The Terror and the Purges were major features of Stalin’s rule in the Soviet Union during the 1930s. They represented the extreme use of state power to eliminate political opposition, alleged enemies, and groups considered dangerous to the Soviet socialist state. The period is generally associated with the Great Purge of 1936–1938, although political repression and persecution had begun earlier and continued in different forms afterward. After Joseph Stalin consolidated his power in the late 1920s, he introduced rapid collectivisation of agriculture and forced industrialisation. These policies created enormous social and economic disruption. Resistance among peasants, shortages, famine, and failures in production increased tensions within Soviet society. Stalin increasingly interpreted opposition to his policies as evidence of conspiracy and sabotage. The Communist Party, state administration, army, intellectuals, and ordinary citizens were consequently subjected to increasing surveillance and repression. The Terror intensified after the assassination of Sergei Kirov, a prominent Communist Party leader, in December 1934. Stalin used the incident to justify stronger measures against supposed enemies of the state. Arrests