It is speculated that Stalin had practically wiped out his intelligence apparatus during the purges, thus damaging the effectiveness of spies in Finland and other countries, as well as cowing operatives into writing the kind of reports they thought Stalin wanted to read.
Der har været tanker om, at Stalin praktisk taget havde udryddet sit efterretningsapparat under udrensningerne og således skadet effektiviten af spioner i Finland og andre lande, samtidig med at de var gået over til at skrive den type rapporter, som de regnede med at Stalin ønskede at læse.