Научно-техническая интеллигенция в объективе карательной политики ОГПУ-НКВД, 1929-1939 гг. (на материалах Северного края)

Cahiers d'histoire russe, est-européenne, caucasienne et centrasiatique (ex. Cahiers du Monde Russe). 2023. Т. 64. № 1. С. 227–254.

Elizaveta V. Khatanzeiskaya

The article traces the evolution of the Soviet punitive policy regarding to the scientific and technical intellectuals in the key enterprises of the North region during the pre-war decade, 1929-1939. The author focuses on repressions of technical specialists with pre-revolutionary education, skills and work experience who were involved in the main industry of the region - timber export. Despite the formal prohibitions on recruiting of "socially alien origin" people at the Soviet enterprises, the authorities of the region were forced to use their work experience for industrialization. The author identifies the stages of the punitive policy towards the specialists with the pre-revolutionary background, regional qualities, and results of this policy. During the pre-war period, the Soviet leaders planned to replace the old-time experts with “Soviet cadres”. However, the policy of repression in the region did not lead to a consistent replacement of pre-revolutionary technical specialists with the communist nominees but led to increasing of the shortage of qualified employees, equipment downtime and accidents at the enterprises. As a result, main regional industry - timber export, as well as other industries found themselves in a systemic crisis. The repressions had an extremely negative impact on the economic potential, training system in the basic industries of the region, management, science, education, and culture.

Keywords: политические репрессии, political repressions, NKVD, Большой террор, индустриализация в СССР, The great terror of 1936-38, history of industrialization, Северный край, НКВД СССР, the Northern Region