1. The First Show Trial: The trial of the Sixteen
• Kamenev, Zinoviev and 14 others are put on trial for
killing Kirov and attempting to put Trotsky in charge of
the party
• They were accused of organising a terrorist group called
the “United Trotskyite-Zinovievite centre” that was
plotting against Stalin
• The trial lasts between 19-24 August 1936 and is stage
managed with spectators being members of the NKVD
and the media reporting that the accused were
traitors/terrorists
• Defendants were dressed in old clothes and there was
3 judges overseeing the case
2. • Defendants freely admitted to the charges against them
• One even admitted killing Kirov even though he was already in
prison!
• Kamenev even admitted “For 10 years I waged a struggle
against the party and Stalin personally”
• Vyshinsky demanded the death penalty for defendants and got
his wish as all were executed for treason
• The newspapers applauded the executions and public opinion
largely supported the trial.
• Some demanded further trials of counter-revolutionaries.
The First Show Trial: The trial of the Sixteen
