Yezhovshchina

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Russian ежовщина (ježovščina). Named after Russian secret police official Nikolai Yezhov.

Noun

Yezhovshchina (uncountable)

1. (historical) A period of intense political repression and mass purges in the Soviet Union during the late 1930s, particularly from 1937 to 1938.

   Synonyms: Great Purge, Great Terror

   • 1956, Kenneth R. Whiting, Soviet Problems of Nationality and Industrial Management, page 18:

     ... Between the 1929-1930 purge and Yezhovshchina period in 1936-1939, there was a steady rooting out of writers too devoted to national sentiment. The anathema went even beyond this veil of tears, and in Azerbaydzhan the grave of the poet, Narym Narymanov, who had […]

Translations

period of intense political repression and mass purges in the Soviet Union

• German: Jeschowschtschina f
• Polish: jeżowszczyzna f
• Russian: ежовщина (ru) f (ježovščina)
• Ukrainian: єжовщина f (ježovščyna)

Further reading

• Yezhovshchina, Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. 2024.