Personal Files of the Expelled — A Source for the Research on the Special Settlement Regime

Abstract

This article explores an important archival source, the personal files of deportees, the original form of the document compiled by the NKVD characterizing the identity of a person who is on special settlement. These are massive official documents of a personal nature, applied to all adults deported during World War II from different regions and republics of the former USSR. The author reveals previously classified personal files and documents on the legal status of special settlers. The introduction of new documents into circulation made it possible to shed light on many aspects of the life of deportees related to their social and legal adaptation in new places of settlements. A personal file clearly demonstrates both the conditions of detention at the special settlement, and changes in the regulatory framework governing the life of this category within the framework of the special settlement system in the USSR. In accordance with the ongoing changes, a special commandant introduced each special settler to the new standards, who were given receipts. The file contains four receipts that allow one to divide the period from 1944 to 1957 into four stages. The article emphasizes that for post-deportation generations, the presence of personal files containing personal data was a good opportunity in restoring not only history, but also genealogy. It has both important scholarly, socio-legal, and political significance for the study of destinies, both of individuals and of entire nations. As examples, some documents are contained in the personal files of the evicts.