This paper analyzes the impact of the purges in the 1930s and 1940s on Soviet economics by combining quantitative methods with the history of economic and political ideas. Based on a data set of the graduates of the Institute of Red Professors from 1924 through 1930, and an analysis of their works and biographies, I will show that a correlation can be established between their political and economic views and their likelihood of surviving the terror. The paper is meant to stimulate discussion both about the impact of Stalinism on the field of Soviet economics, and the methods required to evaluate the development of Soviet economic thought.
