Organization of Justice in the Ostyak-Vogul National District in the 1930s

Abstract

Introduction. The publication reveals the history of the organization of the Soviet justice authorities in the national regions of Western Siberia in the 1930s. The example of the activities of judicial officials shows the state policy on organizing new courts in an isolated region of Russia. Purpose. The purpose of the article is to identify the features of the organization of bodies of Soviet justice in remote areas of the north of Western Siberia. Methodology. The main methods used in the study include the historical approach, the system-structural method and the comparative analysis method. Results. Since 1931 in the northern regions of the Ural and then Omsk regions, district justice bodies have been formed. District justice bodies subordinated to themselves the people's judges, notaries and bailiffs. They performed the role of the main regional justice body in conditions of remoteness from regional courts. They faced the task of improving the personnel of law enforcement agencies in the region. They could not complete this task for objective reasons. Most justice workers were young Communists and Komsomol members who advanced in the 1920s. They tried to compensate for the low level of competence through vigorous activity. However, the purges and repressions did not allow them to stay in their workplaces for a long time. The nominees often irritated the local authorities because of their attempts to follow the law. Repressions, low pay, and harsh environmental conditions pushed judicial officers out of the system and from the region. Conclusion. The history of organizational “perturbations” in the North of Western Siberia allows us to identify general trends in the personnel policy of the Soviet state in remote regions of Russia in the 20th century.