[MaxPock]

I think I kind of understand why the Soviets were able to industrialize that fast and win an existential war against the mighty Wehrmacht. The so called purges from late 20s to to the 30s were Stalin eliminating these 5th columnists.

[greedo]

The Soviets had a lot of Western assistance with industrializing. Ford in particular played a huge role in the Gorky factories.

The Wehrmacht lost because numbers kind of matter in war. When you look at the natural resources Russia had, the population disparity between Russia and Germany, and the size of territory the Germans attempted to conquer, it really wasn't a close contest at all.

[MaxPock]

Imagine if they had a huge 5th column at home that was working with the Nazis.They'd have lost

[greedo]

Stalin's purges had absolutely nothing with removing any "5th Column." The White Movement was thoroughly defeated by 1921 as were the Mensheviks etc. Stalin purged his officer class because he was supremely paranoid. And while he killed many of the officers, many were sent to the gulags and recalled to service after the German invasion in 1941.

The entire concept of a 5th column is just fear-mongering by most countries who faced defeat due to their incompetence. And the term was used by countries to impose draconian controls and oppression.