УДК 351.741:‟1920-1941’’

EDN WMVHOI

 

Original article

 

The Soviet Policeman in the Socio-Cultural Space: 1920 — 1941 (based on the materials of the Central Chernozem region)

Zverkov E. A.

 

Abstract

Introduction. The internal affairs bodies of Soviet Russia had a specific, borderline status of a law enforcement, but at the same time a paramilitary and auxiliary structure in relation to local executive authorities. A wide range of  authorities required significant funding and strict personnel selection. The efficiency of the work and the status of the policeman depended on it. Researchers have already drawn attention to the existing contradiction, but additional study of the position of the Soviet policeman in society, the daily life and relations with the population, the relationship of state policy towards internal affairs bodies with their motivation to serve, the level of discipline and the ability to resist crime is required.

Materials and methods. The article is based on the analysis of documents extracted from the funds of the federal and regional archives. The research was conducted on the basis of the principles of historicism and scientific objectivity connected with  system analysis methods.

Results and discussion. The economic difficulties in Soviet Russia and the insufficient attention of the state to the law enforcement system, the rejection of the organizational and cultural experience of the tsarist police made it difficult to form their own corporate culture and ethics of a policeman. The article analyzes the peculiarities of the position of the police in society, the prestige of service in it.

Conclusion. The police construction was negatively affected by the low level of wages and general material and technical poverty, a certain risk to life and health in conditions of a high crime rate. The policemen regularly complained about excessive workload with accounting documentation and all kinds of social workload, as a result of which their specific attitude towards themselves and the service developed. The general change in the mood of the police occurred with the beginning of the Great Patriotic War, when personal difficulties faded into the background.

Keywords: internal affairs bodies, police, crime, RSFSR, Central Chernozem region

For citation: Zverkov EA. The Soviet Policeman in the Socio-Cultural Space: 1920 — 1941 (based on the materials of the Central Chernozem region). Bulletin of the Research Institute of the Humanities by the Government of the Republic of Mordovia. 2024;16(4):48—60. EDN WMVHOI

 

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The article was submitted 11.03.2024; approved after reviewing 23.04.2024; accepted for publication 30.04.2024.

 

Information about the author:

Evgeniy A. Zverkov, Associate Professor of the Department of Social, Humanitarian, Economic and Legal Disciplines of the Voronezh Institute of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia (53 Prospect Patriotov, Voronezh, 394065, Russia), Candidate of Historical Sciences, ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1828-4457, zverkovphd@yandex.ru

 

Conflict of interests: the author declares no conflict of interests.

 

The authors hase read and approved the final version of the manuscript.