Doctors' plot
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The "doctors' plot" (Russian: дело врачей, romanized: delo vrachey, lit. 'doctors' case') was a Soviet state-sponsored anti-intellectual and antisemitic[1] (under the guise of being anti-cosmopolitan) campaign based on a conspiracy theory that alleged an anti-Soviet cabal of prominent medical specialists, many of whom were ethnically Jewish, intended to murder leading government and Communist Party officials.[2] It was also known as the case of saboteur doctors, doctor-poisoners or killer doctors.
In 1951–1953, a majority-Jewish group of doctors from Moscow were accused of a conspiracy to assassinate Soviet leaders.[3] They were accused of serving the interests of international Jewry[2], as well as Western (primarily American and British) intelligence.[4] Following this, many doctors were dismissed from their jobs, arrested, and tortured to produce admissions.
A few weeks after Stalin's death in 1953, the new Soviet leadership dropped the case due to a lack of evidence. Soon after, the case was declared to have been a fabrication.
- ^ "The YIVO Encyclopedia of Jews in Eastern Europe". encyclopedia.yivo.org. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
- ^ a b "Doctors' Plot | alleged conspiracy, Soviet Union [1953]". Encyclopedia Britannica. 20 July 1998. Archived from the original on 6 September 2015.
- ^ "DOCTORS PLOT". Encyclopaedia Judaica. Jerusalem, Israel: Encyclopaedia Judaica. 1972. pp. 144–145. OCLC 651524877 – via Internet Archive.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Vicious Spies and Killers under the Mask of Academic Physicianswas invoked but never defined (see the help page).