Question

what motivated joseph stalin to persecute writers, scholars, and scientists?
people in these professions made up the bulk of the communist party
stalin was convinced one of them would try to overthrow him and seize power
many were non - russians who stalin wanted to drive out of the country
stalin feared they might spread ideas that went against the soviet government

Explanation:

To determine the correct answer, we analyze each option:

• Option 1: The Communist Party's bulk wasn't made up of these professions, so this is incorrect.
• Option 2: There's no strong evidence Stalin believed one would overthrow him specifically from these groups, so this is incorrect.
• Option 3: Persecution wasn't mainly about driving out non - Russians from these professions, so this is incorrect.
• Option 4: Writers, scholars, and scientists can spread ideas. Stalin, wanting to maintain Soviet government control, feared ideas against it, so this is correct.

Answer:

D. Stalin feared they might spread ideas that went against the Soviet government.