The level of secrecy of Soviet archives

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Millions of copies have been written and published about the "cruelty" of Soviet power, a myriad of pages, many of which have become annals in textbooks in many countries. There is no reason to refute a lie or demand satisfaction from the libelists, each of them holds, like the Bible, a "document" confirming an episode or deed. And none of the opponents comes to mind to verify the authenticity of such "documents", cooked up in the kitchen of Germany until the 40s, then the propagandists of the Western and US special services took up the matter in earnest.

Domestic restructuring companies did not hesitate to produce falsifications, who made public their works, as if from open archives. The facts of falsification cost their lives, the deputy from the Communist Party of the Russian Federation V. I. Ilyukhin.

The archives of Soviet power are generally a masterpiece of bureaucratic "secrets", where one of the pages of loyalty to Soviet power is hidden under the heading "secret". No country in the world has issued as many amnesties as the Soviet Union. Dozens, if not hundreds of human rights organizations did not bother to look through these pages, because only a strong country and an honest government can openly admit their mistakes and correct them.

The right to amnesty is the prerogative of the supreme state power. In the USSR, this right belonged to the supreme bodies, which are the All-Union Congress of Soviets, and in the period between congresses - the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, which extends to the entire territory of the USSR.

The amnesty right extended on the territory of independent Soviet republics belongs to the corresponding congresses of councils of the republics, and in the period between congresses - to the corresponding CECs of the republics.

The difference between a general amnesty and a private pardon is that the former eliminates criminal prosecution or extinguishes (in whole or in part) the serving of a sentence in criminal cases of a certain category throughout the territory of the state or a separate part of it, while the act of a private pardon exempts from criminal liability (from serving a sentence) personally identified persons.

In the Soviet republics, in the first years of their existence, amnesty was timed to coincide with proletarian holidays. During the civil war, amnesties were announced quite often, several times a year. With the onset of normal economic and political life, which marked the beginning of the era of revolutionary legality and Soviet codes, amnesties began to be made much less frequently. A significant reduction in the scope of repression, which became possible after the end of the war and was actually carried out in the USSR in 1923 and 1924, adjusted the court sentences by declaring amnesties. During the entire existence of the Soviet republics, the following nationwide amnesties were announced:

1. Amnesty for the 1st anniversary of the October Revolution, which freed some categories of prisoners (post. VI All-Russian Congress of Soviets, S. U., 1918, No. 100, art. 1033),
2. Amnesty for the 2nd anniversary of the October Revolution (post. All-Russian Central Executive Committee., S. U., No. 55, 1919, p. 525),
3. Amnesties to all members of those political parties and groups that have announced the mobilization of their members to defend the Soviet Republic (Resolution of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, S. U, 1919, No. 55, Art. 526),
4. Amnesty by May 1, 1920 (decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, S. U., 1920, No. 34, Art. 163),

5) Amnesty for the 3rd anniversary of the October Revolution (decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, S. U., 1920, No. 68, art. 450), 6) Amnesties for the 4th anniversary of the October Revolution (decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, S. U. 1921, No. 75, art. 614), 7) Amnesties to persons who participated as ordinary soldiers in the White Guard military organizations (decree of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, S. U., 1921, No. 74, Art. 601), 8) Amnesty for the 5th anniversary of the October Revolution (post. All-Russian Central Executive Committee, S. U. 1922, No. 64, art, 820), 9) Amnesties to the participants of the Kronstadt mutiny (Izvestia of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, No. 113, 1923), 10) Amnesty for the International Day of the Worker (Resolution of the Presidium of the CEC, 1924-22-11), 11) Amnesty for Karelian refugees (resolution of the CEC Presidium, 30 / IV 1923), 12) Amnesty for Karelian refugees (resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, 29 / II 1924), 13) Amnesties for certain categories of non-payers of the single in-kind tax (Resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, 30 / IV 1923), 14) Amnesties to peasants who fell into crimes punishable by Art. 99 of the Criminal Code (resolution of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee, 19 / XI 1923), 15) Amnesty for ordinary soldiers of the white armies (decree of the Presidium of the All-Russian Central Executive Committee and CHK 9 / V1 1924), 16) Amnesties in commemoration of the formation of the USSR (decree of the Presidium of the Central Executive Committee of the USSR, 17 / VII 1923), 17) Amnesty for persons who escaped from the workers 'and peasants' Red Army and Navy (Izvestiya TsIK USSR, No. 261, 1924).

Along with the all-Union amnesties in honor of the round dates: 5, 10, 15 years, the Day of the October Revolution, the Day of the formation of the USSR, there were also amnesties for the Union Republican and Autonomous Republics, which are hidden behind seven seals in the archives.

One Resolution of the Kyrgyz Council of People's Commissars of October 13, 1920 is given below in full:

RESOLUTION

Kirsovnarkom on amnesty to commemorate the proclamation of the Autonomous Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic

The Central Executive Committee of the Congress of Soviets of Workers, Working Kyrgyz People of Peasant, Red Army and Cossack Deputies in commemoration of the proclamation of the autonomous existence of K. S.. S. R. as part of the united Russian Soviet Federation, decided at its meeting on October 13, 1920 to alleviate the fate of those whose crimes against the workers, peasant masses and the working Kyrgyz people do not necessitate their imprisonment. In the execution of the decision of the Central Executive Committee, the Kirsovnarkom decides:

1) Apply on a wide scale early release to those serving sentences, convicted by the military and civil Revolutionary Tribunals, People's Courts, Extraordinary Commissions, special departments, Revolutionary Committees, Comdeserters and other institutions.

To enforce this, a week is given from the date of publication of this resolution.

2) Those found guilty by the court are excluded: a) in active participation in the counter-revolutionary movement aimed at overthrowing Soviet power, 6) in official crimes discrediting this power and in abuses of power with a clearly selfish purpose, c) in malicious desertion d) in malicious speculation and e) in systematic horse-stealing.

3) The same measure shall be applied to persons under investigation who are in custody who, on the day of publication of this resolution, have not been charged with the crimes specified in the previous paragraph.

4) The Kyrgyz and labor Cossacks who took part in the civil war against Soviet power, as well as members and employees of the former national Kyrgyz government "Alash Orda" and their previous counter-revolutionary activities are not subject to any persecution and punishment (Resolution of V. Ts I. K. from April 4, 1919, on July 3, 1920, resolution of the Revolutionary Military Council of the Turkfront of November 4, 1919).

5) Cases of all persons convicted for the crimes specified in Clause a, b, c, d, e of § II of persons under investigation who are in places of detention must be reviewed within two weeks from the date of publication of this decision.

6) All those convicted and not exempted from punishment in accordance with paragraphs a, b, c, e, § II 11 of this resolution shall reduce the term of the sentence imposed by the sentence by half. But in some cases, depending on the personality of the offender and the nature of the act committed by him, by a unanimous decision of the commissions formed for the application of the amnesty decision, this period can be reduced by more than half, or another punishment can be applied, up to the early release of those of them, further their stay in places of confinement is not necessitated.

7) When considering cases of criminal acts referred to in paragraphs a, b, c, d and e of § II of this judgment, for which the investigation was not completed by the day the amnesty was promulgated, the judicial administrative authorities should be guided by the rules set out in the preceding paragraphs.

8) To release from punishment deserters both already imprisoned and those at large, provided that the latter voluntarily appear at the disposal of the Comdeserter with a frank admission of his guilt. The deadline for voluntary attendance is three weeks from the date of publication of this resolution.

9) Send all deserters subject to release under this amnesty at the disposal of the military authorities to send them to penal units or to the front.

10) The military regional commissar to work out within three days and telegraph to the field instructions for carrying out the decree on amnesty for deserters.

11) To enforce this resolution, form in each province of the Kyrgyz Republic a temporary commission of 5 members, one representative from the Gubrevkom or Gubrevkom, Gubrevtribunal, Gubchek, Voentribunal (or a special department or representative of the leading military body) and Gubyust.

12) Instruct the People's Commissariat of Justice to monitor the accurate and unswerving implementation of this resolution, 13) Introduce this regulation by telegraph

14) The report on the application of the amnesty must be submitted by the Gubyust through the Hapkomjust and the Regional Military Commissariat within three weeks from the date of publication of this decree.

Radus-Zenkovich, Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the Kyrgyz Soviet Socialist Republic.

Secretary of the Kirsovnarkom S. Tsesarskaya

Judging by the Resolution shown, loyalty to the Soviet government extended to all categories of convicts, which is so carefully kept silent by all the bodies that are involved in the rehabilitation of the "victims" of Socialism and personally comrade. Stalin, after all, each Republic had its own legal bodies and the ability to amnesty them.

Even if we take the number of those brought to justice for economic, economic and official crimes, cited by the Chairman of the Council of People's Commissars of the USSR, comrade. V. M. Molotov at the February-March Plenum of 1937, half of them were not even condemned:

“In the central and local apparatus: in the People's Commissariat of Heavy Industry - Tyazhprom and the People's Commissariat of the Defense Industry - 585 people, in the People's Commissariat of Railways - 137; including up to a dozen road managers in the Narkomvnutorg - 82, in the People's Commissariat of Health - 64, in the People's Commissariat for Forestry - 62, in the People's Commissariat of Industry - 60, in the People's Commissariat of Communications - 54, in the People's Commissariat for Finance - 35, in the People's Commissariat for Agriculture - 38, in the People's Commissariat of Water - 88, in the People's Commissariat of State Farms - 35, in Glavsevmorput - 5, in the People's Commissariat of Foreign Trade - 4, in the People's Commissariat for Social Security - 2, the Academy of Sciences and universities - 77, editorial offices and publishing houses - 68, courts and prosecutors - 17, including 5 regional prosecutors, in the Soviet apparatus - 65, including such people as the chairman of the regional executive committee of the Sverdlovsk region."

Moreover, it was not about political crimes in the people's commissariats and departments. So, criticizing the work of the People's Commissar of Finance Grinko, to whom Prombank was subordinate through the State Bank, Molotov added that 11 groups were "discovered" in the People's Commissariat of Finance, including "20 people" in the State Bank of the USSR, who plundered public funds, creating "funds abroad" … According to the testimony of Arkus, read out at the plenum by the People's Commissar of the NKVD Yezhov: "A monetary fund was created in Paris." Since "it was impractical to carry currency to the USSR, it was exchanged by Chlenov for Soviet banknotes in various exchange offices … The organization's monetary fund reached an amount of several hundred thousand francs."

So our archives hide not only those brought to trial, but also acquitted, amnestied during the investigation and amnestied in general. But the number of rehabilitated people is steadily increasing … And there is absolutely no information on the Republics and Autonomous Regions that have legal independence …