Food Security of NKVD Labor Collectives During the Great Patriotic War: The Life of Soviet Society in the Rear

Food Security of NKVD Labor Collectives During the Great Patriotic War: The Life of Soviet Society in the Rear

Blog Article

The problem of providing employees with food was one of the most difficult and urgent for the leadership of the NKVD during the Great Patriotic War.The efficiency of labor collectives, the moral and psychological state of the staff directly depended on the solution of this issue.In this publication, based on documentary sources, a significant part of which is being introduced into scientific circulation for the first time, the goal was to analyze and summarize the historical experience of the activities of the territorial bodies of the NKVD of the Far East in solving the issue of food supply of personnel.The research used the principles of historicism, objectivity and consistency, as well as methods of social history.

The conducted research showed that the wartime had a negative impact on the financial situation of the NKVD personnel.The problem of meeting the basic living needs of employees, in here particular the provision of food, has become particularly acute.This situation reduced the motivation of labor collectives, provoked the commission of disciplinary offenses and crimes caused by the desire of employees to improve the financial situation of their families.The main ways to improve the food supply system for employees of the territorial bodies of the NKVD of the Far East during the Great Patriotic War were: the expansion of the practice of self-procurement and decentralized procurement; the introduction of click here a system of standardized food supply for employees; streamlining the activities of the Special Trade system; improving the efficiency of subsidiary farms; the development of individual and collective gardening.

Characteristic aspects of the life of the employees were agricultural work in individual and collective gardens, in subsidiary farms.The implemented set of measures made it possible to ensure the food security of labor collectives, which should certainly be considered an important merit of the leadership and party organizations of the Far Eastern NKVD bodies.At the same time, activities related to self-sufficiency led to a significant diversion of personnel resources from solving the main service and operational tasks, which negatively affected the effectiveness of law enforcement work.