Greek Operation

The Greek Operation^[a] (Russian: Греческая Операция, romanized: Grecheskaya Operatsiya; Ukrainian: Грецька Операція, romanized: Hretska Operatsiia; Greek: Ελληνική επιχείρηση) was an organised mass persecution of the Greeks of the Soviet Union that was ordered by Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, primarily motivated by widespread distrust of Greek populations living in the Black Sea Region and also for the availability of resources.^[5] Greeks often use the term "pogrom" (πογκρόμ) for this persecution.^[6] It began on December 15, 1937, and marked the beginning of the repressions against Greeks that went on for 13 years.^[7] Depending on the sources, it is estimated that between 15,000^[2][3] and 50,000^[4] Greeks died during this campaign. Tens of thousands more were persecuted during the Deportation of the Soviet Greeks. Some scholars characterize the operation as a "genocide" against Greeks.^{[8][9][10][11]}

A wave of Greek emigrants from the Soviet Union in 1937–1939 is often considered a consequence of Stalinist persecution of the Soviet Greek national movement.^[1]