Истребительные батальоны НКВД в западных республиках СССР: процессы создания, способы комплектования, особенности применения (Осень 1943–весна 1945 года)

Soviet and Post Soviet Review. 2022. Т. 49. № 3. С. 274–303.

Timofey D. Medvedev

After the liberation of the western republics of the Soviet Union from the German occupation, armed resistance to Soviet rule started, it forced the state to use significant resources to stabilize the situation. In the article, based on the reporting and management documentation of the NKVD bodies and party control documents, an attempt is made to explore the range of tasks, management methods, and methods of using fighter battalions, which were created in Western Ukraine, Belarus and the Baltic states immediately after the liberation of these territories. Particular emphasis is placed on the institutional and social history of these units, the personnel composition is analyzed, and the dynamics of its change during the study period is traced. Similar features and differences are revealed in the methods of formation and use of battalions operating in different republics. An attempt is being made to understand the motivation of the servicemen joining the ranks of the battalions, and determine what role personal interest played in their recruitment or acts of violence by the rebels. The study of the identified issues will allow not only to analyze a wide range of issues related to the activities of the NKVD fighter battalions at the final stage of the war, but also to supplement the understanding of how the Soviet state managed to win the civil war in the western borderlands.

Keywords: Вторая мировая война, History of World War II, institutional history, Истребительные батальоны НКВД, NKVD fighter battalions, History of state security agencies, Западные республики СССР, История органов госбезопасности, Борьба с повстанцами

Publication based on the results of: Soviet Social, Political and Cultural Practices in Transnational Context (2022)