Timeline of Events
March 31st, 1936 April, 1936 May, 1936 late May/ early June, 1936 late June/ early July, 1936 July 13 - July 25, 1936 August 5, 1936 August 14, 1936 August 19, 1936 Morning Session/ August 19, 1936 Evening Session/ August 19, 1936 August 20/ 21, 1936 Morning of August 22, 1936 August 22/ 23, 1936 August 24, 1936 |
Trial of the SixteenIn December 1935, the original case surrounding Zinoviev began to widen into what would be called the Trotsky-Zinoviev Center. All the defendants were sentenced to death and were subsequently shot in the cellars of Lubyanka prison in Moscow Stalin instructed Yagoda and Vishinsky to submit a concrete proposal on the trial of suspected Trotskyite underground terrorist groups, of whom they gave 82 names. The leading Trotskyites accused, I.N. Smirnov, Mrachkovsky, Ter-Vaganyan, went under interrogation The first examinations of the leading prisoners result in total failure. Smirnov had gone on a hunger strike for thirteen days (May 8th - May 20th). Ter-Vaganyan had also undertook hunger strikes twice, and by the end of May he wrote to Stalin threatening with suicide. Mrachkovsky's interrogation is believed to have lasted for over 90 hours with no result. Agranov and Yezhov composed the full plan of the 'United Trorsyite and Zinovievite Centre', implicating for the first time Kamenev and Zinoviev as co-conspirators. With the help of A. P. Radzivilovsky and other leading members in the Moscow NKVD obtained the necessary confessions before presenting the evidence to Stalin. Zinoviev and Kamenev were brought to Moscow for interrogation along with their leading supporters. After the initial refusal of the oppositionists to confess to the allegations against them, brought forward by Yezhov. Yezhov attempted numerous interrogative routines, including threats to execute the entire opposition and a direct threat to shoot Kamenev's son. Finally in July, after an all-night interrogation, Kamenev and Zinoviev agreed to go on trial with the condition that Stalin would promise to spare their lives in the presence of the whole Politburo. This was accepted, however when taken before the Politburo, only Stalin, Voroshilov and Yezhov were present. The confessions of Kamenev, Zinoviev, Bakayev, Dreitser, Mrachkovsky, Pikel, Berman-Yurin, N. Lurye, M. Lurye and Reingold were obtained. After intense interrogations and threats against his family, Smirnov gave way and confessed. The final Indictment was presented by the prosecutor Vyshinksy naming 16 accused. The trial opened before a session of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court. After the reading of the Indictment, the accused pleaded guilty on all charges, with the exception of Smirnov and Holltzman. This was followed by the questioning of, Holtzman, Mrachkovsky and Evdokimov. Mrachkovsky recounted the formation of the 'Centre', and the planning of terrorist activities under intrustions from Trotsky and his son Sedov. He implicated Smirnov in direct terrorist activity and of forming the Trotskyite group. Smirnov denied the claims, but they were confirmed by Zinoviev, Kamenev and Evdokimov. The session continued with the questioning of Dreizer, Reingold, Bakayev and Pikel. Reingold extended the conspiracy further, speaking of negotiations with Rykov, Bukharin and Tomsky, which resulted in a plan to put Kamenev and Zinoviev in power and then kill any resistance in the NKVD. Bakayev, who followed confessed to having organized the murder of Kirov and planned that of Stalin. The prosecution continued with the questioning of Kamenev and Zinoviev, Smirnov, Olberg, Berman-Yurin, Holtzman, the two Luyres, Ter-Vaganyan and Fritz David. Dreitzer was recalled at the end of the evening session. Kamenev and Zinoviev made full confessions of having organized terrorist activities under the leadership of Trotsky. At the time they were still assured their lives will be spared, having spoken to Stalin and Voroshilov once more before the trial. Smirnov made partial confessions, but his position became difficult to maintain - once contradictions started to arise in his testimony, he stopped answering questions. In the morning of August 22, an announcement by the state prosecutor was printed, which stated some testimonies of the accused had revealed implicating evidence of terrorist activity against Tomsky, Bukharin, Rykov, Uglanov, Radek and Pyatakov. As such Viskinsky stated he had launched new investigations into the matter. Immediately after reading Vyshinsky's announcement, Tomsky commited suicide in his dacha at Bolshevo. The state prosecutor Vyshinsky made his final speech, summarizing the evidence and outlining the indictment once more. This was followed by the last pleas of the defendants in the order as they had given their evidence. Most of them were simple self-condemnations, the accused described themselves as 'dregs' undeserving of mercy. When the court withdrew to consider the verdict on the previous day, Yagoda had it ready for them in the Council Chamber. The following day, on August 24, they were found guilty on all counts and sentenced to death. |
August 17-26, 1936
September 8, 1936 September 10, 1936 September 25, 1936 September 30, 1936 January 23, 1937 January 24, 1937 January 25/ 26, 1937 January 28, 1937 January 30, 1937 |
Trial of the Anti-Soviet Trotskyist CenterThis second trial involved 17 lesser figures including Karl Radek, Yuri Piatakov and Grigory Sokolnikov. Thirteen of the defendants were eventually executed by shooting, the rest were sent off to labor camps. Radek was spared, while implicating others such as: Nikolai Bukharin, Alexei Rykov, and Marshal Mikhail Tukhachevsky, setting the stage for the Trial of Military and Trial of the Twenty One. Sokolnikov and Serebryakov were each arrested and under interrogation for the preparation of the trial. Sokolnikov was already confessing to Vysinksy's accusations by the end of August. Bukharin and Rykov were brought to a confrontation with Sokolnikov in the presence of Kaganovich, Yezhov and Vyshinsky. Sokolnikov repeated the charges but had no direct evidence against Bukharin and Rykov. When Sokolnikov was removed by the guards, Kaganovich said to Bukharin that the testimony was all lies and that he should go back to his editorial offices. Under pressure from some of the members of the Politburo, the investigation against Bukharin and Rykov was dropped for lack of evidence. Stalin and Zhdanov sent a telegram to Molotov and Kaganovich, which ordered the replacement of Yagoda with Yezhov as head of the NKVD. The stated reason was Yagoda's incapability of unmasking the Trotskyite-Zinovievite bloc, while the reality was he had been resistant to implicate Bukharin and Rykov. A team of more than 25 interrogators, headed by Agranov, started to prepare the new trial. The original script was to implicate the accused as members of a 'Reserve Centre', which plotted but never acted. However under the insistence of Yezhov, a new line was adopted, which required the accused to confess they had plotted to seize power and had worked with the Nazis to do so. The new trial began before a session of the Military Collegium of the Supreme Court. The new batch of accused were designated simply as 'the Anti-Soviet Trotskyite Centre', no other group or faction was represented. It only consited of four people: Pyatakov, Radek, Serebryakov, and Sokolnikov and a few hanger on. The Indictment revolved around the theme that the accused intented to renounce industrialization and collectivization, while gathering support from Germany and Japan. First to be questioned was Pyatakov - he admitted forming terrorist and sabotage groups, but never confessed to carrying out any act of violence. Under Stalin's personal insistence, Trotsky was added to the script of terrorist activity. The state prosecutor questioned Radek, Sokolnikov and Serebryakov. Radek, who had been partly responsible for the trial script, revealed the post-1927 history of Trotskyism, and the complex links between those now accused and the Zinoviev group. He then listed a number of fresh terrorist bands, implicating Bukharin. Sokolnikov had little to add, apart from identifying a few more terrorist groups. Serebryakov exposed a number of railway chiefs responsible for international sabotage The questioning of Drobnis, Shestov, Stroilov, Muralov along with the rest of the accused began. The evidence was mainly concerned with establishing links between these men, accused of sabotage operations in Siberia, and Pyatakov and the Centre. They explained in great detail how they contrived explosions and accidents to in line with an international terrorist plot. The state prosecutor Vyshinsky began his final speech, in which along with summing up the evidence he made further charges against Bukharin and Rykov. This was followed by speeches from the defense council and the last please of the defendants, which followed their usual form. At 3:00 A.M. the verdict was pronounced - death to all except Sokolnikov and Radek, and Arnold, who got ten years in prison, and Stroilov, who got eight. |
March 2, 1938 March 3, 1938 March 4, 1938 March 8, 1938 March 11, 1938 |
Trial of the Twenty-OneThe third trial, in March 1938, included 21 defendants alleged to belong to the so-called "Bloc of Rightists and Trotskyites", led by Nikolai Bukharin, former head of the Communist International; the former Prime Minister Alexei Rykov; former head of the NKVD Genrikh Yagoda; Christian Rakovsky and Nikolai Krestinsky. All of the leading defendants were executed. The trial opened in the October Hall. The indictment was a comprehensive one - of espionage, wrecking, undermining Soviet military power, provoking a military attack on the Soviet Union, plotting the dismemberment of the USSR and overthrowing the social system in favor of a return to capitalism. It had taken a year to prepare, but the threads were finally pulling together. The Rightists, Bukharin, Rykov, were linked to Trotsky; to the earlier Zinovievite and Trotskyite plotters; to the dozens terrorist groups and espionage organizations. The trial opened with the standard pleas by the defendants. They all pleaded guilty, except for Krestinsky who in a surprising turn of will denied all allegations. After a cross-examination by Vyshinsky, Krestinsky continued to claim his innocence. Next no the stand came Rykov, who confirmed his guilt and continued on to explain the workings of the terrorist centers. The state prosecutor continued with questionings. Rykov's examination took centre stage. After he had been tortured quite badly the former night, he managed to implicate Yagoda, Bukharin and Tomsky in various terrorist activities. He admitted to forming a terrorist organization, which had plotted to overthrow the government in 1935. Defendants testimonies continued. Rosengolts and Krestinsky testified that they along with Rudzutak and Gamarnik, had constituted the main center of conspiracy after the arrest of Bukharin and Rykov. They had relied on a projected Army coup. Bukharin was also brought to the stand. His confession had been personally amended by Stalin and given for him to sign. He admitted to plotting the assassination of the Soviet leadership and confirmed on the whole Rykov's words. Over the next two days, a system of alleged 'medical murders' carried out directly under the orders of Yagoda was the main subject of examination. Yagoda at first admitted to the charged but then refuted them at the end of the day. The court reassembled for one final time to hear the final speeches and pleas. Vyshinsky's speech lasted all morning. Most of the main defendants pleaded guilty and expressed regret. All of the leading defendants were executed. |