Repression against Kalmykia’s Komsomol Activists in the Late 1930s

Abstract

Introduction. The paper deals with repressions against Kalmykia’s Komsomol in the late 1930. It examines archival materials of the Kalmyk ASSR, and explores a definitely troubled period in the development of the regional organization of All-Union Leninist Young Communist League. From the earliest days Komsomol communities had been regularly cleansed. In official discourse, such measures were interpreted as essentials aimed to exclude unreliable individuals, improve community cohesion, and facilitate further Socialist construction activities. According to documents issued by the 4th Plenary Assembly of Komsomol Central Committee and 14th Kalmyk Oblast Komsomol Conference, those were Komsomol executives and activists who were actually repressed. Goals. The article aims to analyze the repressive procedures initiated. Materials and Methods. Considered are unpublished documents held by National Archive of Kalmykia (Collection П-22 — archives of Kalmyk Oblast Komsomol Committee), and some other published materials. The work employs the chronological and problem-chronological research methods that proved instrumental in identifying features specific for repressive measures against local Komsomol members. Results and Conclusions. The 1930s political repressions against Komsomol in Kalmykia were directly related to ones against party-state and economic executives of the region. Admitting to ‘have participated in a bourgeois-nationalist organization’, Communist and Komsomol executives gave rise to further mass and dramatic cleanses.

Keywords

• kalmyk autonomous oblast
• soviets
• komsomol
• history of political repressions