Relations between the Soviet State Security Bodies and the Local Administrative Structures in Podilia (the end of 1920 – 1930s)

Abstract

The paper describes some aspects of the relationship between the DPU (State Political Administration) bodies and Party and Soviet structures of Podilia in the late 1920s and early 1930s.

Today, there is no doubt that the communist elite fully controlled state security agencies. The senior party leadership entrusted the repressive apparat to implement political and economic decisions and campaigns. Execution of such decisions in the field was accompanied by close contacts with local Party and Soviet administrative structures, and often carrying out direct orders and instructions of the latter. Along with that, the Chekist bodies received from the political top the task of monitoring the discipline in the local executive branch.

The relations between the Soviet secret services and local Party and Soviet bodies were organized in such conditions. Practically, their interaction consisted of mutual informing and unveiling of mainly negative facts in the Party and Soviet environment, in particular, abuses of power and corruption, incompetence, «political unreliability», etc. For their part, the regional party structures used the potential of local special services to carry out inspections of inferior party centers, especially it became relevant during party purges.

Certain aspects of the studied relationship were the joining of the party by the officers of the security agencies and the recruitment of communists into the Chekist service. Officers of the DPU received all possible assistance in getting the party-membership card, since joining the party by the officers of the security bodies had an important political significance. At the same time, state security bodies needed ideologically well-prepared fighters who were ready to perform any political task.

An important place in the relationship between the Chekists and the administrative structures took the issues of financial, material and consumer character. The DPU bodies systematically appealed to the party structures with the request for financial support of important political campaigns, in particular anti-religious.

It should be noted that a well-organized system of communication and interaction between DPU bodies and Party and Soviet structures sometimes failed. On the one hand that took the form of ignoring certain information inquiries, and on the other hand – in an undisguised disruption of the secret activity of the special services and disrespectful attitude to their secret apparatus.

Nevertheless, above-mentioned relations were «organic» in nature and characterized the essence of the Bolshevik regime – a combination of political control of the security agencies and their exploitation in political activities.