The influence of state policy on the formation of the personnel of the regional militia in the 1930s. (on the example of the police of Mordovia).

Shishulina Tat'yana Petrovna PhD in Law Associate Professor, Department of Documentation, History, Law and Russian Language, Russian State Vocational Pedagogical University 620042, Russia, Sverdlovsk region, Yekaterinburg, ul. Bakinsky Komissarov, 60, sq. 82 zvezdochka.76@inbox.ru Other publications by this author

Analyzing the activities of the internal affairs bodies, it is impossible not to agree with the researchers who note that it is the employees of these structures who should set an example of high culture and compliance with the norms of current legislation, serve as a standard of professionalism. ^{[1, p. 131]} The issue of staffing of the internal affairs bodies has always been relevant and is of particular importance to this day ^{[2, p. 53]}. Despite the fact that there are a sufficient number of special educational institutions in our country where future representatives of this profession are trained, an analysis of the situation with staffing shows that today it continues to be difficult in the whole country. The analysis of the opinion of the employees of the internal affairs bodies on the most pressing problems of professional activity showed dissatisfaction with the monetary allowance ^{[3, p. 29]}.

As I.V. Razhivina notes in her work, the improvement of social security of employees of these structures did not contribute to changing the situation. ^{[4, p. 96]} As a result of the ongoing outflow of qualified personnel, the professional level of employees of territorial internal affairs bodies has decreased. ^{[5, p. 19]} However, the situation of previous years, since the creation of the workers' and peasants' militia, was even more complicated. Based on the data of archival sources, monographs and other information, we will try to figure out what legal and historical factors influenced the training of employees of the internal affairs bodies and the reorganization of the workers' and peasants' militia in the 1930s.

The formation of the Mordovian national statehood, which began in the late 1920s, turned out to be an important circumstance that influenced the organization and activities of the Mordovian militia of the period under review.

This follows from the works of T.D. Nagkin, T.P. Shishulina., exploring the regulatory and legal regulation and the history of the formation of regional internal affairs bodies. ^{[6, p. 534]} This period is marked as the "second birth" of the militia of Mordovia. First of all, it should be noted that the formation of the Mordovian district in 1928 led to the fact that the abolished volost, county and provincial police departments were replaced by the district police department in the city of Saransk. It includes 23 branches established in the districts. No less important changes in the structure of the Mordovian police apparatus began to occur with the formation of the Mordovian Autonomous Republic. However, such a transformation (liquidation, restoration, creation of districts; consolidation of Councils) assumed endless innovations in the structure of the police apparatus, which had actually just been formed. In many ways, this made it difficult to organize the activities of the police during the period studied in the work. According to S.V. Ivenin, the most important factor that caused changes in the organizational and legal foundations of the police in the territory of modern Mordovia in the 1930s were measures to reorganize the central apparatus of the internal affairs bodies caused by the general course of the USSR leadership in line with the formation of the command and administrative system.

^{[7, p. 114]}Along with the famous policy of the "big leap", the ultra-fast pace of industrialization, the political system of Soviet society is undergoing serious changes, which could not but affect the political system of Mordovia.

The All-Russian Communist Party of the Bolsheviks (VKP (b)) grew into state structures and was intensively nationalized. The imposition of one comprehensive ideology, strict hierarchy, strict administration, as well as military discipline rooted in the party, all this could not but affect the political system of the country. There were obvious signs of totalitarianism, and the approval, in this regard, of command and administrative methods of state management, and the formation of a cult of the leader's personality. The already difficult situation was complicated by the mass repressions carried out in the 1930s. Distrust and suspicion grew, and whistleblowing became widespread. And at the end of the 1930s, the situation inside the country became even more tense, due to the aggravation of the situation in the international arena and the threat of war.According to research scientists, all these factors could not but affect the system of law enforcement agencies of the USSR, including the police in the regions: the police apparatus of Mordovia was periodically reorganized due to the tightening of the centralization of the state apparatus in the country, the nature and content of regulatory acts adopted during this period.

^{[8, p. 42]} At the beginning of the 1930s, the problem of personnel in the police apparatus of Mordovia, as well as throughout the country, was very acute.

The difficult financial situation of the police during this period was aggravated by its transfer to the local budget. This resulted in a fairly large percentage of employees being dismissed on their own. The figures are quite impressive: the number of police and criminal investigation officers has decreased by more than 2.5 times compared to the previous decade. Approximately the same state of affairs was in Mordovia, which follows from archival sources of those years. ^[9]Based on the data presented in the generalizing work "The Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

The Communist Party of the Soviet Union in resolutions and decisions of congresses, conferences and Plenums of the Central Committee (1898-1988)", the reduction in the number of employees was aggravated by the decision adopted at the XVI All-Union Conference back in 1929, on the basis of which the so-called "purge" of employees was carried out in the police in the 1930s.^{[10, p. 227]} Based on the decision, the "cleaning" should have been carried out, taking into account the quality of their work. In fact, everything turned out as follows: the main emphasis in its implementation was on the class approach. Apparently, this was the reason for the close attention to the columns "social origin" and "belonging to party and public organizations" when compiling the nominal list of employees of the Mordovian Regional United State Political Administration (OGPU) dated January 1, 1931. Class-alien employees who mainly came from the "kulaks" were subject to dismissal. Moreover, such a policy operated not only on the territory of individual regions, such measures were actively supported by the higher leadership of the country. The People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs (NKVD) of the RSFSR periodically appealed to public, Soviet party bodies, and individual citizens with an appeal to "assist" in carrying out "purges" in the police. 

Promotion was also a common phenomenon during this period. According to R.S. Mulukaev and N.N. Kartashov, it was carried out on the basis of the instructions of the NKVD in 1930 about the "bolder and more decisive promotion" of workers from production, collective farmers and other strata of the peasantry to the apparatus for leadership positions, with the preservation of earnings for them in the same amount as they received at enterprises. ^{[11, p. 76]} According to the NKVD plan for 1930, it was planned to bring the number of nominees to 10% of the total number of police officers. This is confirmed by the data of the State Archive of the Russian Federation in 1931, indicating that already at that time the majority of the police apparatus were:– peasants – 50.9%; – workers – 22.3%; – employees – 5.07%. ^[12] However, this did not affect the increase in the level of professionalism of police officers: there were still not enough competent specialists.

 Therefore, the authorities have taken various measures to improve the quality of the work of law enforcement agencies, primarily at the legislative level. For this reason, after the transfer of the militia to the OGPU in the early 1930s, some norms were developed and adopted to improve the legal and financial situation of its employees. On February 3, 1931, the resolution of the Central Executive Committee (CEC) and the Council of People's Commissars (SNK) of the USSR "On the legal and financial situation of police and criminal investigation officers" was adopted.^[13] In Mordovia, in March 1931, a salary of 140 rubles was established for an assistant to the district police and criminal investigation department and 125 rubles for authorized district police departments. ^{[14, p. 103]} The Council of People's Commissars in the same year adopted a special normative legal act – the regulation on the workers' and peasants' militia.

The document regulated the working conditions of employees of the internal affairs bodies, in particular, the police. Prior to that, the regulation of the working conditions of police officers was carried out by the general labor legislation. The authorities hoped that the adoption of such normative legal acts would strengthen the authority of the internal affairs bodies and the desire to serve in them, fulfilling the tasks set by the state. Another document to pay attention to was the new disciplinary Statute of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia, adopted in July 1931 by the Main Directorate of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia of the RSFSR, which established a more structured legal regulation of issues of discipline of police officers.

It included incentive measures and disciplinary measures. This normative legal act was a very important addition to the list of documents regulating the activities of police officers. After all, disciplinary penalties were a very frequent phenomenon in the Mordovia militia of the 1930s. For example, as follows from archival sources of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, by order of the NKVD of the Mordovian Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic (MASSR) of March 28, 1938, an employee of the departmental militia for the protection of the State Bank of Saransk was arrested for 10 days, "by negligence" of which a fire broke out in the bank. The grounds for the penalties were other reasons: "in connection with the loss of weapons", "for aimless shots and drunkenness", "for philistine chatter, the dissemination of facts that do not correspond to reality, relating to the work and internal regulations of the NKVD", for "allowed rudeness with the expression of an obscene word". ^[15]In the 1930s, along with arrests, common types of disciplinary penalties were warning, remark, reprimand and severe reprimand.

However, as for dismissal, this type of disciplinary punishment was used extremely rarely. In particular, the dismissal was discussed after serving a sentence by an employee.Simultaneously with disciplinary measures, there were also cases of encouraging police officers for differences in the professional sphere.

Thanks were given to such employees for their "vigilance, resourcefulness and dedication", a cash prize and memorable gifts were awarded. ^[16]The Resolution of the Council of People's Commissars of the RSFSR of July 9, 1930 "On the state of the workers' militia and criminal investigation", which proposed specific measures for the development of the network of educational institutions of the NKVD, was of great importance for the further development of the system of professional training of police officers of Mordovia.

In addition, the government of the RSFSR proposed to all regional and regional executive committees of the Soviets to open at least one school for junior officers in the 1930 - 1931 academic year, as well as to expand the network of courses for training or retraining of ordinary police personnel.In August 1931, another document was approved – the Temporary Charter of the internal Service of the Workers' and Peasants' militia, which defined the rules for entering the service and the procedure for its passage; regulated the issues of labor organization: working hours, rest time, wages; established social guarantees, as well as disciplinary and other liability measures.

For example, the document contained measures of responsibility of employees for committing crimes against the established order of service in the police. The provisions of this Charter began to be introduced into the activities of the Mordovian militia. It was assumed that the provisions of this document would allow for clearer discipline and create guarantees for the rights of employees. But in fairness, it should be noted that even in 1937, the implementation of the measures established by the Charter remained at a fairly low level. The confirmation is the data contained in the sources of that time. ^[17]With the transfer of the militia to the OGPU system, on November 1, 1931, the instruction on the work of police political organizations was approved by the secretary of the Central Committee (CC) of the CPSU (b) P.P. Postyshev.

The document fixed the organizational structure, as well as the primary tasks of the political police bodies. The general direction of party work was concentrated in the hands of the Central Committee of the CPSU (b). ^[18] This document reflected the spirit of the times: the course towards the elimination of the exploiting classes in the city and countryside. Accordingly, the main task of the political organizations was formulated – work on further communization and development of personnel, as well as on cleansing the police from class-alien and criminal elements. 

In 1934, the People's Commissariat of Internal Affairs of the USSR and specialized apparatuses were entrusted with the work of conducting personnel activities in all police services and units. The work of the personnel service was headed by the NKVD. In the field, a course was also taken to implement strict control in the selection of personnel and the organization of the activities of the units. ^[19]In addition, the beginning of the 1930s was marked by activities aimed at increasing the importance of party-political work with cadres, both in the city and in the countryside.

In this connection, the restoration of the political apparatus began in the police: in the Main Directorate under the SNK of the USSR, this led to the creation of political departments, and on the ground, including in the structural divisions of the regional police – political inspections. As E.N. Tyazin notes, on the basis of the order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 001 dated July 13, 1934 "On the organization of NKVD bodies in the field", the NKVD Directorate for the Mordovian Autonomous Region (MAO) is being created with its direct subordination to the NKVD Directorate of the USSR for the Middle Volga Region (since 1935 Kuibyshev Krai). In accordance with the order of the NKVD of the USSR No. 0044 of August 21, 1934 "On the structural structure and subordination of NKVD bodies", the following units were included in the NKVD for MASSR: the Department of State Security (UGB); the Department of the Workers' and Peasants' Militia; the department of fire protection; the department of acts of civil status; the administrative and economic department; the inspection of reserves; HR department. The district offices (RO) were subordinate to the NKVD for MASSR, which consisted of the office of the UGB (head of the RO, commissioners and assistants to the commissioners), a police department, a fire protection inspector, an OAGS instructor, a communications apparatus, and a secretariat. ^[20] The main tasks of political organizations and divisions were to guide all political, cultural, educational and party-educational work, strengthen party and Komsomol organizations, improve their work, increase the morale of the workers' and peasants' militia.During the 1930s, there was a significant expansion and strengthening of the political apparatus of the militia: in August 1937, new staffs of political apparatuses were introduced, in September 1939, the functions of the Main Directorate (department) were strengthened and expanded

NKVD OF the USSR. Thus, the personnel of the militia was placed under strict control of the party apparatus in order to be a reliable guide of the political course of the CPSU (b), an effective tool in its hands.If we do not take into account the negative aspects, it should be noted that the work carried out by political bodies had a positive significance.

Firstly, it helped to strengthen discipline, and secondly, it contributed to the formation of a more responsible attitude to professional duty.But, despite all the measures taken, the educational level of the employees left much to be desired.

If in the whole country in the 1930s only 17% of the commanding staff and 1.5% of the ordinary police had only secondary education, then in Mordovia 1.9% of police officers had special education, 13.4% - secondary and 84.6% – lower. The fact of low literacy of Mordovian police officers is confirmed by a fairly large number of disciplinary penalties (according to NKVD orders), in connection with illiterate cases. ^[21] Thus, in the order on the NKVD MASSR of March 4, 1937, it was reported: "When reviewing the investigative files coming from the Torbeevsky district department of the NKVD, exceptional negligence of the investigation of these cases was found. The accused was asked questions by meaningless, illiterate and compromising NKVD bodies. In the protocol of the interrogation of the accused... from 01/24/1937, it is literally recorded – The question: "The investigation knows that you personally said in 1936 that Japan was at war, SERRE cases of war will not go to war alone." Answer: "I personally did not speak against the Soviet government about military actions in 1936." Question: "In the summer of 1936, when you were a cooperative, you spread defeatist rumors to the collective farms that we were like-minded free." Answer: "I did not say this in 1936 in the cooperative, that in collective farms we are the sole proprietor of freedom."Similar illiteracy during interrogations of the accused is found in many other protocols.

Therefore, the authorities made attempts to find optimal ways out of the current situation, related to improving the education and literacy of law enforcement officers. In May 1939, the NKVD of the USSR set a task for the inter-regional schools, consisting in the training of operatives for the peripheral police.

^[22]In general, in the 1930s a step forward was made in the training of police officers.

But, since regular university education in this field was not organized, the percentage of employees who received systematic professional training remained low. And those schools in which the senior commanding staff was trained were not easily accessible to employees of peripheral police bodies. The reason for this was the low level of their general education and vocational training, including in Mordovia.As a result of the conducted research, the following conclusions can be drawn.

In the 1930s, despite the peculiarities of the organization and activity of the militia of Mordovia, it continued to be formed as an integral part of the unified state mechanism, in accordance with the tasks, functions and operational situation of that time.

 In particular, the main activities of the police of Mordovia, specifically, the fight against crime, were still determined by the ruling Communist Party and its government policy to strengthen totalitarian tendencies in the country, the elimination of any opposition. The emphasis on "imaginary crimes", the performance by the police of many functions uncharacteristic of it, its merging with the repressive apparatus caused the low effectiveness of the fight against crime, the protection of public order, evidence of which is the increase in tension in society, the strengthening of the criminogenic situation.In the 1930s, an important role was assigned to the development and adoption of normative legal acts and job descriptions, on the basis of which significant changes were made to the order of recruitment, service by the police personnel of the region and vocational training.

However, the level of literacy of employees continued to remain at a fairly low level. 

These processes were carried out in the conditions of the folding of the command and administrative system, the class approach used in the selection of employees, the placement and training of personnel, as well as the strengthening of totalitarianism. The reorganization of the police of Mordovia and the training of personnel were influenced by abrupt changes in the socio-economic and political course of the country, as well as the peculiarities of their development in Mordovia. All these trends were also traced in the normative legal acts adopted at that time.The absence of national statehood in the region for a long time and the incompleteness of the process of its formation in the 1920s predetermined the absence of a unified legislative framework that ensures the functioning of the Mordovian militia.

Endless innovations and measures to reorganize the police apparatus in connection with the "second birth" of the Mordovian militia also did not contribute to improving the efficiency of its activities.