523
      @veovis523 5 років тому +161

      I don't think it's fair to say the Soviet space program failed. Maybe it didn't live up to its potential, but it certainly didn't fail. In fact, it was pretty successful.

    • @The_Call_Up
      @The_Call_Up 5 років тому +103

      I take your point, and certainly not everything about the program was a failure; it accomplished the goal of developing a reliable ICBM, which was the main purpose of its funding. I do think that intrepid cosmonauts such as Gagarin, Tereshkova and Leonov deserve to be as well known by all of mankind as Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins are.
      On the other hand it must also be noted that despite the plans and the potential technology existing, the Soviet space program ultimately failed in its goal of a manned lunar expedition, and I believe the program was rudderless and without inspiration after the death of Korolev. The fact that they are still using the same technology 50 years later, and that the Chinese are likely to beat their successor Roscomos to the moon despite an over 50 year head start speaks volumes about the ultimate result of the exploration mission of the Soviet space program.

    • @xo-1320
      @xo-1320 5 років тому +45

      @@Dylan-hy2zj
      Wasn't so much paranoid as power hungry. He positioned himself in a way to take over and purged people based more on loyalty and potential rivals. His paranoia was more a side effect do to the (honest) possibility of losing control.

    • @vladimir-ep4xk
      @vladimir-ep4xk 5 років тому +23

      The Call Up i don’t think it’s fair to say that Roskosmos had a 50-year head start:
      1- in the 90’s space was not a priority
      2- right now Roskosmos is just another corrupt structure of the corrupt russian government (i am russian)

    • @Draxis32
      @Draxis32 5 років тому +11

      Myopia is fixable by glasses. That man had no fix whatsoever. He, after many years, made Hitler genocide machine look like a child tool.

  • @whyareyougay4630
    @whyareyougay4630 3 роки тому +495

    Someone: **Breaths**
    Stalin: *Not on my watch!*

    • @republicball3024
      @republicball3024 3 роки тому +10

      Go to Gulag!

    • @kecleonboi
      @kecleonboi 3 роки тому +12

      Breathes

    • @Blei1986
      @Blei1986 3 роки тому +4

      @@kecleonboi sO yOu HaVe ChoSeN dEaTh

    • @nrkapa
      @nrkapa 2 роки тому +1

      Yeah not like he was right and there were in fact a lot of traitors in the USSR that if not purged would make them lose WW2.

  • @anderskorsback4104
    @anderskorsback4104 3 роки тому +188

    In Tukhachevsky's trial, his promotion of tank warfare using large independent mechanized formations was literally used as evidence against him. One of the judges was Budyonny, another Marshal of the Soviet Union. Budyonny was an old conservative cavalryman who ruled that Tukhachevsky's ideas on tanks were so absurd that his promotion of them could not be anything else than deliberate sabotage of the Red Army.

    • @charakiga
      @charakiga 10 місяців тому +4

      Didn't age too well.
      Well, I mean, it's not like they spammed tanks in particular, they really just sent everything they had and expected number over quality and doctrines.

    • @ryansearle6157
      @ryansearle6157 4 місяці тому +5

      But they sure did learn firsthand how useful they were when the Nazis used them to invade them

  • @wfobeor
    @wfobeor 5 років тому +2032

    he protecc
    he attacc
    and from the gulags
    no one comes bacc

    • @DiracComb.7585
      @DiracComb.7585 5 років тому +26

      👏

    • @manueltellez9460
      @manueltellez9460 5 років тому +46

      @John Alejandro wait what's wrong with Marx? (I'm not into Communism but I never thought of him as evil)

    • @kalyka98
      @kalyka98 5 років тому +41

      @John Alejandro The problem is the reason for the killing, communist dictators killed with mismanagement or because of dissidents, which is very wrong, but killing millions just for their ethnicity is absolutly horrific. It's hard sometimes to make a "scale" of crimes but it must be done to judge fairly and racial killing is way worse than killing dissidents

    • @manueltellez9460
      @manueltellez9460 5 років тому +39

      @John Alejandro yeah but it wasn't really his fault that all those people died, he just had an idea (not a very good one but still) and he wrote it down

    • @manueltellez9460
      @manueltellez9460 5 років тому +19

      @John Alejandro pretty bad but that doesn't really make him one of the evilest people to ever live

  • @NewtypeCommander
    @NewtypeCommander 4 роки тому +401

    It should be noted that one of the men imprisoned in the Gulags by Stalin was one Andrei Tupolev, head of the Tupolev Design Bureau. While in the Gulags, he would design a few bomber aircraft that would be used against the Germans in the Second World War. Later on, he would be released from the Gulags, awarded the Order of Lenin, and would go on to design the infamous (or famous depending on your perspective) Cold War bomber designated the Tu-95; it's better known by its NATO codename: "Bear".

  • @Orthane
    @Orthane 4 роки тому +377

    "You know I really don't like Vodka that much"
    *SILENCE TROTSKYITE*

    • @awddfg
      @awddfg 3 роки тому +14

      *_Translation: Gulag_*

    • @sooryan_1018
      @sooryan_1018 2 роки тому +4

      Yea, you know what, they deserve Gulag anyways (people who hate vodka)

    • @kitkat47chrysalis95
      @kitkat47chrysalis95 2 роки тому +2

      @@sooryan_1018 muslims

    • @sooryan_1018
      @sooryan_1018 2 роки тому +1

      @@kitkat47chrysalis95 oh no-

    • @ordinaryperson-my7qr
      @ordinaryperson-my7qr 2 роки тому +1

      @@kitkat47chrysalis95 a sacrifice i am willing to take

  • @orhblin
    @orhblin 3 роки тому +67

    Basically a civil war with only one side fighting.

  • @misterkrazy8401
    @misterkrazy8401 5 років тому +1326

    Excellent work. I like the new change to the channel, as you aren't limited to only making 10 minute history videos. Maybe a video on the Night of the Long Knives?

    • @alexweinstock943
      @alexweinstock943 5 років тому +3

      Krazy Klimax same

    • @garyd.7372
      @garyd.7372 5 років тому +29

      Perhaps a video on the Night of the Long Knives might be a bit too short. One slide might cover it: Hitler with a sign "I don't like you" and a lot of people falling over (thud!) dead.

    • @tip0019
      @tip0019 5 років тому +10

      I am sorry but I don't like it. It feels more main stream now and the rapid narration even annoying in such a short vid.

    • @hueylongdong347
      @hueylongdong347 5 років тому

      @@tip0019 I don't know the details about it

    • @Therworldtube
      @Therworldtube 5 років тому +2

      @@hueylongdong347 In a nutshell, it's a nazi version of the great purge

  • @jaywilliams9294
    @jaywilliams9294 5 років тому +1876

    Me: *Says nothing*
    Stalin: go to Gulag

    • @merrittanimation7721
      @merrittanimation7721 5 років тому +95

      Me: *Exists*
      Stalin: Off to the Gulag with you.

    • @jaywilliams9294
      @jaywilliams9294 5 років тому +76

      @@merrittanimation7721 Me: *Doesn't exist*
      Stalin: ...... *Got to Gulag*

    • @francherogamer5187
      @francherogamer5187 5 років тому +38

      Me: I cough and i stop clapping....
      Papa Stalin:GO TO GULAG

    • @DiracComb.7585
      @DiracComb.7585 5 років тому +25

      Me: Crosses my legs
      Stalin: GULAG

    • @nandinhocunha440
      @nandinhocunha440 5 років тому +33

      Me: saying papa Stalin is great
      Papa Stalin: look at the time, its time for you to go to Gulag

  • @johnverhoef
    @johnverhoef 2 роки тому +71

    "He may have acted alone, but he also might have been put up to it by a CERTAIN SOMEONE". That actually made me laugh. Thanks!

  • @tbmike23
    @tbmike23 2 роки тому +372

    After the Purges Stalin had to install bells or buzzers when he gave speeches so people would stop applauding for him. Everyone was too afraid to be the first person to stop, so they just stood clapping for a half hour until Stalin got tired of it, and had the alarm tell them to quit.

    • @avihauben906
      @avihauben906 2 роки тому +12

      Ala Saddam Hussein

    • @theimperialbattlemage3409
      @theimperialbattlemage3409 2 роки тому +10

      Absolute nonsense, do you have any kind of reliable source for this claim?

    • @charlesc2095
      @charlesc2095 2 роки тому +67

      @@theimperialbattlemage3409 try reading The Gulag Archipelago by Solzhenitsyn, its featured there just how afraid everyone was to be the first one clapping that they just went on for 10+ minutes. The first one who did stop unsurprisingly was accused of being a traitor I think.

    • @theimperialbattlemage3409
      @theimperialbattlemage3409 2 роки тому +1

      @@charlesc2095 The gulag archipelago is a work of fiction, not a work of historical fact. It's not an academic work and it doesn't have any backing for its claims other than hearsay and relying on its own authority. It has been subjected to a lot of criticism in more recent years, and Solzhenitsyn's wife herself admitted most of its contents were fictional

    • @fnutek3720
      @fnutek3720 2 роки тому +41

      @@theimperialbattlemage3409 its facts that people would clap for minutes on end and that the first ones who stopped where jailed ur put in the gulag

  • @HistoryMatters
    @HistoryMatters  5 років тому +809

    Just to let you all know next week's videos will be:
    Wednesday - The Abdication Crisis of Edward VIII,
    Sunday - The Hungarian Revolution of 1956
    Hope you all enjoy.

    • @Jimmiejohn48
      @Jimmiejohn48 5 років тому +7

      Aw that's hot

    • @overwhelminglydecayingasta3540
      @overwhelminglydecayingasta3540 5 років тому +10

      Great video! But could you please put the sources/recommended reading in the description as you usually do? It lends a lot more legitimacy to the information you present, especially given we're dealing with 20th century politics.

    • @bubblesbomb8949
      @bubblesbomb8949 5 років тому +3

      Hmmmm yeos jeice clinse
      Jokes aside, can you do a video over Sun Yat Suns work to reform China?

    • @Lubbock_Kid1959
      @Lubbock_Kid1959 5 років тому +2

      Thanks for the update ten minu I mean history matters

    • @bubblesbomb8949
      @bubblesbomb8949 5 років тому +2

      @@travelmaniak3127 thank

  • @josipdurinac8351
    @josipdurinac8351 Рік тому +52

    Stalin is having a speech and someone sneezed. "Who sneezed?" asked Stalin. Everyone's quiet. "Everyone in first row to gulag! Who sneezed?" Silience. "Second row to be shot! Who sneezed?" Some guy is raising hand terrified "Comrade Stalin, it was me." "Bless you!" Smiled Stalin.

    • @USSFFRU
      @USSFFRU Рік тому +7

      A rather wholesome event from Stalin

    • @Henning_Rech
      @Henning_Rech 6 місяців тому

      This guy was in the third row.

    • @Bryan-zc1ub
      @Bryan-zc1ub 4 місяці тому

      If Stalin was atheist, who is gonna bless that poor guy?

    • @user-mb9np6sh7u
      @user-mb9np6sh7u 4 місяці тому +2

      ​@@Bryan-zc1ubin Russian it's not literally "bless you" it's "будь здоров", which can be translated as "I wish you to be healthy", so no contradictions in the original joke

    • @josipdurinac8351
      @josipdurinac8351 4 місяці тому +1

      @@user-mb9np6sh7u nazdravlje?

  • @TheLegend-mu6zg
    @TheLegend-mu6zg 5 років тому +360

    Stalin: Purges all doctors
    Stalin: Gets stroke and has no doctors to help him and dies
    Stalin: *Insert surprised Pikachu face with droopy mouth*

    • @Cjnw
      @Cjnw 3 роки тому +6

      Normie

    • @vendomnu
      @vendomnu 3 роки тому

      @Tetra
      More like several million souls for one.

    • @ruturajshiralkar5566
      @ruturajshiralkar5566 3 роки тому +11

      Khruschev: Which Doctor have you consulted??
      Beria: Thats Open for Discussion
      Malenkov: Well.. The Committee is deliberating.
      Lazar Kaganovich: All the Best Doctors are Dead

    • @Christopherus_Jordanus
      @Christopherus_Jordanus 2 роки тому +1

      @Иосиф Виссарионович Сталин Had to be someone with a communist banner on its account.

  • @Bestnightcoreofalltime
    @Bestnightcoreofalltime 3 роки тому +31

    Stalin in 1941: „where are my generals?“
    Assistent: You let them be executed .
    Stalin: off to the gulag you go

  • @manueltellez9460
    @manueltellez9460 5 років тому +162

    Stalin using different hats is absolutely the best thing I have ever seen (yes even better than the horses)

    • @rosiefay7283
      @rosiefay7283 2 роки тому +1

      A deerstalker for taking charge of the investigation personally.

  • @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un
    @SupremeLeaderKimJong-un 5 років тому +884

    The Great Purge was a great purge

    • @DiracComb.7585
      @DiracComb.7585 5 років тому +76

      Kim Jong-un so great we won’t need another one
      The Great Purge
      The Great Purge 2(not necessary)

    • @pjmackey373
      @pjmackey373 5 років тому +8

      Best Purge

    • @stephenferry3017
      @stephenferry3017 5 років тому +42

      Says the guy too poor to take a plane.
      The North Korean people aren't starving. Kim ate too many of them.

    • @aaronmarks9366
      @aaronmarks9366 5 років тому +4

      @@stephenferry3017 lmao

    • @joekim3307
      @joekim3307 5 років тому +1

      Stephen Ferry good diss “says the guy too poor to take a plane “ please send your poop directly to Afghanistan from this point forward .

  • @jakebeach7056
    @jakebeach7056 3 роки тому +65

    It's amazing how comical mass incarceration/killing can be made with cartoons like this.

  • @JonatasAdoM
    @JonatasAdoM 2 роки тому +43

    "I hereby sentence you to death"
    _sigh of relieve_
    "In the Gulag"
    *"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO"*

  • @claytoniusdoesthings9598
    @claytoniusdoesthings9598 5 років тому +409

    Stalin to Konstantin Rokossovsky: "You sir are now purged. Death sentence"
    Operation Barbossa: *Happens*
    Stalin:"For the love of Communism, save us Marshall Rokossovysky."
    Rokossovsky: "So does this mean my death sentence is revoked?"
    Stalin: "Nope"
    Rokossovsky: "Bruh."

    • @livinglifeform7974
      @livinglifeform7974 4 роки тому +4

      Except it was?

    • @oilersridersbluejays
      @oilersridersbluejays 4 роки тому +22

      No one said "bruh" back then. Only retarded millennials and gen z-ers say that.

    • @noahborthwick3231
      @noahborthwick3231 4 роки тому +129

      Nice job taking a joke literally

    • @pedroh.6497
      @pedroh.6497 4 роки тому +95

      @@oilersridersbluejays Oh my fucking god it's a goddamn boomer.
      PLEASE LEAVE THE INTERNET AND GO GRILL.

    • @petartoshkov2076
      @petartoshkov2076 4 роки тому +12

      Except it was and even more-he was made "Marshal of the Soviet Union" and got a minister position in communist Poland after 1945 (because he's a native Pole)

  • @davesy6969
    @davesy6969 3 роки тому +30

    Some say Leon Trotsky changed his name to James Bisonnette and fled to the west.

  • @chrisconcannon6490
    @chrisconcannon6490 4 роки тому +24

    Every time the word "shot" came up in this video, it reminded me of a scene in the movie "Wrongfully Accused" with Leslie Nielsen. The scene takes place on a prison bus and one of the things it parodies is an in-flight safety instruction demonstration. The phrase "You will be shot" is said a couple of times and is accompanied by finger guns.

    • @salahabdalla368
      @salahabdalla368 2 роки тому +1

      It reminds me of
      *You are accused of anti Soviet behaviour, the court finds you guilty and sentences you to be shot*

  • @stevemc01
    @stevemc01 3 роки тому +23

    0:09
    "By a certain someone..."
    *vodka sweat intensifies*

  • @TheGentlemanGamer
    @TheGentlemanGamer 4 роки тому +32

    I'm frankly impressed you managed to capture Zinoviev's hair so effectively.

  • @anttibjorklund1869
    @anttibjorklund1869 5 років тому +47

    "Some were taken to the gulag, which was much better".

  • @aiiv7839
    @aiiv7839 3 роки тому +13

    2:20
    I NEVER noticed that gun on the far right! I love these little details this channel hides!

  • @macanaeh
    @macanaeh 3 роки тому +120

    Still feeling the consequences of the Purge. I live in Moscow, near two former shooting ranges where collectively over 30,000 people were shot during the Great Purge

    • @ritikshaw5868
      @ritikshaw5868 2 роки тому +2

      Consequences?

    • @rogerbertrand9406
      @rogerbertrand9406 2 роки тому +7

      Bonjour, i am sorry for your experience. The conséquences you are feeling are called the epigenetics of trauma. These conséquences will affect up to your next 5 générations. I truly am sorry for you.

    • @kemarisite
      @kemarisite 2 роки тому

      I thought they were shot behind the ear in the basement of the Lubyanka?

    • @thesuddendemise7735
      @thesuddendemise7735 Рік тому +2

      @@kemarisite Thats only on Sundays and holidays otherwise we gotta industrialize this massacre.

    • @samfire3067
      @samfire3067 Рік тому

      ​@@thesuddendemise7735 You need to pump those numbers.

  • @Stormy_Boi
    @Stormy_Boi 3 роки тому +15

    Imagine living during that time and all of a sudden the words "new objective: survive" just appeared

  • @jeremygriffith3382
    @jeremygriffith3382 3 роки тому +10

    Take a shot everytime he says shot.. Oh look at that, I've drank too much

    • @acrispywaffleiron4014
      @acrispywaffleiron4014 3 роки тому +4

      My man about to have the same blood/alcohol content as an average Russian

    • @blackhatfreak
      @blackhatfreak 3 роки тому

      At least with the purge in the US was not as deadly.

  • @jasongodek9828
    @jasongodek9828 3 роки тому +10

    1:19 love that the judge is just Stalin wearing a powered wig!

  • @theodorebricker7492
    @theodorebricker7492 Рік тому +4

    I love the Purge clock and "It was time for a purge. A Great Purge, if you will".

  • @sickoslater
    @sickoslater 2 роки тому +8

    0:55 I like how the "judge" is just Stalin with a wig on lol

  • @jordanross4710
    @jordanross4710 5 років тому +192

    I really like the content, as it really does a great job making history interesting for those who aren't as passionate about it.
    Also, do you think you could cover the Russo-Finnish war or the Six Day War?

    • @nirvanachile24
      @nirvanachile24 2 роки тому +1

      Oh yeah, I'm sure he's in a big hurry to do the Six-Day War.

  • @nicolajrath1570
    @nicolajrath1570 3 роки тому +45

    I love how when he talks about people being tried he has Stalin wearing a wig

    • @miloelite
      @miloelite 3 роки тому

      Whoa, didn’t catch that.

  • @rockstar450
    @rockstar450 3 роки тому +29

    Detective Stalin holding the “I got this” literally made me lol

  • @FourOf92000
    @FourOf92000 3 роки тому +25

    0:38 when is the Purge Clock gonna be available

  • @thetooginator153
    @thetooginator153 2 роки тому +9

    “1934, and a man named Sergei Kirov was having a great day.” Wait for it...
    I was wondering if the Kirov Ballet was named after him. Yep.

  • @lunaris19
    @lunaris19 3 роки тому +9

    Thank you so much for including the sources to your videos! Many other history and other educational UA-cam channels tend to not include any notes or bibliographies in their description boxes.

  • @leferraille7207
    @leferraille7207 5 років тому +177

    Y'know i always wonder how much better the Soviets could've done if the purge didn't happen.

    • @alanpennie8013
      @alanpennie8013 4 роки тому +39

      Crowding the Red Army on the frontier in June 1941 really wasn't a great move. A less - purged officer corps might have avoided it.

    • @joevenespineli6389
      @joevenespineli6389 4 роки тому +6

      @@arnold3768 there were plans for an invasion but none were put into motion as of yet

    • @bozo5632
      @bozo5632 4 роки тому +49

      @@arnold3768 There were no plans for an "invasion of Europe", and there no physical possibility of such an invasion, at least (optimistically) until 1943, more probably 1950. The Soviet army was an absolute shambles, and honestly couldn't even have invaded Finland. And, not only did Germany know it, Germany counted on it!
      The story you are telling is the nazi version where, as usual, the nazis were only invading all of Europe in self defense.
      (Fighting terrorism in the Danzig corridor! GWOT is old as Moses.)
      Also, IIRC Hitler didn't beat Stalin.

    • @NeoConNET7
      @NeoConNET7 4 роки тому +8

      If the Mensheviks had won this wouldn't have happened. Too bad Lenin, Stalin, and Trotsky won.

    • @rusoviettovarich9221
      @rusoviettovarich9221 3 роки тому +13

      @@bozo5632 Are you kidding? Read 'The Chief Culprit' Viktor Suvorov - former GRU Naval Institute Press 2008. He details meticiously the reds were moving tanks, finalizing advance air strips and large troop transport right up to the night of 21st June - Stalin planned to hit Hitler mid-July which is why he kept downplaying a German attack. What other reason is their for the mass encirclements west of Minsk in the first 3 weeks of the war. Stalin was hoping Hitler would give an ultimatum - a real warning. His details are truly encyclopedic

  • @BryantVonMiller
    @BryantVonMiller 5 років тому +11

    I absolutely love this youtube channel. The animations, information and humor is wonderful. Quick and gets the point across, all around awesome.

  • @KnightSlasher
    @KnightSlasher 5 років тому +198

    Don't you mean *our* purge

  • @taylormanes5492
    @taylormanes5492 2 роки тому +2

    "Certain Someone". LOVE IT!

  • @charlesferdinand422
    @charlesferdinand422 2 роки тому +8

    * Someone coughs *
    Stalin: Well, well, well... Looks like we got ourselves a troublemaker here...

  • @villakennedy
    @villakennedy 5 років тому +40

    That damned certain someone

  • @michael_crow
    @michael_crow 5 років тому +19

    You people should know one simple fact. The so called great purge, was so famous even inside the USSR, especially, after Chrushchev speech about "the cult of personality", solely because it was targeting the highest echelons of the soviet state. In other words, those, who could scream the loudest (others, for instance, the whole of russian peasantry didn't have such a voice and perished quietly). The communist party members, bureaucrats, high-ranking officers and so on. It is in no way, the most horrible, or the most massive, or the most influential act of terror against Russia and russians (as well as all the other nationalities) by the communist regime. Even long before Stalin came to power, the blade of their terror was swinging across my long-suffering motherland. First they came for their political opponents i.e. monarchists, liberals, soft socialists, as well as all of the so-called oppressors of the old regime (aristocracy, clergy, burgers, business owners). Then they came for intelligentsia. Then they destroyed russian peasantry first by outright killing (including using chemical weapons during the rebellions in central russia), and then via collectivization and starvation of the peasantry (contrary to the famous "holodomor" myth, those starving weren't only ukrainians, but a whole lot of russians from kuban, volga as well as a lot of other regions). Then they started to prosecute those who weren't leftist enough, or weren't poor enough, or were just competent in their professions and were a target of envy and smear and slander (check the famous court cases against engineers or medics). Only after all of these (and I haven't counted even a half of it) did the great purge happened. Only after millions and millions of people killed, starved, tortured to death did the dragon started to bite its own tail. The communist regime was the worst thing happened to my poor country. Not even Hitler's invasion brought so much suffering and calamity. Do not go red, kids. Better dead, than red. They are monsters.

  • @AndrewPonti
    @AndrewPonti 4 роки тому +6

    JUST LOOK AT THE TIME! Also, Stalin in a Sherlock Holmes hat is just classic, amazing humor.

  • @RasPutintheGreat
    @RasPutintheGreat 4 роки тому +21

    If the purge didn't happen, the invasion of USSR by Nazi Germany was easy to counter and the loss of civilian lives could have been saved.
    Nikita Khrushchev.

  • @bluemik2518
    @bluemik2518 5 років тому +72

    I'm proud of what this channel has become, keep it up. It really helps me at history ( of course ) and I only get 9,10 and sometimes 8 because of this amazing channel. You helped me a lot man, for that I want to thank you from the bottom of my heart :D

    • @pgsells
      @pgsells 3 роки тому +1

      Yes, it's surprising how effective these little segments can be as primers. Obviously one can say only so much in 3 minutes, but they're very efficient.

  • @paradoxicalpotato8927
    @paradoxicalpotato8927 3 роки тому +54

    Socialist or not, you can't deny Stalin was absolutely horrible.

    • @kayvan671
      @kayvan671 3 роки тому +17

      @So'mn
      Yeah they refuse to acknowledge that Stalin was just as bad as Hitler.
      Communists say that only Hitler was bad.
      And thats the sad thing here...
      They don't learn from history.

    • @USSFFRU
      @USSFFRU Рік тому +6

      I once did believe Stalin's acts were understandable and were for the Good of the USSR. I obviously don't since Stalin was absolutely deplorable in his acts. The only good thing he did was Industrialize the everloving shit out of Russia.

    • @abdirahmanidris290
      @abdirahmanidris290 11 місяців тому +1

      Communism allowed Stalin to do that. Thats the problem here

    • @zunfix1194
      @zunfix1194 11 місяців тому

      @@abdirahmanidris290Capitalist governments such as the USA also allowed military coups and installed dictators such as pol pot who murdered millions of people that’s the problem here

    • @FallingDrop234
      @FallingDrop234 11 місяців тому

      That mustache though.
      *chef’s kiss*

  • @KoffingOnion
    @KoffingOnion 3 роки тому +9

    Wow it reminds me of Animal Farm when Napoleon puts a bunch if piggies to trial, accusing them of working with Snowball even though Snowball was already exiled.

    • @blackhatfreak
      @blackhatfreak 3 роки тому +7

      Indeed, but what's funny is America did the exact same thing in the second red scare. Communism and Capitalism are fucked.

    • @gimmethegepgun
      @gimmethegepgun 2 роки тому

      It SHOULD remind you of Animal Farm, since Animal Farm is a satire of the Soviet Union, focused largely on Stalin's rule (having been published in 1945)

  • @G31M1
    @G31M1 2 роки тому +5

    I need a moment to process how such a serious topic could be delivered in such an entertaining and funny way.

  • @markautorevo
    @markautorevo 2 роки тому +304

    Imagine the people that risked their lives to overthrow the Czar, only to find that the Communists were infinitely more brutal and repressive. Some things never change.

    • @attiepollard7847
      @attiepollard7847 2 роки тому +34

      USSR: at least we're doing it for a great calls which is to serve the people and to get rid of the bourgeoisie. Lol

    • @kie9683
      @kie9683 2 роки тому +42

      @Attie Pollard they became the bourgeoisie

    • @attiepollard7847
      @attiepollard7847 2 роки тому +12

      @@kie9683 lol true

    • @FranFerioli
      @FranFerioli 2 роки тому +33

      "Some things never change" a famous Vladimir comes to mind.
      Russia seems stuck in a perpetual circle revolutionaries becoming oppressors. The character of Pasha Antipov in Dr Zhivago is the perfect metaphor. He is the husband of Lara and a teacher. He is extremely idealistic about the revolution and establishing a new order. After fighting in WWI he becomes involved with the Bolsheviks. In his revolutionary activities, he is single-minded and ruthless and becomes known Strelnikov (the shooter).

    • @ultru3525
      @ultru3525 2 роки тому +8

      You might want to look a bit deeper into the history of tsarist Russia before making claims like that.

  • @ghfudrs93uuu
    @ghfudrs93uuu 3 роки тому +7

    Tankie response: BUT YOU CAN'T BELIEVE ANY SOURCE THAT WASN'T APPROVED BY THE PARTY

    • @blackhatfreak
      @blackhatfreak 3 роки тому

      Indeed, but alt-right fucks are just as bad in my eye since they love making up and glorified bullshit.

    • @charlesiofaustria7361
      @charlesiofaustria7361 2 роки тому +1

      Uses "alt-right" unironically in 2021.

    • @jayzandstra1830
      @jayzandstra1830 2 роки тому

      @@blackhatfreak who is the "alt right" and where do they hurt you at night ami?

  • @MisterKackhaufen
    @MisterKackhaufen 2 роки тому +18

    1:38 Here is a little joke which was told to me by a polish man:
    When Stalin was walking through a crowd that was cheering him a little boy approached him and asked for an autograph.
    Stalin lifted the boy, turned him around and gave him a hard kick on his butt so he fell face down on the ground.
    When the boy looked at him shocked Stalin says: Be happy, I could've shot you.

    • @lukemarshall1701
      @lukemarshall1701 2 роки тому +4

      An alternative punchline might be "Are you an orphan? I love them so much I've made millions of them."

    • @Kreze202
      @Kreze202 2 роки тому +4

      It would've been a much better joke if the boy was the one who said "at least he didn't shoot me".

  • @cwilsonlego
    @cwilsonlego Рік тому +3

    0:11 - "he also may have been put up to it by a CERTAIN SOMEONE" 🤣 It gets me every time! Also love the hilarious sign captions the characters hold; reminds me of Wile E. Coyote! I use these videos for my history class, and the students get a kick out of them! Thanks!

  • @janetlazar1188
    @janetlazar1188 3 роки тому +13

    I died when Stalin was the judge but didn't really even try to hide that he was still, well, Stalin. He only had the wig on! XD

  • @corvodraken3049
    @corvodraken3049 5 років тому +9

    2:06 fucking killed me lmao

  • @stulog
    @stulog 4 роки тому +6

    You should do a video specifically about Trostsky's assassination

    • @jimkenealy6448
      @jimkenealy6448 3 роки тому

      This seems like a mistake in this video - he wasn't shot in prison.

  • @LONGshot-tf8cf
    @LONGshot-tf8cf 4 роки тому +5

    the great terror you say?
    robespierre: did someone call me?

  • @TeenageMutantZuckerTurtle
    @TeenageMutantZuckerTurtle 3 роки тому +8

    Stalin after the purge: “hyuck, I’ll do it again”

  • @flappetyflippers
    @flappetyflippers 3 роки тому +4

    The delivery of this video in particular is on point.

  • @TheCaesar88
    @TheCaesar88 4 роки тому +12

    I absolutely love your channel, information is clear and interesting. Also your sense of humor and graphic design is awesome! 2:19 - I can see that gun coming from behind >_> :D

  • @luminescentcore
    @luminescentcore 3 роки тому +12

    1:38
    I genuinely can't tell whether you are being sarcastic or not 😂

  • @MagicNash89
    @MagicNash89 Рік тому +4

    "BY A CERTAIN SOMEONE"🤣🤣🤣

  • @LegendaryKazooMann1936
    @LegendaryKazooMann1936 3 роки тому +14

    Imagine if there were no purges and the USSR still had many of its talented commanders at the beginning of the Second World War

  • @Mirokuofnite
    @Mirokuofnite 4 роки тому +6

    Ah yes the famous "Everyone dies in five years" plan.

  • @hebneh
    @hebneh 9 днів тому +1

    One bizarre historical tangent to this process was that purged / disgraced / imprisoned / executed people who formerly had appeared in photos or in publications had to be "erased"...so photos were retouched so that they were no longer visible, or their photos were cut out of books or magazines in libraries, or if that wasn't easy to do, their images were blacked out in some way. There are multiple examples of this that can be found.

  • @terrencesimmons4491
    @terrencesimmons4491 4 роки тому +8

    I love the angry self portrait of stalin the court😂

  • @benallen7704
    @benallen7704 4 роки тому +10

    Soviet citizens: EXIST
    Stalin: HOW ABOUT NO

  • @sylvainprigent6234
    @sylvainprigent6234 4 роки тому +4

    That had to be the best introduction ever for an history video

  • @juanpablosaenz9037
    @juanpablosaenz9037 2 роки тому +3

    Hollywood: Releases the Purge Movies.
    Stalin: I am not impressed.

  • @tyrant-den884
    @tyrant-den884 2 роки тому +6

    "Stalin has fallen unconscious, call doctor!"
    "Yes, if only we hadn't gotten rid of all those really excellent doctors."
    -Paraphrasing _The Death of Stalin_

  • @nigeh5326
    @nigeh5326 5 років тому +26

    Kirov was known as the darling of the party as he was genuinely popular, Stalin would have seen him as a danger

  • @Infamouschef_
    @Infamouschef_ 2 роки тому +6

    1:14 I immediately thought that this Yezhov guy was gonna get shot eventually. I was right.

  • @henrikschmidt3964
    @henrikschmidt3964 2 роки тому +4

    For once I don't think I really learned anything new, but a very fine quick overview of the purges.
    Great work as always.

  • @bigdsolutions
    @bigdsolutions 3 роки тому +7

    The great purge wasn't by far the biggest Stalinist mass murder, but it is the most well known because it was public and among it's victims were famous and privileged party and military leaders.

  • @locomotivesteam9334
    @locomotivesteam9334 3 роки тому +7

    Stalin: It's always time for a Purge.

  • @vncensopalasador6009
    @vncensopalasador6009 4 роки тому +1

    I love your channel. Wonderful history. I love the animation and signs you use

  • @CousinPaddy
    @CousinPaddy 3 роки тому +4

    Great job! Fast and informative.

  • @kefkaROX
    @kefkaROX 2 роки тому +4

    "He also may have been put up to it by a C E R T A I N S O M E O N E."

  • @fulcrum2951
    @fulcrum2951 4 роки тому +8

    Petitioned to have the characters from history matters as leader portraits in hoi4

  • @Guitcad1
    @Guitcad1 2 роки тому +1

    I always love it when "Thumb Screw Time!" comes up in your videos!

  • @o76923
    @o76923 2 роки тому +16

    The population of the USSR at the time was around 200 million. That works out to around 0.5%.
    For comparison, that would be proportionate to executing everyone in Wyoming, Vermont, Alaska, and still needing to get started on North Dakota.

  • @Artur_M.
    @Artur_M. 5 років тому +33

    This was a surprisingly good summary of this topic. Great job!
    I especially like you mentioned that the ethnic minorities were specifically targeted, it's an often overlooked side of Stalinist terror. The only thing I would add is that Poles were already targeted before the USSR's expansion in '39, during the so-called "Polish Operation" of the NKVD, started by the Order № 00485 issued on August 11, 1937. Ethnic Koreans were also targeted, although they were victims of forceful resettlement rather than killing or sending to the Gulag. Of course, terrible conditions during those deportations also caused many to die.
    This is mostly beyond the scope of the topic of this video, but similar mass deportations later awaited others; from Poles and Germans again, to the basically entirety of Crimean Tatar, Chechen and Ingush peoples.

    • @rusoviettovarich9221
      @rusoviettovarich9221 3 роки тому +2

      There were Chinese too who were taken because they innocently, drawn to the autumnal beauty of Russia wandered past the Manchurian frontier. Never seen that Polish cleansing operation - many thanks.

    • @vladprus4019
      @vladprus4019 3 роки тому +3

      You can add Kalmyks to the list.
      Only now their numbers is close to that at the beggining of 20th century.

    • @kllk12ful
      @kllk12ful 3 роки тому +5

      Same with the Latvians and Ukrainians as well over 16,000 Latvians where shot while the Ukrainians had a death toll of 100,000

    • @enderreaper1482
      @enderreaper1482 Рік тому

      But why minorities specifically. What threat did Stalin see in them

    • @Friedrich2DerGrosse
      @Friedrich2DerGrosse Рік тому +1

      @@enderreaper1482 The 20th century was so hot on "racial superiority"

  • @ekmalsukarno2302
    @ekmalsukarno2302 5 років тому +119

    Can you please make a video on the history of the Republic of China from 1911 to 1949. Please accept my request.

  • @julian8369
    @julian8369 2 роки тому +3

    Isn’t Sergei the guy who was in the pic-
    *BANG*

  • @RealFoxTrotFox
    @RealFoxTrotFox 2 роки тому +2

    The way he said "Certain someone" at the beginning was hilarious

  • @antb535
    @antb535 3 роки тому +7

    Polish Operation of the NKVD in 1937-1938. Almost 140.000 sentenced, over 110.000 executed just for being Polish or "Polish" as some of the executed were not ethnically Polish but had some relation with Polish culture or Polish-sounding name.