NKVD bodies of Khabarovsk Krai during the final stage of World War II and the first post-war period (June–December 1945)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the currently little-studied topic which is the influence of the political and socio-economic processes of the final stage of the World War II on the activities of the Khabarovsk Krai NKVD organs. The study was based on the archival documents related to the work of the NKVD organs of the Far East in the second half of 1945. The collections of documents stored in the departmental archive and information center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Khabarovsk Krai constituted the source base of the research. Most of the archival sources used by the author are being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time. The techniques of historical criminological analysis were applied in the process of research. The author considered the peculiarities of the transition of law enforcement agencies of Khabarovsk Krai to work under martial law connected with the events of the Soviet-Japanese war; structural transformations of the first post-war period, including the formation of new territorial bodies in South Sakhalin; activities in combating crime and protecting public order. It is concluded that the geopolitical events in the region and the internal social processes of the period under study demanded that the NKVD of Khabarovsk Krai not only strengthen the traditional activities to combat crime and protect law and order but also organize work in a number of new areas. The study of archival documents showed that the internal affairs bodies paid considerable attention to the organization of civil defense and the protection of population from possible attacks by Japanese aircraft during that period. Assessing the effectiveness of the activities of the territorial bodies of the Khabarovsk Krai NKVD in the period between June and December of 1945, the author concludes that despite a number of difficulties which were largely caused by the problems connected with personnel and logistics, the internal affairs bodies managed to ensure public safety and law and order in the front-line region and to prevent criminal excesses (outbreaks of banditry, group escapes or prisoner riots, etc.) and sabotage at strategically important facilities.