How many Soviet republics were there?

In 1937, was everything alright? And what exactly do you mean by "everything"? I'll look for some data; I won't argue without evidence. Repressions have always existed; the culprit is the system itself. Terror is the foundation of communism, and from the very beginning of the USSR's existence until its collapse, it was one of the most important factors. Lenin, Trotsky, Stalin (and the rest... except Gorbachev) – there was no difference in who was in power. They all used the same methods, so there's no need to blame only Stalin. Read Lenin's decrees and orders in the book that Slonysh criticized, and you'll understand everything.