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In early 1937, a senior officer of the OGPU (KGB) stumbled upon a highly classified file in the old archives of the Tsarist secret police, the Okhrana. It detailed the work of one J. V. Djugashvili as an informant and agent provocateur for the Okhrana inside the Bolshevik Party before the Russian Revolution. The OGPU officer, Stein, was shocked. Djugashvili was the true name of Stalin who was now purging the Old Bolsheviks on charges of being foreign spies and counter-revolutionaries.

In early 1937, a senior officer of the OGPU (KGB) stumbled upon a highly classified file in the old archives of the Tsarist secret police, the Okhrana. It detailed the work of one J. V. Djugashvili as an informant and agent provocateur for the Okhrana inside the Bolshevik Party before the Russian Revolution. The OGPU officer, Stein, was shocked. Djugashvili was the true name of Stalin who was now purging the Old Bolsheviks on charges of being foreign spies and counter-revolutionaries.

Stein took the file to a close friend, the head of the OGPU in the Ukraine, who went over it carefully with his trusted deputy, Zinovy Katsnelson, a cousin and close friend of Alexander Orlov. Convinced of its authenticity, they shared it with Jonah Yakir, commander of the Red Army in the Ukraine, and Stanislav Kossior, secretary of the Communist Party in the Ukraine. Alarmed by the file’s revelations, Yakir flew to Moscow and revealed its contents to [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]], Supreme Commander of the Red Army. They brought his deputy, Yan Gamarnik, into their confidence and decided to overthrow Stalin in a coup d’etat, denounce him and execute him.

Stein took the file to a close friend, the head of the OGPU in the Ukraine, who went over it carefully with his trusted deputy, Zinovy Katsnelson, a cousin and close friend of Alexander Orlov. Convinced of its authenticity, they shared it with Jonah Yakir, commander of the Red Army in the Ukraine, and Stanislav Kossior, secretary of the Communist Party in the Ukraine. Alarmed by the file's revelations, Yakir flew to Moscow and revealed its contents to [[Mikhail Tukhachevsky]], Supreme Commander of the Red Army. They brought his deputy, Yan Gamarnik, into their confidence and decided to overthrow Stalin in a coup d'état, denounce him and execute him.

As the coup plan was being developed, Katsnelson traveled to Paris and informed Orlov. The plot was foiled and Orlov’s fate was sealed.

As the coup plan was being developed, Katsnelson traveled to Paris and informed Orlov. The plot was foiled and Orlov's fate was sealed.

The infamous show trials of former leaders of the Soviet Union occurred during this period, where they were accused of working with Trotsky or sabotaging the Soviet Union. Stalin also eviscerated the high command of the Red Army, killing 90% of the leadership. The minions of oppression were not spared either; of the NKVD's 809 officials, 43 lived through the purges. The leadership of the communist party was persecuted as well. For example, in 1934 130 members of the 139-member Central Committee were arrested. The Terror forever made Russians afraid to speak out against the government, and also made sure that no one but Stalin could ever rule the Soviet Union as effectively. This also ensured that the Red Army could not fight effectively when Nazi Germany invaded the USSR during Operation Barbarossa.

The infamous show trials of former leaders of the Soviet Union occurred during this period, where they were accused of working with Trotsky or sabotaging the Soviet Union. Stalin also eviscerated the high command of the Red Army, killing 90% of the leadership. The minions of oppression were not spared either; of the NKVD's 809 officials, 43 lived through the purges. The leadership of the communist party was persecuted as well. For example, in 1934 130 members of the 139-member Central Committee were arrested. The Terror forever made Russians afraid to speak out against the government, and also made sure that no one but Stalin could ever rule the Soviet Union as effectively. This also ensured that the Red Army could not fight effectively when Nazi Germany invaded the USSR during Operation Barbarossa.

* "This famine was deliberately engineered by the regime of Joseph Stalin {{years since|1933}} years ago claimed millions of lives, mostly in [[Ukraine]] but also in some other parts of the [[Soviet Union]]. It is today considered one of the worst [[atrocities]] of the Soviet regime and a terrifying act of [[genocide]]. Even so, the famine of 1933 is relatively unknown. ... Estimates of how many people died in Stalin's engineered [[famine]] of 1933 vary. But they are staggering in their scale -- between seven and 11 million people."<ref>[http://www.ukemonde.com/news/rferl.html Stalin's Starvation of Ukraine – Seventy Years Later, World Still Largely Unaware Of Tragedy], By Askold Krushelnycky, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague, 8 April 2003.</ref>

* "This famine was deliberately engineered by the regime of Joseph Stalin {{years since|1933}} years ago claimed millions of lives, mostly in [[Ukraine]] but also in some other parts of the [[Soviet Union]]. It is today considered one of the worst [[atrocities]] of the Soviet regime and a terrifying act of [[genocide]]. Even so, the famine of 1933 is relatively unknown. ... Estimates of how many people died in Stalin's engineered [[famine]] of 1933 vary. But they are staggering in their scale -- between seven and 11 million people."<ref>[http://www.ukemonde.com/news/rferl.html Stalin's Starvation of Ukraine – Seventy Years Later, World Still Largely Unaware Of Tragedy], By Askold Krushelnycky, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Prague, 8 April 2003.</ref>

Besides Ukraine, the Northern Caucasus, Volga Region and Kazakhstan, the South Urals, and West Siberia were also affected.<ref>[https://www.philosophy.nsc.ru/sites/default/files/journals-old/humscience/2_98/15-MAL.HTM] (Russian)</ref><ref><http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2003/0101/analit02.php](Russian)</ref>

Besides Ukraine, the Northern Caucasus, Volga Region and Kazakhstan, the South Urals, and West Siberia were also affected.<ref>[https://www.philosophy.nsc.ru/sites/default/files/journals-old/humscience/2_98/15-MAL.HTM] (Russian)</ref><ref>http://www.demoscope.ru/weekly/2003/0101/analit02.php (Russian)</ref>

==World War II==

==World War II==