In class on Wednesday, we discussed Barbarossa and Hitler initiating attack on the Soviet Union, when Germany and the Soviet Union were involved in the Non-aggression pact. It was mentioned that Stalin's purpose for entering into this arrangement was to buy time.
If Stalin entered the non-agression pact with Germany to buy time, why was Stalin purging the GRU at the same time? Was he so paranoid that he was blinded to the need for a non-gutted army? I guess I am assuming that he was expecting to be betrayed by Germany, and knew that that fight was inevitable.
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I think Stalin simply was that paranoid. Seems difficult to understand, and for good reason. You'd have to be pretty out there yourself to understand how powerful Stalin's madness must have been.
Like in many efforts to buy time, Stalin probably did not know what else to do. When trying to buy time, in most cases, people choose the best option. This may have been the best or only option that he could come up with.
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