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SENTENTIA. European Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences
Reference:

E.V. Sychenko The History of Forced Labour in Soviet Russia

Abstract: The article is devoted to the history of forced labour and the realization of the duty to work in Soviet Russia. Duty to work was enshrined in all the Soviet constitutions and thus became a leitmotif for the era. Three main period are emphasized: the period of Military Communism (1918–1921), the War period, including pre war and post war times (1940–1948), during the Khrushchev Thaw (1961–1965), we\'ll briefly speak apart about forced labour in GULAG. The author made an analysis of official documents, implementing duty to work, statistic data, researches of contemporary and Soviet scholars. This historical review of forced labour in Russia makes us conclude that obligation to work (not only a moral one but backed by criminal or administrative responsibility) was a distinguishing feature of Soviet labour law. The idea was born even before the Soviet state in the writings of K. Marx and Lenin and existed until the collapse of USSR. During these years the enforcement of the duty to work differed considerably depending on the current needs of the State, of the economic conditions.

Keywords:

soviet history, forced labour, labour conscription, Gulag, labour code, parasitism, criminal responsability, mobilization, right for work, obligation to work.

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