The central question revolves around the survival of Georgy Zhukov, a highly successful Soviet military commander, despite Joseph Stalin’s well-documented paranoia and tendency to eliminate perceived rivals. Stalin’s purges had decimated the ranks of the Red Army’s officer corps in the 1930s, and even after the Second World War, suspicion remained a constant threat to high-ranking officials.
Zhukov’s immense popularity and demonstrable competence, particularly his crucial role in defending Moscow and orchestrating key victories on the Eastern Front, presented a complex challenge for Stalin. Eliminating a figure so closely associated with Soviet triumph could have significantly undermined public morale and potentially destabilized the regime. Furthermore, Zhukov’s military expertise remained valuable in the immediate post-war period.
