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Истребительные батальоны Ленинградской области на защите города в период лета 1941- весны 1942 гг.
The Great Patriotic War became not only the most tragic event in modern Russian history, but also a test for the state system of the USSR, which underwent a number of changes after the outbreak of the war. Among other things, they also affected structures subordinate to the People’s Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD). In its structure were created irregular units which were designed to protect the Red Army's near rear and to maintain order in the frontline zone - the so-called fighter battalions. The article will explore the issues related to the formation and application of these compounds on one of the most difficult sections of the Soviet-German front - the Leningrad direction. In particular, the process of creating fighter battalions in relation to this region will be studied, the level of their material support will be revealed, it will be shown how these units were used in conditions of the German army’s rapid attack on Leningrad and how they were used somewhat later, already in the setting of the besieged city. The source base of the article will be composed of previously unpublished documents from the funds of the Central State Archive of Historical and Political Documents of the city of St. Petersburg and the State Archive of the Russian Federation. Their analysis will allow not only a comprehensive study of the above problems, but also to some extent come closer to the answer to one of the little-studied questions of the history of the Great Patriotic War - how the Soviet command used irregular military formations at the first stage of the war and what role they played in achieving the Victory.