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Bulletin of Nizhnevartovsk State University
Journals / Bulletin of Nizhnevartovsk State University / Issue 4, 2015 / Stalin's policy towards the «punished peoples» (1940s - 1950s): genocide, assimilation or a «population policy»?
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94 (571.1)(=512.37)

STALIN'S POLICY TOWARDS THE «PUNISHED PEOPLES» (1940S - 1950S): GENOCIDE, ASSIMILATION OR A «POPULATION POLICY»? Stalin's policy towards the «punished peoples» (1940s - 1950s): genocide, assimilation or a «population policy»?

Published in Bulletin of Nizhnevartovsk State University · Pages 3–8 · Rubric: Articles
Received: 06.12.2015 Accepted: 15.12.2015 Published: 25.12.2015 Language of publication: RUS
Authors
А
А S Ivanov
ABSTRACT
The study is an attempt to comprehend the essence of Stalin's policy in respect of the «punished peoples». The study of historical research sources speaks for the diverse and often polar views concerning deportation and special settlements of those times. The author points out a number of activities arranged by the authorities suggesting that deportation was not a way of genocide or marginalization of the population. Such activities include allocating special food and manufactured goods; adopting a number of acts aimed at improving the financial state of the repressed population; reuniting the deported families with the approval of the NKVD; conducting ideological and cultural activities and events, school and industrial training; preserving pre-deportation status of Kalmyk communists and Komsomol members enabling them to join the Communist Party (before the 1950s) and the Komsomol (with limitations); providing jobs for skilled production workers and managers in relevant fields where their skills are required, including Communist Party organizations. This paper emphasizes that state authorities had no intention of destroying distinctive ethnic features of the Kalmyk people. Rather, the goal was to develop a community of deported people loyal to the regime. There is no accident that the authorities made efforts to reunite the uprooted families, which is a norm for a socialist society, in order to develop the «proper» social structures. There is a point in believing that the major purpose was «to develop the proper population» by means of adjusting social and class structures. In accordance with the Marxist doctrine, the working class was considered as «the carrier of socialism» and the main driving force on the way to communism. Thus, the working class was supposed to become the basis for the future classless society. Therefore, it is not surprising that over 20 years, including the years spent in special settlements (1944-1956), the number of workers increased 5 times among the Chechen, 15 times (!) among the Ingush and 2.5 times among the Kalmyk within only 5 years of living in the settlements. It becomes clear that this process was the goal of the state policy. Thus, the forced relocation of the «punished peoples» and special settlements were a set of measures to ensure the development of «proper» communities. The Soviet authorities, therefore, pursued a policy of developing a certain composition of the population, which is referred to as the «population policy» by as P. Kholkvist.
KEYWORDS
deportacii, repressii, nakazannye narody, specposelency, genocid, assimilyaciya, politika naseleniya
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