Krasilnikov Sergey A.,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Institute of History of the Siberian Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Novosibirsk, Russia, e-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
The Sphere of Labor in Siberia in the OGPU Coverage: Prologue of “Extraordinarity” (the First Half of 1930)
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2020-1-5
Radical shifts in all spheres of life of the early Soviet society, which were later called the “revolution from above”, had as their prologue the rapid growth of social tension and conflict dynamics, inevitably affecting the field of labor and labor relations. Along with the sharp breakdown of agricultural production and the confrontation with the bulk of the peasantry, the institutions of power carried out no less radical measures against workers in the industry and transport (the intensification of production, proclaimed as the goal, was actually carried out in an extensive way, accompanied by the use of mobilization means and a decrease in the living standard of workers in the sphere of production). The mass discontent of the workers, first and foremost, required special attention from the authorities to take into account moods and behavior in the work environment. In this paper, on the basis of office work documentation of the OGPU representative office in the Siberian Territory for the period from January to July 1930, the author considers the main directions of information and awareness activities in the field of analyzing the dynamics of the “political moods” of workers in the region in the context of a systemic crisis of the state and society. The methods and content of coverage by the security officers of the causes and acute forms of manifestation of the protest moods and actions of workers in the basic sectors of the Siberian economy are presented. The demand for security information on “the challenges and threats” by the institutions of power was directly dependent on the general attitude of the Stalinist leadership towards radical solutions to social contradictions and conflicts.
Publishing: 28/02/2020
How to cite: Krasilnikov S.A. The Sphere of Labor in Siberia in the OGPU Coverage: Prologue of “Extraordinarity” (the First Half of 1930) // Historical Courier, 2020, No. 1 (9), pp. 56–68. [Available online:] http://istkurier.ru/data/2020/ISTKURIER-2020-1-05.pdf
Links: Issue 1 2020
Keywords: OGPU; representative office; Siberia; awareness; information; moods; labor conflicts; strikes; protests