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Transcripts from the Soviet Archives VOLUME XIV SECRET REVIEWS 1934
OGPU memo on measures to combat banditry, hooliganism and theft. April 19, 1934
Archive: F. 3. Op. 1.D. 317. L. 36‐44. Certified copy
April 19, 1934
No. 50500
Top secret
Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) t. Stalin
The bodies of the OGPU, fighting against criminal banditry, hooliganism and theft, encounter a number of obstacles in their work, which sharply reduce the effectiveness of this struggle.
This is based on the fact that the punitive practice of the courts and the prosecutorʹs office (delaying the consideration of cases, inconsistency of sentences with the gravity of the offense, etc.), the lack of social protection measures under certain articles of art. The Criminal Code and the very application of judicial repression (order in prisons) do not ensure the reality of repression and the actual isolation of criminals and hooligans.
Despite the large seizure of criminals (in the second half of March we seized 50,000 people in the cities of the Union; in Moscow in the first quarter of this year ‐ 25,000 people), we still have a fairly high level of criminality. This is largely due to the fact that the punitive practice of the courts and the prosecutorʹs office does not keep pace with the operational measures of the OGPU to combat criminality.
With the organization of the NKVD, the situation will become even more complicated, since If earlier cases of a large category of criminals and hooligans were considered by the Judicial Collegium of the OGPU, where the speed of the analysis of cases and the reality of repression were guaranteed, now the overwhelming majority of these cases will go to courts.
Judicial practice of combating criminal crime
Difficulties in the field of combating crime and hooliganism boil down to the following:
1. The practice of the courts and the prosecutorʹs office is such that the police have to search and catch the same criminal several times before he goes to jail. Thus, a caught thief, a detained hooligan, if he is not registered by the criminal investigation department as a repeat offender, is immediately released by the order of the prosecutorʹs office before the trial. Repeat offenders are also released pending trial on the grounds of the lack of limits in prisons.
The overwhelming majority of those released for trial do not appear and the police have to search for them again. A thief, a hooligan remains virtually free even after the trial, because under Art. 162 and 74 of the Criminal Code, he is sentenced to forced labor without detention.
Here are some examples to illustrate.
In Noginsk, a recidivist thief Grachev, who had two convictions for theft, caught at the scene of the crime, was released by the district prosecutor pending trial; fled from the court and was already detained again for theft in Moscow.
In the Baumansky district of Moscow, Akimov, who had three drives and showed that he earned his livelihood by accepting and resale of stolen things, was sentenced to 1 year of forced labor without detention.
In Stalingrad, Lyapin, detained with weapons at the scene of the theft, with 4 convictions and 6 drives, was sentenced to 1 year of forced labor and released from custody.
In Borisov (BSSR), a peopleʹs court sentenced a member of the bandit group Zhukovsky, who had a revolver and looted property, to six months of forced labor. Zhukovsky again began to engage in theft. Punitive practice of courts in the fight against hooliganism
2. The judicial practice of combating hooliganism is also
unsatisfactory.
As a rule, hooligans get off with a minor fine or forced labor, even when this is associated with beating of police officers.
March 16 this year Shirokov disobeyed and beat policeman Gaev, who legally demanded that he get off the foot of the tram on which he was hanging. For this, the peopleʹs court of the 5th section of the Oktyabrsky district of Moscow sentenced Shirokov to a fine.
March 26 this year member of the CPSU (b) Polyakov, leaving the restaurant on Sadovaya‐Karetnaya Street. drunk, started a fight. At the suggestion of a policeman who came up to stop the debauchery, Polyakov began to beat the policeman. With the help of the second policeman, Polyakov was taken to the police station, where he again rushed to beat the policeman. Narsud sentenced Polyakov to three months of forced labor conditionally.
On the other hand, the verdicts of the tribunals on cases of crimes and hooliganism of the police officers themselves are completely unsatisfactory. The Tribunal in a number of cases discontinues cases for such crimes that would require the most severe punishment. So, for example: pom. Police authorized Rybakov embezzled money during the search, drawing up a fictitious search protocol, in a drunken state he made a riot in the street, beat a passer‐by, took away and appropriated his weapon. The military tribunal of the Moscow Military District dismissed the case, arguing that the crime did not entail serious consequences and that the disciplinary measures had not yet been exhausted.
The case of the district police inspector Bushuev, who was lying drunk on the street in full uniform, as a result of which a revolver was stolen from him, was terminated ʺdue to the difficult marital status of Bushuev.ʺ
State of prisons and colonies of the NKYU
3. The unsatisfactory nature of the punitive practice of the courts and the prosecutorʹs office ends in prisons, which, as a result of the mass exodus of prisoners, are, in fact, turned into walkways. The number of those who escaped from prisons is 40‐50% of the total number of prisoners, and in some colonies it exceeds their permanent contingent.
There were 1223 escapes from the Kryukovskaya colony (Moscow region) in 1933, with a contingent of 522 prisoners.
In the Western region. In 1933, 6382 prisoners fled through open colonies, which is 281% of the total number of prisoners.
The order, regime and state of protection in prisons and colonies of the NKYu, as well as the system of prisonersʹ leave of freedom itself, are such that the prisoner has the full opportunity to flee or be absent from there to commit a crime.
On December 2, 1933, prisoners of the Irkutsk correctional labor colony V. Novozhenov and N. Samarin, while on vacation in the city, robbed citizen Sarpetsky. During the arrest, a revolver was taken from Samarin.
On March 24, 1934, inmates of the Grozny detention center Chuguev N. and Sultygov, acting as guards and armed with carbines, left for the city, where they carried out several robberies. When detained, they shot back.
The organs of the NCJ and the Prosecutorʹs Office do not take decisive measures to stop the escapes, referring, in particular, to the escapes from the OGPU camps. Meanwhile, from our camps, where a more dangerous contingent of criminals, escapes make up only 5%. This situation in the places of detention of the NKYu is explained by the great contamination of workers with a class alien, criminal and decayed element.
Head of the Office of the Voronezh FZITK ‐ Gurko, a former white officer with a conviction; pom. the head of this colony, Shumilin, is the son of the owner of a large hotel, three times convicted of service crimes; Regional Inspector of the Regional Institute for Transport and Radio Engineering ‐ a former large industrialist, etc. An inspection of the state of the Voronezh FZITK showed that a number of administration officials, including the head of the colony Fedorov, drank with prisoners at home, cohabited with female prisoners, and released prisoners for bribes.
The crime of street children and the fight against them
The issue of combating homelessness is especially acute. Despite the huge funds spent on this goal (over 261 million [rubles] in the Union, moreover, over 35 million [rubles] per year are spent in Moscow oblast alone), the issue has not yet been resolved and homelessness continues to remain quite high ... According to inaccurate data, there are 56 thousand homeless people in only twenty territories and regions, of which about 60% are over 12 years old.
Being inherently a negative phenomenon, homelessness, moreover, serves as a constant source of new cadres of criminal elements. The police daily detain thousands of homeless children caught in the act of crime in cities and workersʹ settlements. However, this does not lead to anything, since it is illegal to keep them in custody, and they are not accepted in orphanages. The homeless who find themselves in orphanages, due to the ugly state of the latter (lack of production facilities and educational work, insensitive attitude towards children), flee and continue to commit crimes.
I would consider it expedient to demand a report from the comrades in charge of the fight against homelessness.
The practice of collecting fines
The practice of levying administrative fines through the police is also reflected in the work of the police in combating crime. We have 22,000 district inspectors in the Union (in relation to prerevolutionary times, these are district warders). They are obliged to be always on their site, to identify and seize hooligans, beggars, passportless, etc., in fact, they are busy mainly with endless walks on penal cases.
This happens because, according to the law, fines cannot be deducted from the salaries of workers and employees. Because the payer has two weeks of preferential treatment for appeal and the same amount for payment, then it turns out endless circulation for the same fine. As a result, in case of non‐payment, the fine is replaced by forced labor at the place of service, where, in essence, the amount of the fine is deducted from the salary. It is more expedient to change the existing procedure, allowing the amount of the fine to be deducted from the salary at once and thereby relieve the district police inspector from correspondence and aimless walking.
In connection with the presentation, I would consider it necessary:
1. To revise upwards the punishment for theft and hooliganism.
2. Robberies committed by criminals armed with a knife, qualify as armed robbery, applying to them 167 Art. Of the Criminal Code, part 3, punishing with imprisonment for up to ten years, and in especially aggravating circumstances ‐ the highest measure of social protection.
3. Convicted thieves of all kinds and hooligans should not be released from custody pending trial, not allowed to make judgments without detention, and those sentenced by a court to imprisonment should be kept in prisons and colonies regardless of limits.
4. To revise towards strengthening the punishment for insubordination, insult and beating of the police and for crimes committed by the police officers themselves.
5. To carry out cleaning of employees of places of detention from socially alien, criminal and decayed elements. Prohibit giving home leave to prisoners in prisons. Tidy up the prisons to stop escaping from there.
6. The Peopleʹs Commissariat for Education and the Peopleʹs Commissariat for Health shall carry out a typification of childrenʹs institutions for the differentiated placement of homeless children in them according to age, gender and degree of social neglect.
7. To organize in all cities childrenʹs production colonies of a closed type for training street children in various professions. To open these colonies at UITU.
8. To organize in large cities educational institutions for difficult‐toraise neglected children with their maintenance for an appropriate fee paid by their parents.
9. Establish by law the responsibility of parents for offenses and crimes committed by their children left without supervision, up to and including the expulsion of parents from regime cities.
10. The Peopleʹs Commissariat for Education to review the composition of children in their orphanages, and to transfer the best part, amenable to correction, to strengthened collective farms, and to take the homeless from the street to the vacant places.
11. Change the procedure for collecting fines in the administrative order, allowing the deduction of a fine from salary.
In conclusion, I consider it necessary to raise the question of the material and living conditions of the militia workers again. We are seeing a great attraction of militia workers to village councils and collective farms, because the material conditions of the workers of the latter are much better. So, an employee of the village council now receives 150‐250 rubles per month, and our district inspector, serving 3‐5 village councils, receives only 90 rubles, while an ordinary policeman, on average, receives 80 rubles. with insufficient food supply. Police officers are not interested in the service and strive to leave the police. I consider it necessary to raise the salary of a district inspector to 180 rubles, and to an ordinary policeman to 120 rubles per month. The increase in the police salary will be expressed by the end of the year in 40 million rubles, which are more than covered by income from certification. So, 28 million rubles were allocated to us for certification,
In connection with the work of Comrade Kuibyshevʹs Commission on Courts and the Prosecutorʹs Office, I ask you to instruct this commission to consider the issues raised in this note *.
Deputy Chairman of the OGPU Yagoda, Head of the Main Police
Department, Belsky
F. 3. Op. 1.D. 317. L. 36‐44. Certified copy., * Not published
A special message from the NKVD of the USSR about the theft of grain in the Union, according to data on September 10, 1934.
Archive: F. 3. Op. 1 D. 924. L. 1110‐1116. Certified copy
September 14, 1934
No. 30519
Top secret
Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) t. Poskrebyshev (for t. Stalin)
Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) t. Kaganovich
Chairman of the SNK USSR t. Molotov
I. Moscow region
Since the beginning of the harvesting campaign, 713 people have been brought to criminal responsibility for stealing bread. Of the total number of those involved: kulaks ‐ 109, criminally declassed ‐ 127 people, office workers ‐ 122 people, individual farmers ‐ 191 people and collective farmers ‐ 183. During this time, 98,923 kg of grain products were stolen.
Still for the Moscow region. The main method of grain theft is the sale of fictitious receipts to grain suppliers for allegedly accepted grain. Receipt books, in most cases stored carelessly, are stolen by criminals in the offices of the Zagotzerno distribution centers.
The main contingent of predators are receptionists, storekeepers, bookkeepers, forwarders, and other employees of the points.
Of greatest interest are the following cases of the theft of grain, carried out by the Directorate of the NKVD of the USSR in the Moscow region:
1. In the Sasovsky district at the Kustarevsky, Nizhnemaltsevsky and Sasovsky points of Zagotzerno, the systematic sale of receipt receipts without receiving bread for them to the warehouses of the points was opened. The sale was carried out by the inspectors Ippolitov and Simashev (with a criminal record), accountants Myachenko and Rodin, storekeeper Balykov, etc. The receipts were not sold directly by these employees of the points, but through the kulaks of Barteles and Romanov. The criminals sold receipts for 5 tons of grain. In the case, 27 people were arrested and brought to trial.
2. Similar thefts were discovered in the Ryazhsky region at the Sheremetyevsky and Egoldaevsky points of Zagotzerno. Receivers of the points Guzulukov (formerly kulak), Bogomolov, Tochilin and Gorin sold acceptance receipts for grain to the deliverers through the deprived merchant Zakharov. In total, they sold receipts for 1500 kg of grain. 9 people were arrested and put‐on trial.
3. In the Nerl region, theft of grain from Zagotzerno warehouses was discovered. Theft was carried out by: head. warehouse Zagotzerno Kumyantsev and seller of the store Soyuzplodoovoshi Shcherbakov. The stolen grain was taken out by them from the warehouses under the guise of letting it out in order to supply the suppliers of flax. In total, 12 tons of grain were plundered. Arrested and put‐on trial ‐ 3 people.
4. Receivers of the Belevsky collection point Zagotzerno Kuzmin, Garcev and others plundered grain from the warehouse of the point. The thefts were carried out in the following way: the relatives of the predators brought wet and contaminated grain to the delivery point, which was rejected and returned to the suppliers. When this grain was returned, the stolen was attached to it and thus the grain was taken out from the point. The shortages resulting from the theft were covered by the systematic underloading of grain in the wagons.
The stolen grain was sold through special agents ‐ speculators and kulaks Rozhkov, Podschekoldin, Lavrov and others. More than 13 tons of grain were stolen. 13 people were arrested.
II. Across the Ukrainian SSR
1. Large thefts of grain and flour were discovered at the Romny point of Zagotzerno (Chernihiv region) and from mills and Ukrmlin. Employees of these institutions contacted for joint embezzlement. Almost all employees of the Zagotzerno and Soyuzmuki points were involved in the theft. Thefts were carried out by weighing the grain donors due to the incorrect definition of economic savings.
In addition, when sending grain from points to mills for grinding, as a rule, excess grain was taken out. At the mill, this grain was ground under the guise of peasant grinding. The flour made from this grain was obtained from the mill by dummies and sold on the private market at speculative prices. As a result of the criminal activities of the accused, about 75 tons of grain and flour were stolen from the station and from the mills 13 people were arrested in the case. The investigation continues.
2. A group of employees of the Mariupol elevator ʺExportkhlebʺ carried out large grain thefts. When transferring grain, an increased percentage of waste was deliberately stated in the documents. This created a surplus for theft. In total, 140 tons of grain were plundered from the elevator. The case has been referred to court.
3. Receivers of the Starobelsk collection point Zagotzerno Sklyarov and Malyshev and an employee of the regional office Zagotzerno Dukhin (a former White Guard) plundered large quantities of grain from the point. The investigation established that a total of 134 tons of grain were plundered.
4. A number of workers at the Markovskoye point of Zagotzerno and a flour mill systematically plundered grain and flour from the warehouses of these establishments. Reserves for embezzlement were created by drafting fictitious acts on spoilage of grain, understating the percentage of flour output, weighing delivery units, etc. The stolen grain was sold on the market through the speculators Lozovaya and Rubezhanskaya. Thus, over 25 tons of grain and 3.5 tons of flour were plundered and sold. 9 people were arrested in the case.
Small grain thefts during transportation were widespread in Ukraine. Grain is plundered when transporting grain to dump points, from the field to threshers, from threshers to warehouses, etc. Theft is carried out in small batches of 1‐2 bags. Grain was plundered by loaders, drivers, drivers, etc. A large number of such facts were revealed in the Kiev region. and in the Autonomous Moldavian region.
III. Gorky Territory
1. In the Mari region. the kulak‐predatory organization, which plundered grain from the points and warehouses of Zagotzerno, was opened and liquidated. The main method used by the predators was the sale of fictitious receipts to grain suppliers. The organizer of the embezzlement ‐ Borodin (the son of a kulak, a convicted person, escaped from a prison) ‐ established contact with the workers of the Zagotzerno Chemyshev (the son of a kulak), Demidov, and others.
Borodin got out the receipts they had stolen through these workers. For each pood of bread indicated on the receipt, the grain‐givers paid the predators from 13 to 25 rubles.
The reserve for embezzlement was created by mass weighing of grain suppliers, indicating the wrong percentage of grain moisture in the documents, etc. More than 2000 poods were plundered in total. of bread. 26 people were arrested, including 12 kulaks and 2 speculators. The investigation continues.
2. Large grain thefts were discovered at the Zagotzerno Shakhunsky ssyppunkt. The responsible executor of the sales point Luchinin, taking advantage of his official position, forged 18 vacation orders of 9100 poods grains. For the practical implementation of the theft, Luchinin involved in his activities anti‐Soviet peasants, individual peasants. The predators managed to take out 3,500 poods from the warehouses. grains. The theft of the rest of the grain was prevented by opening the thefts and arresting the participants. 14 people were arrested. The investigation continues.
During the reporting period, the police have brought to account for the theft of grain 5449 people, of whom 1430 were arrested. According to their social composition, those brought to justice are broken up as follows: kulaks ‐ 410, socially alien ‐ 324; individual farmers ‐ 2061, collective farmers ‐ 2174, workers ‐ 195 and office workers ‐ 285. 88 477 kg were seized from criminals. stolen grain.
Deputy Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR
Prokofiev
F. 3. Op. 1 D. 924. L. 1110‐1116. Certified copy
Special message of the NKVD of the USSR on the progress of illegal trade and speculation in bread, as of October 5, 1934
Archive: F. 3. Op. 1.D. 924. L. 1396‐1399. Certified copy
October 9, 1934
No. 30685
Top secret
Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) t. Stalin
Secretary of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) t. Kaganovich and t. Zhdanov
Chairman of the Council of Peopleʹs Commissars of the USSR t. Molotov
Since the prohibition of the trade in bread, the NKVD organs have brought to justice for illegal trade and speculation in bread 40,373 people, from whom more than 100 thousand poods have been taken away. bakery products. Speculative activity, as a rule, is associated with theft of grain products, which are then resold at speculative prices. This is confirmed by examples of the following cases already carried out by the NKVD bodies:
A group of members of the Krasny Partisan (IPO) collective farm, headed by the former kulak Semikov, a miller of the collective farm, by appropriating the garnets tax collected at the mill, created surplus flour, which was then plundered and sold at speculative prices. In total, over 600 poods were stolen. harntsevoy collection. The criminals managed to sell about 250 poods, and for this amount of bread they received 8750 rubles.
In the collective farm ʺPobedaʺ of the Danilovsky District (IPO), a speculative‐predatory group of 6 people was discovered, a significant part of which were socially alien. The group, which included members of the board and members of the collective farm revolutionary commission, was headed by the kulak Galochkin. Criminals, taking advantage of the chaotic state of accounting, plundered flour, rye and other bread products and speculated with them on the market. In total, over 120 poods were sold. bakery products.
In the city of Gorky, a predatory group was discovered, consisting mainly of kulaks, speculators and private carriers. The group plundered the flour when transporting it from the mills to the Kanavinsky bakery № 1. The stolen flour was then sold through speculators. In total, over 650 poods of flour were plundered and sold at speculative prices. 13 people were arrested.
In the Tashkent region (Wed [United] Asia), the head. mill Astakulov and mill master Krasnoyarsk, who sold 12 centners of flour in the Tashkent market. The flour was received by them in one of the collective farms in exchange for millstones.
The chairman of the collective farm ʺZaryaʺ of the Yanaul region (BashASSR) Butuzov (member of the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks), together with two collective farmers, bought over a hundred poods bread and resold at the private market in Sverdlovsk. In the same region, the chairman of the collective farm ʺOrmiyazʺ Shikirov and the collective farmer Gilmetdinov bought and resold in the private market over 60 poods. of bread.
In the city of Ulyanovsk (Wed [ednyaya] Volga), the kulak Gorshkov was brought to justice, with over 130 poods found in his basement. of bread.
Demenkoʹs kulak, who sold 44 poods, was arrested at a bazaar in the Chui region (Kaz [akh] ASSR). wheat for 1000 rubles.
Head bread stall No. 16 Chernigovtorg (Ukrainian SSR) Sparrow systematically sold speculators up to 55 loaves of bread a day. The money raised from the subsequent speculation in bread was divided between the speculators and Sparrow. Sparrow is arrested. The investigation continues.
Private carter Aslanyan (Erivan, Armenia) was engaged in speculation in bread, up to 150 poods were confiscated. grains. Mail‐order speculation is still widespread in most areas. In the Alekseevsky district branch of NKSvyaz (Voronezh region), a speculative group was discovered, which consisted of branch employees and speculators. The practice was to send parcels with bread to areas where there was an increased demand for bread. The distribution of parcels was carried out through letter carriers. A total of 2,000 parcels of 16 kg each were sold. 6 people were arrested.
In the city of Shadrinsk (Chelyabinsk region), the following citizens were arrested: Petukhova, who received 27 mail parcels with bread and speculated on the market; Chizhova, who received 16 parcels for speculation; Demchenko, Makeeva, Zoteeva and others. Similar cases were opened in the SKK, Gorky and other territories and regions.
Deputy Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR
Agranov
F. 3. Op. 1.D. 924. L. 1396‐1399. Certified copy.
A note on a direct wire about a wound to the head of Comrade Kirov. December 1, 1934
Archive: F. 3. Op. 1.D. 711. L. 14. Certified copy
Top secret
NKVD USSR t. Yagoda
December 1 at 4 pm 30 minutes in the Smolny building on the 3rd floor, 20 steps from Comrade Kirovʹs office, a shot was fired in the head of Comrade Kirov by unknown persons walking towards him, who according to the documents turned out to be Nikolayev Leonid Vasilyevich, a member of the CPSU (b) since 1924, born in 1904.
T. Kirov is in the office. With him there are professors‐surgeons Dobrotvorsky, Fertakh, Janelidze and other doctors.
According to preliminary data, Comrade Kirov walked from his apartment (Krasnykh Zor Street) to Troitsky Bridge. Near Troitsky Bridge, I got into a car, accompanied by reconnaissance, and arrived at Smolny. Reconnaissance accompanied him up to the 3rd floor. On the 3rd floor, Comrade Kirov was accompanied to the scene of the incident by the operational commissar Borisov. Nikolaev, after wounded comrade Kirov, fired a second shot at himself, but missed. Nikolaev was identified by several employees of Smolny (Vas. Tykh., Vasily V., etc., instructor‐assistant of the Department of Executive Workers of the Regional Committee) as having previously worked in Smolny.
The wife of Nikolayevʹs killer by the name of Draule Milda, a member of the CPSU (b) since 1919, worked in the regional committee of the CPSU (b).
The arrested Nikolaev was sent to the Directorate of the NKVD of the LVO. An order was given to arrest Draule. Check in Smolny is underway.
18 hours 20 minutes.
Bear, Correct:
A note on a direct wire on the further course of the investigation in the case of L. Nikolaev. December 5, 1934
Archive: F. 3. Op. 1.D. 711. L. 23‐26. Copy
December 5, 1934
Top secret
Secretary of the Central Committee of the All‐Union Communist
Party of Bolsheviks t. Stalin
Copy: NKVD t. Yagoda
I inform you about the further course of the investigation in the case of Leonid Nikolaev:
1. According to the testimony of Leonid Nikolaev, the Trotskyists Shatsky, Bardin and Katalynov were terrorist‐minded. Nikolayev testified: ʺNikolay Bardin is definitely terrorist, he had the same moods as me, I even think that Bardin has much stronger moods than me.ʺ
Further, Nikolaev, when asked whether Katalynov was involved in the preparation of the terrorist act against Comrade Kirov, testified: “I did not involve Katalynov, because wanted to be, by his convictions, the only perpetrator of the terrorist act over Kirov; secondly, Katalynov, I thought, would not agree to the murder of Comrade Kirov, but would demand to take him higher, that is, to commit a terrorist attack on Stalin, to which I would not agree. ʺ
Nikolaev also testified that he accidentally met a mint worker whom he intended to attract to observe Comrade Kirov. Nikolaev did not give the surname of this woman, indicating only her omens. Nikolaevʹs interrogation protocols will be sent to you today.
2. During a search, the arrested Katalynov had a Browning revolver, which he kept without permission.
3. The interrogated Pyotr Nikolaev stated that he considers himself a convinced enemy of the Soviet regime. He testified that he kept in touch with the German colonist Beldug, who lives in the suburb of Leningrad Citizen, where the German colonists live.
4. The interrogated father of Peter Nikolayevʹs wife, Maksimov, testified that both Peter and [and] Leonid Nikolaevs had a connection among the German colonists near Leningrad. Maksimov also showed about the kulak and a / c sentiments of Peter Nikolaev.
5. According to the testimony of Olga Draule, the sister of Leonid Nikolayevʹs wife, the latter‐maintained acquaintances with N. Kuznetsov, the former secretary of the Komsomol of the city of Luga, a Trotskyite exiled to Siberia.
6. According to Volkovaʹs reports, Seliverstov, an electrician of the Leningrad Philharmonic Society, testified that the foreman for the repair of the Philharmonic Societyʹs elevator, Odahovsky, who in the past worked at the Polish concession ʺYan Serkovskyʺ, repeatedly asked Seliverstov about the upcoming visits to the Philharmonic Society of members of the Soviet government, and in particular Kirov. Having learned about the murder of Comrade Kirov and the arrest of the murderer, Odahovsky said: ʺThere are, after all, brave people, because in order to undertake such a thing, one must have a lot of courage.ʺ And he expressed regret at the arrest of the killer.
According to the NKVD of the USSR, the Jan Serkovsky concession, liquidated in 1930, was an agent of the 2nd department of the Polish General Staff.
In Odahovskyʹs brigade, former staff captain Ivanov works as a locksmith, who is being arrested by us today. Odahovsky was hired to work at the Philharmonic with the assistance of a fitter Duchnitsky, with whom Odahovsky had worked together in the Yan Serkovsky concession in the past. Dukhnitsky, as already reported, has already been arrested.
7. We have arrested Kornev, a freelance engineer of the economic department of the NKVD of the Leningrad Region, named in Volkovaʹs messages as a person who promised to help former
Colonel Kamensky in illegal border crossing.
8. Relatives of Kamensky ‐ Sophia and Cleopatra ‐ have been identified by us.
Kamensky has not yet been found. Korsunsky will be arrested today.
The forensic medical examination commission (the names were named in the message dated December 4, 1934) in its conclusion on the cause of Borisovʹs death established that Borisovʹs death was an accident in connection with a car accident.
Copies of the act and conclusion will be sent to you today.
Interrogations in the case of Borisovʹs death continue at an accelerated pace.
I will inform you about the progress of the investigation additionally.
Deputy Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs Agranov
F. 3. Op. 1.D. 711. L. 23‐26. Copy.
Special report No. 4 of the NKVD for the AChK about the mood of the population of the AChK in connection with the murder of the secretary of the Central Committee of the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, t. Kirov, as of December 14, 1934.
Archive: F. 3. Op. 2.D. 942. L. 15‐23. Script
December 16, 1934
No. 3/10300
Top secret
Loss of S.M. Kirov continues to cause deep sorrow and indignation on the part of the working people of the region in the form of statements about the need to intensify repressions against the insolent counter‐revolution.
Novorossiysk. At mourning rallies, the workers of the Proletary and Krasny Dvigatel factories decided to demand from the administration the immediate dismissal from the production of vehicles and an alien element working at the factories. Along the way, a petition was filed with the City Council to deprive them of their voting rights.
The same proposals were made at memorial meetings in Gelendzhik. “The counter‐revolution is again encroaching on the best leaders of the party. We will have to take up arms again and finally deal with the enemies of the working class” (Red Partisan of Gelendzhik).
Along with this, from the side of K.‐R. element strengthened to. ‐r. attacks and the spread of provocative rumors in connection with the murder of Comrade Kirov.
“They killed Kirov, and to hell with him. Probably, he earned himself a bullet in the forehead ʺ(molder from [avo] yesʺ RSM ʺKolbasov Vladimir, expelled from the cleaning party).
“Why rush to Kirovʹs funeral? You have to wait until someone else is killed in order to bury them together, then the funeral will be cheaper” (saddler from [avo] yes “RSM” Chebotarev, conducts systematic a / s campaigning).
“They killed, it means one less bastard” (saddler at the Rabochy oil factory Ermakov, Rostov‐on‐Don).
“It doesnʹt matter that Kirov was killed, there are enough of them, there are still many communists. They all sit on our necks and tear the skin off us” (Novorossiysk, worker of the Cemzavod Krasevich
A.).
“If they killed people like Kirov, two thousand, then it would be good” (worker of the Krasnodar oil refinery Malkhasov).
The foreman of the Sulinsky metallurgical plant Ovcharov, a Cossack, served with the whites, has been working at the plant for about 30 years, for the disruption of work and the decomposition of labor discipline in production, who was repeatedly dismissed from his job, in a conversation among the shop workers about the murder of Kirov, said: “How long are these leaders of the proletariat needed shoot” (instructions for arrest were given).
“If Kirov was killed, there will be one less bureaucrat. More bread will remain ʺ(electric welderʺ RSM ʺN. Fokin, member of the Komsomol).
“The worker killed Kirov because the workers were tired of everything” (Salsk, railway loader P. Golovaty).
“Kirov is the same bastard as Stalin, and therefore the assassination of Kirov is of great importance for our enemies in the sense that Kirov put Leninʹs teachings into practice. Now in his place there will be, perhaps, the same ideological communist, but he, perhaps, will conduct his work differently from Kirov.”. Conducts systematic a / c agitation. Instructions for arrest are given).
“Kirov was buried in the Kremlin wall. Of course, the wall is big, there will be enough for everyone” (artist of the Rostov Drama
Theater Kubensky).
He is on the issue of collecting money for the construction of an aircraft to them. Kirov said: ʺYes, if they kill one leader every day, then you can build a whole squadron.ʺ
In the conversation about the murder of Comrade Kirov, the senior accountant of the Azcherenergosudarstvo Lunko, in the presence of the senior accountant Ledovsky, said: “Why should you feel sorry for him? Is he a man? Heʹs a communist, and communists are not people. ʺ
Part of the ASE tries to explain the assassination of Comrade Kirov as a consequence of internal party differences in the Secretariat of the Central Committee itself.
“The murder of Kirov took place on the basis of the internal party struggle of our heads. Iʹll tell you a secret that Stalin is now living badly. He only allows Kaganovich and Molotov into his office and leads through them. He does not admit anyone else to him, fearing that he will not be killed by some other communist, since many communists disagree with him” (Novorossiysk, member of the AllUnion Communist Party of Bolsheviks Zhivilova, chairman of JAKTA No. 32).
“The assassination of Kirov was carried out by the communists and red [asny] partisans. The murder involved 50 people. It happened because there is now a split and collapse in the party” (Salsk, cadet of the collective farm school Dulatov Trofim).
ʺIt is possible that Kirov became in opposition to Stalin, and he ordered to remove himʺ (technologist from [avo] yes ʺRSMʺ Bogomolov).
On the other hand, the ASE interprets Kirovʹs murder as a result of the ʺstruggle of the leaders for power.ʺ
“In connection with the murder of Kirov in Moscow, a conspiracy led by a prominent old communist has been uncovered” (student of the Krasnodar All‐Union Art School, Molchanov).
“The death of Kirov, Frunze, Lenin is a struggle for existence, a struggle for power. All these deaths are violent and are the work of Stalin to stay in power in connection with the elections to the Soviets, tk. During the re‐election campaign, the sympathies of the workers of Moscow and Leningrad were on the side of Kirov, who was a contender for Stalinʹs place, so Stalin dealt with Kirov by sending a murderer ʺ(state farmʺ Giant Millerovsky district, Yurasov, former official. Arrest order issued).
“There was one Russian, and he was killed, now only Jews remain in power. They themselves killed Kirov in order to rule on their own” (Filonov, foreman of the plow shop z [avo] da “RSM”).
“They write that the party has lost the best man in Kirov, but, in my opinion, he was killed because he is a big bastard, like all communists are bastards. Talking about the social status of the killer is nonsense. He was killed by a communist and the same bastard as Kirov himself. This is not the first murder. They are not yet so shooting among themselves ʺ(employee of the Novocherkassk hospital Orlov I., White Guard official. An arrest order has been given).
The most reactionary part of K.‐R. element has intensified its activities in the form of agitation for the need to continue the terror and, in particular, to commit a central terrorist act.
“Oh, itʹs a pity that Stalin was not killed. But it’s hard to get to Stalin, he doesn’t leave the Kremlin” (Novocherkassk, student of the Geological Intelligence Institute [full‐time] and Sitnikov. An arrest order has been given).
“Together with Kirov, it would be necessary to kill Stalin” (Salsk, an employee of the railway I. Krivoroye).
“Itʹs a pity that Kirov alone was killed. It would be nice if Stalin was killed at the same time, then I would be glad ʺ(Novorossiysk, store clerk Torgsin A. Okhrimenko was repeatedly seen in a / c mood. An order was given to arrest).
“One is satiated, now the other ought to be satiated, then life would immediately improve” (member of the Novoyegorlyk s / s Salsk district [ayo] na Ignatenko).
“They will kill the leaders one at a time until they are all knocked out. There will be no one to control, but then it will be better. Now there are so many divorced leaders that when you spit, you will definitely get into the chiefs. Now Stalin will carry a regiment of guards with him, but, nevertheless, he will not die a natural death. ʺ (Millerovo, an employee of the colozunov senopartment.
Scheduled for arrest).
“Kirov is a small bump. If Stalin had been killed, it would have been a completely different matter ʺ(Millerovo, Kharlamov Al [eksan] others, a wealthy White Guard sergeant. An arrest warrant has been given).
“Few of them, dogs, are beaten. Even if Stalin himself were killed, maybe life would have become better and the people would not have starved to death” (Salsk, the son of a kulak Ivan Avdeev. An arrest order has been given).
Turner of the Novorossiysk Cannery Slyusarenko, addressing a group of workers, said about the murder of Comrade Kirov: ʺWait, wait, they will all be shot soon.ʺ In response to this, the worker Volkov said: “Itʹs a pity that Stalin was not killed” (instructions were given to arrest Volkov).
Along with this, open insurrectionary tendencies are also recorded, and Nikolaevʹs shot is regarded as a signal for the beginning of action.
“Before the preparations for the overthrow of the House of Romanov, the killing of high‐ranking officials began. The same thing begins now. Therefore, there is an organization in the USSR that takes care of this. It seems to me that if Stalin were killed, then the revolution would begin” (Krasnodar, statistician
Soyuzmargarina Krakovskaya).
“Terror begins. Somehow they will be destroyed in a new way. Only I would not start with Kirov, but with Stalin himself. The time will come when these bastards will be demolished from the face of the earth ʺ(Armavir, hairdresser Grigoryan, who has served his exile. An order was given to arrest).
“Our holiday is coming soon. They will gradually kill all such bastards, and we will heal in a new way” (Technician of KraiPoligraftrest VN Malshin).
“They killed, well, okay. One less reptile. If a powerful plane arrives from Hitler and throws a large projectile at the Kremlin, it will destroy the entire government at once ʺ(Novorossiysk, Pilling, living on Tolstovskaya Street, [house] No. 11, has a connection with her brother, a White emigrant. She boasted that her father was an officer).
“They killed one ‐ not enough. If we could knock them all out, devils, in Moscow, perhaps, under a different government it would be better” (Salsky district [ayo] n, Noviy Yegorlyk village, former kulak Putnov Tikhon, serves in agriculture).
“Fools donʹt know who to beat. They started from the wrong end” (Economist of the “RSM” plant Aleksey Yakovlevich Kushnarev, antisocial element, scheduled for arrest). The same Kushnarev, in the presence of the economist of RSM Anna Mikhailovna Vinokurova, added: ʺThere will be a rally in Moscow at the funeral of Kirov, that would be where to put a hellish car.ʺ
A worker at the Sulinsky metallurgical plant, Boris Kuznetsov, said at the health point: “Someone from the Central Committee got bogged down. We do not care. At least two more were bailed out, more likely there would be some change. ʺ
Through the village
The murder of Comrade Kirov among the population of rural areas causes general outrage and talk about the need for harsh repressions against terrorists.
“This is the work of the counter‐revolution. But the assassination of Kirov will not liquidate the Soviet Union, but only strengthen it. For
Kirov, hundreds of counter‐revolutionaries still remaining in the Union must be shot. ʺ
ʺWe have lost one of the best devoted to the Party and the cause of building socialism.ʺ
There are cases of receipt of applications from local activists about the identification of counter‐revolution in the village with demands to take repressive measures against them.
Soviet MTS. From the Komsomol member of the collective farm. Blucher received a statement of the following content: “We have fists that have not yet been knocked out. They are constantly agitating about the death of Comrade Kirov, that one was killed, how to knock them all out ‐ take measures against them. ʺ
In a number of cases, talk about murder basically boils down to the fact that it is perfect according to the instructions of the bourgeoisie and is a harbinger of war.
“The assassination of Kirov was the work of another political party in order to drag the USSR into the war. The imperialists are putting all their efforts into starting a war with us. ʺ
“This is a political matter since he decided to shoot Kirov. After all, Kirov was not without security. Here, apparently, the murder was decided on the instructions of the industrial party. ʺ
“Kirov could not be killed simply. Apparently, there is some organization that sent the killer” (collective farmers‐shock workers).
K.‐r. hostile and socially alien elements, in order to obscure the populationʹs belief that the murder was committed by the counterrevolution, spread provocative rumors, discrediting the memory of Comrade Kirov.
“The murder was committed in a drunken case, but the newspapers won’t write about it” (former kulak).
“The murder took place in a drunken case, there is no counterrevolution at all. They only shout that this is a matter of counterrevolution” (White Guard).
Belorechenskaya MTS. The radio operator of the political department Antipov spreads rumors that Comrade Kirov was killed by a member of the CPSU (b).
Together with this, Ph.D. elements speak directly about the need for terror.
“Terror is even necessary, since by destroying a person, you can also destroy the evil done by that person” (Kropotkin, employee. Arrested).
“It is not enough to kill one. All those sitting in the Kremlin must be shot and all the communists must be killed” (stts. Pavlovskaya, kulak. Arrested).
“They killed one dog. Maybe someone else will be killed. After all, this will not end there, because the Bolsheviks did a lot of bad things to everyone” (Art. Caucasian, employee. Arrested).
“It’s a pity that they killed one, it was necessary to kill more” (Yeisk, White Guards Cossacks Grigoriev, Petrenko. Arrested).
“One reptile was killed in Leningrad. We should have shot them all so that the people would not be tortured” (Salsk, expelled from the CPSU (b)).
K.‐r. hostile elements, in addition to terrorist agitation, display insurrectionary tendencies, declaring the need to assassinate Comrade Stalin.
“Now, if Stalin had been killed, it would have been a different matter” (Kropotkin, medical officer. Arrested).
“If they gave me a weapon, I would be the first to go against this government. I read the newspapers write about the crash. Now, if Stalin had been caught there, then it would have been better” (Salsk, kulak. Arrested).
“They killed Kirov, why didnʹt they kill Stalin? We should have killed him too” (Salsk, collective farmer Klimenko).
“If all the leaders were shot together with Stalin, then one could rejoice. However, we alone cannot cope with them without outside help, and Germany and Japan, as luck would have it, fell silent. We have more than enough dissatisfied with the sovereign power. Only leaders are absent” (Millerovo, individual peasant. Arrested).
Over the past few days, 26 people have been arrested for terrorist agitation in the countryside. An investigation is underway.
The entire ASE of both cities and villages, leading a malicious agitation in connection with the murder of Kirov, was taken into a thorough intelligence study with subsequent operations.
Head of the NKVD Directorate for AChK
Rud
Deputy head of the SPO UGB [NKVD for AChK]
Listengurt
Dispatched:
1) NKVD of the USSR ‐ Yagoda; 2) deputy. [NKVD USSR] ‐
Agranov; 3) deputy. [NKVD USSR] ‐ Prokofiev; 4) the head of the
SPO GUGB NKVD ‐ Molchanov; 5) the regional committee of the CPSU (b) ‐ to Sheboldaev; 6) the regional committee of the CPSU (b)
‐ to Malinov; 7) regional executive committee ‐ Larin.
F. 3. Op. 2.D. 942. L. 15‐23. The original.
Certificate of the STR of the GUGB NKVD on the reaction of the population to the decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks to abolish the bread cards. December 16, 1934
Archive: F. 3. Op. 1.D. 30. L. 235‐242. Script
No later than December 16, 1934
Top secret
To the Peopleʹs Commissar of Internal Affairs of the USSR,
Comrade Yagoda
Based on materials from the NKVD Departments: Moscow,
Ivanovo, Kursk,
Leningrad, Obsko‐Irtysh Regions, Stalingrad, Azov‐Black Sea, Middle Volga and Gorky Territories and the NKVD Administration of Bashkiria
The decision of the Plenum of the Central Committee of the AllUnion Communist Party of Bolsheviks on the abolition of bread cards by the bulk of the workers, office workers and the intelligentsia evoked unanimous approval. Along with this, negative statements are noted from the ASE:
Moscow region “By abolishing bread cards, the Soviet government is presenting this as another achievement, as an event aimed at the benefit of the people. It is unlikely that anyone will be deceived by the announced prices for bread, because a kilo of white bread for 2 rubles. is unlikely to be affordable for broad layers of workers with earnings of 150‐200 rubles. ʺ (engineer of the Transfor [motor] plant Blank, Stalin district).
“This is the kind of life that has come, only we will now work for one bread, and even that will not be enough, they are pressing the worker from all sides. All these government decrees are placing a heavy burden on the workers” (laborer fur [anicheskoe] construction workshop of Plant No. 24 Cheremisov, Stalin District).
“The Soviets, feeling the support of the communists, do what they want above the workers. Today a kilo of bread is worth a ruble, tomorrow it will be two, and all this will be done until, in a fit of indignation, everyone comes out against the authorities” (carpenter of the construction of Plant No. 24, Borisovsky, Stalin district).
“The rise in prices for bread was caused by the crisis of the soviet government. Now you need to be able to understand politics. In my opinion, Kirovʹs murder took place precisely on this basis, since they did not shoot at Kirov, but at the partyʹs politics” (Locksmith of Tool Factory No. 24 Kovshov, Stalin District).
“Communists are cunning, they always come out clean. Each time they put on a new collar on us, and as a result they mark it as an achievement, an example is the increase in the price of bread” (engineer of the Stalin Automobile Plant Zubkov, Proletarsky
District).
“In connection with the abolition of cards for bread and new prices, we will have the same situation as abroad: there is a lot of bread, but there is no money, people will starve” (worker of the Mosbele factory No. 6 Koltsova, Oktyabrsky District).
IPO. ʺThe abolition of the rationing system is not a matter for the Soviet government, but it was dictated by the League of Nations, since our state is a member of it, and this measure will be difficult, first of all, for the workers, which the capitalists wantedʺ (former merchant Rusin, Vladimir).
ʺFrom January, instead of cards, share books will again be in use, how else can they collect share contributions in cooperatives, but this will make the workers worse: bread will hit their pockets great, here is your powerʺ (Rybakov D.A., former merchant, Shuya).
ʺNew prices for bread will finally crush the workers, you will not fail to go on strike againʺ (former member of the All‐Union Communist Party of Bolsheviks, anti‐Soviet Komarov, Rodniki). ʺThe abolition of the rationing system will hit everyone on the pocket, flour will be more expensive than on the market, we are moving towards socialism, but living is getting worseʺ (former kulak Yegorov, Rostov).
ʺWith the abolition of the rationing system, the government will give the workers no more than 10% of the increase in wages, and they will take 50% of the workerʹs wages, this is the final robbery of the workersʺ (former merchant Bogomolov, Factory ʺOctober 10ʺ, Kostroma).
Western region “A policy like the abolition of bread cards is no good. The Party and the government thereby wants to relieve itself of responsibility for supplying the workers with grain and to shift it onto the co‐operatives. And what do you get from cooperation if the state does not. They will take away the cards, and we will be left without bread at all” (an anti‐Soviet worker of the BRES).
“The Central Committeeʹs resolution on the abolition of the rationing system is forced since we are already seeing unemployment in the Soviet Union. The state wants to earn more money at the expense of the workers and give the unemployed an opportunity to exist somehow” (Trotskyist, worker of the Bytoshevsky plant).
Stalingrad region. Engineers of the Krasny Oktyabr plant Sauber, Yakovlev and others said: “A month ago, central newspapers denied the message of the Reuters agency that the card system would be abolished in the USSR due to financial difficulties, and food prices would be increased, including number and bread. This means that Reuters was well aware of what would be dealt with at the Plenum of the Central Committee, and now this slander of the Reuters agency seemed to be confirmed” (Stalingrad).
Blooming worker Semyonov said: “Well, now everyone has been leveled, the shop for drummers is closed, otherwise they were given flour for the holiday. Enough to compete, you wonʹt interest them anymore” (Stalingrad).
Sales department employee Sharov, a former White Guard, said: ʺThe low‐paid will not be better, they will have to work only for one bread, even despite the increase in wages, since the price of bread will exceed the increase in salaryʺ (Stalingrad).
A group of housewives of the Krasny Oktyabr plant in the store said that only traders, collective farmers and those who have their own cows, pigs, etc. would benefit from the abolition of bread cards. The latter will feed the cattle with bread and will raise the prices for milk and butter” (Stalingrad).
Bashkiria. “Cancellation of bread cards is another measure to increase government revenues. The envisaged increase in wages will certainly lead to inflation” (employee Kolesov, anti‐Soviet, Ufa).
“The cancellation of the centralized supply and rationing for bread is caused by the fact that foreign states are pressing on the communists, since foreigners come to the USSR, see long queues for bread, while Soviet newspapers shout about a big harvest. To gloss over the eyes of foreigners, open the free trade in bread. In addition, this is the result of pressure on the Soviet Union from the League of Nations” (Moiseenko, former nobleman, Ufa).
“Once they have allowed free trade in grain, then, of course, they will soon return private property as well. Everything will gradually pass over to the old, and there will be relief” (the landlord Popaleykina, wife of the repressed for the work of the revolutionary, Ufa).
Kursk region “The abolition of bread cards is introduced not in order to improve the material situation of the population, but in this way to blur the existing contradictions between classes. The dominant class in our country is the Bolsheviks, who receive everywhere in closed distribution centers at reduced prices. The worker buys products in the market, overpaying for them twice as much against the actual cost. The worker also pays the difference, which the Bolsheviks underpaid by receiving food in a closed distributor. Formally, the Bolsheviks allegedly improve the position of the workers, but in fact they are fighting off them at exorbitant prices and as much as they want” (administratively exiled Dashnak, Kursk).
ʺThe government will play on the prices of bread, securing colossal profits at the expense of the population, despite the increase in wages, which is projected in connection with the elimination of the rationing systemʺ (former administratively exiled anarchist, Kursk).
Leningrad region. “The cancellation of bread cards was caused by the fact that the German delegation that arrived in the USSR made a statement that, despite unemployment in Germany, bread is sold without cards and in sufficient quantities. Our rulers decided to destroy the cards and raise the prices for bread ʺ(Fedotov, assistant to the chief accountant of theʺ Kartontol ʺfactory),
“This is a beautiful gesture of Soviet Russia, and it is being done to show Germany that we are canceling the cards at the time you enter them. If there is an increase in wages, it will not cover the cost of bread ʺ(Zverev, legal adviser to the Northern Shipyard).
“The resolution is just another fraud before abroad. Then the prices will be reduced by 2 kopecks. and they will say ‐ how well they live in the USSR, but in fact we are starving” (Maslov and Sychev, designer of the 46th workshop of the Bolshevik Plant).
“If we do something, then we need to act in an organized manner, nothing will work out alone. Results can only come about if there is a massive uprising. Everyone will not be imprisoned and not shot” (worker of the corps shop Iznik).
AChK. “After the abolition of bread cards, the sale of bread will be carried out at high prices. This is another issue of the governmentʹs policy aimed at mobilizing funds and pumping money from the population. This decision was made by the Central Committee in connection with the fact that our bread is no longer accepted abroad, there is nowhere to put it. Therefore, the government decided to sell it to its people, with the only difference that our bread was sold abroad for a pittance, and here they will tear a skin for it” (Tsfas, employee of the Kraimestprom, Rostov).
“No improvement can be expected. Our government is used to deceiving the people, every year it promises an improvement in the material situation of the working people, but we see only one worsening. The same will happen after the abolition of bread cards” (Popov, employee of Kraimestprom, Rostov).
“We have now become such fools that we agree with every resolution and show that we are happy when they take off our last shirt” (Smirnov, head of the tariff bureau of Kraimestprom, Rostov).
“Under the rationing system, the people starved because they gave little bread according to the ration card, and now the people will starve, because they will have nothing to buy bread for, since the prices for it will be high. The people will not get any relief” (Chefranov, economist of Kraimestprom, Rostov).
“The resolution of the Central Committee is another maneuver of the party, leading to the impoverishment of the working people. We have become fools, agreeing with the resolution, we are glad that they take off our last shirt. The government promises improvement every year, but always deceives” (employees of the Kraimestprom, Rostov).
“This is another issue of the governmentʹs policy aimed at mobilizing funds, pumping money out of the population. Abroad, our bread is not accepted, there is nowhere to put it, so the government decided to sell it to its people, now they will tear our skin off us” (Rostov).
SVK. “This decision cannot be trusted, the workers will be teased and the grain trade will be closed again, only more crooks and loafers will be found in production” (doctor of the Kinap plant Krasnov, Samara).
ʺBread is doubled, and wages are raised by 10%, so live, the worker will be like abroad ‐ there is a lot of bread, and the workers are hungry, it was good, it got even betterʺ (Zharova, an employee of
Plant No. 24,. Samara).
“This is another trick of the communists, they will sell flour that their pigs don’t eat, even though they are hungry, but other countries want to outmaneuver” (accountant of plant No. 102 Burdakov, Chapaevsk).
Gorky Territory. “The bread cards are canceled not because there is enough bread, but because it is not enough, and the government, not wanting to spend the prepared grain, completely switches the supply of the city to the countryside. Hence the conclusion: there will not be enough bread in the village to supply the city” (judgments of a group of scientists from Gorky University).
“The government was forced to introduce a decree on the abolition of the card system, since there is no other way out. They took more from the peasants than needed. In some villages, famine begins, theft develops, etc. A tense situation has arisen in the city as well. In order to defuse this situation, the free sale of grain is introduced” (worker Demidov, plant No. 21).
“Many now, due to the lack of bread, go to production and to the city, it becomes difficult to live in the countryside, but in the city, if the price of bread is raised, it will also be difficult for the migrant workers to live. The peasant does not know where to go: it is difficult in the countryside, and in the city it’s no better” (statements by individual individual farmers of the Vorotynsky District).
Obsko‐Irtysh region “I don’t know how the government will be able to hold such an event, since it doesn’t have enough bread even in conditions of supply by rationing” (legal adviser of the Amelchenko Plywood Factory, Tyumen).
“The Central Committeeʹs wording in its resolution that the demand for bread has increased reminds of absurdity, as if before people did not eat and did not need bread. The notation “replacement of the card system” is therefore a conditional phenomenon. In the city, cards made it possible to subsist on low wages, but the village was starving. Well‐being of some at the expense of others” (3rd year student of the Pedagogical Institute Mukhachev, Tyumen).
Pavel Rogalev, a non‐partisan student of the same course and department, of the NKVD reserve troops, said in the presence of students on the same issue: “The introduction of grain trade at reasonable prices is a good measure, the number of starving and rotting grain in state warehouses will decrease. But the improvement of material well‐being, as it was under the New Economic Policy, will not work, because there is still no incentive to develop agriculture by collective farms. The simultaneous rise in prices and wages predicts the nonspecial firmness of the ruble exchange rate, obviously, it is dancing somewhat towards the reduction in price. ʺ
“Well, there’s perhaps little joy ‐ if there are no cards, there’s no one to carry bread anyway. The collective farms themselves are starving. Here I recently had a collective farmer from the village of Sokolovka, Tavdinsky District, and said that nowadays, perhaps, all collective farms will be abandoned, since there is nothing, everything was taken to the state and the collective farms were left with nothing but grass ʺ(Standardstroy worker Igumnov, Tyumen) ...
“Now there are queues for bread because to stock up on bread, otherwise who knows what else will happen” (Zhilinsky, former policeman, station Tyumen).
Head of the SPO GUGB NKVD Molchanov
F. 3. Op. 1.D. 30. L. 235‐242. The original.