How much died from Stalinist repressions. Repressions in the USSR: socio-political meaning

Mass repressions in the USSR were carried out in the period 1927-1953. These repressions are directly associated with the name of Joseph Stalin, which during these years carried out the leadership of the country. Social and political persecution in the USSR began after the completion of the last stage civil War. These phenomena began to gain momentum in the second half of the 30s and did not slow down during World War II, as well as after its end. Today we will talk about what the social and political repression of the Soviet Union was represented, consider which phenomena underlie the events, as well as to which consequences it led.

They say: the whole people can not be suppressed without end. False! Can! We see how our people devastated, wildly, and descended on him indifference no longer only to the destinies of the country, not only for the fate of the neighbor, but even to their own destiny and the fate of children. Equid, the last saving response of the body, became our defining feature . Therefore, the popularity of vodka is unprecedented even on Russian scale. This is a terrible indifference when a person sees his life is not a forever, not with a broken corner, but so hopelessly fragmented, so along and across the leaned, that only for the sake of alcohol oblivion is still worth living. Now, if vodka was banned - they would immediately have a revolution flashed.

Alexander Solzhenitsyn

Reasons for repression:

  • Forcing the population to work on an uneconomical basis. The work in the country had to do a lot, and there was not enough money for everything. The ideology formed new thinking and perception, and also had to motivate people to work almost free.
  • Strengthening personal power. For the new ideology, the idol was needed, a person who is unquestioned trusted. After the murder of Lenin, this post was vacant. Stalin was supposed to take this place.
  • Strengthening the depletion of totalitarian society.

If you try to find the beginning of repression in the Union, then the starting point is definitely the 1927 year. This year was marked by the fact that mass reprisals began to pass in the country, with so-called pests, as well as sabota. The motive of these events should be sought in the relationship between the USSR and the UK. So, in early 1927, the Soviet Union was involved in a major international scandal when the country was openly accused of trying to transfer the hearth of the Soviet revolution to London. In response to these events, the United Kingdom ruined all the relationships with the USSR, both political and economic. Inside the country, this step was presented as preparation from London a new wave of intervention. At one of the party meetings, Stalin stated that the country "It is necessary to destroy all the remnants of imperialism and all supporters of the White Guard Movement." An excellent reason for this, Stalin appeared on June 7, 1927. On this day, the Political Representative of the USSR was killed in Poland - Zhobov.

As a result, terror began. For example, at night, 20 people were shot by 20 people who contacted the empire. These were representatives of the ancient noble families. In total, in June of the 27th year, more than 9 thousand people were arrested, who were accused of state treason, the implementation of imperialism and other things that are terrible, but very hard proved. Most of the arrested was sent to prison.

Fighting pests

After that, a number of large cases began in the USSR, which were aimed at combating hydration and sabotage. The wave of these repression was based on the fact that in most major companies that worked within the Soviet Union, senior positions occupied immigrants from Imperial Russia. Of course, these people for the most part have not experienced sympathy for the new government. Therefore, the Soviet regime was looking for the prepositions for which this intelligentsia could be removed from the leadership posts and, if possible, to destroy. The problem was that this was needed by weighty and legal grounds. Such grounds were found in a number of trials, which rolled under the Soviet Union in the 20s.


Among the most bright examples Such cases can be allocated as follows:

  • Shakhty business. In 1928, repression in the USSR touched the miners from the Donbass. From this case staged an indicative process. All the leadership of the Donbass, as well as 53 engineers were accused of spyware with a permit attempt to a new state. As a result of the proceedings, 3 people were shot, 4 justified, the rest received a prison sentence from 1 to 10 years. It was a precedent - society with delight perceived repression against the enemies of the people ... In 2000, the Russian Prosecutor's Office rehabilitates all participants in the Shakhtinsky case, due to the lack of a crime.
  • Pulkovo case. In June 1936, a large-scale could be seen in the USSR solar eclipse. Pulkovo Observatory appealed to the world community to attract personnel to study this phenomenon, as well as get the necessary foreign equipment. As a result, the organization was accused of spyware. The number of victims is classified.
  • Business company. The accused of this case was attracted by those whom the Soviet government called bourgeois. This process was held in 1930. The defendants were accused of an attempt to break the industrialization in the country.
  • Case of the peasant party. The ECEROVA organization, called the group of Cheyanov and Kondratyev, is widely known. In 1930, representatives of this organization were accused of an attempts to disrupt industrialization and in interference in the affairs of agriculture.
  • Union Bureau. The business of the Union Bureau was open in 1931. Representatives of Mensheviks were accused. They were accused of undermining the creation and implementation of economic activity within the country, as well as in relations with foreign intelligence.

At that moment, a mass ideological struggle took place in the USSR. The new regime was trying by all the forces to explain its position, as well as to justify its actions. But Stalin understood that one ideology could not bring order in the country and could not allow him to keep power. Therefore, along with ideology, repression began in the USSR. Above, we have already led some examples of cases from which the repressions began. These cases at all times caused big questions, and today, when, in many of them, the documents are declassified, it becomes absolutely clear that most accusations were unreasonable. It is not by chance that the prosecutor's office of Russia, having considered the documents of Shakhtinsko, rehabilitated all the participants in the process. And this is despite the fact that in 1928, no one from the party leadership of the country has arisen about the innocence of these people. Why did it happen? This was due to the fact that under the guise of repression, as a rule, everyone who was not agreed with the new regime was destroyed.

The events of the 20th anniversary were just the beginning, the main events were ahead.

Socio-political meaning of mass repression

A new massive wave of repression inside the country has unfolded in early 1930. At that moment, the struggle began not only with political competitors, but also with, so-called, fists. In fact, a new blow to Soviet power began on rich, and this blow hooked not only wealthy people, but also middling and even poor people. One of the stages of applying this impact fell apart. Within the framework of this material, we will not dwell in detail on matters, since this issue has been studied in detail in the relevant article on the site.

Party Composition and Controls in Repressions

The new wave of political repression in the USSR began at the end of 1934. At that time, there was a significant change in the structure of the country's control apparatus. In particular, on July 10, 1934, the special services were reorganized. On this day, the People's Commissariat of the Interior of the USSR was created. This department is known for the NKVD abbreviation. The part of this unit included such services as:

  • Main Department of State Security. It was one of the main bodies that practically all the affairs.
  • The main management of the workers' and peasant militia. This is an analogue of the modern militia, with all the functions and responsibilities.
  • General Directorate of the Border Service. The Office was engaged in border and customs.
  • Main camp management. This control today is widely known under the abbreviation of the Gulag.
  • The main control of fire protection.

In addition, in November 1934, a special department was created, which was called "Special Meeting". This department received extensive powers to combat the enemies of the people. In fact, this department could without the presence of the accused, the prosecutor and the lawyer to send people to the link or in the Gulag for up to 5 years. Of course, it was only applied to the enemies of the people, but the problem is that no one has religiously knew how to determine this enemy. That is why a special meeting had unique functions, since the enemy of the people could be announced by the actual any person. Any person could be sent one simple suspicion to the link for 5 years.

Mass repressions in the USSR


The occasion for mass repression has become events of December 1, 1934. Then Sergey Mironovich Kirov was killed in Leningrad. As a result of these events, a special procedure for litigation was approved in the country. In fact, we are talking about accelerated legal proceedings. Under the simplified system of proceedings, all the cases were transferred, where people were accused of terrorism in terrorism and complicity. Again, the problem was that almost all the people who came under repression were under this category. Above, we have already talked about a number of high-profile cases that characterize repression in the USSR, where it is clearly seen that all people, one way or another, were accused of contracting terrorism. The specificity of the simplified system of the proceedings was that the sentence should have been submitted up to 10 days. The accused received the agenda for the day before the proceedings. The trial itself took place without the participation of prosecutors and lawyers. Upon completion of the proceedings, any requests for pardon were prohibited. If, during the proceedings, he sentenced to shooting, this is a measure of punishment performed immediately.

Political repressions, cleaning party

Stalin arranged active repressions within the party of the Bolsheviks. One of the indicative examples of repression that the Bolsheviks touched upon was happened on January 14, 1936. On this day, the replacement of party documents was announced. This step has long been discussed and was not surprising. But when replacing documents, new certificates were awarded not to all Party participants, but only those who "deserved confidence." So began cleaning the party. If you believe official data, then when issuing new party documents, 18% of the Bolsheviks were expelled from the party. These were the people to which the repressions were used primarily. And we are talking only about one of the waves of these cleaning. In total, the consignment of the party was carried out in several stages:

  • In 1933. 250 people were excluded from the top leadership of the party.
  • In 1934 - 1935, 20 thousand people were excluded from the Bolsheviks party.

Stalin actively destroyed people who could claim the power that had strength. To demonstrate this fact, it is only necessary to say that from all members of the Politburo of 1917, after cleaning alive, only Stalin remained (4 members were shot, and Trotsky was excluded from the party and expelled from the country). The total members of the Politburo then were 6 people. In the interval between the revolution and the death of Lenin, a new politburo of 7 people was collected. By the end of cleaning, only Molotov and Kalinin remained alive. In 1934, a regular congress of the WCP (b) party took place. 1934 people participated in the congress. 1108 Of them were arrested. Most are shot.

Kirov's murder exacerbated the wave of repression, and Stalin himself filed a statement to party members about the need for the final extermination of all the enemies of the people. As a result, the Criminal Code of the USSR were amended. These changes were determined that all cases on political prisoners were considered at an accelerated manner without attorneys of prosecutors within 10 days. Executives were performed by immediately. In 1936, a political process took place over the opposition. In fact, the nearest comrades of Lenin - Zinoviev and Kamenev turned out to be on the bench of the defendants. They were accused of murdering Kirov, as well as in the attempt on Stalin. A new stage of political repression above the Lenin Guard began. This time, Bukharin was subjected to repression, as well as the head of the Government of Rykov. The socio-political meaning of repression in this sense was associated with the strengthening of the cult of personality.

Repressions in the army


Since June 1937, the repression in the USSR touched the army. In June, the first lawsuit was happening to the top command of the Workers' and Peasant Red Army (RKKA), including the commander-in-chief of Marshal Tukhachevsky. The leadership of the army was accused of an attempt by the state coup. According to prosecutors, the coup was to take place on May 15, 1937. The defendants were recognized as guilty and most of them were shot. Shot was also Tukhachevsky.

An interesting fact is that out of 8 members of the trial that Tukhachevsky sentenced to execution, in the future five themselves were repressed and shot. However, sinceimes, repression began in the army, which touched the entire leading composition. As a result of such events, 3 Marshals of the Soviet Union were repressed, 3 commander of 1 rank, 10 commander of 2 rank, 50 corpus commander, 154 commissions of the division, 16 Army Commissars, 25 Corresponding Commissioners, 58 Division Commissioners, 401 regiments. In total, 40 thousand people underwent repression in the Red Army. It was 40 thousand army executives. As a result, more than 90% of the command staff was destroyed.

Strengthening repressions

Starting from 1937, the wave of repression in the USSR began to strengthen. The reason was the order No. 00447 of the NKVD of the USSR of July 30, 1937. This document stated and immediately repressing all the anti-Soviet elements, namely:

  • Former fists. All those whom the Soviet government called the fists, but who avoided the punishment, or were in labor settlements or in referees, were subject to repress.
  • All representatives of religion. Repressing was subject to all who have at least some attitude to religion.
  • Participants of anti-Soviet actions. Under such participants, everyone who ever acted was actively or passively against Soviet power. In fact, there were those who did not support the new power to this category.
  • Anti-Soviet political figures. Inside the country, anti-Soviet politicians were called all who were not part of the Bolsheviks party.
  • White Guards.
  • People with conviction. People who had a criminal record were automatically considered enemies of Soviet power.
  • Hostile elements. Anyone who was called a hostile element, sentenced to shooting.
  • Inactive elements. The rest who were not sentenced to shooting were sent to camps or prisons for a period of 8 to 10 years.

All things are now considered in even more accelerated regime, where most cases were considered massively. According to the same order, the NKVD repression was not only convicted, but also to their families. In particular, the following punishment measures were applied to families:

  • Families repressed for active anti-Soviet actions. All members of such families went to camps and labor settlements.
  • Families are repressed, who lived in the border strip, were subject to resettlement of the country. Often, special villages were formed for them.
  • The family of repressed living in the major cities of the USSR. Such people also moved down the country.

In 1940, the Secretary Department of the NKVD was created. This department was engaged in the destruction of political opponents of the Soviet government, which are abroad. The first victim of this department was Trotsky, who in August 1940 was killed in Mexico. In the future, this secret department was engaged in the destruction of participants in the White Guard Movement, as well as representatives of the imperialist emigration of Russia.

In the future, the repression continued, although their basic events have already passed. In fact, repression in the USSR continued until 1953.

Results of repression

From 1930 to 1953, 3 mil 800 thousand people were repressed on the accusation of the counter-revolution. Of these, 749,421 people were shot ... And this is only official information ... And how many more people died without trial, whose names and surnames are not listed?


Estimates of the number of victims of Stalinist repressions will drastically differ. Some call numbers in tens of millions of people, others are limited to hundreds of thousands. Who is closer to the truth?

Who is guilty?

Today, our society almost equally shared on the Stalinists and Anti-Stalinists. The first pay attention to positive transformations that occurred in the country in the Stalin era, the second urge not to forget about the huge number of victims of the repression of the Stalinist regime.
However, almost all Stalinists recognize the fact of repression, but they note their limited nature and even justify political necessity. Moreover, they often do not associate repression with the name of Stalin.
The historian Nikolai Copesov writes that in most investigating cases on repressed in 1937-1938 there was no resolutions of Stalin - everywhere there were sentences of berries, horses and biria. According to the Stalinists, this is proof that the heads of punitive organs were engaged in self-government and in confirmation lead a quotation of Jesov: "Who wants - I believe who we want - Mill."
For the part of the Russian public, which exactly in Stalin sees the ideologue of repression, it is only a particular confirming rule. Berry, hedgehogs and many other people of human fate themselves were victims of terror. Who, how did Stalin stood behind all this? - They ask a rhetorical question.
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Chief Specialist of the State Archive RF Oleg Glevniuk notes that despite the fact that Stalin's signatures were not in many shot lists, it was he who sanctioned almost all massive political repression.

Who suffered?

An even more common importance in the controversy around Stalin's repression acquired the question of the victims. Who and in what capacity suffered during Stalinism? Many researchers note that the concept of "victims of repression" is quite blurry. Historiography never worked on this clear definitions.
Of course, convicts enclosed in prisons and camps, shot, deported, deprived of property must be counted among the authorities affected by the actions. But how to be, for example, with those who were subjected to "interrogations with predilection", and then released to freedom? Should criminal and political prisoners should be divided? What category to rank "Nonsuns", who are shown in small unit thefts and equivalent to state criminals?
Special attention deserved deported. What category of them are repressed or administratively expelled? It is even more difficult to decide on those who, without waiting for the delegation or deportation fled. They were sometimes caught, but someone was lucky to start new life.

Such different numbers

Uncertainty in the question of responsible for repression, in identifying categories of affected persons and a period for which the counting of repression victims should lead to absolutely different numbers. The most impressive figures called the economist Ivan Kurgan (Solzhenitsyn in the novel of the GULAG Archipelago), which was calculated that from 1917 to 1959, 110 million people became victims of the inner war of the Soviet regime against their people.
In this number of Kurgans include victims of hunger, collectivization, peasant references, camps, executions, civil war, as well as "neglecting and rigorous conduct of the Second World War".
Even if such calculations are true, can these figures be considered a reflection of Stalin's repression? The economist, in essence, himself answers this question by using the expression "victim of the internal war of the Soviet regime." It is worth noting that Kurganov calculated only the dead. It is difficult to imagine what a figure could appear if the economist had taken into account all the victims of Soviet power at the specified period.
The numbers given by the head of human rights society "Memorial" by the Arzeny Roginsky are more realistic. He writes: "On the scale of everything Soviet Union 12.5 million people are considered victims of political repression, but at the same time adds that in a broad sense, up to 30 million people can be considered repressed.
Elena Crivience and Oleg Naumov Motion leaders and Oleg Naumov calculated all categories of victims of the Stalinist regime, including those who died in the camps from diseases and serious working conditions, Lyubricov, victims of hunger, victims of unreasonably cruel decrees and received excessively severe punishment for minor offenses in The power of the repressive nature of the legislation. The final figure is 39 million.
Researcher Ivan Gladilin notes about this, that if the counting of the victims of repression is conducted since 1921, it means that it is not stabing responsibility for a substantial part of crime, and the Lenin Guard, which immediately after the October Revolution launched Terror against White Guards , clergy and fists.

How to count?

Estimates of the number of victims of repression will be much different depending on the calculation technique. If we take into account convicted only political articlesAccording to the data of the regional offices of the KGB of the USSR, given in 1988, the Soviet bodies (HCC, GPU, OGPU, NKVD, NKGB, MGB) were arrested 4,308,487 people, of which 835 194 were shot.
Employees of the Memorial Society when counting the victims political processes Close to these figures, although their data is still noticeable above - 4.5-4.8 million. Convicted, of which 1.1 million is shot. If the victims of the Stalinist regime are considered to consider anyone who passed through the system of Gulag, then this figure, by different calculations, will fluctuate from 15 to 18 million people.
Very often, Stalinist repressions are associated solely with the concept of "Big Terror", whose peak came in 1937-1938. According to the Commission, under the leadership of Academician Peter Pospelova, the following figures were announced: on charges of anti-Soviet activity, 1,548,366 people were arrested, of which they were sentenced to the highest punishment of 681,692 thousand.
One of the most authoritative specialists in the demographic aspects of political repression in the USSR historian Viktor Zemskov calls a smaller number of convicts during the Great Terror years - 1,344,923 people, although with the digit of his data coincide.
If they are in the number of repressions in the Stalin's time to include the detachable, then the figure will grow by at least 4 million people. Such a number of degraded leads the same Zemskov. This agrees in the Party "Apple", noting that about 600 thousand of them died in the link.
Representatives of some peoples undergoing violent deportation were also victims of Stalinist repressions - Germans, Poles, Finns, Karachai, Kalmyks, Armenians, Chechens, Ingush, Balkarians, Crimean Tatars. Many historians converge that the total number of deported is about 6 million people, and about 1.2 million people did not survive until the end of the way.

Trust or not?

The above figures mostly are based on the SCPU summaries, NKVD, MGB. However, not all documents of punitive departments have been preserved, many of them were targetedly destroyed, many still lie in closed access.
It should be recognized that historians are very dependent on statistics collected by various specialties. But the complexity is that even accessible information reflects only officially repressed, and therefore, by definition, it cannot be complete. Moreover, check it on the original sources is possible only in the rarest cases.
Acute deficit reliable and full information Often provoked both Stalinists and their opponents to call the figures radically derived from each other in favor of their position. "If the" right "exaggerated the scale of repression, then" left ", in part of the dubious youth, finding much more modest numbers in the archives, was in a hurry to give their publicity and did not always ask themselves the question, whether everything was reflected - and could affect the archives," - Notes the historian Nikolai Koposov.
It can be stated that the scale estimates of the Stalinist repression on the basis of sources available to us can be very approximate. A good help for modern researchers would be documents stored in federal archives, but many of them were subjected to re-classifying. A country with such a story will be roaring the secrets of his past.

The history of Russia, as well as other former post-Soviet republics from 1928 to 1953, is called "Stalin's Epoch". It is positioned as a wise ruler, a brilliant statesman acting on the basis of "feasibility." In fact, they were moving completely different motifs.

Talking about the start of the political career of the leader, who became tyrant, such authors shames one indisputable fact: Stalin was a recidivist, having seven "walkers". Robbery and violence were the main form of its social activity in youth. Repression became an integral term of the state course held.

Lenin received a decent successor in his face. "Creatively developing his doctrine", Joseph Vissarionovich came to the conclusion that it is necessary to rule the country with the methods of terror, constantly inspiring fear of his fears.

Generation of people whose mouth can be expressed by the truth about Stalin's repression, leaves ... Are there any new-fashioned articles whitening the dictator, spitting on their suffering, on their broken life ...

Chief, authorized torture

As you know, Joseph Vissarionovich personally signed the shot of 400,000 people. In addition, Stalin repression tightened as much as possible, sanctioning the use of torture to interrogations. It was them that they were given a green light to the full lawlessness in the dungeons. He had a direct attitude to the notorious telegram of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b) of January 10, 1939, in the literal sense of the hands of the punitive organs.

Creativity in the introduction of torture

Recall excerpts from the letter of the Lisovsky communion, sperthed by the ravine satrapa ...

"... a ten-day conveyor interrogation with cruel evil beatings and to fall asleep. Then - a twenty-day Cake. Next - coercion to sit with hands raised up, and also stand, bent, with head hidden under the table, 7-8 hours ...

The desire of detainees to prove their innocence and the unsusplanting of the fabricated charges caused an increase in torture and beatings. The social status of the detained roles did not play. Recall that Robert Eich, a candidate for the Central Committee, at the interrogation broke the spine, and Marshal Blucher in the Lefortov prison died of overlooking the interrogations.

Motivation of the leader

The number of victims of Stalin's repression was no longer dozens, not hundreds of thousands, and seven million dead from hunger and four million arrested (general statistics will be presented below). Only the number of executive was about 800 thousand people ...

How did Stalin motivated his actions, immensely trying to the Olymp of power?

What does Anatoly Fishermen writes in the "Children of Arbat"? Analyzing Stalin's identity, he sharing his judgments with us. "The ruler, whom the people love, weak, because his power is based on the emotions of other people. Another thing is when the people are afraid! Then the rule of the ruler depends on him itself. This is a strong ruler! " Hence the credo of the leader - to inspire love through fear!

Steps, adequate to this idea, made Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin. Repression became its main competitive tool in a political career.

Beginning of revolutionary activities

Joseph Vissarionovich became interested in revolutionary ideas at the age of 26 after acquaintance with V. I. Lenin. He was engaged in a robberry cash for the party treasury. Fate took him 7 references to Siberia. Pragmatism, calculating, inadvertising in the means, rigidity to people, egocentrism from the younger years, was distinguished by Stalin. Repressions in relation to financial institutions - robbery and violence were it. Then the future party leader participated in the Civil War.

Stalin in the Central Committee

In 1922, Joseph Vissarionovich receives the long-awaited possibility of career growth. The pretty and weakening Vladimir Ilyich introduces it together with Kamenev and Zinoviev in the Central Committee of the Party. Thus, Lenin creates a political balance of Lion Trotsky, really claiming leadership.

Stalin is headed at the same time two party structures: the Organization of the Central Committee and the Secretariat. In this post, he brilliantly studied the art of party attribute intrigues, which was useful to him further in the fight against competitors.

Positioning Stalin in the Red Terror system

The red terror machine was launched even before the arrival of Stalin in the Central Committee.

09/05/1918 Council People's Commissar Releases "On Red Terror". The body for its implementation, named by the All-Russian Emergency Commission (HCHK), acted under the Council of People's Commissars from 12/07/1917

The reason for such radicalization of the domestic policy was the murder of M. Uritsky, Chairman of the St. Petersburg CC, and the attempt on V. Lenin Fanny Kaplan, acting from the party of Sherso. Both events occurred 30.08.1918. Already this year the PKC deployed the wave of repression.

According to statistical information, 21988 people are arrested and imprisoned; 3061 hostage are taken; Shot 5544, concluded in concentration camps 1791.

To the coming in the Central Committee Stalin, gendarmes, police, royal officials, entrepreneurs, landowners were already repressed. First of all, a punch classes that are supporting the monarchical device of society was inflicted. However, "creatively developing the teachings of Lenin", Joseph Vissarionovich outlined new main directions of terror. In particular, a course was taken to destroy the social base of the village - agricultural entrepreneurs.

Stalin since 1928 - ideologue of violence

It was Stalin repression that turned into the main instrument of internal politics, which justified theoretically.

His concept of strengthening class struggle formally becomes theoretical basis for the constant escalation of violence by state authorities. The country shuddered when for the first time it was voiced by Joseph Vissarionovich in the July Plenum of the Central Committee of the CPP (b) in 1928. From this time, he actually becomes the leader of the party, inspirer and ideologue of violence. Tyran declared war on his own people.

Hidden slogans The actual meaning of Stalinism is manifested in an unrestrained pursuit of power. The essence of it is shown by the classic - George Orwell. The Englishman extremely clearly showed that power for this ruler was not a means, but a target. Dictatorship was perceived by him no longer as the protection of the revolution. The revolution has become a tool in order to establish a personal limitless dictatorship.

Joseph Vissarionovich in 1928-1930. He began with the fact that it was initiated by the factories from the head of a number of public processes, which attacked the country into the atmosphere of shock and fear. Thus, with trill and suggestion of horror, the cult of the personality of Stalin began his formation ... Mass repressions were accompanied by publicly recognized crimes of the "enemies of the people." People with brutal torture were forced to sign the accusations fabricated by the consequence. The cruel dictatorship imitated the class struggle, cynically violating the constitution and all the norms of universal morality ...

Three global court proceedings were falsified: "The Union Bureau case" (imposing under the strike of managers); "Business Case" (imitated the western powers on the economy of the USSR); "Case of the Labor Peasant Party" (the obvious falsification of the damage of the seed fund and the wires with mechanization). And they all united into a single case in order to create the visibility of a single conspiracy against Soviet power and provide space for further falsifications of the OGPU - NKVD.

As a result, all economic leadership of the national economy was replaced from the old "specialists" on "new personnel", ready to work according to the instructions of the leader.

Stalin's mouth, provided by the courts held by the courts to the repressions of the state apparatus, was further expressed expressed, the consistent consideration of the party was expressed: to force out and break thousands of entrepreneurs - industrialists, merchants, small and medium; Rang out the basis of agricultural production is a wealthy peasantry (climbing it with "fists). At the same time, the new Voluntarist party position masked the "will of the poorest layers of workers and peasants."

The same, parallel to this "general line", the "father of peoples" in consistently, with the help of provocations and perceptions, the line of eliminating its party competitors for the highest state power (Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev) began to be implemented.

Forced collectivization

True on the repression of Stalin of the period 1928-1932. It indicates that the main object of repression has become the main social base of the village - an effective agricultural manufacturer. The goal is clear: the whole peasant country (and those actually were Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, the Republic of Baltic and Transcaucasia) was to transformed from a self-sufficient economic complex in an obedient donor to implement the Stalinist plans of industrialization and maintaining hypertrophied power structures.

In order for extremely clearly to designate the object of his repression, Stalin went to the obvious ideological flag. It is economically and socially unreasonable, he achieved the fact that the party ideologists allocated to him allocate a normal sensational (making profit) of the manufacturer in a separate "Class of Kulakov" - the target of a new strike. Under the ideological leadership of Joseph Vissarionovich, a plan for the destruction of the established centuries of the social foundations of the village, the destruction of the rural community - the resolution "On the liquidation of ... Kulatsky farms" dated January 30, 1930

Red terror came to the village. Fundamentally disagreeed with the collectivization of peasants was subjected to Stalin's courts - "Troika", in most cases ending with executions. Less active "fists", as well as "Kulatsky families" (in the category of which any persons, subjectively defined by the "rural asset") were subjected to violent confiscation of property and eviction. A body of permanent operational guidelines was created - secret operational management under the leadership of Efim Evdokimov.

Migrants to the extreme districts of the North, the victims of Stalin's repression, were defined in advance to the advice in the Volga region, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, Siberia, the Urals.

In 1930-1931 1.8 million was evicted, and in 1932-1940. - 0.49 million people.

Organization of hunger

However, shootings, ruin and eviction in the 30s of the last century are not all the repression of Stalin. Briefly enumerations should be supplemented with hunger. The inadequate approach was personally, Iosif Vissarionovich for insufficient payments in 1932. Why did the plan have fulfilled only 15-20%? The main reason was crumbling.

Under the threat was his subjectively developed plan of industrialization. It would be reasonable to reduce plans by 30%, postpone them, and first stimulate the agricultural producer and wait for the yield ... Stalin did not want to wait, he demanded immediate providing food inflated power structures and new giant buildings - Donbass, Kuzbass. The leader decided to remove the grain in the peasants, intended for sowing and consumption.

10/22/1932. Two emergency commissions under the leadership of the odious personalities of Lazarus Kaganovich and Vyacheslav Molotov launched a human-native campaign "Fighting fists" on the withdrawal of bread, which was accompanied by violence, quickly on violence with three-way ships and eviction of wealthy agricultural producers to the regions of the Far North. It was a genocide ...

It is noteworthy that the cruelty of satrapses was actually initiated and Joseph Vissarionovich himself was prevented.

Famous fact: correspondence of Sholokhov and Stalin

Mass repressions of Stalin in 1932-1933. Have a documentary confirmation. M. A. Sholokhov, the author of the "quiet dona," turned to the leader, defending his countrymen, with letters, is circulating blessing during the confiscation of grain. Subject, with the indication of the villages, the names of the victims and their tormentors, revealed the facts the famous resident of the village Veshinskaya. Mockery and violence against peasants are terrified: brutal beats, having to-break joints, partial suffocation, staging, eviction from houses ... In a response letter, Joseph Vissarionovich only partially agreed with Sholokhov. The real position of the leader is visible in lines where he calls peasants by sabota, "dying" trying to disrupt the provision of food ...

Such a voluntarist approach caused hunger in the Volga region, in Ukraine, the North Caucasus, in Kazakhstan, Belarus, Siberia, in the Urals. Published in April 2008, a special statement of the State Duma of Russia revealed to society for previously classified statistics (previously propaganda hid in every way the repression of Stalin.)

How many people died from hunger in the above regions? The figure established by the State Duma Commission is terrified: more than 7 million.

Other directions of the pre-war Stalin's terror

We also consider another three directions of Stalin's terror, and in the following table, each of them will be presented in more detail.

With sanctions of Joseph Vissarionovich, a policy was also held to oppose freedom of conscience. Citizen of the Soviets should have read the newspaper "True", and not go to church ...

Hundreds of thousands of families of previously producing peasants, fascinating flaws and references to the north, became an army that ensures the giant construction buildings. In order to limit them in the rights, mabulipulated, it was at that time a population was sent to the cities. Passports received only 27 million people. The peasants (still the majority of the population) remained uncport, not using the full volume of civil rights (freedom to choose the place of residence, freedom of choice) and "tied" to the collective farm at the place of residence with a prerequisite for the fulfillment of the standards of workforce.

The antisocial policy was accompanied by the destruction of families, an increase in the number of street children. This phenomenon has acquired such a scale that the state was forced to respond to it. With the sanction of Stalin Politburo, the countries of the Council issued one of the most inhuman regulations - punitive towards children.

Antireligious offensive as of 01.04.1936 led to a reduction orthodox churches Up to 28%, mosques - up to 32% of their pre-revolutionary quantity. The number of clergymen decreased from 112.6 thousand to 17.8 thousand.

With a repressive purpose was carried out to certify the urban population. More than 385 thousand people passports were not received and were forced to leave the city. 22.7 thousand people were arrested.

One of the most cynical crimes of Stalin is the authorization of a classified resolution of the Politburo of April 07.04.1935, which makes it possible to involve adolescents from 12 years and determining them the punishment up to the highest measure. Only in 1936, 125 thousand children were placed in the NKVD colony. In the system of Gulag as of April 1, 1939, 10 thousand children were expelled.

Big Terror

The state flyer terror was gaining momentum ... The power of Joseph Vissarionovich, since 1937, as a result of repression over all society, it became a comprehensive. However, their biggest jump was only ahead. In addition to the final and already physical violence over the former colleagues in the party - Trotsky, Zinoviev, Kamenev, the mass "Cleansing of the state apparatus" was carried out.

Terror scored an unprecedented scale. OGPU (from 1938 g - NKVD) reacted to all complaints and anonymous. A person broke his life for one carelessly crushed word ... Even Stalinist elite was repressed - state figures: Kosior, Eikh, Posyyshev, Goloshchekin, Warachis; Comarters Blucher, Tukhachevsky; Chekists berry, heels.

On the eve of the Great Patriotic War, leading military personnel were shot through the Great Patriotic War: 19 qualified commander of the level of the corps - divisions that have combat experience. The frames that came to replace them were not owned by surrender and tactical art.

Not only the stained facades of Soviet cities were characterized by the cult of the personality of Stalin. The repression of the "leader of the peoples" gave rise to a monstrous system of the Gulag camp, providing the country of Soviets with free labor force, a mercilessly exploited labor resource for the extraction of the wealth of the lowesticated areas of the Far North and Central Asia.

The dynamics of the increase in the camps and labor colonies is impressive: In 1932, it was about 140 thousand prisoners, and in 1941 - about 1.9 million.

In particular, the irony of the fate of the Zeki Kolyma was mined 35% of allied gold, staying in terrible conditions of detention. We list the main camps included in gulag-A system: Solovetsky (45 thousand prisoners), logging - sweatshirt and dandy (respectively, 43 and 35 thousand); Oil and coal production - Ukhtafech (51 thousand); Chemical industry - Bereznyakov and Solikamsk (63 thousand); The development of steppes is the Karaganda camp (30 thousand); Construction of the Volga-Moscow channel (196 thousand); construction of Bama (260 thousand); Gold mining on Kolyma (138 thousand); Nickel production in Norilsk (70 thousand).

Mostly people were in the system of Gulag typical way: after the night arrest and the wrong prejudice. And although this system was created under Lenin, but it was at Stalin that the political prisoners were massively acting into it: "enemies of the people" - fists (in fact, an effective agricultural producer), and even exiled nationality. Most left the period from 10 to 25 years to the 58th article. The process of the investigation of it intended torture and the breakdown of the convict's will.

In case of resettlement of fists and small peoples, the train with prisoners stayed right in the taiga or in the steppe and convicts themselves built a camp and prison special purpose (TONE). Since 1930, the work of prisoners were mercilessly exploited to fulfill five-year plans - 12-14 hours. Tens of thousands of people died from malnutrition, poor nutrition, weak medical support.

Instead of imprisonment

The years of the repression of Stalin - from 1928 to 1953. - changed the atmosphere in society, ceased to believe in justice, located under the press of permanent fear. Since 1918, people have been accused and shot the Revolutionaribunals. The inhuman system developed ... The Tribunal became the HCC, then - the VTCIK, then - the OGPU, then the NKVD. Shots in the 58th article were operating until 1947, and then Stalin replaced them for 25 years of serving in camps.

A total of about 800 thousand people were shot.

The moral and physical torture of the entire population of the country, in fact, lawlessness and arbitrariness, were carried out on behalf of the workers' and peasant authorities, revolution.

The powerful people were terrorized by the Stalinist system constantly and methodically. The beginning of the process of recovery of justice put the XX Congress of the CPSU.

Ours from D.R. Hapayeva article dedicated to the collective ideas of post-Soviet people about soviet history caused a number of letters to the editor with the requirement to refute the following phrase contained in it:

"73% of respondents are in a hurry to take their place in the military-patriotic epic, indicating that they were killed during the war in their families. And although the Soviet terror suffered twice as many people than died during the war , 67% denies the presence of victims from repression in their families. "

Some readers a) found incorrect comparison of the number affected from repression with quantity dead During the war, b) found the blurred the concept of victims from repression and c) was indignant extremely overestimated, in their opinion, an assessment of the number of repressed. If we assume that 27 million people died during the war, then the number of victims from repression, whether it was twice as large, it would have been 54 million, which contradicts the data given in the famous Article V.N. Zemskova "Gulag (historical and sociological aspect)" published in the journal " Sociological research"(№ 6 and 7 for 1991), which says:

"In reality, the number of convicted on political reasons (for" counter-revolutionary crimes ") in the USSR for the period from 1921 to 1953, i.e. For 33 years, there were about 3.8 million people ... statement ... Chairman of the KGB of the USSR V.A. Kryuchkova that in 1937-1938. No more than a million people were arrested, quite consistent with the current half of the 19th anniversary of the 1930s studied by us.

In February 1954, N.S. Khrushchev was prepared a certificate signed by the USSR Prosecutor General R. Rudenko, the USSR Minister of the USSR S. Kruglov and the USSR Minister of Justice K. Gorzhenin, in which the number of convicts for counter-revolutionary crimes from 1921 to February 1, 1954 This period was condemned by the OGPU College, the Troops of the NKVD, a special meeting, a military board, courts and military tribunals 3,777,380 people, including the highest possible punishment - 642 980, to content in camps and prisons for a period of 25 years and Below - 2 369 220, in the link and expulsion - 765 180 people. "

Article V.N. Zemskova also provides other data based on archival documents (first of all about the number and composition of the Gulag's concluded), which do not confirm the assessments of the victims of Terror R. Conquest and A. Solzhenitsyn (about 60 million). So how many victims were? It should be understood, and not only for the sake of evaluating our article. Let's start in order.

1. Is the quantity comparison affected from repression with quantity dead during the war?

It is clear that the victims and the dead are different things, but it is possible to compare them, depends on the context. We were not interested in the fact that the Soviet people were more expensive - repression or war, - and how much today the memory of the war is more intense than the memory of repression. We assign a possible objection in advance - the intensity of memory is determined by the power of shock, and shock from mass death stronger than from mass arrests. First, the intensity of the shock is difficult to measure, and is not aware of what the relatives of the victims suffered more from the "shameful" - and the very real threat to them, the fact of arrest close man Or from his glorious death. Secondly, the memory of the past is a complex phenomenon, and it only depends on partly from the past. It does not least depends on the conditions of its own functioning in the present. I believe that the question in our questionnaire was formulated quite correctly.

The concept of "victims of repression" is indeed blurry. They can sometimes be used without comment, and sometimes it is impossible. We could not clarify it for the same reason that could be compared to those killed with the victims, "we were interested in whether the compatriots were remembered about the victims of terror in their families, and by no means what percent of them had affected relatives. But when it comes to how much "in fact" were affected by whom to consider victims, it is necessary to specify.

Hardly anyone will argue that those who are shot and prisoners and camp were victims. And what about those who were arrested, subjected to "interrogations with addiction", but for a happy coincidence released to freedom? Contrary to ordinary opinion, there were many. Not always, they were re-arrested and condemned (in this case, they fall into the statistics of convicts), but they impressions from arrest, as well as their families, of course, retained for a long time. Of course, you can see in the fact of the release of the part of the expected celebration of justice, but it may be more appropriate to say that they only hurt them, but did not crush the car terror.

It is appropriate to ask and whether the repression of convicts convicted in criminal art should be included in the statistics of repression. One of the readers said that he was not ready for criminals affected by the regime. But not everyone who was convicted by ordinary courts in criminal articles were criminals. In the Soviet kingdom of curves, mirrors almost all criteria were displaced. Running forward, let's say that the cited V.N. Zemskov in the data cited above the data concern only convicted things on political articles and therefore obviously understated (the quantitative aspect will be discussed below). During rehabilitation, especially during the period of restructuring, some criminal articles were rehabilitated as actually affected by political repression. Of course, it is possible to understand here in many cases individually, however, as you know, numerous "notes", taking the spikels on a collective farm field or grabbed home from the plant a pack of nails, also went on the category of criminals. During the campaigns for the protection of socialist property on the outcome of collectivization (the famous Decree of CEC and SNK dated August 7, 1932) and in post-war period (Decree of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet of the USSR of June 4, 1947), as well as during the struggle for improving labor discipline into the pre-war and war years (so-called decrees of wartime), millions were convicted of criminal articles. True, most of those convicted by decree of June 26, 1940, which introduced the serfdom in enterprises and forbidden self-alignment care from work, received minor terms of corrective work (ITR) or were condemned conditionally, but rather significant minority (22.9% or 4,113 thousand people for 1940-1956, judging by the statistical report of the Supreme Court of the USSR 1958) was sentenced to imprisonment. With these last things, everything is clear, but what about the first? Some of the readers seems to be that with them just cost a little cool, and did not repress. But the repression is the exit beyond the limits of the generally accepted severity, and such an excess time the time of ITR for absenteeism, of course, were. Finally, in some cases, the number of which it is impossible to evaluate, sentenced to ITR, or from the surplus of the diligence of the law workers, they still fell into the camps.

A special question is about war crimes, including desertion. It is known that the Red Army was largely held by the methods of intimidation, and the concept of desertion was interpreted extremely wide, so some, but it is unknown, which part of the convicts on the relevant articles is quite appropriate to be considered victims of the repressive regime. The same victims, undoubtedly, can be considered to be made through the environment, which were usually released from captivity, who usually immediately, by virtue of the prevailing spyware and in "educational purposes" - so that other people were unobimal to give up to capture, - fell into the NKVD filtration camps, and Often and further in the Gulag.

Further. The victims of deportations, of course, can also be attributed to the repressed, as well as administratively expelled. And what about those who, without waiting for the degradation or deportation, for the night in a hurry, folded that I could carry, and before the dawn fled, and then wandered, sometimes I was caught and convicted, and sometimes I started a new life? With those who were caught and convicted, again everything is clear, but with those who were not? In the broadest sense, they also suffered, but here again, it is necessary to watch individually. If, for example, a physician from Omsk, warned about the arrest of his former patient, the NKVD officer, hid in Moscow, where it was quite possible to get lost if the authorities announced only the regional wanted list (it happened to the author's grandfather), then perhaps it is more correct to say that he miraculously escaped repression. Such miracles were, apparently, quite a few, but how much, it is impossible to say. But if - and this is just a well-known figure - two or three million peasants running in the city, fleeing from the argument, then it is rather repressions. After all, they were not simply deprived of property, which at best of the horses were sold, for how many were able, but also diverse from the familiar habitat (it is known that it means for a peasant) and often actually declared.

A special question is about the "family members of the Motherland." Some of them were "definitely repressed", someone - the mass of children is exiled in a colony or enclosed in orphanages. Where to dig such children? Where to dig people, most often wives and mothers of convicts, not only lost close, but also evicted from apartments, devoid of work and regulations, who were supervised and waiting for arrest? Will we say that terror is that there is an intimidation policy - they did not touch them? On the other hand, it is difficult to include them in statistics - the number simply does not take into account.

It is fundamentally important that different forms Repressions were elements of a single system, and that's how they were perceived (or, more precisely, they worried) contemporaries. For example, local punitive organs often received orders to tighten the fight against the enemies of the people from among the county subordinates, condemning such a number of them "in the first category" (that is, to the shooting) and such - on the second (to imprisonment ). No one knew what a step of the staircase leading from the "study" at the collection of a labor collective to the Lubyansky basement, he was destined to linger - and for a long time. Propaganda introduced a thought into the mass consciousness about the inevitability of the fall of the fall, since it is inevitably the fierce of the victim of the enemy's defeat. Only due to this law, class struggle and could increase as socialism construct. From the leading down the ladders, colleagues, friends, and sometimes relatives were recalled on the first step. Dismissal from work or even simply "study" in the conditions of terror had a completely different, much more terrible meaning than they can have in ordinary life.

3. How can I appreciate the scale of repression?

3.1. What do we know and where?

To begin with - about the state of sources. Many documents of punitive departments were lost or purposefully destroyed, but a lot of secrets are still stored in the archives. Of course, after the fall of communism, many archives have been declassified, and many facts are supplied to publicity. Many - but not all. Moreover, for last years Nased the reverse process - re-classifying archives. With a noble goal, to protect the sensitivity of the descendants of the executioners from the exposure of the glorious acts of their dads and mothers (and now the grandfathers and grandparents) the deadlines for the declassification of many archives are moved to the future. It is amazing that the country with a history similar to ours carefully keeps the secrets of the past. Probably because it is the same country.

In particular, the result of such a situation is the dependence of historians from statistics collected by the "relevant authorities", to verify which, on the basis of primary documents, it seems possible in the rarest cases (the truth when it is possible, the test often gives a positive result rather). This statistic appeared in for different years Multi-departments, and to bring it difficult together. In addition, it concerns only "officially" repressed and therefore fundamentally incomplete. For example, the number of criminal items repressed, but in virtually political reasons in it in principle could not be indicated, since it proceeded from categories of understanding the reality of the above authorities. Finally, there are difficult-based discrepancies between different "certificates". Estimates of the scale of repression on the basis of available sources can be very approximate and cautious.

Now about the historiographic context of the work of V.N. Zemskova. Cited article, as well as an even more well-known joint article of the same author with the American historian A. Ghetti and the French historian G. Rittershporn, are characteristic of formed in the 80s. The so-called "revisionist" direction in the study of Soviet history. Young (then) Western historians of the left views tried not so much to whitewash the Soviet regime, how much to show that the "right" "anti-Soviet" historians of the older generation (such as R. Conquest and R. Pipes) wrote unscientific history, because they were not allowed into Soviet archives. Therefore, if the "right" exaggerated the scale of repression, then "left", in part of the dubious youth, finding much more modest figures in the archives, was in a hurry to give their publicity and did not always ask themselves the question, whether everything was reflected - and could affect the archives. Such "archival fetishism" is generally characteristic of the "tribe of historians", including the most qualified. It is not surprising that the data of V.N. Zemskov, reproduced by the figures given in the documents found them, in the light of more attentive analysis turn out to be understated by the scale of the scales of repression.

To date, new publications of documents and research, which, of course, are far from complete, but still a more detailed idea of \u200b\u200bthe scale of repression. This is, first of all, books O.V. Helleck (she so far exists, as far as I know, only in English), E. Epplbaum, E. Bekon and J. Paul, as well as multi-volume " Story Stalinsky GugaGa"And a number of other publications. Let's try to comprehend the data given in them.

3.2. Statistics sentences

Statistics were carried out by different departments, and today it is not easy to reduce the ends. Thus, the certificate of specialties of the USSR Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR on the number of HBC-NKVD-MGB convicts of the USSR, compiled by Colonel Pavlovy on December 11, 1953 (hereinafter referred to as Pavlov's certificate), gives the following figures: for the period 1937-1938. The specified bodies were arrested 1,575 thousand people, of which 1,345 thousand were convicted of 1,345 thousand, including 682 thousand similar indicators for 1930-1936 were convicted. amounted to 2,256 thousand, 1,379 thousand, 1,391 thousand and 40 thousand people. In total, for the period from 1921 to 1938. 4,836 thousand people were arrested, from them for counter-revolutionary crimes 3,342 thousand, and 2,945 thousand were convicted, including 745 thousand people sentenced to shoot. From 1939 to mid-1953, 1,115 thousand people were convicted for counter-revolutionary crimes, of which 54 thousand were sentenced to shooting in 1921-1953. It was convicted of 4,060 thousand political articles, including 799 thousand sentenced to shooting.

However, these data concern only the convicted system of "emergency" bodies, and not to all repressive apparatus as a whole. So, it does not include condemned by ordinary ships and military tribunals of various kinds (not only the army, fleet and the Ministry of Internal Affairs, but also railway and water transport, as well as camp ships). For example, a very significant discrepancy between the number of arrested and the number of convicts is explained not only to the fact that some of the arrested issued to freedom, but also because some of them died under torture, and the affairs of others were transmitted to ordinary courts. Data, allowing to judge the ratio of these categories, as far as I know, no. Statistics of arrests The NKVD bodies led better than sentence statistics.

Pay attention to the fact that in "Rudenko's Help", cited by V.N. Zemskov, data on the number of convicts and executed by all kinds of courts are lower than Pavlov's certificate data only on the "emergency" justice, although presumably Pavlov's certificate was only one of the documents used in Rudenko's certificate. The causes of such discrepancies are unknown. However, on the script of Pavlov's reference stored in the State Archive Russian Federation (Garf), to a figure of 2,945 thousand (the number of convicts for 1921-1938) by an unknown hand with a pencil made Note: "30% angle. \u003d 1 062. "Angle." - This is, of course, criminals. Why 30% of 2,945 thousand amounted to 1,062 thousand, you can only guess. Probably the sequence reflected some stage of "data processing", and towards the understatement. Obviously, the index of 30% is not derived empirically based on the generalization of the source data, and represents either given by the high rank "expert assessment", or a carnaged "on the eyes" is equivalent to that figure (1,062 thousand), to which the specified chin considered it necessary to reduce Reference data. Where could such an expert assessment could occur, unknown. It may be reflected in it, the ideology common among high ranks, according to which, and "for politics" we actually condemned the criminals.

With regard to the reliability of statistical materials, the number of convicts by the "emergency" bodies in 1937-1938. In general, confirmed by the research conducted by the Memorial. However, there are cases where the regional management of the NKVD exceeded the "Limits" allocated to them on condemnations and executions, sometimes time to obtain a sanction, and sometimes did not have time. IN last case They risked to run into trouble and therefore could not show the results of excessive diligence in their reports. By approximate estimate, there could be 10-12% of the total number of convicts such "disquenced" cases. However, it should be noted that statistics do not reflect repeated trials, so that these factors could easily be approximately balanced.

On the number of repressed, besides the organs of the HCHK-GPU-NKVD-MGB, it allows you to judge the statistics collected by the department for preparing petitions on pardon during the Presidium of the USSR Supreme Soviet for 1940 - the first half of 1955. ("Babukhina Help"). According to this document, by conventional vessels, as well as military tribunals, transport and camp courts for this period, 35,830 thousand people were convicted, including 256 thousand people sentenced to shooting, 15 109 thousand to imprisonment and 20,465 thousand. Man to corrective work and other types of punishment. Here, it is clear, we are talking about all kinds of crimes. 1,074 thousand people (3.1%) were sentenced for counter-revolutionary crimes - a little less than for hooliganism (3.5%), and twice as much as for severe criminal offenses (banditism, murder, robbery, robbery, rape together give 1.5%). The convicts for military crimes amounted to almost as much as convicted on political articles (1,074 thousand or 3%), and part of them probably can be considered politically repressed. Crowders of socialist and personal property - including here the unknown number of "Nonsuns" - amounted to 16.9% of convicts or 6,028 thousand. 28.1% accounted for "other crimes". Punishment for some of them could well wear the nature of the repression - for the self-removal seizure of collective farm lands (from 18 to 48 thousand cases per year between 1945 and 1955), the resistance of power (several thousand cases per year), violation of the serfs of the passport (from 9 to 50 thousand cases per year), failure to comply with the minimum of workformer (from 50 to 200 thousand per year), etc. The greatest group was punished for self-consuming care from work - 15,746 thousand or 43.9%. At the same time, the statistical compilation of the Supreme Court of 1958 speaks of 17,961 thousand sentenced to regions of wartime, of which 22.9% or 4,113 thousand were sentenced to imprisonment, and the rest - to fines or ITER. However, not all sentenced to a little time really came to the camps.

So, 1,074 thousand convicts for counter-revolutionary crimes by military tribunals and conventional courts. True, if you fold the figures of the judicial statistics department of the Supreme Court of the USSR ("Help Khlebnikov") and the management of military tribunals ("Maksimov's certificate") for the same period, then we get 1,104 thousand (952 thousand convicts of military tribunals and 152 thousand - By ordinary ships), but this is, of course, not a very significant discrepancy. In addition, Khlebnikov's reference contains an indication of another 23 thousand convicts in 1937-1939. Taking into account this, the total result of the Help of Khlebnikov and Maksimov gives 1 127 thousand. True, the materials of the statistical collection of the Supreme Court of the USSR suggest (if you sum up different tables) or about 199 thousand, whether about 211 thousand convicts for the usual courts for counter-revolutionary crimes for 1940-1955 And, accordingly, about 325 or 337 thousand for 1937-1955, but this does not change the order of numbers.

Available data does not allow accuracy to determine how many of them were sentenced to shooting. The usual courts in all categories of affairs were made by death sentences relatively rarely (as a rule, several hundred cases per year, only for 1941 and 1942. We are talking about a few thousand). Even long term conclusion in large quantities (on average 40-50 thousand per year) appear only after 1947, when the death penalty was canceled and tightened punishment for the embezzlement of socialist property. There are no data on military tribunals, but presumably on political affairs they more often resorted to severe punishments.

These data show that 4,060 thousand convicts for counter-revolutionary crimes by the CC-GPU-NKVD-MGB bodies for 1921-1953. You should add either 1,074 thousand convicts by conventional ships and military tribunals for 1940-1955. According to Babukhin's reference, or 1,27 thousand convicts by military tribunals and ordinary courts (cumulative summary of Khlebnikov and Maksimov's certificates), or 952 thousand convicts for these crimes by military tribunals for 1940-1956. Plus 325 (or 337) thousands of condemned ordinary courts for 1937-1956. (According to the statistical collection of the Supreme Court). This gives 5 134 thousand, 5,187 thousand, 5,277 thousand or 5,290 thousand, respectively.

However, ordinary courts and military tribunals did not sit, folded hands, respectively until 1937 and 1940. So, there were mass arrests, for example, during the collectivization period. Cited in " Story Stalinsky Gulag"(T.1, p.608-645) and in" History of Gulaga»O.V. CHLEXUKE (C.288-291 and 307-319) Statistical data collected in the mid-50s. Do not concern (with the exception of data on the repressed authorities of the CC-GPU-NKVD-MGB) of this period. Meanwhile, O.V. Glevnius refers to the Garf document stored in Garf, where it is specified (with a reservation on the incompleteness of the data) the number of RSFSR condemned by the usual courts in 1930-1932. - 3,400 thousand people. For the USSR as a whole, according to the estimate of Glevnik (C.303)., The corresponding figure could be at least 5 million. This gives approximately 1.7 million per year, which is not inferior to the average annual result of the commercial judgment of the 40 - early 50s gg (2 million per year - but the population growth should be taken into account).

Probably the number of convicts for counter-revolutionary crimes over the entire period from 1921 to 1956 was hardly less than 6 million, of which many of them are hardly less than 1 million (and rather more) was sentenced to shooting.

But along with 6 million "repressed in the narrow sense of the word" there was a considerable number of "repressed in the broad sense of the word" - first of all convicted of non-political articles. It is impossible to say how many of the 6 million Nonsuns were convicted of decrees from 1932 and 1947, and how many of about 2-3 million deserters, the "invaders" of collective farm lands that did not fulfill the norm of workload, etc. It should be considered victims of repression, i.e. Punished unfairly or disproportionately crimes due to the terrorist nature of the regime. But 18 million convicts on serfs of 1940-1942. Everyone was repressed, let "only" 4.1 million. Of these, they were sentenced to imprisonment and fell, if not in the colony or to the camp, then in prison.

3.2. Population Guhaoga

It is possible to approach the assessment of the number of repressed and other way - through the analysis of the "population" of the Gulag. It is believed that in the 20s. Prisoners for political motifs were estimated rather thousand or few tens of thousands. Approximately the same was helpful. The year of the creation of the "real" Gulag was 1929. After that, the number of prisoners quickly exceeded a hundred thousand and by 1937 increased to about a million. Published data show that from 1938 to 1947. It was with some fluctuations, about 1.5 million, and then exceeded 2 million and in the early 1950s. amounted to about 2.5 million (including colonies). However, the fluidity of the camp population (caused by many reasons, including high mortality) was very large. Relying on the analysis of data on the arrival and disposal of prisoners, E. Bacon suggested that between 1929 and 1953. About 18 million prisoners passed through the gulag (including colonies). To this, it is necessary to add contained in prisons, which for every single moment was about 200-300-400 thousand (at least 155 thousand in January 1944, a maximum of 488 thousand in January 1941). A significant part of them in the end probably got into the gulag, but not all. Some were released, others could receive minor terms of conclusion (for example, most of 4.1 million people sentenced to imprisonment for war times), so they did not make sense to send to the camps and, possibly, even in the colony. Therefore, it is probably a figure of 18 million. It is necessary to increase slightly (but hardly more than 1-2 million).

How reliable is the Gulag statistics? Most likely, it is quite reliable, although it was inaccurated. Factors that could lead to gross distortions, both in the direction of exaggeration, and on the side of the continuity, approximately balanced each other, not to mention the fact that, for the partial exception of the period of Big Terror, Moscow was seriously related to the economic role of the forced labor system, tracked Statistics and demanded a reduction in high mortality among prisoners. The heads of the camps were to be prepared for reporting checks. Their interest, on the one hand, was to undertake the mortality rates and shoots, and on the other - not too overstate the overall contingent so as not to get impracticable production plans.

What percentage of prisoners can be considered "political" as de Jura and de facto? E. Epplbaum writes about this: "Although the millions of people were convicted of criminal articles, I do not believe that any significant part of the total was criminals in any normal sense of the word" (p.539). Therefore, it considers it possible to talk about all 18 million as victims of repression. But probably the picture was still more difficult.

Table of data on the number of prisoners of the Gulag, brought by V.N. Zemskov, gives a wide variety of percentage of "political" from the total number of prisoners in the camps. The minimum indicators (12.6 and 12.8%) refer to 1936 and 1937, when the wave of victims of Big Terror simply did not have time to get to the camps. By 1939, this figure increased to 34.5%, then slightly decreased, and since 1943 began to grow again to reach apogee in 1946 (59.2%) and again decrease to 26.9% in 1953 . The percentage of political prisoners in the colonies also hesitated. Attention is drawn to the fact that the highest performance of the "political" fall on the military and especially the first postwar years, when the Gulag has somewhat detected by virtue of particularly high mortality of prisoners, sending them to the front and some temporary "liberalization" of the regime. In the "full-blooded" gulag of the early 50s. The share of "political" ranged from a quarter to a third.

If you go to absolute indicators, then usually political prisoners were about 400-450 thousand in the camps plus several tens of thousands in colonies. So it was at the end of the 30th - early 40s. And again at the end of the 40s. At the beginning of the 50s, the number of politicalities was equal rather 450-500 thousand in the camps plus 50-100 thousand in the colonies. In the mid-30s. The gulag had not yet gained the strength of Gulag, about 100 thousand political prisoners per year, in the mid-40s. - about 300 thousand according to V.N. Zemskova, as of January 1, 1951, there were 2,528 thousand prisoners in Gulag (including 1,524 thousand in camps and 994 thousand in colonies). Their 580 thousand of them was "political" and 1,948 thousand "criminal". If you extrapolate this proportion, then from 18 million prisoners of the Gulag political were hardly more than 5 million.

But this conclusion would be a simplification: after all, part of the criminal were still political. Thus, among 1,948 thousand prisoners convicted in criminal articles, 778 thousand were convicted of the embezzlement of socialist property (in a vast majority - 637 thousand - by decree of June 4, 1947, plus 72 thousand - on decree from 7 August 1932), as well as for violations of the passport regime (41 thousand), desertion (39 thousand), illegal transition of the boundary (2 thousand) and self-alignment care from the place of work (26.5 thousand). In addition to this at the end of the 30 - early 40s. There were usually about one percent of the "family members of the Motherland's Family" (by the 50th year. In the gulag, there are only a few hundred people) and from 8% (in 1934) to 21.7% (in 1939) "Socially harmful and socially dangerous elements "(by the 50th year. They were almost left). All of them were not officially included in the number of political articles repressed. One and a half or two percent of the prisoners were serving a camp for violation of the passport mode. Convicted for theft of socialist property, whose share in the population of Gulag was 18.3% in 1934 and 14.2% in 1936, it was reduced to 2-3% by the end of the 30s, which is appropriate to connect with a special role persecution of "Nesunov" in the mid-30s. If we assume that the absolute number of thefts over the 30s. It has not changed sharply, and if you consider that the total number of prisoners by the end of the 30s. It has grown approximately three times compared to 1934 and one and a half times compared with 1936, then perhaps there is reason to assume that the victims of repression among the sketch of socialist property were at least two thirds.

If you summarize the number of political concluded de Yura, members of their families, socially harmful and socially dangerous elements, violators of the passport regime and two thirds of the soberous property rates, it turns out that at least a third, and sometimes over half of the Gulag's population was actually political prisoners. E. Epplbaum The right that "real criminals", namely convicted for serious criminal offenses of the type of differentials and murders, was not so much (in different years 2-3%), but in general, in general, less than half of the prisoners can not Recognize political.

So, the rough proportion of political and non-political prisoners in the gulag - approximately fifty-fifty, and from among the political approximately half or a little more (that is, about a quarter or a little more of the total number of prisoners) constituted political de jura, and half or a little less - Political de facto.

3.3. How does sentence statistics and the statistics of the Gulag?

A rough calculation gives approximately the result. Of about 18 million prisoners about half (approximately 9 million) were de Yura and de facto political, and about a quarter or a little more - de Jura political. It would seem that this rather accurately coincides with the data on the number of political articles sentenced to imprisonment (about 5 million). However, the situation is more difficult.

Despite the fact that the average number of political in the camps at a particular moment was approximately leveling the number of de Jura political, in general, for the entire period of repression de facto political, there should be significantly more than de Jura political, for usually the deadlines for criminal cases were significantly In short. Thus, about a quarter of convicts on political articles were sentenced to the deadline for the conclusion of 10 years and more, and about half of 5 to 10 years, while in criminal matters most of the deadlines were less than 5 years. It is clear that the diverse forms of fluidity of the composition of prisoners (first of all, mortality, including executions) could somewhat smoothing this difference. Nevertheless, de facto political was to be more than 5 million.

How does this relate with an approximate estimate of the number of sentences sentenced to imprisonment on criminal articles on actually political reasons? 4.1 million convicts for regions of wartime, probably, for the most part, did not reach the camps, but some of them could well get to the colonies. But from 8-9 million convicts for military and economic crimes, as well as for different forms of disobedience to the authorities, the majority before the Gulag had reached (death rate was supposedly high, but it does not exist any accurate estimates). If it is true that about two thirds of these 8-9 million were actually political prisoners, together with rehabited to Gulag condemned for war times, it probably gives not less than 6-8 million.

If this figure was closer to 8 million, which is better consistent with our ideas about the comparative duration of the detention of political and criminal articles, it should be assumed that either evaluation common population Gulag for the period of repression in 18 million is somewhat underestimated, or the assessment of the total de jure of political prisoners in 5 million is somewhat overpriced (perhaps both of these assumptions are some extent correct). However, the figure of 5 million political prisoners seemingly exactly coincides with the total of our calculations of the total number of sentences to conclude on political articles. If, in reality, de Yura political prisoners were less than 5 million, this is likely to mean that in war crimes there were much more death sentences than we suggested, as well as the fact that death on shipment was especially frequent fate It is de jure political prisoners.

It is probably possible to solve such doubts only on the basis of further archival surveys and at least a separate study of the "primary" documents, and not just statistical sources. Be that as it may, the order of magnitude is obvious - it is about 10-12 million convicts on political articles and criminal article, but on political reasons. To this, it is necessary to add approximately a million (and possibly more) shown. This gives 11-13 million victims of repression.

3.4. All the repressed was ...

By 11-13 million shot and prison and camp prisoners should add:

About 6-7 million specialist plants, including more than 2 million "Kulakov", as well as "suspicious" ethnic groups and whole nations (Germans, Crimean Tatars, Chechens, Ingush, etc.), as well as hundreds of thousands "Socially Alien ", expelled from captured in 1939-1940. territories, etc. ;

About 6-7 million peasants who died as a result of an artificially organized starvation of the early 30s.;

About 2-3 million peasants who left their villages in anticipation of the derailization, often declared or at best of the actively involved in the "Construction of Communism"; The number of those who died among them is unknown (O.V. Khlevniuk. P.304);

14 million received verdicts to ITR and fines for warpoints, as well as most of those 4 million, which, according to these decrees, received a small date of the conclusion, were supposedly deposited in prisons and therefore were not taken into account in the statistics of the Gulag population; In general, this category probably adds at least 17 million victims of repression;

Several hundred thousand people arrested on political charges, however, for various reasons, justified and not arrested subsequently;

To half a million military personnel captured and after the liberation of the NKVD filtration camps (but not convicted);

There are several hundred thousand administratively exile, some of which were subsequently arrested, but not all (O.V. Khlevniuk. P.306).

If the last three categories combined to estimate approximately 1 million people, then the total number of at least approximately accounted for the victims of the terror will be for the period 1921-1955. 43-48 million people. However, this is not all.

Red Terror began in 1921, and ended not in 1955. Pravda, after 1955 he was relatively sluggish (on Soviet scale), but still the number of victims from political repression (the suppression of mass riots, the fight against dissent and etc.) after the twentieth congress is calculated five-digit digit. The most significant wave of poststalian repression took place in 1956-69. The period of revolution and civil war was less than "vegetarian". No accurate figures do not exist here, however, it is assumed that we can hardly go about less than one million victims - considering the dead and repressed during the suppression of numerous folk uprisings against Soviet power, but not counting, of course, forced emigrants. Forced emigration, however, took place after World War II, and in each case it was calculated by a seven digit.

But it is not all. No accurate accurate accounting number of people who have lost their jobs and became expensive, but happily avoided the worst fate, as well as people whose world hit the day (or more often) arrest of a loved one. But "does not give in to account" does not mean that there were no such. In addition, some considerations can be expressed about the last category. If the number of political articles is 6 million repressed and, if we assume that only in the minority of families was shot or came to conclusion more than one person (in this way, the share of "family traitors' members" in the population of Gulag, as we have already noted, Not exceeded 1%, while the share of the "traitors" we approached 25%), then we can talk about a few million victims.

In connection with the assessment of the number of victims of repression, it should be stopped on the question of those killed during World War II. The fact is that these categories are partly crossed: the speech primarily goes about people who died during the fighting as a result of the terrorist policies of Soviet power. Those who were convicted by military justice bodies were already taken into account in our statistics, but there were such that the commanders of all ranks were ordered to shoot without trial or even personally shot, based on their understanding of military discipline. Examples are probably known to everyone, and quantitative estimates do not exist here. We do not affect the problem of justification of pure military losses - meaningless frontal attacks, to which there were horses, many famous teammates of Stalin's bottling were also, of course, the manifestation of a complete neglect of the state to the life of citizens, but to take into account their consequences, naturally, falls on the category of military losses.

The total number of victims of terror during the years of Soviet power can, therefore, approximately estimate in 50-55 million people. A huge most of them have, naturally, for the period up to 1953, therefore, if the former chairman of the KGB of the USSR V.A. Hooks with whom Solidarized VN Zemskov, not too (just 30%, in the direction of the understatement, of course) distorted data on the number of arrested during the Great Terror period, then in the overall assessment of the scale of repression A.I. Solzhenitsyn was, alas, closer to the truth.

By the way, I wonder why V.A. Crochekov spoke of a million, and not about one and a half million repressed in 1937-1938.? Maybe he not so much struggled for improving terror indicators in the light of restructuring, how much simply shared the above-mentioned "expert assessment" anonymous reader "Help Pavlov", convinced that 30% of the "political" are actually criminals?

Above, we said that the number of shot was hardly less than a million people. However, if we talk about those killed as a result of terror, then we will get a different figure: death in camps (at least half a million only in the 1930s - see OV Khlevniuk. P. 327) and on shipment (which is not amenable to calculate), death Under torture, suicide waiting for arrest, the death of special fleets from hunger and diseases as in places of settlements (where in the 1930s, about 600 thousand kulaks died - see OV Khlevniuk. p.327) and on the way to them, executions "Panickers" and "deserters" without trial, finally, the death of millions of peasants as a result of a provoked hunger - all this gives the figure almost smaller than 10 million people. The "formal" repression was only the superior part of the iceberg of the terrorist policies of Soviet power.

Some readers - and, of course, historians are wondering what percentage of the population was the victim of repression. O.V. Cylinder in the above book (p.304) in relation to the 30th gg. It suggests that among the adult population of the country has suffered every sixth. However, it proceeds from the assessment of the total population in the 1937 census, without taking into account the fact that the total number of people living in the country for ten years (and even more so throughout almost more than a thirty-five-year-old period of mass repression from 1917 to 1953 .) It was great than the number of people living in it.

How can one estimate the cumulative population of the country in 1917-1953? The fact that the Stalinist population census is not quite reliable is well known. However, for our purpose - an approximate assessment of the scale of repression - they serve as a sufficient guideline. The correspondence of 1937 gives a figure of 160 million. Probably, this figure can be taken for the "average" population of the country in 1917-1953. 20th - the first half of the 30s. Characterized by the "natural" demographic growth, significantly exceeding the loss as a result of wars, hunger and repression. After 1937, the growth also took place, including at the expense of accession in 1939-1940. Territories with a population of 23 million people, however, repression, mass emigration and military losses more than balanced it.

In order to move from the "average" number of those who lived in the country to the total number of those who lived in it during a certain period, it is necessary to add an average annual fertility rate to the first number, multiplied by the number of this period of years. The birth rate, which is understandable, varied quite significantly. In the context of the traditional demographic regime (characterized by a predominance large families) It is usually 4% per year on the total population. The majority of the USSR population (Central Asia, the Caucasus, and the Russian village itself) lived even largely in such a regime. However, in some periods (years of wars, collectivization, hunger), even for these areas, the fertility rate was to be somewhat lower. During the war years, it was about 2% on average in the country. If we estimate it in 3-3.5% on average at the period and multiplied by the number of years (35), it will turn out that the average "one-time" indicator (160 million) should be increased in two with a little time. This gives about 350 million in other words, for the period of mass repression from 1917 to 1953. From the terror, every seventh resident of the country, including minors (50 of 350 million), was injured. If adults constituted less than two thirds of the total population (100 out of 160 million, according to the 1937 census), and there were "only" a few million people who took the victims from repression by the repression of them, it turns out that at least every fifth An adult was a victim of terrorist regime.

4. What does all this mean today?

It cannot be said that fellow citizens are poorly informed about mass repressions in the USSR. Answers to the question of our questionnaire on how to estimate the number of repressed, distributed like this:

  • less than 1 million people - 5.9%
  • from 1 to 10 million people - 21.5%
  • from 10 to 30 million people - 29.4%
  • from 30 to 50 million people - 12.4%
  • over 50 million people - 5.9%
  • i find it difficult to answer - 24.8%

As you can see, the majority of respondents do not doubt that the repression was large-scale. True, every fourth respondent is inclined to look for objective reasons for repression. This, of course, does not mean that such respondents are ready to relieve all responsibility with the executioner. But they are unlikely to be ready and unequivocally condemn these latter.

In modern Russian historical consciousness, a very noticeable desire for the "objective" approach to the past. This is not necessarily bad, but the word "objective" we did not accidentally took in quotes. The point is not that the complete objectivity is hardly achievable in principle, but in the fact that the call for it can mean very different things - from the honest desire of a conscientious researcher - and anyone interested person - to figure out the complex and contradictory process that we call History, to an irritated reaction of a plane planted on an oil needle for any attempts to confuse his mental peace and make it seem that he was inherited not only to ensure it - alas, fragile - well-being valuable fossils, but also unresolved political, cultural and psychological problems , generated by seventy-year-old experienced "endless terror", his own soul, look into which he fears - maybe not without reason. And finally, the call for objectivity can hide the sober calculation of the ruling elites, which are aware of their genetic relationship with the Soviet elites and are not at all inclined to "allow nizam in a row to be criticized."

Perhaps it is not by chance that the phrase from our article, which caused the resentment of readers, is not just not just evaluating repression, but evaluations of repression in comparison with the war. The myth of the "Great Patriotic War" in recent years, as once in the era of Brezhnev, again became the main unifying myth of the nation. However, in its genesis and functions, this myth is largely a "barrage myth" trying to replace the tragic memory of repression as tragic, but still in part and the heroic memory of a "nationwide feat." We will not go here to discuss the memory of war. We only emphasize that the war not least was the link in the chain of crimes committed by the Soviet government against his own people, which aspect of the problem is almost completely darkened by the "unifying" role of the myth about the war.

Many historians believe that "cliotherapy" needs our society, which will relieve it from an inferiority complex and convince him that "Russia is a normal country." Such experience of the "normalization of history" is by no means a unique-Russian attempt to create the heirs of the terrorist regime "Positive image". So, in Germany, attempts were made to prove that fascism should be considered "in his era" and in comparison with other totalitarian regimes to show the relativity of the National Guile of the Germans - as if the fact that the killers are more than one, justified them. In Germany, however, such a position occupies a significant minority of public opinion, whereas in Russia it has become the predominant in Russia. Name to call Hitler among the pretty figures of the past in Germany, units will be solved, while in Russia, according to our survey, every tenth respondent calls Stalin among cute historical characters, and 34.7% believes that he played positive or rather positive The role in the history of the country (and another 23.7% find that "today it is difficult to give an unambiguous assessment"). About close - and even more positive - estimates with compatriots of the role of Stalin speak other polls of recent times.

Russian historical memory today turns away from repression - but this, alas, does not mean that the "past has passed." The structures of Russian everyday life reproduce forms social relationship, behaviors and consciousness that came from the imperial and Soviet past. It seems to do not like most of the respondents: more and more penetrating pride for their past, they critically perceive the present. So, on the question of our questionnaire, is inferior modern Russia The west in the level of culture or surpasses it, the second version of the answer was chosen only 9.4%, while the same indicator for all previous historical eras (including the Moscow Rus) ranges from 20 to 40%. Fellow citizens are probably not allowed to think about the fact that the "golden age of Stalinism", as well as the next, let a somewhat more flexible period of Soviet history, may have some kind of attitude towards what they are not satisfied in our society today. To turn to the Soviet past to overcome it, it is possible only if we are ready to see the traces of this past in ourselves and recognize themselves with the heirs not only of glorious acts, but also the crimes of ancestors.

Scale of Stalinist Repressions - Exact Figures

On the competition of liars

In the accusatory radage, the writers of antistaline horror stories seem to compete, who will match the strongest, in need by calling the astronomical numbers of those killed from the hands of the "bloody tyrant." On their background dissident Roy Medvedev, limited by a "modest" number of 40 million, looks like a white ravene, a sample of moderation and conscientiousness:

"Thus, the total number of victims of Stalinism reaches, according to my calculations, the numbers in about 40 million people».

And in fact, no one. Another dissident, the son of the repressed revolutionary-Trotskyist A. V. Antonov-Ovseenko, without the shadow of embarrassment, calls twice the large number:

"These calculations are very closely approximate, but in one I am sure: the Stalinist regime was expelled by the people, destroying more 80 million The best sons. "

Professional "rehabilitors" led by a former member of the Politburo of the CPSU Central Committee A. N. Yakovlev We are talking about 100 million:

"According to the most modest counts of specialists of the Rehabilitation Commission, our country has lost around the years for the years 100 million human. This number includes not only the repressed themselves, but also doomed on the death of their families and even children who could be born, but never appeared on the light. "

However, according to Yakovlevthe notorious 100 million includes not only direct "victims of the regime", but also of unrolved children. But the writer Igor Bunly without constraint claims that all these "100 million people were mercilessly exterminated."

However, this is not the limit. The absolute record set Boris Nemtsov, who argues on November 7, 2003 in the Freedom of Speech on the NTV television channel about 150 million man allegedly lost russian state After 1917.

Who are these fantastic-ridiculous numbers are calculated, willingly replicated by Russian and foreign media? For those who have learned to think on their own, who are used to uncrolically take on faith any nonsense, carrying from TV screens.

In the absurdity of multi-million dollar numbers, "victims of repression" is easy to make sure. It is enough to open any demographic directory and, taking a calculator into the hands, make simple calculations. For those who are too lazy to do it, I will give a small visual example.

According to the census, conducted in January 1959, the population of the USSR amounted to 208,827 thousand people. By the end of 1913, 159,153 thousand people lived in the same borders. It is not difficult to calculate that the average annual increase in the population 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 growing in the same years - countries who also actively participate in both world wars.


So, the growth rate of the population in the Stalin's USSR turned out to be almost one and a half times higher than in Western Democracies, although for these states we were excluded extremely unfavorable in the demographic terms of the 1st World War. Could it be if the "bloody Stalinist regime" destroyed 150 million or at least 40 million residents of our country? Of course no!

They say archival documents

To find out the true number of executed when Stalina, it is absolutely not necessary to deal with fortune tells on the coffee grounds. It is enough to familiarize yourself with the declassified documents. The most famous of them is a memorandum in the name N. S. Khrushcheva of February 1, 1954:

comrade Khrushchev N. S.

In connection with the signals incoming to the Central Committee signals from a number of people about the illegal condemnation for counter-revolutionary crimes in the past year, the Troops, the Troops of the NKVD, a special meeting. Military Board, ships and military tribunals and in accordance with your indication of the need to revise cases on persons convicted of counter-revolutionary crimes and now contained in camps and prisons.

According to the data available in the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the USSR, for the period from 1921 to the present, for counter-revolutionary crimes, the college of the OGPU, the Troops of the NKVD, and the Special Meeting, Military Board, Courts and Military Tribunals 3 777 380 Man, including:

to VMN - 642 980 human,

Of the total arrested, tentatively, condemned: 2 900 000 man-Sollegia OGPU, Troops of the NKVD and a special meeting and 877 000 man -sudues, military tribunals, specialcall and military board.

Prosecutor General R. Rudenko

Minister of Internal Affairs S. Kruglov

Minister of Justice K. Gorshenin "

As applied from the document, from 1921 to early 1954 for political accusations was sentenced to death 642 980 man to deprive freedom - 2 369 220 , To reference - 765 180 .

However, there are more detailed data on the number of convicts to the highest extent for counter-revolutionary and other particularly dangerous state crimes.


Thus, for 1921-1953 were sentenced to death 815 639 human. In total, in 1918-1953, under the affairs of state security bodies were prosecuted 4 308 487 man 835 194 condemned to the highest extent.

So, "repressed" turned out to be somewhat more than indicated in the report of February 1, 1954. However, the difference is not too large - the numbers of one order.

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

"Total condemned for 1921-1938. - 2 944 879 people, of them 30 % (1062 thousand) - 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 needed.

It should also be borne in mind that not all the sentences were performed. For example, out of 76 death sentences issued by the Tyumen district court in the first half of 1929, by January 1930, 46 were changed or canceled by higher instances, and from the remaining were fully implemented nine.

From July 15, 1939 to April 20, 1940, for the disorganization of camp life and production was sentenced to the highest punishment 201 prisoners. However, then some of them are the death penalty was replaced by the term from 10 to 15 years.

In 1934, 3,849 prisoners convicted to be treated with a replacement for imprisonment were contained in the NKVD camps. In 1935, such concludes were 5,671, in 1936 - 7303, in 1937 - 6239, in 1938 - 5926, in 1939 - 3425, in 1940 - 4037 people.

The number of prisoners

At first, the number of prisoners in corrective labor camps (ITL) was relatively small. So, on January 1, 1930, it amounted to 179,000 people, as of 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 and labor colonies (NTK), where convicts were sent for a short time. Until the autumn of 1938, ITC together with prisons were subordinate to the Department of Cases (OMZ) of the NKVD of the USSR. Therefore, in 1935-1938, it was still possible to find only joint statistics. Since 1939, ITC were managed by the Gulag, and prisons under the main prison control (GTU) of the NKVD of the USSR.


How can I trust these numbers? All of them are taken from the internal statements of NKVD - secret documents not intended for publication. In addition, these summary figures are quite consistent with primary reports, they can be decomposed monthly, as well as on separate camps:


Calculate now the number of per capita per capita. As of January 1, 1941, as can be seen from the above table, the total number of prisoners in the USSR amounted to 2 400 422 man. The exact population of the USSR is unknown at this point, but is usually estimated within 190-195 million.

Thus, we get from 1230 to 1260 prisoners for every 100 thousand people. As of January 1, 1950, the number of prisoners in the USSR was 2 760 095 man is the maximum indicator for the entire board of Stalin. The USSR population at this point has numbered 178 million 547 thousand we get 1546 prisoners per 100 thousand people, 1.54%. This is the greatest figure for all time.

Calculate the same indicator for modern USA. Currently, there are two types of deprivation places there: Jail is an approximate analogue of our temporary detention facilities, the Jail contains the system, and also serve the sentences convicts for a short time, and Prison is a prison itself. At the end of 1999, Prisons contained 1,366,721 people, in Jails - 687 973 (see the website of the US Department of Legal Statistics Bureau of the US Department of Justice), which in total gives 2 054 694. The population of the United States at the end of 1999 - approximately 275 million Therefore, we get 747 prisoners per 100 thousand people.

Yes, twice as smaller than Stalin, but not though. Somehow no one for the Power, which has assumed the protection of "human rights" on a global scale.

Moreover, it is a comparison of the peak number of prisoners in the Stalinsk USSR, which is also due to the first civilian and then the Great Patriotic War. And among the so-called "victims political repression»It will be a fair proportion of supporters of white movement, collaborators, Hitler's accomplices, members of Roa, Politsaev, not to mention ordinary criminals.

There are calculations that compare the average number of prisoners for the period a few years.


Data on the number of prisoners in the Stalin's USSR exactly coincide with the above-described. In accordance with these data, it turns out that on average from 1930 to 1940, 100,000 people accounted for 583 prisoners, or 0.58%. What is significantly less than the same indicator in Russia and the United States of the 90s.

What is the total number of prisoners who visited Stalin? Of course, if you take the table with the annual number of prisoners and sum up the strings, as many anti-Sovers make it, the result will be wrong, since most of them were convicted for more than a year. For this, it is necessary to estimate this in the amount of non-seated A in the amount of convicts, which was given above.

How many of the prisoners were "political"?





As we can see, until 1942, "repressed" constituted no more than a third of the prisoners contained in the Gulag camps. And only then their share increased, receiving a worthy "replenishment" in the face of Vlasovsov, Politsaev, Starost and other "fighters with communist tyranny." An even smaller was the percentage of "political" in correctional labor colonies.

Mortality prisoners

Available archival documents allow you to highlight this question. In 1931, 7283 people died in IT (3.03% to the average number of numbers), in 1932 - 13 197 (4.38%), in 1933 - 67,297 (15.94%), in 1934 - 26 295 prisoners (4.26%).


For 1953, data for the first three months are given.

As we see, mortality in places of detention (especially in prisons) did not at all reached those fantastic magnitudes that accusers like to say. But all the same its level is quite high. Especially he increases in the early years of war. As mentioned in the certificate of mortality under the OITK NKVD for 1941, compiled by I.O. Chief of Sanotel Gulag'a NKVD I. K. Zieserman:

Basically, the mortality began to sharply increase from September of the month of 41, mainly due to the steps of Z / K from units located in theft-line areas: from BBC and Vyteglaglag in the Olyc of the Vologda and Omsk regions, from the Olytk of the Moldavian SSR, the Ukrainian SSR and the Leningrad Region. In Odk Kirov, Molotov and Sverdlovsk regions. As a rule, the steps a significant part of the path of several hundred km to loading in the wagons passed in foot. In the path of the following, it was absolutely not provided with minimally necessary food products (not completely bread and even water were obtained), as a result of such a staging, the s / K was given sharp exhaustion, very large %% of aviminose diseases, in particular Pellagra, which gave significant mortality in the following way and Arrival in the relevant ODCs that were not prepared for receiving a significant amount of replenishment. At the same time, the introduction of reduced standards of contentment by 25-30% (Order No. 648 and 0437) with an increased working day to 12 hours, often the absence of basic foods even on reduced norms could not but affect the increase in morbidity and mortality

However, since 1944, mortality decreases significantly. At 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 and on the notorious special camps (especially) created according to the Resolution of the Council of Ministers of the USSR No. 416-159 dated February 21, 1948. These camps (in the same way as special prisons already existed by that time) had to concentrate all convicts for the deprivation of freedom for espionage, sabotage, terror, as well as Trotskyists, Right, Mensheviks, Socialists, Anarchists, Nationalists, Beloamigrants, participants of anti-Soviet organizations and groups and "persons who are dangerous in their anti-Soviet relations." Prisoners should have been used in heavy physical work.



As we can see, the mortality of prisoners in particular only a little exceeded mortality in ordinary IT. Contrary to popular belief, the election was not "death camps", in which the color of the dissenting intelligentsia was allegedly destroyed, besides, the most numerous contingent of their inhabitants amounted to "nationalists" - forest brothers and their accomplices.

1937 year. "Stalinist repressions. " Great lies of the 20th century.

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