History GCSE
Political terror
What Political terror means in History GCSE, as defined for Pearson Edexcel.
Definition of Political terror
Check what you remember
Read the wording for your board, then hide it and explain Political terror in your own words. Rough notes are fine. This is a self-check, with no mark or grade.
Reference: Pearson Edexcel
The widespread terror used during the purges, involving arbitrary arrests, torture and executions affecting Party members, intellectuals and ordinary citizens.
Topics that use Political terror
- Option 30: Key topic 3: Stalin’s rise to power and dictatorship, 1924–41 - 2 The use of terror in the 1930s (Pearson Edexcel GCSE)
Related terms
- Dictatorship and control
- Elimination of opposition
- Gulag
- Military vulnerability
- NKVD
- Political manipulation and propaganda
- State terror
- The destruction of the Old Bolsheviks
Using Political terror in the exam
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