Natalia Mikhailovna Markdorf,
Doctor of Historical Sciences, Siberian Institute of Management − Branch of the Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Novosibirsk, Russia, e‑mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Juvenile Delinquency in Kuzbass During the Great Patriotic War
DOI: 10.31518/2618-9100-2025-2-13
The article provides a description of the state of offenses, including crimes committed by minors and children, during the war and in the first post-war years. The causes of offenses committed by individuals, including those in children’s social, educational institutions (children’s reception and distribution centers, orphanages) and educational institutions (schools of vocational education, vocational and railway schools) are investigated. The causes were identified, and quantitative indicators of offenses were characterized. During the war years the level of homelessness and neglect was high, which largely determined the significant rates of juvenile and especially adolescent crime and other offenses. Local authorities explained the situation with juvenile crime by the continuing problems in eliminating neglect, insufficient organization of preventive measures in educational institutions, and untimely identification of criminal groups of teenagers who were under the influence of criminal elements. Poorly organized educational work among the younger generation, among students of secondary specialized educational institutions, and, naturally, the negligent attitude of many parents to their responsibilities in raising children played a role. Local authorities required to take decisive measures aimed at combating homelessness, neglect, crime, and other unlawful offenses. Nevertheless, in the 1950s and 1960s it was not possible to eradicate such a phenomenon. The article is mainly based on archival sources concentrated in the archives of the Kemerovo and Novosibirsk regions.
Publishing: 28/04/2025
The article has been received by the editor on 10/02/2025
How to cite: Markdorf N.M. Juvenile Delinquency in Kuzbass During the Great Patriotic War // Historical Courier, 2025, No. 2 (40), pp. 160−173. [Available online: http://istkurier.ru/data/2025/ISTKURIER-2025-2-13.pdf]
The author expresses deep gratitude to the director L.Yu. Sapurina and employees of the State Archive of Kuzbass, employees of the Archive of the Information Center of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Russia for the Kemerovo Region, who assisted in the selection of material.
Links: Issue 2 2025
Keywords: The Great Patriotic War; Kemerovo Region; Kuzbass; offense; crime; homelessness and neglect; minors and teenagers; children’s reception and distribution center; orphanage; schools of vocational education; vocational and railway school; escapes; desertion