How many victims were there of Stalin's repressions? Repressions in the USSR: socio-political meaning

One of the darkest pages in the history of the entire post-Soviet space were the years from 1928 to 1952, when Stalin was in power. Biographers for a long time They kept silent or tried to distort some facts from the tyrant’s past, but it turned out to be quite possible to restore them. The fact is that the country was ruled by a repeat offender who had been in prison 7 times. Violence and terror, forceful methods of solving problems were well known to him from his early youth. They were also reflected in his policies.

Officially, the course was taken in July 1928 by the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All-Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks. It was there that Stalin spoke, who stated that the further advancement of communism would encounter increasing resistance from hostile, anti-Soviet elements, and they must be fought harshly. Many researchers believe that the repressions of 30 were a continuation of the policy of Red Terror, adopted back in 1918. It is worth noting that the number of victims of repression does not include those who suffered during the Civil War from 1917 to 1922 because no census was taken after the First World War. And it is unclear how to establish the cause of death.

Start Stalin's repressions was aimed at political opponents, officially - at saboteurs, terrorists, spies conducting subversive activities, and anti-Soviet elements. However, in practice there was a struggle with wealthy peasants and entrepreneurs, as well as with certain peoples who did not want to sacrifice national identity for the sake of dubious ideas. Many people were dispossessed and forced into resettlement, but usually this meant not only the loss of their home, but also the threat of death.

The fact is that such settlers were not provided with food and medicine. The authorities did not take into account the time of year, so if it happened in winter, people often froze and died of hunger. The exact number of victims is still being established. There are still debates about this in society. Some defenders of the Stalinist regime believe that we are talking about hundreds of thousands of “everything.” Others point to millions of forcibly resettled people, and of these, about 1/5 to half died due to the complete lack of any living conditions.

In 1929, the authorities decided to abandon conventional forms of imprisonment and move to new ones, reform the system in this direction, and introduce correctional labor. Preparations began for the creation of the Gulag, which many quite rightly compare with the German death camps. It is characteristic that the Soviet authorities often used various events, for example, the murder of the plenipotentiary representative Voikov in Poland, to deal with political opponents and simply unwanted people. In particular, Stalin responded to this by demanding the immediate liquidation of the monarchists by any means. At the same time, no connection was even established between the victim and those to whom such measures were applied. As a result, 20 representatives of the former Russian nobility were shot, about 9 thousand people were arrested and subjected to repression. The exact number of victims has not yet been established.

Sabotage

It should be noted that the Soviet regime was completely dependent on specialists trained in Russian Empire. Firstly, at the time of the 30s, not much time had passed, and our own specialists, in fact, were absent or were too young and inexperienced. And all scientists, without exception, received training in monarchist educational institutions. Secondly, very often science openly contradicted what the Soviet government was doing. The latter, for example, rejected genetics as such, considering it too bourgeois. There was no study of the human psyche; psychiatry had a punitive function, that is, in fact, it did not fulfill its main task.

As a result, the Soviet authorities began to accuse many specialists of sabotage. The USSR did not recognize such concepts as incompetence, including those that arose in connection with poor preparation or incorrect assignment, mistake, or miscalculation. The real physical condition of employees of a number of enterprises was ignored, which is why common mistakes were sometimes made. In addition, mass repressions could arise on the basis of suspiciously frequent, according to the authorities, contacts with foreigners, publication of works in the Western press. A striking example– The Pulkovo case, when a huge number of astronomers, mathematicians, engineers and other scientists suffered. Moreover, in the end, only a small number were rehabilitated: many were shot, some died during interrogations or in prison.

The Pulkovo case very clearly demonstrates another terrible moment of Stalin’s repressions: the threat to loved ones, as well as the slander of others under torture. Not only the scientists suffered, but also the wives who supported them.

Grain procurement

Constant pressure on peasants, half-starvation, grain weaning, and labor shortages negatively affected the pace of grain procurements. However, Stalin did not know how to admit mistakes, which became official government policy. By the way, it is for this reason that any rehabilitation, even of those who were convicted by accident, by mistake or instead of a namesake, took place after the death of the tyrant.

But let's return to the topic of grain procurements. For objective reasons, fulfilling the norm was not always possible and not everywhere. And in connection with this, the “culprits” were punished. Moreover, in some places entire villages were repressed. Soviet power also fell on the heads of those who simply allowed the peasants to keep their grain as an insurance fund or for sowing the next year.

There were things to suit almost every taste. Cases of the Geological Committee and the Academy of Sciences, "Spring", the Siberian Brigade... Complete and detailed description can take up many volumes. And this despite the fact that all the details have not yet been disclosed; many NKVD documents continue to remain classified.

Historians attribute some relaxation that occurred in 1933–1934 primarily to the fact that the prisons were overcrowded. In addition, it was necessary to reform the punitive system, which was not aimed at such mass participation. This is how the Gulag came into being.

Great Terror

The main terror occurred in 1937-1938, when, according to various sources, up to 1.5 million people suffered, more than 800 thousand of them were shot or killed in other ways. However, the exact number is still being established, and there is quite an active debate on this matter.

Characteristic was the NKVD order No. 00447, which officially launched the mechanism of mass repressions against former kulaks, Socialist Revolutionaries, monarchists, re-emigrants and so on. At the same time, everyone was divided into 2 categories: more and less dangerous. Both groups were subject to arrest, the first had to be shot, the second had to be given a sentence of 8 to 10 years on average.

Among the victims of Stalin's repressions there were quite a few relatives taken into custody. Even if family members could not be convicted of anything, they were still automatically registered, and sometimes forcibly relocated. If the father and (or) mother were declared “enemies of the people,” then this put an end to the opportunity to make a career, often to getting an education. Such people often found themselves surrounded by an atmosphere of horror and were subjected to boycott.

The Soviet authorities could also persecute on the basis of nationality and previous citizenship of certain countries. So, in 1937 alone, 25 thousand Germans, 84.5 thousand Poles, almost 5.5 thousand Romanians, 16.5 thousand Latvians, 10.5 thousand Greeks, 9 thousand 735 Estonians, 9 thousand Finns, 2 thousand Iranians, 400 Afghans. At the same time, persons of the nationality against which repression was carried out were dismissed from industry. And from the army - persons belonging to a nationality not represented on the territory of the USSR. All this happened under the leadership of Yezhov, but, which does not even require separate evidence, without a doubt, was directly related to Stalin, and was constantly personally controlled by him. Many execution lists bear his signature. And we are talking about, in total, hundreds of thousands of people.

It's ironic that recent stalkers have often become victims. Thus, one of the leaders of the described repressions, Yezhov, was shot in 1940. The sentence was put into effect the very next day after the trial. Beria became the head of the NKVD.

Stalin's repressions spread to new territories along with the Soviet regime itself. The purges were ongoing, they were mandatory elements control. And with the onset of the 40s they did not stop.

Repressive mechanism during the Great Patriotic War

Even the Great Patriotic War could not stop the repressive machine, although it partially extinguished the scale, because the USSR needed people at the front. However, now there is an excellent way to get rid of unwanted people - sending them to the front line. It is unknown exactly how many died while carrying out such orders.

At the same time, the military situation became much tougher. Suspicion alone was enough to shoot even without the appearance of a trial. This practice was called “prison decongestion.” It was especially widely used in Karelia, the Baltic states, and Western Ukraine.

The tyranny of the NKVD intensified. Thus, execution became possible not even by a court verdict or some extra-judicial body, but simply by order of Beria, whose powers began to increase. They don’t like to publicize this point widely, but the NKVD did not stop its activities even in Leningrad during the siege. Then they arrested up to 300 students from higher educational institutions on trumped-up charges. 4 were shot, many died in isolation wards or in prisons.

Everyone is able to say unequivocally whether the detachments can be considered a form of repression, but they definitely made it possible to get rid of unwanted people, and quite effectively. However, the authorities continued to persecute in more traditional forms. Filtration detachments awaited everyone who was captured. Moreover, if an ordinary soldier could still prove his innocence, especially if he was captured wounded, unconscious, sick or frostbitten, then the officers, as a rule, were waiting for the Gulag. Some were shot.

As Soviet power spread throughout Europe, intelligence was involved in the return and trial of emigrants by force. In Czechoslovakia alone, according to some sources, 400 people suffered from its actions. Quite serious damage in this regard was caused to Poland. Often, the repressive mechanism affected not only Russian citizens, but also Poles, some of whom were extrajudicially executed for resisting Soviet power. Thus, the USSR broke the promises it made to its allies.

Post-war events

After the war, the repressive apparatus was deployed again. Overly influential military men, especially those close to Zhukov, doctors who were in contact with the allies (and scientists) were under threat. The NKVD could also arrest Germans in the Soviet zone of responsibility for attempting to contact residents of other regions under the control of Western countries. The unfolding campaign against individuals looks like black irony Jewish nationality. Last loud process became the so-called “Doctors’ Plot,” which collapsed only in connection with the death of Stalin.

Use of torture

Later, during the Khrushchev Thaw, the Soviet prosecutor's office itself investigated the cases. The facts of mass falsification and obtaining confessions under torture, which were used very widely, were recognized. Marshal Blucher was killed as a result of numerous beatings, and in the process of extracting testimony from Eikhe, his spine was broken. There are cases when Stalin personally demanded that certain prisoners be beaten.

In addition to beatings, sleep deprivation, placement in too cold or, on the contrary, too hot room without clothes, and hunger strike were also practiced. The handcuffs were periodically not removed for days, and sometimes for months. Correspondence and any contact with the outside world were prohibited. Some were “forgotten”, that is, they were arrested, and then the cases were not considered and no specific decision was made until Stalin’s death. This, in particular, is indicated by the order signed by Beria, which ordered an amnesty for those who were arrested before 1938 and for whom a decision had not yet been made. We are talking about people who have been waiting for their fate to be decided for at least 14 years! This can also be considered a kind of torture.

Stalinist statements

Understanding the very essence of Stalin's repressions in the present is of fundamental importance, if only because some still consider Stalin to be an impressive leader who saved the country and the world from fascism, without which the USSR would have been doomed. Many try to justify his actions by saying that in this way he boosted the economy, ensured industrialization, or protected the country. In addition, some are trying to downplay the number of victims. In general, the exact number of victims is one of the most disputed issues today.

However, in fact, to assess the personality of this person, as well as everyone who carried out his criminal orders, even the recognized minimum of those convicted and executed is sufficient. During the fascist regime of Mussolini in Italy, a total of 4.5 thousand people were subjected to repression. His political enemies were either expelled from the country or placed in prisons, where they were given the opportunity to write books. Of course, no one is saying that Mussolini is getting better from this. Fascism cannot be justified.

But what assessment can be given to Stalinism at the same time? And taking into account the repressions that were carried out on ethnic grounds, it at least has one of the signs of fascism - racism.

Characteristic signs of repression

Stalin's repressions have several characteristic features, which only emphasize what they were. This:

1. Mass character. The exact data depends heavily on estimates, whether relatives are taken into account or not, internally displaced people or not. Depending on the method of calculation, it ranges from 5 to 40 million.
2. Cruelty. The repressive mechanism did not spare anyone, people were subjected to cruel, inhumane treatment, starved, tortured, relatives were killed in front of their eyes, loved ones were threatened, and forced to abandon family members.
3. Focus on protecting party power and against the interests of the people. In fact, we can talk about genocide. Neither Stalin nor his other henchmen were at all interested in how the constantly decreasing peasantry should provide everyone with bread, which is actually beneficial production sector, how science will move forward with the arrest and execution of prominent figures. This clearly demonstrates that the real interests of the people were ignored.
4. Injustice. People could suffer simply because they had property in the past. Wealthy peasants and the poor who took their side, supported them, and somehow protected them. Persons of “suspicious” nationality. Relatives who returned from abroad. Sometimes academicians and prominent scientific figures who contacted their foreign colleagues to publish data about invented drugs after they received official permission from the authorities for such actions could be punished.
5. Connection with Stalin. The extent to which everything was tied to this figure can be eloquently seen from the cessation of a number of cases immediately after his death. Many rightly accused Lavrentiy Beria of cruelty and inappropriate behavior, but even he, through his actions, recognized the false nature of many cases, the unjustified cruelty used by NKVD officers. And it was he who banned physical measures against prisoners. Again, as in the case of Mussolini, there is no question of justification here. It’s just about emphasizing.
6. Illegality. Some of the executions were carried out not only without trial, but also without the participation of judicial authorities as such. But even when there was a trial, it was exclusively about the so-called “simplified” mechanism. This meant that the trial was carried out without a defense, exclusively with the prosecution and the accused being heard. There was no practice of reviewing cases; the court's decision was final, often carried out the next day. At the same time, there were widespread violations even of the legislation of the USSR itself, which was in force at that time.
7. Inhumanity. The repressive apparatus violated the basic human rights and freedoms that had been proclaimed in the civilized world for several centuries at that time. Researchers see no difference between the treatment of prisoners in the dungeons of the NKVD and how the Nazis behaved towards prisoners.
8. Unfounded. Despite the attempts of the Stalinists to demonstrate the presence of some kind of underlying reason, there is not the slightest reason to believe that anything was aimed at any good goal or helped to achieve it. Indeed, a lot was built by the GULAG prisoners, but it was the forced labor of people who were greatly weakened due to the conditions of their detention and the constant lack of food. Consequently, errors in production, defects and in general are very low level qualities - all this inevitably arose. This situation also could not but affect the pace of construction. Taking into account the expenses that the Soviet government incurred to create the Gulag, its maintenance, as well as such a large-scale apparatus as a whole, it would be much more rational to simply pay for the same labor.

The assessment of Stalin's repressions has not yet been definitively made. However, it is beyond any doubt clear that this is one of the worst pages in world history.

WHAT WAS THE SCALE OF “STALIN’S REPRESSIONS”?

Introduction - How much was repressed - Number of prisoners - How many of the prisoners were “political” - Mortality among prisoners

All kinds of exposers of “Stalin’s crimes,” starting from A. Solzhenitsyn with E. Radzinsky and ending with R. Conquist, name an absolutely fantastic number of “victims of repression”: 60, 80, finally 100 million dead. However, this is not the limit. Recently, in a speech by Yuri Karyakin, we talked about 120 million. It is easy to see the absurdity of these figures. It is enough to open any demographic directory and make simple calculations. And for those who are too lazy to do this, we will give a small illustrative example.

According to the population census conducted in January 1959, the population of the USSR was 208.827 thousand Human.

By the end of 1913, people lived within the same borders 159.153 thousand person (1).

So the average annual growth population of our country

between 1914 and 1959 was 0.60%.

For comparison, we present data on how the population of England, France and Germany grew during this period - countries that also took an active part in both world wars (2).

1913 1959 Annual increase

RUSSIA 160 million 210 million 0,60

1920, thousand 1960, thousand annual growth, %

England 43718 52559 0,46

France 38750 45684 0,41

Germany 61794 72664 0,41

(GDR: 17241, West Berlin: 2199, Germany: 53224)

So what do we see? The population growth rate in the Stalinist USSR is almost one and a half times higher than in the “Western democracies”, although for these countries we excluded extremely unfavorable demographically, the years of the 1st World War.

Could this have happened if under Stalin half the country’s population (100 million) or at least a third (60 million) had been destroyed?

Almost all publications addressing the issue of the number of repressed people can be classified into two groups. The first of them includes works by denouncers of the “totalitarian regime”, calling astronomical multi-million dollar figures shot and imprisoned. At the same time, the “truth seekers” are trying hard ignore archived data, including and published, pretending that they do not exist. However, it has long been known that in addition to “eyewitness memories” there is a lot of documentary sources. In the funds of the Central state archive October Revolution, supreme bodies state power and government bodies of the USSR (TsGAOR USSR) identified several thousand document storage units related to the activities of the Gulag.

Having studied archival documents, the researcher is surprised to discover that the scale of repression, which we “know” about thanks to the media, not only diverges from reality, but inflated tenfold. After this, he finds himself in a painful dilemma: professional ethics demands to publish the data found, on the other hand, he does not want to be known as a defender of Stalin. The result is usually some kind of “compromise” publication containing both standard set anti-Stalinist epithets and curtsies addressed to Solzhenitsyn and Co., as well as information about the number of repressed people, which, unlike publications from the first group, was not taken out of thin air and not pulled out of thin air, but was confirmed by documents from the archives.

How much has been repressed?

In connection with signals received by the Central Committee of the CPSU from a number of persons about illegal convictions for counter-revolutionary crimes in past years by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, the Special Meeting, the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals and in accordance with your instructions on the need to review the cases of persons convicted for counter-revolutionary crimes and currently held in camps and prisons, we report: for the time from 1921 to present for counter-revolutionary crimes

was convicted 3,777,380 people, including

to VMN (to execution - NM) - 642,980 people,

Of the total number of convicts, approximately the following were convicted:

2,900,000 people- Collegium of the OGPU, troikas of the NKVD and the Special Meeting and

877.000 people - by courts, military tribunals, the Special Board and the Military Board.

It should be noted that created on the basis of the Resolution of the Central Executive Committee and the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR from November 5, 1934 Special meeting at the NKVD USSR that lasted before September 1, 1953,

was convicted 442.531 people, including

to VMN - 10,101 people,

to imprisonment — 360.921 Human,

to other penalties (credit of time spent in custody, deportation abroad, compulsory treatment) — 3,970 people …

Prosecutor General R. Rudenko

Minister of Internal Affairs S. Kruglov

Minister of Justice K. Gorshenin

So, as is clear from the above document, total from 1921 to early 1954% were sentenced on political charges

642,980 people to death penalty,

It should also be borne in mind that not all sentences were carried out. For example, from July 15, 1939 to April 20, 1940 for disorganizing camp life and production he was sentenced to capital punishment 201 prisoners, however then parts of them the death penalty was replaced by imprisonment for terms of 10 to 15 years (3). Prisoners were kept in the camps sentenced to capital punishment with the replacement of imprisonment: in 1934― 3849, in 1935 ― 5671 , in 1936 - 7303, in 1937 - 6239, in 1938 - 5926 , in 1939 - 3425, in 1940 - 40374.

Number of prisoners

“Are you sure that the information from this memo is true?” the skeptical reader will exclaim. Well, let’s turn to more detailed statistics, especially since, contrary to the assurances of dedicated “fighters against totalitarianism,” such data is not only available in the archives, but also published several times.

Let's start with data on the number of prisoners in the Gulag camps. Let me remind you that those sentenced to a term of over 3 years, as a rule, served their sentence in forced labor camps(ITL), and those sentenced to short terms - in correctional labor colonies(ITK).

However, those who are accustomed to taking the opuses of Solzhenitsyn and others like him for Holy Bible, often even direct references to archival documents are not convincing. “These are NKVD documents, and therefore they are falsified. - they say. “Where did the figures given in them come from?” Two specific examples, where “these numbers” come from. So, year 1935:

Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners

1930 179.000 1936 839.406 1942 1.415.596 1948 1.108.057

1931 212.000 1937 820.881 1943 983.974 1949 1.216.361

1932 268.700 1938 996.367 1944 663.594 1950 1.416.300

1933 334.300 1939 1.317.195 1945 715.505 1951 1.533.767

1934 510.307 1940 1.344.408 1946 746.871 1952 1.711.202

1935 725.483 1941 1.500.524 1947 808.839 1953 1.727.970

NKVD camps, their economic specialization

Camp Economic specialization Number of workers

DMITROVLAG Construction of the Moscow-Volga canal 192.649

BAMLAG Builds the second tracks of Transbaikal

and Ussuriyskaya railway and Baikal-Amur Mainline 153.547

White Sea-Baltic Combine. Construction of Belomor. channel 66.444

SIBLAG Construction in the Gorno-Shorskaya railway. d.;

coal mining in the mines of Kuzbass; construction of the Chuisky and Usinsky tracts;

provision of labor to the Kuznetsk Metallurgical Plant,

Novsibles and others; own pig farms 61.251

DALLAG(later Vladivostoklag ) Construction railway

"Volochaevka-Komsomolsk"; coal mining at the Artem mines and

"Raichikha"; construction of the Sedan water pipeline and oil storage facilities

"Benzostroya"; construction works"Dalpromstroy", "Reserves Committee",

aircraft buildings No. 126; fisheries 60.417

SVIRLAG. Procurement of firewood and commercial timber for Leningrad 40.032

SEVVOSTLAG Trust "Dalstroy", work in Kolyma 36.010

TEMLAG, Mordovian ASSR Procurement of firewood and industrial timber for Moscow 33.048

SAZLAG (Central Asian) Providing labor to Tekstilstroy, Chirchikstroy, Shakhrudstroy, Khazarbakhstroy, Chuisky Novlubtrest, and the Pakhta-Aral state farm; own cotton state farms 26,829

Karaganda camp (Karlag) Livestock state farms 25.109

Ukhtpechlag. Works of the Ukhto-Pechora trust: coal mining,

oil, asphalt, radium, etc. 20.656

Prorvlag (later Astrakhanlag) Fishing industry 10.583

Sarov camp NKVD Logging and sawmilling 3.337

Vaygach. Mining of zinc, lead, platinum spar 1.209

Okhunlag. Road construction 722

On the way to camps 9.756

Total 741,599

1939

Number of prisoners in NKVD camps

See the table in the book

Total 1,317,195

However, as I wrote above, in addition to ITL there were also ITK - correctional labor colonies. Until the fall of 1938, they, together with the prisons, were subordinate to the Department of Places of Detention (OMP) of the NKVD. Therefore, for the years 1935-1938 we have so far managed to find only joint statistics:

Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners Year of Prisoners

1930 179.000 1936 839.406 1942 1.415.596 1948 1.108.057

1931 212.000 1937 820.881 1943 983.974 1949 1.216.361

1932 268.700 1938 996.367 1944 663.594 1950 1.416.300

1933 334.300 1939 1.317.195 1945 715.505 1951 1.533.767

1934 510.307 1940 1.344.408 1946 746.871 1952 1.711.202

1935 725.483 1941 1.500.524 1947 808.839 1953 1.727.970

Year of the Prisoners

Since 1939, penitentiary colonies were under the jurisdiction of the Gulag, and prisons were under the jurisdiction of the Main Prison Directorate (GTU) of the NKVD.

Year of Prisoners Year of Prison. Year of the Prisoners

1939 335.243 1944 516.225 1949 1.140.324

1940 315.584 1945 745.171 1950 1.145.051

1941 429.205 1946 956.224 1951 994.379

1942 361.447 1947 912.704 1952 793.312

1943 500.208 1948 1.091.478 1953 740.554

Number of prisoners in prisons (10 )

MARCH: 350.538 190.266 487.739 277.992 235.313 155.213 279.969 261.500 306.163 275.850

MAY 281.891 195.582 437.492 298.081 237.246 177.657 272.113 278.666 323.492 256.771

JULY 225.242 196.028 332.936 262.464 248.778 191.309 269.526 268.117 326.369 239.612

SEPTEMBER: 185.514 217.819 216.223 217.327 196.119 218.245 263.819 253.757 360.878 228.031

DECEMBER 178.258 401.146 229.217 201.547 170.767 267.885 191.930 259.078 349.035 228.258

186.278 434.871 247.404 221.669 171.708 272.486

235.092 290.984 284.642 230.614

The information in the table is given for the middle of each month. In addition, again for particularly stubborn anti-Stalinists, a separate column provides information for January 1 of each year (highlighted in red), taken from an article by A. Kokurin posted on the Memorial website. This article, among other things, contains links to specific archival documents. In addition, those interested can read an article by the same author in the magazine “Military Historical Archive” (11).

SUMMARY TABLE

number of prisoners in the USSR under Stalin:

Year of the Prisoners

1935 1936 1937 1938 1939

965.742 1.296.494 1.196.369 1.881.570 2.004.946

Year of the Prisoners

1940 1941 1942 1943 1944

1.846.270 2.400.422 2.045.575 1.721.716 1.331.115

Year of the Prisoners

1945 1946 1947 1948 1949

1.736.186 1.948.241 2.014.678 2.479.909 2.587.732

Year of the Prisoners

1950 1951 1952 1953

2.760.095 2.692.825 2.657.128 2.620.814

It cannot be said that these figures are some kind of revelation. Since 1990, this type of data has been presented in a number of publications. Yes, in the article L. Ivashova And A. Emelin, published in 1991, it is stated that total prisoners in camps and colonies

on 1.03. 1940 was 1,668,200 people,

on June 22, 1941 - 2.3 million( 12);

as of July 1, 1944 - 1.2 million (13).

V. Nekrasov in his book “Thirteen “Iron” People’s Commissars” reports that

"in places of deprivation of liberty"

in 1933 there was 334 thousand prisoners, prisoners

in 1934 - 510 thousand, in 1935 - 991 thousand,

in 1936 - 1296 thousand14;

According to A. Kokurina and N. Petrova(especially significant, since both authors are associated with the Memorial society, and N. Petrov is even an employee of Memorial), at 1.07. 1944. in the camps and colonies of the NKVD they were kept about 1.2 million. prisoners (17), and in NKVD prisons on the same date - 204. 290 (18).

As of 12/30/1945 There were about 640 thousand prisoners in NKVD forced labor camps, about 730 thousand in forced labor colonies, about 250 thousand in prisons, about 38 thousand in correctional centers, about 21 thousand in juvenile colonies ., in special camps and prisons of the NKVD in Germany - about 84 thousand (19).

Finally, here are data on the number of prisoners in places of deprivation of liberty subordinate to the territorial bodies of the Gulag, taken directly from the already mentioned Memorial website:

January 1935 307.093

January 1937 375.376

1.01.1939 381.581

1.01.1941 434.624

1.01.1945 745.171

1.01.1949 1.139.874

So, let's summarize. During the entire period of Stalin's reign, the number of prisoners simultaneously held in places of deprivation of liberty never exceeded 2 million 760 thousand (naturally, not counting German, Japanese and other prisoners of war). Thus, there can be no talk of any “tens of millions of Gulag prisoners.”

Number of prisoners per capita.

On January 1, 1941, as can be seen from the table above, total number prisoners in the USSR amounted to 2,400,422 people. The exact population of the USSR at this time is unknown, but is usually estimated at 190-195 million.

We get from 1230 to 1260 prisoners for every 100 thousand population.

In January 1950, the number of prisoners in the USSR was 2,760,095 people. This maximum rate during the entire reign of Stalin. The population of the USSR at that time was 178 million 547 thousand (20).

We get 1546 prisoners per 100 thousand population.

Now let's calculate similar figure for modern USA.

Currently, there are two types of prisons:

jail is an approximate analogue of our temporary detention centers; jails house those under investigation, as well as serve sentences for those sentenced to short terms, and

prison - the prison itself.

As of mid-1998 (when this article was first published) per 100 thousand American population accounted for 693 prisoners. N and the end of 1999 kept in prisons 1.366.721 man in jails - 687.973 (see: Bureau of Law Statistics website), which adds up to 2.054.694. US population at the end of 1999: approx. 275 million(see: US population), therefore, we get 747 prisoners per 100 thousand population.

Average annual 1990-1998 the increase in the number of inhabitants was in jails — 4,9%, in prisons - 6,9%. So, at the end of 1999 this figure in the USA half as much as in the USSR under Stalin, but not tenfold. And if we take into account the growth rate of this indicator , then, you see, in ten years the USA will catch up and overtake the Stalinist USSR.

By the way, in one Internet discussion an objection was raised - they say that these figures include all arrested Americans, including those who were detained for several days. Let me emphasize again: by the end of 1999, there were more than 2 million prisoners in the United States who were serving time or in pre-trial detention. As for the arrests, they were made in 1998 14.5 million(see: FBI report).

Now a few words about the total number of visitors under Stalin in places of detention. Of course, if you take the table above and add up the rows, the result will be incorrect, since Most Gulag prisoners were sentenced to more than a year. However, in to a certain extent The following note (21) allows us to estimate the number of people who went through the Gulag:

To the head of the Gulag of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, Major General Egorov S.E.

In total, the GULAG units store 11 million units of archival materials, of which 9.5 million make up personal files of prisoners.

Head of the Gulag Secretariat of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs. Major Podymov

How many of the prisoners were “political”?

It is fundamentally wrong to believe that the majority of those imprisoned under Stalin were “victims of political repression”:

Number of people convicted of counter-revolutionary and other crimes

especially dangerous state crimes (22)

Years 1921 to 1953 capital punishment, camps, colonies and prisons, exile and expulsion other measures total convicted %

Total 799 455 2 634 397 413 512 215 942 4 060306

capital punishment 799 455

camps, colonies and prisons 2 634 397

other measures 215 942

Total convicted 4 060 306

By “other measures” we mean credit for time spent in custody, forced treatment and deportation abroad.

For 1953, information is provided only for the first half of the year.

From this table it follows that there were slightly more “repressed” than indicated in the above report addressed to Khrushchev - 799.455 sentenced to death instead of 642.980 and 2,634,397 sentenced to imprisonment instead of 2,369,220. However, this difference is relatively small - the numbers are of the same order.

In addition, there is one more point - it is very possible that a fair number of criminals were included in the above table. The fact is that on one of the certificates stored in the archives, on the basis of which this table was compiled, there is a pencil note:

"The total number of people convicted of 1921–1938 - 2,944,879 people, of them 30% (1,062 thousand) are criminals” (23). In this case the total number of “repressed” does not exceed 3 million. However, to finally clarify this issue, it is necessary extra work with sources."

PERCENTAGE of “repressed” from the total number of GULAG inhabitants:

Composition of the NKVD Gulag camps for counter-revolutionary crimes (240)

Year quantity % to the entire composition of the camps

1939 34.5

1940 33.1

1941 28.7

1942 29.6

1943 35.6

1944 40.7

1945 41.2

1946 59.2

1947 54.3

1948 38.0

1949 34.9

* In camps and colonies.

The composition of the inhabitants of the Gulag at some moments of its existence.

Composition of prisoners in correctional labor camps for the crimes charged

Charged crimes Number %

Counter-revolutionary crimes 417381 32,87

including:

Trotskyists, Zinovievites, rightists 17,621 1.39

treason 1,473 0.12

terror 12,710 1.00

sabotage 5,737 0.45

espionage 16,440 1.29

sabotage 25,941 2.04

manager counter-rev. organizations 4,493 0.35

anti-Soviet propaganda 178 979 14.10

other counter-rev. crimes 133 423 10,51

family members of traitors to the Motherland 13,241 1.04

without instructions 7,323 0.58

Particularly dangerous crimes

against the order of government 46374 3,65

including:

banditry and robbery 29514 2.32

defectors 13924 1.10

other crimes 2936 0.23

Other crimes

against the order of government 182421 14,37

including:

hooliganism 90291 7.11

speculation 31652 2.50

violation of the law on passporting 19747 1.55

other crimes 40731 3.21

Theft of social property Quantity %%

Official and economic crimes 96193 7.58

Crimes against the person 66708 5.25

Property crimes 152096 11.98

Social harmful and social dangerous element 2 20835 17,39

Military crimes 11067 0.87

Other crimes 41706 3.29

Without instructions 11455 0.90

Total 1269785 100.00

REFERENCE on the number of people convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes and banditry held in camps and colonies of the Ministry of Internal Affairs as of July 1, 1946(26)

By nature of crime In camps In colonies % Total %

Total number of convicted 616.731 755.255 1.371.986

Of these, for counter-revolutionary crimes, 354,568 26%

including:

58–1. Treason to the Motherland (Article 58-1)

Espionage (58-6)

Terrorism

Sabotage (58-7)

Sabotage (58-9)

Kr sabotage (58-14)

Participation in an anti-Soviet conspiracy (58 - 2, 3, 4, 5, 11)

Anti-Soviet agitation (58 -10)

Political banditry (58-2, 5, 9)

Illegal border crossing

Smuggling

Family members of traitors to the Motherland

Socially dangerous elements

Head of the Gulag Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR Aleshinsky

Pom. Head of the Gulag Department of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR Yatsevich

Composition of Gulag prisoners by nature of crimes

Counter-revolutionary crimes:

Treason to the Motherland(Art. 58- 1a, b)

Espionage(Art. 58- 1a, b, 6; Art. 193-24)

Members of the families of traitors to the Motherland (Art. 58-1v)

Participation in a/c conspiracies, a/c organizations and groups (Article 58, paragraphs 2, 3, 4, 5, 11)

Insurgency and political banditry(Article 58, paragraph 2; 59, paragraphs 2, 3, 3b)

Sabotage(Art. 58- 7 )

Terror and terrorist intent(Art. 58- 8 )

Sabotage(Art. 58- 9 )

Anti-Soviet agitation(Art. 58- 10, 59 -7)

Counter-revolutionary sabotage(vv. 58-14)

sabotage (for refusing to work in the camp) (vv. 58-14)

sabotage (for running away from places of detention) (Article 58-14)

Socially dangerous element

Other counter-revolutionary crimes

Total number of people convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes: in 1951― 334 538

in 1948― 103942

Criminal offenses

Speculation

Banditry and armed robbery(Article 59-3, 167), committed not in places of detention

Banditry and armed robberies (Articles 59-3, 167), committed while serving a sentence

Premeditated murders(Articles 136, 137, 138), committed outside of prison

Intentional murders (Articles 136, 137, 138) committed in places of detention

Illegal border crossing(vv.59-10, 84)

Smuggling activities(vv.59-9, 83)

Cattle stealing(Article 166)

Repeat thieves(Article 162-c)

Property crimes(vv. 162-178)

Violation of the passport law(Article 192-a)

For harboring deportees, fleeing places of compulsory settlement, or complicity

Socially harmful element

Desertion(Article 193-7)

Self-harm(Article 193-12)

Marauding(vv. 193-27)

Other military crimes (Article 193, except paragraphs 7, 12, 17, 24, 27)

Illegal possession of weapons (Article 182)

Official and economic crimes (Article 59-3c, 109-121, 193 paragraphs 17, 18)

According to the Decree of June 26, 1940(unauthorized departure from enterprises and institutions and absenteeism)

According to the Decrees of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR (except for those listed above)

Other criminal offenses

Total criminal convictions

Total: 2.528146 1.533767 994.379

Thus, among the prisoners held in the Gulag camps, the majority were criminals, and As a rule, there were less than 1/3 of the “repressed”.

The exception is 1944-1948 years when this category received a worthy addition in the person of Vlasovites, policemen, elders and other “fighters against communist tyranny.” The percentage of “political” ones in correctional labor colonies was even smaller.

Mortality among prisoners

Available archival documents make it possible to illuminate this issue.

Mortality of prisoners in Gulag camps28

Year Average number

Prisoners Died %

The average number of prisoners is taken as the arithmetic mean between the figures for January 1 and December 31.

Mortality in the colonies on the eve of the war was lower than in the camps. For example, in 1939 it was 2.30% (30).

Mortality of prisoners in Gulag colonies (31)

Year Wed. number of s/c Died %

1949 1.142.688 13966 1,22

1950 1.069.715 9983 0,93

1951 893.846 8079 0,90

1952 766.933 7045 0,92

Thus, the mortality rate of prisoners under Stalin was kept at a very low level. However, during the war the situation of Gulag prisoners worsened. Nutritional standards were significantly reduced, which immediately led to a sharp increase in mortality. By 1944, the nutritional standards for Gulag prisoners were slightly increased, but even after this they remained approximately 30% lower in caloric content than pre-war nutritional standards (32).

However, even in the most difficult years of 1942 and 1943, the death rate of prisoners was about 20% per year in camps and about 10% per year in prisons, A not 10% per month, as stated, for example , A. Solzhenitsyn. By the beginning of the 1950s, in camps and colonies it fell below 1% per year, and in prisons - below 0.5%.

In conclusion, a few words should be said about the notorious Special Camps (special camps). They were created by resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 416-159ss dated February 21, 1948 In these camps, as well as in the Special Prisons that already existed by that time, they were supposed to hold all those sentenced to imprisonment for espionage, sabotage, terror, as well as Trotskyists, right-wingers, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists, white emigrants, members of anti-Soviet organizations and groups and “persons who pose a danger due to their anti-Soviet connections.” Prisoners of special prisons should have been used on heavy physical work (33).

February 15, 1952 Certificate of the presence of a special contingent held in special camps on January 1, 1952.

No. Name of special camp

1 Mineral 4012 284 1020 347 7 36 63 23 11688 46 4398 8367 30292

2 Gorny 1884 237 606 84 6 5 4 1 95 46 24 2542 5279 20218

3 Dubravny 1088 397 699 278 5 51 70 16 7068 223 4708 9632 24235

4 Stepnoy 1460 229 714 62 — 16 4 3 10682 42 3067 6209 22488

5 Beregovoi 2954 559 1266 109 6 - 5 - 13574 11 3142 10363 31989

6 Rechnoy 2539 480 1 429 164 — 2 2 8 14683 43 2292 13617 35459

7 Ozerny 2350 671 1527 198 12 6 2 8 7625 379 5105 14441 32342

8 Sandy 2008 688 1203 211 4 23 20 9 13987 116 8014 12571 38854

9 Kamyshevy 174 118 471 57 1 1 2 1 3973 5 558 2890 8251

Spies: 18475

Saboteurs: 3663

Terror 8935

Trotskyists 1510

Mensheviks 41

Right Socialist Revolutionaries 140190

Anarchists 69

Nationalists 93026

Beloeitgrants 884

Antisov participants. organizations 33826

Dangerous element 83369

TOTAL: 244,128

Deputy Head of the 2nd Department of the 2nd Directorate of the Gulag, Major Maslov (34)

As can be seen from the table, in 8 special facilities according to which information is given, out of 168,994 prisoners died in the fourth quarter of 1950 487 (0,29%), which, in annual terms, corresponds to 1,15%. That is, only slightly more than in ordinary camps. Contrary to popular belief, special camps were not “death camps” in which dissident intellectuals were supposedly exterminated, and the largest contingent of their inhabitants were “nationalists” are forest brothers and their accomplices.

Notes

1. A. Dugin. Stalinism: legends and facts // Slovo. 1990, no. 7. P.24. 2. Ibid. P.26.

3. V.N.Zemskov. GULAG (historical and sociological aspect) // Sociological studies. 1991, no. 6. P.15.

4. V.N.Zemskov. Prisoners in the 1930s : socio-demographic Problems // National history. 1997, no. 4. P.67.

5. A. Dugin. Stalinism: legends and facts // Slovo. 1990, no. 7. P.23;

Due to the fact that a memo to Khrushchev on the number of convicted people from 1921 to 1953 has once again come to light, I cannot ignore the topic of repression.

The memo itself and, most importantly, the information it contains, became known to many people interested in politics for quite a long time. The note contains absolutely accurate numbers of repressed citizens. Of course, these numbers are not small and they will frighten and terrify a person who knows the topic. But as you know, everything is learned by comparison. This is what we will do, we will compare.

Those who have not yet managed to remember the exact numbers of repressions by heart - you now have such an opportunity.

So, from 1921 to 1953, 642,980 people were executed; 765,180 people were exiled

Placed in detention - 2,369,220 people.

Total - 3,777,380

Anyone who dares to say a figure even somewhat large about the scale of repression is blatantly and shamelessly lying. Many people have questions: why are the numbers so large? Well, let's figure it out.

Amnesty of the Provisional Government.

One of the reasons why so many people were repressed by the Soviet government was the general amnesty of the provisional government. And to be more precise, Kerensky. You don’t have to go far to find this data, you don’t have to rummage through the archives, just open Wikipedia and type “Provisional Government”:

A general political amnesty has been declared in Russia, and the prison terms of persons held in custody under court sentences for general criminal offenses have been reduced by half. About 90 thousand prisoners were released, among whom were thousands of thieves and raiders, popularly nicknamed “Kerensky’s chicks” (Wiki).

On March 6, the Provisional Government adopted a Decree on political amnesty. In total, as a result of the amnesty, more than 88 thousand prisoners were released, of which 67.8 thousand were convicted of criminal offenses. As a result of the amnesty, the total number of prisoners from March 1 to April 1, 1917 was reduced by 75%.

On March 17, 1917, the Provisional Government issued a Resolution “On easing the fate of persons who have committed criminal offenses,” i.e. on amnesty for those convicted of ordinary crimes. However, only those convicts who expressed their readiness to serve their Motherland on the battlefield were subject to amnesty.

The Provisional Government's hopes of recruiting prisoners into the army did not materialize, and many of those released fled from their units when possible. - Source

Thus, a huge number of criminals, thieves, murderers and other asocial elements were released, with whom the Soviet government would have to fight directly in the future. What can we say about the fact that all the exiled people who were not in prison quickly fled all over Russia after the amnesty.

Civil War.

There is nothing more terrible in the History of people and civilization than civil war.

A war in which brother goes against brother and son against father. When citizens of one country, subjects of one state kill each other on the basis of political and ideological differences.

We still haven't recovered from this civil war, let alone the state of society right after the civil war ended. And the realities of such events are such that after a civil war, in any, even the most democratic country in the world, the winning side will repress the losing side.

For the simple reason that in order for society to continue to develop, it must be holistic, unified, it must look forward to a bright future, and not engage in self-destruction. It is for this reason that those who did not accept defeat, those who did not accept new order, those who continue direct or hidden confrontation, those who continue to incite hatred and encourage people to fight, are subject to destruction.

Here you have political repression and persecution of the church. But not because pluralism of opinions is impermissible, but because these people actively participated in the civil war and did not stop their “struggle” after its end. This is another reason why so many people ended up in the Gulags.

Relative numbers.

And now we come to the most interesting thing, to comparison and the transition from absolute numbers to relative numbers.

Population of the USSR in 1920 - 137,727,000 people Population of the USSR in 1951 - 182,321,000 people

An increase of 44,594,000 people despite the civil war and the Second World War, which took far more lives than repression.

On average, we get that the population of the USSR in the period from 1921 to 1951 was 160 million people.

In total, 3,777,380 people were convicted in the USSR, which is two percent (2%) of the total average population of the country, 2% - in 30 years!!! Divide 2 by 30, it turns out that per year, 0.06% percent of general population. This is despite the civil war and the fight against fascist collaborators (collaborators, traitors and traitors who sided with Hitler) after the Great Patriotic War.

This means that every year 99.94% of law-abiding citizens of our Motherland quietly worked, worked, studied, received treatment, gave birth to children, invented, rested, and so on. In general, we lived the most normal human life.

Half the country was sitting. Half the country was guarded.

Well, the last and most important thing. Many people like to say that we supposedly sat half a third of the country, guarded a third of the country, and knocked on a third of the country. And the fact that in the memo only counter-revolutionary fighters are indicated, but if you add up the number of those who were imprisoned political reasons and those who were imprisoned - these figures will be generally terrible amounts.

Yes, the numbers are scary until you compare them with anything. Here is a table that shows the total number of prisoners, both repressed and criminals, both in prisons and in camps. And their comparison with the total number of prisoners in other countries

According to this table, it turns out that on average, in the Stalinist USSR there were 583 prisoners (both criminal and repressive) per 100,000 free people.

In the early 90s, at the height of crime in our country, only in criminal cases, without political repression, there were 647 prisoners per 100,000 free people.

The table shows the United States during the Clinton era. Quite calm years even before the world financial crisis, and even then, it turned out that in the United States there were 626 people in jail per 100 available.

I decided to do a little digging into modern numbers. According to WikiNews, there are currently 2,085,620 prisoners in the United States, which is 714 prisoners per 100,000.

And in Putin’s stable Russia, the number of prisoners has sharply decreased compared to the dashing 90s, and now we have 532 prisoners per 100,000.

In the 20s and ending in 1953. During this period, mass arrests took place and special camps for political prisoners were created. No historian can name the exact number of victims of Stalin's repressions. More than a million people were convicted under Article 58.

Origin of the term

Stalin's terror affected almost all sectors of society. For more than twenty years, Soviet citizens lived in constant fear - one wrong word or even a gesture could cost their lives. It is impossible to unequivocally answer the question of what Stalin’s terror was based on. But of course, the main component of this phenomenon is fear.

The word terror translated from Latin is “horror”. The method of governing a country based on instilling fear has been used by rulers since ancient times. For the Soviet leader historical example Ivan the Terrible served. Stalin's terror is in some ways more modern version Oprichnina.

Ideology

The midwife of history is what Karl Marx called violence. German philosopher I saw only evil in the safety and inviolability of members of society. Stalin used Marx's idea.

The ideological basis of the repressions that began in the 1920s was formulated in July 1928 in " Short course history of the All-Union Communist Party." At first, Stalin's terror was a class struggle, which was supposedly needed to resist the overthrown forces. But repressions continued even after all the so-called counter-revolutionaries ended up in camps or were shot. The peculiarity of Stalin's policy was the complete non-compliance with the Soviet Constitution.

If at the beginning of Stalin's repressions the state security agencies fought against opponents of the revolution, then by the mid-thirties arrests of old communists began - people selflessly devoted to the party. Ordinary Soviet citizens were already afraid not only of NKVD officers, but also of each other. Denunciation has become the main tool in the fight against “enemies of the people.”

Stalin's repressions were preceded by the "Red Terror", which began during the Civil War. These two political phenomena have many similarities. However, after the end of the Civil War, almost all cases of political crimes were based on falsification of charges. During the “Red Terror,” those who disagreed with the new regime, of whom there were many during the creation of the new state, were imprisoned and shot first of all.

The case of lyceum students

Officially, the period of Stalinist repressions began in 1922. But one of the first high-profile cases dates back to 1925. It was this year that a special department of the NKVD fabricated a case accusing graduates of the Alexander Lyceum of counter-revolutionary activities.

On February 15, over 150 people were arrested. Not all of them were related to the above educational institution. Among those convicted were former students of the School of Law and officers of the Semenovsky Life Guards Regiment. Those arrested were accused of assisting the international bourgeoisie.

Many were shot already in June. 25 people were sentenced to different deadlines conclusions. 29 of those arrested were sent into exile. Vladimir Shilder, a former teacher, was 70 years old at that time. He died during the investigation. Nikolai Golitsyn, the last chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Russian Empire, was sentenced to death.

Shakhty case

The charges under Article 58 were ridiculous. A person who does not speak foreign languages ​​and has never communicated with a citizen in his life Western state, could easily be accused of colluding with American agents. During the investigation, torture was often used. Only the strongest could withstand them. Often those under investigation signed a confession only in order to complete the execution, which sometimes lasted for weeks.

In July 1928, the victims Stalin's terror became coal industry specialists. This case was called "Shakhty". The heads of Donbass enterprises were accused of sabotage, sabotage, creating an underground counter-revolutionary organization, and assisting foreign spies.

The 1920s saw several high-profile cases. Dispossession continued until the early thirties. It is impossible to calculate the number of victims of Stalin’s repressions, because no one carefully kept statistics in those days. In the nineties, the KGB archives became available, but even after that, researchers did not receive comprehensive information. However, separate execution lists were made public, which became a terrible symbol of Stalin’s repressions.

The Great Terror is a term that applies to a short period Soviet history. It lasted only two years - from 1937 to 1938. Researchers provide more accurate data about victims during this period. 1,548,366 people were arrested. Shot - 681,692. It was a fight “against the remnants of the capitalist classes.”

Causes of the "Great Terror"

During Stalin's times, a doctrine was developed to strengthen the class struggle. This was only a formal reason for the extermination of hundreds of people. Among the victims of Stalin's terror of the 30s were writers, scientists, military men, and engineers. Why was it necessary to get rid of representatives of the intelligentsia, specialists who could benefit the Soviet state? Historians suggest various options answers to these questions.

Among modern researchers there are those who are convinced that Stalin had only an indirect connection to the repressions of 1937-1938. However, his signature appears on almost every execution list, and in addition, there is a lot of documentary evidence of his involvement in mass arrests.

Stalin strove for sole power. Any relaxation could lead to a real, not fictitious conspiracy. One of the foreign historians compared the Stalinist terror of the 30s with the Jacobin terror. But if the last phenomenon that took place in France in late XVIII century, presupposed the destruction of representatives of a certain social class, then in the USSR people who were often unrelated to each other were arrested and executed.

So, the reason for the repression was the desire for sole, unconditional power. But there was a need for formulation, an official justification for the need for mass arrests.

Occasion

On December 1, 1934, Kirov was killed. This event became the formal reason for the arrest of the killer. According to the results of the investigation, which was again fabricated, Leonid Nikolaev did not act independently, but as a member of an opposition organization. Stalin subsequently used the murder of Kirov in the fight against political opponents. Zinoviev, Kamenev and all their supporters were arrested.

Trial of Red Army officers

After the murder of Kirov, trials of the military began. One of the first victims of the Great Terror was G. D. Guy. The military leader was arrested for the phrase “Stalin must be removed,” which he uttered while intoxicated. It is worth saying that in the mid-thirties, denunciation reached its apogee. People who had worked in the same organization for many years stopped trusting each other. Denunciations were written not only against enemies, but also against friends. Not only for selfish reasons, but also out of fear.

In 1937 there was trial over a group of Red Army officers. They were accused of anti-Soviet activities and assistance to Trotsky, who by that time was already abroad. The hit list included:

• Tukhachevsky M. N.
• Yakir I. E.
• Uborevich I. P.
• Eideman R.P.
• Putna V.K.
• Primakov V. M.
• Gamarnik Ya. B.
• Feldman B. M.

The witch hunt continued. In the hands of NKVD officers there was a recording of Kamenev’s negotiations with Bukharin - there was talk of creating a “right-left” opposition. At the beginning of March 1937, with a report that spoke of the need to eliminate the Trotskyists.

According to the report of the General Commissioner of State Security Yezhov, Bukharin and Rykov were planning terror against the leader. In Stalinist terminology appeared new term- “Trotsky-Bukharinsky,” which means “directed against the interests of the party.”

In addition to the above-mentioned political figures, about 70 people were arrested. 52 were shot. Among them were those who took a direct part in the repressions of the 20s. Thus, state security officers and political figures Yakov Agronom, Alexander Gurevich, Levon Mirzoyan, Vladimir Polonsky, Nikolai Popov and others were shot.

Lavrentiy Beria was involved in the “Tukhachevsky case”, but he managed to survive the “purge”. In 1941, he took the post of General Commissioner of State Security. Beria was already executed after the death of Stalin - in December 1953.

Repressed scientists

In 1937, revolutionaries and political figures became victims of Stalin's terror. And very soon arrests of representatives of completely different social strata began. People who had nothing to do with politics were sent to the camps. It’s easy to guess what the consequences of Stalin’s repressions were by reading the lists presented below. The “Great Terror” became a brake on the development of science, culture, and art.

Scientists who became victims of Stalinist repressions:

• Matvey Bronstein.
• Alexander Witt.
• Hans Gelman.
• Semyon Shubin.
• Evgeny Pereplekin.
• Innokenty Balanovsky.
• Dmitry Eropkin.
• Boris Numerov.
• Nikolay Vavilov.
• Sergei Korolev.

Writers and poets

In 1933, Osip Mandelstam wrote an epigram with obvious anti-Stalinist overtones, which he read to several dozen people. Boris Pasternak called the poet's act suicide. He turned out to be right. Mandelstam was arrested and sent into exile in Cherdyn. There he made an unsuccessful suicide attempt, and a little later, with the assistance of Bukharin, he was transferred to Voronezh.

Boris Pilnyak wrote “The Tale of the Unextinguished Moon” in 1926. The characters in this work are fictitious, at least that’s what the author claims in the preface. But everyone who read the story in the 20s, it became clear that it was based on the version of the murder of Mikhail Frunze.

Somehow Pilnyak’s work ended up in print. But it was soon banned. Pilnyak was arrested only in 1937, and before that he remained one of the most published prose writers. The writer's case, like all similar ones, was completely fabricated - he was accused of spying for Japan. Shot in Moscow in 1937.

Other writers and poets who were subjected to Stalinist repression:

• Victor Bagrov.
• Yuliy Berzin.
• Pavel Vasiliev.
• Sergey Klychkov.
• Vladimir Narbut.
• Petr Parfenov.
• Sergei Tretyakov.

It is worth talking about the famous theater figure, accused under Article 58 and sentenced to capital punishment.

Vsevolod Meyerhold

The director was arrested at the end of June 1939. His apartment was later searched. A few days later, Meyerhold's wife was killed. The circumstances of her death have not yet been clarified. There is a version that she was killed by NKVD officers.

Meyerhold was interrogated for three weeks and tortured. He signed everything the investigators required. On February 1, 1940, Vsevolod Meyerhold was sentenced to death. The sentence was carried out the next day.

During the war years

In 1941, the illusion of lifting repressions appeared. In Stalin's pre-war times, there were many officers in the camps who were now needed free. Together with them, about six hundred thousand people were released from prison. But this was a temporary relief. At the end of the forties, a new wave of repression began. Now the ranks of “enemies of the people” have been joined by soldiers and officers who have been in captivity.

Amnesty 1953

On March 5, Stalin died. Three weeks later, the Supreme Soviet of the USSR issued a decree according to which a third of the prisoners were to be released. About a million people were released. But the first to leave the camps were not political prisoners, but criminals, which instantly worsened the criminal situation in the country.

The results of Stalin's rule speak for themselves. To devalue them, to form them into public consciousness negative assessment Stalin era, fighters against totalitarianism, willy-nilly, have to escalate the horrors, attributing monstrous atrocities to Stalin.

At the liar's contest

In an accusatory rage, the writers of anti-Stalin horror stories seem to be competing to see who can tell the biggest lies, vying with each other to name the astronomical numbers of those killed at the hands of the “bloody tyrant.” Against their background, dissident Roy Medvedev, who limited himself to a “modest” figure of 40 million, looks like some kind of black sheep, a model of moderation and conscientiousness:

“Thus, the total number of victims of Stalinism reaches, according to my calculations, approximately 40 million people.”

And in fact, it is undignified. Another dissident, the son of the repressed Trotskyist revolutionary A.V. Antonov-Ovseenko, without a shadow of embarrassment, names twice the figure:

“These calculations are very, very approximate, but I am sure of one thing: the Stalinist regime bled the people dry, destroying more than 80 million of its best sons.”

Professional “rehabilitators” led by former member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee A. N. Yakovlev are already talking about 100 million:

“According to the most conservative estimates of rehabilitation commission specialists, our country lost about 100 million people during the years of Stalin’s rule. This number includes not only the repressed themselves, but also members of their families doomed to death and even children who could have been born, but were never born.”

However, according to Yakovlev, the notorious 100 million includes not only direct “victims of the regime”, but also unborn children. But the writer Igor Bunich without hesitation he claims that all these “100 million people were mercilessly exterminated.”

However, this is not the limit. The absolute record was set by Boris Nemtsov, who announced on November 7, 2003 in the “Freedom of Speech” program on the NTV channel about 150 million people allegedly lost by the Russian state after 1917.

Who are these fantastically ridiculous figures, eagerly replicated by Russian and foreign media, intended for? mass media? For those who have forgotten how to think for themselves, who are accustomed to uncritically accepting on faith any nonsense coming from television screens.

It’s easy to see the absurdity of the multimillion-dollar numbers of “victims of repression.” It is enough to open any demographic directory and, picking up a calculator, make simple calculations. For those who are too lazy to do this, I will give a small illustrative example.

According to the population census conducted in January 1959, the population of the USSR was 208,827 thousand people. By the end of 1913, 159,153 thousand people lived within the same borders. It is easy to calculate that the average annual population growth of our country in the period from 1914 to 1959 was 0.60%.

Now let's see how the population of England, France and Germany grew in those same years - countries that also took an active part in both world wars.

So, the rate of population growth in the Stalinist USSR turned out to be almost one and a half times higher than in Western “democracies,” although for these states we excluded the extremely unfavorable demographic years of the 1st World War. Could this have happened if the “bloody Stalinist regime” had destroyed 150 million or at least 40 million inhabitants of our country? Of course no!
Archival documents say

To find out the true number of those executed under Stalin, it is not at all necessary to engage in fortune telling on coffee grounds. It is enough to familiarize yourself with the declassified documents. The most famous of them is a memo addressed to N. S. Khrushchev dated February 1, 1954:

"To the Secretary of the CPSU Central Committee

Comrade Khrushchev N.S.

In connection with signals received by the CPSU Central Committee from a number of individuals about illegal convictions for counter-revolutionary crimes in past years by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, and the Special Meeting. By the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals and in accordance with your instructions on the need to review the cases of persons convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes and currently held in camps and prisons, we report:

According to data available from the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs, for the period from 1921 to the present, 3,777,380 people were convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas, the Special Conference, the Military Collegium, courts and military tribunals, including:

Of the total number of those arrested, approximately, 2,900,000 people were convicted by the OGPU Collegium, NKVD troikas and the Special Conference, and 877,000 people were convicted by courts, military tribunals, the Special Collegium and the Military Collegium.

…
Prosecutor General R. Rudenko
Minister of Internal Affairs S. Kruglov
Minister of Justice K. Gorshenin"

As is clear from the document, in total, from 1921 to the beginning of 1954, on political charges, 642,980 people were sentenced to death, 2,369,220 to imprisonment, and 765,180 to exile. However, there are more detailed data on the number of those convicted

Thus, between 1921 and 1953, 815,639 people were sentenced to death. In total, in 1918–1953, 4,308,487 people were brought to criminal liability in cases of state security agencies, of which 835,194 were sentenced to capital punishment.

So, there were slightly more “repressed” than indicated in the report dated February 1, 1954. However, the difference is not too great - the numbers are of the same order.

In addition, it is quite possible that among those who received sentences on political charges there were a fair number of criminals. On one of the certificates stored in the archives, on the basis of which the above table was compiled, there is a pencil note:

“Total convicts for 1921–1938. - 2,944,879 people, of which 30% (1,062 thousand) are criminals"

In this case, the total number of “victims of repression” does not exceed three million. However, to finally clarify this issue, additional work with sources is necessary.

It should also be borne in mind that not all sentences were carried out. For example, of the 76 death sentences handed down by the Tyumen District Court in the first half of 1929, by January 1930, 46 had been changed or overturned by higher authorities, and of the remaining, only nine were carried out.

From July 15, 1939 to April 20, 1940, 201 prisoners were sentenced to capital punishment for disorganizing camp life and production. However, then for some of them the death penalty was replaced by imprisonment for terms of 10 to 15 years.

In 1934, there were 3,849 prisoners in NKVD camps who were sentenced to death and commuted to imprisonment. In 1935 there were 5671 such prisoners, in 1936 - 7303, in 1937 - 6239, in 1938 - 5926, in 1939 - 3425, in 1940 - 4037 people.
Number of prisoners

At first, the number of prisoners in forced labor camps (ITL) was relatively small. So, on January 1, 1930, it amounted to 179,000 people, on January 1, 1931 - 212,000, on January 1, 1932 - 268,700, on January 1, 1933 - 334,300, on January 1, 1934 - 510 307 people.

In addition to the ITL, there were correctional labor colonies (CLCs), where those sentenced to short terms were sent. Until the fall of 1938, the penitentiary complexes, together with the prisons, were subordinate to the Department of Places of Detention (OMP) of the NKVD of the USSR. Therefore, for the years 1935–1938, only joint statistics have been found so far. Since 1939, penal colonies were under the jurisdiction of the Gulag, and prisons were under the jurisdiction of the Main Prison Directorate (GTU) of the NKVD of the USSR.

How much can you trust these numbers? All of them are taken from the internal reports of the NKVD - secret documents not intended for publication. In addition, these summary figures are quite consistent with the initial reports; they can be broken down monthly, as well as by individual camps:

Let us now calculate the number of prisoners per capita. On January 1, 1941, as can be seen from the table above, the total number of prisoners in the USSR was 2,400,422 people. The exact population of the USSR at this time is unknown, but is usually estimated at 190–195 million.

Thus, we get from 1230 to 1260 prisoners for every 100 thousand population. On January 1, 1950, the number of prisoners in the USSR was 2,760,095 people - the maximum figure for the entire period of Stalin's reign. The population of the USSR at this time numbered 178 million 547 thousand. We get 1546 prisoners per 100 thousand population, 1.54%. This is the highest figure ever.

Let's calculate a similar indicator for the modern United States. Currently, there are two types of places of deprivation of liberty: jail - an approximate analogue of our temporary detention centers, in which those under investigation are kept, as well as convicts serving short sentences, and prison - the prison itself. At the end of 1999, there were 1,366,721 people in prisons and 687,973 in jails (see the website of the Bureau of Legal Statistics of the US Department of Justice), for a total of 2,054,694. The population of the United States at the end of 1999 was approximately 275 million Therefore, we get 747 prisoners per 100 thousand population.

Yes, half as much as Stalin, but not ten times. It’s somehow undignified for a power that has taken upon itself to protect “human rights” on a global scale.

Moreover, this is a comparison of the peak number of prisoners in the Stalinist USSR, which was also due first to the civil and then the Great Patriotic War. And among the so-called “victims of political repression” there will be a fair share of supporters of the white movement, collaborators, Hitler’s accomplices, members of the ROA, policemen, not to mention ordinary criminals.

There are calculations that compare the average number of prisoners over a period of several years.

The data on the number of prisoners in the Stalinist USSR exactly coincides with the above. According to these data, it turns out that on average for the period from 1930 to 1940, there were 583 prisoners per 100,000 people, or 0.58%. Which is significantly less than the same figure in Russia and the USA in the 90s.

What is the total number of people who were imprisoned under Stalin? Of course, if you take a table with the annual number of prisoners and sum up the rows, as many anti-Sovietists do, the result will be incorrect, since most of them were sentenced to more than a year. Therefore, it should be assessed not by the amount of those imprisoned, but by the amount of those convicted, which was given above.
How many of the prisoners were “political”?

As we see, until 1942, the “repressed” made up no more than a third of the prisoners held in the Gulag camps. And only then their share increased, receiving a worthy “replenishment” in the person of Vlasovites, policemen, elders and other “fighters against communist tyranny.” The percentage of “political” in correctional labor colonies was even smaller.
Prisoner mortality

Available archival documents make it possible to illuminate this issue.

In 1931, 7,283 people died in the ITL (3.03% of the average annual number), in 1932 - 13,197 (4.38%), in 1933 - 67,297 (15.94%), in 1934 - 26,295 prisoners (4.26%).

For 1953, data is provided for the first three months.

As we see, mortality in places of detention (especially in prisons) did not reach those fantastic values ​​that denouncers like to talk about. But still its level is quite high. It increases especially strongly in the first years of the war. As was stated in the certificate of mortality according to the NKVD OITK for 1941, compiled by the acting. Head of the Sanitary Department of the Gulag NKVD I.K. Zitserman:

Basically, mortality began to increase sharply from September 1941, mainly due to the transfer of convicts from units located in the front-line areas: from the BBK and Vytegorlag to the OITK of the Vologda and Omsk regions, from the OITK of the Moldavian SSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Leningrad region. in OITK Kirov, Molotov and Sverdlovsk regions. As a rule, a significant part of the journey, several hundred kilometers long, was carried out on foot before loading into wagons. Along the way, they were not at all provided with the minimum necessary food products (they did not receive all the bread and even water), as a result of such confinement, the prisoners suffered severe exhaustion, a very large % of vitamin deficiency diseases, in particular pellagra, which caused significant mortality along the route and along arrival at the respective OITKs, which were not prepared to receive a significant number of replenishments. At the same time, the introduction of reduced food standards by 25–30% (order No. 648 and 0437) with an extended working day to 12 hours, and often the absence of basic food products, even at reduced standards, could not but affect the increase in morbidity and mortality

However, since 1944, mortality has decreased significantly. By the beginning of the 1950s, in camps and colonies it fell below 1%, and in prisons - below 0.5% per year.
Special camps

Let's say a few words about the notorious Special Camps (special camps), created in accordance with Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 416-159ss of February 21, 1948. These camps (as well as those that already existed by that time Special prisons) were supposed to concentrate all those sentenced to imprisonment for espionage, sabotage, terrorism, as well as Trotskyists, right-wingers, Mensheviks, Socialist Revolutionaries, anarchists, nationalists, white emigrants, members of anti-Soviet organizations and groups and “persons who pose a danger due to their anti-Soviet connections.” Prisoners of special prisons were to be used for hard physical work.

As we see, the mortality rate of prisoners in special detention centers was only slightly higher than the mortality rate in ordinary correctional labor camps. Contrary to popular belief, the special camps were not “death camps” in which the elite of the dissident intelligentsia were supposedly exterminated; moreover, the largest contingent of their inhabitants were “nationalists” - the forest brothers and their accomplices.
Notes:

1. Medvedev R. A. Tragic statistics // Arguments and facts. 1989, February 4–10. No. 5(434). P. 6. The well-known researcher of repression statistics V.N. Zemskov claims that Roy Medvedev immediately renounced his article: “Roy Medvedev himself even before the publication of my articles (meaning Zemskov’s articles in “Arguments and Facts” starting with no. 38 for 1989. - I.P.) published in one of the issues of “Arguments and Facts” for 1989 an explanation that his article in No. 5 for the same year was invalid. Mr. Maksudov is probably not entirely aware of this story, otherwise he would hardly have undertaken to defend calculations that are far from the truth, which their author himself, having realized his mistake, publicly renounced” (Zemskov V.N. On the issue of the scale of repression in USSR // Sociological Research. 1995. No. 9. P. 121). However, in reality, Roy Medvedev did not even think of disavowing his publication. In No. 11 (440) for March 18–24, 1989, his answers to questions from a correspondent of “Arguments and Facts” were published, in which, confirming the “facts” stated in the previous article, Medvedev simply clarified that responsibility for the repressions was not the entire Communist Party as a whole, but only its leadership.

2. Antonov-Ovseenko A.V. Stalin without a mask. M., 1990. P. 506.

3. Mikhailova N. Underpants of counter-revolution // Premier. Vologda, 2002, July 24–30. No. 28(254). P. 10.

4. Bunich I. Sword of the President. M., 2004. P. 235.

5. Population of the countries of the world / Ed. B. Ts. Urlanis. M., 1974. P. 23.

6. Ibid. P. 26.

7. GARF. F.R-9401. Op.2. D.450. L.30–65. Quote by: Dugin A.N. Stalinism: legends and facts // Word. 1990. No. 7. P. 26.

8. Mozokhin O. B. Cheka-OGPU Punishing sword of the dictatorship of the proletariat. M., 2004. P. 167.

9. Ibid. P. 169

10. GARF. F.R-9401. Op.1. D.4157. L.202. Quote by: Popov V.P. State terror in Soviet Russia. 1923–1953: sources and their interpretation // Domestic archives. 1992. No. 2. P. 29.

11. About the work of the Tyumen District Court. Resolution of the Presidium of the Supreme Court of the RSFSR of January 18, 1930 // Arbitrage practice RSFSR. 1930, February 28. No. 3. P. 4.

12. Zemskov V. N. GULAG (historical and sociological aspect) // Sociological studies. 1991. No. 6. P. 15.

13. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D. 1155. L.7.

14. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D. 1155. L.1.

15. Number of prisoners in the correctional labor camp: 1935–1948 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.1155. L.2; 1949 - Ibid. D.1319. L.2; 1950 - Ibid. L.5; 1951 - Ibid. L.8; 1952 - Ibid. L.11; 1953 - Ibid. L. 17.

In penal colonies and prisons (average for the month of January):. 1935 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.2740. L. 17; 1936 - Ibid. L. ZO; 1937 - Ibid. L.41; 1938 -Ibid. L.47.

In the ITK: 1939 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.1145. L.2ob; 1940 - Ibid. D.1155. L.30; 1941 - Ibid. L.34; 1942 - Ibid. L.38; 1943 - Ibid. L.42; 1944 - Ibid. L.76; 1945 - Ibid. L.77; 1946 - Ibid. L.78; 1947 - Ibid. L.79; 1948 - Ibid. L.80; 1949 - Ibid. D.1319. L.Z; 1950 - Ibid. L.6; 1951 - Ibid. L.9; 1952 - Ibid. L. 14; 1953 - Ibid. L. 19.

In prisons: 1939 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.1145. L.1ob; 1940 - GARF. F.R-9413. Op.1. D.6. L.67; 1941 - Ibid. L. 126; 1942 - Ibid. L.197; 1943 - Ibid. D.48. L.1; 1944 - Ibid. L.133; 1945 - Ibid. D.62. L.1; 1946 - Ibid. L. 107; 1947 - Ibid. L.216; 1948 - Ibid. D.91. L.1; 1949 - Ibid. L.64; 1950 - Ibid. L.123; 1951 - Ibid. L. 175; 1952 - Ibid. L.224; 1953 - Ibid. D.162.L.2ob.

16. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.1155. L.20–22.

17. Population of the countries of the world / Ed. B. Ts. Urlaisa. M., 1974. P. 23.

18. http://lenin-kerrigan.livejournal.com/518795.html | https://de.wikinews.org/wiki/Die_meisten_Gefangenen_weltweit_leben_in_US-Gef%C3%A4ngnissen

19. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D. 1155. L.3.

20. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.1155. L.26–27.

21. Dugin A. Stalinism: legends and facts // Slovo. 1990. No. 7. P. 5.

22. Zemskov V. N. GULAG (historical and sociological aspect) // Sociological studies. 1991. No. 7. pp. 10–11.

23. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.2740. L.1.

24. Ibid. L.53.

25. Ibid.

26. Ibid. D. 1155. L.2.

27. Mortality in ITL: 1935–1947 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.1155. L.2; 1948 - Ibid. D. 1190. L.36, 36v.; 1949 - Ibid. D. 1319. L.2, 2v.; 1950 - Ibid. L.5, 5v.; 1951 - Ibid. L.8, 8v.; 1952 - Ibid. L.11, 11v.; 1953 - Ibid. L. 17.

Penal colonies and prisons: 1935–1036 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.2740. L.52; 1937 - Ibid. L.44; 1938 - Ibid. L.50.

ITK: 1939 - GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1. D.2740. L.60; 1940 - Ibid. L.70; 1941 - Ibid. D.2784. L.4ob, 6; 1942 - Ibid. L.21; 1943 - Ibid. D.2796. L.99; 1944 - Ibid. D.1155. L.76, 76ob.; 1945 - Ibid. L.77, 77ob.; 1946 - Ibid. L.78, 78ob.; 1947 - Ibid. L.79, 79ob.; 1948 - Ibid. L.80: 80rpm; 1949 - Ibid. D.1319. L.3, 3v.; 1950 - Ibid. L.6, 6v.; 1951 - Ibid. L.9, 9v.; 1952 - Ibid. L.14, 14v.; 1953 - Ibid. L.19, 19v.

Prisons: 1939 - GARF. F.R-9413. Op.1. D.11. L.1ob.; 1940 - Ibid. L.2ob.; 1941 - Ibid. L. Goiter; 1942 - Ibid. L.4ob.; 1943 -Ibid., L.5ob.; 1944 - Ibid. L.6ob.; 1945 - Ibid. D.10. L.118, 120, 122, 124, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133; 1946 - Ibid. D.11. L.8ob.; 1947 - Ibid. L.9ob.; 1948 - Ibid. L.10ob.; 1949 - Ibid. L.11ob.; 1950 - Ibid. L.12ob.; 1951 - Ibid. L.1 3v.; 1952 - Ibid. D.118. L.238, 248, 258, 268, 278, 288, 298, 308, 318, 326ob., 328ob.; D.162. L.2ob.; 1953 - Ibid. D.162. L.4v., 6v., 8v.

28. GARF. F.R-9414. Op.1.D.1181.L.1.

29. System of forced labor camps in the USSR, 1923–1960: Directory. M., 1998. P. 52.

30. Dugin A. N. Unknown GULAG: Documents and facts. M.: Nauka, 1999. P. 47.

31. 1952 - GARF.F.R-9414. Op.1.D.1319. L.11, 11 vol. 13, 13v.; 1953 - Ibid. L. 18.