Organizational Mechanism and Forms of Combating Crime in the Far East (1941—1945)

The history of the activities of the NKVD, including during the Great Patriotic War, is a complex and not always unambiguously interpreted subject of scientific research, which is largely due to the political and ideological conjuncture of understanding the era of Stalinism. The purpose of this publication was a regional study of the evolution of forms, methods and organizational foundations of crime prevention in the Far East in the period 1941—1945. The basis of the study was the materials being put into scientific circulation for the first time, stored in the departmental archives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Primorsky and Khabarovsk Territories, which, in addition to the documents deposited in the central and regional state archives, allowed a comprehensive analysis of the problems in the activities of the territorial NKVD bodies to combat crime and measures taken to overcome them. The period 1941—1945 became a unique historical stage in the development of domestic law enforcement agencies. The combination of the personnel crisis, weak logistical support, the increased volume of tasks and the strengthening of criminogenic factors led to the development and implementation of the most optimal organizational and legal forms and methods, many of which were successfully implemented over the next decades in practical activities to combat crime. The NKVD bodies of the Far East carried out a lot of work during the study period to combat crime, ensure public order and security, ensuring stable operation of the rear in a strategically important region. Significant emphasis was placed on improving preventive measures to combat crime, the widespread use of citizens assistance (including on a secret basis), the formation of specialized services and units, professional development of employees, as well as appropriate ideological and educational support of their activities. The key to effective counteraction to crime, including such particularly dangerous phenomena in the current conditions as banditry, desertion and encroachments on state property, was the creation of an extensive agent-informant network (severely damaged as a result of military mobilization of the population), focused on the prevention (operational search prevention) of crimes.