Influence of regional leaders on the course of personnel persecution of 1937-1938 in the Far Eastern and Donetsk regions

Basing upon the case study of the two regions the article discusses persecution of the provincial Soviet party leaders during the years of the Great terror. The author considers inconsequence of its conducting and analyzes its provoking reasons. The special attention is paid to the impact of the local leaders on the implementation of the persecution campaign in the provinces.