Stalin was the greatest tyrant of all times. Stalin destroyed his people on an unimaginable scale - from 10 to 110 million people were thrown into camps, where they were shot or died in inhumane conditions.
Examples of using
“Professor Kurganov indirectly calculated that from 1917 to 1959 only from the internal war of the Soviet regime against its people, that is, from their destruction by famine, collectivization, exile of peasants for extermination, prisons, camps, simple executions. - This is the only reason why we died. Along with our civil war, 66 million people... According to his calculations, we lost in World War II from neglect. 44 million people are harmed by its sloppy conduct! So, in total we lost from the socialist system - 110 million people!”
Reality
Igor Pykhalov
What was the scale of the “Stalinist repressions”?
Almost all publications addressing the issue of the number of repressed people can be classified into two groups. The first of them includes works by denouncers of the “totalitarian regime”, citing astronomical multi-million dollar figures of those executed and imprisoned. At the same time, “truth seekers” persistently try not to notice archival data, including published ones, pretending that they do not exist. To justify their figures, they either refer to each other, or simply limit themselves to phrases like: “according to my calculations,” “I am convinced,” etc.
However, any conscientious researcher who begins to study this problem quickly discovers that in addition to “eyewitness memories” there are a lot of documentary sources: “Several thousand items of storage of documents related to the activities of the Gulag have been identified in the funds of the Central State Archive of the October Revolution, the highest bodies of state power and government bodies of the USSR (TsGAOR USSR)”
Having studied archival documents, such a researcher is surprised to see that the scale of repression that we “know” about thanks to the media is not only at odds with reality, but is inflated tenfold. After this, he finds himself in a painful dilemma: professional ethics requires him to publish the data found, on the other hand, how not to be branded as a defender of Stalin. The result is usually some kind of “compromise” publication, containing both a standard set of anti-Stalinist epithets and curtsies addressed to Solzhenitsyn and Co., and information about the number of repressed people, which, unlike publications from the first group, is not taken out of thin air and not pulled out of thin air, and are confirmed by documents from the archives.
How much has been repressed?
February 1, 1954
To the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee, Comrade N.S. Khrushchev.
In connection with signals received by the Central Committee of the CPSU from a number of persons about illegal convictions for counter-revolutionary crimes in past years by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, the Special Meeting, the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals and in accordance with your instructions on the need to review the cases of persons convicted for counter-revolutionary crimes and currently held in camps and prisons, we report: from 1921 to the present time, 3,777,380 people were sentenced for counter-revolutionary crimes, including 642,980 people to VMN, to detention in camps and prisons for a term of 25 years and below - 2,369,220, into exile and deportation - 765,180 people. Of the total number of convicts, approximately, sentenced: 2,900,000 people - by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas and the Special Conference and 877,000 people - by courts, military tribunals, the Special Board and the Military collegium.... It should be noted that, created on the basis of the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR of November 5, 1934, by the Special Meeting of the NKVD of the USSR, which existed until September 1, 1953, 442,531 people were sentenced, including 10,101 people to VMN, to imprisonment - 360,921 people, to exile and deportation (within the country) - 57,539 people and to other measures of punishment (counting the time spent in custody, deportation abroad, compulsory treatment) - 3,970 people...
Prosecutor General R. Rudenko
Minister of Internal Affairs S. Kruglov
Minister of Justice K. Gorshenin
So, as is clear from the above document, in total from 1921 to the beginning of 1954, people were sentenced to death on political charges. 642.980 person, to imprisonment - 2.369.220 , to link - 765.180 . It should also be borne in mind that not all sentences were carried out. For example, from July 15, 1939 to April 20, 1940, 201 prisoners were sentenced to capital punishment for disorganizing camp life and production, but then for some of them the death penalty was replaced by imprisonment for terms of 10 to 15 years. In 1934, the camps housed 3,849 prisoners sentenced to capital punishment with a substitute for imprisonment, in 1935 - 5,671, in 1936 - 7,303, in 1937 - 6,239, in 1938 - 5,926, in 1939 - 3,425, in 1940 - 4,037.
Number of prisoners
» Are you sure that the information in this memo is true?“, - a skeptical reader will exclaim, who, thanks to many years of brainwashing, firmly “knows” about millions of people shot and tens of millions sent to camps. Well, let’s turn to more detailed statistics, especially since, contrary to the assurances of dedicated “fighters against totalitarianism,” such data is not only available in the archives, but has also been published several times.
Let's start with data on the number of prisoners in the Gulag camps. Let me remind you that those sentenced to a term of more than 3 years, as a rule, served their sentences in correctional labor camps (ITL), and those sentenced to short terms - in correctional labor colonies (CPT).
| Year | Prisoners |
|---|---|
| 1930 | 179.000 |
| 1931 | 212.000 |
| 1932 | 268.700 |
| 1933 | 334.300 |
| 1934 | 510.307 |
| 1935 | 725.483 |
| 1936 | 839.406 |
| 1937 | 820.881 |
| 1938 | 996.367 |
| 1939 | 1.317.195 |
| 1940 | 1.344.408 |
| 1941 | 1.500.524 |
| 1942 | 1.415.596 |
| 1943 | 983.974 |
| 1944 | 663.594 |
| 1945 | 715.505 |
| 1946 | 746.871 |
| 1947 | 808.839 |
| 1948 | 1.108.057 |
| 1949 | 1.216.361 |
| 1950 | 1.416.300 |
| 1951 | 1.533.767 |
| 1952 | 1.711.202 |
| 1953 | 1.727.970 |
However, those who are accustomed to accepting the opuses of Solzhenitsyn and others like him as Holy Scripture are often not convinced even by direct references to archival documents. » These are NKVD documents, and therefore they are falsified.- they say. - Where did the numbers given in them come from?».
One of the darkest pages in the history of the entire post-Soviet space were the years from 1928 to 1952, when Stalin was in power. For a long time, biographers kept silent or tried to distort some facts from the tyrant’s past, but it turned out to be quite possible to restore them. The fact is that the country was ruled by a repeat offender who had been in prison 7 times. Violence and terror, forceful methods of solving problems were well known to him from his early youth. They were also reflected in his policies.
Officially, the course was taken in July 1928 by the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. It was there that Stalin spoke, who stated that the further advancement of communism would encounter increasing resistance from hostile, anti-Soviet elements, and they must be fought harshly. Many researchers believe that the repressions of 30 were a continuation of the policy of Red Terror, adopted back in 1918. It is worth noting that the number of victims of repression does not include those who suffered during the Civil War from 1917 to 1922, because after the First World War a population census was not conducted. And it is unclear how to establish the cause of death.
The beginning of Stalin's repressions was aimed at political opponents, officially - at saboteurs, terrorists, spies conducting subversive activities, and anti-Soviet elements. However, in practice there was a struggle with wealthy peasants and entrepreneurs, as well as with certain peoples who did not want to sacrifice national identity for the sake of dubious ideas. Many people were dispossessed and forced into resettlement, but usually this meant not only the loss of their home, but also the threat of death.
The fact is that such settlers were not provided with food and medicine. The authorities did not take into account the time of year, so if it happened in winter, people often froze and died of hunger. The exact number of victims is still being established. There are still debates about this in society. Some defenders of the Stalinist regime believe that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of “everything.” Others point to millions of forcibly resettled people, and of these, about 1/5 to half died due to the complete lack of any living conditions.
In 1929, the authorities decided to abandon conventional forms of imprisonment and move to new ones, reform the system in this direction, and introduce correctional labor. Preparations began for the creation of the Gulag, which many quite rightly compare with the German death camps. It is characteristic that the Soviet authorities often used various events, for example, the murder of the plenipotentiary representative Voikov in Poland, to deal with political opponents and simply unwanted people. In particular, Stalin responded to this by demanding the immediate liquidation of the monarchists by any means. At the same time, no connection was even established between the victim and those to whom such measures were applied. As a result, 20 representatives of the former Russian nobility were shot, about 9 thousand people were arrested and subjected to repression. The exact number of victims has not yet been established.
Sabotage
It should be noted that the Soviet regime was completely dependent on specialists trained in the Russian Empire. Firstly, at the time of the 30s, not much time had passed, and our own specialists, in fact, were absent or were too young and inexperienced. And all scientists, without exception, received training in monarchist educational institutions. Secondly, very often science openly contradicted what the Soviet government was doing. The latter, for example, rejected genetics as such, considering it too bourgeois. There was no study of the human psyche; psychiatry had a punitive function, that is, in fact, it did not fulfill its main task.
As a result, the Soviet authorities began to accuse many specialists of sabotage. The USSR did not recognize such concepts as incompetence, including those that arose in connection with poor preparation or incorrect assignment, mistake, or miscalculation. The real physical condition of employees of a number of enterprises was ignored, which is why common mistakes were sometimes made. In addition, mass repressions could arise on the basis of suspiciously frequent, according to the authorities, contacts with foreigners, publication of works in the Western press. A striking example is the Pulkovo case, when a huge number of astronomers, mathematicians, engineers and other scientists suffered. Moreover, in the end, only a small number were rehabilitated: many were shot, some died during interrogations or in prison.
The Pulkovo case very clearly demonstrates another terrible moment of Stalin’s repressions: the threat to loved ones, as well as the slander of others under torture. Not only the scientists suffered, but also the wives who supported them.
Grain procurement
Constant pressure on peasants, half-starvation, grain weaning, and labor shortages negatively affected the pace of grain procurements. However, Stalin did not know how to admit mistakes, which became official state policy. By the way, it is for this reason that any rehabilitation, even of those who were convicted by accident, by mistake or instead of a namesake, took place after the death of the tyrant.
But let's return to the topic of grain procurements. For objective reasons, fulfilling the norm was not always possible and not everywhere. And in connection with this, the “culprits” were punished. Moreover, in some places entire villages were repressed. Soviet power also fell on the heads of those who simply allowed the peasants to keep their grain as an insurance fund or for sowing the next year.
There were things to suit almost every taste. Cases of the Geological Committee and the Academy of Sciences, "Vesna", the Siberian Brigade... A complete and detailed description can take many volumes. And this despite the fact that all the details have not yet been disclosed; many NKVD documents continue to remain classified.
Historians attribute some relaxation that occurred in 1933–1934 primarily to the fact that the prisons were overcrowded. In addition, it was necessary to reform the punitive system, which was not aimed at such mass participation. This is how the Gulag came into being.
Great Terror
The main terror occurred in 1937-1938, when, according to various sources, up to 1.5 million people suffered, more than 800 thousand of them were shot or killed in other ways. However, the exact number is still being established, and there is quite an active debate on this matter.
Characteristic was NKVD Order No. 00447, which officially launched the mechanism of mass repression against former kulaks, Socialist Revolutionaries, monarchists, re-emigrants, and so on. At the same time, everyone was divided into 2 categories: more and less dangerous. Both groups were subject to arrest, the first had to be shot, the second had to be given a sentence of 8 to 10 years on average.
Among the victims of Stalin's repressions there were quite a few relatives taken into custody. Even if family members could not be convicted of anything, they were still automatically registered, and sometimes forcibly relocated. If the father and (or) mother were declared “enemies of the people,” then this put an end to the opportunity to make a career, often to getting an education. Such people often found themselves surrounded by an atmosphere of horror and were subjected to boycott.
The Soviet authorities could also persecute on the basis of nationality and previous citizenship of certain countries. So, in 1937 alone, 25 thousand Germans, 84.5 thousand Poles, almost 5.5 thousand Romanians, 16.5 thousand Latvians, 10.5 thousand Greeks, 9 thousand 735 Estonians, 9 thousand Finns, 2 thousand Iranians, 400 Afghans. At the same time, persons of the nationality against which repression was carried out were dismissed from industry. And from the army - persons belonging to a nationality not represented on the territory of the USSR. All this happened under the leadership of Yezhov, but, which does not even require separate evidence, without a doubt, had a direct relation to Stalin, and was constantly personally controlled by him. Many execution lists bear his signature. And we are talking about, in total, hundreds of thousands of people.
It's ironic that recent stalkers have often become victims. Thus, one of the leaders of the described repressions, Yezhov, was shot in 1940. The sentence was put into effect the very next day after the trial. Beria became the head of the NKVD.
Stalin's repressions spread to new territories along with the Soviet regime itself. Cleanings were ongoing; they were mandatory elements of control. And with the onset of the 40s they did not stop.
Repressive mechanism during the Great Patriotic War
Even the Great Patriotic War could not stop the repressive machine, although it partially extinguished the scale, because the USSR needed people at the front. However, now there is an excellent way to get rid of unwanted people - sending them to the front line. It is unknown exactly how many died while carrying out such orders.
At the same time, the military situation became much tougher. Suspicion alone was enough to shoot even without the appearance of a trial. This practice was called “prison decongestion.” It was especially widely used in Karelia, the Baltic states, and Western Ukraine.
The tyranny of the NKVD intensified. Thus, execution became possible not even by a court verdict or some extra-judicial body, but simply by order of Beria, whose powers began to increase. They don’t like to publicize this point widely, but the NKVD did not stop its activities even in Leningrad during the siege. Then they arrested up to 300 students from higher educational institutions on trumped-up charges. 4 were shot, many died in isolation wards or in prisons.
Everyone is able to say unequivocally whether the detachments can be considered a form of repression, but they definitely made it possible to get rid of unwanted people, and quite effectively. However, the authorities continued to persecute in more traditional forms. Filtration detachments awaited everyone who was captured. Moreover, if an ordinary soldier could still prove his innocence, especially if he was captured wounded, unconscious, sick or frostbitten, then the officers, as a rule, were waiting for the Gulag. Some were shot.
As Soviet power spread throughout Europe, intelligence was involved in the return and trial of emigrants by force. In Czechoslovakia alone, according to some sources, 400 people suffered from its actions. Quite serious damage in this regard was caused to Poland. Often, the repressive mechanism affected not only Russian citizens, but also Poles, some of whom were extrajudicially executed for resisting Soviet power. Thus, the USSR broke the promises it made to its allies.
Post-war events
After the war, the repressive apparatus was deployed again. Overly influential military men, especially those close to Zhukov, doctors who were in contact with the allies (and scientists) were under threat. The NKVD could also arrest Germans in the Soviet zone of responsibility for attempting to contact residents of other regions under the control of Western countries. The ongoing campaign against people of Jewish nationality looks like black irony. The last high-profile trial was the so-called “Doctors' Case,” which collapsed only in connection with the death of Stalin.
Use of torture
Later, during the Khrushchev Thaw, the Soviet prosecutor's office itself investigated the cases. The facts of mass falsification and obtaining confessions under torture, which were used very widely, were recognized. Marshal Blucher was killed as a result of numerous beatings, and in the process of extracting testimony from Eikhe, his spine was broken. There are cases when Stalin personally demanded that certain prisoners be beaten.
In addition to beatings, sleep deprivation, placement in too cold or, on the contrary, too hot room without clothes, and hunger strike were also practiced. The handcuffs were periodically not removed for days, and sometimes for months. Correspondence and any contact with the outside world were prohibited. Some were “forgotten”, that is, they were arrested, and then the cases were not considered and no specific decision was made until Stalin’s death. This, in particular, is indicated by the order signed by Beria, which ordered an amnesty for those who were arrested before 1938 and for whom a decision had not yet been made. We are talking about people who have been waiting for their fate to be decided for at least 14 years! This can also be considered a kind of torture.
Stalinist statements
Understanding the very essence of Stalin's repressions in the present is of fundamental importance, if only because some still consider Stalin to be an impressive leader who saved the country and the world from fascism, without which the USSR would have been doomed. Many try to justify his actions by saying that in this way he boosted the economy, ensured industrialization, or protected the country. In addition, some are trying to downplay the number of victims. In general, the exact number of victims is one of the most disputed issues today.
However, in fact, to assess the personality of this person, as well as everyone who carried out his criminal orders, even the recognized minimum of those convicted and executed is sufficient. During the fascist regime of Mussolini in Italy, a total of 4.5 thousand people were subjected to repression. His political enemies were either expelled from the country or placed in prisons, where they were given the opportunity to write books. Of course, no one is saying that Mussolini is getting better from this. Fascism cannot be justified.
But what assessment can be given to Stalinism at the same time? And taking into account the repressions that were carried out on ethnic grounds, it at least has one of the signs of fascism - racism.
Characteristic signs of repression
Stalin's repressions have several characteristic features that only emphasize what they were. This:
- Mass character. The exact data depends heavily on estimates, whether relatives are taken into account or not, internally displaced people or not. Depending on the method of calculation, it ranges from 5 to 40 million.
- Cruelty. The repressive mechanism did not spare anyone, people were subjected to cruel, inhumane treatment, starved, tortured, relatives were killed in front of their eyes, loved ones were threatened, and forced to abandon family members.
- Focus on protecting party power and against the interests of the people. In fact, we can talk about genocide. Neither Stalin nor his other henchmen were at all interested in how the constantly diminishing peasantry should provide everyone with bread, what is actually beneficial to the production sector, how science will move forward with the arrest and execution of prominent figures. This clearly demonstrates that the real interests of the people were ignored.
- Injustice. People could suffer simply because they had property in the past. Wealthy peasants and the poor who took their side, supported them, and somehow protected them. Persons of “suspicious” nationality. Relatives who returned from abroad. Sometimes academicians and prominent scientific figures who contacted their foreign colleagues to publish data about invented drugs after they received official permission from the authorities for such actions could be punished.
- Connection with Stalin. The extent to which everything was tied to this figure can be eloquently seen from the cessation of a number of cases immediately after his death. Many rightly accused Lavrentiy Beria of cruelty and inappropriate behavior, but even he, through his actions, recognized the false nature of many cases, the unjustified cruelty used by NKVD officers. And it was he who banned physical measures against prisoners. Again, as in the case of Mussolini, there is no question of justification here. It’s just about emphasizing.
- Illegality. Some of the executions were carried out not only without trial, but also without the participation of judicial authorities as such. But even when there was a trial, it was exclusively about the so-called “simplified” mechanism. This meant that the trial was carried out without a defense, exclusively with the prosecution and the accused being heard. There was no practice of reviewing cases; the court's decision was final, often carried out the next day. At the same time, there were widespread violations even of the legislation of the USSR itself, which was in force at that time.
- Inhumanity. The repressive apparatus violated the basic human rights and freedoms that had been proclaimed in the civilized world for several centuries at that time. Researchers see no difference between the treatment of prisoners in the dungeons of the NKVD and how the Nazis behaved towards prisoners.
- Unfounded. Despite the attempts of the Stalinists to demonstrate the presence of some kind of underlying reason, there is not the slightest reason to believe that anything was aimed at any good goal or helped to achieve it. Indeed, a lot was built by the GULAG prisoners, but it was the forced labor of people who were greatly weakened due to the conditions of their detention and the constant lack of food. Consequently, errors in production, defects and, in general, a very low level of quality - all this inevitably arose. This situation also could not but affect the pace of construction. Taking into account the expenses that the Soviet government incurred to create the Gulag, its maintenance, as well as such a large-scale apparatus as a whole, it would be much more rational to simply pay for the same labor.
The assessment of Stalin's repressions has not yet been definitively made. However, it is beyond any doubt clear that this is one of the worst pages in world history.
Mass repressions in the USSR were carried out in the period 1927 - 1953. These repressions are directly associated with the name of Joseph Stalin, who led the country during these years. Social and political persecution in the USSR began after the end of the last stage of the civil war. These phenomena began to gain momentum in the second half of the 30s and did not slow down during the Second World War, as well as after its end. Today we will talk about what the social and political repressions of the Soviet Union were, consider what phenomena underlie those events, and what consequences this led to.
They say: an entire people cannot be suppressed endlessly. Lie! Can! We see how our people have become devastated, gone wild, and indifference has descended on them not only to the fate of the country, not only to the fate of their neighbor, but even to their own fate and the fate of their children. Indifference, the last saving reaction of the body, has become our defining feature . That is why the popularity of vodka is unprecedented even on a Russian scale. This is terrible indifference when a person sees his life not chipped, not with a corner broken off, but so hopelessly fragmented, so corrupted along and across that only for the sake of alcoholic oblivion is it still worth living. Now, if vodka were banned, a revolution would immediately break out in our country.
Alexander Solzhenitsyn
Reasons for repression:
- Forcing the population to work on a non-economic basis. There was a lot of work to be done in the country, but there was not enough money for everything. The ideology shaped new thinking and perceptions, and was also supposed to motivate people to work for virtually nothing.
- Strengthening personal power. The new ideology needed an idol, a person who was unquestioningly trusted. After Lenin's assassination this post was vacant. Stalin had to take this place.
- Strengthening the exhaustion of a totalitarian society.
If you try to find the beginning of repression in the union, then the starting point, of course, should be 1927. This year was marked by the fact that massacres of so-called pests, as well as saboteurs, began to take place in the country. The motive for these events should be sought in the relations between the USSR and Great Britain. Thus, at the beginning of 1927, the Soviet Union became involved in a major international scandal, when the country was openly accused of trying to transfer the seat of the Soviet revolution to London. In response to these events, Great Britain broke off all relations with the USSR, both political and economic. Domestically, this step was presented as preparation by London for a new wave of intervention. At one of the party meetings, Stalin declared that the country “needs to destroy all remnants of imperialism and all supporters of the White Guard movement.” Stalin had an excellent reason for this on June 7, 1927. On this day, the political representative of the USSR, Voikov, was killed in Poland.
As a result, terror began. For example, on the night of June 10, 20 people who were in contact with the empire were shot. These were representatives of ancient noble families. In total, in June 27, more than 9 thousand people were arrested, accused of high treason, complicity with imperialism and other things that sound menacing, but are very difficult to prove. Most of those arrested were sent to prison.
Pest Control
After this, a number of major cases began in the USSR, which were aimed at combating sabotage and sabotage. The wave of these repressions was based on the fact that in most large companies that operated within the Soviet Union, leadership positions were occupied by immigrants from imperial Russia. Of course, these people for the most part did not feel sympathy for the new government. Therefore, the Soviet regime was looking for pretexts on which this intelligentsia could be removed from leadership positions and, if possible, destroyed. The problem was that this required compelling and legal reasons. Such grounds were found in a number of trials that swept across the Soviet Union in the 1920s.
Among the most striking examples of such cases are the following:
- Shakhty case. In 1928, repressions in the USSR affected miners from Donbass. This case was turned into a show trial. The entire leadership of Donbass, as well as 53 engineers, were accused of espionage activities with an attempt to sabotage the new state. As a result of the trial, 3 people were shot, 4 were acquitted, the rest received prison sentences from 1 to 10 years. This was a precedent - society enthusiastically accepted the repressions against the enemies of the people... In 2000, the Russian prosecutor's office rehabilitated all participants in the Shakhty case, due to the absence of corpus delicti.
- Pulkovo case. In June 1936, a major solar eclipse was supposed to be visible on the territory of the USSR. The Pulkovo Observatory appealed to the world community to attract personnel to study this phenomenon, as well as to obtain the necessary foreign equipment. As a result, the organization was accused of espionage ties. The number of victims is classified.
- The case of the industrial party. Those accused in this case were those whom the Soviet authorities called bourgeois. This process took place in 1930. The defendants were accused of trying to disrupt industrialization in the country.
- The case of the peasant party. The Socialist Revolutionary organization is widely known under the name of the Chayanov and Kondratiev group. In 1930, representatives of this organization were accused of attempting to disrupt industrialization and interfering in agricultural affairs.
- Union Bureau. The case of the union bureau was opened in 1931. The defendants were representatives of the Mensheviks. They were accused of undermining the creation and implementation of economic activities within the country, as well as connections with foreign intelligence.
At this moment, a massive ideological struggle was taking place in the USSR. The new regime tried its best to explain its position to the population, as well as justify its actions. But Stalin understood that ideology alone could not restore order in the country and could not allow him to retain power. Therefore, along with ideology, repression began in the USSR. Above we have already given some examples of cases from which repression began. These cases have always raised big questions, and today, when documents on many of them have been declassified, it becomes absolutely clear that most of the accusations were unfounded. It is no coincidence that the Russian prosecutor's office, having examined the documents of the Shakhty case, rehabilitated all participants in the process. And this despite the fact that in 1928, no one from the country’s party leadership had any idea about the innocence of these people. Why did this happen? This was due to the fact that, under the guise of repression, as a rule, everyone who did not agree with the new regime was destroyed.
The events of the 20s were just the beginning; the main events were ahead.
Socio-political meaning of mass repressions
A new massive wave of repressions within the country unfolded at the beginning of 1930. At this moment, a struggle began not only with political competitors, but also with the so-called kulaks. In fact, a new blow by the Soviet regime against the rich began, and this blow affected not only wealthy people, but also the middle peasants and even the poor. One of the stages of delivering this blow was dispossession. Within the framework of this material, we will not dwell in detail on the issues of dispossession, since this issue has already been studied in detail in the corresponding article on the site.
Party composition and governing bodies in repression
A new wave of political repressions in the USSR began at the end of 1934. At that time, there was a significant change in the structure of the administrative apparatus within the country. In particular, on July 10, 1934, a reorganization of the special services took place. On this day, the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR was created. This department is known by the abbreviation NKVD. This unit included the following services:
- Main Directorate of State Security. It was one of the main bodies that dealt with almost all matters.
- Main Directorate of Workers' and Peasants' Militia. This is an analogue of the modern police, with all the functions and responsibilities.
- Main Directorate of Border Guard Service. The department dealt with border and customs affairs.
- Main Directorate of Camps. This administration is now widely known by the abbreviation GULAG.
- Main Fire Department.
In addition, in November 1934, a special department was created, which was called the “Special Meeting”. This department received broad powers to combat enemies of the people. In fact, this department could, without the presence of the accused, prosecutor and lawyer, send people into exile or to the Gulag for up to 5 years. Of course, this applied only to enemies of the people, but the problem is that no one reliably knew how to identify this enemy. That is why the Special Meeting had unique functions, since virtually any person could be declared an enemy of the people. Any person could be sent into exile for 5 years on simple suspicion.
Mass repressions in the USSR
The events of December 1, 1934 became the reason for mass repressions. Then Sergei Mironovich Kirov was killed in Leningrad. As a result of these events, a special procedure for judicial proceedings was established in the country. In fact, we are talking about expedited trials. All cases where people were accused of terrorism and aiding terrorism were transferred under the simplified trial system. Again, the problem was that almost all the people who came under repression fell into this category. Above, we have already talked about a number of high-profile cases that characterize repression in the USSR, where it is clearly visible that all people, one way or another, were accused of aiding terrorism. The specificity of the simplified trial system was that the verdict had to be passed within 10 days. The accused received a summons a day before the trial. The trial itself took place without the participation of prosecutors and lawyers. At the conclusion of the proceedings, any requests for clemency were prohibited. If during the proceedings a person was sentenced to death, this penalty was carried out immediately.
Political repression, party purge
Stalin carried out active repressions within the Bolshevik Party itself. One of the illustrative examples of the repressions that affected the Bolsheviks happened on January 14, 1936. On this day, the replacement of party documents was announced. This move had been discussed for a long time and was not unexpected. But when replacing documents, new certificates were not awarded to all party members, but only to those who “earned trust.” Thus began the purge of the party. If you believe the official data, then when new party documents were issued, 18% of the Bolsheviks were expelled from the party. These were the people to whom repression was applied primarily. And we are talking about only one of the waves of these purges. In total, the cleaning of the batch was carried out in several stages:
- In 1933. 250 people were expelled from the party's senior leadership.
- In 1934 - 1935, 20 thousand people were expelled from the Bolshevik Party.
Stalin actively destroyed people who could lay claim to power, who had power. To demonstrate this fact, it is only necessary to say that of all the members of the Politburo of 1917, after the purge, only Stalin survived (4 members were shot, and Trotsky was expelled from the party and expelled from the country). In total, there were 6 members of the Politburo at that time. In the period between the revolution and the death of Lenin, a new Politburo of 7 people was assembled. By the end of the purge, only Molotov and Kalinin remained alive. In 1934, the next congress of the All-Union Communist Party (Bolsheviks) party took place. 1934 people took part in the congress. 1108 of them were arrested. Most were shot.
The murder of Kirov exacerbated the wave of repression, and Stalin himself made a statement to party members about the need for the final extermination of all enemies of the people. As a result, changes were made to the criminal code of the USSR. These changes stipulated that all cases of political prisoners were considered in an expedited manner without prosecutors' lawyers within 10 days. The executions were carried out immediately. In 1936, a political trial of the opposition took place. In fact, Lenin's closest associates, Zinoviev and Kamenev, were in the dock. They were accused of the murder of Kirov, as well as the attempt on Stalin's life. A new stage of political repression against the Leninist Guard began. This time Bukharin was subjected to repression, as was the head of government, Rykov. The socio-political meaning of repression in this sense was associated with the strengthening of the cult of personality.
Repression in the army
Beginning in June 1937, repressions in the USSR affected the army. In June, the first trial of the high command of the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (RKKA), including the commander-in-chief Marshal Tukhachevsky, took place. The army leadership was accused of attempting a coup. According to prosecutors, the coup was supposed to take place on May 15, 1937. The accused were found guilty and most of them were shot. Tukhachevsky was also shot.
An interesting fact is that of the 8 members of the trial who sentenced Tukhachevsky to death, five were subsequently repressed and shot. However, from then on, repressions began in the army, which affected the entire leadership. As a result of such events, 3 marshals of the Soviet Union, 3 army commanders of the 1st rank, 10 army commanders of the 2nd rank, 50 corps commanders, 154 division commanders, 16 army commissars, 25 corps commissars, 58 divisional commissars, 401 regiment commanders were repressed. In total, 40 thousand people were subjected to repression in the Red Army. These were 40 thousand army leaders. As a result, more than 90% of the command staff was destroyed.
Increased repression
Beginning in 1937, the wave of repressions in the USSR began to intensify. The reason was order No. 00447 of the NKVD of the USSR dated July 30, 1937. This document stated the immediate repression of all anti-Soviet elements, namely:
- Former kulaks. All those whom the Soviet authorities called kulaks, but who escaped punishment, or were in labor camps or in exile, were subject to repression.
- All representatives of religion. Anyone who had anything to do with religion was subject to repression.
- Participants in anti-Soviet actions. These participants included everyone who had ever actively or passively opposed Soviet power. In fact, this category included those who did not support the new government.
- Anti-Soviet politicians. Domestically, anti-Soviet politicians defined everyone who was not a member of the Bolshevik Party.
- White Guards.
- People with a criminal record. People who had a criminal record were automatically considered enemies of the Soviet regime.
- Hostile elements. Any person who was called a hostile element was sentenced to death.
- Inactive elements. The rest, who were not sentenced to death, were sent to camps or prisons for a term of 8 to 10 years.
All cases were now considered in an even more accelerated manner, where most cases were considered en masse. According to the same NKVD orders, repressions applied not only to convicts, but also to their families. In particular, the following penalties were applied to the families of those repressed:
- Families of those repressed for active anti-Soviet actions. All members of such families were sent to camps and labor camps.
- The families of the repressed who lived in the border strip were subject to resettlement inland. Often special settlements were formed for them.
- A family of repressed people who lived in major cities of the USSR. Such people were also resettled inland.
In 1940, a secret department of the NKVD was created. This department was engaged in the destruction of political opponents of Soviet power located abroad. The first victim of this department was Trotsky, who was killed in Mexico in August 1940. Subsequently, this secret department was engaged in the destruction of participants in the White Guard movement, as well as representatives of the imperialist emigration of Russia.
Subsequently, the repressions continued, although their main events had already passed. In fact, repressions in the USSR continued until 1953.
Results of repression
In total, from 1930 to 1953, 3 million 800 thousand people were repressed on charges of counter-revolution. Of these, 749,421 people were shot... And this is only according to official information... And how many more people died without trial or investigation, whose names and surnames are not included in the list?
Stalin's repressions occupy one of the central places in the study of the history of the Soviet period.
Briefly characterizing this period, we can say that it was a cruel time, accompanied by mass repressions and dispossession.
What is repression - definition
Repression is a punitive measure that was used by government authorities against people trying to “shatter” the established regime. To a greater extent, this is a method of political violence.
During the Stalinist repressions, even those who had nothing to do with politics or the political system were destroyed. All those who were displeasing to the ruler were punished.
Lists of those repressed in the 30s
The period of 1937-1938 was the peak of repression. Historians called it the “Great Terror.” Regardless of origin, field of activity, during the 1930s, a huge number of people were arrested, deported, shot, and their property was confiscated in favor of the state.
All instructions on a particular “crime” were given personally to I.V. Stalin. It was he who decided where a person was going and what he could take with him.
Until 1991, in Russia there was no complete information on the number of people repressed and executed. But then the period of perestroika began, and this is the time when everything secret became clear. After the lists were declassified, after historians had done a lot of work in the archives and calculated data, truthful information was provided to the public - the numbers were simply terrifying.
Do you know that: According to official statistics, more than 3 million people were repressed.
Thanks to the help of volunteers, lists of victims in 1937 were prepared. Only after this did the relatives find out where their loved one was and what happened to him. But for the most part, they did not find anything comforting, since almost every life of a repressed person ended in execution.
If you need to clarify information about a repressed relative, you can use the website http://lists.memo.ru/index2.htm. On it you can find all the information you need by name. Almost all of those repressed were rehabilitated posthumously; this has always been a great joy for their children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren.
The number of victims of Stalin's repressions according to official data
On February 1, 1954, a memo was prepared addressed to N.S. Khrushchev, which contained the exact data of the dead and injured. The number is simply shocking - 3,777,380 people.
The number of those repressed and executed is striking in its scale. So there are officially confirmed data that were announced during the “Khrushchev Thaw”. Article 58 was political, and under it alone about 700 thousand people were sentenced to death.
And how many people died in the Gulag camps, where not only political prisoners were exiled, but also everyone who was not pleasing to the Stalin government.
In 1937-1938 alone, more than 1,200,000 people were sent to the Gulag (according to Academician Sakharov). And only about 50 thousand were able to return home during the “thaw”.
Victims of political repression - who are they?
Anyone could become a victim of political repression during Stalin's time.
The following categories of citizens were most often subjected to repression:
- Peasants. Those who were participants in the “green movement” were especially punished. Kulaks who did not want to join collective farms and who wanted to achieve everything on their own farm on their own were sent into exile, and all their acquired property was confiscated from them in full. And now wealthy peasants became poor.
- The military is a separate layer of society. Ever since the Civil War, Stalin did not treat them very well. Fearing a military coup, the leader of the country repressed talented military leaders, thereby protecting himself and his regime. But, despite the fact that he protected himself, Stalin quickly reduced the country's defense capability, depriving it of talented military personnel.
- All sentences were carried out by NKVD officers. But their repressions were not spared either. Among the workers of the People's Commissariat who followed all the instructions were those who were shot. Such people's commissars as Yezhov and Yagoda became some of the victims of Stalin's instructions.
- Even those who had something to do with religion were subjected to repression. There was no God at that time and faith in him “shaken” the established regime.
In addition to the listed categories of citizens, residents living on the territory of the Union republics suffered. Entire nations were repressed. So, Chechens were simply put into freight cars and sent into exile. At the same time, no one thought about the safety of the family. The father could be dropped off in one place, the mother in another, and the children in a third. No one knew about their family and their whereabouts.
Reasons for the repressions of the 30s
By the time Stalin came to power, a difficult economic situation had developed in the country.
The reasons for the start of repression are considered to be:
- To save money on a national scale, it was necessary to force the population to work for free. There was a lot of work, but there was nothing to pay for it.
- After Lenin was killed, the leader's place was vacant. The people needed a leader whom the population would follow unquestioningly.
- It was necessary to create a totalitarian society in which the word of the leader should be law. At the same time, the measures used by the leader were cruel, but they did not allow organizing a new revolution.
How did the repressions take place in the USSR?
Stalin's repressions were a terrible time when everyone was ready to testify against their neighbor, even fictitiously, if only nothing happened to his family.
The entire horror of the process is captured in Alexander Solzhenitsyn’s work “The Gulag Archipelago”: “A sharp night call, a knock on the door, and several operatives enter the apartment. And behind them stands a frightened neighbor who had to become a witness. He sits all night, and only in the morning puts his signature on terrible and untruthful testimony.”
The procedure is terrible, treacherous, but by doing so, he will probably save his family, but no, the next person they will come to on the new night is him.
Most often, all testimony given by political prisoners was falsified. People were brutally beaten, thereby obtaining the information that was necessary. Moreover, torture was sanctioned personally by Stalin.
The most famous cases about which there is a huge amount of information:
- Pulkovo case. In the summer of 1936, there was supposed to be a solar eclipse across the country. The observatory offered to use foreign equipment in order to capture the natural phenomenon. As a result, all members of the Pulkovo Observatory were accused of having connections with foreigners. Until now, information about the victims and repressed people is classified.
- The case of the industrial party - the Soviet bourgeoisie received the accusation. They were accused of disrupting industrialization processes.
- It's the doctors' business. Doctors who allegedly killed Soviet leaders received charges.
The actions taken by the authorities were brutal. Nobody understood the guilt. If a person was on the list, then he was guilty and no proof was required.
The results of Stalin's repressions
Stalinism and its repressions are probably one of the most terrible pages in the history of our state. The repression lasted almost 20 years, and during this time a huge number of innocent people suffered. Even after the Second World War, repressive measures did not stop.
Stalin's repressions did not benefit society, but only helped the authorities establish a totalitarian regime, which our country could not get rid of for a long time. And residents were afraid to express their opinions. There were no people who didn't like anything. I liked everything - even working for the good of the country for practically nothing.
The totalitarian regime made it possible to build such objects as: BAM, the construction of which was carried out by the GULAG forces.
A terrible time, but it cannot be erased from history, since it was during these years that the country survived the Second World War and was able to restore the destroyed cities.
WHAT WAS THE SCALE OF “STALIN’S REPRESSIONS”?
Introduction - How much was repressed - Number of prisoners - How many of the prisoners were “political” - Mortality among prisoners
All kinds of exposers of “Stalin’s crimes,” starting from A. Solzhenitsyn with E. Radzinsky and ending with R. Conquist, name an absolutely fantastic number of “victims of repression”: 60, 80, finally 100 million dead. However, this is not the limit. Recently, in a speech by Yuri Karyakin, we talked about 120 million. It is easy to see the absurdity of these figures. It is enough to open any demographic directory and make simple calculations. And for those who are too lazy to do this, we will give a small illustrative example.
According to the population census conducted in January 1959, the population of the USSR was 208.827 thousand Human.
By the end of 1913, people lived within the same borders 159.153 thousand person (1).
Thus, the average annual population growth of our country
between 1914 and 1959 was 0.60%.
For comparison, we present data on how the population of England, France and Germany grew during this period - countries that also took an active part in both world wars (2).
1913 1959 Annual increase
RUSSIA 160 million 210 million 0,60
1920, thousand 1960, thousand annual growth, %
England 43718 52559 0,46
France 38750 45684 0,41
Germany 61794 72664 0,41
(GDR: 17241, West Berlin: 2199, Germany: 53224)
So what do we see? The population growth rate in the Stalinist USSR is almost one and a half times higher than in the “Western democracies”, although for these countries we excluded extremely unfavorable demographically, the years of the 1st World War.
Could this have happened if under Stalin half the country’s population (100 million) or at least a third (60 million) had been destroyed?
Almost all publications addressing the issue of the number of repressed people can be classified into two groups. The first of them includes works by denouncers of the “totalitarian regime”, calling astronomical multi-million dollar figures shot and imprisoned. At the same time, the “truth seekers” are trying hard ignore archived data, including and published, pretending that they do not exist. However, it has long been known that in addition to “eyewitness memories” there is a lot of documentary sources. In the funds of the Central State Archive of the October Revolution, the highest bodies of state power and government bodies of the USSR (TsGAOR USSR) it was revealed several thousand document storage units related to the activities of the Gulag.
Having studied archival documents, the researcher is surprised to discover that the scale of repression, which we “know” about thanks to the media, not only diverges from reality, but inflated tenfold. After this, he finds himself in a painful dilemma: professional ethics requires him to publish the data found, on the other hand, he does not want to be known as a defender of Stalin. The result is usually some kind of “compromise” publication, containing both a standard set of anti-Stalinist epithets and curtsies addressed to Solzhenitsyn and Co., and information about the number of repressed people, which, unlike publications from the first group, is not taken out of thin air and not pulled out of thin air, and are confirmed by documents from the archives.
How much has been repressed?
In connection with signals received by the Central Committee of the CPSU from a number of persons about illegal convictions for counter-revolutionary crimes in past years by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, the Special Meeting, the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals and in accordance with your instructions on the need to review the cases of persons convicted for counter-revolutionary crimes and currently held in camps and prisons, we report: for the time from 1921 to present for counter-revolutionary crimes
was convicted 3,777,380 people, including
to VMN (to execution - NM) - 642,980 people,
Of the total number of convicts, approximately the following were convicted:
2,900,000 people- Collegium of the OGPU, troikas of the NKVD and the Special Meeting and
877.000 people - by courts, military tribunals, the Special Board and the Military Board.
It should be noted that created on the basis of the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR from November 5, 1934 Special meeting at the NKVD USSR that lasted before September 1, 1953,
was convicted 442.531 people, including
to VMN - 10,101 people,
to imprisonment — 360.921 Human,
to other penalties (credit of time spent in custody, deportation abroad, compulsory treatment) - 3,970 people …
Prosecutor General R. Rudenko
Minister of Internal Affairs S. Kruglov
Minister of Justice K. Gorshenin
So, as is clear from the above document, total from 1921 to early 1954% were sentenced on political charges
642,980 people to death penalty,
It should also be borne in mind that not all sentences were carried out. For example, from July 15, 1939 to April 20, 1940 for disorganizing camp life and production he was sentenced to capital punishment 201 prisoners, but then for some of them the death penalty was replaced by imprisonment for terms of 10 to 15 years (3). Prisoners were kept in the camps sentenced to capital punishment with the replacement of imprisonment: in 1934― 3849, in 1935 ― 5671 , in 1936 - 7303, in 1937 - 6239, in 1938 - 5926 , in 1939 - 3425, in 1940 - 40374.
Number of prisoners
“Are you sure that the information from this memo is true?” the skeptical reader will exclaim. Well, let’s turn to more detailed statistics, especially since, contrary to the assurances of dedicated “fighters against totalitarianism,” such data is not only available in the archives, but also published several times.
Let's start with data on the number of prisoners in the Gulag camps. Let me remind you that those sentenced to a term of over 3 years, as a rule, served their sentence in forced labor camps(ITL), and those sentenced to short terms - in correctional labor colonies(ITK).
However, those who are accustomed to accepting the opuses of Solzhenitsyn and others like him as Holy Scripture are often not convinced even by direct references to archival documents. “These are NKVD documents, and therefore they are falsified. - they say. “Where did the figures given in them come from?” Two specific examples of where “these numbers” come from. So, year 1935:
Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners
1930 179.000 1936 839.406 1942 1.415.596 1948 1.108.057
1931 212.000 1937 820.881 1943 983.974 1949 1.216.361
1932 268.700 1938 996.367 1944 663.594 1950 1.416.300
1933 334.300 1939 1.317.195 1945 715.505 1951 1.533.767
1934 510.307 1940 1.344.408 1946 746.871 1952 1.711.202
1935 725.483 1941 1.500.524 1947 808.839 1953 1.727.970
NKVD camps, their economic specialization
Camp Economic specialization Number of workers
DMITROVLAG Construction of the Moscow-Volga canal 192.649
BAMLAG Builds the second tracks of Transbaikal
and Ussuriyskaya railway and Baikal-Amur Mainline 153.547
White Sea-Baltic Combine. Construction of Belomor. channel 66.444
SIBLAG Construction in the Gorno-Shorskaya railway. d.;
coal mining in the mines of Kuzbass; construction of the Chuisky and Usinsky tracts;
provision of labor to the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant,
Novsibles and others; own pig farms 61.251
DALLAG(later Vladivostoklag ) Construction railway
"Volochaevka-Komsomolsk"; coal mining at the Artem mines and
"Raichikha"; construction of the Sedan water pipeline and oil storage facilities
"Benzostroya"; construction work of “Dalpromstroy”, “Reserves Committee”,
aircraft buildings No. 126; fisheries 60.417
SVIRLAG. Procurement of firewood and commercial timber for Leningrad 40.032
SEVVOSTLAG Trust "Dalstroy", work in Kolyma 36.010
TEMLAG, Mordovian ASSR Procurement of firewood and commercial timber for Moscow 33.048
SAZLAG (Central Asian) Providing labor to Tekstilstroy, Chirchikstroy, Shakhrudstroy, Khazarbakhstroy, Chuisky Novlubtrest, and the Pakhta-Aral state farm; own cotton state farms 26,829
Karaganda camp (Karlag) Livestock state farms 25.109
Ukhtpechlag. Works of the Ukhto-Pechora trust: coal mining,
oil, asphalt, radium, etc. 20.656
Prorvlag (later Astrakhanlag) Fishing industry 10.583
Sarov camp NKVD Logging and sawmilling 3.337
Vaygach. Mining of zinc, lead, platinum spar 1.209
Okhunlag. Road construction 722
On the way to camps 9.756
Total 741,599
1939
Number of prisoners in NKVD camps
See the table in the book
Total 1,317,195
However, as I wrote above, in addition to ITL there were also ITK - correctional labor colonies. Until the fall of 1938, they, together with the prisons, were subordinate to the Department of Places of Detention (OMP) of the NKVD. Therefore, for the years 1935-1938 we have so far managed to find only joint statistics:
Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners
1930 179.000 1936 839.406 1942 1.415.596 1948 1.108.057
1931 212.000 1937 820.881 1943 983.974 1949 1.216.361
1932 268.700 1938 996.367 1944 663.594 1950 1.416.300
1933 334.300 1939 1.317.195 1945 715.505 1951 1.533.767
1934 510.307 1940 1.344.408 1946 746.871 1952 1.711.202
1935 725.483 1941 1.500.524 1947 808.839 1953 1.727.970
Year of the Prisoners
Since 1939, penitentiary colonies were under the jurisdiction of the Gulag, and prisons were under the jurisdiction of the Main Prison Directorate (GTU) of the NKVD.
Year of Prisoners Year of Prison. Year of the Prisoners
1939 335.243 1944 516.225 1949 1.140.324
1940 315.584 1945 745.171 1950 1.145.051
1941 429.205 1946 956.224 1951 994.379
1942 361.447 1947 912.704 1952 793.312
1943 500.208 1948 1.091.478 1953 740.554
Number of prisoners in prisons (10 )
MARCH: 350.538 190.266 487.739 277.992 235.313 155.213 279.969 261.500 306.163 275.850
MAY 281.891 195.582 437.492 298.081 237.246 177.657 272.113 278.666 323.492 256.771
JULY 225.242 196.028 332.936 262.464 248.778 191.309 269.526 268.117 326.369 239.612
SEPTEMBER: 185.514 217.819 216.223 217.327 196.119 218.245 263.819 253.757 360.878 228.031
DECEMBER 178.258 401.146 229.217 201.547 170.767 267.885 191.930 259.078 349.035 228.258
186.278 434.871 247.404 221.669 171.708 272.486
235.092 290.984 284.642 230.614
The information in the table is given for the middle of each month. In addition, again for particularly stubborn anti-Stalinists, a separate column provides information for January 1 of each year (highlighted in red), taken from an article by A. Kokurin posted on the Memorial website. This article, among other things, contains links to specific archival documents. In addition, those interested can read an article by the same author in the magazine “Military Historical Archive” (11).
SUMMARY TABLE
number of prisoners in the USSR under Stalin:
Year of the Prisoners
1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
965.742 1.296.494 1.196.369 1.881.570 2.004.946
Year of the Prisoners
1940 1941 1942 1943 1944
1.846.270 2.400.422 2.045.575 1.721.716 1.331.115
Year of the Prisoners
1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
1.736.186 1.948.241 2.014.678 2.479.909 2.587.732
Year of the Prisoners
1950 1951 1952 1953
2.760.095 2.692.825 2.657.128 2.620.814
It cannot be said that these figures are some kind of revelation. Since 1990, this type of data has been presented in a number of publications. Yes, in the article L. Ivashova And A. Emelin, published in 1991, it is stated that the total number of prisoners in camps and colonies
on 1.03. 1940 was 1,668,200 people,
on June 22, 1941 - 2.3 million( 12);
as of July 1, 1944 - 1.2 million (13).
V. Nekrasov in his book “Thirteen “Iron” People’s Commissars” reports that
"in places of deprivation of liberty"
in 1933 there was 334 thousand prisoners, prisoners
in 1934 - 510 thousand, in 1935 - 991 thousand,
in 1936 - 1296 thousand14;
According to A. Kokurina and N. Petrova(especially significant, since both authors are associated with the Memorial society, and N. Petrov is even an employee of Memorial), at 1.07. 1944. in the camps and colonies of the NKVD they were kept about 1.2 million. prisoners (17), and in NKVD prisons on the same date - 204. 290 (18).
As of 12/30/1945 There were about 640 thousand prisoners in NKVD forced labor camps, about 730 thousand in forced labor colonies, about 250 thousand in prisons, about 38 thousand in correctional centers, about 21 thousand in juvenile colonies ., in special camps and prisons of the NKVD in Germany - about 84 thousand (19).
Finally, here are data on the number of prisoners in places of deprivation of liberty subordinate to the territorial bodies of the Gulag, taken directly from the already mentioned Memorial website:
January 1935 307.093
January 1937 375.376
1.01.1939 381.581
1.01.1941 434.624
1.01.1945 745.171
1.01.1949 1.139.874
So, let's summarize. During the entire period of Stalin's reign, the number of prisoners simultaneously held in places of deprivation of liberty never exceeded 2 million 760 thousand (naturally, not counting German, Japanese and other prisoners of war). Thus, there can be no talk of any “tens of millions of Gulag prisoners.”
Number of prisoners per capita.
On January 1, 1941, as can be seen from the table above, the total number of prisoners in the USSR was 2,400,422 people. The exact population of the USSR at this time is unknown, but is usually estimated at 190-195 million.
We get from 1230 to 1260 prisoners for every 100 thousand population.
In January 1950, the number of prisoners in the USSR was 2,760,095 people. This the maximum figure for the entire period of Stalin's reign. The population of the USSR at that time was 178 million 547 thousand (20).
We get 1546 prisoners per 100 thousand population.
Now let's calculate similar figure for modern USA.
Currently, there are two types of prisons:
jail is an approximate analogue of our temporary detention centers; jails house those under investigation, as well as serve sentences for those sentenced to short terms, and
prison - the prison itself.
As of mid-1998 (when this article was first published) per 100 thousand American population accounted for 693 prisoners. N and the end of 1999 kept in prisons 1.366.721 man in jails - 687.973 (see: Bureau of Law Statistics website), which adds up to 2.054.694. US population at the end of 1999: approx. 275 million(see: US population), therefore, we get 747 prisoners per 100 thousand population.
Average annual 1990-1998 the increase in the number of inhabitants was in jails — 4,9%, in prisons - 6,9%. So, at the end of 1999 this figure in the USA half as much as in the USSR under Stalin, but not tenfold. And if we take into account the growth rate of this indicator , then, you see, in ten years the USA will catch up and overtake the Stalinist USSR.
By the way, here in one Internet discussion an objection was raised - they say that these figures include all arrested Americans, including those who were detained for several days. Let me emphasize again: by the end of 1999, there were more than 2 million prisoners in the United States who were serving time or in pre-trial detention. As for the arrests, they were made in 1998 14.5 million(see: FBI report).
Now a few words about the total number of visitors under Stalin in places of detention. Of course, if you take the table above and add up the rows, the result will be incorrect, since Most Gulag prisoners were sentenced to more than a year. However, to a certain extent, the following note (21) allows us to estimate the number of those who went through the Gulag:
To the head of the Gulag of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Major General Egorov S.E.
In total, the GULAG units store 11 million units of archival materials, of which 9.5 million make up personal files of prisoners.
Head of the Gulag Secretariat of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. Major Podymov
How many of the prisoners were “political”?
It is fundamentally wrong to believe that the majority of those imprisoned under Stalin were “victims of political repression”:
Number of people convicted of counter-revolutionary and other crimes
especially dangerous state crimes (22)
Years 1921 to 1953 capital punishment, camps, colonies and prisons, exile and expulsion other measures total convicted %
Total 799 455 2 634 397 413 512 215 942 4 060306
capital punishment 799 455
camps, colonies and prisons 2 634 397
other measures 215 942
Total convicted 4 060 306
By “other measures” we mean credit for time spent in custody, forced treatment and deportation abroad.
For 1953, information is provided only for the first half of the year.
From this table it follows that there were slightly more “repressed” than indicated in the above report addressed to Khrushchev - 799.455 sentenced to death instead of 642.980 and 2,634,397 sentenced to imprisonment instead of 2,369,220. However, this difference is relatively small - the numbers are of the same order.
In addition, there is one more point - it is very possible that a fair number of criminals were included in the above table. The fact is that on one of the certificates stored in the archives, on the basis of which this table was compiled, there is a pencil note:
"The total number of people convicted of 1921–1938 - 2 944879 people, of them 30% (1,062 thousand) are criminals” (23). In this case the total number of “repressed” does not exceed 3 million. However, to definitively clarify this issue, additional work with sources is necessary.”
PERCENTAGE of “repressed” from the total number of GULAG inhabitants:
Composition of the NKVD Gulag camps for counter-revolutionary crimes (240)
Year quantity % to the entire composition of the camps
1939 34.5
1940 33.1
1941 28.7
1942 29.6
1943 35.6
1944 40.7
1945 41.2
1946 59.2
1947 54.3
1948 38.0
1949 34.9
* In camps and colonies.
The composition of the inhabitants of the Gulag at some moments of its existence.
Composition of prisoners in correctional labor camps for the crimes charged
Charged crimes Number %
Counter-revolutionary crimes 417381 32,87
including:
Trotskyists, Zinovievites, rightists 17,621 1.39
treason 1,473 0.12
terror 12,710 1.00
sabotage 5,737 0.45
espionage 16,440 1.29
sabotage 25,941 2.04
manager counter-rev. organizations 4,493 0.35
anti-Soviet propaganda 178 979 14.10
other counter-rev. crimes 133 423 10,51
family members of traitors to the Motherland 13,241 1.04
without instructions 7,323 0.58
Particularly dangerous crimes
against the order of government 46374 3,65
including:
banditry and robbery 29514 2.32
defectors 13924 1.10
other crimes 2936 0.23
Other crimes
against the order of government 182421 14,37
including:
hooliganism 90291 7.11
speculation 31652 2.50
violation of the law on passporting 19747 1.55
other crimes 40731 3.21
Theft of social property Quantity %%
Official and economic crimes 96193 7.58
Crimes against the person 66708 5.25
Property crimes 152096 11.98
Social harmful and socially dangerous element 2 20835 17.39
Military crimes 11067 0.87
Other crimes 41706 3.29
Without instructions 11455 0.90
Total 1269785 100.00
REFERENCE on the number of people convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes and banditry held in camps and colonies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as of July 1, 1946(26)
By nature of crime In camps In colonies % Total %
Total number of convicted 616.731 755.255 1.371.986
Of these, for counter-revolutionary crimes, 354,568 26%
including:
58–1. Treason to the Motherland (Article 58-1)
Espionage (58-6)
Terrorism
Sabotage (58-7)
Sabotage (58-9)
Kr sabotage (58-14)
Participation in an anti-Soviet conspiracy (58 - 2, 3, 4, 5, 11)
Anti-Soviet agitation (58 -10)
Political banditry (58-2, 5, 9)
Illegal border crossing
Smuggling
Family members of traitors to the Motherland
Socially dangerous elements
Head of the Gulag Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR Aleshinsky
Pom. Head of the Gulag Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR Yatsevich
Composition of Gulag prisoners by nature of crimes
Counter-revolutionary crimes:
Treason to the Motherland(Art. 58- 1a, b)
Espionage(Art. 58- 1a, b, 6; Art. 193-24)
Members of the families of traitors to the Motherland (Art. 58-1v)
Participation in a/c conspiracies, a/c organizations and groups (Article 58, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 11)
Insurgency and political banditry(Article 58, paragraph 2; 59, paragraphs 2, 3, 3b)
Sabotage(Art. 58- 7 )
Terror and terrorist intent(Art. 58- 8 )
Sabotage(Art. 58- 9 )
Anti-Soviet agitation(Art. 58- 10, 59 -7)
Counter-revolutionary sabotage(vv. 58-14)
sabotage (for refusing to work in the camp) (vv. 58-14)
sabotage (for running away from places of detention) (Article 58-14)
Socially dangerous element
Other counter-revolutionary crimes
Total number of people convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes: in 1951― 334 538
in 1948― 103942
Criminal offenses
Speculation
Banditry and armed robbery(Article 59-3, 167), committed not in places of detention
Banditry and armed robberies (Articles 59-3, 167), committed while serving a sentence
Premeditated murders(Articles 136, 137, 138), committed outside of prison
Intentional murders (Articles 136, 137, 138) committed in places of detention
Illegal border crossing(vv.59-10, 84)
Smuggling activities(vv.59-9, 83)
Cattle stealing(Article 166)
Repeat thieves(Article 162-c)
Property crimes(vv. 162-178)
Violation of the passport law(Article 192-a)
For harboring deportees, fleeing places of compulsory settlement, or complicity
Socially harmful element
Desertion(Article 193-7)
Self-harm(Article 193-12)
Marauding(vv. 193-27)
Other military crimes (Article 193, except paragraphs 7, 12, 17, 24, 27)
Illegal possession of weapons (Article 182)
Official and economic crimes (Article 59-3c, 109-121, 193 paragraphs 17, 18)
According to the Decree of June 26, 1940(unauthorized departure from enterprises and institutions and absenteeism)
According to the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (except for those listed above)
Other criminal offenses
Total criminal convictions
Total: 2.528146 1.533767 994.379
Thus, among the prisoners held in the Gulag camps, the majority were criminals, and As a rule, there were less than 1/3 of the “repressed”.
The exception is 1944-1948 years when this category received a worthy addition in the person of Vlasovites, policemen, elders and other “fighters against communist tyranny.” The percentage of “political” ones in correctional labor colonies was even smaller.
Mortality among prisoners
Available archival documents make it possible to illuminate this issue.
Mortality of prisoners in Gulag camps28
Year Average number
Prisoners Died %
The average number of prisoners is taken as the arithmetic mean between the figures for January 1 and December 31.
Mortality in the colonies on the eve of the war was lower than in the camps. For example, in 1939 it was 2.30% (30).
Mortality of prisoners in Gulag colonies (31)
Year Wed. number of s/c Died %
1949 1.142.688 13966 1,22
1950 1.069.715 9983 0,93
1951 893.846 8079 0,90
1952 766.933 7045 0,92
Thus, the mortality rate of prisoners under Stalin was kept at a very low level. However, during the war the situation of Gulag prisoners worsened. Nutritional standards were significantly reduced, which immediately led to a sharp increase in mortality. By 1944, the nutritional standards for Gulag prisoners were slightly increased, but even after that they remained caloric content below pre-war nutritional standards by approximately 30% (32).
However, even in the most difficult years of 1942 and 1943, the death rate of prisoners was about 20% per year in camps and about 10% per year in prisons, A not 10% per month, as stated, for example , A. Solzhenitsyn. By the beginning of the 1950s, in camps and colonies it fell below 1% per year, and in prisons - below 0.5%.
In conclusion, a few words should be said about the notorious Special Camps (special camps). They were created by resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 416-159ss dated February 21, 1948 In these camps, as well as in the Special Prisons that already existed by that time, all those sentenced to imprisonment were to be kept for espionage, sabotage, terror, as well as Trotskyists, right-wingers, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists, white emigrants, members of anti-Soviet organizations and groups and “persons who pose a danger due to their anti-Soviet connections.” Prisoners of special prisons were to be used for heavy physical work (33).
February 15, 1952 Certificate of the presence of a special contingent held in special camps on January 1, 1952.
No. Name of special camp
1 Mineral 4012 284 1020 347 7 36 63 23 11688 46 4398 8367 30292
2 Gorny 1884 237 606 84 6 5 4 1 95 46 24 2542 5279 20218
3 Dubravny 1088 397 699 278 5 51 70 16 7068 223 4708 9632 24235
4 Stepnoy 1460 229 714 62 — 16 4 3 10682 42 3067 6209 22488
5 Beregovoi 2954 559 1266 109 6 - 5 - 13574 11 3142 10363 31989
6 Rechnoy 2539 480 1 429 164 — 2 2 8 14683 43 2292 13617 35459
7 Ozerny 2350 671 1527 198 12 6 2 8 7625 379 5105 14441 32342
8 Sandy 2008 688 1203 211 4 23 20 9 13987 116 8014 12571 38854
9 Kamyshevy 174 118 471 57 1 1 2 1 3973 5 558 2890 8251
Spies: 18475
Saboteurs: 3663
Terror 8935
Trotskyists 1510
Mensheviks 41
Right Socialist Revolutionaries 140190
Anarchists 69
Nationalists 93026
Beloeitgrants 884
Antisov participants. organizations 33826
Dangerous element 83369
TOTAL: 244,128
Deputy Head of the 2nd Department of the 2nd Directorate of the Gulag, Major Maslov (34)
As can be seen from the table, in 8 special facilities according to which information is given, out of 168,994 prisoners died in the fourth quarter of 1950 487 (0,29%), which, in annual terms, corresponds to 1,15%. That is, only slightly more than in ordinary camps. Contrary to popular belief, special camps were not “death camps” in which dissident intellectuals were supposedly exterminated, and the largest contingent of their inhabitants were “nationalists” are forest brothers and their accomplices.
Notes
1. A. Dugin. Stalinism: legends and facts // Slovo. 1990, no. 7. P.24. 2. Ibid. P.26.
3. V.N.Zemskov. GULAG (historical and sociological aspect) // Sociological studies. 1991, no. 6. P.15.
4. V.N.Zemskov. Prisoners in the 1930s : socio-demographic problems // Domestic history. 1997, no. 4. P.67.
5. A. Dugin. Stalinism: legends and facts // Slovo. 1990, no. 7. P.23;