Participation of NKVD and Prosecutor’s Office in Ensuring Construction of Kuibyshev Defensive Line (November 1941 — January 1942)

Abstract

The article discusses the activities of the NKVD and the prosecutor’s office to ensure the mobilization and suppression of desertions from the construction of the Kuibyshev defensive line. The relevance of the study is due to the fact that the experience of the activities of the NKVD structures and the prosecutor’s office, aimed at ensuring defensive construction in the extreme realities of military operations, is an indispensable source for military engineers of the Russian Federation. Based on the introduction into scientific circulation of previously secret archival documents from the funds of RGASPI, SOGASPI and GANI UO, they paid attention to the process of building a defensive line, the situation of the mobilized and analyzed the problems of the activities of the NKVD and the prosecutor’s office. It was revealed that the employees of the internal affairs bodies and the prosecutor’s office, in order to prevent desertions, first of all sought to normalize the supply of workers with food, clothing and equipment, the establishment of exact production standards, based on the gender and age characteristics of the builders. In the course of the work, it was proved that by mid-December 1941 the repressive policy had been curtailed, and local authorities took measures to improve the food supply for workers.

Keywords

• middle volga region
• military field construction
• nkvd
• prosecutor’s office
• desertion