A decree starting mass repressions in the Soviet Union was signed by the Communist Party’s Politburo 70 years ago. Historians estimate that approximately 700,000 people were killed and over 1,5 MLN arrested in 1937-1938.
The decree named three different categories of people, who were to be considered enemies of the state. These were criminals, rich peasants and those who did not support the Soviet regime. The faithful also found themselves subject to repression, as belief in God was seen as incompatible with the Communist ideology. The biggest burial ground of the victims of Stalin's purges in the Moscow region is in Butovo.