NKVD 53055 226054155 2008-07-16T16:56:50Z Sam770 7486656 /* Repressions and executions */ [[Image:Emblema NKVD.svg|thumb|117px|Emblem of the NKVD]] The '''NKVD''' ({{lang-ru|'''НКВД'''}}, {{lang|ru|Народный Комиссариат Внутренних Дел ''Narodnyy Komissariat Vnutrennikh Del''}} {{Audio|ru-NKVD.ogg|listen}}) or '''[[People's Commissar]]iat for Internal Affairs''' was the leading [[secret police]] organization of the [[Soviet Union]] that was responsible for [[Soviet political repressions|political repression]] during the [[Stalinism|Stalinist]] era. It conducted mass [[extrajudicial execution]]s, ran the [[Gulag]] system of [[forced labor]], suppressed underground resistance, conducted mass deportations of [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|nationalities]] and ''"[[Kulaks]]"'' to unpopulated regions of the country, [[NKVD Border Troops|guarded state borders]], conducted [[espionage]] and [[political assassination]]s abroad, was responsible for [[subversion (politics)|subversion]] of foreign governments, and enforced [[Stalinism|Stalinist policy]] within Communist movements in other countries. The NKVD was also known for its [[Main Directorate for State Security (USSR)|Main Directorate for State Security]] '''(GUGB)''', which eventually became the Committee for State Security ([[KGB]]). In addition to its [[state security]] and [[police]] functions, however, some of its departments handled other matters, such as firefighting, [[border guard]]s ([[NKVD Border Troops]]) and [[archives]]. == History and structure == {{main|Cheka|Chronology of Soviet secret police agencies}} [[Image:KGB House Main.jpg|thumb|275px|The [[Lubyanka (KGB)|NKVD Headquarters]] on [[Lubyanka Square]] designed by [[Aleksey Schusev]].]] [[Image:NKVD1936.jpg|thumb|thumb|250px|right|Picture of [[Felix Edmundovich Dzerzhinsky|Dzerzhinsky]] during a parade in 1936.]] The [[October Revolution]] of 1917 established a new [[Bolshevik]] regime, the [[Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic]] (RSFSR). The Bolsheviks dissolved the old police, then created the NKVD, and Workers' and Peasants' ''[[Militsiya]]'' under NKVD supervision. However, the NKVD apparatus was overwhelmed by duties inherited directly from the [[Tsar]]'s Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), such as the supervision of the local governments and firefighting, and the new proletarian workforce was largely inexperienced. Realizing that it was left with no capable security force, the [[Council of People's Commissars]] of the RSFSR created a secret political police, the '''Cheka''', led by [[Felix Dzerzhinsky]]. It gained the right to undertake quick non-judicial trials and executions, if that was deemed necessary in order to "protect the revolution". The ''Cheka'' was reorganized in 1922 as the [[State Political Directorate]] or '''GPU''' of the NKVD of the RSFSR. In 1923, the [[Soviet Union|USSR]] was formed with the RSFSR as its largest member. The GPU became the '''OGPU''' (Joint State Political Directorate), under the [[Council of People's Commissars]] of the USSR. The NKVD of the RSFSR retained control of the ''militsiya'', and various other responsibilities. In 1934, the OGPU was incorporated into the newly-created NKVD of the USSR, becoming the [[Main Directorate for State Security (USSR)|Main Directorate for State Security]]; the NKVD of the RSFSR ceased to exist and was not resurrected until 1946 (as the MVD of the RSFSR). As a result, the NKVD also became responsible for all detention facilities (including the forced labor camps, known as the [[Gulag]]) as well as for the regular [[police]].<ref> At various times, the NKVD had the following Chief Directorates, abbreviated as "ГУ" — {{lang|ru|главное управление, ''glavnoye upravleniye''}}. :ГУГБ — государственная безопасность, of State Security ({{lang|ru|[[GUGB]], ''gosudarstvennaya bezopasnost’''}}) :ГУРКМ — рабоче-крестьянская милиция, of workers and peasants ''[[militsiya]]'' ({{lang|ru|''radoče-krest'yanskaya militsiya''}}) :ГУПВО — пограничная и внутренняя охрана, of border and internal guards ({{lang|ru|''pograničnaya i vnytrennyaya okhrana''}}) :ГУПО — пожарная охрана, of fire guards ({{lang|ru|''požarnaya okhrana''}}) :ГУШосдор — шоссейные дороги, of highways ({{lang|ru|''šosseyniye dorogi''}}) :ГУЖД — железные дороги, of railways ({{lang|ru|''železniye dorogi''}}) :ГУЛАГ — [[GULAG]] ({{lang|ru|Главное Управление Исправительно—Трудовых Лагерей и колоний, ''Glavnoye Upravleniye Ispravitelno-trudovykh Lagerey i kolonii''}}) :ГЭУ — экономика, of economics ({{lang|ru|''ekonomika''}}) :ГТУ — транспорт, of transport ({{lang|ru|''transport''}}) :ГУВПИ — военнопленных и интернированных, of [[POW]]s and interned persons ({{lang|ru|''voyennoplennikh i internirovannikh''}}) </ref> Since its creation in 1934, the NKVD of the USSR underwent many organizational changes; between 1938 and 1939 alone, the NKVD's structure changed three times.<ref> '''NKVD Organization in 1939''' :'''NKVD management''' *People's Commissar for Internal Affairs — [[Lavrenty Beria]] **First Deputy and the head of Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB) — [[Vsevolod Merkulov]] '''Deputies''' *for NKVD troops — [[Ivan Maslenikov]] *for ''Militsiya'' — [[Vasyli Chernyshov]] *for Staff — [[Sergei Kruglov]] '''Secretariats''' *NKVD Secretariat — [[Stepan Mamulov]] *Secretariat of Special Council of the NKVD — [[Vladimir Ivanov]] *Special Technical Bureau — [[Valentin Kravchenko]] *Special Bureau — [[Pyotr Scharia]] *NKVD Inspection Group — [[Nikolai Pavlov]] *Special Plenipotentiary — [[Aleksei Stefanov]] *Secretariat of the First Deputy for GUGB Task — [[Vsevolod Merkulov]] *Inspection Group — [[Vsevolod Merkulov]] *Special Secretariat — [[Vasyli Chernyshov]] *Section for Organization of Labor Force — [[Vsevolod Merkulov]] *Permanent Technical Committee — ? *Section for Repair Work — [[Pyotr Vainschtein]] *Supply Section — M. Mituschyn *Department of Railroad Transportation and Water — ? '''Directorates and departments''' *Main Directorate of State Security (GUGB) — [[Vsevolod Merkulov]] *1st Special Department — [[Leonid Baschtakov]] *2nd Special Department — [[Evgeny Lapishin]] *3rd Special Department — [[Dmitry Shadrin]] *4th Special Department — [[Mikhail Filimonov]] *5th Special Department — [[Vladimir Vladimirov]] *Department of Mobilization — [[Ivan Scherediega]] *Department of Staff — [[Sergei Kruglov]] *The Chief Directorate of Economics (GEU) — [[Bogdan Kobulov]] *The Chief Directorate of Transportation (GTU) — [[Solomon Milshtein]] *The Chief Directorate of Prison (GTU) — [[Aleksandr Galkin]] *The Chief Directorate of Administration (AČU) — J.Schumbatov *The Chief Directorate of Archive (GAU) — [[Yosif Nikitynsky]] *The Chief Directorate of fire guards (GUPO) — [[Nikolay Istomin]] *The Chief Directorate of ''Militsiya'' (GURKM) — [[Pavel Zujev]] *The Chief Directorate [or Administration] of Corrective Labour Camps and Colonies (GULAG) — [[Vasyli Chernyshov]] *The Chief Directorate of Highways (GUŠOSDOR) — [[Vsevolod Fedotov]] *Directorate of Kremlin Commander — [[Nikolai Spyrydonov]] *The Chief Directorate of Border Troops (GUPW) — [[Grigori Sokolov]] *The Chief Directorate of NKVD Troops for Railroad Protection — [[Aleksandr Guliev]] *The Chief Directorate of NKVD Troops for Escort — [[Vladimir Sharapov]] *The Chief Directorate of NKVD Troops for Protection of Industrial Enterprise — I. Kozik *The Chief Directorate of NKVD Operative Troops — P. Ariemyev *The Chief Directorate of Military Provision — [[Aleksandr Wurgaft]] *The Chief Directorate of Military Construction — [[Ivan Luby]] *Directorate for Prisoners of War — [[Pyotr Soprunienko]] *Directorate for Construction in the Far East — [[Ivan Nikishev]] *Main Fanacial Department — [[Lazar Bierienzon]] *Main Department for Civil Status — [[Fyedor Sokolov]] </ref> On [[February 3]], [[1941]], the Special Sections of the NKVD responsible for [[Military counterintelligence of the Soviet Army|military counterintelligence]] (CI) became part of the Army and Navy (RKKA and RKKF, respectively). The GUGB was separated from the NKVD and renamed the "[[NKGB|People's Commissariat for State Security]]" '''(NKGB)'''. After the [[Operation Barbarossa|German invasion]], the NKVD and NKGB were reunited on [[20 July]] 1941. The CI sections were returned to the NKVD in January 1942. In April 1943, the CI sections were again transferred to the People's Commissariats ''([[Narkomat]])'' of Defense and the Navy, becoming ''[[SMERSH]]'' (from ''Smert' Shpionam'' or "Death to Spies"); at the same time, the NKVD was again separated from the NKGB. In 1946, the NKVD of the USSR was renamed as the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), while the NKGB was renamed as the Ministry of State Security '''(MGB)'''. According to a 1996 radio documentary by the Russian Service of [[Radio Liberty]], the MGB was reduced from being a ministry to a committee because Soviet leaders feared what the MGB might do if the purges were to resume.{{fact|date=November 2007}} In 1953, after the arrest of [[Lavrenty Beria]], the MGB was merged back into the MVD. The police and security services were finally split in 1954 to become: * The USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD), responsible for the criminal police and [[prison|correctional facilities]]. * The USSR Committee for State Security '''(KGB)''', responsible for the [[political police]], CI, intelligence, personal protection (of the leadership), and confidential communications. == NKVD activities == The main function of the NKVD was to protect the [[state security]] of the Soviet Union. This function was successfully accomplished through massive [[political repression]]. === Repressions and executions === ''See [[:Category:Political repression in the Soviet Union]] for detailed articles on the issue.'' [[Image:Moving Out.jpg|thumb|200px|thumb|[[Nikolai Getman]] "Moving Out". The [[Gulag]] Collection.<ref>[http://www.jamestown.org/getman_paintings.php?painting_id=22 The Gulag Collection: Paintings of Nikolai Getman].</ref>]] In implementing Soviet internal policy with respect to perceived enemies of the state ("[[enemies of the people]]"), to GULAG camps and hundreds of thousands were executed by the NKVD. Formally, most of these people were convicted by [[NKVD troika]]s ("triplets") — special [[court martial|courts martial]]. Evidential standards were very low; a tip off by an anonymous informer was considered sufficient grounds for arrest. Usage of "physical means of persuasion" ([[torture]]) was sanctioned by a special decree of the state, which opened the door to numerous abuses, documented in recollections of victims and members of the NKVD itself. Hundreds of mass graves resulting from such operations were later discovered throughout the country. Documented evidence exists that the NKVD committed mass extrajudicial executions, guided by secret "plans". Those plans established the number and proportion of victims (officially "public enemies") in a given region (e.g. the quotas for [[clergy]], former [[nobility|nobles]] etc, regardless of identity). The families of the repressed, including children, were also automatically repressed according to [[NKVD Order no. 00486]]. The purges were organized in a number of waves according to the decisions of the [[Politburo]] of the Communist Party (e.g. the campaigns among [[engineer]]s ("Shakhty Case"), party and military elite ("fascist plots"), and medical staff ("[[Doctors Plot]]"). Distinctive and permanent purging campaigns were conducted against non-[[Russia]]n nationalities (including [[Ukrainians]], [[Poles]], [[Tatar]]s, [[Germany|Germans]] and many others, who were accused of "bourgeois nationalism", "fascism", etc.) and religious activists. A number of [[mass operations of the NKVD]] were related to the prosecution of whole ethnic categories. Whole populations of certain ethnicities [[Population transfer in the Soviet Union|were forcibly resettled]]. Despite this, ethnic [[Russians]] still formed the majority of NKVD victims. It also served as the Soviet government's arm for the lethal persecution of [[Judaism]] the [[Russian Orthodox Church]], the [[Eastern Catholic Churches|Greek Catholics]], the [[Roman Catholic Church|Latin Catholics]], [[Islam]] and other religious organizations, an operation headed by [[Eugene Tuchkov]]. NKVD agents became not only executioners, but also one of the largest groups of victims. Most 1930s agency staff (hundreds of thousands), including all commanders, were executed. During the [[Spanish Civil War]], NKVD agents, acting in conjunction with the [[Communist Party of Spain]], exercised substantial control over the [[Second Spanish Republic#The Liberal Government (February 1936-April 1939)|Republican]] government, using Soviet military aid to help further Soviet influence. The NKVD established numerous secret prisons around [[Madrid]], which were used to detain, torture, and kill hundreds of the NKVD's enemies, at first focusing on [[Spanish State|Spanish Nationalists]] and [[Red Terror (Spain)|Spanish Catholics]], while from late [[1938]] increasingly anarchists and trotskyists were the objects of persecution. In June, 1937 [[Andres Nin]], the secretary of the [[Stalinism|anti-Stalinist]] [[Workers' Party of Marxist Unification|Marxist POUM]], was tortured and killed in an NKVD prison. Cooperation between the NKVD and the [[Gestapo]]: In March, 1940 representatives of the NKVD and the Gestapo met for one week in [[Zakopane]], to coordinate the pacification of [[Poland]]; ''see [[Gestapo-NKVD Conferences|Gestapo–NKVD Conferences]]''. The Soviet Union delivered hundreds of German and Austrian Communists to the Gestapo, as unwanted foreigners, together with their documents. During [[World War II]], NKVD units were used for rear area security, including stopping [[desertion]]. In liberated territory the NKVD and (later) NKGB carried out mass arrests, deportations, and executions. The targets included both collaborators with Germany and non-Communist [[resistance movement]]s such as the Polish [[Armia Krajowa]]. The NKVD also executed tens of thousands of [[NKVD massacres of prisoners|Polish political prisoners]] in 1939-1941. The NKVD's [[intelligence (information gathering)|intelligence]] and ''[[special operations]]'' (''Inostrannyi Otdel'') unit organized overseas [[assassination]]s of ex-Soviet citizens and foreigners who were regarded as enemies of the USSR by [[Joseph Stalin|Josef Stalin]]. Among the officially confirmed victims of such plots were: *[[Leon Trotsky]], a personal political enemy of Stalin and his most bitter international critic; *[[Boris Savinkov]], [[Russia]]n revolutionary and terrorist ([[Trust Operation]] of the [[State Political Directorate|GPU]]); *[[Yevhen Konovalets]], prominent [[Ukraine|Ukrainian]] political and military leader. *[[Guy Leland]], French anti-Soviet underground poet After the death of Stalin in 1953, the new Soviet leader [[Nikita Khrushchev]] halted the NKVD purges. From the 1950s to the 1980s, thousands of victims were legally "rehabilitated" (i.e. acquitted and had their rights restored). Many of the victims and their relatives refused to apply for rehabilitation out of fear or lack of documents. The rehabilitation was not complete: in most cases the formulation was "due to lack of evidence of the case of crime", a Soviet legal jargon that effectively said "there was a crime, but unfortunately we cannot prove it". Only a limited number of persons were rehabilitated with the formulation "cleared of all charges". Very few NKVD agents were ever officially convicted of the particular violation of anyone's rights. Legally, those agents executed in the 1930s were also "purged" without legitimate criminal investigations and court decisions. In the 1990s and 2000s a small number of ex-NKVD agents living in the [[Baltic states]] were convicted of crimes against the local population. At present, living former agents retain generous pensions and privileges established by the USSR and later confirmed by all of the member countries of the [[Commonwealth of Independent States]]. They have not been prosecuted in any way, although some have been identified by their victims. === Intelligence activities === These included: * Establishment of a widespread spy network through the [[Comintern]]. * Operations of [[Richard Sorge]], the "[[Red Orchestra (spy)|Red Orchestra]]", and other agents who provided valuable intelligence during World War II. * Recruitment of important [United States|U.K.] officials as agents in the 1940s. * Penetration of [[United Kingdom|British]] intelligence ([[MI6]]) and counter-intelligence ([[MI5]]) services. * Collection of detailed nuclear weapons design information from the U.S. and Britain. * Disruption of several confirmed plots to assassinate Stalin. === The NKVD and the Soviet economy === The extensive system of labor exploitation in the GULAG made a notable contribution to the Soviet economy and the development of remote areas. Colonization of Siberia, the North and Far East was among the explicitly stated goals in the very first laws concerning Soviet [[labor camp]]s. [[Mining]], [[construction]] works (roads, [[railway]]s, [[canal]]s, [[dam]]s, and [[factory|factories]]), [[logging]], and other functions of the labor camps were part of the Soviet [[planned economy]], and the NKVD had its own production plans.{{Fact|date=February 2007}} The most unusual part of the NKVD's achievements was its role in Soviet science and arms development. Many scientists and engineers arrested for political crimes were placed in special prisons, much more comfortable than the GULAG), colloquially known as ''[[sharashka]]s''. These prisoners continued their work in these prisons. When later released, some of them became world leaders in science and technology. Among such ''sharashka'' members were [[Sergey Korolev]], the head designer of the Soviet rocket program and first human space flight mission in 1961, and [[Andrei Tupolev]], the famous airplane designer. After World War II, the NKVD coordinated work on Soviet nuclear weaponry, under the direction of General [[Pavel Sudoplatov]]. The scientists were not prisoners, but the project was supervised by the NKVD because of its great importance and the corresponding requirement for absolute security and secrecy. Also, the project used information obtained by the NKVD from the United States. ==See also== [[Image:Katyń, ekshumacja ofiar.jpg|250px|thumb|[[Katyn massacre]] 1943 exhumation. Photo made by [[International Red Cross|Polish Red Cross]] delegation.]] *[[Attack on the NKVD Camp in Rembert%C3%B3w]] *[[Bykivnia]] *[[Gestapo-NKVD Conferences]] *[[Great Purge]] *[[Holodomor]] *[[Katyn massacre]] *[[Kurapaty]] *[[Mass operations of the NKVD]] *[[NKVD buildings]] *[[NKVD prisoner massacres]] *[[Population transfer in the Soviet Union]] *[[Special Council of the NKVD]] *[[USSR Border Troops]] *[[Vinnytsia massacre]] ==Notes== {{reflist|2}} ==External links== * [http://www.nkvd.org/ NKVD.org: information site about the NKVD] * {{ru icon}} [http://www.mvdinform.ru/index.php?docid=361 MVD: 200-year history of the Ministry] * {{ru icon}} [http://www.memo.ru/history/nkvdfram.htm MEMORIAL: history of the OGPU/NKVD/MGB/KGB] {{RedSecretPolice}} [[Category:NKVD| ]] [[Category:Intelligence agencies]] [[Category:Political repression in the Soviet Union]] [[Category:National security]] [[bg:Народен комисариат на вътрешните работи]] [[ca:NKVD]] [[cs:NKVD]] [[da:NKVD]] [[et:NKVD]] [[es:NKVD]] [[eo:NKVD]] [[fr:NKVD]] [[it:Narodnyj Komissariat Vnutrennich Del]] [[he:נ.ק.ו.ד.]] [[ka:შინაგან საქმეთა სახალხო კომისარიატი]] [[lt:NKVD]] [[nl:NKVD]] [[ja:内務人民委員部]] [[no:NKVD]] [[pl:NKWD]] [[pt:NKVD]] [[ro:NKVD]] [[ru:Народный комиссариат внутренних дел]] [[simple:NKVD]] [[sk:Narodnyj komissariat vnutrennich del]] [[sl:NKVD]] [[sr:НКВД]] [[fi:NKVD]] [[sv:NKVD]] [[tr:NKVD]] [[uk:Народний комісаріат внутрішніх справ]] [[zh:內務人民委員部]]