Stalin sought to revolutionise the Communist Party and consolidate his power through a series of purges and Show Trials. Purges within the party were widened beyond members of the Party and became the "Great Terror" reaching a peak between 1937–38.Why did Stalin launch the Purges?The machinery of terror established under Lenin was now in the hands of Stalin; the Cheka was renamed the OGPU until 1934 and then became...