In the summer of 1932 Joseph Stalin became aware that opposition to his policies were growing. Some party members were publicly criticizing Stalin and calling for the readmission of Leon Trotsky to the party.Sounds familiar? Look North to Malaysia at another former Master/Protege relationship- Mahatiar and Anwar.
When the issue was discussed at the Politburo, Stalin demanded that the critics should be arrested and executed. Sergey Kirov, who up to this time had been a staunch Stalinist, argued against this policy.
When the vote was taken, the majority of the Politburo supported Kirov against Stalin. In the spring of 1934 Sergey Kirov put forward a policy of reconciliation. He argued that people should be released from prison who had opposed the government's policy on collective farms and industrialization. Once again, Stalin found himself in a minority in the Politburo.
After years of arranging for the removal of his opponents from the party, Joseph Stalin realized he still could not rely on the total support of the people whom he had replaced them with. Stalin no doubt began to wonder if Sergey Kirov was willing to wait for his mentor to die before becoming leader of the party.
Stalin was particularly concerned by Kirov's willingness to argue with him in public. He feared that this would undermine his authority in the party. As usual, that summer Kirov and Stalin went on holiday together. Stalin, who treated Kirov like a son, used this opportunity to try to persuade him to remain loyal to his leadership. Stalin asked him to leave Leningrad to join him in Moscow.
Stalin wanted Kirov in a place where he could keep a close eye on him. When Kirov refused, Stalin knew he had lost control over his protégé.
Sometimes, the need to "fix the opposition" and "buy votes" can make the current rulers miss the forest for the trees. The bit of history was Stalin's legacy, he purged all opposition and opposing voices so efficiently that eventually when the Nazi armies came knocking on Soviet borders, all that saved Russia was the harsh winter cold and a bit of luck.
Singapore exists on the equator in a tropical region and Fate is a fickle mistress.
"Given the circumstances of Kirov's growing popularity, the clear indications of Stalin's disapproval of Kirov, and the danger to Stalin in losing effective control of the Politburo and party apparatus, the probability is that Kirov's death was facilitated, at least in part, by the NKVD on Stalin's orders. Alexander Barmine, a Soviet official who knew both Stalin and Kirov, asserted that Stalin arranged the murder with the Soviet secret police, the NKVD, who armed Nikolaev and sent him to assassinate Kirov.[18] This theory is bolstered by the fantastic and nearly unbelievable allegations of fascist plots that accompanied Nikolaev's alleged confession, followed by an abrupt announcement only a few days later that the Opposition had in fact been responsible, a fact learned during a confession supposedly conducted by Stalin himself. According to this new theory, Nikolaev was part of a larger conspiracy led by Leon Trotsky against the Soviet government. This conspiracy theory in turn resulted in the arrest and execution of Kamenev, Zinoviev, and fourteen other Opposition leaders in 1936. The death of Kirov also served to ignite the Great Purge, where supporters of Trotsky and other suspected enemies of the state were arrested. Stalin's tolerance of opposition to his control of the party, or even dissident voices, ended with Kirov's death. As author and Marxist scholar Boris Nikolaevsky pointed out:"
ReplyDeletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sergey_Kirov
Sound familar to Lim Chin Siong's fate ? Isn't Lim Chin Siong the portege of LKY ? The difference is that in Singapore, there is no physical assassination, only sent to IMH, exile, jail and bankrupty.