The Great Patriotic War was the most difficult test for the Soviet state. It was possible to withstand this struggle and defeat the enemy only by turning the country into a single military camp. This meant that all aspects of Soviet society had to be restructured in accordance with the needs of warfare. First of all, a restructuring of the state apparatus was carried out.
It proceeded in the following directions:
- a change in the content of the activities of the state apparatus (the decisive function of the Soviet state at this time was the defense of the country, therefore the main content of the work of the Soviet state bodies was determined by the slogan: “Everything for the front, everything for victory!”);
- organization of emergency government bodies;
- reorganization of the armed forces;
- creation of new regular government bodies;
- adaptation of other state bodies to military needs by changing forms of activity, strengthening executive and administrative functions, narrowing collegiality and strengthening unity of command, increasing discipline and responsibility.
Activities of the State Defense Committee. June 30, 1941 “in view of the current state of emergency and in order to quickly mobilize all the forces of the peoples of the USSR to repel the enemy who treacherously attacked our Motherland” 1 Gazette of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. 1941. No. 31. July 6.. Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR. The Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR was created State Defense Committee(GKO) chaired by I.V. Stalin. The State Defense Committee initially included V.M. Molotov. K.E. Voroshilov, G.M. Malenkov and L.P. Beria. In 1942, A.I. was introduced into the State Defense Committee. Voznesensky, Mikoyan and L.M. Kaganovich. In 1944, Bulganin was introduced into the State Defense Committee, and K.E. Voroshilov was relieved of his duties as a member of the State Defense Committee. Personal combination of posts largely ensured unity in the activities of the State Defense Committee, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Chairman of the State Defense Committee I.V. Stalin was simultaneously the secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Ultimately, GKO concentrated the powers of the highest party, government and military authority of the country. August 8, 1941 I.V. Stalin became the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, as he headed the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command.
The main tasks of the State Defense Committee were the deployment of armed forces, training reserves, and providing them with weapons, equipment and food. In addition, the State Defense Committee led the mobilization of the Soviet economy, the organization of the military economy, and took measures to increase the production of tanks, aircraft, ammunition, raw materials, fuel, food and other things. The GKO directly supervised the defense of Moscow and Leningrad.
Each of the members of the State Defense Committee was personally entrusted with various areas of work. The State Defense Committee did not have its own executive apparatus, but used the apparatus of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the People's Commissariat (most often the People's Commissariat of Defense). To study and resolve the most complex issues, the State Defense Committee organized special committees, councils and commissions that prepared draft resolutions and directly resolved specific problems. Thus, at the end of August 1941, a joint commission of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the State Defense Committee was sent to Leningrad to consider and resolve all issues related to the defense of Leningrad, the evacuation of its enterprises and population.
The granting of broad powers to the State Defense Committee and the simplified procedure for its work made it possible to quickly and efficiently make decisions and effectively lead the state in the most difficult conditions of war.
All power in the state was concentrated in the hands of the State Defense Committee. All party, Soviet, military bodies, public organizations, all citizens were obliged to unquestioningly carry out the decisions and orders of the State Defense Committee. The State Defense Committee has its representatives in all union and autonomous republics. As necessary, he could send them to the fronts and other places. The authorized representatives of the State Defense Committee were given the full power necessary to organize defense.
The creation of the State Defense Committee was a measure aimed at mobilizing all the forces and resources of the state for defense needs. The formation of the State Defense Committee did not stop the activities of other higher authorities: the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, its Presidium and the Council of People's Commissars. The State Defense Committee acted alongside them. Being a body narrower in composition and endowed with comprehensive powers, the State Defense Committee could quickly and efficiently resolve all issues dictated by wartime conditions. During the war, for speed and flexibility of decisions and actions, all constitutional powers of the highest authorities (the Supreme Council, its Presidium and the Council of People's Commissars) were concentrated in a single body - the State Defense Committee. At the same time, in connection with the creation of the State Defense Committee, the permanent supreme bodies did not cease their activities, but continued to function each in their own field.
Soon after the formation of the State Defense Committee, a number of emergency measures of exceptional importance were carried out due to the military situation. These included the relocation of military and civilian industry enterprises to the east, the evacuation of workers and their placement in new places.
During the Great Patriotic War, defense committees were formed not only in the center, but also locally. Their prototypes were the city defense headquarters (commissions), which were created in July 1941 and included secretaries of the relevant party committees, chairmen of executive committees, and representatives of front-line headquarters. They supervised the construction of defensive structures, the formation of militia units, and destruction battalions.
Since October 1941, city defense committees began to be created, taking into account the experience accumulated by that time regarding the resolutions of the State Defense Committee. During the war, defense committees were created in more than 60 cities of the country. They were called upon to concentrate all civil and military power in themselves, to establish the strictest order in the cities and surrounding areas. The composition of city defense committees included first secretaries of regional or city party committees, chairmen of regional executive committees and city council executive committees, military commandants, and sometimes military commanders.
The competence of city defense committees included declaring cities under a state of siege, relocating residents, introducing curfews, and assigning special military tasks to industrial enterprises. They supervised the construction of defensive structures, the formation of defensive structures, and in some cases, military operations. When the threat of street fighting arose in Stalingrad, the local defense committee organized operational groups in each district of the city with the rights of defense committees.
City defense committees continued their activities after the end of the fighting, clearing the entrusted territory of minefields and explosive objects, restoring housing stock, utilities and industry. For the most part, city defense committees continued to function almost until the end of the war.
Solving the problem of evacuation and labor resources. On June 24, 1941 it was created Evacuation advice led by N.M. Shvernik, who was involved in moving human and material resources from threatened areas to the eastern regions of the country. October 25, 1941 - Committee for the evacuation of food supplies, industrial goods, light and food industry enterprises led by A.I. Mikoyan. In December 1941, the Council and the Evacuation Committee merged into the Evacuation Directorate under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Thanks to the organization and activities of the aforementioned evacuation authorities, in the second half of 1941, 10 million people and 1,523 large industrial enterprises, including all factories producing tanks, aircraft, engines, ammunition and weapons, were evacuated to the rear in a short time.
In order to organize the systematic evacuation of Soviet citizens who were retreating along with the Red Army to the east during the initial period of the war, in July 1941 the Directorate for Evacuation of the Population was organized under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Subordinate to him were the bureaus for evacuation of the population under the Council of People's Commissars of the union and autonomous republics and the executive committees of local councils, as well as numerous evacuation points. The named Directorate and evacuation points operated in close cooperation with the above-mentioned Council for the Evacuation of Industrial and Material Resources.
At the final stage of the war, in October 1944, under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, it was organized Central Directorate for Repatriation Affairs headed by a representative of the Soviet Government. He was entrusted with ensuring the return to their homeland and assistance in settling Soviet citizens forcibly abducted by the Nazi occupiers. Repatriation departments were organized at the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR, Ukrainian SSR, BSSR, Moldova, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as at the headquarters of the fronts. A network of local repatriation authorities and reception and distribution points was created locally. Representatives of the named Commissioner acted in almost all European countries, the Middle East and the USA.
Taking into account the needs of restoring the national economy in the territories liberated from the Nazis, a Committee for the restoration of the economy in areas liberated from German occupation was created in August 1943 under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR for the general management of this work.
In order to strengthen the moral and political state of the army and the population, expose enemy propaganda and suppress false rumors, at the very beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the Soviet Information Bureau was created under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which dealt with correct and timely information about the situation at the fronts and in the rear.
The state of war aggravated the problem of labor resources. The shortage of workers made it difficult to supply the armed forces with everything they needed. In this situation, it was necessary to take into account the entire working population of the country in order, if necessary, to carry out labor mobilizations and provide the military industry with labor. To solve this problem, on June 30, 1941, it was organized Committee on Accounting and Distribution of Labor under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. It was compiled by representatives of the Council of People's Commissars, Gosplan, NKVD of the USSR and other departments. The bureaus for accounting and distribution of labor force created under the Council of People's Commissars of the union and autonomous republics and in the executive committees of the regional and regional Soviets were subordinate to this committee.
Military authorities and ChGK. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR dated November 2, 1942, an Extraordinary State Commission was formed to establish and investigate the atrocities of the Nazi invaders and their accomplices and the damage they caused to citizens, collective farms and public organizations, state enterprises and institutions (ChGK), headed by N. .M. Shvernik.
The commission was entrusted with next tasks: a full accounting of the war crimes of the occupiers and the material damage they caused; unification and coordination of the work carried out by Soviet government agencies to record these crimes and the damage caused by the invaders; determining the damage caused by the occupiers to Soviet citizens and establishing the amount of possible compensation for this damage; determining the extent of damage suffered by the Soviet state, collective farms and public organizations and subject to compensation in accordance with the fair demands of the Soviet people; collecting documentary data establishing the atrocities of Hitler’s criminals; establishing, in all cases where possible, the identities of Nazi war criminals guilty of committing or organizing atrocities on occupied Soviet territory in order to bring these criminals to justice and severely punish them. The ChGK was given the right to entrust the relevant authorities with conducting investigations and interviewing victims and witnesses. Local government authorities pledged to provide all possible assistance.
The main form of activity of the ChGK was the drawing up of acts on Hitler’s atrocities and the damage caused with the participation of representatives of the public. The instructions of the ChGK categorically prescribed to indicate in them all the identified perpetrators of war crimes, dividing them into all types of complicity: organizers, instigators, perpetrators, their accomplices, while indicating their names, names of military units, etc. The acts were to contain as accurate as possible description of war crimes: their time, place and methods of commission. All relevant documents were attached to the acts: statements of victims, protocols of interviews with eyewitnesses, expert opinions, photographs, letters from German captivity, as well as captured documents.
In areas that were occupied or attacked by the Nazis (for example, in Leningrad), republican, regional, regional and city commissions were created. The incriminating materials about Hitler's atrocities prepared by the ChGK had enormous socio-political significance, and were also used in the trials of Hitler's war criminals and their accomplices, including for the Nuremberg Military Tribunal.
Declaration of a state of emergency. During the Great Patriotic War, a state of emergency was introduced in the forms martial law And state of siege. Both forms significantly changed the functions of ordinary government bodies, primarily local Soviets.
On June 22, 1941, the decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On declaring martial law in certain areas” and “On martial law” were issued. In areas declared under martial law, all functions of state authorities in the field of defense, ensuring public order and state security were transferred to the military councils of fronts, armies, military districts, or the high command of military units. Local authorities were entrusted with the responsibility to provide full assistance to the military command in the use of forces and means of a given area for the defense of the country, ensuring public order and security.
In areas declared under martial law, military authorities will have the right to: involve citizens in labor service; establish military housing and horse-drawn conscription; seize vehicles and other property for defense needs; regulate the working hours of institutions and enterprises; regulate trade and the work of commercial public utilities; establish standards for the supply of food and industrial goods; restrict street traffic; set a curfew (i.e. prohibit appearance on the streets after a certain time); conduct detention and search of suspicious persons; prohibit entry and exit into certain populated areas; administratively evict persons. recognized as “socially dangerous”.
On all of the above issues, the decisions of the military authorities were strictly binding on local Soviets and were subject to immediate and unconditional execution. For disobedience to the orders of the military authorities, the perpetrators were subject to liability under martial law. At the same time, a Decree was issued on the mobilization in a number of districts of those liable for military service who were born between 1905 and 1918.
A state of siege was introduced relatively rarely during the war years. The state of siege regime was regulated by the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On the conditions and procedure for introducing a state of siege and the ensuing rights of military authorities,” adopted in January 1942, as well as special resolutions of the State Defense Committee on the introduction of a state of siege in a particular city and adjacent areas. him areas. According to the said Decree, a state of siege was introduced in cases where a city or important settlement was threatened by enemy invasion, as well as in cities liberated from the enemy, pending the establishment of proper order in them and the organization of normal activities of local authorities.
In the event of a state of siege, military authorities received full state power on the ground. In particular, in areas declared under martial law, they acquired the right to issue orders on the use of weapons and execution on the spot without trial or investigation for robberies, banditry, riots, for spreading provocative rumors, as well as spies, saboteurs and other agents of the enemy. It is known, for example, that during the period from October 20 to December 13, 1941, 121,955 people were detained by military authorities in besieged Moscow for various reasons.
Of these, 4,741 were sentenced to imprisonment, 23,927 were released after clarification of the circumstances of the case, 357 were executed by sentences of military tribunals, and 15 were shot on the spot. Most of those executed by sentences of military tribunals were deserters, spies, looters, traitors to the Motherland , plunderers of state and public property.
The introduction of martial law and a state of siege led to a significant reduction in the network of people's courts and general prosecutor's offices and an increase in the number of military tribunals and military prosecutor's offices. The corps of military judges was replenished by the mobilization of civilian lawyers. Thus, if at the beginning of the war the number of military judges was 766 people, then on March 1, 1942 it reached 3,735 people.
Reorganization of the armed forces. The war required a significant reorganization of the armed forces of the Soviet state. Firstly, their numbers increased significantly - from 4.2 million people in 1941 to 11.365 million people in 1945. For these purposes, on June 22, 1941, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, a general mobilization of the population was announced - at the age of from 18 to 55 years old. Mobilization during the war years extended to the entire country. At the same time, a number of changes were made to the recruitment system of the Red Army and Navy. In particular, in addition to expanding the conscription age, the requirements for the health status of conscripts were changed and lowered, and deferments for conscription until completion of education were abolished.
During the war, it became widespread formation of militia units from volunteers- persons of military age who are capable of owning weapons, but are not registered with the military. In Moscow, for example, the formation of people's militia divisions was regulated by instructions developed on July 1-2, 1941 at a meeting of representatives of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR with leading party and Soviet workers in Moscow.
After the State Defense Committee adopted the Resolution on July 4, 1941 “On the voluntary mobilization of workers of Moscow and the Moscow region in the people’s militia divisions,” 308 thousand applications for admission to them were received in four days. By July 6, 1941, 12 divisions of the people's militia were formed in Moscow. The command staff of the people's militia divisions consisted of career officers or reserve officers. Employees of district party committees, district workers' councils, and senior employees of enterprises were appointed political workers. In addition to Moscow and Leningrad, units of the people's militia were created in Ukraine, Stalingrad, Yaroslavl, Tula, Gorky, Rostov-on-Don.
On June 24, 1941, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks adopted the Resolution “On measures to combat parachute landings and enemy saboteurs in the front line,” according to which local party and Soviet bodies created destruction battalions that served as an important reserve for the front. Their personnel carried out patrol and security duties and were involved in the destruction of enemy parachute landings. In the vicinity of Leningrad, Moscow, Stalingrad and Donbass, fighter battalions took direct part in the hostilities.
Field control bodies for the armed forces were created. On June 23, 1941, for the strategic leadership of the armed forces, by decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the Headquarters of the Main Command of the Armed Forces of the USSR was created. On July 10, 1941, by decision of the State Defense Committee, it was renamed Supreme Command Headquarters. V.M. was appointed as members of the Headquarters. Molotov, S.K. Timoshenko, G.K. Zhukov, K.E. Voroshilov, SM. Budyonny, N.G. Kuznetsov, V.M. Shaposhnikov, chairman - I.V. Stalin. On August 8, 1941, the Headquarters was transformed into the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command, and J.V. Stalin was appointed Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The day before, on July 19, he was appointed People's Commissar of Defense.
On July 10, 1941, by decision of the State Defense Committee, three main commands were formed in the most important areas of military operations. North-Western, with the Northern and North-Western fronts subordinate to it. Northern and Baltic fleets; Western, with the subordination of the Western Front and the Pinsk military flotilla; South-Western with the subordination of the South-Western. Southern Fronts and the Black Sea Fleet. The commanders-in-chief of the named areas of the State Defense Committee were entrusted with the operational leadership of the troops of the active army and maintaining their high morale. However, due to the lack of the necessary powers and reserves among the commanders-in-chief, the Headquarters continued to exercise almost full control of the fronts and armies. After troop control was improved, its intermediate link in the person of the commanders-in-chief of the directions and their headquarters was abolished.
The operational body of the Headquarters was General base, whose scope of work and functions expanded significantly during the war years. The General Staff was reorganized at the end of July 1941 and became a center for the training and use of the country's armed forces. According to the Regulations approved on August 10, 1941 by the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, the General Staff of the People's Commissariat of Defense was renamed the General Staff of the Armed Forces and subordinated exclusively to the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. His competence included the development of directives and orders of the Supreme High Command, control of the implementation of the instructions of the State Defense Committee and Headquarters, and the unification of the activities of the main headquarters of the branches of the Armed Forces and the headquarters of the military branches. During the Great Patriotic War, the latter included the ground forces, air force, navy and air defense forces of the country.
With the outbreak of the war, universal compulsory military training was introduced. On September 18, 1941, the State Defense Committee issued a resolution “On universal compulsory military training for citizens of the USSR.” Every citizen of the USSR who is capable of bearing arms must be trained in military affairs in order to be prepared to defend their Motherland with arms in hand. On October 1, 1941, compulsory military training was introduced for male citizens aged 16 to 50 years. It was carried out in a non-military way, i.e. without interruption from production at enterprises, institutions, collective farms and state farms.
In the general education system, special Komsomol youth units were formed, in which over 1.3 million tank destroyers, machine gunners, snipers, mortarmen, paratroopers, etc. were trained during the war. Primary and pre-conscription training for students in grades 5-10 was introduced in secondary schools .
Universal military training was one of the important sources of reserves for the front. People's militia divisions and destruction battalions were formed from individuals who had undergone universal training. Thanks to the universal education. The Red Army was continuously replenished with hundreds of thousands of well-trained soldiers.
Political bodies in the Armed Forces of the USSR. The most important measure to improve the organization and activities of the Soviet Armed Forces during the Great Patriotic War was the reorganization of the political bodies of the army and navy, the restructuring of their structure and operating procedures, and the introduction of the institution of military commissars. On July 16, 1941, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a Decree “On the reorganization of political propaganda bodies and the introduction of the institution of military commissars in the Workers’ and Peasants’ Red Army.” On July 20, 1941, the effect of the said Decree was extended to the Navy. Positions were introduced in regiments, divisions, headquarters, military educational institutions and institutions military commissars, and in companies, batteries and squadrons - political leaders(political instructors). On August 12, 1941, the positions of military commissars were introduced in tank battalions and companies, artillery batteries and divisions.
Along with the commanders, the commissars were given full responsibility for the performance of combat missions by the military unit, for its steadfastness in battle and readiness to fight the enemy to the last drop of blood. Military commissars were obliged to provide commanders with all possible assistance in carrying out combat missions, strengthen the authority of commanders and, together with them, implement all orders of the high command. The headquarters of the Supreme High Command renamed the Main Directorate of Political Propaganda of the Red Army into the Main Political Directorate of the Red Army, and the political propaganda departments of the fronts and districts into political departments; political propaganda departments of armies, divisions, educational institutions and institutions - to the corresponding political departments.
After the grounds for the existence of the institution of military commissars disappeared, on October 9, 1942, the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a Decree “On the establishment of complete unity of command and the abolition of the institution of military commissars in the Red Army.” On October 13, 1942, it was extended to the Navy. At the same time, commanders were entrusted with responsibility for all aspects of not only combat, but also political work in units, formations and institutions of the Red Army. According to the said Decree, the commissioners were relieved of their positions and appointed deputy commanders for political affairs.
During the Great Patriotic War, important tasks were assigned to those created by the decision of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) Military councils of fronts, armies, fleets and flotillas, which were collegial bodies of military and military-political leadership. Typically, Military Councils included a commander (chairman), a member of the Military Council and a chief of staff. In November 1942, the position of second member of the Military Council for Front (Army) Logistics was established. The Military Councils were entrusted with responsibility for combat training, the political and moral state and logistics of the troops. According to the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On Martial Law” dated June 22, 1941, Military Councils were endowed with full military and administrative power within the limits of the operation of fronts and armies, as well as the basing of fleets.
Creation of new military formations and government bodies. At the final stage of the war, it was recognized that the organization of independent state military formations in the republics could further strengthen the defense power of the USSR. In January 1944, at the 10th session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Law on the right of union republics to have military formations was adopted. The latter were created as republican, and not purely national, i.e. they consisted of citizens of all nationalities living on the territory of this republic. For example, in the ranks of the Red Army on the fronts of the Great Patriotic War, the Lithuanian rifle division fought steadfastly, twice earning the gratitude of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief. More than 3,300 of its soldiers, sergeants and officers were awarded orders and medals of the USSR.
The military formations of the union republics were components of a single Red Army and were subject to a single command, regulations and mobilization plans. The unity and strict centralization of the Red Army was ensured by the fact that the guiding principles for the organization of military formations were still established by the bodies of the USSR.
The 10th session of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR also decided to transform the People's Commissariat of Defense of the USSR from an all-union to a union-republican one, as well as to grant the right to the union government to establish the guiding principles for the organization of military formations of the union republics. Corresponding changes were made to the Constitution of the USSR and the constitutions of the union republics.
As a result of these transformations, the sovereignty of the union republics received additional guarantees, which was also expressed in the fact that they acquired the right to create their own republican military formations.
The war gave rise to a number of new government bodies that were not emergency in their powers, but were genetically related to the state of war. By decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, in order to continuously supply the army with tanks and mortars, the People's Commissariat of Tank Industry was created in September 1941, including all tank, diesel and armor factories. In November 1941, the People's Commissariat of General Engineering was transformed into the People's Commissariat of Mortar Weapons.
Taking into account the need to provide all possible assistance to the Soviet Armed Forces in conducting combat operations, protecting Soviet troops from spies, saboteurs and terrorists, strengthening the protection of the country's rear from subversive actions of the enemy, as well as organizing reconnaissance, sabotage and counterintelligence work behind the Nazi lines, in accordance with the GKO Resolutions dated 17 On July 1941 and January 10, 1942, military counterintelligence bodies were separated from the People's Commissariat of Defense and the People's Commissariat of the Navy and transformed into Special Departments subordinate to the NKVD of the USSR. In the interests of combining the efforts of state security and internal affairs agencies. By the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 20, 1941, the People's Commissariat of State Security and Internal Affairs of the USSR were merged into the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR.
A radical change during the Great Patriotic War caused a new reorganization of the NKVD of the USSR. Taking into account the complication and increase in work in the field of state security, as well as the need to identify and destroy spies, saboteurs and other collaborators of the enemy, on April 14, 1943, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the NKVD of the USSR was divided into the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR and the People's Commissariat of State Security (NKGV USSR ). In April 1943, the Main Counterintelligence Directorate of the People's Commissariat of Defense "Smersh" and the Counterintelligence Directorate of the Navy "Smersh" were formed.
In connection with the acute shortage of fuel caused by the Nazis' capture of Donbass, specialized central government bodies were created that were in charge of the economical distribution of certain types of fuel. Thus, on November 17, 1942, the Main Directorate for the Supply of Coal Fuel (“Glavsnabugol”) was established under the Council of People’s Commissars of the USSR. The named Directorate was formed by separating Uglesbyt from the jurisdiction of the People's Commissariat of the Coal Industry. Glavsnabugol's competence included monitoring the rational and economical use of coal and shale, as well as their correct storage in consumer warehouses.
Taking into account the great national economic importance of artificial liquid fuels and gas, in order to quickly develop this industry. On June 19, 1943, the Main Directorate of Artificial Fuel and Gas was formed under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
In 1943, the main departments for supplying the national economy with petroleum products (Glavenabneft), as well as timber and firewood (Glavsnables) were organized.
In connection with the liberation of previously occupied Soviet territories from the German occupation and the increased importance of the tasks of restoring the national economy in the liberated areas, a joint Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks dated August 21, 1943 under the Soviet government established a special committee for this purpose. In addition, in the same year the Committee for Architectural Affairs was created, which was entrusted with improving the quality of architectural and planning work.
The enormous work to restore cities that were occupied by the Nazis brought to life specialized people's commissariats associated with housing and civil construction. In September 1943, similar people's commissariats were created in Ukraine, in February 1944 - in the RSFSR, in September 1944 in Belarus, in February 1945 - in Moldova. They were entrusted with the task of ensuring the restoration in the shortest possible time of settlements destroyed by the Germans. The scale of the work done by the named People's Commissariats was enormous. Thus, only in the RSFSR housing and communal services construction was carried out for a total amount of several billion rubles. In Ukraine in 1944, over 2 million m 2 of living space was restored, for which more than 500 million rubles were allocated.
It should also be noted that in 1943 the Council for the Affairs of the Russian Orthodox Church was formed under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR to carry out communication between the Government and the Patriarch of Moscow and All Rus' on issues of the Russian Orthodox Church that require permission from the Government. In 1944, the Council for Religious Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR was formed.
The work of the Soviets during the war and the organization of the partisan movement. During the Great Patriotic War, the state bodies provided for by the 1936 USSR Constitution and the corresponding constitutions of the union and autonomous republics continued to exist, primarily the Supreme Councils, the presidiums of the Supreme Councils, the Councils of People's Commissars of the USSR, union republics and autonomous republics, and local Soviets. War conditions could not help but narrow Soviet democracy. Councils convened for sessions less frequently than required by the 1936 USSR Constitution, or were not convened at all. The quorum of the session changed, which was now determined at 2/3 of the available (rather than list) deputies. At the height of the war, the term of office of deputies of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, as provided for in the Constitution, expired. Because. that the conditions of the war did not allow organizing new elections, parliamentary powers were extended until its end.
These circumstances were caused mainly by a sharp reduction in the deputy corps during the war, especially in the front-line areas. Thus, in the Councils of Deputies of Working People in the cities of the rear, the average number of deputies by the end of 1943 was about 55%. In cities liberated from occupation, the average percentage of remaining deputies ranged from 10 to 30.
In many cases, the small number of deputies precluded the holding of sessions at all. In such cases, executive committees practiced systematically convening meetings of citizens, which served as one of the most important forms of public participation in public administration. In areas where, after liberation from the Nazi occupiers, there was not a single deputy left, meetings of voters took upon themselves the restoration of Soviet power. They directly elected executive committees and entrusted them with the implementation of the functions of state power within a particular locality.
The need to urgently resolve urgent tasks often led to the fact that many of the functions of the Soviets were performed by their executive bodies. The use of collegial forms of work was declining.
In wartime conditions, the procedure for forming executive committees was changed in a number of places. If under normal conditions executive committees, according to the 1936 USSR Constitution, were formed at sessions of the Soviets, then during the war, when there was a shortage of deputies to convene a session of the Soviets, they were replenished at their own discretion or by decision of a higher executive committee (in some cases by decision of the Council of People's Commissars of the republic). In those areas where there were neither members of the executive committee nor deputies of the Council, the executive committee of the village Council was formed on the spot by an authorized representative of the higher executive committee. Sometimes the rural population of areas liberated from occupation themselves elected electors, who in turn elected the chairman of the village council, who was then approved by the executive committee of the district council. Where Soviet power was restored by partisans, the executive bodies of the Soviets were elected by a general meeting of citizens.
As you know, the Nazis occupied the territories of the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Moldavian, Estonian, Latvian and Lithuanian Union Republics, as well as a significant part of the RSFSR.
During the period of occupation, the highest bodies of power and administration of the named union republics were evacuated to the territory of the RSFSR, where they continued to function. At the same time, underground bodies of Soviet power operated behind enemy lines. In Belarus and the RSFSR, partisans liberated entire “partisan regions” from the Nazi invaders. On their territory there were thousands of settlements, many of which, including the cities of Begoml and Ushachi, were held by partisans throughout the war. The role of authorities and administration on their territory was usually played by underground regional and district committees of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, which were essentially united party-Soviet bodies and simultaneously led the partisan struggle. The functions of emergency authorities were carried out in accordance with the aforementioned Decree of June 22, 1941 “On Martial Law” by the command of the partisan detachments.
The partisan movement and the functioning of the underground bodies of Soviet power in the occupied territory of each of the republics were led by their Council of People's Commissars through the republican headquarters of the partisan movement under general leadership Central headquarters of the partisan movement at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. The latter was created on May 30, 1942 by the State Defense Committee at the Headquarters of the Supreme High Command. His activities were carried out in close contact with the leadership of the party and Soviet bodies of the republics and regions, as well as the Military Councils of the fronts and armies. The direct leadership of the partisan detachments was carried out by the Ukrainian, Belarusian, Latvian, Lithuanian and Estonian headquarters of the partisan movement.
Regional headquarters of the partisan movement functioned in the occupied regions of the RSFSR. These headquarters played a huge role in the development of partisan warfare and in the implementation of interaction with the Red Army. At the Central Headquarters of the partisan movement, a Political Directorate was established, later renamed the Political Department, with the task of leading agitation and propaganda work among the population under occupation.
After liberation from the Nazi occupiers, particular difficulties with the restoration of Soviet power arose in the Baltic republics, the western regions of Ukraine and Belarus and the right-bank regions of Moldova, since the corresponding events were associated with large-scale armed struggle against nationalist gangs planted by the fascists. In November 1944, to provide assistance to the party bodies and governments of the Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian Soviet republics, the Bureau of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks was created in each of them. In Moldova, a similar Bureau was formed in March 1945.
Military discipline was introduced in a number of People's Commissariats and other central government bodies, some of them were evacuated to the city of Kuibyshev. An important measure to strengthen assistance to the front, as well as for consistency in the activities of military and civilian bodies, was the combination of positions and the unification under one leadership of military bodies and civilian people's commissariats and departments. For example, in February 1942, the chief of logistics of the Red Army was appointed concurrently the People's Commissar of Railways of the USSR.
In a number of people's commissariats, special paramilitary main departments were created to serve military needs. Similar formations were created in the Union People's Commissariats of Communications, Railways, Trade, etc. Similar departments were also created in some republican People's Commissariats. These included departments established under the circumstances under consideration in the People's Commissariats of Social Security of the republics to serve disabled people of the Patriotic War, families of military personnel and those killed at the fronts.
By the Decree of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR "On the expansion of the rights of the People's Commissars of the USSR in wartime conditions" dated July 1, 1941, the powers of the People's Commissars of the USSR and a number of union republics were expanded in the field of distribution of finances and equipment between enterprises and construction sites. In addition, the People's Commissars acquired the right to transfer specialists, workers and employees from one enterprise to another without fail.
The powers of the State Defense Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR in wartime conditions were not delimited in detail. As a rule, the State Defense Committee made the most important, fundamental decisions, and the Council of People's Commissars then developed resolutions that ensured their implementation.
Activities of internal affairs bodies during the war. During the Great Patriotic War, the functions of internal affairs bodies expanded significantly. To these were added the fight against military and labor desertion, looting, alarmists, and distributors of all kinds of provocative rumors and fabrications. A new and very important task of the Soviet police was the search for children who disappeared during evacuation and other wartime circumstances. As part of the Main Police Department, a Central Children's Address Information Desk was created, and children's address information desks were created under the republican, regional, district and city police agencies. On June 21, 1943, on the basis of the Department of Colonies for Minors of the Administration of Corrective Labor Colonies of the Gulag, the Department for Combating Child Homelessness and Neglect of the NKVD of the USSR was formed.
The internal affairs bodies made their contribution to the victory over the enemy by participating in combat operations directly on the battlefields, as part of partisan detachments, fighter battalions, sabotage and reconnaissance groups, etc.
Already on June 27, 1941, by order of the NKVD of the USSR, a formation was formed to carry out special tasks of the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs and Defense of the USSR “to destroy the Nazi invaders and their henchmen in the enemy rear.” In October 1941, it was reorganized into the Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade for Special Purposes (OMSBON NKVD USSR), and in October 1943 - into the Separate Detachment.
Their fighters and commanders, who had undergone special training, carried out landing operations behind enemy lines as part of units, in small groups and individually, as part of the sabotage, combat and reconnaissance missions assigned to them. From February 1942 until the end of the war, 108 special detachments and groups with a total number of 2,537 people and more than 50 individual performers were sent behind enemy lines. Besides. OMSBON was called upon to become the core of the unfolding partisan movement, provide it with comprehensive assistance, and create an underground in the cities.
During the Great Patriotic War, in conditions of extreme aggravation of the fight against various kinds of “anti-Soviet elements,” the activities of the Special Meeting under the People’s Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR were distinguished by significant activity. In cases of the category under consideration, the Special Meeting was given the right to apply exile and deportation for up to five years, imprisonment in a correctional labor camp for up to 25 years, and, according to the State Defense Committee Resolution of November 17, 1941, the death penalty by firing squad as measures of criminal repression. In 1943, out of 46,689 people “convicted” by the Special Meeting, execution was determined for 681. From 1942 to 1946, the Special Meeting determined capital punishment for more than 10 thousand people.
In addition, the competence of the Special Meeting included early release from places of imprisonment, exile and settlement for high performance indicators. In 1943, the OSO issued decisions on early release for 5,824 people. 7650, the terms of serving the sentence were reduced.
Reorganization of the work of correctional labor institutions. In accordance with wartime requirements, the work of correctional labor institutions was also restructured. From June 22, 1941 to July 1944, a total of 2,527,755 convicts were admitted to the ITL and NTK. The activities of correctional institutions, as well as the situation of convicts, were regulated by the departmental instruction “On the regime of detention and protection of prisoners in forced labor camps and colonies of the NKVD of the USSR in wartime,” published in February 1942. It gave operational units the right in a number of cases to use weapons without warnings (in case of escape and pursuit of prisoners, in case of attack on the administration and convoy).
With the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, the regime for keeping prisoners was tightened, their isolation was strengthened, loudspeakers were confiscated, the issuance of newspapers was prohibited, visits, correspondence with relatives and the transfer of money to them were stopped, the working day was increased to 10 hours and the production norm was increased by 20%, the release of certain categories was stopped prisoners, etc.
Regardless of the nature of the crime committed, a single regime for serving the sentence was established for all prisoners - strict, and those convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes, banditry, robbery and escapes, as well as foreign prisoners and repeat offenders were placed under enhanced security. With the beginning of the war, the release of prisoners convicted of especially dangerous crimes (espionage, terror, sabotage, etc.) ceased. The total number of people detained and released before the end of the war was 17 thousand people.
The evacuation of prisoners in camps and colonies due to the military situation was carried out hastily. Along the way, some of them, mostly convicted of domestic crimes with the remainder of the unserved sentence of less than a year, were released on the basis of the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of July 12, 1941.
In connection with the conscription of a significant number of ITU employees into the active army to strengthen the protection of prisoners, the administration of the ITU received the right to appoint convicts convicted of minor crimes to self-guard, but their number should not exceed 20% of the personnel of the security units. Prisoners enrolled in self-guard, although they served without weapons, were nevertheless assigned to all guards and convoys.
From October 1941, the camp management was recommended to deconvoy and use former employees of the NKVD, police, paramilitary guards, convicted of minor crimes committed before June 22, 1941, in the following types of work: tractor drivers, drivers, mechanics, auto technicians, doctors; in administrative and economic work (farm managers, foremen, foremen, commandants of camp centers, etc.); in paramilitary security in positions of ordinary personnel; in the paramilitary fire department in the positions of privates and junior commanding officers, etc.
During the war, new types of places of detention arose. Thus, in accordance with the Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR “On punitive measures for Nazi villains guilty of murder and torture of the Soviet civilian population and captured Red Army soldiers, for spies, traitors to the Motherland” of April 19, 1943, hard labor for a term of 15 up to 20 years. In some correctional labor camps (Vorkuta, Norilsk, etc.) convict departments were formed. By the end of the Great Patriotic War (April 1, 1945), 15,586 traitors to the Motherland sentenced to hard labor, including 1,113 women, were serving their sentences in the correctional labor camp of the NKVD of the USSR.
Prisoner of war camps became widespread. Under the jurisdiction of the USSR NKVD Directorate for Prisoners of War and Internees. By the end of 1944, he was in charge of 156 prisoner of war camps. According to their status, on February 25, 1945, they held 920,077 prisoners of war. Within the framework of the powers assigned to them, the internal affairs bodies carried out the reception, movement, placement, provision and exploitation of the labor of enemy prisoners of war, as well as the organization of anti-fascist work in the camps.
On August 30, 1944, the Regulations “On special regime camps for prisoners of war” were approved, according to which former Nazi soldiers and officers of two categories were to be kept there: participants in atrocities on the territory of the USSR and occupied countries of Europe; active fascists, employees of the intelligence and punitive agencies of Nazi Germany and its allies. The regime of detention for this category of prisoners was particularly harsh.
According to the decision of the State Defense Committee of December 27 and the order of the NKVD of the USSR of December 28, 1941, all Red Army servicemen who were captured and surrounded by the enemy had to undergo testing in special camps. For this purpose, a network of testing and filtration camps was organized at the location of each of the fronts of the active army. Before being transferred to the Gulag in July 1944, they were subordinate to the UPVI NKVD of the USSR. On August 28, 1944, an independent Department of Special Camps of the NKVD of the USSR was created. On February 20, 1945, it was renamed the Department of Testing and Filtration Camps of the NKVD of the USSR. During the three years of the war, a total of 312,594 people passed the “state check”. After this, 223,272 people left for the district military registration and enlistment offices for further service, 5,716 were transferred to work in the defense industry, 43,337 people joined the convoy troops of the NKVD of the USSR, and 8,255 - assault battalions, 11,283 people were arrested, 1,529 were sent to hospitals, and 1,799 people died.
Similar measures began to be carried out during the war against civilians who, for various reasons, found themselves outside the USSR.
During the Great Patriotic War, the institution of exile received its further development, which began to be especially widely used by internal affairs bodies to persons subject to administrative repression. The Soviet government designated new places of settlement for “special deportees” from among the repressed nationalities in the regions of Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Krasnoyarsk and Altai territories, as well as the Novosibirsk, Tyumen, Omsk and Tomsk regions. Already on July 1, 1944, the NKVD of the USSR registered a total of 1,514,000 expelled Germans, Kalmyks, Karachais, Chechens, Ingush, Balkars and Crimean Tatars. Their legal status was regulated by a resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR dated January 8, 1945. In accordance with it, those repressed in this category enjoyed almost all the rights of citizens of the USSR. The only exceptions were restrictions related to the ban on leaving the area of settlement. Unauthorized absence was considered an escape and entailed criminal liability.
As of July 1, 1944, the Department of Special Settlements registered 2.225 million special settlers, including 1.514 million Germans, Karachais, Chechens, Ingush, Balkars, Kalmyks and Crimean Tatars.
By the end of 1944, up to 15% of all construction work in the USSR as a whole was completed by the forced labor of prisoners, special settlers, contingents of special camps and prisoners of war, including the construction of 842 airfields, aircraft factories in Kuibyshev, the construction of 3,573 km of railways and about 5,000 km of highways, as well as 1058 km of oil pipelines. In addition, they extracted almost 315 tons of gold, 14,398 tons of tin, 8.924 million tons of coal, 407 thousand tons of oil and produced about 30.2 million mines.
Barrage formations. Since the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, to combat deserters and alarmists in the front line, on roads, railway junctions and in forests, they began to create barrage formations. Initially, they were staffed by military personnel of units and units of the NKVD troops for protecting the rear of the fronts, which included operational employees of special departments. During the period from June 22 to October 10, 1941, special departments of the NKVD and barrage detachments of the NKVD troops to protect the rear detained 657,364 military personnel who lagged behind their units and fled from the front.
Of these, 249,969 people were detained by operational barriers of special departments and 407,395 military personnel were detained by barrage detachments of the NKVD troops to protect the rear. Of those detained, 25,878 people were arrested by special departments, the remaining 632,486 people were formed into units and again sent to the front. According to the decisions of special departments and according to the verdicts of military tribunals, 10,201 people were shot, of which 3,321 people were in front of the line.
The small barrage detachments of the NKVD troops to protect the rear of the fronts could not cope with the large number of military personnel leaving the front line unorganized, therefore, on September 5, 1941, the Headquarters of the Supreme Commander-in-Chief, in response to the request of the commander of the Bryansk Front A.I. Eremenko, it was decided to allow the creation of barrage detachments in those divisions that had proven themselves to be unstable 1 Subsequently, similar formations were created in other troops of the Red Army..
However, such measures also turned out to be insufficient. After a series of military failures, the USSR NGO Order No. 227 of July 28, 1942 followed, the main call of which was “Not a step back!” In accordance with this order, barrage detachments of up to 200 people were formed in the combined arms armies, located in the rear of unstable divisions, in order to shoot panickers and cowards on the spot in the event of panic and disorderly withdrawal of division units. In each combined arms army, three to five well-armed barrage detachments were formed 2 See: Chekists in the Battle of Stalingrad: Documents, memoirs, essays / Comp. M.T. Polyakov. V.I. Demidov, N.V. Orlov. Volgograd. 2002. P. 49..
In total, according to published data, by mid-October 1942, 193 barrage detachments were formed in active units of the Red Army. From August 1 to October 15, 1942, they stopped 140,755 military personnel fleeing from the front line. Of the 3,980 detainees, 1,189 people were shot, 2,776 were sent to penal companies, and 185 people were sent to penal battalions. A total of 131,094 people were returned to their units and transit points 3 Khristoforov B.S. Activities of military counterintelligence agencies during the Battle of Stalingrad: July 17, 1942 - February 2, 1943 (based on materials from the Central Asian Federal Security Service) // Historical readings on Lubyanka. 1997 2007. M., 2008. P. 249 254..
After a radical change during the Great Patriotic War, the need for the existence of barrage detachments disappeared.
The State Defense Committee, created during the Great Patriotic War, was an emergency governing body that had full power in the USSR. The Chairman of the State Defense Committee was the General Secretary of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks I.V. Stalin, his deputy was the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, People's Commissar of Foreign Affairs V.M. Molotov. The State Defense Committee included L.P. Beria. (People's Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR), Voroshilov K.E. (Chairman of the KO under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR), Malenkov G.M. (Secretary, Head of the Personnel Department of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks)). In February 1942, the following were introduced into the State Defense Committee: Voznesensky N.A. (1st Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars) and Mikoyan A.I. (Chairman of the Committee for Food and Clothing Supply of the Red Army), Kaganovich L.M. (Deputy Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars). In November 1944, N.A. Bulganin became a new member of the GKO. (Deputy People's Commissar of Defense of the USSR), and Voroshilov K.E. was removed from the State Defense Committee.
The State Defense Committee was endowed with broad legislative, executive and administrative functions; it united the military, political and economic leadership of the country. The resolutions and orders of the State Defense Committee had the force of wartime laws and were subject to unquestioning execution by all party, state, military, economic and trade union bodies. However, the USSR Armed Forces, the Presidium of the USSR Armed Forces, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, and the People's Commissariats also continued to act, implementing the resolutions and decisions of the State Defense Committee. During the Great Patriotic War, the State Defense Committee adopted 9,971 resolutions, of which approximately two-thirds concerned the problems of the war economy and the organization of military production: the evacuation of the population and industry; mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition; handling captured weapons and ammunition; organization of combat operations, distribution of weapons; appointment of authorized representatives of State Defense Committees; structural changes in the State Defense Committee itself, etc. The remaining resolutions of the State Defense Committee concerned political, personnel, and other issues.
Functions of the State Defense Committee: 1) management of the activities of government departments and institutions, directing their efforts towards the full use of the material, spiritual and military capabilities of the country to achieve victory over the enemy; 2) mobilization of the country’s human resources for the needs of the front and the national economy; 3) organization of uninterrupted operation of the defense industry of the USSR; 4) resolving issues of restructuring the economy on a war footing; 5) evacuation of industrial facilities from threatened areas and transfer of enterprises to liberated areas; 6) training reserves and personnel for the Armed Forces and industry; 7) restoration of the economy destroyed by the war; 8) determining the volume and timing of industrial supplies of military products.
The State Defense Committee set military-political tasks for the military leadership, improved the structure of the Armed Forces, determined the general nature of their use in war, and appointed leading personnel. The working bodies of the State Defense Committee on military issues, as well as the direct organizers and executors of its decisions in this area, were the People's Commissariats of Defense (NKO USSR) and the Navy (NK Navy of the USSR).
From the jurisdiction of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, the People's Commissariats of the defense industry were transferred to the jurisdiction of the State Defense Committee: People's Commissariats of the Defense Industry: People's Commissariats of Aviation Industry, People's Commissariat of Tankoprom, People's Commissariat of Ammunition, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Mining Armaments, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Sustainable Industry, People's Commissariat of Sustainable Industry, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Armaments, People's Commissariat of Industry, People's Commissars of the State Defense Industry, etc. An important role in the implementation of a number of functions of the State Defense Committee was assigned to the corps of its authorized representatives, whose main task was local control over the implementation of GKO decrees on the production of military products. The commissioners had mandates signed by the chairman of the State Defense Committee, Stalin, which clearly defined the practical tasks that the State Defense Committee set for its commissioners. As a result of the efforts made, the output of military products in March 1942 only in the eastern regions of the country reached the pre-war level of its output throughout the entire territory of the Soviet Union.
During the war, in order to achieve maximum management efficiency and adapt to current conditions, the structure of the State Defense Committee was changed several times. One of the important divisions of the State Defense Committee was the Operations Bureau, created on December 8, 1942. The Operations Bureau included L.P. Beria, G.M. Malenkov, A.I. Mikoyan. and Molotov V.M. The tasks of this unit initially included coordinating and unifying the actions of all other GKO units. But in 1944, the functions of the bureau were significantly expanded.
It began to control the current work of all people's commissariats of the defense industry, as well as the preparation and execution of production and supply plans for industries and transport. The Operations Bureau became responsible for supplying the army; in addition, it was assigned the responsibilities of the previously abolished Transport Committee. “All members of the State Defense Committee were in charge of certain areas of work. Thus, Molotov was in charge of tanks, Mikoyan was in charge of quartermaster supplies, fuel supplies, Lend-Lease issues, and sometimes carried out individual orders from Stalin for the delivery of shells to the front. Malenkov was in charge of aviation, Beria was in charge of ammunition and weapons. Everyone came to Stalin with their questions and said: I ask you to make such and such a decision on such and such an issue...”, recalled the head of the Logistics, Army General A.V. Khrulev.
To carry out the evacuation of industrial enterprises and the population from the front-line areas to the east, a Council for Evacuation Affairs was created under the State Defense Committee. In addition, in October 1941, the Committee for the Evacuation of Food Supplies, Industrial Goods and Industrial Enterprises was formed. However, in October 1941, these bodies were reorganized into the Directorate for Evacuation Affairs under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. Other important divisions of the State Defense Committee were: the Trophy Commission, created in December 1941, and in April 1943 transformed into the Trophy Committee; A special committee that dealt with the development of nuclear weapons; A special committee dealt with issues of reparations, etc.
The State Defense Committee became the main link in the mechanism of centralized management of the mobilization of the country's human and material resources for defense and armed struggle against the enemy. Having fulfilled its functions, the State Defense Committee was disbanded by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR on September 4, 1945.
The State Defense Committee is an emergency governing body created during the Great Patriotic War that had full power in the USSR. The need for creation was obvious, since in wartime it was necessary to concentrate all the executive and legislative powers in the country in one governing body. Stalin and the Politburo actually headed the state and made all decisions. However, the decisions made formally came from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, etc. In order to eliminate such a method of leadership, which was acceptable in peacetime, but did not meet the requirements of the military situation of the country, it was decided to create the State Defense Committee , which included some members of the Politburo, secretaries of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks and Stalin himself, as chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
The State Defense Committee was formed on June 30, 1941 by a joint resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. The need to create the State Defense Committee as the highest governing body was motivated by the difficult situation at the front, which required that the leadership of the country be centralized to the maximum extent possible. The said resolution states that all orders of the State Defense Committee must be unquestioningly carried out by citizens and any authorities.
The idea of creating the State Defense Committee was put forward at a meeting in Molotov’s office in the Kremlin, which was also attended by Beria, Malenkov, Voroshilov, Mikoyan and Voznesensky. In the afternoon (after 4 o’clock) they all went to the Near Dacha, where powers were distributed among the members of the State Defense Committee.
By a joint resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks of June 30, 1941, the State Defense Committee was formed consisting of:
Chairman of the State Defense Committee - J.V. Stalin
Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee - V. M. Molotov.
Members of the State Defense Committee - K. E. Voroshilov, G. M. Malenkov, L. P. Beria.
Subsequently, the composition of the State Defense Committee changed several times.
- On February 3, 1942, N. A. Voznesensky (at that time Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR) and A. I. Mikoyan were appointed members of the State Defense Committee;
- On February 20, 1942, L. M. Kaganovich was introduced into the State Defense Committee;
- On May 16, 1944, L.P. Beria was appointed deputy chairman of the State Defense Committee.
- On November 22, 1944, N.A. Bulganin was appointed a member of the State Defense Committee instead of K.E. Voroshilov.
The first decree of the State Defense Committee (“On organizing the production of medium tanks T-34 at the Krasnoye Sormovo plant”) was issued on July 1, 1941, the last (No. 9971 “On payment for the remainder of incomplete ammunition elements accepted from industry and located at the bases of the NKO USSR and NKVMF ") - September 4, 1945. The numbering of resolutions remained continuous.
Of the 9,971 resolutions and orders adopted by the State Defense Committee during its work, 98 documents remain classified in full and three more partially (they relate mainly to the production of chemical weapons and the atomic problem).
Most of the GKO resolutions were signed by its chairman, Stalin, some also by his deputy Molotov and GKO members Mikoyan and Beria.
The State Defense Committee did not have its own apparatus; its decisions were prepared in the relevant people's commissariats and departments, and paperwork was carried out by the Special Sector of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks.
The overwhelming majority of GKO resolutions were classified as “Secret”, “Top Secret” or “Top Secret/Especially Important” (designation “s”, “ss” and “ss/s” after the number), but some resolutions were open and published in the press (an example of such a resolution is GKO Resolution No. 813 of October 19, 1941 on the introduction of a state of siege in Moscow).
The vast majority of GKO resolutions concerned topics related to the war:
evacuation of population and industry (during the first period of the Great Patriotic War);
mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition;
handling captured weapons and ammunition;
studying and exporting to the USSR captured samples of technology, industrial equipment, reparations (at the final stage of the war);
organization of combat operations, distribution of weapons, etc.;
appointment of authorized representatives of State Defense Committees;
about the beginning of “work on uranium” (the creation of nuclear weapons);
structural changes in the GKO itself.
The State Defense Committee included several structural divisions. During its existence, the structure of the Committee has changed several times in order to maximize management efficiency and adapt to current conditions.
The most important unit was the Operations Bureau, created on December 8, 1942 by GKO Resolution No. 2615c. The bureau included V. M. Molotov, L. P. Beria, G. M. Malenkov and A. I. Mikoyan. The tasks of this unit initially included control and monitoring of the current work of all People's Commissariats of the defense industry, People's Commissariats of Railways, ferrous and non-ferrous metallurgy, power plants, oil, coal and chemical industries, as well as the matter of drawing up and executing plans for production and supply of these industries and transport with everything you need. On May 19, 1944, Resolution No. 5931 was adopted, by which the functions of the bureau were significantly expanded - now its tasks included monitoring and control over the work of the people's commissariats of the defense industry, transport, metallurgy, people's commissariats of the most important areas of industry and power plants; Also, from that moment on, the Operations Bureau was responsible for supplying the army; finally, it was entrusted with the responsibilities of the Transport Committee, which was abolished by decision.
On August 20, 1945, a Special Committee was created to deal with the development of nuclear weapons. Within the framework of the Special Committee, on the same day, August 20, 1945, the first department was created under the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, which was engaged in the creation of a new industry in a short time.
The system of three main departments under the State Defense Committee was created with the expectation of the post-war development of fundamentally new industries and lasted much longer than the committee itself. This system directed a significant part of the resources of the Soviet economy to the development of the nuclear sector, the radar industry and the space sector. At the same time, the main departments decided not only the goals of improving the country’s defense capability, but were also a sign of the importance of their leaders. Thus, for reasons of secrecy, for several years after its creation, the PSU did not provide any information about the composition and results of its work to any bodies other than the Presidium of the CPSU Central Committee.
The main function of the State Defense Committee was to manage all military and economic issues during the war. The leadership of the military operations was carried out through Headquarters.
State Defense Committee
The State Defense Committee is an emergency governing body of the country created during the Great Patriotic War. The need for creation was obvious, since in wartime it was necessary to concentrate all power in the country, both executive and legislative, in one governing body. Stalin and the Politburo actually headed the state and made all decisions. However, the decisions taken formally came from the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR. In order to eliminate such a method of leadership, acceptable in peacetime, but not meeting the requirements of the country's military situation, a decision was made to create the State Defense Committee, which included some members of the Politburo, secretaries of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) and Stalin himself, as chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR.
The idea of creating the State Defense Committee was put forward by L.P. Beria at a meeting in the office of the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR Molotov in the Kremlin, which was also attended by Malenkov, Voroshilov, Mikoyan and Voznesensky. Thus, the State Defense Committee was formed on June 30, 1941 by a joint resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR and the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. The need to create the State Defense Committee as the highest governing body was motivated by the difficult situation at the front, which required that the leadership of the country be centralized to the maximum extent possible. The said resolution states that all orders of the State Defense Committee must be unquestioningly carried out by citizens and any authorities.
It was decided to put Stalin at the head of the State Defense Committee, in view of his undeniable authority in the country. Having made this decision, Beria, Molotov, Malenkov, Voroshilov, Mikoyan and Voznesensky went to the “Near Dacha” in the afternoon of June 30.
Stalin did not give a speech on the radio in the first days of the war, as he understood that his speech could create even more anxiety and panic among people. The fact is that he very rarely spoke publicly, on the radio. In the pre-war years this happened only a few times: in 1936 - 1 time, in 1937 - 2 times, in 1938 - 1, in 1939 - 1, in 1940 - none, until July 3, 1941 - none .
Until June 28 inclusive, Stalin worked intensively in his Kremlin office and received a large number of visitors every day; on the night of June 28-29, he had Beria and Mikoyan, who left the office at about 1 am. After this, the entries in the visitor log ceased and were completely absent for June 29–30, which shows that Stalin did not receive anyone in his office in the Kremlin these days.
Having received on June 29 the first and still vague information about the fall of Minsk that had occurred the day before, he visited the People's Commissariat of Defense, where he had a difficult scene with G.K. Zhukov. After that, Stalin went to the “Near Dacha” and locked himself there, not receiving anyone and not answering phone calls. He remained in this state until the evening of June 30, when (at about 5 p.m.) a delegation (Molotov, Beria, Malenkov, Voroshilov, Mikoyan and Voznesensky) came to see him.
These leaders informed Stalin about the created state governing body and invited him to become chairman of the State Defense Committee, to which Stalin gave his consent. There, on the spot, powers were distributed among the members of the State Defense Committee.
The composition of the State Defense Committee was as follows: Chairman of the State Defense Committee - I.V. Stalin; Deputy Chairman of the State Defense Committee - V. M. Molotov. Members of the State Defense Committee: L.P. Beria (since May 16, 1944 - deputy chairman of the State Defense Committee); K. E. Voroshilov; G. M. Malenkov.
The composition of the State Defense Committee was subject to changes three times (the changes were legislatively formalized by resolutions of the Presidium of the Supreme Council):
– On February 3, 1942, N. A. Voznesensky (at that time Chairman of the State Planning Committee of the USSR) and A. I. Mikoyan became members of the State Defense Committee;
– On November 22, 1944, N. A. Bulganin became a new member of the GKO, and K. E. Voroshilov was removed from the GKO.
The vast majority of GKO resolutions concerned topics related to the war:
– evacuation of the population and industry (during the first period of the Great Patriotic War);
– mobilization of industry, production of weapons and ammunition;
– handling captured weapons and ammunition;
– study and export to the USSR of captured samples of technology, industrial equipment, reparations (at the final stage of the war);
– organization of combat operations, distribution of weapons, etc.;
– appointment of authorized state bonds;
– the beginning of “work on uranium” (creation of nuclear weapons);
– structural changes in the GKO itself.
The overwhelming majority of GKO resolutions were classified as “Secret”, “Top Secret” or “Top Secret / Of Special Importance”.
Some decisions were open and published in the press - GKO Resolution No. 813 of October 19, 1941 on the introduction of a state of siege in Moscow.
The State Defense Committee managed all military and economic issues during the war. The leadership of the military operations was carried out through Headquarters.
On September 4, 1945, by Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR, the State Defense Committee was abolished.
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